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bushman4

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 22, 2011
4,231
4,235
Had an occasion to be in an Apple store for an exchange and was told White Box iPhones are new but without accessories.
What do you think.
 
It can be either. Usually you can look up the serial and tell.
If it's a 5S probably too soon for refurbs still. I do know iPhone 5 refurbs serial started DQ
 
Replacements for the 5S are probably still new, but that could change soon. 5 and older are most definitely remanufactured units.

But really, the refurb units from Apple are just as good, if not better, than new. You can't tell the difference.
 
Are "certified like-new" iphones from AT&T the same as refurbs from Apple?
 
Are "certified like-new" iphones from AT&T the same as refurbs from Apple?

They didn't used to be.
But that we're just called refurbished. The "certified like new" moniker is new.
 
So are these not good to get?
They're fine. It could be new, it could be refurb. But you could never tell the difference because Apple provides a lot of new parts with the refurbs and the refurbs go through the same quality control as new phones do.

What do you want Apple to do, open a brand new package and discard the contents? They aren't going to replace the accessories since those aren't the problem and you already got them with your original phone. Can you imagine how many "exchanges" they'd get if people thought they could also get brand new accessories?

Instead, they ship just the phone, refurb or new, in the white boxes and use those as replacements.
 
So are these not good to get?

Whenever Apple Refurbs an iOS device they get a new shell, new screen and new battery. I just had a bad battery and had my iPhone 5 replaced at the very end of my warranty. It's like getting a new phone.

I have no idea what process AT&T uses but can't imagine Apple would let them do less.
 
They're fine. It could be new, it could be refurb. But you could never tell the difference because Apple provides a lot of new parts with the refurbs and the refurbs go through the same quality control as new phones do.

Whenever Apple Refurbs an iOS device they get a new shell, new screen and new battery. I just had a bad battery and had my iPhone 5 replaced at the very end of my warranty. It's like getting a new phone.

I have no idea what process AT&T uses but can't imagine Apple would let them do less.

I'm pretty sure rlb4 was asking about AT&T "certified like-new" phones. According to the AT&T website they have "at least a 90 day warranty." Doesn't really inspire me much, I'd stay away. I don't think Apple has anything to do with the "certification" process.
 
Whenever Apple Refurbs an iOS device they get a new shell, new screen and new battery. I just had a bad battery and had my iPhone 5 replaced at the very end of my warranty. It's like getting a new phone.

I have no idea what process AT&T uses but can't imagine Apple would let them do less.
What AT&T does is test them and clean them. And of course the AT&T certified like new phones don't come with a full Apple warranty.
 
Having gone through 3 replacements I can say they are still brand-new. All manufactured by DN. All of them come with bad interlacing screens and rattling lock buttons.
Moreover, the replacement that I got yesterday came with a defective processor: it gives me the blue screen of death, which turns into colorful flashes of yellow, white, etc. I have to do the hard reset in order to get back to the phone. Sometimes it happens in a loop and it takes me 4-5 resets before I can start using the phone again. It happens every time I run Geekbench 3 or any game with intensive graphics.
Now I'm trying to get either a refund or a brand-new unit. I'm done with these white box replacements!
 
I'm pretty sure rlb4 was asking about AT&T "certified like-new" phones. According to the AT&T website they have "at least a 90 day warranty." Doesn't really inspire me much, I'd stay away. I don't think Apple has anything to do with the "certification" process.

Yes, I was asking about the AT&T "certified like-new" phones. I know Apples refurbs are great and come with a full 1 yr warranty but was unsure what AT&T's version was like. If it does only come with a 90 day warranty then that to me is a deal breaker.
 
I'm pretty sure rlb4 was asking about AT&T "certified like-new" phones. According to the AT&T website they have "at least a 90 day warranty." Doesn't really inspire me much, I'd stay away. I don't think Apple has anything to do with the "certification" process.
Ahh, good point. If that's what was meant, my apologies. Thanks for catching my error!
 
Original question was about Apple store WHITE BOX replacements. ATT & Verizon replacements are something different
 
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