The device as a physical object: battery condition and cycle counts, charging ports, liquid exposure, cleaning, and the erase that has to happen before a phone, a tablet or a laptop is sold, traded or given away.
Common failure modes
- A charging port packed with pocket lint and read as a failed cable
- A wet device dried with heat, which drives the liquid further in
- A worn battery blamed on the operating system
- A phone sold while it is still locked to an account
- A factory reset treated as a substitute for a backup
Procedures
- How to get lint out of a phone charging port safely when it won't charge or the cable keeps falling out
- Is my phone charger safe to use? How to tell if a charging cable or wall charger is damaged, counterfeit or has been recalled
- What to do when you drop your phone in water, and why rice is the wrong answer
- How to erase or factory reset a Mac or a Windows computer before you sell it, give it away or donate it
- How to wipe a phone before selling it or trading it in, without leaving it locked to your account
- How to check MacBook battery health and cycle count, and what the numbers mean
Where this stops
Battery replacement in a sealed device, board-level repair, and any work that breaks a water seal belong with the manufacturer or an authorised repairer.