Will Apple exchange a refurbished iMac for returned product?

[gerrard0804]

My iMac pro will arrive this week.

Having noticed a 14 day return policy , , I wonder if Apple will exchange a refurbished product to customers who return a defective one. If not, where will those returned product go even some of them are actually very slight or negligible issue?

For a machine that costs me much, really hope it’s in perfect shape.

 

[Glmnet1]

If there is something wrong with your iMac they will repair it for free within the first year (or three if you buy AppleCare) or they will give you a new one. Then they will probably do like with every other devices and sell it in the refurbished store in some time.

The 14 days return window is different, this is the time you have to bring it back if it works fine but you're not satisfied for any reason or if you just changed your mind.

 

[CWallace]

I know Apple stocks refurbished iOS devices for exchange for defective items (my iPhone 6 Plus' antenna failed about 24 months in so they just swapped it with a refurb unit), but I expect they don't stock refurb Macs so the main option will be a repair - especially if you have any BTO options beyond RAM as I expect most stores stock the base configuration only.

 

[flyinmac]

I know Apple stocks refurbished iOS devices for exchange for defective items (my iPhone 6 Plus' antenna failed about 24 months in so they just swapped it with a refurb unit), but I expect they don't stock refurb Macs so the main option will be a repair - especially if you have any BTO options beyond RAM as I expect most stores stock the base configuration only.

At this early stage in the iMac Pro release, I don't imagine they'd have much inventory of refurbished units to pull from. So right now, if you needed a replacement machine, you'd probably get a new machine as a replacement.

But Apple does stock refurbished Macintosh computers. And it is their standard practice to replace defective machines or defective components with refurbished units (if they have refurbished stock that matches with what you need at that moment).

So, if it needed a replacement mainboard, and they had a refurbished board available, that is what you would likely end up with being installed.

If they elected to replace the entire machine, they will often replace it with a refurbished model that is of equal or better configuration, if they have such a unit available at the time. The longer the machine has been available, the greater your odds are of getting refurbished parts or machines in exchange.

While this practice is common in the industry, I do have mixed feelings on it.

Let's suppose that a particular machine has been around a while. For illustration, I'll pick the 2014 Mac Mini (which is essentially what they are still selling).

Say you buy a brand new Mac Mini today. And 20 days after you received the computer it suddenly stops working. You take it in, and they exchange it for a working machine.

Now, if they replace it with a refurbished unit, you could have essentially spent brand new price on a 4 year old computer. Sure they've inspected it, and are giving you a full warranty. But just a few weeks ago, you paid top dollar retail price for a brand new machine with essentially virgin parts that were all unused.

Now you suddenly have a machine that could have 4 years of use on it. And aside from the fact that it's not brand new, we know that all electrical components have a given life expectancy. You have just been essentially shorted a potential 4 years of electrical component life expectancy. Sure it's got a full warranty. But... assuming that the device was expected to last beyond the warranty, maybe even up to 8 or 10 years, perhaps you've lost 4 years from that expectancy.

Granted you now have a functioning machine instead of a dead one. But you aren't really getting what you just paid for a couple weeks ago.

On the other side, say the machine is under AppleCare, and 2 years down the road it dies. In that scenario, I would feel less "robbed" if they replaced the machine or component parts with refurbished units.

 

[gerrard0804]

At this early stage in the iMac Pro release, I don't imagine they'd have much inventory of refurbished units to pull from. So right now, if you needed a replacement machine, you'd probably get a new machine as a replacement.

But Apple does stock refurbished Macintosh computers. And it is their standard practice to replace defective machines or defective components with refurbished units (if they have refurbished stock that matches with what you need at that moment).

So, if it needed a replacement mainboard, and they had a refurbished board available, that is what you would likely end up with being installed.

If they elected to replace the entire machine, they will often replace it with a refurbished model that is of equal or better configuration, if they have such a unit available at the time. The longer the machine has been available, the greater your odds are of getting refurbished parts or machines in exchange.

While this practice is common in the industry, I do have mixed feelings on it.

Let's suppose that a particular machine has been around a while. For illustration, I'll pick the 2014 Mac Mini (which is essentially what they are still selling).

Say you buy a brand new Mac Mini today. And 20 days after you received the computer it suddenly stops working. You take it in, and they exchange it for a working machine.

Now, if they replace it with a refurbished unit, you could have essentially spent brand new price on a 4 year old computer. Sure they've inspected it, and are giving you a full warranty. But just a few weeks ago, you paid top dollar retail price for a brand new machine with essentially virgin parts that were all unused.

Now you suddenly have a machine that could have 4 years of use on it. And aside from the fact that it's not brand new, we know that all electrical components have a given life expectancy. You have just been essentially shorted a potential 4 years of electrical component life expectancy. Sure it's got a full warranty. But... assuming that the device was expected to last beyond the warranty, maybe even up to 8 or 10 years, perhaps you've lost 4 years from that expectancy.

Granted you now have a functioning machine instead of a dead one. But you aren't really getting what you just paid for a couple weeks ago.

On the other side, say the machine is under AppleCare, and 2 years down the road it dies. In that scenario, I would feel less "robbed" if they replaced the machine or component parts with refurbished units.

As for the mac mini case you quoted, will apple tell that it's a refurbished product. It's a fraud if they are quoting they will replace a new machine, but the parts are used.

Will it be the case for iMac Pro as well ? Apple should have parts for testing and demo since half year ago when they announced the release of iMac Pro.

I am really worried if I need a replacement.

 

[Plutonius]

As for the mac mini case you quoted, will apple tell that it's a refurbished product. It's a fraud if they are quoting they will replace a new machine, but the parts are used.

Will it be the case for iMac Pro as well ? Apple should have parts for testing and demo since half year ago when they announced the release of iMac Pro.

I am really worried if I need a replacement.

I buy refurbished from Apple where possible. The internals are new and Apple does a much better QC job on them.

 

[flyinmac]

As for the mac mini case you quoted, will apple tell that it's a refurbished product. It's a fraud if they are quoting they will replace a new machine, but the parts are used.

Will it be the case for iMac Pro as well ? Apple should have parts for testing and demo since half year ago when they announced the release of iMac Pro.

I am really worried if I need a replacement.

It's in the written warranty that they will at their option (their choice) repair or replace with refurbished parts.

And if you specifically asked, I'm sure they would probably tell you which option they elected to choose in your case.

In the event of a full machine being replaced, usually the box will be marked as refurbished if it is. The serial numbers are also different. They use a different serial number sequence on refurbished machines. Don't remember off the top of my head, but I believe it starts with an R. Could be wrong. But it is a different sequence than new.
[doublepost=1516082308][/doublepost]

I buy refurbished from Apple where possible. The internals are new and Apple does a much better QC job on them.

Actually, it's more likely that you would get new external components than internal components. Such as if the case or screen were damaged. But internally, your going to have used parts with (hopefully, though in my experience not always) repairs having been made to whatever specific component was bad.

I've purchased numerous new and refurbished computers from Apple over the years. And have had mixed experiences.

I've purchased refurbished machines from Apple that looked like they'd literally been dragged down rocky road behind a car at full speed. And was refused the option of returning it because Apple said they didn't warrant "cosmetic" problems. Even though I called them immediately after signing for the box. Note that it clearly was not damaged in transit. The box and packing material were perfect. It was damaged prior to being shipped. Literally scraped up everywhere, with literally half inch chunks broken out of the computers case.

After being refused permission to return it. I powered it on, and found the machine was also defective.

So I called Apple back. And they refused to permit me to return it. So I drove it down to the local service center and put it on their desk (still less than an hour after signing for it - with a copy of the delivery slip in hand to prove it).

The service center said that the physical damage would not be covered. Even though it clearly arrived damaged. But they powered it on and found it needed a new main board. So a refurbished main board was ordered. And separately I worked out a deal for a replacement case with the store owner since Apple had already flagged it as refusing to cover the "cosmetic" problem.

I've likewise purchased brand new machines from Apple that died within the first month. And then began the endless cycle of them swapping "refurbished" but still faulty components into the machine that would again be replaced within the month.

Honestly, my experience with Apple is that it's a total "Luck of the draw" thing as to whether you get a good or bad machine or part.

The refurbished machines are certainly not new computers inside old cases. That idea is just not even realistic.

And as anyone who lived through the iMac G5 fiasco of all of us swapping midplanes (mainboards) out with Apple can testify... all we did was essentially pass around our defective logic boards without repair. Might as well have just walked up to each other and swapped boards and said here, it'll work better in your plastic case than it did in my plastic case. Only difference is that we all shipped our defective boards to Apple, and they randomly passed them back out to each of us. No repair made, because Apple still hadn't even figured out yet what the actual problem was. They just kept hoping we'd all give up and be appeased with a replacement part (even if they still hadn't figured out why the design wasn't working).

By the time Apple finally figured out what was wrong and actually started repairing the defects (class action suit)... most of us had already tired of the game and disposed of the machines.

While they are getting faster at identifying problems... it does still happen sometimes that the early replacement parts still haven't had the necessary "repair" performed.

And as for refurbished machines getting a more thorough testing... I have never seen evidence of that.

I have purchased exactly ONE machine from Apple that never died. That's my current 2006 Mac Pro.

I have had other Apple machines that I purchased used, which served me well until I retired them. But out of the dozens of machines purchased directly from Apple both new and refurbished, I never managed to keep one of them alive without issue for more than a month at a time. So it's a total toss up as far as I'm concerned. That's primarily why I go with keeping my old 2006 Mac Pro and a Hackintosh, while important work is performed on my Windows PC's, which strangely I've never actually had a bad one.

 

[gerrard0804]

It's in the written warranty that they will at their option (their choice) repair or replace with refurbished parts.

And if you specifically asked, I'm sure they would probably tell you which option they elected to choose in your case.

In the event of a full machine being replaced, usually the box will be marked as refurbished if it is. The serial numbers are also different. They use a different serial number sequence on refurbished machines. Don't remember off the top of my head, but I believe it starts with an R. Could be wrong. But it is a different sequence than new.
[doublepost=1516082308][/doublepost]

Actually, it's more likely that you would get new external components than internal components. Such as if the case or screen were damaged. But internally, your going to have used parts with (hopefully, though in my experience not always) repairs having been made to whatever specific component was bad.

I've purchased numerous new and refurbished computers from Apple over the years. And have had mixed experiences.

I've purchased refurbished machines from Apple that looked like they'd literally been dragged down rocky road behind a car at full speed. And was refused the option of returning it because Apple said they didn't warrant "cosmetic" problems. Even though I called them immediately after signing for the box. Note that it clearly was not damaged in transit. The box and packing material were perfect. It was damaged prior to being shipped. Literally scraped up everywhere, with literally half inch chunks broken out of the computers case.

After being refused permission to return it. I powered it on, and found the machine was also defective.

So I called Apple back. And they refused to permit me to return it. So I drove it down to the local service center and put it on their desk (still less than an hour after signing for it - with a copy of the delivery slip in hand to prove it).

The service center said that the physical damage would not be covered. Even though it clearly arrived damaged. But they powered it on and found it needed a new main board. So a refurbished main board was ordered. And separately I worked out a deal for a replacement case with the store owner since Apple had already flagged it as refusing to cover the "cosmetic" problem.

I've likewise purchased brand new machines from Apple that died within the first month. And then began the endless cycle of them swapping "refurbished" but still faulty components into the machine that would again be replaced within the month.

Honestly, my experience with Apple is that it's a total "Luck of the draw" thing as to whether you get a good or bad machine or part.

The refurbished machines are certainly not new computers inside old cases. That idea is just not even realistic.

And as anyone who lived through the iMac G5 fiasco of all of us swapping midplanes (mainboards) out with Apple can testify... all we did was essentially pass around our defective logic boards without repair. Might as well have just walked up to each other and swapped boards and said here, it'll work better in your plastic case than it did in my plastic case. Only difference is that we all shipped our defective boards to Apple, and they randomly passed them back out to each of us. No repair made, because Apple still hadn't even figured out yet what the actual problem was. They just kept hoping we'd all give up and be appeased with a replacement part (even if they still hadn't figured out why the design wasn't working).

By the time Apple finally figured out what was wrong and actually started repairing the defects (class action suit)... most of us had already tired of the game and disposed of the machines.

While they are getting faster at identifying problems... it does still happen sometimes that the early replacement parts still haven't had the necessary "repair" performed.

And as for refurbished machines getting a more thorough testing... I have never seen evidence of that.

I have purchased exactly ONE machine from Apple that never died. That's my current 2006 Mac Pro.

I have had other Apple machines that I purchased used, which served me well until I retired them. But out of the dozens of machines purchased directly from Apple both new and refurbished, I never managed to keep one of them alive without issue for more than a month at a time. So it's a total toss up as far as I'm concerned. That's primarily why I go with keeping my old 2006 Mac Pro and a Hackintosh, while important work is performed on my Windows PC's, which strangely I've never actually had a bad one.

what if it is within the 14 days return period and Apple's sales department confirms it's a brand new one. Is it trustworthy or simply even sales department does not know the process in production department?

 

[flyinmac]

what if it is within the 14 days return period and Apple's sales department confirms it's a brand new one. Is it trustworthy or simply even sales department does not know the process in production department?

If it's within 14 days, I'd simply return the machine for a refund and buy a new one (actually I'd probably return it for refund and leave without a new Mac if it was me, but then I've been around the block enough times that I'm just tired).

In my case, they wouldn't permit a return because the machine was cosmetically / physically damaged. Even though they shipped it to me that way. Likewise they wouldn't fix the physical damage under warranty because their warranty doesn't cover cosmetic damage.

 

[gerrard0804]

If it's within 14 days, I'd simply return the machine for a refund and buy a new one (actually I'd probably return it for refund and leave without a new Mac if it was me, but then I've been around the block enough times that I'm just tired).

In my case, they wouldn't permit a return because the machine was cosmetically / physically damaged. Even though they shipped it to me that way. Likewise they wouldn't fix the physical damage under warranty because their warranty doesn't cover cosmetic damage.

but I am in Hong Kong where only return & replacement are possible. They do not allow refund here...

 

[Double-Slit]

An online list with serial numbers (year built) of returned (broken) iMacs can provide insight into whether a newly received imac has already been returned and/or has been repaired.

 

[flyinmac]

but I am in Hong Kong where only return & replacement are possible. They do not allow refund here...

That's unfortunate.

In that case, I would say that at this point, as new as the iMac Pro design is, you would most likely receive new replacements due to a likeness that there wouldn't be a lot of returned iMac Pro machines yet.

But as each week passes, it becomes more likely that there will be stock of refurbished iMac Pro machines available for them to swap with you.

You would be entitled to know whether they give you a new or refurbished machine. But that doesn't mean you would be entitled to demand a new machine as a replacement unless your written warranty provides that option in your country (or if your country had laws specifically prohibiting refurbished machines as warranty replacement).

 

[gerrard0804]

That's unfortunate.

In that case, I would say that at this point, as new as the iMac Pro design is, you would most likely receive new replacements due to a likeness that there wouldn't be a lot of returned iMac Pro machines yet.

But as each week passes, it becomes more likely that there will be stock of refurbished iMac Pro machines available for them to swap with you.

You would be entitled to know whether they give you a new or refurbished machine. But that doesn't mean you would be entitled to demand a new machine as a replacement unless your written warranty provides that option in your country (or if your country had laws specifically prohibiting refurbished machines as warranty replacement).

I called Apple Hong Kong and they said they will guarantee a new one within 14 days of purchase. They just don't allow refund as some notorious re-sellers asked for refund years ago for iphone 4/5/5s/6/6s when they could not make a premium profits for reselling.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

My iMac pro will arrive this week.

Having noticed a 14 day return policy , , I wonder if Apple will exchange a refurbished product to customers who return a defective one. If not, where will those returned product go even some of them are actually very slight or negligible issue?

For a machine that costs me much, really hope it’s in perfect shape.

The 14 day returns policy is for any or no issue at all, apple will refund or replace with a new machine in this period.
After that apple will fix under warranty for a year, or 3 years with apple-care.

Returned machines with little or no issues are either sold open box in stores like B&H or apple will retest and sell as refurbished with any minor issues fixed before resale.