iPhone 5 bent!

[vastoholic]

Dude, refurbs are way more likely to work better than brand new phones anyway. I would be happy to receive a refurb if my phone needed to be replaced.

[arc123]

Replacing defective units with refurbished/remanufactured units is not unique to Apple. Just on offhand recollection, eVGA does the same thing with video cards. I generally disagree with this practice, and I'd probably demand a new replacement as well. I wouldn't have originally paid new-unit price for a refurbished unit, so I'm not exactly inclined to change that position because I was unlucky enough to get a defective unit and be inconvenienced by the manufacturer's failure to catch the defect.

With that said, I have no idea what's going on with regard to bending. Some of these units do look like they were sat on or warped based on use, although I don't know if that's good evidence of negligence. I imagine most people calibrate their use patterns around either past iphones or average smartphones, and if the iphone 5 is more fragile than the norm, we could get problems as well even if people aren't treating their phones in an unusual way.

[eyecon82]

Originally Posted by vastoholic

Dude, refurbs are way more likely to work better than brand new phones anyway. I would be happy to receive a refurb if my phone needed to be replaced.

how is that?

[Chris092881]

Originally Posted by eyecon82

how is that?

Because supposedly the refurbs have been gone over with a fine-tooth comb by AppleCare technicians. Lots of people say Apple has the best refurbs, and I'm inclined to believe them. But my issue lies in the fact Apple has no problem taking a brand new phone that was delivered defective in some fashion, and then a day later replaces it with a refurb. That's an issue for me.

[eyecon82]

Originally Posted by Chris092881

Because supposedly the refurbs have been gone over with a fine-tooth comb by AppleCare technicians. Lots of people say Apple has the best refurbs, and I'm inclined to believe them. But my issue lies in the fact Apple has no problem taking a brand new phone that was delivered defective in some fashion, and then a day later replaces it with a refurb. That's an issue for me.

agreed......I purposely bought a refurb ipod years ago and it still works great...but i knew i was buying a refurb

I wouldn't be happy with them giving me a refurb when I paid for a brand new phone. If I wanted a refurb, I'd pay less and get a refurb

[Chris092881]

Originally Posted by eyecon82

agreed......I purposely bought a refurb ipod years ago and it still works great...but i knew i was buying a refurb

I wouldn't be happy with them giving me a refurb when I paid for a brand new phone. If I wanted a refurb, I'd pay less and get a refurb

Exactly. The thing is if you call AppleCare and set up an Express Replacement for the $29, and you ask them if it's a refurb, they won't confirm nor deny. They'll just tell you they're not sure.

[vastoholic]

Sorry, but the moment you open your box and turn on your phone, you essentially have a used unit that is only different from being a refurb since it hasn't went back to apple. There's really no difference in these units other than it's not coming straight from China and it comes in a white box. It's not as big a deal as your making it out to be. Except for your cases of the refurbs looking like crap. That shouldn't be happening.

[Chris092881]

Originally Posted by vastoholic

Sorry, but the moment you open your box and turn on your phone, you essentially have a used unit that is only different from being a refurb since it hasn't went back to apple. There's really no difference in these units other than it's not coming straight from China and it comes in a white box. It's not as big a deal as your making it out to be. Except for your cases of the refurbs looking like crap. That shouldn't be happening.

You're not wrong, but I still feel a new phone defective on delivery should be replaced with a brand new device as well. If for no other reason than to keep their customers happy and coming back to drop premium money on their premium products.

[vastoholic]

I can definitely understand why people want a new one. It does seem messed up, even to me the more I think about it. But at least I know the refurb should theoretically be free of any hardware bugs (again, not counting appearance on this particular model because of all the complaints I've read so far). That's what puts me at ease about the refurb process. It's not going to change how much my phone is worth when I sell it for the next upgrade.

But yes, I do understand the principle of it and why you feel like you should get a new one in return. But if they hadn't told you, would you have even noticed?

[eyecon82]

Originally Posted by vastoholic

Sorry, but the moment you open your box and turn on your phone, you essentially have a used unit that is only different from being a refurb since it hasn't went back to apple. There's really no difference in these units other than it's not coming straight from China and it comes in a white box. It's not as big a deal as your making it out to be. Except for your cases of the refurbs looking like crap. That shouldn't be happening.

your analogy is like comparing a car that was just driven brand new off the dealer lot versus one that is a few years old with 50,000 miles on it that has been totaled and repainted with new panels

[Chris092881]

Originally Posted by vastoholic

I can definitely understand why people want a new one. It does seem messed up, even to me the more I think about it. But at least I know the refurb should theoretically be free of any hardware bugs (again, not counting appearance on this particular model because of all the complaints I've read so far). That's what puts me at ease about the refurb process. It's not going to change how much my phone is worth when I sell it for the next upgrade.

But yes, I do understand the principle of it and why you feel like you should get a new one in return. But if they hadn't told you, would you have even noticed?

Depends I guess. I may not, but the white lint that was jammed into the earpiece of the last refurb they sent me kinda gave it away. It looked as though they had grabbed the phone out of someone's pocket and then boxed it up and shipped it off to me.

[vastoholic]

Originally Posted by eyecon82

your analogy is like comparing a car that was just driven brand new off the dealer lot versus one that is a few years old with 50,000 miles on it that has been totaled and repainted with new panels

Not exactly unless that car has also had its engine and battery replaced, and a full diagnostic done on it to ensure all parts are working and in like new condition using new or rebuilt parts. Then yes, that's what my analogy is like.

[eyecon82]

Originally Posted by vastoholic

Not exactly unless that car has also had its engine and battery replaced, and a full diagnostic done on it to ensure all parts are working and in like new condition using new or rebuilt parts. Then yes, that's what my analogy is like.

ok well compare it to a brand new lexus driven off the lot versus a "lexus certified pre-owned" car......still a big difference in my book..

[Chris092881]

Originally Posted by eyecon82

ok well compare it to a brand new lexus driven off the lot versus a "lexus certified pre-owned" car......still a big difference in my book..

Do I still get to have that new car smell?

[vastoholic]

Originally Posted by eyecon82

ok well compare it to a brand new lexus driven off the lot versus a "lexus certified pre-owned" car......still a big difference in my book..

Pre owned cars do not get new internals just because they are used. They'll get a tune up and tests ran on them, sure. Miles on an engine are a lot worse than hours on a processor. I know they don't change out the internals of every refurb. But it's still a bad comparison between cars and phones. Certified pre owned is a joke in my opinion.

The last refurbished unit I bought was a PSP 3000. Looked and ran like brand new. Just didn't come in a fancy Sony box.