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would you buy a refurb?

L

lakaiordie

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 17, 2008
1,444
263
unfortunately i had my iphone stolen. oh well, whoever stole it now has a useless iphone unless they care about going through my numbers or my music and my emails which i had nothing of use to them anyway unless they want to talk to people i know. anyway, i have a fan discount on my bill. i looked online and i am able to order a 16gb refurb for 299. a new 8gb is 399. id rather save myself some money, and the extra storage would be nice. but do the refurbs look new? or do they look "used"? and if something happens to be wrong with it can i take it to an apple store for an exchange? what im asking is what would YOU buy? a brand new phone with less storage for 100 more. or a refurb with more storage for 100 less

thanks
 
lakaiordie said:
unfortunately i had my iphone stolen. oh well, whoever stole it now has a useless iphone unless they care about going through my numbers or my music and my emails which i had nothing of use to them anyway unless they want to talk to people i know. anyway, i have a fan discount on my bill. i looked online and i am able to order a 16gb refurb for 299. a new 8gb is 399. id rather save myself some money, and the extra storage would be nice. but do the refurbs look new? or do they look "used"? and if something happens to be wrong with it can i take it to an apple store for an exchange?

thanks
Click to expand...

Can't speak about iPhone/iPod refurbs, but the computers atleast are in perfect condition and the only difference between them and a 'new' one is the box :)
 
lakaiordie said:
unfortunately i had my iphone stolen. oh well, whoever stole it now has a useless iphone unless they care about going through my numbers or my music and my emails which i had nothing of use to them anyway unless they want to talk to people i know. anyway, i have a fan discount on my bill. i looked online and i am able to order a 16gb refurb for 299. a new 8gb is 399. id rather save myself some money, and the extra storage would be nice. but do the refurbs look new? or do they look "used"? and if something happens to be wrong with it can i take it to an apple store for an exchange? what im asking is what would YOU buy? a brand new phone with less storage for 100 more. or a refurb with more storage for 100 less

thanks
Click to expand...



the only difference is you dont get the original box but you do get all accesories(sorry for the spelling). what a refurb is is a returned iphone and then apple fixes it up tests it very thorouly(sorry for spelling) so its basicly(sorry for spelling) brand new
 
I'd save the money and get the refurb. Apple stands behind the refurbs like their new ones.
 
lakaiordie said:
unfortunately i had my iphone stolen. oh well, whoever stole it now has a useless iphone unless they care about going through my numbers or my music and my emails which i had nothing of use to them anyway unless they want to talk to people i know. anyway, i have a fan discount on my bill. i looked online and i am able to order a 16gb refurb for 299. a new 8gb is 399. id rather save myself some money, and the extra storage would be nice. but do the refurbs look new? or do they look "used"? and if something happens to be wrong with it can i take it to an apple store for an exchange? what im asking is what would YOU buy? a brand new phone with less storage for 100 more. or a refurb with more storage for 100 less

thanks
Click to expand...
It is not useless to the person that stole it or is now using it. All they have to do is slip in a new SIM and off they go. Make sure you call AT&T and have the SIM deactivated. Also, you should change any email account passwords or web passwords that you may have used on your iPhone.

Now on your question about a refurb iPhone 3G from AT&T (Premier Store): They are in very good condition but they are not Apple refurbished (no Apple White box), they are in the regular AT&T package. There has been some recent discussion about getting a full new 1 year warranty or the remander of the existing warranty. Your experience may vary.

Apple provides all warranty service for AT&T and if you have an issue with the refurbished iPhone 3G you take it to Apple or send it in for warranty service, your choice.

Dave
 
dave006 said:
It is not useless to the person that stole it or is now using it. All they have to do is slip in a new SIM and off they go. Make sure you call AT&T and have the SIM deactivated. Also, you should change any email account passwords or web passwords that you may have used on your iPhone.

Now on your question about a refurb iPhone 3G from AT&T (Premier Store): They are in very good condition but they are not Apple refurbished (no Apple White box), they are in the regular AT&T package. There has been some recent discussion about getting a full new 1 year warranty or the remander of the existing warranty. Your experience may vary.

Apple provides all warranty service for AT&T and if you have an issue with the refurbished iPhone 3G you take it to Apple or send it in for warranty service, your choice.

Dave
Click to expand...

That reminds me.....There is a sticker on the side of the ATT boxes the refurbs come in and it states on there that each comes with a full 1 year warranty from the date (listed below or above, cant remember) and the date on ours was just a week or two before we got them....and the build date of my wifes was mid 08 (Per serial number), but her warranty started in late November 08. Point is, it looks like they give you a new warranty from....???? I'm guessing the date after they are "refurbished"???

I'll have to get a picture and post it later in that other thread...


OH, to the OP....get the referb, even if its not right (as my referb was, even though my wifes was just fine), Apple will replace it. I got my referb on a Thursday evening and the home buttom was not working right, had a "new" phone the next day when I went to Apple. The referbs look brand new, btw.
 
lakaiordie said:
unfortunately i had my iphone stolen. oh well, whoever stole it now has a useless iphone unless they care about going through my numbers or my music and my emails which i had nothing of use to them anyway unless they want to talk to people i know. anyway, i have a fan discount on my bill. i looked online and i am able to order a 16gb refurb for 299. a new 8gb is 399. id rather save myself some money, and the extra storage would be nice. but do the refurbs look new? or do they look "used"? and if something happens to be wrong with it can i take it to an apple store for an exchange? what im asking is what would YOU buy? a brand new phone with less storage for 100 more. or a refurb with more storage for 100 less

thanks
Click to expand...

I've bought a refurbed ipod before as has my other half and we'd both be happy to do so again.
 
With refurbs you know that the problems are fixed, so (most of the times) there are no other problems, because they've been checked manually, while with a new one you can't be sure whether you'll find problems or not. Of course, with refurbs the old problems can arise again, but that's not very common. Considering that refurbs cost less to, they're a good choice.

:apple:
 
Refurbs are always better quality in my experiences. I'd actually rather have a refurb than something new.

My Mac Pro is a refurb
My iPhone 3G is a referb
My Original iPhone is refurbished
My girlfriend's MacBook is refurbished

I've only had problems with new things.
 
I've had a replacement phone due to fault with my new one so i now have a refurb i suppose ... its fine ... looked as good as my new one when i was handed it.

And as long as you have the 1 year manufacturers warranty you can still get it swapped out straight away in applestore if you have problems .... go for it!
 
ya thanks for the help.

i already changed my email passwords and i called the second i got home that night to tell at&t it was stolen and they have suspended my phone. they assured me that the person cant use it. but what can they really do with it now?

i think i'll just get the 16gb refurb. i kinda always wanted a white one anyway.

oh i have another question. when i get my new phone what do they have to do so i can have my new iphone have the same number that ive had.
 
lakaiordie said:
ya thanks for the help.

i already changed my email passwords and i called the second i got home that night to tell at&t it was stolen and they have suspended my phone. they assured me that the person cant use it. but what can they really do with it now?
Click to expand...


They can still use it....swap sim cards, JB it, unlock it for another carrier, use it as an ipod, etc.....

lakaiordie said:
i think i'll just get the 16gb refurb. i kinda always wanted a white one anyway.

oh i have another question. when i get my new phone what do they have to do so i can have my new iphone have the same number that ive had.
Click to expand...

just call ATT and have them activate the phone with your number :)
 
i kind of know the people who stole it. they're not smart enough to jailbreak it. and i dont think they can afford an iphone bill. nor do they have at&t. and if they try to take it to a store its gonna show up as a stolen iphone wont it?

i can find out where they work. but even then i cant be so sure they'll have it on the spot. but they're not going to be very happy when i just show up at their work one day unexpected.

an iphone is just a phone. ill just buy a new one i dont care really. the fact is that they stole it from me and they won't get away with that so easy.
 
lakaiordie said:
i kind of know the people who stole it. they're not smart enough to jailbreak it. and i dont think they can afford an iphone bill. nor do they have at&t. and if they try to take it to a store its gonna show up as a stolen iphone wont it?

i can find out where they work. but even then i cant be so sure they'll have it on the spot. but they're not going to be very happy when i just show up at their work one day unexpected.
Click to expand...

If you know who did it, why not call the COP's? :confused:
 
bought 2 perfectly good iphone refurbs for family already. I'd do it again if i had to replace a lost or out of warranty broken phone.
 
lakaiordie said:
even if i do. and we go to their work they can just say"i dont have it somene else does". and the cops wont be able to do anything about it.
Click to expand...

Right but then you would have a record of reporting it stolen to the police, even if they don't do anything. Also with a police report your homeowner's/renter's insurance may pay to replace the phone.
 
If you were buying an iphone for the 1st time (not a replacement one) would you still consider a refurb, or would you buy a brand new one?
 
lakaiordie said:
ya thanks for the help.

....oh i have another question. when i get my new phone what do they have to do so i can have my new iphone have the same number that ive had.
Click to expand...
seand1111 said:
They can still use it....swap sim cards, JB it, unlock it for another carrier, use it as an ipod, etc.....

just call ATT and have them activate the phone with your number :)
Click to expand...
Since you are ordering through Premier, you will enter your existing phone number when you go through the ordering process. The refurbished iPhone 3G will come with a new SIM and you can call Customer Care to complete the activation of the SIM or you can do it online at https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/

Dave
 
deratka said:
If you were buying an iphone for the 1st time (not a replacement one) would you still consider a refurb, or would you buy a brand new one?
Click to expand...
It is a matter of personal choice and cost. Also, if you buy a "new' iPhone 3G and then it breaks or has an issue, Apple is going to replace it with a refurbished unit in almost every situation. So why not save a little money and have less stress if you have to get it replaced later.

Dave
 
dave006 said:
Since you are ordering through Premier, you will enter your existing phone number when you go through the ordering process. The refurbished iPhone 3G will come with a new SIM and you can call Customer Care to complete the activation of the SIM or you can do it online at https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/

Dave
Click to expand...

thank you, you were more helpful than the 5 people i talked to on the phone. they also said i couldnt buy a refurb. but its right there on the premier site. why do you think they told me that?
 
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