What to check when buying a refurbished or used game console in Colombia

PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo can ban a whole console, and that ban passes to the next owner. Xbox says its ban stays after the console is sold and reset, Sony says a suspension on a second-hand console cannot be lifted and Nintendo describes its block as permanent. None of the three publishes a serial-number lookup to check before you buy. The only test is to connect the console to the internet and sign in, so buy where you can return it and run that test the day it arrives. In Colombia consoles are mostly searched for as "usadas" (used), which is why this guide covers both words.

The first-day checklist

Buy where you can return it. On a distance purchase, the law gives you five business days from delivery to withdraw, and it does not say whether a used console falls under its exceptions. In a physical shop it depends on what the shop offers.
Connect it to the internet and sign in with your own account the day it arrives.
On Switch, watch for the notice that online services are restricted by Nintendo, or the codes 2124-4007 or 2124-4508.
On PS5, ask the seller to deactivate it under Console Sharing and Offline Play before handing it over.
On Switch, ask for it to come restored or initialised, with none of the seller's Nintendo accounts.
Check that your account's region and the console's region let you buy games.
Test every stick and trigger on the controllers.
Ask for the shop's warranty in writing and keep the box, invoice and photos until the withdrawal period closes.

Console bans and suspensions

PlayStation can suspend a console. With that suspension you cannot use it to access any account, play or use game modes that need online access, or access content purchased on PlayStation Store. Sony answers on its page that a suspension on a second-hand console cannot be lifted, and that if you bought it that way you should contact the seller.

Xbox can ban a console permanently. According to Xbox's page, when a console is sold or handed over, the device ban does not change, even if ownership changes and the console is factory reset. If you bought a banned second-hand console, you should contact the previous owner or the distributor. Among the reasons it lists physical tampering with the console to run unauthorised software, online fraud and repeated, serious violations. Before buying, expect that ban to stay even if you reset the console, and expect customer service to be unable to help you with suspensions.

Nintendo blocks consoles for violations of its user agreements, such as fraudulent or unauthorised transactions or breaches of its community guidelines. The console shows "El uso de los servicios en línea en esta consola está actualmente restringido por Nintendo" (use of online services on this console is currently restricted by Nintendo). Codes 2124-4007 and 2124-4508 indicate the console was blocked permanently and cannot connect to the internet. The Nintendo pages we read do not mention second-hand consoles or appeals, so we did not confirm whether the block survives a change of account.

The previous owner's accounts

Sony says that to activate a new PS5 you must manually deactivate the old one, in Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play > Deactivate, and that all the devices on an account can also be deactivated remotely when you no longer have access to the console. Deactivating does not erase data or damage the console. Sony describes it as something the account owner does; asking the seller to do it before delivery is our recommendation.

On Switch, the way to unlink all Nintendo accounts is to restore the Switch 2 to factory settings or initialise the Switch. A Nintendo account can be linked to several consoles at once, and deleting a user from the console also deletes its saved data on it. If the console arrives with the seller's users, ask for it to be restored before accepting it.

Region

Region means different things on each platform. On Nintendo, Switch game cards are not region-locked, except consoles and cards distributed in China, and the eShop depends on your account's country. Nintendo says it did not test all foreign software on consoles of all regions and recommends buying software from the console's region.

On PlayStation, the account's country cannot be changed once it is created, and Sony asks that it match your billing information. We found no Sony page confirming whether PS5 discs are region-locked.

On Xbox, the console's location is changed in Settings and requires a system restart. Microsoft warns that if you have local currency stored in your account when you change the regional setting, you lose access to that currency, and that balances are not converted from one currency to another.

Controllers and stick drift

Nintendo says that if a Joy-Con's sticks stay stuck or are hard to move after cleaning and calibrating them, the Joy-Con has to go to service. Nintendo adds that online service requests are available only to consumers in the United States, Canada and Brazil, and that anyone living in another country in the Americas must contact the Authorised Service Center in their area. We found no current official page on free Joy-Con repair in Colombia.

For the DualSense, PlayStation says first to reset the controller with a pin on the reset button on the back, holding it for at least 5 seconds, and then to follow its guide for the problem.

Microsoft says its recalibration tool for Xbox controllers does not fix every stick and trigger problem, including drift from normal wear. If a stick moves on its own when you test it, recalibrating does not guarantee a fix, and that is a defect worth claiming within your deadline.

Disc or digital

Sony announced on 1 July 2026 that, from January 2028, new PlayStation games will be available only in digital format. Games already released do not change. Keep that in mind if you are comparing a PS5 with a disc drive against a digital-only one.

The maker's warranty

We did not research the warranties of Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo in Colombia, or whether they cover someone who buys a used console. Ask the shop for its warranty in writing and do not count on the maker's until you confirm it.

Your rights in Colombia

Ley 1480 de 2011 sets no fixed warranty term for electronics. Article 8 says the term is the one the producer or seller announces, and one year for new products if none is stated. A used product whose legal warranty has expired can be sold without warranty only if you accept that in writing, and otherwise it is understood to carry three months. The law does not use the word "reacondicionado", so whether that rule reaches your console depends on how the shop disclosed and sold it. Ask for the warranty in writing. Each offer in Reacondi shows the warranty the shop states.

We did not read a warranty policy specific to refurbished consoles at the shops we compare. Refurbi states 14 months of hardware repair cover through a limited warranty, without separating consoles, and at Éxito the warranty is set by each seller on each offer. We did not confirm that those terms apply to consoles, so confirm them with the seller.

On a distance purchase, when no legal exception applies, article 47 gives five business days from delivery to withdraw. You send the product back by the same means and in the same condition you received it and pay the return transport, and in e-commerce the money must be refunded within a maximum of fifteen calendar days. The law leaves out, among others, goods for personal use and goods that by their nature cannot be returned, and it does not say whether a used console falls there. If you paid by card or another electronic payment and the product did not arrive, is not what you ordered or arrived defective, article 51 provides for reversal of the payment, with the complaint to the seller within five business days and notice to the payment issuer.

If the shop does not answer, make the claim in writing and then go to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), which has an online form and the free line 01 8000 910165. The detail is in your rights when buying refurbished and the photo routine when you open the package is in what to check when your refurbished phone arrives.

Sources

The Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo pages were read on 1 October 2026 and may change. The Xbox and Nintendo pages were opened with a browser, because they need JavaScript. None of this replaces advice from a lawyer.