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Refurbished Mac Questions

Y

yangchewren

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 1, 2012
215
1
I am currently on the fence as to whether to buy a 27" Refurbished iMac from the online applestore.

It's the 2011 model with an i5 processor and HD 6970M 1GB.

There's a few questions I'd like to ask to steer me in the direction of purchase:

1) How prevalent is the 6970m failure issue? Has anyone had to go through the trouble of an exchange?

2) Do refurbished macs come with brand new magic mice/keyboards? Or are these part of returned stock too?

3) Are refurbished units covered under the usual 14 day return policy?

4) Do scratches on the screen fall under cosmetic damage? I wouldn't want to receive a less than perfect glass panel on my unit.

5) A frivolous one: Do they come with a new mac smell? Or am i just going to breathe in someone else's cooties? ;)
 
1. Don't know
2. Don't know
3. Yes
4. Return if your don't like screen
5. Don't know

Mac refurb are generally amazing.
 
1) Don't know.
2) Looked new to me when I got mine.
3) Yes.
4) I believe they would've replaced the glass if it was scratched. The refurbished) products I have gotten from Apple couldn't be told from new except for the fact they came in white refurb boxes. And if you have cosmetic issues you don't like you do have the 14 days.
5) Didn't notice any funky smells from the refurbished products I've gotten. Again, if you don't like it you have 14 days.

See Apple Certified Refurbished Products for details about Apple refurbished products.

And yes I would buy another refurbished Mac from Apple.
 
With the exception of the box, none of the refurbished products I have seen have had any defects whatsoever. They look and smell like brand new. These are not return that are simply re-packed like some other stores would do.
 
Apple refurbished products are considered by most to be a very good deal, as they're pretty much like buying a new Mac, except for the box.
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, all units undergo Apple's stringent quality refurbishment process.
Click to expand...
Click the link in that quote for more details on the refurbishment process.
  • Apple Certified Refurbished Products are available online from the Apple Refurb Store and are not sold in local Apple stores
  • Educational discounts do not apply to refurb products.
  • Refurb products come with the same warranty as new products, and qualify for AppleCare
  • Refurb products have a changed serial number that identifies them as refurbished
  • Refurb products come with whatever OS version and software they originally shipped with as new
  • Refurb products come with the same items in the box as new products, only the box is a plain one, not the new box.
  • A refurb product could have some cosmetic signs of prior use, but rarely do
  • A refurb Mac may have some cycles on the battery, but not a significant enough amount to affect usable life
  • The refurb store inventory changes frequently, sometimes several times a day, and doesn't have any direct relation to upcoming product releases. What's available in the refurb store is determined by what has been returned to Apple.
  • If you're looking for a particular item, refurb.me can alert you when it becomes available.
 
Spink10 said:
1. Don't know
2. Don't know
3. Yes
4. Return if your don't like screen
5. Don't know

Mac refurb are generally amazing.
Click to expand...

Bear said:
1) Don't know.
2) Looked new to me when I got mine.
3) Yes.
4) I believe they would've replaced the glass if it was scratched. The refurbished) products I have gotten from Apple couldn't be told from new except for the fact they came in white refurb boxes. And if you have cosmetic issues you don't like you do have the 14 days.
5) Didn't notice any funky smells from the refurbished products I've gotten. Again, if you don't like it you have 14 days.


And yes I would buy another refurbished Mac from Apple.
Click to expand...

ender78 said:
With the exception of the box, none of the refurbished products I have seen have had any defects whatsoever. They look and smell like brand new. These are not return that are simply re-packed like some other stores would do.
Click to expand...

GGJstudios said:
Apple refurbished products are considered by most to be a very good deal, as they're pretty much like buying a new Mac, except for the box. Click the link in that quote for more details on the refurbishment process.
Click to expand...

Thank you all for your answers. It looks like I have absolutely no downside risk in making the purchase and would be placing the order soon.
 
Hi, I just place my order for a 27" refurb iMac in the US store and I wonder what kind of keyboard and mouse normally they have? wired or wireless keyboard and mouse or trackpad?
I highly appreciate your comments of what you received. Thanks!
 
McGiord said:
Hi, I just place my order for a 27" refurb iMac in the US store and I wonder what kind of keyboard and mouse normally they have? wired or wireless keyboard and mouse or trackpad?
I highly appreciate your comments of what you received. Thanks!
Click to expand...
When viewing the details for the iMac, it shows "What's in the Box?" That will tell you which keyboard/mouse/trackpad is included.
 
McGiord said:
Hi, I just place my order for a 27" refurb iMac in the US store and I wonder what kind of keyboard and mouse normally they have? wired or wireless keyboard and mouse or trackpad?
I highly appreciate your comments of what you received. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Every refurb I have ever seen in the refurb store came with the default configuration of an Apple wireless keyboard and Magic mouse.
 
yangchewren said:
I am currently on the fence as to whether to buy a 27" Refurbished iMac from the online applestore.

It's the 2011 model with an i5 processor and HD 6970M 1GB.

There's a few questions I'd like to ask to steer me in the direction of purchase:

1) How prevalent is the 6970m failure issue? Has anyone had to go through the trouble of an exchange?

On a refurb, nonexistent. This would have been replaced in the refurbishing process, as it's an issue that has a replacement program as-is.

2) Do refurbished macs come with brand new magic mice/keyboards? Or are these part of returned stock too?

Yes. Brand new and sealed.

3) Are refurbished units covered under the usual 14 day return policy?

Yes, as well as a full 1 Year Warranty, just as a new Mac. They also can have AppleCare applied.

4) Do scratches on the screen fall under cosmetic damage? I wouldn't want to receive a less than perfect glass panel on my unit.

I've bought 25+ refurbished Macs, iPads, iPods, and accessories from the Apple Refurb Store, and not a single one has had cosmetic damage of any sort, let alone scratches on the screen or a bad panel. In the event that you get one with cosmetic damage (which i don't believe screen issues fall under), you can always return it for another.

5) A frivolous one: Do they come with a new mac smell? Or am i just going to breathe in someone else's cooties? ;)

YES. It's intoxicating. ;)
Click to expand...

:apple:
 
I've purchased a refurbished iMac, and have had friends buy refurbed iMacs as well, though mine was a late 2013 model.

1. No idea on this one, though past experience with bad GPUs suggests that if "some" are bad, that really means they're all bad... they just aren't all failing at the same time because different people use their computers differently.

Worse: if the whole stock of a specific GPU are bad (and again, if "some" are bad then they usually all are), then all that's happening here is Apple will replaced a failed GPU with another GPU that will probably fail again, eventually.

So, if you want to buy this one, I would consider getting AppleCare before your warranty ends, if you plan on keeping it awhile. Also, keep backups of your data, and if you start seeing problems, make sure you have or can borrow a backup Mac for a few days.

On the plus side: a three year warranty on an already three-year old iMac could mean that if the graphics card DOES die, Apple might just give up on finding the parts and just get you a whole new iMac for your trouble. No guarantees on that though.

2. My mouse and keyboard were labeled refurbished, but aside from the label and the box, they were indistinguishable from new.

3. Yes the 14-day policy applies, as does the standard 1 year warranty.

4. They probably do fall under cosmetic damage, though I have yet to see a refurb come out of the box with scratches.

On mine, I noticed a small dull spot on the anti glare coating on the screen a couple weeks after I bought it, while cleaning the screen. Though, the only way to notice it was to have the screen completely off and have a very bright light shining on the spot to see it. I have no way of knowing for sure if it came out of the box that way or if something happened during my ownership of it. But it's almost impossible to see unless you know exactly where to look and how to see it, so it's not been an issue for me.

If you're concerned, then I would arrange to have the refurb iMac delivered to an Apple Store, then drive there and bring a bright flashlight with you. Open the iMac in-store and check the screens with the bright light for defects. If you don't like what you see, return it on the spot.

5. Yes, mine had new Mac smell. Filled the room with that smell for a couple days actually. :)

Granted, mine very likely was originally an impulse buy and the first owner decided to return it after a day. Or maybe they smudged up (what is now) my screen and their OCD wouldn't let them bear to keep it, so they exchanged it. :p Either way, I saved some cash and my iMac came out almost perfect and new-looking.
 
Last edited:
I purchased a 2011 27" refurb with the 1GB video card and at 15 months of ownership the vid card crapped out. Good thing I bought applecare. Doing a repair through a third party was really painless.
 
Got the refurb last Thursday, looks perfect, no freebies just standard i5 3.2Ghz 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD, wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse.

How can it be tested? What are the know defects for this series?
 
McGiord said:
Got the refurb last Thursday, looks perfect, no freebies just standard i5 3.2Ghz 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD, wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse.

How can it be tested? What are the know defects for this series?
Click to expand...
I would just relax and start using it. It comes with a full year warranty, so if anything is defective, it's covered. There's no need to actively look for defects, as it's most likely that you won't find any.
 
Do you think the refurb prices will go down at all if new iMacs are released next week?
 
Liffey said:
Do you think the refurb prices will go down at all if new iMacs are released next week?
Click to expand...
Refurb prices and inventory have little or nothing to do with new product releases, but rather which items are returned and refurbished. No, the prices are not likely to drop at the time of a new release.
 
GGJstudios said:
Refurb prices and inventory have little or nothing to do with new product releases, but rather which items are returned and refurbished. No, the prices are not likely to drop at the time of a new release.
Click to expand...

This isn't accurate. The refurb prices for previous gen products always go down several weeks after a new product replaces it at its old price point.
 
Imaginator said:
It'll be a few weeks after a new product release before its predecessor's refurb prices go down.
Click to expand...

That has been my observation also. I don't recall the price drop being the next day necessarily, but you are correct the prices do drift down as new models come out.
 
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