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Are these iPhone 5 really new?

If it is delivered by Amazon on behalf of the seller then you would hope so.

No way to tell what version of iOS it is running, depends on how long it has been sat in the warehouse.

Although, worth going by the saying: "If it is too good to be true, it probably is"
 
bjm1234 said:
If it is delivered by Amazon on behalf of the seller then you would hope so.

No way to tell what version of iOS it is running, depends on how long it has been sat in the warehouse.

Although, worth going by the saying: "If it is too good to be true, it probably is"
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Didn't all sealed iphone 5's ship with some version of iOS 6? I don't recall the 5 ever shipping with 7 or 8.
 
BlueMoonForever said:
Didn't all sealed iphone 5's ship with some version of iOS 6? I don't recall the 5 ever shipping with 7 or 8.
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I have to assume that's true except for maybe refurb replacements (my boyfriend got an AC+ replacement of his 5 that had iOS 7 last summer). The 5 was discontinued in September 2013 right before the 5s and 5c came out with iOS 7.
 
KUguardgrl13 said:
I have to assume that's true except for maybe refurb replacements (my boyfriend got an AC+ replacement of his 5 that had iOS 7 last summer). The 5 was discontinued in September 2013 right before the 5s and 5c came out with iOS 7.
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But is buying from Amazing a good deal?
 
I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon and their return policy is amazing. If there is any problem Amazon will solve it quickly. Amazon does not all third party vendors to sell used as new or any other hanky panky. Buy it with confidence.
 
SeilerBird said:
I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon and their return policy is amazing. If there is any problem Amazon will solve it quickly. Amazon does not all third party vendors to sell used as new or any other hanky panky. Buy it with confidence.
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This is only the case if the item is sold directly by amazon or fulfilled by them though.

Amazon customer services however is great.
 
Jazper said:
This is only the case if the item is sold directly by amazon or fulfilled by them though.

Amazon customer services however is great.
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Wrong. Amazon keeps a tight lid on third party vendors, I know, I have been a third party vendor for the last 8 years.
 
SeilerBird said:
Wrong. Amazon keeps a tight lid on third party vendors, I know, I have been a third party vendor for the last 8 years.
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Apologies should have specified, direct amazon customer service only applies to product sold directly or fulfilled by amazon. This customer service is exceptional because they'll send you an instant replacement if there's any issues etc. :D
 
Jazper said:
Apologies should have specified, direct amazon customer service only applies to product sold directly or fulfilled by amazon. This customer service is exceptional because they'll send you an instant replacement if there's any issues etc. :D
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Absolutely correct. However if there ever is a problem with a third party seller Amazon will tell them what to do or cut off their ability to sell on Amazon. They have very strict rules for their sellers.
 
BlueMoonForever said:
If the phone is sealed, will it have ios 6 installed?
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If it is an original, never opened, never updated, retail box iPhone 5, then it should be. Apple never sold the iPhone 5 pass Sept 2013 meaning none ever shipped directly from Apple with iOS 7 or 8 installed unless it's a factory "white box" replacement.
 
If the phone is sealed and is brand new, then yes it will come with some version of iOS 6, depending on when its manufactured.

Keep in mind, the phone software won't be very useable if its on anything before 6.1. The original 6.0 software was quite buggy; which everyone here seems to forget.
 
I'm gonna report back whether or not it shipped brand new and with iOS 6, just incase someone else wants an iPhone 5 with iOS 6.
 
Phone arrived a little while ago. It was re-packaged as new, but the phone itself inside was brand new. It came loaded with iOS 6.1.4; however, its model 1429, which means it won't get AT&T LTE. Other than that, everything else works perfectly fine. Not sure if I'm going to keep it yet.

Any thoughts? I technically bought it for iOS 6, and I got just that. I just figured it was the factory unlocked model that included AT&T band 17 support.
 
BlueMoonForever said:
Phone arrived a little while ago. It was re-packaged as new, but the phone itself inside was brand new. It came loaded with iOS 6.1.4; however, its model 1429, which means it won't get AT&T LTE. Other than that, everything else works perfectly fine. Not sure if I'm going to keep it yet.

Any thoughts? I technically bought it for iOS 6, and I got just that. I just figured it was the factory unlocked model that included AT&T band 17 support.
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If you're not satisfied without LTE then maybe you should get something else.
 
So I decided not to keep the phone. I'd probably advise anyone looking for an iPhone 5 to check swappa or eBay. Amazon listed the phone as model 1428, yet I received model 1429. The phone was also re-shrink wrapped, which is never good.
 
BlueMoonForever said:
Phone arrived a little while ago. It was re-packaged as new, but the phone itself inside was brand new. It came loaded with iOS 6.1.4; however, its model 1429, which means it won't get AT&T LTE. Other than that, everything else works perfectly fine. Not sure if I'm going to keep it yet.

Any thoughts? I technically bought it for iOS 6, and I got just that. I just figured it was the factory unlocked model that included AT&T band 17 support.
Click to expand...

Which seller did you get it from? It's a little disappointing that it's not the AT&T compatible model, but it's good to know that it does come with iOS 6. A lot of the iPhone 5's I've seen on Ebay have iOS 7 or later, so if I can get an iOS 6 model I'd rather go with an Amazon seller.
 
na1577 said:
Which seller did you get it from? It's a little disappointing that it's not the AT&T compatible model, but it's good to know that it does come with iOS 6. A lot of the iPhone 5's I've seen on Ebay have iOS 7 or later, so if I can get an iOS 6 model I'd rather go with an Amazon seller.
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The seller is Mobile Connections. Technically, it was a new phone, just not in the original sealed packaging. I believe it was the Verizon model. The phone itself was flawless and performed excellent on iOS 6.1.4. All of my apps worked fine, just a few that used older versions, but still good. I ended up returning it today, because I bought it for a daily driver and I'm so use to LTE, it would be difficult not to have it as an option.

Earlier today, I found a sealed AT&T 64GB iPhone 5 on eBay. The seller was very kind and provided me with the serial number. This one is also running 6.1.4 (final version of ios 6) as it was made the first week of August 2013 (a month before 7 shipped).

If you decide to buy from Amazon, really check the reviews out. My phone was listed as model 1428. I also made sure it was fulfilled through Amazon, and not the seller himself. That way the return process is hassle free.
 
BlueMoonForever said:
The seller is Mobile Connections. Technically, it was a new phone, just not in the original sealed packaging. I believe it was the Verizon model. The phone itself was flawless and performed excellent on iOS 6.1.4. All of my apps worked fine, just a few that used older versions, but still good. I ended up returning it today, because I bought it for a daily driver and I'm so use to LTE, it would be difficult not to have it as an option.

Earlier today, I found a sealed AT&T 64GB iPhone 5 on eBay. The seller was very kind and provided me with the serial number. This one is also running 6.1.4 (final version of ios 6) as it was made the first week of August 2013 (a month before 7 shipped).

If you decide to buy from Amazon, really check the reviews out. My phone was listed as model 1428. I also made sure it was fulfilled through Amazon, and not the seller himself. That way the return process is hassle free.
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Thanks for the info. I'm looking into it some more. I don't plan to regularly use it as a phone, so I could manage without LTE. My biggest concern is that it has iOS 6 and is in new or like new condition, so Amazon might be the way to go. I found some phones on Ebay that might be what I'm looking for, but it's so hard to tell if they have iOS 6 because the sellers rarely have the phone turned on in the photos.
 
na1577 said:
Thanks for the info. I'm looking into it some more. I don't plan to regularly use it as a phone, so I could manage without LTE. My biggest concern is that it has iOS 6 and is in new or like new condition, so Amazon might be the way to go. I found some phones on Ebay that might be what I'm looking for, but it's so hard to tell if they have iOS 6 because the sellers rarely have the phone turned on in the photos.
Click to expand...

I got lucky with Amazon. But I'd try eBay, then have the seller send you the serial number so you can check the manufacture date. Make sure you can tell the phone is sealed in the pics.
 
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