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Odds of getting refurbished iPhone X?

Brandonjr36

Brandonjr36

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 12, 2016
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just received 2 iPhone X’s in the mail yesterday. Both had an issue. Anyways Apple sent me 2 new ones today they will be here tomorrow. But they said they would come out of a service box. What’s the odds of me getting refurbished devices?? I don’t really want a refurbished phone. But I’ve been told they don’t have any refurbished phones since the phone came out less then a month ago. Any truth to this? I guess the white box’s have brand new phones in them?
 
Chances are pretty good they'll be brand new. But with Apple, even if they were refurbs, you wouldn't know the difference. They look new. They have a new screen, a new housing, and a new battery. And they come with a full warranty. People's aversions to refurbs from Apple are kinda irrational.
 
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Only concern would be the serial numbers not matching your original boxes...only an issue when reselling or collecting. If you’re fine with that, chances are very good these are brand new iPhone X phones reserved for quick replacement.
 
Charadis said:
Only concern would be the serial numbers not matching your original boxes...only an issue when reselling or collecting. If you’re fine with that, chances are very good these are brand new iPhone X phones reserved for quick replacement.
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Yeah well I don’t really have a choice. Being these have issues most wont care about numbers being different on the box as long as the phones are able to be activated.
 
You have no idea what you are getting. They could be refurbs, they could be brand new.

People saying that it is too early for there to be any refurbs have not considered that many phones were scrapped off the production line for not meeting quality control, and may have ended up being refurbed.

The only way to ensure you get a new phone is to get a brand new retail box.
 
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NovemberWhiskey said:
You have no idea what you are getting. They could be refurbs, they could be brand new.

People saying that it is too early for there to be any refurbs have not considered that many phones were scrapped off the production line for not meeting quality control, and may have ended up being refurbed.

The only way to ensure you get a new phone is to get a brand new retail box.
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Fair enough, but those phones wouldn’t have mileage on the SSD or RAM chips, (or dandruff and earwax on the motherboard haha) like an actual used phone.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
You have no idea what you are getting. They could be refurbs, they could be brand new.

People saying that it is too early for there to be any refurbs have not considered that many phones were scrapped off the production line for not meeting quality control, and may have ended up being refurbed.

The only way to ensure you get a new phone is to get a brand new retail box.
Click to expand...
By the above logic, even the brand new retail box can contain one of the "refurbished" phones.

There is no way to know, and there is absolutely no difference between refurbished and new when it comes to Apple products.
 
BigDO said:
By the above logic, even the brand new retail box can contain one of the "refurbished" phones.

There is no way to know, and there is absolutely no difference between refurbished and new when it comes to Apple products.
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No, because it is illegal for Apple to sell refurbished phones as new.

And yes, there is a difference between refurbished and new.
 
What were the issues with your OGs?

Having had both a white box refurb iPhone and iPad previously which both appeared to be brand new. I was actually more comfortable in thinking they had gone through an extra level of QC.

If I am not mistaken a refurb device has an identifiable serial number that differs from an OG serial.
 
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BigDO said:
even the brand new retail box can contain one of the "refurbished" phones.

There is no way to know, and there is absolutely no difference between refurbished and new when it comes to Apple products.
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No, a refurbished iPhone will not come in a brand new box, it will arrive in a white box replacement, containing no accessories.

And the difference between a refurbished unit and a new unit, a refurbished unit will have a new casing, a new battery and a new display, but the logic board will remain likely used.
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Aydy said:
What were the issues with your OGs?.
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The OP purchased two iPhone X's, one of which had dust under the camera lens cover and the second iPhone X had some adhesive that was on the body of the iPhone.
 
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macfacts said:
Should have gotten a refund and rebought the iPhone X.
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Yeah but then I would have to wait another 3 weeks to get one
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NovemberWhiskey said:
You have no idea what you are getting. They could be refurbs, they could be brand new.

People saying that it is too early for there to be any refurbs have not considered that many phones were scrapped off the production line for not meeting quality control, and may have ended up being refurbed.

The only way to ensure you get a new phone is to get a brand new retail box.
Click to expand...
Yeah the Apple supervisor told me they would most likely be brand new.
 
BoricuaHec01 said:
How did both X's have issues with them?
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I'm not taking a dig at the OP, but in real life, with mass produced things like an iPhone, if you look closely enough, you can find *something* that's not quite right. "Perfect" and "mass production" really don't coexist easily together.
 
I think it is very possible that the replacement phone could be a refurb in the form of one of the OpenBox returns that would have been sent to be refurbished, eg one of the phones that were returned within the 14 days
 
Look at it this way......you got 2 retail boxed phones and they both had problems......now if you get 2 replacements, and they don't have any problems...then does it really matter whether they're brand new or "refurbished". :)
 
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ventmore said:
Look at it this way......you got 2 retail boxed phones and they both had problems......now if you get 2 replacements, and they don't have any problems...then does it really matter whether they're brand new or "refurbished". :)
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No I just don’t really like refurb stuff lol. But I received 1 x today along with my moms iPhone 8 her display just went out one day. Her box had a do not break the seal unless using parts and mine had just a piece of tape. So mine it probably brand new wouldn’t y’all say?
 
Brandonjr36 said:
No I just don’t really like refurb stuff lol. But I received 1 x today along with my moms iPhone 8 her display just went out one day. Her box had a do not break the seal unless using parts and mine had just a piece of tape. So mine it probably brand new wouldn’t y’all say?
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I actually got a white box replacement yesterday which was manufactured in week 42......before the X was released. :)
 
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mcdj said:
Chances are pretty good they'll be brand new. But with Apple, even if they were refurbs, you wouldn't know the difference. They look new. They have a new screen, a new housing, and a new battery. And they come with a full warranty. People's aversions to refurbs from Apple are kinda irrational.
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Coincidentally, I've had bad experiences every time my original phone was replaced. My iPhone 5, worked great, broke the screen and needed a replacement. Apple fixed the screen, but screwed something else up, and instead gave me a replacement phone. That replacement phone had so many issues I ended up trading it in for almost no money.

Iphone 6+, same exact thing. I broke the screen, went in to get it fixed, I was given a replacement phone since they screwed up the speaker assembly when putting the phone back together (apparently). The replacement 6+ i got had touch death/touch disease within a few weeks.

While it MAY be a coincidence, it bothers me when people say refurbished models are the same as new. While they were repaired to be as good as new, some products are just lemons simple as that. Getting a refurb means a higher chance it is a lemon.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
You have no idea what you are getting. They could be refurbs, they could be brand new.

People saying that it is too early for there to be any refurbs have not considered that many phones were scrapped off the production line for not meeting quality control, and may have ended up being refurbed.

The only way to ensure you get a new phone is to get a brand new retail box.
Click to expand...


^^^THIS^^^

No one here knows for sure.
 
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