Delivery across Egypt within 48 hoursA written inspection list for every used device14-day returns
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Exactly what we check on a used device

Everyone selling a used device says it is "inspected". On its own the word means nothing until someone says what was inspected. These are the lists we work through — 18 checks on an iPhone and 18 on a laptop, each one saying exactly what we do and why it changes the price or the way the device behaves in your hand.

Every check here is verifiable — something we see with our own eyes or read off the device itself, not an estimate. Some things other checklists include are deliberately missing from ours, water resistance above all: it cannot be confirmed on a used device, and any claim about it comes back as a return.

The two lists are not copies of each other: the iPhone list has checks that mean nothing on a laptop — iCloud lock and carrier lock — and the laptop list has checks that mean nothing on a phone, such as sustained cooling, drive health and the keyboard. Each device is inspected against its own list.

Used iPhone inspection — 18 checks

Identity and locks

How do you confirm the iPhone's IMEI is genuine and matches the device?

Three numbers have to agree: the one in Settings → General → About, the one etched on the SIM tray or the back of the device, and the one printed on the box if it is present. A mismatch means one of two things — the logic board was swapped, or the device was assembled from more than one phone. An assembled device works fine at first and starts failing months later, its Apple coverage is void, and nobody catches it at purchase because the outside looks perfect.

How do you know a used iPhone is not iCloud locked?

We fully reset the device in front of us and pass the activation screen without it asking for an Apple Account. That is the only check that proves the lock is off — a phone working in your hand proves nothing, because Activation Lock only appears after a reset. An iPhone locked to someone else's account has no workaround: no shop, no software and not even Apple can open it without the account holder. This is the most serious check on the list, and a locked device is worth nothing.

Is the iPhone reported stolen or blacklisted?

We run the IMEI against reported-device databases before the phone is listed. A reported device is blocked at network level — it keeps working on Wi-Fi and everything else, but no SIM will connect, and the block can activate weeks after purchase rather than the same day. That is why this check belongs before the sale, not after: once blocked, the device has no resale value and there is no way to reverse it.

Is the iPhone unlocked, or tied to one carrier?

We insert a working Egyptian SIM and confirm calls and data both run, then check Settings → General → About → SIM Lock, which must read "No SIM restrictions". Many imported iPhones were sold on a carrier contract in their home country, and those devices reject every other SIM. Nothing about the device's appearance or normal operation reveals this — it shows up the moment you insert your own SIM, and by then the return window is the only thing left.

How can you tell whether the iPhone's parts are original or replaced?

From iOS 15.2 onward the iPhone keeps a Parts and Service History in Settings → General → About, and it says whether the screen, battery or camera was replaced and whether the part is genuine. We read that record and write down what it says, instead of calling the device "clean". A replaced part is not a fault in itself — but it is a difference in price, and the buyer has a right to know it before paying rather than discovering it at an Apple service centre.

Battery and screen

How is a used iPhone's battery health measured?

We read it off the device itself: Settings → Battery → Battery Health, and we write down the figure the phone shows — it reaches you printed on the product page before you buy. That number is not an estimate or an opinion; it is the iPhone's own measurement of its current capacity against its capacity when new. We publish it because the gap between 92% and 78% is the gap between a phone that lasts the day and one that needs a charger by the afternoon, and the price should reflect that.

What does the iPhone's "Battery Service" message mean?

It is a message the iPhone shows on the same Battery Health screen when the battery has reached a state that needs replacement — even if the percentage still looks acceptable. We confirm the message is absent, and if it is present we record it rather than list the device as sound. It matters because it sometimes appears alongside a healthy-looking percentage, so the percentage alone is not enough — and a device carrying this warning starts shutting down suddenly in the cold or under load.

How do you tell an original iPhone screen from a replaced one?

Two things together: the warning the iPhone shows when the display is not genuine, and whether True Tone is present and working in Control Centre — that feature disappears on most replaced screens because it needs factory calibration. A replaced screen changes the price noticeably, and sometimes changes colour accuracy, brightness and touch response too. We record what we find, and a replacement we have named is worth more than an original we cannot prove.

How do you test the iPhone's display and touch?

We fill the screen with solid colours — white, black and strong hues — so dead pixels, blotches, uneven backlight and burn-in show themselves, and we run brightness through its range. Then we drag a finger across the whole surface from the edges inward, and test multi-touch with more than one finger at once. The edges are what stop responding after a drop, and that fault never shows in normal use — it shows when you try to hit a key at the far end of the keyboard.

Components

How do you verify Face ID or Touch ID actually works?

We enrol a fresh face or fingerprint on the device and unlock with it several times. Enrolling is the point, not just unlocking: a phone can still open with a previously stored print while being completely unable to register a new one. On iPhone a dead Face ID is an expensive fault — repairing it needs a genuine part and calibration, and many phones whose screens were replaced by an unauthorised shop come back with Face ID permanently dead.

How do you test the iPhone's rear cameras?

We shoot with each lens separately — ultra-wide, wide and telephoto depending on the model — test focus at close and far range, and look at the resulting photo rather than just the viewfinder. We also inspect the lens from outside: dust or haze that settles inside shows up in photos as a soft patch and cannot be cleaned without opening the camera. The optical zoom in particular is tested on its own, because it is the lens most often killed by a drop, and the phone quietly falls back to digital zoom without saying so.

Are the front camera and flash tested too?

Yes. We take a photo and a video on the front camera and check sharpness and colour, and we run the flash through its levels and look at it in the resulting shot rather than just seeing it light up. On iPhone the front camera sits in the same module as Face ID, so a fault in one is usually a sign of a bigger problem in the whole assembly — which is why we test the two together rather than separately.

How do you test the iPhone's speakers and microphones?

Three separate things: the loudspeaker, by playing audio loud and listening for crackle or rattle; the earpiece, on a real call rather than a sound clip; and the microphone, by recording and playing back. We separate them because they are entirely different parts — the earpiece can be dead while the loudspeaker is perfect, and the buyer only discovers it on their first call. Most audio faults on used devices turn out to be dust packed into the speaker mesh, and that we clean.

Do you test every button on the iPhone?

Yes, one at a time: the power button on a short and a long press, both volume buttons up and down, and the mute switch flipped both ways while confirming the phone actually vibrates. The mute switch is the one people skip, and it is the most-worn mechanical part on the device. A button that needs a hard press or sticks is the start of a failure rather than an annoyance — and that is a difference in price that belongs in writing.

Ports and sensors

How do you check the charging port?

We actually charge the device and confirm it accepts a charge and holds it, then connect it to a computer and confirm data transfer works — those are two different things and one can work while the other does not. We also light up the inside of the port and look at the pins: compacted dust inside the port is the number one cause of charging faults on used devices and it cleans out, while a bent or broken pin is a real repair and gets recorded.

Is wireless charging and MagSafe tested?

Yes, with a real wireless charger rather than an assumption that it works. On MagSafe models we also confirm the magnets grip in the right position. Wireless charging fails after a drop or after the phone has been opened and reassembled badly, and it is one of the least-tested things because it needs an accessory on hand — so the buyer finds out a week later when they buy a wireless charger.

Do you verify Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC?

Each one with a real connection: Wi-Fi by joining a network and loading a page, Bluetooth by actually pairing a device, GPS by opening Maps and confirming the position settles outside the building, and NFC with a real read. All four share antennas inside the phone, and antennas get pinched during a repair — so a device that has been opened before can have Wi-Fi weak enough that you only notice it far from the router.

Which sensors do you check on a used iPhone?

The proximity sensor on a call, confirming the screen goes dark against your ear; the ambient light sensor by changing the light around it and watching auto-brightness respond; the gyroscope and compass by rotating the device in Compass and Maps; and the haptic engine by triggering it. Nobody asks about these at purchase, and they are exactly what makes a phone feel "off" later — a screen that stays lit on a call and gets pressed by your ear, or a map heading that keeps spinning.

Used laptop inspection — 18 checks

Identity and specification

How do you confirm the laptop is the model it is sold as?

Every business laptop carries a serial or Service Tag, etched into the body or printed on the sticker underneath. We take that number to the manufacturer's own support page — Dell, HP or Lenovo, and Apple's coverage page for a Mac — which returns the exact specification the machine left the factory with: processor, memory, storage type, graphics and display panel. That means we learn the original from the source, not from whoever sold it to us. The sticker on its own proves nothing: it peels off one machine and onto another, and it is the cheapest forgery in the used-laptop market.

Do the advertised specs match what the machine actually reports?

We boot the machine and read it off the machine: processor model and generation, memory size and speed, storage size and type, and graphics. Then we compare that against what we are about to publish on the page. And one thing has to be said plainly: "Core i7" on its own is **not a specification** — an i7 from 2015 is slower in real work than an i5 from 2021, and the sticker says i7 in both cases. That is why the generation is written on every machine we list; it is the number that actually decides the speed, not the i-number.

Battery and screen

How do you know the real remaining life of a used laptop battery?

We pull the battery report from the machine itself and read three numbers off it: the capacity it holds now, the capacity it shipped with, and the charge-cycle count. The ratio of the first two is the battery's real remaining life — not "battery is good", not "lasts a long time". And we state the number as it is. A laptop battery is cheaper and far easier to replace than a phone's, so a low number is not a fault in the machine: it is a difference in price and something you have a right to know before paying.

How do you check a laptop screen for dead pixels?

We fill the screen with each colour in turn — white, black, red, green, blue — and look at it under normal room light. A dead pixel shows against white, a stuck one against black, and neither appears in ordinary use, in listing photos, or in a quick look at a shop counter. We write down any pixel we find and where it sits. A pixel cannot be repaired — the whole panel is what gets replaced — so it is far better to know at purchase.

Is there image retention burned into the screen from long use?

We display a full black frame in a dark room to look for backlight bleed at the edges, then a grey frame to look for anything left behind by a static image that sat there for months. The second one is common in ex-corporate machines specifically: two years on the same application with the same top bar leaves a mark where it was. Faint retention fades with use, clear retention stays, and we say what we saw rather than letting the buyer find it on a light background a week later.

Is the display the original panel, or was it swapped for a cheaper one?

One laptop model ships with several different panels — different resolution, brightness and viewing angles, and a large gap in price. We read the panel model off the machine and compare it with what that model left the factory with. A replaced panel is not a fault if the buyer knows — but a 1366 panel in a chassis that shipped with 1920 is a lower specification sold at the higher price whenever nobody measures. And it is invisible to anyone who has not seen the two side by side.

Keyboard and trackpad

How do you confirm every key on the keyboard works?

We open a key-tester and press every key one by one: letters, number row, function row, arrows, and the numeric pad where there is one. And we confirm each key registers **exactly once** — a key that double-registers is worse than one that does not work at all, because it corrupts what you type without you noticing. We also note legends worn away by use. A dead key is repairable, but it has to be said before the sale, not after.

Does the keyboard backlight work, and do all models have one?

If the model shipped with a backlight, we run it through every level and confirm it lights evenly — some machines have half a row dark, or one key dimmer than its neighbours. And if the model has no backlight from the factory we say so plainly in its specs, so the buyer does not read it as a fault or hunt for a key that does not exist. Most business laptops have one, but not all of them do — and that difference only shows up on the first evening.

What do you check on the trackpad?

We run the pointer into all four corners, test left and right click, and run two- and three-finger gestures — scroll, zoom and switching. Then we press on the surface itself, looking for a dip or a bulge. A bulge in particular is usually a **swollen battery underneath** rather than a trackpad fault — and in that case the battery is replaced before the machine is listed at all, because a swollen cell keeps growing until the lid no longer closes.

Cooling and sustained performance

How do you know a used laptop's cooling is healthy?

We put the processor under load for 20 to 30 minutes and watch temperature and fan behaviour. What we are looking for: a fan that spins without a bad noise, and a temperature that settles at a sane level instead of climbing until the machine shuts itself down. A laptop with tired cooling **looks completely normal for the first five minutes** — the problem appears around minute twenty, which is longer than any test you can run at a counter or in front of a seller.

Does performance hold under load, or drop off?

During the same load test we watch the clock speed. A machine with tired cooling throttles itself to stay safe, so it is quick for a while and then slow. That is worse than a machine that is slower but steady, because it happens in the middle of your work — during a render, a compile, or a large spreadsheet, not while you open a browser. We write it down when a machine throttles, because it shows up in no specification number anywhere.

Components

How do you know the SSD still has life left in it?

We read the SMART data off the drive itself: how much has been written to it since it was made, the percentage of life remaining, and whether there are reallocated sectors. A drive that has been written to heavily **tests perfectly** — it boots fast and copies files normally — and starts losing data months later. That number is invisible in the machine's appearance, in its speed, and in any ordinary Windows check; it can only be read off the drive.

How is the memory tested?

We run a full memory test across the machine, and confirm that the installed size and speed are the ones we are listing. The symptoms of failing memory are treacherous: the machine shuts down or crashes every few days, people blame Windows and reinstall it several times for nothing — and nobody suspects the memory until months have gone. The test takes time, and that is precisely because the fault only surfaces once every address has been written and read back.

How do you check the hinge and the chassis?

We open and close the lid several times, looking for a hinge that is loose, cracking, or a lid that will not hold its angle; we inspect the plastic around it, because that is the first place a business chassis cracks; and we confirm every screw in the bottom cover is present and the cover seats properly. A loose hinge is not a cosmetic matter: it gets worse and it drags the display cable with it, and when that cable fails the screen goes black and the repair costs far more than the hinge would have.

Ports and sensors

Is every port actually tested?

We test every port with something that actually works rather than looking at it: a flash drive in each USB port separately, a monitor on HDMI or USB-C, a network cable in the Ethernet jack where there is one, headphones in the audio jack, and a card in the card reader. One dead port on a laptop means buying an adapter and carrying it around — and if it is the display output, the machine will not drive a second screen at all, which is half the reason for buying a business laptop in the first place.

Is the charger that comes with it the right wattage?

We charge the machine while it is under load, and confirm the charger's wattage is what the model actually needs. An underpowered charger only charges the machine while it is off — under load it draws from the battery even plugged in and keeps draining, and the owner blames the battery when the fault is the charger. We also confirm that the charger shipped with the machine is the one it was tested with, not another unit off the shelf.

How are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth checked?

We join the machine to a 5 GHz network and to 2.4, and measure speed and stability at a sensible distance rather than next to the router. Then we pair a Bluetooth headset and a keyboard. A weak Wi-Fi card is common in used business laptops and is easy and cheap to replace — but it has to be stated, because for anyone working from home or sitting in online meetings it is the single most important thing about the machine.

Are the camera, microphone and speakers tested?

We place a full test call: the camera gives a clear picture and its mechanical shutter works where the model has one, the microphone records intelligible sound, and both speakers produce sound without rattle at full volume. Where there is a fingerprint reader we enrol a print and actually unlock with it. These are exactly the things nobody tests at purchase, and they surface in the first online meeting after delivery — by which point you are mid-sentence.