Other it never occurred to me until now. why did Apple(US) accept trade-in of iPhones with 2 SIM card slots that were originally sold in Hong Kong & China?

[beerseagulls]

it never occurred to me until now. why did Apple(US) accept trade-in of iPhones with 2 SIM card slots that were originally sold in Hong Kong & China?

What does Apple do with these? (or more precisely, the company in Texas or Pennsylvania that handles trade-ins for Apple) They obviously can't refurbish the iPhone 12 Pro that I traded in earlier this year and then resell them or give to customers in the US as warranty replacement phones, right?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

it never occurred to me until now. why did Apple(US) accept trade-in of iPhones with 2 SIM card slots that were originally sold in Hong Kong & China?

What does Apple do with these? (or more precisely, the company in Texas or Pennsylvania that handles trade-ins for Apple) They obviously can't refurbish the iPhone 12 Pro that I traded in earlier this year and then resell them or give to customers in the US as warranty replacement phones, right?

Recycle, use them as parts, sell them to appropriate resellers, etc. Watching a documentary on stolen iPhones, most of them end up in China anyway.

 

[JPack]

Where do you think Apple warranty replacement devices come from?

Apple takes in iPhones from all countries, sends them for central refurbishment in China, then sends them back out as warranty replacements.

 

[Fred Zed]

So does this mean one can trade in a USA iPhone at an Apple center in other countries ?
Complete opposite of Samsung which doesn’t even warrant their devices unless it was purchased in said country. Let alone accept them as a trade in.

 

[beerseagulls]

So does this mean one can trade in a USA iPhone at an Apple center in other countries ?
Complete opposite of Samsung which doesn’t even warrant their devices unless it was purchased in said country. Let alone accept them as a trade in.

don't know... but I just looked at my emails from the last several years... I have traded in 4 foreign iPhones.(including the Hong Kong iPhone 12 Pro with 2 SIM card slots that I mentioned) They were either EU or Asian iPhones that I bought from the Apple Stores in those countries. Apple's US online store had no problem accepting them.

 

[JPack]

So does this mean one can trade in a USA iPhone at an Apple center in other countries ?
Complete opposite of Samsung which doesn’t even warrant their devices unless it was purchased in said country. Let alone accept them as a trade in.

Yes, Apple is more than happy to take them. They pay you in lead prices and sell it as gold (out of warranty replacement and refurb devices).

 

[NoBoMac]

Complete opposite of Samsung which doesn’t even warrant their devices unless it was purchased in said country.

In this case, Apple might be no different.

If you read (at least the US) warranty, Apple has the right to limit service of iOS products to only in country purchased. If they do service in some other country, you will get replacement device/parts for that country, service options will be only ones available in that country, and so on. If need to ship/receive from some other county, expect delays and pay for extra shipping costs. AppleCare+ is phrased the same.

So in the US case, might be able to replace your broken US phone with a European model when in Germany, but not guaranteed you can/will.

 

[Fred Zed]

In this case, Apple might be no different.

If you read (at least the US) warranty, Apple has the right to limit service of iOS products to only in country purchased. If they do service in some other country, you will get replacement device/parts for that country, service options will be only ones available in that country, and so on. If need to ship/receive from some other county, expect delays and pay for extra shipping costs. AppleCare+ is phrased the same.

So in the US case, might be able to replace your broken US phone with a European model when in Germany, but not guaranteed you can/will.

I guess we’ll test the theory eventually when I go back to the UK with my USA purchased iPhone soon.
One of the major issues I had with Samsung was their system point blank wouldn’t even recognize foreign serial numbers of their own devices. I got the impression Samsung regions were franchises at times. 😝🤣