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cygy2k

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2005
220
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When you buy from the Apple Refurb store, are all devices going to have 100% battery health or are some devices fairly well used in terms of battery?
 
When you buy from the Apple Refurb store, are all devices going to have 100% battery health or are some devices fairly well used in terms of battery?

All the Macs I have purchased refurbished over the years have come with a new battery with 2 cycles or less.

(2011 MacBook Pro, 2014 MacBook Pro, 2016 MacBook, 2018 MacBook Air, 2020 MacBook Air)
 
It's based on Apple's judgement as they don't guarantee replacing any parts on a MacBook. But generally, the health should be near or at 100%.
 
From the Apple website

"You will receive a refurbished device with genuine Apple replacement parts (as needed) that has been thoroughly cleaned and inspected. Refurbished iOS devices will come with new battery and outer shell. Every device will come with all accessories, cables and operating systems. footnote1 All Apple Certified Refurbished products are packaged in a brand new white box and will be sent to you with free shipping and returns."

Since it says "Refurbished iOS devices will come with new battery" that probably means that Macs do not. However I bet most refurbs are from people who change their minds. Even if it's not Apple isn't going to give you a battery that's worn out. From every post I've seen the only difference is the box. It doesn't have the cool graphics on the outside. I think Apple does this to clearly identify what is refurbished because can you imagine if something was mixed up and people got refurbished for new price... It would be on the news 🤣
 
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When you buy from the Apple Refurb store, are all devices going to have 100% battery health or are some devices fairly well used in terms of battery?
My refurbished 2020 MacBook Air that I purchased earlier this year (direct from Apple's site) came with about 11 charge cycles out of the box. A little surprised, but it is refurbished
 
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I never checked right when I bought it, but refurbs always had decent Battery life. The return window is 30 days, so I can't imagine someone running down the battery that much.

All my refurbished macs were great. I had no problems with any of them.
 
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I can get a refurb’ed m1 air, 16 gb, 1 tb, for $1259 on Apple’s Military store; a $360 savings over a new comparable M2 MBA. I mostly just make dopey 5-10 minute 4k videos using IMovie. Thinking this would be all I need and the price is very compelling.

For the cost of a new MBA M2, I’m in the neighborhood, price wise to a comparably spec’ed refurb’ed 14” MBP.
 
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I have seen refurbished macbooks with around 2 to 10 cycles.
It's common, anywhere more than 10 cycles I would probably return it and get another one. It's just my OCD.
 
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I can get a refurb’ed m1 air, 16 gb, 1 tb, for $1259 on Apple’s Military store; a $360 savings over a new comparable M2 MBA. I mostly just make dopey 5-10 minute 4k videos using IMovie. Thinking this would be all I need and the price is very compelling.

For the cost of a new MBA M2, I’m in the neighborhood, price wise to a comparably spec’ed refurb’ed 14” MBP.
That’s a great price for a really capable Mac. The cpu is plenty powerful, so loading up the M1 Air is the best value you can get if you need 16GB and 1TB.

I paid $1500 with an education discount early 2021, and thought that was a great value for the same MBA. It’s hard to get a discount on BTO configs.
 
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Yeah, it’s too good of a deal, order placed :)

That’s a great price for a really capable Mac. The cpu is plenty powerful, so loading up the M1 Air is the best value you can get if you need 16GB and 1TB.

I paid $1500 with an education discount early 2021, and thought that was a great value for the same MBA. It’s hard to get a discount on BTO configs.
 
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