First Time Checklist

After you receive any new, or refurbished machine, there are things you should do and check before using the device, in case you might want to return it.

Check the box for shipping damage, especially the tape that usually says “Do Not Accept If Seal Is Broken” as this might mean that someone tampered with your gadget in transit. However, if it is an imported device, that might have been your country's customs.
We also highly recommend you take a video of you unboxing the gadget, in case seller tries to claim you broke it.
Check the device itself for any dents, scratches, chipped paint, cracked broken plastic etc.
Check you actually received what you bought
Check if the power adapter isn't damaged
Check if hinges are working correctly by opening and closing the laptop a few times.
Verify actual hardware specs are what you ordered. They should be printed on the box. If not, there should be at least a serial number you can use to check your exact unit on your OEM's website.
If your device didn't come with an OS, install it. If you are installing Windows, check our Installation Guide
Test the keyboard for any keys feel wrong, are damaged or don't work at all. You can use something like this https://www.keyboardtester.com/
Use Dead-Pixel Check to check for any dead pixels out of the box.
Warranty coverage on dead pixels varies from OEM to OEM, usually you need a group of 5-10 dead pixels in one spot.
Check if all ports are working. USB-C and A ports should be really tight on a brand new device.
Check for display backlight bleed. Sadly this is normal with IPS displays and there is nothing you can do about it.
If your system has a backlit or RGB keyboard, try out all possible modes.
Check if your device's OEM software contains controls over fans.
If you have a high resolution display (1440p and 2160p) check if they work properly and set display scaling so you can actually see what is on the screen.
Create a system image, just in case
Remove all bloatware. That is usually stuff like McAfee or any other Antivirus, Amazon links, preinstalled sponsored Windows games and apps, Windows system apps you don't use.
For Lenovo Legion devices, this includes uninstalling Lenovo Vantage and installing Lenovo Legion Toolkit. If you have a Thinkpad, install Vantage Commercial.
Connect to internet and let Windows Update run. This will reinstall some Windows Store bloatware, so repeat the step above.
Charge the battery and confirm 100% as start point. Then, if your device supports it, limit it's maximum charge to save on charge cycles, especially if you plan to use it on AC power only.
You can use benchmarking software (Cinebench for CPU, Aida64 + Unigine Heaven for combined GPU+CPU stress test, 3Dmark Timespy/Firestrike for an overall benchmark, Shadow of the Tomb Raider for a realistic game benchmark) to confirm expected performance from your hardware.