Refurb sources & models for the "low intensity" home user

britechguy

britechguy

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Long story short, I have a client for whom I recently acquired a LG Gram 16 2-in-1 that's not working out because the WiFi card (soldered to the mobo, no less) is just not behaving. I can get the machine to keep a connection perfectly well with a USB WiFi dongle, and we may end up going that route because she really likes the machine otherwise. The one we went with initially is the LG Gram 2-In-1 Touch 16T90P-K.AAE7U1 16'' Intel Core i7-1165G7 16GB 512GB Win 11 Home. It's definitely over-specced for her needs, but the price was good (excellent if we weren't having the issue with WiFi we're having).

She's coming from a Dell Inspiron 5000 that suffered one of "the usual issues" with hinges causing the screen side to break then the screen itself snapped. Given what new screens and all the other bits needed, plus labor, I couldn't justify trying to repair it.

I'm looking at possible off-lease options, preferably under $1K, and even more preferably under $600, and this is for someone who pretty much only emails, does some very light document editing, and plays a number of online games (not of the multi-player, realtime, graphics intensive sort). This is not someone who needs an ultra high powered computer.

If folks have recommendations of where to shop, other than the Dell, Lenovo, and HP Outlets, where I'm already looking, I'd love to hear about them.
 
I'm a big fan of Microcenter. Being a brick and mortar of decent size plus online counts a lot. When I was in MA I used to go to the one Cambridge. They had great selections in store. Their online is much less. But I did have luck buying from the store and having them ship it out.
 
Thank you, Gentlemen.

I've looked at Microcenter, and their options that ship are, unfortunately, very slim indeed. I've never heard of D&H and don't have an account, though if they have an online presence I could look.

Dell's Outlet has a ton of different Inspiron models (which I don't love, but it's what she had and is used to) and Acer's got some decent refurb deals, too. Pickin's are slim at Lenovo and HP's outlet is so difficult to shop (because of inability to narrow options) that I've given up.
 
Look for Lenovo ThinkPad T14 and T16 models. Well built, can find them sometimes on their site.
 
Brian, is there a reason why you feel the need to buy a refurb'd? Can't you put one together for your customer that comes in at or under $500 that will do everything the customer wants? I'm just curious, is why I'm asking.
 
@ThatPlace928

She wants a laptop and I don't do custom builds, ever. On the one occasion where I did want custom builds (and that's desktop) someone else built them.

I've never even heard of a laptop custom build.
 
britechguy said:
@ThatPlace928

She wants a laptop and I don't do custom builds, ever. On the one occasion where I did want custom builds (and that's desktop) someone else built them.

I've never even heard of a laptop custom build.
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Not a custom build. Buy a used laptop similar to what she had, then put a new drive and upgraded RAM in it, and do a fresh install of Windows 10. Or Windows 11, if the one you buy can be upgraded to it. This way, you would actually be doing the refurbish. Make sense? You can buy used on places like Marketplace, Craigslist, Mercari, etc.
 
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@ThatPlace328

You're describing exactly what I did, but it's not working out for reasons beyond my control. I acquired a 2021 vintage LG Gram 16 2-in-1 from eBay for a very reasonable price. The machine is in beautiful condition, but we've found that something is definitely wrong with the WiFi card (or mobo related to it and it alone). It simply will not maintain an internet connnection. When I use a USB dongle, the connection is rock solid to the same router, and all other devices maintain a rock solid connection, too.

So, I'm in the process of looking at several different avenues with the client. She loves the machine except for this issue, and she's over 80 and does not do anything much at all with USB devices, period, so I'm proposing a nano-sized USB WiFi adapter as a possible permanent solution and seeking a partial refund from the seller (which he's agreed to, if the client wishes to accept). The WiFi I'm currently using as a stop-gap is one of the slightly bigger ones, and it poses too much of a "bump risk" since it sticks out about as far as your usual USB cable connecter for standard USB-B does.

The other avenues are buying a certified refurbished machine, or rolling the dice again for what looks to be a very good condition used machine that I would refurbish as needed.

I'm actually hoping she'll keep this machine with a nano WiFi adapter. It's got way more power than she could get even in mid-range, new, and even in many refurbs in the $500 area. Had this flakiness not exhibited itself, this would have been one of the best deals I ever found. I don't think the seller knew, either, as he's giving zero pushback about a return, which I can initiate up through August 21st.
 
You're on the right track. I've got one that had no wifi card in it, when I got it. I put a card in and hooked the antenna up and now it fails to power on. Take the antenna off and laptop boots just fine. On this one, I'm going to have to go with the dongle and pull my card back out.

Is this the Inspiron you just created a post about? On those where the screen needs to be replaced and the hinges are broken, I generally buy a display assembly and replace the whole thing. Less time consuming. Just be sure you get one that has the hinges.
 
@ThatPlace928

The Inspiron I wrote about is what the Gram 2-in-1 was purchased to replace. The only display assemblies I could find were around $300 for the part alone, and once you add in $80/hour labor (with a one hour minimum) it seemed to me to be a very bad idea to even attempt the repair. And that post regarding the Inspiron is one of the reasons (even before I had torn it apart) that I didn't think it was a good idea. My experience, and my observation from many posts here, is that there are certain laptop series where these hinge/lid issues are endemic, and putting another of the same on often ends up with the same result X months or X years down the road.

I just got an email message from my client and she wants to go the WiFi adapter route. And that's our only choice since the WiFi card in this particular Gram model is soldered to the motherboard. My initial idea, before I discovered this was the case, was swapping out the WiFi card from her Inspiron to the Gram. Alas, that proved not to be an option.
 
britechguy said:
@ThatPlace928

The Inspiron I wrote about is what the Gram 2-in-1 was purchased to replace. The only display assemblies I could find were around $300 for the part alone, and once you add in $80/hour labor (with a one hour minimum) it seemed to me to be a very bad idea to even attempt the repair. And that post regarding the Inspiron is one of the reasons (even before I had torn it apart) that I didn't think it was a good idea. My experience, and my observation from many posts here, is that there are certain laptop series where these hinge/lid issues are endemic, and putting another of the same on often ends up with the same result X months or X years down the road.

I just got an email message from my client and she wants to go the WiFi adapter route. And that's our only choice since the WiFi card in this particular Gram model is soldered to the motherboard. My initial idea, before I discovered this was the case, was swapping out the WiFi card from her Inspiron to the Gram. Alas, that proved not to be an option.
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Interesting. I've never had a display assembly cost anywhere near $300. I buy good used ones on eBay and I've never once had an issue. I just make sure it has everything I need, including a nice top cover without scratches, cracks, or other blemishes. Takes less than an hour to change out and my son charges $85.

Someone must be price gouging, since an older laptop model would almost never have a brand new display assembly available. It would come from a laptop that was broken down to sell for parts.
 
@ThatPlace928

Things on eBay can change overnight, but all I could find were lids, tons and tons of lids, but not a single display assembly. And trying to source them new turned up very very few at very very high prices.

Had I been able to find a display assembly for under $100, I would have leapt on it. It wouldn't even take me an hour to swap one out (and that's even "sans hinges" since the spot they screw in happens to be easily accessed even with the screen already taped to the lid.
 
britechguy said:
@ThatPlace928

Things on eBay can change overnight, but all I could find were lids, tons and tons of lids, but not a single display assembly. And trying to source them new turned up very very few at very very high prices.

Had I been able to find a display assembly for under $100, I would have leapt on it. It wouldn't even take me an hour to swap one out (and that's even "sans hinges" since the spot they screw in happens to be easily accessed even with the screen already taped to the lid.
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If you want to give me the model # or service tag, I can try to help find one. Not saying I would be anymore successful than you but sometimes my son can find something I can't. eBay could produce different searches for different people, I'm guessing.
 
@ThatPlace928

For amusement, here's the info:

Service Tag: BD31763
Model: P102F

I did a quick search after your last message and unless my "magic search term mojo" has gone off, I'm still not finding anything useful on eBay.
 
How about this one? Has everything and a very nice top cover.

www.ebay.com

NEW Dell Inspiron 5501 5502 5505 15.6" FHD LED LCD Screen Complete Assembly | eBay

Compatible Models: Fit All Dell Inspiron 5501 5502 5505 Models.
www.ebay.com


Or this one? Also has everything and a very nice top cover.

www.ebay.com

YKHCF DELL INSPIRON 5501 5502 5505 15.6" HD LAPTOP LCD ASSEMBLY XHW29 CYR1P | eBay

We reserve the right to cancel orders outside US-48. Actual item pictured.
www.ebay.com

One more. This one is new but Dell requires it be sold as refurbished, per the seller.

www.ebay.com

DELL Inspiron 5501 5502 5505 15.6" FHD LED LCD 1920*1200 Screen Assembly 4TG7F | eBay

DELL new part. Still sealed in DELL antistatic bag. It's actually a new part but Dell is required to label as refurbished. We reserve the right to cancel orders outside US-48.
www.ebay.com

One more and it says brand new. Still has plastic on the display and the back cover looks brand new. $129.99.

www.ebay.com

NEW Dell Inspiron 5501 5502 5505 15.6" Laptop LCD Screen Assembly K37D1 N80,N110 | eBay

NEW Dell Inspiron 5501 5502 5505 15.6" Laptop LCD Screen Assembly K37D1 N80. Condition is New. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
www.ebay.com

Just a tip.... this ^^^ seller has only sold 138 items but has a 100% feedback score. He's probably safe but I check feedback scores and reasons for negative within a 12 month period solely because I've been burned on a couple items.
 
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It's possible that any one of those might work, I'd have to confirm that a 40-pin connector for a touch screen is what's on it.

Here's the back of the screen pulled from the unit that's broken:
1722465207653.png

I hate touch screens (and disable them if I have to use a device) but there is no substituting a non-touch one.
 
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