Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Ordered a 21.5" 2013 Refurb - Secret Upgrades?

J

Johnf1285

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 25, 2010
965
63
Greetings!

I ordered a 2013 iMac - 21.5" with the 750m GPU, i5 CPU, 8gb of ram and 1TB Fusion Drive for my wife earlier this morning. I've been reading online about how there is a possibility of some refurbished iMacs including better hardware than what was originally ordered - like a "secret upgrade" if you will (such as a bump from an i5 to an i7 or bump in the amount of ram).

I searched a bunch on the forums and Google to learn more about this possibility and could only find anecdotal responses to general "i just bought a refurbished iMac" type threads.

Therefore, I wanted to reach out directly to the Macrumors community to get a feel for what sort of surprise upgrades other users have received from the Apple Certified Refurbished Store.
 
I wouldn't count on it happening. If it does happen, great, but it's not something you should hope for.

I bought a refurb 2013 21.5" iMac too. No secret upgrades, the iMac came exactly as spec'd. Which I was perfectly fine with. :)
 
scaredpoet said:
I wouldn't count on it happening. If it does happen, great, but it's not something you should hope for.

I bought a refurb 2013 21.5" iMac too. No secret upgrades, the iMac came exactly as spec'd. Which I was perfectly fine with. :)
Click to expand...

I agree - a part of me is reading some of these stories and I am wondering how likely they actually are. They sound too good to be true!!

Some people mentioned in the past (on the 2009-2011 series) how they received a 2TB disk instead of 1TB, or an i7 instead of an i5, or even 16gb of ram instead of 8gb. It's crazy to think that this would happen.
 
They basically "round down" to the nearest stock model. So if there happens to be a 8GB BTO where it's normally 4GB, they'll stick the 8GB in with it. It's not very common though.
 
Johnf1285 said:
Greetings!

I ordered a 2013 iMac - 21.5" with the 750m GPU, i5 CPU, 8gb of ram and 1TB Fusion Drive for my wife earlier this morning. I've been reading online about how there is a possibility of some refurbished iMacs including better hardware than what was originally ordered - like a "secret upgrade" if you will (such as a bump from an i5 to an i7 or bump in the amount of ram).

I searched a bunch on the forums and Google to learn more about this possibility and could only find anecdotal responses to general "i just bought a refurbished iMac" type threads.

Therefore, I wanted to reach out directly to the Macrumors community to get a feel for what sort of surprise upgrades other users have received from the Apple Certified Refurbished Store.
Click to expand...

About 2 years ago I ordered refurb 27", it was supposed to come with 4GB RAM, it arrived with 8GB, I added 16 more and now have 24GB.
 
Apple flagged it as shipped. No details yet from UPS since it's Sunday today. Should have more information tomorrow and the iMac by Wednesday of this week as per my shipping method. Maybe sooner if it is shipping from somewhere closer to New Jersey. Would be nice to have a spec bump but I feel like its a slim chance! ;)

Anyhow - does anyone else have any stories they want to share on receiving an unexpected upgraded iMac when ordering from the refurbished store?
 
iMac came today. It came with 16gb of ram instead of 8gb.

Sad news is I have to return it. There is a cluster of dead pixels and/or a dent in the diffuser near the middle of the screen causing this sort of light "dimple" if you will.

Maybe I jinxed myself by starting this thread :eek:
 
I ordered a refurbished 2012 15" rMBP base model last July and it came with 16GB of RAM instead of the stock 8GB. I thought it was a mistake at first, when I checked the system information, but it was totally real. Maybe it was a karma bonus as this was my first Mac ever; after having used Windows PCs for the past 15+ years. I've heard the RAM is more of a common "upgrade" than anything else. There was a thread of somebody getting the 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD upgrade on their rMBP, but I feel as that was more of a mistake on the packer's end than anything else. All is possible though!
 
bhayes444 said:
I ordered a refurbished 2012 15" rMBP base model last July and it came with 16GB of RAM instead of the stock 8GB. I thought it was a mistake at first, when I checked the system information, but it was totally real. Maybe it was a karma bonus as this was my first Mac ever; after having used Windows PCs for the past 15+ years. I've heard the RAM is more of a common "upgrade" than anything else. There was a thread of somebody getting the 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD upgrade on their rMBP, but I feel as that was more of a mistake on the packer's end than anything else. All is possible though!
Click to expand...

Yeah - pretty excited about the additional ram, but I am unsure what to do with the screen issue. Return it completely and wait for another one to become available (potentially with just 8gb of ram)? Or schedule a Genius Appointment and have the screen replaced?
 
Kyle-K said:
If this is a viable option I would at least try this first.
Click to expand...

Hmm - I think I'll give Apple a call and see what the best course of action is.

I've been having bad luck this past year. When I ordered my 27" last October it arrived with debris laminated between the glass and the display (in two spots in the middle of the display). Had that swapped and then between May and August I went through two screen replacements due to weird smudge/dark markings under the screen.

Now I can add this little 21.5" to the screen issue list.

:confused:
 
I ordered a rMBP about a month ago with a 2.6 i5 and it came with a 3.0 i7. After I ordered it I even wondered if I should have gone with a faster processor. It was like Apple was reading my mind. I ordered a second identical machine a week later, but alas, it came as ordered.
 
I decided to return it for a refund. May explore other options once a refresh comes down the line within the next several months
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back