If you are planning to buy a smartphone but have a small budget in your tight pocket, then you may want to pick up a used smartphone instead of a new one. However, buying a used smartphone can be a bit tricky if you don't have any experience whatsoever about this "field". You cannot just go up there to the smartphone store and make a random purchase without even checking the whole condition of that phone thoroughly. And if you got the wrong device, it might turn out to be a curse for you.
You might
get a good looking used smartphone with a perfect case cover without any
scratches on it, but you got no clue that maybe its internal hardware or its
screen interface might not work anytime soon because there have been some
critical damages inside of the phone caused by the previous owners. That's why,
it's really important for you to avoid this kind of smartphone for your own
good.
Talking
about used smartphones, most people think that used smartphones mostly suck
just for the sake that they are second hand smartphones. Well, the truth is,
not all used smartphones that you find around the market are some damaged
phones that don't work anymore. In fact, some of this type of smartphone still
works just as great as new one. So it's irrelevant anymore to say that the
quality of second hand smartphones will be that horrible.
Well, if you
have made the final decision and are perfectly sure that this is the right time
for you to buy your first ever used smartphone, then these are 15 useful tips
that hopefully can be your first guidance every time you're planning to buy
used smartphones in the future.
1. Run a
Quick Scan on the Case Cover
The first
thing to notice from a smartphone is definitely its case cover. Therefore,
every time you meet some used smartphones on any store, make sure that you
always run a thorough scan of the device. Try to see if the device has any
physical defect or scratch around the body of that device. This must be done in
order to know more about what that device has been through in the past when it
was still used by the previous owners.
2. Make Sure
that the Case Cover is Original
Used
smartphones are usually plagued with the perception that their case covers will
tell you the whole thing about their condition. Well, that is so wrong. You
cannot judge the overall quality of used smartphones just by looking at how
glossy its chassis or how flawless its screen. There is a huge possibility that
the seller already covers them up with some new 3rd party case covers that
obviously will make them look like new phones, right?
Therefore,
as a smart customer, always equip yourself with the mindset that the sellers
could always replace the original but damaged case cover with some new 3rd
party chassis in order to make sales.
3. Make Sure
that All the Physical Buttons Work Perfectly
Physical
buttons always become the fragile element on any smartphone that tends to be
damaged easily if they have been pressed so many times by the owners. That's
why, when checking out any used smartphone on the store, always make sure that
all the physical buttons, remember, all of them, can work perfectly, without
any hiccup. The best thing to do that is by pressing each physical button over
and over again. If you see that there is any button that gives a weak or delay
response (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't) or even doesn't work at all
when you press it, then the best
4. Always
Check the Screen Sensitivity with the User Interface
The next
thing to check from a used smartphone is the screen surface and the sensitivity
of its User Interface. In this process, always run a thorough scan if there is
any scratch around the screen and make sure that the touch screen still works
perfectly. Test the touch response from each corner of the screen until the
middle area. Do some mixed and random gestures on the screen over and over
again, from:
·
sliding the UI to the left/right/up/bottom,
·
doing multi-touch,
·
zooming in/out on the photos or web browser,
·
deleting widgets/apps/elements
·
typing on the virtual on-screen QWERTY keyboard
·
etc
And if you
have a plenty of time, try to play some apps that are already installed on the
phone, even high performance games and test the sensitivity of the screen
interface. Remember, this is really crucial because most of the previous owners
might already drop it on the ground for several times in the past, so it will
directly impact to the sensitivity of the screen.
5. Check if
There is Any Glitch or Weird Colors Reproduction on the Screen
Besides its
sensitivity, the other important thing to check on the screen is the display.
Usually, used smartphones have been dropped for several times by the previous
owners. Therefore, it's really important for you to see the whole area on the
screen to check if there is any glitch or weird line on color reproduction
around the screen. If you see any of these, then the screen is not fine.
6. Make Sure
that the Battery is still Pretty Good
There is no
doubt that battery is one of the most important elements in smartphones. Most
of touch screen phones, even the new iPhone, have weak battery life (with the
exception of Samsung or Motorola flagships of course). Therefore, it's really
crucial to always run a test on this sector every time you want to buy used
smartphones. To name of few, you can do things like playing high performance 3D
games or watching movies/videos to make sure that the battery is still in pretty
good condition, if not great. If the battery drains pretty quickly even when
you just open the photos or listen some songs (which are not really energy
consuming activities), then there is something wrong with the battery.
7. Check if
the Camera's Shutter Key (if There is Any) Still Works
Some of
smartphones usually have the physical shutter key for shooting photos/videos,
even though it can be replaced with the on-screen virtual button. However, on
some phones, there is a feature that lets you capture photos with shutter key
even when the screen is still locked (e.g., Sony Xperia S, etc). That's why,
although you may not use it very often, always do a quick test on this shutter
key by pressing it over and over again just to make sure that this button still
works perfectly.
8. Ensure
that the Cellular and Wi-Fi Connectivity Still Work Great
Connectivity
is the other important element on smartphone. Without this sector, your used
phone will be pretty much useless for you. You cannot surf the web, download
stuff or connect the apps to internet. Therefore, always run the test of this
connectivity feature by browsing the web with the pre-installed browser or any
other apps that require 3G/4G and Wi-Fi connectivity on that used smartphone.
9. Check the
Bluetooth, NFC or Any Other Off-line Connectivity
These
connectivity features can be really important in the future because you like it
or not, you will need Bluetooth and will use it very often to share contents
like photos/music/videos/files with the other devices, while NFC is also really
important for the future's mobile payment. Therefore, never forget to always
run the quick test on Bluetooth, NFC or other several offline connectivity
features on the phone.
10. Test the
Sound Quality of the Speaker
Making a
phone call is the reason why cell phone is invented in the first place. Without
it, your phone shouldn't be called as a phone. That's why, if this feature
doesn't work properly, then your used phone will be useless in the future. So
it's also really important to always run the test of this feature by making a
random call on other devices and hear if there is something wrong with its
sound quality, signal or its loudspeaker.
11. Try to
Send Text Message
Usually, if
the cellular connectivity still works great, then there is a huge chance that
you can also send text messages with that phone. However, don't get carried
away and sending one text message wouldn't hurt, right? This is for your own
good.
12. Check
the Sound Quality of the Phone, With and Without a Headset
Most of
phone users usually don't open wide the loudspeaker when listening to music or
watching videos. They usually use a headset for most of activities that have
sounds in it, like games, movies, music or anything. However, in order to make
sure that everything is fine, just spend some seconds or minutes to check if
the loudspeaker still sounds great or not.
13. Make
Sure that the Charging Port Can Still Charge the Phone
Charging
port is also the other most important thing on smartphone. If the charging port
doesn't work and cannot charge the device properly, this can be really
dangerous for you in the future. These days, most smartphones' charging ports
are not just assembled with glue, but on some smartphones, this part is
integrated deeply with solder. So be sure to always check the charging port of
the device by plugging in/out the phone with the charger and see if there is
slightly delay response on battery bar on the screen when being charged. Your
phone is pretty much useless if it cannot be charged.
14. Check
the microSD card slot (if there is any) to see if it still works
Despite the
increasing popularity of huge internal storage smartphones, most phone users
still think that microSD card slot as a really vital element on smartphones.
This type of users tends to choose of having a smartphone with a small internal
storage but can be expanded further with external microSD card. Therefore, if
you're planning to buy a microSD-card-enabled smartphone, it's recommended for
you to check if the card slot still works great or not. You don't want to buy a
phone with little storage that can't read external microSD card, do you?
15. Ask the
Seller if the Phone is already Jail-broken or Rooted
Jailbroken
iPhone or rooted Android phones might be a good thing or bad thing. If you are
a tech savvy user, then it's a good thing because you can still do heck a lot
of technical stuff with your phone even without the assistance of retailer.
However, if you are non-tech-savvy buyer, you really need to ask the seller
regarding this information. Especially for iPhone, which you may want to ask
the seller to revert back your used iPhone to a non-jailbroken version, so you
can still bring it safely to the official Apple store if there is anything
wrong with your iPhone.
Well, those
are 15 tips that you need to know before making a purchase of any used
smartphone. Buying used smartphone might be a lot cheaper than getting the new
one, but you as a customer still deserve to get the good quality product, even
used one. So hopefully, these tips can be really useful for you every time
you're planning to buy used smartphones in the future.
Brian
Johnson is an entrepreneur and games enthusiast. His current favorite game is
Bioshock Infinite. He also runs a game blog which he uses to share his passion
about Bioshock Infinite Songbird.
If you want to contact him in person, you can just tweet him on Twitter via @bringmebrian.
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