Amazon, Best Buy, and the Apple Store itself are great sources for refurbished MacBook deals that are backed up with good post-purchase customer support.Īnother pitfall to avoid is buying a refurbished MacBook that, despite its low price, is too outdated by modern standards to be worth it. A professional, trustworthy seller should have its own online storefront and offer some sort of warranty. We generally recommend avoiding outlets like eBay for this sort of thing.
Most important among these is that you want to make sure you purchase from a trusted retailer and that the refurbished MacBook you’re getting has been inspected, tested, cleaned, and repaired (if necessary) by professionals. Shopping refurbished MacBook sales is a great way to save - with some caveats. That said, refurbished MacBook deals abound online from a wide array of retailers, so there are bargains readily available year-round if you know where to look. MacBooks aren’t cheap, but they remain a hot item for some very good reasons: Apple’s laptops are well built, thoughtfully designed, and few can deny that MacOS is pretty solid software, which is why they command such a premium. Fitbit Versa 3īuy at Amazon Should you buy a refurbished MacBook? Click the Apple menu and then hold the Option key while choosing "System Information." Click "Power" in the navigation pane on the left and check the "Health Information.
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Does the battery hold a charge? You can test the Mac's battery by checking to see if it charges and then runs properly on battery power, but an easier test is to see what the Mac has to say about its own battery health.It's not unusual for a laptop to have a few bad pixels, but if this Mac has a lot of them, you might reconsider buying it. Is the screen in good condition? You can run a web-based tool like LCDTech's dead-pixel checker to look for dead pixels on the screen.Does the keyboard work? Open a text window and test all the keys to make sure they work properly.Use a USB flash drive, for example, to make sure all the USB ports respond.
Do all the ports work? Test all the ports on the Mac.Does the Mac start up without an issue? If it's a MacBook, can you boot it from both AC power and the battery?.Here are few of the operational aspects of a used Mac you'll want to check out before purchasing it. Minor cosmetic blemishes are no big deal, but if the battery doesn't hold a charge, that might be a dealbreaker. If you can spend some time with the Mac before you buy, there are some simple tests you can run to make sure the computer is in good working order. Test the Mac to make sure it works properly Also, keep in mind that Apple is moving away from Intel processors. As Macs with Intel chips are phased out in favor of Apple's own silicon, your used Intel-based Mac may start to encounter obsolescence sooner than you expect.
It's a good idea to not invest in a used Mac that is more than three years old, because Apple tends to support its computers for about six years. For a used Mac to be a good value, you want one that puts that obsolescence date as far in the future as possible.
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That means it will no longer be supported by Apple, and you won't be able to install OS updates and security patches. Beware of the Mac's impending obsolescenceĮvery Mac, regardless of model or age, will eventually become obsolete. In general, getting a refurbished Mac is a lot safer than buying an unwarranted used computer, and you can find refurbished models at reputable reseller sites and even directly from Apple. There's an enormous market for previously owned Macs out there, and you can buy a used Mac directly from a private owner - or you can get a refurbished model which has the advantage of being inspected, have bad components replaced, certified in good condition and even features warranty coverage.