Refurbished devices

[gray2018]

Hello all. Who here buys refurbished devices? I have had lots of success with buying preowned/refurbished devices. I was wondering though, it probably depends on where you get it from, but do refurbished devices usually have their IP rating still?

 

[B. Diddy]

I've had good success with refurbs from places like Daily Steals and Woot. But that's a good question about the IP rating -- it might depend on who did the refurbishment.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

I've had good success with refurbs from places like Daily Steals and Woot. But that's a good question about the IP rating -- it might depend on who did the refurbishment.

I suspect that OEMs certify their refurbished devices which includes the IP rating. I'm not sure as much about other companies that specialize in refurbished devices.

 

[me just saying]

In the past I would not touch a refurbished device because I did not trust them but I gave it a try and now will buy refurbished devices if from the manufacturer or places like amazon or at places where it will be easy to get your money back. So far I have been lucky.

 

[gray2018]

I bought a previously used device from Samsung directly under their "Certified preowned," category. I would assume this meant refurbished essentially. At the time though they did include an IP 67 rating.

I think it does also matter who does the refurbishing because I contacted a seller on amazon about an S10 5G, and they said no refurbished devices contain the IP ratings. I would assume the seller meant all of their devices being sold.

Its weird though. When you search for devices renewed or whatever from Amazon, if you put in water resistance in the filtering options, almost all the devices disappear.

 

[spARTacus]

I think refurbished and used devices are a good idea. Normally, saves a fair bit for the depreciation. With the factory wipes available on phones nowadays, I assume the risk is quite low of a previous owner planting something on them. If one wants extra confidence, buying used/refurbished from the manufacturer's programs or a trusted source (like MobileBase, or many others) often comes with a bit of a warranty (for example, if there is concern the battery could be sub-par).

 

[Mooncatt]

I've had so many problems in the past that I started calling it refurbish roulette. These were all due to warranty claims via Verizon, so didn't have much choice in the matter and take that for whatever worth you want to give it. It's been some time since I've had to warranty a phone, so not sure if things have improved. Even still, I wouldn't buy one willingly.

 

[joeldf]

A long time ago, I got a refurbished BlackBerry Torch 9800 through AT&T. 3 years later, a refurbished BlackBerry Z10 from AT&T. Both were great phones and I had no problems.

In fact, the Z10 is still working just over 7 years later. Although the SIM was deactivated in 2017 when I switched to Galaxy S8. So it's just a Wi-Fi device now. But it works.

I haven't seen AT&T offer refurbs in some time now. Since I only deal with AT&T, I won't get a phone from anyone else.

 

[gray2018]

So it must depend on who sells/refurbishes the device. I came across one renewed device recently on Amazon, an S10 5G and the seller said there is no IP rating. Well I found a renewed Note 9 512gb for a decent price with a different seller and they said it still had the IP rating. Strange.

On another note, are devices on Swappa refurbished, or do they specifically say when they are normally?