Common sense. What do you think the defect ratio is at Foxconn? Every rejected phone is retooled as a refurb! It's how they build up the supply of white boxed units. Simple business economics!
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Truth meter check: Are iphone 5's in white boxes truly new?
- Thread starter lamenramen
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Common sense. What do you think the defect ratio is at Foxconn? Every rejected phone is retooled as a refurb! It's how they build up the supply of white boxed units. Simple business economics!
I'm pretty sure the replacement I got had been rejected by another customer but started out as a new factory replacement in a white box. The stickers in the back were cut already and there was a smaller paper sticker along the edge as if someone stuck it on after inspecting it again.
There is no law that states you must be told if it is a refurb or not if you are there for warranty work.
If you want to guarantee a new iphone, and you are still within 30 day of purchase, then return for a full refund and buy a new one.
But if it is warranty work, then they just have to fix the problem. That does not mean a new one. Just like a new car. If you take a new car back to the dealer because the bumper was lose, you are not going to get another new car. You'll get the bumper replaced.
If you want to guarantee a new iphone, and you are still within 30 day of purchase, then return for a full refund and buy a new one.
But if it is warranty work, then they just have to fix the problem. That does not mean a new one. Just like a new car. If you take a new car back to the dealer because the bumper was lose, you are not going to get another new car. You'll get the bumper replaced.
No, silly, they were allowing those rejected phones to slip past QC into retail, which is how so many end up nicked and scuffed out of the retail box.
You're not using common sense. If what you wrote were true, then 100% of replacement iPhones would be defective or flawed and we know this isn't true. Your chance of getting a nicked and scuffed white box replacement iPhone is the same as retail box.
Trollicon 7 apparently.
Ahh, even if this was true, does that count as refurbished? Ie it has never left the factory. If say a car manufacturer caught a car that had some paint defects on the assembly line and sent it back to be painted correctly, is it now a "refurbished" or used car?
This is really simple if you want a new phone you need to return it in the first 30 days. After that you will get a warranty replacement phone which may or may not be refurbished.
You are right that most replacements are refurbs but just because it is a refurb doesn't mean anything is wrong with it. Now, I don't know whether they already have refurbs because so many people were totally OCD about their phones or if it is too early but either way the phone you got is new, it has more than likely never been used because if it was refused originally it was probably due to a miniscule scratch on the back or something and Apple replaced the back. Now, I don't know about dirt and grime, it seems odd to me that Apple would let that through to the replacement units as these are normally just as nice as original.
Most often, white box phones are the phones that someone else returned or rejected because of a ding or scratch. They're playing the odds that eventually they'll find someone who's just happy to have a phone, beat up or not.
Think about it. Supply of new phones is extremely low but there is a seemingly never ending supply of replacements. Even if it's truly new, it's likely to be a phone that didn't pass quality control inspection in the factory.
I've said it before, ignorance is bliss. If you believe that white box held a new phone, well, I'm happy that you're happy.
Think about it. Supply of new phones is extremely low but there is a seemingly never ending supply of replacements. Even if it's truly new, it's likely to be a phone that didn't pass quality control inspection in the factory.
I've said it before, ignorance is bliss. If you believe that white box held a new phone, well, I'm happy that you're happy.
First off, she was probably right: your replacement iPhone is still from the "new batch."
But even when the refurbs start filtering in, the whole point of refurbishing is that whatever problem another user had with an iPhone gets solved. So, you are not "inheriting" someone else's problems.
They don't just take someone's broken phone and pop it in a white box, hoping the next guy won't notice. Returned phones are basically disassembled and stripped down. Broken and non-reusable parts are either discarded or recycled, and the "good" components are put on the remanufacture line.
The issuing of new serial numbers suggests that the phones are completely rebuilt. Meaning a "refurb" could actually be a phone that was built as-new, but with a mix of new parts and re-used parts (like the CPU/GPU, memory, etc) coming back from returned units.
I also wouldn't be surprised if the return aluminum casings are melted down and used to make new ones. Aluminum can pretty much be recycled over and over again rather cheaply.
NOT TRUE.
The phones after be disassembled into core components go back down the assemble line.
The first part that is always replaced is the housing and screen.
Obvious flaws are NOT passed down the line in the hopes the next owner will overlook it.
HOWEVER.
Third Party Recyclers and Carriers (who will remain nameless) may do exactly that. White glove it and fob it off on some other unsuspecting consumer.
Sometimes I feel line Apple's great customer service has generated an incomprehensible sense of self-entitlement. I can't think of any other manufacturer that offers such incredibly hassle free returns. Seriously, I've walked into Apple stores on countless occasions in and outside of the return period and walked away with a happy replacement. That's why I keep buying Apple stuff. I don't feel like there's a huge risk in getting stuck with something that isn't worth what I paid for it.
OP, white boxes are not returns from other customers. They're probably new at this point. Later in the year, they'll be refurbished units. Either way, if you're not happy just swap it for another. Do everything while you're at the store so you don't have to run back and forth.
OP, white boxes are not returns from other customers. They're probably new at this point. Later in the year, they'll be refurbished units. Either way, if you're not happy just swap it for another. Do everything while you're at the store so you don't have to run back and forth.
Wrong. Thanks to the OCD crowd Apple has thousands now. Pretty easy to redistribute.
Apple makes the best refurbs though.
Lots of smart people in this thread(seriously).
No law forcing Apple to tell you.
No entitlement to a brand new phone when you swap a used (30+ days) one, even with apple care +.
No way to trust what the geniuses tell you. They just want you GONE. They'd tell you the phone was Steve's prototype if it would get you to stop obsessing over a pin sized nick and LEAVE.
Thanks OCD'ers! You've pretty much guaranteed every white box from here out is REFURB!
Don't want one? Better run and return it now
Fourth iphone 5. This one also came with a chip in the aluminum on the chamfeur bezel, but it was the least offensive location to me that I have seen so far.
The genius, who was a jerk, told me that these are issues that are going to come up and said that he was going to make an exception. I wanted to tell him that I'm going to return it if I feel like it, regardless of what he thinks. He also acted suspicious b/c I had a straight talk sim in there, would not want me to stick my straight talk sim in there until I inspected the phone more. I explained to him that straight talk is a mvno for AT&T. Well the way I check for dead pixels is to look at a white background in addition to a darker background. Just a general 'tude he had, even after the manager told me that it will not be hard to find an iphone 5 without any dings in the aluminum. Still haven't seen one without it except the ones on display in the store.
I decided to cut my losses b/c the screen that I got on mine is truly white without any issues. No weird vibration fuzziness effect on light blue backgrounds that I can see.
Aluminum was a bad choice for a phone. At least for the black color. It's also going to dent but I'm done.
The genius, who was a jerk, told me that these are issues that are going to come up and said that he was going to make an exception. I wanted to tell him that I'm going to return it if I feel like it, regardless of what he thinks. He also acted suspicious b/c I had a straight talk sim in there, would not want me to stick my straight talk sim in there until I inspected the phone more. I explained to him that straight talk is a mvno for AT&T. Well the way I check for dead pixels is to look at a white background in addition to a darker background. Just a general 'tude he had, even after the manager told me that it will not be hard to find an iphone 5 without any dings in the aluminum. Still haven't seen one without it except the ones on display in the store.
I decided to cut my losses b/c the screen that I got on mine is truly white without any issues. No weird vibration fuzziness effect on light blue backgrounds that I can see.
Aluminum was a bad choice for a phone. At least for the black color. It's also going to dent but I'm done.
Why would Apple open a brand new retail box to replace your phone if it's a warranty issue? I understand if someones phone is bad right out the retail box. Spending extra money on boxing it and including accessories which only have to be sent back is a waste.
I've dealt with many refurbished items from various companies and nothing comes close to what Apple replaces its phones with. In my eyes they're brand new.
I've dealt with many refurbished items from various companies and nothing comes close to what Apple replaces its phones with. In my eyes they're brand new.
Derp. Maybe in the long run but even at launch, the Apple stores had a plethora of white box phones just for replacement purposes. Where did those come from then if they weren't new?
It's absurd to suggest that Apple was able to refurbish customer phones, before customers even had phones.
That's not what I'm saying. A referb is one of many things. In the first weeks its a retooled reject from the manufacturing line
I had to get a replacement iPhone 5 due to WiFi problems last week. I asked the AG if these were new ones and he said yes. He said it was still too soon after launch to get anything other than brand new iPhone 5s.
What is the source of your information?
Are you friends with a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy that is roomates with a guy that works for Apple?
The only definition of refurb relevant to this thread is retail box iPhones that were opened by customers then sent back to be refurbished. Retooled rejects can still find their way into retail box and this happens everywhere (including vehicles that are caught during QC but fixed and shipped to sell as new).