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Experience with iPad 2 refurbs?

MusicEnthusiast

MusicEnthusiast

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
442
53
Los Angeles
I know Apple advertises that refurbs are of pristine quality, just like new, just shipped in a cardboard box. I was wondering what kind of experience you have with buying refurbs, mainly iPads from Apple. Is there a potential that one of these iPads were returned due to a bad screen, but maybe the manufacturer didn't catch it and just boxed it up again? How about scratches, even if they were super small?

Also, if I were to buy a refurb iPad 2 at an Apple store in town, would it also be in a non-labeled box or would it come with a new box?
 
it was my understanding that you can ONLY buy apple certified refurbs from their website. the brown box refurbs you get in the store are for exchange only, or if the damage to your item is out of warranty sometimes they will sell you the brown box refurb ($249 for the brown box vs the $319 for the white box from www.apple.com).

as far as my experience with iPad 2 refurbs, it has been OK. the first one i got the screen would randomly type by itself. restoring the OS did not fix the problem. while it only happened twice in 3 days of ownership it still happened. chances are, during the refurb process the technician couldn't replicate the problem (since the iPad was obviously returned in the first place) so they just went about keeping the screen and replacing the shell and battery and shipping it back out. anyways, they took good care of me in the store despite being unable to replicate the problem on the spot. i got a brown box refurb which means i keep the charger and documentation from the first one. getting a refurb that is defective is rare, Apple goes to extremely length to make sure that not only is it fully functional, but cosmetically perfect. i feel that more work goes into refurbishing a product than producing it, since refurb products get a 100% inspection and regular production gets a level inspection, or in other words a "parts per lot" inspection. it's also referred to as a frequency inspection. regardless of what you call it, it means that not every product is inspected...they sample the lot.

the replacement iPad is working fine. both units were cosmetically PERFECT since the entire outer shell is replaced. that's in their refurb policy stated on their website. you also get the standard 1 year warranty and it comes with all documentation and the charger. you also then have the opportunity to buy AppleCare+ as well (which i did)

the iPad 2 16GB wifi for $319 is one heck of a deal if you ask me. the hard part isn't deciding to buy it, but catching when they're in stock. apple puts up new stock every week or every other week, but the iPad 2 16GB wifi refurbs go out of stock within the same day or so. shipping is insanely quick for standard, it actually took longer to process the order and put it on the plane than it did for the actual shipping time itself.

feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about ipad refurbs
 
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Anything is possible as far as a slip up.
If new ones can be defective so can refurbs, but less likely

In general you will find the original problem repaired.
Brand new battery and outer shell. So no digs or scratches
All manuals and accessories. Nothing dog eared or stained
New white box. The box is made of cardboard but its not brown corrugated.

Same warranty and return privileges.

They are frequently out of stock on the web store, very unlikely to find
one in a physical store.
 
MusicEnthusiast said:
I know Apple advertises that refurbs are of pristine quality, just like new, just shipped in a cardboard box. I was wondering what kind of experience you have with buying refurbs, mainly iPads from Apple. Is there a potential that one of these iPads were returned due to a bad screen, but maybe the manufacturer didn't catch it and just boxed it up again? How about scratches, even if they were super small?

Also, if I were to buy a refurb iPad 2 at an Apple store in town, would it also be in a non-labeled box or would it come with a new box?
Click to expand...

I have a refurbished 16 gb iPad 2. The stores don't sell any refurbished items so you will have to order online. With shipping mine was $350. Great purchase. Came in original apple packaging. IPad works flawlessly. I even jail broke it a week ago to get more out of it. They replace the screen and battery nd go through a more rigorous inspection than new. They do ge shipped from China, but I got mine in about 4 days after ordering, I highly recommend a refurbished over a new if u want to save money. Plus they came with a 1 yr warranty. :apple::apple:
 
Typing from a white 32GB refurb, It seriously looks new. You couldn't tell it was ever used. Mine has no problems whatsoever. Refurbs do ship from China but come with a 1 year warranty.
 
Rodster said:
Typing from a white 32GB refurb, It seriously looks new. You couldn't tell it was ever used. Mine has no problems whatsoever. Refurbs do ship from China but come with a 1 year warranty.
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nice. is there a MacRumors app or are you just in Safari?
 
Using my 32gb refurb I got two weeks ago, it is probably one of the best things I have ever bought. It came in perfect condition and is amazing. So glad I saved the $200 and got iPad 2 instead of the new iPad.
 
Rodster said:
Typing from a white 32GB refurb, It seriously looks new. You couldn't tell it was ever used. Mine has no problems whatsoever. Refurbs do ship from China but come with a 1 year warranty.
Click to expand...

Ditto. I'm always on my 16 go refurb iPad 2.
 
I bought an ipad2 refurb to replace my son's iPad 1 and it is great! No issues so far. We have had it since they dropped the price to $319 for the 16gb.
 
Ordered several refurbs from Apple and all of them turned out fine with the exception of a hard drive failure in a 5g video but that is because I dropped it rather than being defective.
 
I purchased a 16 gb refurb iPad 2 from the Apple online store. It's amazing. Other than the packaging stating that it's refurbished, I can't tell the difference. Not a scratch anywhere and it runs perfectly. Got 9, almost 10 hours using 90% of the battery with light browsing, video streaming, and reading with WiFi off. Couldn't be happier with the device and the $319 price point is perfect.
 
I received the two I ordered yesterday. One had some dust under the screen, otherwise perfect, and one's home button is slightly, a little off when pushing, so I kept the latter since I don't use the home button and it's so minor and works anyway. They look brand new- I reccomend refurbs- and I am very picky.
 
myrtlebee said:
I received the two I ordered yesterday. One had some dust under the screen, otherwise perfect, and one's home button is slightly, a little off when pushing, so I kept the latter since I don't use the home button and it's so minor and works anyway. They look brand new- I reccomend refurbs- and I am very picky.
Click to expand...

is the black bezel around the home button spongy? in other words, does it seem like it's raised up compared to the other black bezel edges. push down, does it sink inwards?

that's a problem i have with mine currently that i am debating taking in to get replaced (it's under warranty plus i bought applecare+)
 
jgg204 said:
is the black bezel around the home button spongy? in other words, does it seem like it's raised up compared to the other black bezel edges. push down, does it sink inwards?

that's a problem i have with mine currently that i am debating taking in to get replaced (it's under warranty plus i bought applecare+)
Click to expand...

No, it's flush with the bezel. My "issue" is when I press the home button there's a slight "crunchiness", you can hear it too. Happens more when the button is pressed in certain spots, as if it is off center a bit and its edge is scraping on the bezel's edge ever so slightly. I pressed it down firmly on the button a bit but to no avail. Also tried slipping the corner of a post-it note around between the button and bezel to remove any debris if that was the issue, but the fit's so tight I could barely do that. It's pretty much a non issue, but of course I'd rather it not happen, but I won't chance an exchange or repair on an otherwise perfect unit.
 
I'm pretty sure the conditions are fine. But, I wouldn't buy iPad 2 at this point. I would rather buy The new iPad with a smaller storage.
 
Well the refurbs are now showing 16 GB available (which is what my eyes were on). I am still torn whether to buy one or just wait a little longer if refurbs decide to go on sale another $20 like refurbs did last year in late August.

But I still love the idea of an iPad 3 and its retina display. I think I'm gonna go to my university bookstore and compare the two. The only thing I'm worrying about is the ability to update firmwares over time. Back in 2009 I bought a second gen iPod touch, and really enjoyed it before it got quite slow and wasn't able to upgrade to the most recent firmwares. Support was slowly slipping away. I don't wanna feel like I'm buying another 2nd gen.
 
pmacuser said:
I'm pretty sure the conditions are fine. But, I wouldn't buy iPad 2 at this point. I would rather buy The new iPad with a smaller storage.
Click to expand...

I got the iPad 2 refurb and like others have said it looked new and worked great but even for the 180.00 difference I decided to return it and get iPad 3. The screen on iPad 2 is just not very good on text and after looking at the iPad 3 it's night and day difference and totally worth the extra money for me.
 
johndallas999 said:
I got the iPad 2 refurb and like others have said it looked new and worked great but even for the 180.00 difference I decided to return it and get iPad 3. The screen on iPad 2 is just not very good on text and after looking at the iPad 3 it's night and day difference and totally worth the extra money for me.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think it might be worth it. I just got back from my university bookstore and made my own side-by-side comparison. Definitely a difference. One thing I noticed was that the edges of the icons were much smoother on the new iPad, and the back camera was much more grainy on the iPad 2. I didn't see any yellow tint on the iPad 3 on display, although I did notice it ran much warmer than the iPad 2.
 
I am interested in buying the refurbished iPad 2 16gb wifi from the apple website but whenever I have checked online they have been out of stock. Does apple continually update their website when they get new refurbs in or is it something that they do at a certain time every week/month?

What do you think would be my best bet for getting a refurbished iPad 2 16gb wifi from apple?

Thanks!
 
Gregf305 said:
I am interested in buying the refurbished iPad 2 16gb wifi from the apple website but whenever I have checked online they have been out of stock. Does apple continually update their website when they get new refurbs in or is it something that they do at a certain time every week/month?

What do you think would be my best bet for getting a refurbished iPad 2 16gb wifi from apple?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Try checking in the morning, that was when I got mine. The go pretty fast once they are in stock
 
pmacuser said:
I'm pretty sure the conditions are fine. But, I wouldn't buy iPad 2 at this point. I would rather buy The new iPad with a smaller storage.
Click to expand...

Well.. Depends on your need. We sold my son's iPad 1 for $200 was a 16gb with 3G and got him a 16gb wifi iPad 2 for $319 and then were able to add squaretrade. I wouldn't have spent the extra $180 for an iPad 3 for him. The iPad 2 is perfect in this case bc it is more capable than the iPad 1 and less pricey than the 3.
 
Haven't heard anything bad about the iPad refurbs (at least not brown box refurbs from an Apple Store)

With any refurb, you should expect the product to be in perfect working condition but be sure to test this right away so you can contact Apple and get any issues resolved ASAP. I'm hoping I have good luck with the iPad 2 that I ordered a few days ago.

The only other thing I would worry about is shipping. I'm told Apple is known for taking their sweet time in product delivery. Some reports were 3-4 week delivery after order was placed.
 
PocketAppZ said:
Haven't heard anything bad about the iPad refurbs (at least not brown box refurbs from an Apple Store)

With any refurb, you should expect the product to be in perfect working condition but be sure to test this right away so you can contact Apple and get any issues resolved ASAP. I'm hoping I have good luck with the iPad 2 that I ordered a few days ago.

The only other thing I would worry about is shipping. I'm told Apple is known for taking their sweet time in product delivery. Some reports were 3-4 week delivery after order was placed.
My iPad 2 refurb arrived more quickly than stated on the apple website. I think the site said 10 days to ship bc they had just lowered the price and I'm sure that increased demand but I had the device in my hands in about 4 days.
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