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Iphone 3G - White boxes = Mint

richxps

richxps

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 9, 2008
2,078
528
Just wanted to share something with you all, i have been through 3 iphones right out of the box. All had hard ware issues and memory issues but all had light leakage and dead pixels etc. My main reason for return was for the freezing up and memory loss. Than this week i went to apple and they went though the entire process to swap out my phone, this time it was the WHITE box phone... I just took it and after looking at it, its MINT no light leakage at ALL guys, no dead pixels and its super fast and the glass screen is flush like my Edge iphone was. So the moral of my story is, are the refub iphones better than the brand new ones ? Answer IMO yes.
 
lakaiordie said:
no,they're the same. you just got lucky.
Click to expand...

Well then 2 months ago when I swapped mine out, I must have gotten lucky too. I got the same white box iPhone and it was perfect.

I believe there was another thread on here about the white boxes and someone had said that Apple's refurbs tend to be cleaned up nicely.
 
Pssssssst...... Guess why its so nice. Because its a ........wait for it......wait for it........A REFURB !!!! There i said it !!! The reason it is flawless is because when apple refurbs their phones they put new casing on the and have a very grueling process to get them in tip top shape for the customer. They reset everything. Thats why they have a life timer of 0. Refurbs are the Best because of this process. They come with the same warranty you already had and have been looked at by Apple professionals and not the original manufacturers in China. Congrats on the New Used iphone. I personally had my first gen replaced with a refurb and it was wonderful. I want my new iphone 3g i got to mess up so I can get a refurb. I prefer them.
 
A co worker of mine got a white box phone today, and again his phone is flawless. One thing though they would not let him keep the white box, strange but either way the phone is in better condition than one out of the original box.
Thumbs up to the apple repair team on this batch :)
 
I hate to burst your bubble, but guess what? There are millions of flawless iPhones right out of the box.

Try that one on for size...
 
lakaiordie said:
no,they're the same. you just got lucky.
Click to expand...

True. My first white box iPhone had a terrible screen and cracked casing. My latest white box iPhone has a screwey vibrate (it sounds like there are loose parts when it vibrates) and the bezel is all uneven.
 
Look until someone can confirm that they are Refurbs


can people stop speculating that white box= refurb phone
 
when i read the thread title i thought that whom ever gets a replacement iphone in a white box also gets a free mint candy... :) sadly, that's false. I'm disappointed! :(
 
Well i guess either white box or OEM box we just have to be lucky to get a flawless one.
But i can say that my first Gen iphone was perfect right out of the box and sometimes i think i should of just kept it ;)
 
Opie said:
Pssssssst...... Guess why its so nice. Because its a ........wait for it......wait for it........A REFURB !!!! There i said it !!! The reason it is flawless is because when apple refurbs their phones they put new casing on the and have a very grueling process to get them in tip top shape for the customer. They reset everything. Thats why they have a life timer of 0. Refurbs are the Best because of this process. They come with the same warranty you already had and have been looked at by Apple professionals and not the original manufacturers in China. Congrats on the New Used iphone. I personally had my first gen replaced with a refurb and it was wonderful. I want my new iphone 3g i got to mess up so I can get a refurb. I prefer them.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% the first 2 3gs i had were brand new and they were built poorly, but lucky number 3 was a refurb and its pristine, goes to show, what can you really expect out of 12 year old asians?

on a side note my second 3g was in a white box but it wasnt a refurb, so just because its in a white box doesnt make it a refurb, you have to investigate. The refurb serial number will start with 5K, new will be 8xxxxxxxxxx or 7xxxxxxxxxx, also, at least in my experience, new phones will have a full battery and refurbs, not so much
 
coworker bought an iPhone just about 4 weeks ago and at the last min decided to exchange it because of light leakage and dust under glass. he got the white box 5K and the ATT store told him he could not keep the box. he thought that was odd but his refurb was spotless and ran like a champ so he's happy.

i however have noticed light scratches on the bezel and on the apple logo, mind you i have only owned this iPhone for 7 days. it sat in the box for the first 2 days of ownership and the last 5 days i left it on my desk at home. I use my company BB for now and am thinking of a mode of carry (pocket vs belt) and which case to buy. But i feel my iPhone came with the scratches and dust new out of the box.

my coworker's 5k refurb is spotless and he told me his main issue was the dust under the glass as it annoyed him and the light leak, he could care less about scratching the back / apple / bezel. maybe i should see if he wants mine! :p
 
Check your serial number....

Does your serial number start with "5K"?

If so, its refurbed and I have one. Refurbed products are the same as new, just more heavily tested -- making them better products.
 
When I had my 3G swapped out they put the old phone in the white box wrote my name on it and wrapped the receipt/release I had to sign around the box. So I guess they may have to send your defective phone back in that box.
 
My white box phone starts with a 5K as well. Wonder why the apple guy lied and said they were not refurbs ? Well either way im happy because its flawless..
I just hope the next Gen Iphone they do a better job in the production line, yea i know you have some bad ones but with the 3g it sounds like they have more than some with issues.
 
I've had 2 refurbished iPhone 3Gs. The first one was returned because the plastic didn't line up with the metal creating a sharp edge. Then while I was returning it, I looked at 2 more refurbs and they both had problems. Then on the 3rd one I looked at was flawless, so I took it home. (Technically, I've only had 2 refurbs in my possession, but I've seen a total of 4).

I'm currently loving my brand new refurb!
 
jblock said:
When I had my 3G swapped out they put the old phone in the white box wrote my name on it and wrapped the receipt/release I had to sign around the box. So I guess they may have to send your defective phone back in that box.
Click to expand...

Exactly this. You can't keep the white box because your old phone goes in it. FWIW, I exchanged my black-box phone last week and the Genius let me pick from four white-box phones. They all had flaws, but the one I picked was the least flawed. Sounds like some have better luck than I did.

Also, I don't really care about light leakage but I do worry about dust since I plan to keep my iPhone through the entire contract and pass it on to my daughter after that.
 
richxps said:
My white box phone starts with a 5K as well. Wonder why the apple guy lied and said they were not refurbs ? Well either way im happy because its flawless..
Click to expand...


In my case, both were new phones.

My very first one was an 8K. The replacement (after I dropped it) was also an 8K. Both were in white boxes (I still have the white box from the first phone, at home on my nightstand).
 
richxps said:
My white box phone starts with a 5K as well. Wonder why the apple guy lied and said they were not refurbs ? Well either way im happy because its flawless..
I just hope the next Gen Iphone they do a better job in the production line, yea i know you have some bad ones but with the 3g it sounds like they have more than some with issues.
Click to expand...

don't think he lied, probably just didn't know... I am happy with mine as well.
 
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