Is a refurbished phone supposed to have other peoples apps on it

AlecEiffel

NFH wrote: »

The problem is that the insurance company appears to have misled the OP about the provenance of the iPhone. A reconditioned iPhone is like a brand new iPhone but is manufactured with previously used parts, except for the battery which has a much more limited lifespan. The performance of a used battery will be lower than a new battery, and any consumer should reasonably reject a used battery. This is clearly not a reconditioned iPhone, but one that has been used and subsequently returned by someone else. The OP needs to ascertain the reason for that return.

Not necessarily. It could well be a refurbished phone that hasn't been correctly wiped. The previous owner may have damaged it, not been able to wipe the handset themselves., and sent it in as part of an insurance claim, or sold it as damaged. It could then have undergone a reburb - new case, new screen etc - but as the internals are reused they may not have been wiped by the repairer. It is perfectly possible to have a refurbed phone that still has data on it. It depends on the quality of the processes of whoever repaired/supplied the phone.

simmterb

I got a refurbished phone that still had previous owners data on it - so if you ever trade a phone in or return one do not trust the company to wipe your data, best to do it yourself.

NFH

AlecEiffel wrote: »

It could well be a refurbished phone that hasn't been correctly wiped. The previous owner may have damaged it, not been able to wipe the handset themselves., and sent it in as part of an insurance claim, or sold it as damaged. It could then have undergone a reburb - new case, new screen etc - but as the internals are reused they may not have been wiped by the repairer. It is perfectly possible to have a refurbed phone that still has data on it. It depends on the quality of the processes of whoever repaired/supplied the phone.

That's not how Apple manufactures reconditioned iPhones. Apple builds a reconditioned iPhone from scratch but with previously used parts, except the battery and cosmetic exterior casing. If an iPhone has data on it, then it is definitely not reconditioned by Apple and should be rejected, particularly if there is no evidence that a new battery has been fitted. If not reconditioned by Apple, it would not have any Apple warranty or support, which the consumer could reasonably expect.

JJ_Egan

How can the term refurbished be used if the phone has not had a firmware install . I mean install not a factory reset as that may just put back firmware that is out of date or its possible that the recovery image itself is not 100% .

AlecEiffel

NFH wrote: »

That's not how Apple manufactures reconditioned iPhones. Apple builds a reconditioned iPhone from scratch but with previously used parts, except the battery and cosmetic exterior casing. If an iPhone has data on it, then it is definitely not reconditioned by Apple and should be rejected, particularly if there is no evidence that a new battery has been fitted. If not reconditioned by Apple, it would not have any Apple warranty or support, which the consumer could reasonably expect.

Depends on their insurers Ts and Cs. Does it specify manufacturer refurbished etc. They may use a third party whose processes could be different to Apple's. The OP could find out from the insurer if they only provide direct Apple refurbs or if they use third party suppliers. It opens up a whole different can of worms as to whether non-Apple components were used though. But as data was on the handset it should be rejected on principle.

Even Apple refurbs wouldn't break down the internals to every single individual component. If the mainboard including the processor, memory, etc is undamaged and performing correctly then it will be reused as a whole. Camera module, microphone, speakers etc will be reused but separated from the mainboard.

NFH

JJ_Egan wrote: »

How can the term refurbished be used if the phone has not had a firmware install .

This sums up the problem perfectly. This iPhone is clearly not refurbished and the OP should contact the previous owner to find out its true provenance.