Apple Lies? Please help!

[iDannyxD]

Let me start from scratch..

Bought a iPhone 4 from VODAFONE Ireland, after a week or two it developed a fault with the home button.
So I rang Apple, they collected and brought it to their repair centre, then they replaced it and sent it back to me, I got it now today.
I found out from here it was possibly refurbished, I rang Apple and explained to them that is it a refurbished device, they said no one has never used it before, all components are new and such, there only called refurnished because when they were built in the factory and while testing a component was malfunctioning so they sent it back to be fixed? Total BS I think. So I went off the phone to them and thought to myself, oh I'll get over it..
So I restored the iPhone from a backup a iCloud backup I made in 6.0, because it wouldn't let me restore from the 6.1 backup. So I restored, then I updated to 6.1, erased everything, restored from my 6.1 backup. After activating it brought me to the home screen, and a box popped up asking me for my apple ID again, I put it , then it asked again so I hit cancel, a different email a dress came up? I screenshot it, hit cancel, another one came up, I screenshot that,once again I hit cancel another email came up, of course I took another screenshot.

Can anyone tell me is this normal? Because a Apple supervisor thinks it is?
It seems to me it was used before?

Please help me on what to do now?

Thanks

[Brian Y]

Originally Posted by iDannyxD

Let me start from scratch..

Bought a iPhone 4 from VODAFONE Ireland, after a week or two it developed a fault with the home button.
So I rang Apple, they collected and brought it to their repair centre, then they replaced it and sent it back to me, I got it now today.
I found out from here it was possibly refurbished, I rang Apple and explained to them that is it a refurbished device, they said no one has never used it before, all components are new and such, there only called refurnished because when they were built in the factory and while testing a component was malfunctioning so they sent it back to be fixed? Total BS I think. So I went off the phone to them and thought to myself, oh I'll get over it..
So I restored the iPhone from a backup a iCloud backup I made in 6.0, because it wouldn't let me restore from the 6.1 backup. So I restored, then I updated to 6.1, erased everything, restored from my 6.1 backup. After activating it brought me to the home screen, and a box popped up asking me for my apple ID again, I put it , then it asked again so I hit cancel, a different email a dress came up? I screenshot it, hit cancel, another one came up, I screenshot that,once again I hit cancel another email came up, of course I took another screenshot.

Can anyone tell me is this normal? Because a Apple supervisor thinks it is?
It seems to me it was used before?

Please help me on what to do now?

Thanks

1st off - refurb phones can be failed QC ones that have been repaired, or previously used phones that have had the outer casing + battery replaced, and any other faulty components replaced. TBH, most people will vouch here that Apple's refurbs are top notch.

The email address doesn't come from the phone after a restore - they come from iTunes (iTunes gives the phone your Apple ID during the restore to make activation, etc, quicker). There's only 2 ways this can come up with another email address:

- You restored on another computer which was signed into this Apple ID.

- You have Apps/Music/Videos etc in your iTunes library which were bought with this Apple ID. One thing I've seen in the past when diagnosing a similar issue was the user having cracked apps in their iTunes library, which were given fake iTunes receipts with random email addresses - each of which the phone wanted to sign in to to authorise the app.

[likethesoup2]

It's common knowledge that Apple uses refurbished phones for replacements.

I have a 4S refurb myself, and it's fine.

You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

[iDannyxD]

Originally Posted by Brian Y

1st off - refurb phones can be failed QC ones that have been repaired, or previously used phones that have had the outer casing + battery replaced, and any other faulty components replaced. TBH, most people will vouch here that Apple's refurbs are top notch.

The email address doesn't come from the phone after a restore - they come from iTunes (iTunes gives the phone your Apple ID during the restore to make activation, etc, quicker). There's only 2 ways this can come up with another email address:

- You restored on another computer which was signed into this Apple ID.

- You have Apps/Music/Videos etc in your iTunes library which were bought with this Apple ID. One thing I've seen in the past when diagnosing a similar issue was the user having cracked apps in their iTunes library, which were given fake iTunes receipts with random email addresses - each of which the phone wanted to sign in to to authorise the app.

Have never used iTunes with it, and never seen those emails in my life.

[Jimmy James]

If they actually said no one never used it then it probably is refurbished.

[MisterKeeks]

Originally Posted by iDannyxD

Have never used iTunes with it, and never seen those emails in my life.

I believe that it isn't a question of using iTunes with the phone as it is using iTunes with your Apple ID.

[braddick]

Logistically, work this out in your head:
Everyone who has a faulty home button sends to Apple for 'repair'.

Apple sends back brand new iPhone.

What would you have Apple do with all the working iPhones with minor problems?
Of course the replacement iPhone is refurbished.
Honestly, in some ways, the refurbished could be a better iPhone as it is extensively tested whereas a new iPhone isn't to the same degree.

Other than the label, "refurbished" the components are equal and if ten iPhones where placed side by side, one being refurbished and nine being brand new I doubt you would pick out the one over the others.

[iceterminal]

Originally Posted by likethesoup2

It's common knowledge that Apple uses refurbished phones for replacements.

I have a 4S refurb myself, and it's fine.

You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

While I agree with this statement, however the references used are not correct.
Apple does "not" use refurb units as replacements. They use "re-manufactured" units. There is a difference between the two.