I have had refurb iPhones and agree they've been good, better than the one I bought on day 1 new. But what if someone sends in their phone for a certain problem that they fix...but while he had been using the phone he left it out in hot temperatures, or done something that could significantly weaken the lifespan of certain parts. Would they know?
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Why are refurbished units considered to always be great?
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Brand new iPhones come off a production line where thousands of iPhones are made one after another.
Refurbished units get inspected thoroughly one by one here in the U.S. and usually get put through a strict inspection.
Refurbished units get inspected thoroughly one by one here in the U.S. and usually get put through a strict inspection.
That kind of ignores my question though. What if something had undergone extreme temperatures and wore something out they probably can't tell just because it works.
I had a debate on here a while back. There was a group of people who said that refurbs were exactly the same as brand new phones.
Justification being that phones have serial numbers that got locked to individuals, and when returned those serial numbers needed to be replaced.
My view was that apple kept the phones the same, changed the firmware and replaced the sim trays where the serial number was on the 5s. I'm not sure if its the same for the 6s.
I've had a couple of refurbs as part of warranty issues, and they were excellent.
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They can run diagnostics on the phone.
I think you are using an edge case scenario where extreme heat was applied and yet there was not physical damage on any type. Possible though I cannot see why someone would do that. In any case the refurb will have warranty. If something is damaged I would expect to manifest itself during the warranty period. If you that worried, get applecare to be sure.
Justification being that phones have serial numbers that got locked to individuals, and when returned those serial numbers needed to be replaced.
My view was that apple kept the phones the same, changed the firmware and replaced the sim trays where the serial number was on the 5s. I'm not sure if its the same for the 6s.
I've had a couple of refurbs as part of warranty issues, and they were excellent.
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They can run diagnostics on the phone.
I think you are using an edge case scenario where extreme heat was applied and yet there was not physical damage on any type. Possible though I cannot see why someone would do that. In any case the refurb will have warranty. If something is damaged I would expect to manifest itself during the warranty period. If you that worried, get applecare to be sure.
after having two genuine Apple refurbs (an iPhone 5, and an iPod Touch 5, given the choice I'd actually prefer a refurb unit. They're perfect.
Just on impulse; I purchased an iPhone 5S that got replaced through AppleCare! It should arrive in a weeks time! The seller states that it is new and never been used. Got it from Apple retail store as a replacement.
This eases my mind that I might be getting a lemon or something like that! I will post my experiences after it arrives.
This eases my mind that I might be getting a lemon or something like that! I will post my experiences after it arrives.
Returns are in whatever shape they were when they received them with the exception being that they fixed the specific issue that it came in for. I've seen them at their best and worst.
I have gotten returns that looked like new, and ones that literally looked like they fell out of the Airllane without a parachute.
I got an iMac with a dead Ethernet port, mouse that was coarse and rough like it'd been dragged down the freeway, the computer had a 2 inch chip in the case (literally missing a chunk), and the screen had thick scrapes gouged in from one corner to the other like a knife scrape (though not as precise), and a keyboard that looked only marginally better than the mouse.
Called apple, their answer was although it came that way, that their warranty doesn't cover cosmetic damage. They agreed only to replace the main board due to the dead Ethernet port.
No damage to its shipping container. All packaging intact and perfect. It left apple like that. But even though it had only been signed for 5 minutes prior, apple said no to repairing the cosmetic damage that it shipped from them with.
Computer shop had it within 20 minutes of coming out of the box.
Privately owned shop was kind, and managed to shuffle some paperwork and got the damaged parts replaced. By the time they were done, I think the cd rom and hard drive were only parts retained.
If it hadn't been for a private shop, I'd have been stuck with the knarliest looking $2000 computer ever.
Expect that all Apple has done is repaired the issue it came to them for. Nothing else.
That said, generally refurbs have been good. But it will be in whatever physical condition they received it in.
I have gotten returns that looked like new, and ones that literally looked like they fell out of the Airllane without a parachute.
I got an iMac with a dead Ethernet port, mouse that was coarse and rough like it'd been dragged down the freeway, the computer had a 2 inch chip in the case (literally missing a chunk), and the screen had thick scrapes gouged in from one corner to the other like a knife scrape (though not as precise), and a keyboard that looked only marginally better than the mouse.
Called apple, their answer was although it came that way, that their warranty doesn't cover cosmetic damage. They agreed only to replace the main board due to the dead Ethernet port.
No damage to its shipping container. All packaging intact and perfect. It left apple like that. But even though it had only been signed for 5 minutes prior, apple said no to repairing the cosmetic damage that it shipped from them with.
Computer shop had it within 20 minutes of coming out of the box.
Privately owned shop was kind, and managed to shuffle some paperwork and got the damaged parts replaced. By the time they were done, I think the cd rom and hard drive were only parts retained.
If it hadn't been for a private shop, I'd have been stuck with the knarliest looking $2000 computer ever.
Expect that all Apple has done is repaired the issue it came to them for. Nothing else.
That said, generally refurbs have been good. But it will be in whatever physical condition they received it in.
I don't think the same applies to their phones. I have never received an Apple refurbished phone that wasn't in pristine condition.