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Refurbished ipad
- Thread starter Samtb
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I would not make that assumption. They include the same warranty as new products and you can also purchase Apple Care if you are worried.
I purchase most of my Apple products refurbished if I can and haven't had any issues. None of them have been indistinguishable from new. My 2 current Macs are refurbs, as well as my wife's iPad and one of my Apple TV's.
I purchase most of my Apple products refurbished if I can and haven't had any issues. None of them have been indistinguishable from new. My 2 current Macs are refurbs, as well as my wife's iPad and one of my Apple TV's.
It would also depend on the age of the iPad and who refurbished it. A new iPad refurbished by Apple would be fine, while I would be leery of older iPads I've seen online that are refurbished by other sellers.
iPads have no moving parts. And for Apple refurbished iPads (and Macs as well), they replace the battery with a new one, and the battery is probably the main thing that will go out before the rest of the components.
Bought several refurbished iPads and every one of them has been just fine and are still in service. Zero worries. Great way to save a few bucks and get the iPad you want.
Maybe somebody can help me to find out what kind of refurbished/or demo-units are existing from Apple. Recently i bought two iPad Pro 12.9 gen2 on eBay as „used“ but they came in somethings that looked like a „official“ brown refurbished box. The internal foam elements fits exactly to the iPad and there were stickers on the outside that included the correct serial number, IMEI and Part Number and looked like something official from Apple.
There was also a text that said: „Unit has been pre-owned. Battery life will vary based upon prior usage. This product is being offered as-is and is not offered with a manufacturer‘s warranty.“
Checking the serial number on the Apple support website gives the result that there is really no warranty on the iPad any more although it seems that it is manufactured in September 2017 which is less than a year ago.
The IOS on both iPads was 11.2.1 which was from December 2017, but the iPads were partly charged. One had 105 charging cycles and the other only 5! The one with 105 cycles has traces of usage like scratches on the Glas and on the back and a blue pressure mark on the background lightning. The other one looks pretty good but I wonder what happened to an iPad from September 2017 with only 5 charges?
What kind of products are these iPads? Are Apple selling iPads used without refurbishing them (maybe demo units or returns from customers)? Why are they terminate the warranty before the official one year warranty is over? Why are these iPads not „really“ refurbished with exchanging the used parts and renewing the warranty (and selling them with a bigger profit)?
There was also a text that said: „Unit has been pre-owned. Battery life will vary based upon prior usage. This product is being offered as-is and is not offered with a manufacturer‘s warranty.“
Checking the serial number on the Apple support website gives the result that there is really no warranty on the iPad any more although it seems that it is manufactured in September 2017 which is less than a year ago.
The IOS on both iPads was 11.2.1 which was from December 2017, but the iPads were partly charged. One had 105 charging cycles and the other only 5! The one with 105 cycles has traces of usage like scratches on the Glas and on the back and a blue pressure mark on the background lightning. The other one looks pretty good but I wonder what happened to an iPad from September 2017 with only 5 charges?
What kind of products are these iPads? Are Apple selling iPads used without refurbishing them (maybe demo units or returns from customers)? Why are they terminate the warranty before the official one year warranty is over? Why are these iPads not „really“ refurbished with exchanging the used parts and renewing the warranty (and selling them with a bigger profit)?
These are the "real" Apple refurbished products: https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad
All refurbished iPad models include:
- The same 1-year warranty as a brand new iPad
- All manuals and accessories
- A new battery and outer shell
- A new white box
(1) What are Apple Certified Refurbished Products?
Apple Certified Refurbished Products are pre-owned Apple products that undergo Apple's stringent refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale. While only some units are returned due to technical issues, every unit is evaluated to ensure it meets Apple's quality standards.
Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:
- undergoes full functionality testing and any defective modules identified in testing are replaced.
- Apple Watch and Apple Pencil devices that require replacement parts are not included in the Apple Certified Refurbished Program.
- is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
- is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes).
- includes either the Operating System originally shipped with the unit or, in some cases, a more recent version.
- is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock.
Refurbishment procedures follow the same basic technical guidelines as Apple's Finished Goods testing procedures.
(2) What should I expect when I purchase an Apple Certified Refurbished Product?
- Substantial savings
- A fully functional unit with complete documentation
- The assurance that the unit meets Apple's premiere quality standards, and that its defective components have been replaced by genuine Apple components
All Apple Certified Refurbished Products are covered by a one-year limited warranty. For extended coverage, you have the option of purchasing the AppleCare Protection Plan with your Apple Certified Refurbished Product. The AppleCare Protection Plan extends the complimentary coverage on your Apple Certified Refurbished Product to up to three years of world-class support for Mac, and up to two years of world-class support for iPad, iPod, iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
(4) A refurbished item that I wanted is no longer available. How can I ensure that I get an item when it's in stock?
Refurbished supply is usually very limited and we often run out of refurbished inventory. We recommend that you act quickly if you see an item that you like. A product will be reserved for you once you've completed checking out and we've received full authorized payment. Please note that some payment methods take longer than others and that availability of a refurbished product is not guaranteed until we receive your full payment.
So it seems they are not refurbished but what other kind of used products with „official“ boxes and stickers are coming from Apple? An indication that Apple has something to do with that is that the warranty was removed which only Apple can do....(just checked the age with coconutBattery again. It was manufactured at 2017-10-02. I got it two weeks ago, so that is definitly less than a year ago)
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Devices that have been replaced under warranty will no longer have a warranty.
Official-looking boxes and stickers are widely available for purchase from third-parties.
If Apple touches it, the device will get a new serial number.
In all likelihood, those are scrap devices that were covered by a third-party insurance and replaced with a new one. The scrap device is repaired and resold.
In many ways, a refurb ifrom Apple is a better buy than a new. They are often simply returns ("I decided I wanted the 10.5 and not the 12.9") with nothing wrong, but Apple takes every unit, goes through it with a fine-tooth comb before selling it, then you get an exactly identical warranty and AppleCare if you buy it. I only buy new if I need something right away in a custom config or is a brand new model and I can't wait because I need a new Mac immediately.
Other times, Apple refurbishes devices that have encountered liquid or other physical damage. Apple refurbishes the logic board and other components. For example, customers have received iPhone 6 Plus devices with Touch Disease right out of the box due to poor QC.
Apple refurbs offer good value if the device is truly an open box return.
I thought that this „replaced devices“ are getting refurbished.....How is it possible that Apple releases and resell this „scrap devices“ again? In my case the better iPad did not look like scrap. Hopefully it did not need a warranty....
Your refurbished device isn't from Apple.
It's from a carrier insurance company like Asurion. They provide warranty to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc. customers. When customers make a claim, Asurion takes the old device back, performs repairs, and resells it.
Strictly speaking, assuming it was replaced by Apple, warranty is the longer of remaining warranty from original date of purchase or 90 days from date of replacement/repair.
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Apple manufacturer certified refurbished products are great. They get 1 year warranty, new chassis, new battery and probably undergo more thorough QC than brand new.
Third-party refurbishers, not so much.
But these companies are not able to remove the warranty.....Apple has to involved in that in some way even if they did not refurbish the devices. There must be a way that Apple releases this „scrap devices“ to the market again....
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple worked with Asurion and other insurance companies to kill any remaining warranty.
Apple knows with certainty Asurion will use third-party parts for repair. This voids any remaining warranty and Apple wants to flag this. Asurion reports the S/N to Apple and keeps the grey-market alive by encouraging repairs and replacements through third-parties (e.g. carriers and retailers who work with Asurion). It's a win-win for both parties.
That’s because refurbished products have to go through a quality check versus a new product that’s *expected* to work properly factory new.
Even so, I have had issues with refurbished products from Apple, but it’s never been a problem, because they immediately will ship you out another one with the return of the defective product. They can’t inspect every component, but they do have to make sure there’s no water damage, internal damage to the logic board/other hardware components, etc.
The flash memory has a limit too, which could go before the battery depending on how heaving used it was previously.
I doubt it's likely. You're probably looking at 48TB worth of NAND writes for the 16GB model at least. Battery's bound to deteriorate sooner.