How to distinguish a refurbished iPhone xr from a new one

Is it worth buying a refurbished iPhone?

Apple smartphones have always had a high price, so many people are looking for an option to buy an iPhone cheaper. It is worth mentioning that the corporation itself offers variants of officially refurbished iPhones, which are designated as Factory refurbished or Seller refurbished and sold at a reduced cost. As a rule, claims to such devices are rare, although there are exceptions.

Unfortunately, there is another category of phones, which are restored artisanally, often literally in basements and sold as officially restored or even new. Today we will tell you how to distinguish such gadgets and what is the risk of buying them.

Officially refurbished iPhones

First of all let’s define what the official restoration means. In most cases these are devices with a factory defect, or those that have received minor damage and are replaced under warranty, or under the terms of the Trade-IN. In this case, official representatives of the corporation accept the used equipment, replace defective elements, pack it in a special box with stickers and sell it as reconditioned. There are two types of restoration:

• Factory refurbishing. Iphones remanufactured by Apple experts in the factory. Defective parts are not repaired, but are completely replaced and then tested. If the case has signs of wear and tear, it is completely replaced (as a rule, always);
• Seller refurbished. Smartphones remanufactured not in the factory, but in their own services of official stores. Usually, such devices may differ in quality of restoration from the factory, so they are less valuable.

In Russia you can find only the first option on sale. The box of such an iPhone is labeled Pre-owned, i.E.Е. “Someone already owned it.”.

Restored iPhone unofficially (artisanal)

This is the most problematic category of equipment, so we will focus on it in detail. The fact that on the Chinese market there is a thriving layer of individual craftsmen and whole shops that make “remanufactured” iPhones out of used ones, passing them off as official refurbishing or even new. We personally have more than once encountered complaints from owners of such gadgets, who have purchased supposedly a new phone, but in practice it turned out that it has little from the original. Why consumers decide for such a dubious purchase? The answer is the same. The low price, which does not justify itself.

For a better understanding of how the scheme works, let’s illustrate it with a real example. So, a kind of home improvement shop (often at radio malls, etc.) buys up damaged iPhones.Д.) buys up damaged iPhones. Most often they are liquid-filled devices, with a broken screen, disabled NFC-module, defective power supply card, etc. After that phones are disassembled, re-soldered and cheap Chinese components are installed. For more resemblance to the official refurbishing they prepare similar boxes, complete with fake accessories. Similar stickers with serial number and IMEI to the original are printed and attached. After that the price is set below market and the devices are sold, mostly via the Internet.

But this is not the worst case. Often such remanufactured iPhones are even passed off as new. Achieving maximum resemblance is not too difficult, especially with inexperienced users. It even goes so far as to laser engrave a cheap Chinese casing like the original. So, tempted by the low price, instead of getting a new iPhone you get a rebuilt smartphone with a dull display, crunchy buttons, problems with charging and much more.

Apple offers exclusively manufacturer refurbished (Apple Certified Pre-Owned). All iPhones, iPads, Macs and other refurbished devices are subject to a thorough inspection, replacement (not repair) of all problematic nodes and modules, cleaning, installation of the latest version of the operating system, etc.Д. In other words, the buyer receives an absolutely whole, working device, in addition, accompanied by a branded warranty.

Only in 2014 in Russia began selling original refurbished iPhones from Apple.

7 Комментарии и мнения владельцев

“Here’s a simple tip like this will save you time and nerves, for example, when buying an iPhone from hand. Just looking at the pictures of the packaging of the smartphone in the ad you can understand what kind of iPhone is for sale. A new or a refurbished one.

It should be noted that scammers, who pass off reconditioned iPhones as new ones, often make deals on Avito and “Yule. That’s why this information should be taken into account.”

The instructions were written at the request of one of the readers, who just on Avito saw an ad for the sale of a supposedly new iPhone with this box. Although in fact the smartphone is remanufactured.

“officially restored iPhones are no different from new”. Read reviews of restored iPhones in any online store, or on Yandex.Market, or here. Https://bloha.Ru/editorial/vosstanovlennyy-ayfon-chto-yeto-kak-o/.

On Avito 9 out of 10 new iPhones for sale are Chinese junk in the right boxes, unfortunately.

And what about the reviews about the officially rebuilt-it’s all nonsense, read the reviews about the new ones, the same problems!So you can not make unequivocal conclusions!

A reader wrote to our editorial office. He asked if it was a new iPhone or a refurbished one and showed us a photo from AVito. We looked on the Internet. Many have questions about the difference between the packaging of new iPhones and refurbished (like new), which is why we made an instruction.

And in it we purposely double (!) marked that in any case it is necessary to check by model number this way. Https://bloha.Ru/iPhone-iPad-guides/Kak-bystro-otlichit-novy-iPhone-ot-vosstan/.

Work in the store, believe me please, we come RFB iPhones from China and they have the prefix M, ie “New” Only time will tell the difference between new iPhone and refurbished, better delete these stupid posts and do not disgrace yourself.

In what kind of store do you get refills from China??) When we talk about “store”, we mean a normal store where refs from China cannot be sold in principle.

At the very beginning of the manual it says “There is a proven and most reliable way to distinguish a new iPhone from a refurbished one by the model number. We have already talked about it on our website in this instruction.”

In this instruction we are talking about how to distinguish between new and refurbished (like new) on the package.

“Here’s a simple tip like this will save you time and nerves, for example, when buying an iPhone from hand. Just by looking at the images of the smartphone packaging in the ad you can understand what kind of iPhone is sold. New or refurbished.

Note that on Avito and “Yule” are often scammers, who pass off refurbished iPhones as new ones. That is why this information should be taken into account.”

Indication 2: Model of the device

If the seller gives you the opportunity to learn a little more about the device, be sure to look at the model name in the settings.

Open the phone settings and then go to “General”.

• M. A completely new smartphone;
• F. Remanufactured model, which has undergone the repair and parts replacement process at Apple;
• N. Device meant to be replaced under warranty;
• P. A gift version of the smartphone with engraving.

How to determine that the iPhone is remanufactured

Let’s start with remanufactured iPhones. To find out the entire history of your smartphone, just go to the settings (or look at the box if there is one). In the settings and on the box you can see the memory capacity, serial number, device model and more. We are interested in the model. You can determine the condition of the iPhone (and iPad) by its first letter.

• M. New device, has not been exchanged or restored
• F. Remanufactured device
• N. The owner has carried out a replacement under warranty at the service center
• P. Personalized device. It means that it was engraved at the time of purchase

If the iPhone has been officially refurbished (and in any other case it is better to refuse to buy it), its model number will have the letter “F”. There is no need to be afraid of such devices. Smartphones with defects or malfunctions are returned to the factories of Apple partners, they replace the display, casing and other defective components and return them for sale at a reduced price.

From service centers around the world iPhones with damages get to partner Apple factory, where full replacement (not repair) of all problematic modules, mandatory replacement of the case screen, reinstallation of software and removing the device from the database of used (activated) gadgets.

The “as new” iPhone gets a new serial number, manufacturer’s warranty (the same as the new one. 1 year), documentation, charger, headphones (ie.Е. The entire new set) and is sent to the shelf Apple Store or reseller’s store.

The range of refurbished iPhones includes smartphones of 1-3 years’ old manufacture. It’s also worth bearing in mind that current flagship iPhones are not sold as remanufactured in their first year of sale.

Naturally, the final price of such a device is lower (usually by 10-25%), but the difference is not as significant as we would like.

To summarize the above, the official iPhone refresh is no different from a new device.

What is an updated smartphone

Such iPhones are sold by SmartPrice service, which sells upgraded smartphones, mainly received through trade-in system. First, the future updated smartphones are purchased at major retailers, and then sent for diagnosis in an authorized service center. If an iPhone is reconditioned or completely defective, SmartPrice will not accept it.

Modular repair consists of replacing the display and battery, but no more. Only original accessories are used (for example, the battery is replaced if the iPhone has more than 200 charge-discharge cycles). The bodies of smartphones are not changed, so that buyers were confident in the originality of the iPhone, as well as in order to reduce the final cost of the device.

As soon as your phone is repaired SmartPrice experts will give you one of three statuses. “Good” condition implies the presence of minor scratches on the display and the (possible) presence of scratches on the body, but the devices are sold at minimal cost (incidentally, with a case as a gift). “Excellent”. Assigned to a smartphone if its case is in near perfect condition and internal components are working “like clockwork”. “Like new”. Perfect condition, it is often still covered by the warranty from the official service. However, SmartPrice is so confident in the quality of the smartphones it sells that it provides a 90-day warranty on any failure.

From top to bottom: iPhone 6 in good, excellent condition and “As New

Why you should not buy refurbished iPhones from China?

During the iPhone repair process, it goes through a lot of checking

The main difference between official restored iPhones from those restored smartphones, which can be ordered from China, lies in the components. A refurbished iPhone is a smartphone with a new case, new screen, new battery and other components, and only Apple uses original components. A remanufactured iPhone in China is a board with an inexpensive non-original case and a display of the same non-original brand.

So it’s better NOT to buy refurbished iPhones at Avito or some obscure store.

Better to go to an official Apple reseller’s website and pick a phone there. It sells either a brand new iPhone or an official refurbished iPhone. There are no other ones available from the official dealers. The price may be marked “as new”, which was done on purpose in order not to scare buyers with the word “remanufactured”, or, even worse, the phrase “used”. In other words, you can trust the big retail chains. They, like Apple, will try to do their best to keep their face clean.

The main thing. Remember: if you suddenly found an iPhone much cheaper than in all the stores, it is most likely a reconditioned. If miracles happen, it is certainly not in the store, where the iPhone XR costs 20 thousand. Don’t forget about dishonest sellers who can sell you a refurbished iPhone under the guise of a new one.

I hope this article will be useful to you and help you make a good purchase, or avoid mistakes. Share your iPhone buying tips in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев, or in our Telegram-chat. Remember that the iPhone is designed to make our lives easier. Be careful, and then you can avoid unnecessary complications.