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Are all iphone you get when you exchange refurbs?

M

michael31986

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
4,590
704
i have a 16gb black, with a little light leak on the left, nothing major and thats about it.
no cracks
no pixels

i think my black is a little negative compared to someones 8gb black iphone that i saw, but that could just be the 8gb are a bit diff than 16gb.

im just nervous if i exchange it that i will get somethin worse and since mine isn't that bad i should probably just keep it and enjoy it.
 
It is not known for sure and has been debated several times. But I believe they are refurbs from my experiences with the genius bar. If its not that bad keep it for a while until they have a more consistent product. You are under warranty for a year from date of purchase.
 
that's what I'm thinking. I should wait til I have more wear and tear on the phone. Are refurbs or exchanged phones more likely to have problems or defects in the body casing? Also they just give u the phone right? No box
 
You may end up with a worse phone

You have a year to replace your iPhone under your warranty so the choice is yours
 
Puhlease. I have a refurbed 1st gen phone. It was flawless when I got it, and it works perfectly 8 months later. You get the same warrant with a refurb as you do with a regular one. There is just this stigma attached to the word. It's not like they just have a box of refurbs being the desk that they just pull a random phone out of and give to you.

Stop being an elitist, and take your phone back if the light leakage really bugs you.
 
if you get a worse one then just replace it. i just got my 3rd relpacement phone on monday and i love it know problems
 
ive replaced mine 4 times so far. The 2nd replacement I got was messed up, it had a scratch like a cm wide on the bezel of the phone and huge specks of dust under the glass. This HAD to be a refurb. 3rd one was good, i continued using it until i dropped it and it got all scratched up and dented. Then I tried to look for defects so I can get a new one...sure enough there were 3 dead pixels. So yes they are refurbs.
 
No they are not refurbished , please try not to spread false information

Even new iPhones have defects ( there are perfect ones out there though)

The white box ones are simply not packaged in their retail packaging
 
michael31986 said:
that's what I'm thinking. I should wait til I have more wear and tear on the phone. Are refurbs or exchanged phones more likely to have problems or defects in the body casing? Also they just give u the phone right? No box
Click to expand...

The warranty doesn't cover physical damage.
 
Keep in mind people deliberately try to spread misinformation about things like this for fun. I returned mine and the genius said it was brand new. I don't think managers would tell them to lie but you can ask. I saw him remove the plastic covering when he pulled it out of the box.

When the genius hands it over, what's to stop you from examining it right then? The lighting is great in applestores and you can look for scratches and cracks easily. I imagine you can cup your hands and see if the new one has light leaks as well. Sure beats going back and forth to the stores over and over again.
 
I got a replacement last Sunday at the Genius Bar (bad camera on my first phone). When I asked if I was getting new or refurb, the genius asked if I bought the phone at an Apple Store. I showed him my receipt (Apple Store) and he pulled a new iPhone package (not a white box) from the inventory, and gave me the handset from that. He said, "iPhones purchased at an Apple Store get replaced with new handsets, not refurbs." He would've replaced everything, had I brought it along, but I only needed the handset replaced.
 
yode said:
The 2nd replacement I got was messed up, it had a scratch like a cm wide on the bezel of the phone and huge specks of dust under the glass. This HAD to be a refurb.
Click to expand...
When Apple Stores send defective iPhones/iPods back to the depot to be refurb'ed, they're repaired and given a new serial number (and a totally new exterior case that reflects the new serial number).

You shouldn't be able to look at a refurb and tell it's refurbed. You're not getting someone's old case (although the repair folks are still able to scratch the new case ... bastards ... :)).
 
so they are "new" i wasn't spreading false information. i was just asking.

so if i bring all my things in the box ill just get a brand new one in a bow, or they use replace the phone?
 
michael31986 said:
so they are "new" i wasn't spreading false information. i was just asking.

so if i bring all my things in the box ill just get a brand new one in a bow, or they use replace the phone?
Click to expand...
If you're within the return date specified on your receipt, they have the option of swapping everything out (basically, doing a return of your broke phone and reselling you a new one .. net result is $0 to you).

If you're outside of that date, they typically will just replace the phone.
 
Let's put it this way, they are not "obligated" to exchange the phone with brand new replacement as stipulated in the contract. From a business perspective, why not give you refurbished phones?

Add all the threads of this same exact topic together, there will be at least 1000 posts of same thing over and over.
 
well i got mine jly 11th day it came out, so i guess i wouldn't get everything swapped just a phone. right?
 
aristobrat said:
When Apple Stores send defective iPhones/iPods back to the depot to be refurb'ed, they're repaired and given a new serial number (and a totally new exterior case that reflects the new serial number).
Click to expand...

I thought that for 3G phones the serial number is not on the exterior case.
 
this is what i know about this whole debate-

Apple is only obligated to give you a replacement but it can be a refurb or new.

The geniuses are never told whether the replacement units are refurbs or new.

While the 1st gen refurbs were given a 5K serial number, a moderator on Apple's Discussion Board posted that new 3Gs are being given 5K serial numbers.

I've asked the opinion of several geniuses and their consensus has been that most likely they are still new, they don't know for sure and as time goes on the refurbs will be there.

The white box has nothing to do with this- new or refurb they will come in the plain white box to save on packaging costs.
 
I think I'm going to go tm and exchange it. But I hope I don't get anything worse. What are the chances? Also is a light leak all on left side a reason they will accept? I hope I don't get worse it's just the light leak is a bit annoying and my blacks aren't as good as my friends 8gb so idk if all the 8gb blacks are better
 
onlycopunk said:
Puhlease. I have a refurbed 1st gen phone. It was flawless when I got it, and it works perfectly 8 months later. You get the same warrant with a refurb as you do with a regular one. There is just this stigma attached to the word. It's not like they just have a box of refurbs being the desk that they just pull a random phone out of and give to you.

Stop being an elitist, and take your phone back if the light leakage really bugs you.
Click to expand...

BEST RESPONSE IN THIS THREAD!!!!! :cool:
 
Im having second thought since chances are I'll get somethng worse. I should probably keep it till I get normal wear and tear scratches and no I don't mean damage that they won't accept.
 
if the light leak doesn't bother you,btw try pushing the rubber in with something thin or your nail,it didn't work for me but it's worth trying,especially if your phone doesn't have any other problems..
refurbs are anyway good as new,actually might be better sometimes,I first exchanged mine for a new one,and then for one via ups,that could have been new or a refurb,brown box etc..they all looked the same and had pretty much the same issues,my last one is going to the Netherlands right now in order to be exchanged,i hope,doesn't matter if it's a refurb to me
 
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