Refurb iPhones directly from Apple

[Cubytus]

Hi there,

I have heard last evening an Apple Store employee who told me that from time to time, refurbished iPhones appeared in the online Apple Store. I never saw this category before, and it doesn't show here up north.

Silly question, but do such a thing exist? It seems too good to be true.

 

[*~Kim~*]

I've never seen one and wondered where all the returned phones go when people swap them for a different colour and/or storage capacity.

 

[Tyler23]

I've never seen one and wondered where all the returned phones go when people swap them for a different colour and/or storage capacity.

They are refurbished by Apple and used as replacement phones for people that have issues with their phones..

 

[ross1998]

That apple store employee doesn't know much about his own company that he works at....

 

[scaredpoet]

Hi there,

I have heard last evening an Apple Store employee who told me that from time to time, refurbished iPhones appeared in the online Apple Store. I never saw this category before, and it doesn't show here up north.

Silly question, but do such a thing exist? It seems too good to be true.

Yes, there is such a thing:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals

It's listed way at the bottom of the primary Apple Online store page, under "Refurbished and Clearance." It's this section where refurbs of various Apple products show up, along with closeouts of the previous year models whenever a redesign happens.

All the devices sold there go through a full remanufacturing process, so they come out in such good shape you normally can't tell the difference from a new model of the same generation. they also come with full 1-year warranties and you can get AppleCare for them.

Stock is constantly changing though, so you have to check often if you're looking for something specific. Refurb iOS devices tend to go really quickly, and are kinda like unicorns: everyone else seems to spot them but you unless you look really hard. iPhones are particularly rare, and it's probably not going to be until after Christmas that you'll see the 5s on there.

Also, sometimes the cellular carriers will sell their own stocks of refurb iPhones. Just be aware that those don't go through the same remanufacturing process that Apple puts their returned devices through.

 

[Cubytus]

Well I do know what a refurbished pro ducted is when it comes from Apple, and the US Store isn't mine, but still, and as written, there is no such section as a refurbished iPhone. No 4s, or any of the 5 family. Ironically enough, even as they are selling an 8GB 4S, demo models are 16GB. But you can't buy a demo unfortunately.