Before you buy
How to check a used device isn't locked to someone else's account before you buy
The time to catch an account lock is before the money changes hands. Here is how to check a second-hand scooter, e-bike, robot mower or diagnostic tool is clear — and what to do if it turns out it is not.
5 min readUpdated
Most account-lock problems are completely avoidable — if you catch them at the point of sale. A connected scooter, e-bike, robot mower or diagnostic tool can look and run perfectly while still tied to the previous owner's app account, and you only discover it when you get home and the app refuses to add the device. A few minutes of checking before you hand over the money saves all of that.
The cleanest check: ask the seller to unlink it
The simplest way to know a device is clear is to watch the current owner remove it from their account in the app, there and then. It takes about a minute. If the seller is nearby and genuinely owns the device, this is easy for them — and if they hesitate, cannot find the option, or say the account is "not a problem", treat the device as still bound until proven otherwise.
If you can, try adding it to your own account
The device's own app is the most honest test. Try to add or pair the device to your account while you are still with the seller. If it goes on cleanly, good. If it says the device is already registered, linked to another account, or bound to a different user, the old link is still in place and will need to come off before the device is fully yours.
Don't accept a factory reset as proof
Sellers often reset a device and present that as proof it is clear. It is not. A reset wipes local settings, but the account binding lives on the manufacturer's side, so it survives the reset untouched. A reset device can still be locked to its first account.
Already bought one that's locked? You still have options
If you have the device and it is tied to an account you cannot reach, the link can still be removed — through the manufacturer's own process, as the lawful owner. That is exactly what we do, and you do not need the previous owner or the original receipt to start.
Start a request and we review it first — you get a yes or no, with the price, before any work begins.
A device linked to an old account is almost always an ordinary resale the seller forgot to unlink — not a stolen device. We act only for the lawful owner and decline anything that looks otherwise.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
How can I tell if a used device is locked to someone else's account?
Try to add it to your own account in the maker's app. If it says the device is already registered or linked to another account, it is still bound to the previous owner. The surest check is to watch the seller unlink it before you pay.
The seller says they factory reset it — is that enough?
No. A reset clears the device locally but not the account link held on the manufacturer's side. A reset device can still be bound to its first account.
I already bought a device that's locked. What now?
The link can still be removed through the manufacturer's own process. Start a request with the device's identifier, model and what the app shows, and we handle it as the lawful owner — no previous owner needed.
Does a locked device mean it was stolen?
Almost never. It is usually a normal second-hand sale where the seller forgot to unlink it. We act only for the lawful owner and decline anything that suggests otherwise.