^That might have been true for you, but i just got mine from the black friday sale, and it was FLAWLESS. I could't find any scratches or anything wrong at all.
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The truth about refurbished iPhones
- Thread starter Merkie
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For what its worth, think of it like this. You can get a fresh factory phone that was shipped out from China and hastily put together in order to meet production demand. OR you can get a refurb which was put together at an US repair center and meticulously tested before being sent out.
I think you're screwed either way. I have come to the conclusion that the universe does not want me to own an iPhone; probably bad karma from all the bad stuff I have said about Apple in the past.
--My first iPhone 4 was (obviously) brand new out of the box. It had a scratch on the home button, a very very very minor blemish on the antenna that was barely noticeable, and a very very very tiny chip in the back glass on one of the edges. I don't know how I notice this stuff, but I always seem to eventually. The blemishes were nothing that bugged me for very long. The huge scratches my wife put in it when trying to put it on our iHome with the port cover still in it bugged me a LOT. Anyway, that iPhone had wi-fi problems and I had it replaced for a refurb.
--Refurb #1: Was in absolutely perfect condition cosmetically as far as I was ever able to tell. Unfortunately it got a dead pixel and I returned it for
--Refurb #2: Seemed ok at the Apple store. Got it home and noticed a very noticeable chip taken out of the antenna band and a small blemish on the Apple logo. Apple store would do nothing about it. When I got a survey in my e mail, I complained that I had gotten a replacement phone with cosmetic damage, and one of the head genius guys called me to hear what I had to say. I complained a little bit and he set me up with:
Refurb #3: Was in perfect working condition. Developed a phantom scratch on the antenna band for absolutely no reason, but whatever. Again, not a big deal. Things happen. Was rocking refurb #3 for a long time until last night. I dropped it on the tile floor in my bathroom from pretty high up, and smashed the front glass.
Refurb #4: The one I had to pay $199 for tonight at the Apple store. No blemishes on it as far as I can tell and it's in perfect working condition. The one difference I have noticed is that it has a light leak in the headphone jack and none of my others had that as far as I know.
Again, I say you're screwed either way. My honest opinion, the iPhone 4 is a terrific phone made by a company that has customer service like I have never seen before. They have always been great to me whenever I've gone in there and have always tried very hard to make me happy.
BUT, the iPhone's antenna band is a scratch magnet and the glass can be touchy. I have dropped my various iPhone 4's on hard surfaces and come out scratch free, but then dropped one last night and smashed it to bits.
In the end, now that I have one, I can't live without it. I was so thankful my wife was cool about me going in to get a replacement tonight. I hope to god that this is the last time I have to go in that Apple store, at least until I buy a new model.
--My first iPhone 4 was (obviously) brand new out of the box. It had a scratch on the home button, a very very very minor blemish on the antenna that was barely noticeable, and a very very very tiny chip in the back glass on one of the edges. I don't know how I notice this stuff, but I always seem to eventually. The blemishes were nothing that bugged me for very long. The huge scratches my wife put in it when trying to put it on our iHome with the port cover still in it bugged me a LOT. Anyway, that iPhone had wi-fi problems and I had it replaced for a refurb.
--Refurb #1: Was in absolutely perfect condition cosmetically as far as I was ever able to tell. Unfortunately it got a dead pixel and I returned it for
--Refurb #2: Seemed ok at the Apple store. Got it home and noticed a very noticeable chip taken out of the antenna band and a small blemish on the Apple logo. Apple store would do nothing about it. When I got a survey in my e mail, I complained that I had gotten a replacement phone with cosmetic damage, and one of the head genius guys called me to hear what I had to say. I complained a little bit and he set me up with:
Refurb #3: Was in perfect working condition. Developed a phantom scratch on the antenna band for absolutely no reason, but whatever. Again, not a big deal. Things happen. Was rocking refurb #3 for a long time until last night. I dropped it on the tile floor in my bathroom from pretty high up, and smashed the front glass.
Refurb #4: The one I had to pay $199 for tonight at the Apple store. No blemishes on it as far as I can tell and it's in perfect working condition. The one difference I have noticed is that it has a light leak in the headphone jack and none of my others had that as far as I know.
Again, I say you're screwed either way. My honest opinion, the iPhone 4 is a terrific phone made by a company that has customer service like I have never seen before. They have always been great to me whenever I've gone in there and have always tried very hard to make me happy.
BUT, the iPhone's antenna band is a scratch magnet and the glass can be touchy. I have dropped my various iPhone 4's on hard surfaces and come out scratch free, but then dropped one last night and smashed it to bits.
In the end, now that I have one, I can't live without it. I was so thankful my wife was cool about me going in to get a replacement tonight. I hope to god that this is the last time I have to go in that Apple store, at least until I buy a new model.
QFT
Nice thought, but according to Apple, they're tested the same way:
"Refurbishment procedures follow the same basic technical guidelines as Apple's Finished Goods testing procedures." - Apple
And why should they waste more money doing better testing? It's easier to let customers weed out the bad ones. Then Apple gives them another refurb, and the customer feels like they've been treated special. It's a win-win situation.
I've rarely had a refurbished phone that I liked. Be it an iPhone or Android, there was always a problem. Most of the time it was faulty memory which caused apps to crash. I have a refurbished Galaxy S4 now and apps are crashing like crazy.
Yeah, but it gets old having to take so much time setting up phones from scratch. Also, sometimes it hard to convince technical support that the phones isn't working properly. All this is a pain in the butt.
And why do you set it up from scratch each time instead of restoring from a backup?
The setup process after a factory data reset is VERY time consuming on an Android phone, as they are much more complex than iPhones. I've had iPhones for several years, but iOS is just way too restrictive for my needs.
They're better. Sure. Unless you can avoid getting one, in which case you'd never choose one over a brand new one...
Keep telling yourself whatever you need to.
You swapped a USED broken phone, and in return, for free, Apple replaces it with a phone that you can't tell was used, that works, and that's a REFURB.
People need to get over it.
Apple doesn't owe you anything but a fix.
It's funny. Now that Apple is replacing parts more and more on site, people are starting to REQUEST refurbs rather than get their old sticky, scratched up phone back with a new battery or new screen.
And yes, I'd say 99% of refurbs are in cosmetically preferable shape to their broken counterparts... It's al about this crazy belief that Apple "owes" them a "new" phone. They don't. And pretty soon it'll only be AC+ that even gets refurb... The rest will just be fixed. The horror!
Ironic how quickly those dirty refurbs become preferable...
Keep telling yourself whatever you need to.
You swapped a USED broken phone, and in return, for free, Apple replaces it with a phone that you can't tell was used, that works, and that's a REFURB.
People need to get over it.
Apple doesn't owe you anything but a fix.
It's funny. Now that Apple is replacing parts more and more on site, people are starting to REQUEST refurbs rather than get their old sticky, scratched up phone back with a new battery or new screen.
And yes, I'd say 99% of refurbs are in cosmetically preferable shape to their broken counterparts... It's al about this crazy belief that Apple "owes" them a "new" phone. They don't. And pretty soon it'll only be AC+ that even gets refurb... The rest will just be fixed. The horror!
Ironic how quickly those dirty refurbs become preferable...
You guys are talking about cosmetics. I'm talking about device internals that rarely have been up to par for refurbished phones, both iPhone and Android. 4 of the 7 refurbished phones I've had in the future had bad memory, which caused the apps to crash.
While cosmetically the refurb looks great unfortunately there seems to be many stories on different sites about less then acceptable performance from some of these returbs
It's understandable as these refurbs cAn only be checked out to a certain degree
It's understandable as these refurbs cAn only be checked out to a certain degree
Many of those stories involve carrier-refurbished iPhones, which may not be as thoroughly tested as Apple. All Apple refurbs get a new case, screen and battery. Keep in mind that you can get a refurb dud just as you can get a new dud.
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Refurbished iPhones from where and how many of those 7 are iPhones and Androids?
You do realize this is a 3 year old thread about iPhones, not Android, right?
The setup process on android is complicated? I had an HTC One for about 6 months and I was constantly trying new ROMs and switching back to stock. Every time I did this, I'd have to restore and set up from scratch. It wasn't any more complicated than setting up an iOS device.
I've never had a problem with refurbished Apple iPhones, iPads, iPod touches or even Macs, cosmetically or otherwise. Apple does has diagnostics they can(and do) run to determine where the fault lies. If bad memory was in fact a problem on a unit being tested, it would show up.
On the other hand, I've had HORRIBLE experiences with refurbs from other manufacturers. Maybe that is the problem.
So 6 out of 7 were iPhones and you go on to say it gets old having to take so much time setting up phones from scratch (referring to the sole Android)?
Try to exaggerate less or nobody will take you seriously.
Having had the following:
3 x original iPhone
4 x iPhone 3G
3 x iPhone 3GS
4 x iPhone 4
2 x iPhone 4S
4 x iPhone 5
2 x iPhone 5S
All iPhones after the buying one of each were refurbs from Apple stores given at the Genius Bar.
Refurbs are just as likely to have cosmetic/build issues as a brand new retail one. They are also just as likely to have hardware issues too. When cosmetically perfect it is impossible to tell the difference from a brand new iPhone. In some cases the refurb is in better cosmetic condition than the original, and in the first few months from release the refurb is most likely "brand new" from a factory in a non retail box as the stores need replacement phones from day one. About 5 months into the life cycle of a particular model the replacements are in superb cosmetic condition.
I agree with other posts - misleading title, I was expecting to read something I don't know about refurbs (which isn't much).
3 x original iPhone
4 x iPhone 3G
3 x iPhone 3GS
4 x iPhone 4
2 x iPhone 4S
4 x iPhone 5
2 x iPhone 5S
All iPhones after the buying one of each were refurbs from Apple stores given at the Genius Bar.
Refurbs are just as likely to have cosmetic/build issues as a brand new retail one. They are also just as likely to have hardware issues too. When cosmetically perfect it is impossible to tell the difference from a brand new iPhone. In some cases the refurb is in better cosmetic condition than the original, and in the first few months from release the refurb is most likely "brand new" from a factory in a non retail box as the stores need replacement phones from day one. About 5 months into the life cycle of a particular model the replacements are in superb cosmetic condition.
I agree with other posts - misleading title, I was expecting to read something I don't know about refurbs (which isn't much).
Based on the earlier replies in this thread, I must be one unlucky dude. 
I don't have an Apple Store locally so most of the AC exchanges have been done by mail as an advanced-exchange (which btw is fantastically handy). I've had my iPhone 4 exchanged three times and my iPhone 5 twice under AppleCare, directly from Apple, and in four instances the refurbs I received had minor but very noticeable cosmetic damage while the fifth and most recent exchange had obnoxiously-obvious damage.
The last refurb I got for my iP5, and I really wish I was making this up, the phone looked like someone had dropped kicked it onto concrete then neatly packed it inside those white refurb-iPhone boxes; it had deep gashes along two of the chamfered sides that you could literally snag a shirt with, not to mention the dozen or so scratches. I had to send pics into Apple and the AC rep was really nice and very apologetic sending me a replacement which was good.
Based on my experience with 5 refurbs (6 if you include the last one mentioned above) I'd say Apple does NOT replace the outer casing/glass/etc... in refurb iPhones unless the original defective unit that was being refurbished had major physical damage deeming it necessary to replace the outer casing.
I don't have an Apple Store locally so most of the AC exchanges have been done by mail as an advanced-exchange (which btw is fantastically handy). I've had my iPhone 4 exchanged three times and my iPhone 5 twice under AppleCare, directly from Apple, and in four instances the refurbs I received had minor but very noticeable cosmetic damage while the fifth and most recent exchange had obnoxiously-obvious damage.
The last refurb I got for my iP5, and I really wish I was making this up, the phone looked like someone had dropped kicked it onto concrete then neatly packed it inside those white refurb-iPhone boxes; it had deep gashes along two of the chamfered sides that you could literally snag a shirt with, not to mention the dozen or so scratches. I had to send pics into Apple and the AC rep was really nice and very apologetic sending me a replacement which was good.
Based on my experience with 5 refurbs (6 if you include the last one mentioned above) I'd say Apple does NOT replace the outer casing/glass/etc... in refurb iPhones unless the original defective unit that was being refurbished had major physical damage deeming it necessary to replace the outer casing.
The one problem is that they are not' meticulously' inspected. If they were people would not be seeing all the problems they're having
Plain white boxes that replacement iPhones come in, not white retail boxes containing new iPhone 5s (which is what you have).
One is A plain white box that you can only get from the Apple store as a replacement. The other is a normal retail box.
Don't worry, Apple doesn't put refurbished phones into new boxes and sell them at Best Buy.