Buying a used laptop or MacBook: what to check before you pay

Updates first: how old is the processor?

Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 in October 2025, so a Windows laptop that cannot run Windows 11 no longer gets security updates. Windows 11 needs TPM 2.0 and a processor on Microsoft's list: in practice Intel 8th generation or later, or AMD Ryzen 2000 or later. The processor name tells you which. An Intel i5-8250U is 8th generation and fine; an i5-7200U is 7th generation and is out.

On the Mac side, Apple has said macOS Tahoe, released in 2025, is the last version for Intel Macs. That alone makes a MacBook with Apple's own chip, from the M1 of late 2020 through the M2, M3 and M4, the safer used buy. An Intel MacBook can still be a good machine, but price it as one whose updates are coming to an end.

MacBook Air M1 or M2?

The M1 Air has the older wedge shape, charges over USB-C and has no fan, so it makes no noise. The M2 Air, from 2022, has the flat design, a slightly larger screen with a notch, MagSafe charging and a sharper webcam. For writing, browsing and office work the M1 is still quick, and the extra for an M2 mostly pays for the design and the screen, not for speed you would notice.

Memory and storage matter more than the chip. On a MacBook both are part of the board and cannot be upgraded later. 8 GB is enough for light use; go for 16 GB if you keep lots of tabs and apps open or edit photos. On M2 models with 256 GB, storage is noticeably slower than on the larger ones because it uses a single memory chip.

Battery health

On a Mac, open System Settings, General, About, System Report, then Power, where you will find the cycle count and the condition. Apple rates the batteries in its recent MacBooks for 1,000 cycles, and a condition of Service Recommended means a replacement is due: take its cost off the price.

On Windows, open a command prompt and type powercfg /batteryreport. The report it saves compares the battery's design capacity with its full charge capacity today. A battery holding well under its design capacity means a laptop that lives next to a socket.

Ask for screenshots of these before you travel to see it or pay.

The locks that make a laptop useless

A Mac with Find My still on is activation locked to the seller's Apple Account: after a reset it asks for their password and goes no further. Ask the seller to sign out of their Apple Account and erase the Mac in front of you, or before posting it, and check that setup starts clean.

Look out for Remote Management. A laptop that belonged to a company or a school may be enrolled in its device management, known as MDM. During setup a screen says the computer is managed by an organisation, which can lock or wipe it whenever it likes, and only that organisation can release it. If you see that screen, walk away.

On Windows, look for a BIOS password, BitLocker asking for a recovery key, or a company asset tag. A former company laptop is fine once it has been released and wiped. Refurbishers do that work, which is a good reason to buy ex-company machines from one.

Checks to make in person

Let it run for ten minutes with a few apps open and a video playing. Fans that roar straight away and a base too hot to touch comfortably mean dust or a tired cooling system.

• The screen on a white page and a black one: dead pixels, bright patches, lines.
• Every key, the trackpad click, and each port, tried with a charger or a USB stick.
• The hinge: firm, with no creak and no wobble.
• The webcam, the speakers, and Wi-Fi joined to your phone's hotspot.
• The charger: original, the right wattage, and included in the price.
• The bottom case: missing screws or pry marks mean someone has been inside.

Who to buy from, and your rights

Private sellers list laptops on eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Vinted, which is usually where the lowest prices are. Back Market, musicMagpie and CeX sell used and refurbished laptops graded on their own scales, and Apple sells refurbished Macs through its own store.

A shop, or a business selling on eBay, counts as a trader. Under the Consumer Rights Act the laptop must match its description and be of satisfactory quality for its age and price; you have 30 days to reject it if it is faulty, and 14 days to cancel if you bought online. Check how long the shop's own warranty runs and whether it covers the battery. A private seller owes you a truthful description and not much more.

How to judge the price

Compare the same model with the same chip, memory and storage: a MacBook Air M1 with 8 GB and 256 GB and one with 16 GB and 512 GB share a name but not a price. Add postage, then take off what your checks turned up: a battery due for replacement, a missing charger, a sticky key.

Keep Intel Macs and laptops that cannot run Windows 11 in a separate comparison, because they are cheaper for a reason. The laptops page has today's offers and their prices, model by model, with postage to the UK included.

All offers: Laptops

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