How are these necessarily refurbs anyway? Isnt it possible Apple doesnt want to waste packaging on these replacement phones? So they ship them just in a box alone? Isnt it possible Apple produces phones without the whole package because they know there will be crazy anal-retentive people out there returning their phones because of the slightest imperfection?
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Iphone 3G - White boxes = Mint
- Thread starter richxps
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well the ATT store and Apple store I frequent both said that there are a lot of people trying to pass off their phone as being defective when in reality it has minor cosmetic blemishes probably created by the owner. they are going to try to stop this is what one ATT store told me. They said people that nick or scratch their phone will just have to deal with it vs trying to exchange it for a refurb that has been cleaned up. it happens too much both stores claim.
I know that all the issues I had were NOT created by me and they came from the box like that.
Here we go again. . .
My thoughts exactly.
Just gonna say now- The refurbs go through testing to make sure they are perfect and have nothing wrong with them before hand. The new ones go off an assembly line and into the box.
Exactly... BTW; My replacement iPhone came in rather beautiful slim BLACK box with silver Apple Logo, not white.
Also, as far as I'm aware, Apple does NOT repair/refurb iphones anyway - they (Apple) just replace them.
Anyway, my replacement iPhone (black box edition) is absolutely FLAWLESS
(aprox. 2 months old)
Exactly... BTW; My replacement iPhone came in rather beautiful slim BLACK box with silver Apple Logo, not white.
Also, as far as I'm aware, Apple does NOT repair/refurb iphones anyway - they (Apple) just replace them.
Anyway, my replacement iPhone (black box edition) is absolutely FLAWLESS
Oh? They just THROW AWAY the returned iPhones? That's interesting... I didn't think Apple was that wasteful.
When I exchanged my phone, the Genius told me straight up "this is a refurbished phone." I'm not saying that coming in a white box guarantees that it is a refurb, but to anyone who says that it absolutely can't be, you're absolutely wrong. If there are white boxes with new phones, then Apple probably has a quota to meet with X number of white boxes going out, and they fill them with refurbs until they run out, then fill the rest with new phones. I'm sorry to bump this thread back up again, but it just has to be accepted that Apple is refurbishing and recirculating exchanged iPhones. And I say good for them.
Just to let you guys know, I've had 6 exchanges so far with my 3G, all have been white box 'refurbs'. "6 exchanges" should tell you that these phones have been far from "perfect". (Dead Pixels, Dust, Screen with weird color contrast (greenish tint), one of the refurbs was scratched on the glass out of the white box too)
I'll deal with my one simple crack near the vibrate switch. Ive already had AppleCare tell me they would ship me one out but I dont feel like dealing with getting a worse off phone. Besides, when you consdier SMALL things, like dust under the screen - is it really worth it to exchange it? I mean look, 6 exchanges is a lot - when you consider the gas and time it takes to get out to an Apple store for most people, is it really worth it?
mine has dust under the screen now, but i decided to give up. also because of the reasons you mentioned. (gas)
oh i agree with you! my bezel has light scratches NIB and a tad of dust near the earpiece. but ATT store told me "This is no reason for an exchange" At the Apple store they just said if there is nothing wrong with it they won't exchange it... although one genius told me there are ways around it
oh i agree with you! my bezel has light scratches NIB and a tad of dust near the earpiece. but ATT store told me "This is no reason for an exchange" At the Apple store they just said if there is nothing wrong with it they won't exchange it... although one genius told me there are ways around it
Yea, you call AppleCare and tell them. My Apple Store replaced my phone 3 times because of light leak / SERVICE PHONES (THE ACTUAL NAME FOR THE ONES IN THE WHITE BOXES AND THE SLIM BLACK BOXES) with damage out of the box.
So I dont know what your Apple Store is doing, but that is weird. AppleCare qound up sending me a new one, but it now has a weird rattling noise (no abuse or fault of mine) and has like major MAJOR light leak right out of the box. The Genius (becuase this is my 5th phone, I had to get the problem confirmed,) looked at it and when i pointed out to him the dust, he said that I shouldn't have even gotten a phone like that. So, he put the case in and I went home and called Customer Relation Corporate, and they are currently sending me the new phone ... this time it came from California, and the AppleCare Rep said it came from the FACTORY in Califronia. I said are you sure its not a warehouse? She said no, its an actual factory, like the one in China (where ipods, MBPS, and my last iPhone 3G cutomer replacement shipped from).
And also, a note about the black slim boxes. Thos boxes are BRAND NEW PHONES. They are done by the way of advance and mail-in exchange. It is basically a new phone, from the factory, but not in the box with all of the accessories and such. 3 seperate reps from AppleCare Tier 2 TechSupport, AppleCare Tier 2 Product Specialist, AND AppleCare Customer Relations Tier2 all said the same thing. So I doubt it is a lie.... and the white box phones "May be new OR refurbished. There is no way of knowing." Well, the "5K Serial Number Theory" works in my case with all of the white box phones I have received, but it is a bit questionable in the online community.
Check out the corresponding links:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/588596/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/574421/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/570822/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/588402/
^The last one has a post as to how I achieved getting a Customer Replacement, or new phone direct from factory, accessories and all.
So, this is probably the fifteenth thread about white box phones. Unless you work at Apple or know someone who does, then we may never know. And even still, most Genius' at the Genius Bar don't really know what is in each of those white boxes. Trust me, a friend of mine has a brother who is the lead Genius at our local store, and he said he nor his manager even know.
Till next time,
TechDude
well a girl at the office just bought an iPhone 3G last night in black. no case yet but when I closely inspected the Apple logo and back it already had scratches. especially on the Silver logo, it was all scratched up!! bezel had light scratches on it also. she claims she hasn't done anything with it yet and is going to the Apple store after work to buy a screen protector and case.
So either these iPhones are scratch easy or they are coming like this.
I don't know, mine is only 13 days old and its got quite a bit of fine scratch marks on the back as well... i was told I can not exchange it period. I guess its too hard to prove it came out of the box like that after the fact. maybe if you are right at the store and inspect it and show them right then and there will they grab another NIB for you...
So either these iPhones are scratch easy or they are coming like this.
I don't know, mine is only 13 days old and its got quite a bit of fine scratch marks on the back as well... i was told I can not exchange it period. I guess its too hard to prove it came out of the box like that after the fact. maybe if you are right at the store and inspect it and show them right then and there will they grab another NIB for you...
Ok here is a update.
My phone from the white box (3rd White box )- Froze and the memory erased everything two times so i went back to the apple store.
This time around i made sure i spoke to a manger and clearly told him im not taking a refurb or what ever you want to call it. I want a brand new one opened in front of me like i did on the first day. So they did do it for me because after 4 phones with legit problems i want a damn new one. So far so good with the new phone, no light issue and runs fine.
And I was provided prof this week that the white box and slim boxes are refurb. So i dont care what anyone says on here i seen the list that apple gets from the rep and it clearly says replacement AR Iphones. And since they are basically as good as new ones i suppose at times they say they are new.
My track so far
- New phone - froze on placing calls
- 1st White box ( refurb ) - Touch screen did not work in some areas
- 2nd White box ( refurb ) - Phone would shut off randomly
- 3rd white box ( refurb ) - Memory erased 3 times
- 4th NEW PHONE out of the real box - So far so good.
My phone from the white box (3rd White box )- Froze and the memory erased everything two times so i went back to the apple store.
This time around i made sure i spoke to a manger and clearly told him im not taking a refurb or what ever you want to call it. I want a brand new one opened in front of me like i did on the first day. So they did do it for me because after 4 phones with legit problems i want a damn new one. So far so good with the new phone, no light issue and runs fine.
And I was provided prof this week that the white box and slim boxes are refurb. So i dont care what anyone says on here i seen the list that apple gets from the rep and it clearly says replacement AR Iphones. And since they are basically as good as new ones i suppose at times they say they are new.
My track so far
- New phone - froze on placing calls
- 1st White box ( refurb ) - Touch screen did not work in some areas
- 2nd White box ( refurb ) - Phone would shut off randomly
- 3rd white box ( refurb ) - Memory erased 3 times
- 4th NEW PHONE out of the real box - So far so good.
Crappy luck.
It took me 4 iPhones and looking at 2 others before I left the store before I got one that was good.
Ok, I had a crack by the ringer switch and the headphone jack. So I took my black 16GB iphone to exchange it out. Well, the new phone (white box) does not go to 3G!!! And the phone will sync to the computer whenever it feels like it or I force it to. So I guess, Ill take this phone back and get another one.