Apple Selling Refurbed iPhone in China as New, Gets Sued by Customers

Apple is sued for allegedly selling refurbished iPhone handsets as new in China, which is a pretty damn big deal if it’s true. I’d like to think there is more to this story, so hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of it sooner than later. But I can’t imagine what it must be like to take home a brand-spankin’ new iPhone and opening it up and using it only to realize that it isn’t a fresh virgin from the factory.

What’s worse is needing Apple Genius Bar service or other help and realizing that your warranty isn’t quite as long as it should be. BGR reports:

The suits both allege that Apple Store locations sold refurbished iPhones to the complainants under the guise that they were new devices. Only when the customers discovered that their manufacturer warranties expired less than one year from their respective dates of purchase did they realize something was awry. To make matters worse, Wang says that when one such customer went back to the Apple Store to confront them, the staff there allegedly tried to trick her by modifying her warranty expiration date.

Others are apparently coming forward with the same issue, stating that they thought they were buying new iPhones when it turned out they were being given refurbished or refreshed units.

It seems like shady business practice to sell refurbished iPhones as new, but again we ought to wait about what Apple has to say regarding the matter. It just doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a company would do in order to risk damaging its reputation and business.

What do you think? Could the problem be limited to only Apple, or is it possible that some middlemen are involved in this scheme? Or is it possible that this is some kind of scam from the user’s end? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

About The Author

Marc Flores

Marc has been a mobile fanatic for the better part of a decade and has had more devices pass through his hands than he would care to count. Originally from Los Angeles and briefly in San Francisco, Marc now lives in Brooklyn where, unlike Will Park, he longs for simpler times and simpler technology. All the while, he writes about gadgets and wireless technology as he tinkers, hacks and ultimately breaks most of his gadgets in the process. Marc has written about the mobile industry for Boy Genius Report, MobileCrunch, Laptop Magazine and has had his work appear in the Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, CrunchGear and more.

Anonymous

A lot depends on whether those were bought from a REAL Apple store, or one of the many fake Apple stores in China. j/k !
Anonymous

I was thinking about those fake Apple stores that were shut down, too. Crazy.
TT

Online warranty check is only for information purposes. The warranty date is entered by the consumer when they register the product online. It could be entered by anyone as long as you know the serial number.
It may be refurbished but it could also be new so look at it with a grain of sale.

Apple ask you to enter the purchase date during registration and you could put down any date but actual receipt is required for warranty. See: https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do?sn=84112EE3A4S for this particular iphone.
If you read the bottom of the warranty page “If you believe that the information shown for your product is incorrect, you can submit your proof of purchase online or by fax. Your sales receipt is needed for warranty validation, so be sure to keep it in a safe place. Your warranty is the same whether or not you register.”

Three case to consider..1. It was really refurbished
2. It was registered accidentally by someone else with similar serial number
3. Consumer trying to extort Apple by intentionally entering a wrong date.
zacamandapio

So first they make huge profits by the cost of manufacturing
Squeeze every last penny.
Then whatever doesn’t sell then is sold as new to make more money.
Got it.

That’s why I don’t support Apple products.
No iMac
No iPhone
No iPod
No MacBook
I’m sure they don’t miss me. But still I don’t support a company that has that type business practice.
Darre

Well…. a lot of replacement iPhones/iPads are refurbished. I know, I worked for apple’s repair/distribution center. We check the screens and case for any scratches, wipe the data, put sticker on the screen to make it look new and put it in a new box.