Chinese Consumer Groups Focusing on Apple's Use of Reconditioned Parts for Warranty Repairs

[MacRumors]

Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that consumer organizations in the country are taking a closer look at Apple's warranty repairs, criticizing the company over a number of policies including the use of reconditioned parts rather than new ones.

According to the company's after-sale clauses, customers have to agree that Apple repairers utilize used or reconditioned parts to replace damaged parts on the products of iPhones or iPads during the repair process, the provincial consumers' council found in an industrial investigation and released the result on Tuesday.

The customers also have to agree that replaced parts will be retained by Apple, which is believed to probably reuse these parts to repair other products, the result said.

Apple has faced similar criticism in other countries, with Apple executive Farrel Farhoudi having testified before the South Korean parliament on the company's use of refurbished devices as warranty replacements. Apple ultimately changed its policies in South Korea, with customers whose iPhones are deemed defective during the warranty period now receiving new units rather than refurbished ones as replacements.

Article Link: Chinese Consumer Groups Focusing on Apple's Use of Reconditioned Parts for Warranty Repairs

 

[dampfnudel]

If your iPhone becomes defective during the warranty period, you should receive a new unit, not a refurbished one.

 

[G4DP]

If your iPhone becomes defective during the warranty period, you should receive a new unit, not a refurbished one.

You would have thought so, but this cheap ass approach has been Apples policy for years. How do you think they make so much money. The will churn out used bits for as long as possible. No true cost to them what so ever.

 

[Tboogh]

If the repaired unit functions as new and has the same life cycle as a new one what's the difference. I praise Apple for not wasting resources on new parts when existing ones will do just fine. This is a perfectly good way to handle defective units and is environmentally sound.

 

[DrStern]

I don't understand why this matters

Why should it matter? So long as the parts are in perfect working condition and similarly guaranteed, who cares? What is Apple supposed to do with all the perfectly good parts on replaced items? Throw them in a landfill?

If a one year old machine is replaced under warranty, why shouldn't the customer get another one year old machine that is in perfect condition and guaranteed just the same as the one he or she replaced?

To me, this is just common sense. I don't get the objections.

 

[H2SO4]

I agree that I should get a new replacement and somebody else should get my old polished up one.


Really though - I'm not sure I'd mind a refurb phone, as it's just a phone.
If you were talking something full of mechanical parts like a washing miachine I think I'd feel a little different.

 

[ATDistinction]

As far as I see it, Apple could be like other phone manufacturers and only repair and not replace... I'm happy with the refurbished phones.

 

[OtherJesus]

And if Apple tossed perfectly good parts into landfills they would be sued for that too. What a joke. I'd rather a company use perfectly good parts instead of wasting more resources and energy to produce "brand new" ones that could just as easily fail.

 

[Mad-B-One]

Refurbished, but...

...you get upgrades if your phone is not manufactured anymore. I had a dropped calls and connection fainting problem with my iPhone 4 after 1.5 years and got it replaced with a refurb 4S because Apple only has iPhone 4 8GB. It is like new. Not the slightest scratch or battery issue. I assume here that they actually replace the batteries and glass pannels except the phone was tunred in the very next day because someone didn't like it.

 

[kurosov]

At times it can be hard enough to get hold of a first buy iPhone/iPad etc.

Imagine the extra strain and wait time added if the supply of new parts/devices had to be used for repairs as well.

 

[Mondongo]

Chill out, people…

This is not an Apple exclusive practice. IBM has been doing the exact same thing for several years with their AS/400’s, iSeries, now Power Systems and Z series, which are mainframes. And the enterprise customers that have these systems pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in yearly maintenance costs.

The maintenance AND purchase contracts clearly specify that even BRAND NEW MACHINES may contain refurbished parts at IBM’s discretion. This has NEVER been an issue in my many years of experience, and nobody gives it a second thought.

This practice makes perfect sense both from a cost-effectiveness AND an environmental point of view.

 

[gnasher729]

If your iPhone becomes defective during the warranty period, you should receive a new unit, not a refurbished one.

If A buys an iPhone that becomes defective after 6 months, and receives a new one, and B buys an iPhone that doesn't become defective after six months and keeps the six month old iPhone, what reasonable argument is there why A should have a new iPhone, while B has a used one?

 

[jsalda]

Apple isn't the only one

Last phone I had before iPhone was a SonyEriccson. Had a problem with it and they sent me a refurb without a battery, documentation, etc. I don't really have a problem with it, it saves resources and as long as the phone has been tested to be in perfect working order. Now, I would LIKE to receive a brand-new replacement item when things need to be replaced, but I don't EXPECT it.

 

[Swift]

Nothing wrong with refurbs

That's why they call them "refurbished." An iPhone had a defective part. It's returned. They look it over, and if a repair is possible, it's done, or else the whole thing is recycled. Then they send it out to an Apple store, and that's what they give you. It looks brand-new. It's guaranteed in exactly the same way as a new one.

The last few Macs I've bought have been refurbs. You save good money. My iMac is just off its 3 year Applecare. As usual, I haven't had a single problem with it.

 

[hobo.hopkins]

This shouldn't be a problem for anybody unless they think that receiving a refurbished product from Apple means that it will be scratch-laden or not in perfect "like new condition". Why should someone replacing a year-old device be entitled to a brand new one when theirs malfunctions?

 

[MacDann]

You would have thought so, but this cheap ass approach has been Apples policy for years. How do you think they make so much money. The will churn out used bits for as long as possible. No true cost to them what so ever.

The enterprise IT world has been like this for years. HP, IBM, they all do it. A drive in your $100,000 SAN fails? Sure, they replace it in under four hours, but it could very well be with a refurb.

SOP for many years.

I would add that I have bought a number of Apple refurb products to save money over new. Other than possibly lacking the retail packaging, every one of them has been as new out of the box and performed flawlessly. I will say that based on my experience, Apple is the only company I would be comfortable doing this with.

MD

 

[Gasu E.]

If your iPhone becomes defective during the warranty period, you should receive a new unit, not a refurbished one.

As lomg as your defective unit is unused, I agree. If you've used it, you should get one in comparable condition, but functioning correctly.

 

[jmsait19]

Who doesn't do this? Does anyone? Did you know if your car get smashed insurance only pays for third party replacement parts, not genuine? Don't see consumer advocacy groups going after them... (Although they should... They're ten times as evil.)

 

[Glideslope]

Apple made their bed in China. Now they have to sleep in it. China has them by the balls and they know it.

I can't count the number of refurbs I have purchased over the years. Never had an issue. In fact, looking at my current stock only my iPhone 4, ATV-2, and Airports were purchased new.

 

[ouimetnick]

All manufactures do this. They state in their warrenty that they will repair or replace the product at their discreetion. They also state that new or refurbished parts will be used in repairs. EVERY manufacture I've heard of does this. Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Apple, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Samsung... list goes on and on.

 

[marksman]

Korea and China are obviously the last bastions of fairness and integrity in the world.

 

[supermarius]

Funny that an article like this should get published today...

I've owned my 2012 11" MBA for exactly 16 days, this morning I noticed a dead pixel in the dead center of the screen. Took it in to the Apple Store today to get the screen replaced, no big deal. They ran a diagnostic test and saw that the battery was also faulty. I was told that both parts would be replaced by refurbished parts if available... that effectively makes my $1600 brand new MBA a $1600 refurbished MBA.

I called up Apple, and the senior staff member was kind enough to work with me to file an engineering investigation for my MBA, due to the faulty battery, and she ordered a new BTO MBA for me.

For me, 2 or 3 months old I probably would not argue fixing my MBA with refurbished parts. It is subjective, because there are people who would argue that the new machine they bought was built to the right quality and standard, and then there are those who don't care if it is fixed with refurbished parts. I happened to get slightly worried when my product was only 16 days old.

 

[dampfnudel]

If A buys an iPhone that becomes defective after 6 months, and receives a new one, and B buys an iPhone that doesn't become defective after six months and keeps the six month old iPhone, what reasonable argument is there why A should have a new iPhone, while B has a used one?

OK, how about this compromise. If your iPhone fails less than six months, you get a new unit. After six months, you get a refurb. How would you feel if your iPhone failed after 40 days and you get a refurb? I would be pissed.

 

[DrStern]

Korea and China are obviously the last bastions of fairness and integrity in the world.

LOL, I just blew ice tea through my nose and all over my MBP Keyboard on that one! Thanks a lot!

 

[gnasher729]

OK, how about this compromise. If your iPhone fails less than six months, you get a new unit. After six months, you get a refurb. How would you feel if your iPhone failed after 40 days and you get a refurb? I would be pissed.

If you get a five day old refurbished phone? Someone bought it, changed their mind, returned it, it's better than yours before it failed but cannot be sold as new.

Whatever phone you return for repair, it's not new. And most likely the replacement is in a better state than yours.

But before you ask for things, you should consider what happens if you get them. So any phone that goes wrong is replaced by a brand new one. Consequence #1: Apple's return policy will change. You won't be able to buy a phone and return it if you change your mind (because Apple doesn't want to be stuck with phones they have to sell at a lower price). Consequence #2: The price goes up. Who do you think pays for this, Apple or you? Consequence #3: Apple will be overwhelmed by iPhones that magically break just before warranty runs out (phone insurers know already that the number of broken and stolen iPhone 4s will double when the iPhone 5 is released). So who do you think pays for that?