iPhone 4 Refurb Units

[shaven]

what do you think of iPhone refurb units?

i bought an iphone in HK and it was defective (11-07-10). found out it was when i got back here in Manila.
my friend brought it back to HK for replacement(11-20-10).
but what they gave her was just a refurb unit.
they only replaced the unit . the original box and accessories of the defective unit not included.

what are the differences of a refurb and not?
does a refurb unit have a lower value?
should i demand a brand new one?
should i be contented with the replacement?
i cant find peace of mind right now with the iphone i have.
i got no proof that what i have is a refurb unit from apple.
it has different serial number from the box and from the iphone.
what should i do ?

[RustyXIII]

I think that's SOP for Apple. Quicker turnaround time for warranty claims and they get to dissect the defective units to find out what went wrong and possibly rectify it in future versions.

AFAIK, refurbs have brand new casings and batteries, so that's that.

Better register yours so that at least you get in their database even if you have no physical proof.

[jaijin]

Refurbs are ok. I had several macs and iPods which were refurbs, and lasted me for years. Carries the same one year apple care brand new units have..

[stephen.ang]

From what i know refurb units are basically units that were sold but had defective parts in them so when apple takes them back and replaces the defective parts they repackage and sell it back to the public at a cheaper price which is why its still brandnew and comes with their usual 1year warrranty so buying brandnew or refurb units are totally same just refurb was serviced and resold at a lower price.

[penmanila]

i have no problem with apple refurbs. been buying them all these years, sometimes with great savings (got my titanium G4 at almost half-price this way). i actually even prefer them to brand-new units, dollar for dollar. why? because each refurb is individually checked, down to the last detail, to make sure everything is okay. they don't come in the fancy box, but they carry the same warranty.

[stephen.ang]

Same here i prefer refurbs actually since your more sure they have double checked the item and the parts along with it less chance to have dead pixels or defective parts believe it not.

P.S. I actually just bought a refurb Imac QuadCore at a great price to boot

@The Penman: excuse me penman mind i ask a quick question

[ekiM]

i have no problem with apple refurbs. been buying them all these years, sometimes with great savings (got my titanium G4 at almost half-price this way). i actually even prefer them to brand-new units, dollar for dollar. why? because each refurb is individually checked, down to the last detail, to make sure everything is okay. they don't come in the fancy box, but they carry the same warranty.

Good point sir..

[pochiman]

i guess one important reason why refurbs are so thoroughly checked on by Apple is coz they wanna make sure that once them refurbs get sold, that they most certainly will never be returned for factory defects. it's like when you buy a refurb, you're assured that it's been given almost if not twice the attention a brand new one gets. heck if only Apple sold refurbished IP4s, i'd go grab one without any hesitation.

[LeoCastillo]

I've had good experiences with Apple refurbs. My wife & sister in law both have a refurb Macbook Pro and I have a refurb iPhone 8GB which is still going strong after 3 years!

I actually posted about my refurb iPhones. Here's the old PhilMUG link:
So how does a refurb iPhone look like? Unboxing Pics!

Leo

[nivraarvin]

Ako i would wait atleast 8months before returning my iphone 4(yellowish display).. Maybe that time ung mga refurb units would be as old as the unit that i have right now..