Exactly. Any phone still att he factory can end up in a retail box as well as a white box.
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Truth meter check: Are iphone 5's in white boxes truly new?
- Thread starter lamenramen
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Exactly. Any phone still att he factory can end up in a retail box as well as a white box.
It's all coming from the same manufacturing line. They are all brand new. One goes into a white box, another goes into a retail box.
Any "rejects" will get "retooled" and either go into a retail box or white box, but in the end, the phone is still brand new.
Has it occurred to anyone that "white box" doesn't mean refurb or new or anything, but instead means "use for replacement?"
Like NovemberWhiskey said, there was something about putting in a sim and binding it to a carrier. So it makes sense that there has to be a way for a store to replace phones without having to carry a stock of them locked to each carrier.
I'm inclined to agree with darngooddesign and the others who say right now, they're probably new.
Like NovemberWhiskey said, there was something about putting in a sim and binding it to a carrier. So it makes sense that there has to be a way for a store to replace phones without having to carry a stock of them locked to each carrier.
I'm inclined to agree with darngooddesign and the others who say right now, they're probably new.
I had my original iPhone 5 replaced on launch day because of scuffing. The replacement was in a sealed white box. I'm absolutely sure it was brand new. Unless, of course, someone returned an iPhone 5 just hours before me, Apple shipped it back to China for refurbishment, and then shipped it back to that Apple Store. Probably not the case.
Summary: the white boxes simply mean "use for replacement" - nothing more, nothing less
Summary: the white boxes simply mean "use for replacement" - nothing more, nothing less
A refurb could just have easily been made week 37 lol...
People just don't get it. Apple makes refurbs from production line rejects and customer returns. What have there been TONS of, for the last few weeks?
And how long does it take to slap a new case on it and "refurb" a phone that was returned only because of a tiny nick in the chamfer?
Weeks? When they are selling every one they make?
Nope. Refurbs are here. Here to stay. If you get a white box, it's a refurb NOW. Maybe if you get an "old" white box, but thanks to the OCD crowd swapping 6 at a time, good luck with that.
Come on people, we aren't talking about an involved process here, and the phone has been out nearly a month...
If you think units that didn't pass QC don't end up in retail boxes then you're highly naive. At the end of the line, phones go either in retail boxes or white boxes, it doesn't matter if they spent the night over at QC or not. There is no statistical relevant difference between variation of quality between white box phones or retail box phones.
I doubt Apple currently has the capacity over at Foxconn to do large scale remanufacturing yet, I think they'd rather produce new units.
I think you could be right, I just doubt every white box phone is a refurb. My white box phone has almost the same serial number as my retail box phone, was produced at the same factory, and so on. There's no indication of it being a refurb at all.
I doubt Apple currently has the capacity over at Foxconn to do large scale remanufacturing yet, I think they'd rather produce new units.
I think you could be right, I just doubt every white box phone is a refurb. My white box phone has almost the same serial number as my retail box phone, was produced at the same factory, and so on. There's no indication of it being a refurb at all.
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Does it really matter if they are refurbished or completely brand new?
Apple's refurb stuff is second to none, ive had plenty of iPhone refurbs and got my cinema display refurbished too. The only cosmetic difference in all of them was the box.
As others have mentioned everything is brand new except the internals. Its a brand new back plate, new front screen etc. Who cares if the logic board and camera have been used before?
Were not talking about an internal combustion engine here where wear matters.
Apple's refurb stuff is second to none, ive had plenty of iPhone refurbs and got my cinema display refurbished too. The only cosmetic difference in all of them was the box.
As others have mentioned everything is brand new except the internals. Its a brand new back plate, new front screen etc. Who cares if the logic board and camera have been used before?
Were not talking about an internal combustion engine here where wear matters.
I COULDN'T CARE LESS is ther term you are looking for,,,this most be the most corrected grammatical error on Macrumors!
As for your question: yes, she was telling you the truth. Never would Apple give a returned device back to another customer at the Genius Bar in the way you are implying. Why do you think she would lie to you? Believe her and believe me as I used to work at said bar...
May I note that the white box models will eventually end up being refurbs, but it's too early for this at the moment, perhaps in another month or so one might see them
They are probably new but are the rejects from the QA process.. No one will ever know their true status.. I personally will not take a white box iPhone replacement.. The only guarantee one can have for a new phone is in an unopened retail box!
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Do you think the Foxconn's production lines have a 100% yield? Of course not! Where do you think the rejects go to? Hint: the first batch of iP5 white boxes.
You know considering the fact that most of the people that are getting white box phones are the OCD people who need perfect devices I have a pretty good feeling that the white box phones are not rejects.
White box iPhones have been available since release day. These white box devices that Apple has set aside are for replacing defective devices. Since the iPhone 5 isn't even one month old, I can assure you that almost all of these white box devices are new from China.
I think people need to realize that the only difference between new in retail iPhone and the white box phones is that the white box phones don't come with anything but the phone.
After the receiver (ear speaker) stopped working in my original white 64 (after a previous repair effort) I exchanged for a "white box" replacement last evening.
I requested inspection before acceptance, because my preorder phone was cosmetically flawless. The Genius (only the second one I have dealt with who was a true 5-star Apple employee) slit the box open and put it down in front of me. He took it out, looked carefully at each edge (with plastic on) and then handed it to me. I inspected it closely, removed the plastic, look it over further, and found it to be cosmetically absolutely perfect. It was clearly not a previously opened or used unit.
I requested inspection before acceptance, because my preorder phone was cosmetically flawless. The Genius (only the second one I have dealt with who was a true 5-star Apple employee) slit the box open and put it down in front of me. He took it out, looked carefully at each edge (with plastic on) and then handed it to me. I inspected it closely, removed the plastic, look it over further, and found it to be cosmetically absolutely perfect. It was clearly not a previously opened or used unit.