Check if the phone is refurbished?

[Roikins]

Check your IMEI number online, see if you can get some info about it


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[natasftw]

Early build date = built on same assembly line as new.

Later build date as in a week ago = refurbished.

You're under the impression they're not still building phones? Unless they stopped making and shipping phones to keep up with the demand, your assumption doesn't show anything.

 

[sillylilwabbit]

You're under the impression they're not still building phones? Unless they stopped making and shipping phones to keep up with the demand, your assumption doesn't show anything.

Your post doesn't make sense. Of course, they are still building new retail boxed phones.

Anyhow, it is the same every year. We are almost 2 months since the release date.


You think with such demand outstripping the entire apple supply of new phones, you still think they would continue to set aside new phones for slim white box replacements?

With the amount of time passed since released and the amount of turnover from people with OCD swapping slim white box phones because of the yellow tint, uneven back light screens, dead pixel, etc, they are most certainly refurbishing phones now.

I have friends that work at the Apple Store, who are not drones and are very informative.

Remember, we are almost 2 months since the release.... Tons of returned/exchanged phones were sent back to Foxconn for refurbishing.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I don't understand why this argument is happening anyways...there's no way to tell between the two, so it really just comes down to an OCD psychological battle that some will have for absolutely no reason.

 

[TheRewardisCheese]

In my experience with Apple, Apple does not give refurbs for replacements at brick-n-mortar locations. The slim white box phones are simply brand new phones without the charger, usb cable and headphones that are earmarked for replacements.

There would be no reason to provide brand new retail boxed phones as replacements if just the phone is the problem, hence the while slim boxes. I am not sure why people get so worked up over this, as it seems that this topic crops up every year shortly after the new iteration is released.

There is absolutely nothing to worry about when getting a replacement that comes in a slim white box.

 

[sau124]

as someone mentioned above - it is too early in the product cycle for refurbs to show up in the supply chain. Apple can't even keep up with the demand on the new models. If I understand it right, leaving it in the white box is kind of cost cutting for Apple. They can save the money on the accessories by doing that. Also, everything including body, battery and some interns are replaced by Apple with a better QC than new products so I think I would not worry about it unless I have issues.

 

[jonathan2677]

What did they only make one batch of new

 

[brandonx1000]

I will definitely chime in. My wife had issues with her 5S and the dreaded "No SIM" error. As I was sitting there as the phone was being replaced, they said in the in store replacements are new models. Mine gets sent back to Apple where they melt down the glass and body and use reusable parts like the camera for the phones.

He said that after awhile, those reusable parts can also end up in brand new phones. I take this last part with a grain of salt, but there is a part of me that thinks this happens.

 

[ChrisJ1]

I exchanged my iPhone 5 about a year ago because the lock button wasn't working, I don't know if it was refurb or not, but it is working like a champ. No problems whatsoever, nothing.
It came out of that white little box as well, don't worry if it is a refurb trust me.

 

[DSwati]

Hey, i think checking that either the handset is refurbished or not is something end user can not judge. As refurbished handsets also goes through some definitive checklist to ensure they work as new.

But according to my personal experience buying a refurbished handset is not a bad idea coz you already having a doubt regarding the new one.

I would say go to some service center and ask them for the genuinity of the product and don't open the seal of the box until unless you are sure that it is real.

Go ahead with refurbished phones if they fit into budget and coming with warranty as well.

I will share some good resource with you for checking the product status shortly.

 

[TomTomahawk]

Did you ask if the phone was refurbed? If it is I would ask for another phone.

Yeap, this should be your first question!

Anyway, I believe it is too soon to refurnish iPhone 6's ... How about calling them??

 

[Ledsteplin]

Yeap, this should be your first question!

Anyway, I believe it is too soon to refurnish iPhone 6's ... How about calling them??

You quoted a comment from October 29th.


Sent from my ancient but trustworthy iPhone 5. ☮

 

[TomTomahawk]

You quoted a comment from October 29th.


Sent from my ancient but trustworthy iPhone 5. ☮

Omg you are right. thanx for that :S

 

[Ledsteplin]

Omg you are right. thanx for that :S

LOL I've done that!


Sent from my ancient but trustworthy iPhone 5. ☮

 

[Darran]

I know this thread is old and done already but just wanted to add the following some of which has already been said by others I case someone else uses this in the future.

I've had about half a dozen iPhones replaced in the Apple Store over the years for varying degrees of issues. I've always been told the replacements are Service Level iPhones meaning they "can" contain reused parts like cables and connectors however the battery and screen are always brand new. They come in the small white pack instead of the retail box as others have said because their replacements are set aside for this purpose and do not come out of their sales iPhone stock. In the past I've had my iphone replaced in an Apple Store at a time when all new iPhones were out of stock to buy and there was a long wait but of course they did have some for replacements as these are not part of the sales stock and can only be used for replacements. They don't come in the retail packaging purely as there's no need! When you replace your iPhone due to an issue its just the iphone that is swapped not the earphones and other accessories so it would cost Apple to hand out all these extras for no reason. Plus it saves on shipping weight and physical space to store them.

I exchanged my launch day iPhone 6 after about two weeks of owning. The Apple Store guy said I was their first iphone 6 replacement in that store so it's not like they had hundreds of returns to then start reusing on service level iPhones. He said it's quite a few months until they normally start getting the reused parts iPhones as they send out an amount of stock for exchanges and of course the stores need to go through this first.

Either way the replacement iPhones be it brand new or service grade ones are identical and technically there's no difference as the parts they reuse would never have been touched by anyone other than the person or machine assembling them in the factory so it makes no difference.

 

[HankAZ]

I know this thread is old and done already but just wanted to add the following some of which has already been said by others I case someone else uses this in the future.

I've had about half a dozen iPhones replaced in the Apple Store over the years for varying degrees of issues. I've always been told the replacements are Service Level iPhones meaning they "can" contain reused parts like cables and connectors however the battery and screen are always brand new. They come in the small white pack instead of the retail box as others have said because their replacements are set aside for this purpose and do not come out of their sales iPhone stock. In the past I've had my iphone replaced in an Apple Store at a time when all new iPhones were out of stock to buy and there was a long wait but of course they did have some for replacements as these are not part of the sales stock and can only be used for replacements. They don't come in the retail packaging purely as there's no need! When you replace your iPhone due to an issue its just the iphone that is swapped not the earphones and other accessories so it would cost Apple to hand out all these extras for no reason. Plus it saves on shipping weight and physical space to store them.

I exchanged my launch day iPhone 6 after about two weeks of owning. The Apple Store guy said I was their first iphone 6 replacement in that store so it's not like they had hundreds of returns to then start reusing on service level iPhones. He said it's quite a few months until they normally start getting the reused parts iPhones as they send out an amount of stock for exchanges and of course the stores need to go through this first.

Either way the replacement iPhones be it brand new or service grade ones are identical and technically there's no difference as the parts they reuse would never have been touched by anyone other than the person or machine assembling them in the factory so it makes no difference.

I think that all of that information has been stated already ? in this thread. But thanks for the effort and summary.


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[Garz]

I got my Iphone 6 replaced 2 days ago at the Apple store. I was very surprised when i saw the apple guy came out with a small white box, a non retail box, i was thinking wtf is THAT? Then i was thinking oh maybe its just new from the factory not being packed in a retail box yet. But now im not sure whats going on here...

So is there a was to check if the phone i got i refurbished or not? I paid for a new phone and got second hand crap??

Obviously it's not second hand crap because you can't even tell if it's refurbished or not.


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[LEA86]

I got my Iphone 6 replaced 2 days ago at the Apple store. I was very surprised when i saw the apple guy came out with a small white box, a non retail box, i was thinking wtf is THAT? Then i was thinking oh maybe its just new from the factory not being packed in a retail box yet. But now im not sure whats going on here...

So is there a was to check if the phone i got i refurbished or not? I paid for a new phone and got second hand crap??

Ur not alone! I got i6 and i did not checked the phone condition while at the store.when i got home and about to set it up, i notice a dead pixel.after 12hrs i return the phone from point of origin, they give me diffrent i6 phone, yes it has no box, just the plastic cover on it.it looks new to me, but then again when i got home, i checked the serial number, and also i contacted apple support, and yes its comfirmed its refurb iphone.

 

[HankAZ]

Ur not alone! I got i6 and i did not checked the phone condition while at the store.when i got home and about to set it up, i notice a dead pixel.after 12hrs i return the phone from point of origin, they give me diffrent i6 phone, yes it has no box, just the plastic cover on it.it looks new to me, but then again when i got home, i checked the serial number, and also i contacted apple support, and yes its comfirmed its refurb iphone.

B.S. There is absolutely no way to tell the difference between a "new" and a "refurbished" phone. Period. Stop whinging about it. If the one you got was "new", great. It the one you got was a "refurb", great. It's been remanufactured with some new parts and possibly some used parts. But it functions exactly the same, it's been checked for function and quality, and carries the remainder of your original warranty OR 90 days from date of exchange, whichever is greater.

I cannot believe the amount of hand-wringing over this subject, over and over and over again. Apple will stand behind your device with its warranty, so let's just move on. (And before you ask, yes, I've exchanged phones for warranty issues before, and gotten either a new or refurbished phone. I can't tell, and in all honesty, I DON'T CARE. Just like everything else from Apple, it just works.

 

[cindyxxxxx]

the replacement phones are REFURBISHED... they look brand new on the outside but SOME of the internal parts are recycled

had a iphone 6 plus phone replaced recently ... and found out the speaker audio was screeching every time it was turned on.
anyways, they deemed it defective and replaced it again. apple workers did tell me the replacement phones may contain used parts when available