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iPhone 3G in a white box... refurbished?

R

RedAbundance

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 2, 2008
48
0
New York, NY
i finally put my first gen iphone to rest and got a 16G black, but had to exchange it while i was on a trip. it was within 14 days of original purchase, but i didn't have the original packaging with me. so the genius gave me a new phone, and it was in a slim white box with nothing on it.

1. does that mean it's a refurbished one?
2. can exchange it to a new one since i'm still within 14 days?
 
this thread has been repeated on a bi-weekly basis.

is it really easier to just post and wait as oppose to search?
 
Does it matter whether it is refurbished or not? as long as it works and there are no huge or noticeable scratches you should be happy
 
neesh0 said:
Does it matter whether it is refurbished or not? as long as it works and there are no huge or noticeable scratches you should be happy
Click to expand...

I had to swap my Black 16 gig 3G two weeks ago due to the dreaded "dead strip" problem. I got a replacement out of a white box, and it was a disasterous refurb:

- massive light leak down the left side of the phone
- a picture already on the device, presumably from the previous owner, of the phone's light leak problem in the dark. I assume he used this photo to swap out the device. It was a picture of a hand holding the iphone in the dark.
- Voicemail, itunes, and app store passwords that were already on the device, preventing me from accessing any of these services.
- 6-hour+ backup times, when my previous device did not have this problem (??)
- An overall feeling of cheapness and instability. Probably a mental thing on my part, but it was annoying.

Fortunately, apple swapped this one out for what seemed to be a new phone. At least, I couldn't tell the difference. This one works great and I love the phone as much as I did the first one. Happy.
 
CocoaPuffs said:
you my friend, is a waste of oxygen.
Click to expand...

Why do you have to be so rude? He just asked a simple question, Maybe he is new to these forums. If you know that this question has been on the forums before, why don't you just put a link to it in your answer instead of being so negative. We are all iphone owners and should help each other out, that's what these forums are for.
 
PLeas eplease please use the search function. This thread title has come up many times before.
I don't mean to come across rude, I'm guilty of the same thing. Just hit search at the top and search.
Dan x
 
patd said:
Why do you have to be so rude? He just asked a simple question, Maybe he is new to these forums. If you know that this question has been on the forums before, why don't you just put a link to it in your answer instead of being so negative. We are all iphone owners and should help each other out, that's what these forums are for.
Click to expand...

Every single post this guy makes is just like this. He's obviously a miserable lonely person. If he is like this on an internet forum, imagine him in real life. Can't see how anyone could stand him. Then again, he's probably a pip squeak and acts "tough" online because no one can see him.

For everyone else that takes the time to post "search" instead of a quick answer, why can't you just be helpful instead? Go to any other forum and people repost the same questions but usually the other members are nice enough to not get mad about it and just offer a quick answer.
 
Lexoticstylez02 said:
I can verify they are refurbished.. I was told they were not but I do have the 5K in my serial number, also had usage times and the previous owners iTunes account on it.
Click to expand...

5K serial numbers no longer mean that the device is a refurb. it might be, but on Apple's Discussion Board one of their moderators said that new ones are assigned the 5K serial. not to say they might not be a refurb, any replacement could be. here's a post from someone that got a brand new 3G with a 5K number: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8120142

the truth is you might get a refurb, you might not. there's really no way to tell for sure.
 
Refurb

I had my original 16gb white replaced 10 days after the release due to constant crashing. My new one came from the same non-descript white box and was brand new. No way they were dishing out refurbs ten days after launch. I don't know if they are using refurbs now though.
 
A guy sold me his accessories and original box for the original 8 Gig he had. He through in the box from Apple his replacement had come in. It was a new replacement and the box was a thin black with a picture of the iPhone on it.

I think the white boxes without the picture of the iPhone on it means it's a refurb.
 
hi guys...

so yes i guess i was lazy. i did search first, but not thoroughly, so i just posted another thread. i hate multiple threads on the same topic as well.

anyway, here's my experience with the white box iphone 3G (with no picture on the box):

1. the genius who gave it to me told me it was "brand new".

2. serial number starts with "5k", which is different than most new iphones, and also ones on display in the store. some say this means it's a refurb.

3. what's interesting, is the MODEL NUMBER. from other threads, i learned that most ppl who got a white box iphone have model numbers starting with "M", mine however, starts with "A", which is the same with a new one.

4. my white box iphone has incredible battery life. with everything else off except 3G, my two previous iphone 3G lasted 1 day at the most, and they were upgraded to 2.1!! the white box one is on 2.0.2, and with 3G on it easily lasted 2 days plus, everything being equal.

so seems like serial number and model number can both be different, or one is different, and the deciding one is the serial number i guess... what do you guys think?
 
randymac88 said:
I had to swap my Black 16 gig 3G two weeks ago due to the dreaded "dead strip" problem. I got a replacement out of a white box, and it was a disasterous refurb:

- massive light leak down the left side of the phone
- a picture already on the device, presumably from the previous owner, of the phone's light leak problem in the dark. I assume he used this photo to swap out the device. It was a picture of a hand holding the iphone in the dark.
- Voicemail, itunes, and app store passwords that were already on the device, preventing me from accessing any of these services.
- 6-hour+ backup times, when my previous device did not have this problem (??)
- An overall feeling of cheapness and instability. Probably a mental thing on my part, but it was annoying.

Fortunately, apple swapped this one out for what seemed to be a new phone. At least, I couldn't tell the difference. This one works great and I love the phone as much as I did the first one. Happy.
Click to expand...

i was laughing so hard at your "overall feeling of cheapness and instability" comment. i felt exactly the same thing with mine! objectively the refurb is the best one cosmetically, but it does feel cheap and not stable LOL!
 
Nathan over on the Apple support forums who does work for Apple, has stated that the iPhones starting with 5K can be refurbs and they can be new as well as Apple is using that serial number combination for both on the 3G phones.
 
The white box for a new iPhone 3G looks awesome, but I don't regret getting black.
 
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