Refurbished Tech Equipment original brand or copy?

[PaulSB]

After knocking a glass of water over my Surface Pro 4 keyboard I have six important keys which no longer function. I'm planning on replacing this but I'm reluctant to shell out £150 for a new MS keyboard. This is mainly because it's W10 and I may replace the machine in the future. The current keyboard is 10 years old so I've had my money's worth.

Looking around I can buy a refurbished MS branded product or a new copy. The copy(ies) don't have some features of the MS product; for example the connection is via bluetooth rather than the magnetic attachment, the keyboard has to be charged and some, all?, don't act as closable cover.

This leads me to wonder about people's general experience when replacing every day tech stuff? Phones, laptops, tablets. Would you go for refurbished named brands or much cheaper copy products that may lack features? It seems it's only possible to determine which features are missing from customer reviews. That's hardly surprising.

 

[si_c]

I'd always go for the refurbished or brand new option. Experience has taught me that third party replacements are rarely actually a replacement and often have a loss in functionality/aesthetics and almost never meet the same build quality.

 

[si_c]

Also worth adding, I've seen plenty of reports online of people installing windows 11 on your device so it may well be possible to extend the life of it somewhat.

 

[Dogtrousers]

For your specific case, the Surface keyboard, I think you've answered your own question. None of the alternatives is actually a proper replacement. So if you want a not very convenient Bluetooth keyboard that won't attach properly to your Surface - go ahead but it will probably prove to be really annoying.

 

[TheDoctor]

I'd go for the refurbished one, personally.
An alternative may well give you most of the functionality, but if the missing features are things you need, it's not really a good replacement IMHO.

 

[wiggydiggy]

It really depends, some things I might take a risk on a 3rd party device but things I rely on I'll always get the original. I'm not bothered about new though, I'll buy second hand if its in good nick.

For a keyboard, particularly one that integrates in the way a Surface keyboard does I'd always buy the original but happily get a refurbished one if it is guaranteed.

 

[PaulSB]

Thanks for all the responses. You've confirmed my own thinking and added a couple of views I didn't consider.

I've found a refurbished model for £70. The seemingly better copy boards are around £50.

@si_c yes, there are workarounds but all those I've seen take me to areas of the machine I'm not familiar with. I consider myself technically competent on most "day to day" stuff and I'm certainly not afraid to "have a go" safe in the knowledge I can return to the starting point if it goes wrong. The difficulty with the fixes I've read is they take me way out of my comfort zone. If something went wrong I wouldn't know what to do.

I'm only going to replace the machine if/when W10 becomes a problem. I'm loathe to ditch the machine for several reasons. The environmental issue being the biggest one.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

Thirty or so years ago I would have said buy the compatible as the barriers to entry are so high that the compatible would have to be a better product to make it worth bothering to produce.

Nowadays so much stuff can be made with some of the functionality much more easily and then sold over the web ignoring quality and return issues.

A few years back I bought some KVM switches from somewhere. They worked fine but the chips had had their markings removed, QA failures?

For me Surface, Apple and similar stuff seems really expensive as I have become accustomed to seeing so much cheap and sometimes a bargain but often awful tech.

When I was a kid there was a hierarchy in consumer electronics, Sony at the top, Sanyo towards the bottom and then brands like Amstrad and Binatone. Sadly this strong branding/quality level has disappeared so every purchase is a guess.

I used to know what refurbished meant but nowadays it seems to mean second hand no more, except possibly a new box! After all how can you refurbish electronics? I do get irritated when used mobile phones are described as refurbished and the battery hasn’t been replaced, that is clearly just second hand.

Bye

Ian

 

[PaulSB]

So my refurbished keyboard arrived and initially I was very pleased. After some use I've discovered some of the functions indicated on the keys do not correspond with the actual function. Basically the function achieved by the key stroke is in the correct place but the function indicated on the key is incorrect. Which is a PIA! I'm waiting to hear what the supplier has to say about this.

Row	Key from left	Function indicated	Actual function	Comment
2	1	~	¬
2	3	@	"
2	4	#	£
3	14	backslash	#	I can't find a backslash on the key board
3	14	vertical line	~
4	12	,		the key stroke doesn't register after pressing enter
4	12	angled quotation	@

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

If the # is above the 3 then the keyboard is one intended for the US market.

If the £ is above the 3 then there is a setting somewhere that thinks it is a US keyboard.

I read Row 2 col 4 as meaning the number 3 key, so you have bought a keyboard aimed at the US market which is being intetpreted using UK "rules".

This is a hangover from teletype/paper tape days when the £ sign wasn't supported using codes created by the US (ASCII), so the UK interpreted the code for the hash sign as meaning the pound sign, and this remains to this day, The same logic applies to the other symbols.

Bye

Ian

 

[PaulSB]

Good morning,

If the # is above the 3 then the keyboard is one intended for the US market.

If the £ is above the 3 then there is a setting somewhere that thinks it is a US keyboard.

I read Row 2 col 4 as meaning the number 3 key, so you have bought a keyboard aimed at the US market which is being intetpreted using UK "rules".

This is a hangover from teletype/paper tape days when the £ sign wasn't supported using codes created by the US (ASCII), so the UK interpreted the code for the hash sign as meaning the pound sign, and this remains to this day, The same logic applies to the other symbols.

Bye

Ian

You're correct row 2, key 4 is the number 3 key. the # is above the 3 so your assumption is correct. There is no £ illustrated but this can be achieved by "shift" and the number 3 key. I'm sure it is a keyboard aimed at the US market and I can't find an option anywhere to change the functionality.

The seller's illustration was for a keyboard with exactly the same layout as my damaged one, which I bought from Curry's. Add to this I was purchasing from Amazon.co.uk, delivery to a UK address and the company Tec_Hut is located in Winsford, Cheshire - 50 miles from my home - I feel there's a good chance the supplier would understand I need an English (UK) keyboard.

I'm doing an Amazon return to safeguard my money but I'm going to give the company a chance to resolve this. I'd be perfectly happy to collect from Winsford if they can guarantee the real thing. I've emailed directly.

 

[si_c]

A simple solution would be to swap the problematic keycap with the ones from your original keyboard - the caps themselves are just aesthetic the functionality you need is in the switches.

 

[Dadam]

There is unfortunately no standard for "refurbished". It can mean everything from just used and not even cleaned, right up to "open box returns". Basically brand new factory kit that someone has opened the box and returned because they don't like the colour or something; the manufacturer checks them over and repackages them. And all points between the two extremes. In some cases, like resellers, the item is checked over, data wiped and resold. In some cases they replace the battery.

I've bought a couple of ex corporate refurb laptops. These will have been used, possibly heavily, and often have marks on the case and scratches on the screen. In this case you need to carefully read the seller's definition of condition (Grade A, B, C)

On a different level I have bought a few Apple Store refurbished iPads over the years and the only difference from retail is they came in a white box, still a proper Apple box with all the printing but without the pretty picture on the front.

The problem is the high level refurbished items have allowed the unscrupulous to trade off this halo effect and enabled them to mislead customers.

 

[PaulSB]

A simple solution would be to swap the problematic keycap with the ones from your original keyboard - the caps themselves are just aesthetic the functionality you need is in the switches.

That's a nice idea but unfortunately I've already returned the item. I looked at my original and I'm not sure I could get the key caps off. On an old fashioned desktop keyboard, large stand up caps, I would have been happy to do so but not the Surface Pro which is very flat.

 

[si_c]

That's a nice idea but unfortunately I've already returned the item. I looked at my original and I'm not sure I could get the key caps off. On an old fashioned desktop keyboard, large stand up caps, I would have been happy to do so but not the Surface Pro which is very flat.

Fair enough, they usually just clip off easily, but there's quite a bit of force before they do so and the first time it's intimidating and easy to think you'll break it. Moot point though if you've already returned it.

Hopefully the seller will have a UK version