How to Identify a Refurbished iPhone?

As one of the most popular smartphones in the world, iPhone's got a lot of fans. For a lot of people, iPhone is their first choice when they want to buy a new phone. You can tell how popular iPhone is by the stores you can find that are selling iPhone. Speaking of which, some stores, no matter online or offline, are selling refurbished iPhones as new ones and a lot of people have been tricked into buying a refurbished iPhone. So if you are planning on buying a new iPhone, you'd better be careful and find a store that's got good reputation. It's easy to buy a refurbished iPhone from small scale stores, especially when buying old but still popular models, like iPhone 6. If you want to buy a new iPhone 6, it's not that easy because it's been out for a while and refurbished iPhone 6 have flooded the market. Below are several ways to help you make sure that you are not buying a refurbished iPhone.

How to identify a refurbished iPhone 6

If people are not satisfied with iPhone or there's something wrong with the iPhone during the first 14 days after they purchased it, most people would ask for a replacement. If the iPhone that you are asking for replacement is newly released, you are likely to get a brand new iPhone as a replacement. But if the iPhone you are returning has been out for a while, then it's likely that you'll get a used or refurbished iPhone, but those iPhones usually have been approved by Apple that they are 100% usable. But most of us wouldn't want a refurbished iPhone while we can totally get a new one. And the one you return to Apple will most likely be refurbished and sold again or sometimes given to another customer who asks for a replacement.

If you are buying an old model of iPhone, especially those Apple has stop manufacturing, you are likely to buy a refurbished one even though the seller claims that it's new.

So when facing a similar situation, you should pay more attention to the iPhone you are buying. Below are several methods to help you identify a refurbished iPhone. They can't help you to 0100% identify a refurbished iPhone, but at lease you'll have a clue about refurbished iPhones. Let's take iPhone 6 as an example.

1. Check the appearance and accessories of the iPhone.

As soon as you get the iPhone 6, you can check whether there is scuff marks or scratches on the phone's housing. Then check the headphones, charger and USB cable, to find whether there is scratched plug, missing manuals, old or worn-out packaging. If the answer is yes, then you may have bought a refurbished iPhone 6.

2. Check the Model Number to see if it's a refurbished iPhone 6.

Tap your iPhone, then tap Settings>General>About>Model to check whether it is a refurbished iPhone 6 or not. Usually, you'll see a collection of numbers and letters to the right of the Model designation, and the first letter means a lot. The first letter of the model number represents the source of the device. There are currently four options:

• M: retail unit
• F: refurbished unit
• N: replacement unit
• P: personalised/engraved unit

3. Check the Serial Number to see if it's a refurbished iPhone 6.

On your iPhone, tab Settings>General>About>Serial Number. You are supposed to see a series of letters and numbers listed. Write down the code and enter it into Apple's database. Go to Apple's Check Coverage (https://checkcoverage.apple.com/) to type your iPhone's serial number and the verification code, then click the button "Continue". Later you will see your iPhone's diagnostics page, if you see the following message: This phone has not been activated, then the phone is new.

How to back up iPhone data before you return the refurbished iPhone 6

If you did found out that you've bought a refurbished iPhone 6, don't be too surprised. No matter what models you buy get from a replacement, like iPhone 5 or iPhone 7, it's still possible for you to get a refurbished iPhone 5 or even a refurbished iPhone 7. Before you return the refurbished iPhone, remember to have the data in the iPhone backed up if you've already have important data stored in it. You can use iTunes to have your iPhone backed up. But if you don't need all the data in it but just a small part of it, here's another program for you.

Leawo iOS Data Recovery is a great data recovery program as well as a data backing up program which allows you to select the files you need in the backup, unlike iTunes which backs up your whole phone without giving you a choice as to what to back up. With it you can easily back up targeted files to your computer with ease.

   

Here's how to use this program to back up a refurbished iPhone 6.

1. After you've downloaded and installed the program, open it and you will find that there are 3 tabs on the interface. What you need here is Recover from iOS Device, click it to proceed.

2. Next there would be a list of all the iOS devices that this program supports. When you see the list, connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable and the program will recognize your iPhone instantly. Click Start button and the program will scan your device.

3. After the program finishes scanning, the data on your iPhone will be listed on the left side. Click on each type of data to check out and select those you need. When you are done selecting, click Recovery button in the bottom right-hand corner.

4. When a window appears on the interface, click the Open button on it to select a folder to store the files you previously chose. And then click Go to start backing up your refurbished iPhone 6.

There's no reliable way to find out if the iPhone you buy is a refurbished one but by reading the contents above you'll know some basic things about it and it'll help reduce the odds of you buying a refurbished iPhone.