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Getting a replacement 3gS tomorrow should I EXPECT refurb or new?
- Thread starter appleguy123
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Probably a refurb, since it's been more than a month, but you never know. FYI, there's nothing wrong with getting a refurb, since they get more attention than a phone right off the factory floor.
Just expect an Apple factory "refurbished" iPhone 3GS in a small white box but you might be suprised by a brand new iPhone 3GS. Not much time to recycle iPhone 3GS units throught the factory "refurbishement" process since the June 19th launch. They will appear by Sept. so beat the rush!!
Dave
Refurbs seemed to come out in October, at least for the last two iPhones. All the rumors about 5KXXXX being refurbs has never been proven; all hearsay....
It's been well over a month. Long enough for returns to have made their way back to Apple and then back to stores as refurbs.
Refurbs seemed to come out in October, at least for the last two iPhones. All the rumors about 5KXXXX being refurbs has never been proven; all hearsay....
Besides the serial # is there any evidence of which you have? like do the refurbs always come out of the white box and the news come out of a retail box(question)?
the white box is usually the most tell-tale sign, but there's not much if anything you would notice cosmetically, they do an excellent job of making sure you get something that exceeds what you return
my 2 replacements for the 3gs have came in the same small black box as the 3g. you think their is any diff?
just how many posts asking whether a replacement is new or refurb does this forum need?
Replacement phones are either new or refurb/reserialized. You can't tell one from the other until you look at the serial number. They appear to be brand new, work as if brand new. I had to have a 3G replaced due to the silent switch falling off and my 5K "refurb/reserialized" phone was by far superior to my "new" one that I almost wish I could have bought my 3GS as one of those. I did get luck and outside of a loose power button my phone is as perfect as I could expect from a mass produced consumer product.
You won't get a new retail box. Why would apple give you a new retail box with all the accessories when you replace a phone? Just how many POS headphones do you need to store in a junk drawer anyway?
Over the last several months I have read so many posts where supposed fully grown adults are shaking their phones listening to rattles, going into dark closets looking for light leaks, and all manner of clearly disordered behaviors over a phone. Wow. It kind of makes my head hurt.
Replacement phones are either new or refurb/reserialized. You can't tell one from the other until you look at the serial number. They appear to be brand new, work as if brand new. I had to have a 3G replaced due to the silent switch falling off and my 5K "refurb/reserialized" phone was by far superior to my "new" one that I almost wish I could have bought my 3GS as one of those. I did get luck and outside of a loose power button my phone is as perfect as I could expect from a mass produced consumer product.
You won't get a new retail box. Why would apple give you a new retail box with all the accessories when you replace a phone? Just how many POS headphones do you need to store in a junk drawer anyway?
Over the last several months I have read so many posts where supposed fully grown adults are shaking their phones listening to rattles, going into dark closets looking for light leaks, and all manner of clearly disordered behaviors over a phone. Wow. It kind of makes my head hurt.
I'm guessing you didn't read the links I posted. Walk into an Apple store and tell them that a reserialized iPhone is a refurbished iPhone and they may get snippy with you ... That's how I learned the difference.
I'm not sure why the distinction between the two is so important to you but over the last few days you've been evangelizing this point like mormons in vegas....
Apple takes returned phones, tears them apart, rebuilds them with new/like new(used) parts, tests, and then uses them as service phones. The very act of taking a returned phone and repairing it means it is refurbished. They can use the term reserializing all they want, it is a refurbished phone.
It is AT&T that doesn't have refurbished phones, they are simply reselling returned phones without repairing/fixing cosmetic issues. That is called reselling.
It is all a question of semantics and perception. People hear refurbished and get all pissy because it's not "brand new", whereas if they stopped the OCD train for a second they would realize that a refurbished phone from apple is reassembled in the United States by specialized workers, are going to be cosmetically indistinguishable from new, and are tested prior to release. They should be happy to receive one.
As amazing a thing as the iPhone is, it is a thing. An inanimate collection of plastic, metal and glass. The iPhone cannot make you happy, it cannot make you complete, and it certainly does not make you better person. It is meant to be used and enjoyed, it is not meant to bring you happiness. If you are losing sleep over specks of dust, uneven bezel, perceived yellowish screens, rattles, or any other pithy little detail then you really need to look at why you need a "thing" to provide you with happiness in the first place.
Your explanations on the difference between refurbished and re-serialized are ridiculous. What apple does to a used iPhone to make it 're-serialized' makes the phone, by definition, refurbished.
Regardless of what apple wants to call it, they are giving people refurbished phones.
Does it really matter? If it works, who cares? You cannot tell the difference.
Is there any sure fire way to tell?
I just got an out of warranty replacement for my 3GS on Friday from Apple. I had to wait 5 days for it, they were out of stock in the store, was in the plain white box. I expected a refurb (whatever term you want to call it) & I'm totally fine with that, it's way better than my water dunked one that lost it's back light. I'd just kind of like to know out of curiosity. My serial # does start with 8, but I read on another thread that's not a reliable way to tell.
I just got an out of warranty replacement for my 3GS on Friday from Apple. I had to wait 5 days for it, they were out of stock in the store, was in the plain white box. I expected a refurb (whatever term you want to call it) & I'm totally fine with that, it's way better than my water dunked one that lost it's back light. I'd just kind of like to know out of curiosity. My serial # does start with 8, but I read on another thread that's not a reliable way to tell.
I got a replacment 3g which i recently sold as a refurb and it had a green tag on the white box but the 3gs had a pink tab maybe that is the difference between new and refurb?
They didn't let me keep the white box, they put my damaged phone in it and kept it. I can't remember any colored tags but I only saw the box for a moment, so I can't really say.
After reading some of the messages here you'd think they were having, er, physical relations with their phones. Never read anything like it in my life about any other product. It's really quite scary. I'd really love to be able to get a "true" age survey of users of this board.