What's the most important test when buying a used laptop?

Thermal throttling. A laptop that throttles under load is one repaste away from being fine — or one logic-board crack away from being scrap. The CPU + thermal back-to-back test in this wizard is the same one repair shops use.

Should I worry about battery cycle count?

Yes but with context. 500 cycles on a 5-year-old laptop is normal; 500 cycles on a 1-year-old laptop suggests the previous owner did a lot of unplugged work. Above 1000 cycles, expect replacement soon.

Can I trust the seller's storage / RAM specs?

Verify with the system info readout. CPU model name + reported memory should match the listing. Anything missing or mismatched is grounds for renegotiation.

Wizard / W09

Used laptop check.

Run this in the seller's room before paying. We benchmark every subsystem and generate a 'Buyer's Report' you can use to negotiate or walk away.

Notes

Bring the seller a phone with the wizard URL pre-loaded. Total runtime: ~90 seconds for the auto checks, plus the visual manual list.

Auto-run

0 / 0 complete

Manual follow-ups browser cannot measure

Hinge stress

Open and close the lid 5-10 times. Listen for cracking; watch for wobble in the screen at any angle. Loose hinges are a £100-300 repair.
Keyboard sweep

Open /keyboard/tester (new tab). Press every key. Dead keys are common; sticky keys mean cleaning at minimum.
Trackpad accuracy

Open /touch/multitouch. Drift = bad bearing or moisture damage. Stuck buttons = replace.
Webcam + mic check

/webcam/preview and /microphone/waveform. Camera should focus; mic should pick you up without static.
Screen dead-pixel sweep

/monitor/dead-pixel. Fullscreen each colour. Backlight bleed at edges, dead pixels, dust under glass — all visible.
Port survey

Plug something into every USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, SD slot. Confirm each works. Bring a USB-C-to-everything dongle.
Vendor battery report

Open PowerShell / Terminal and run 'powercfg /batteryreport' (Windows) or check Apple menu → About → System Report → Power (macOS). Cross-check cycle count against age.
Listing-spec match

Confirm the system-info readout matches the listing exactly: CPU model, RAM, storage.

Report