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What's your experience with Refurbished macbooks?

T

thestugots

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 10, 2022
43
21
In the market for a MBA/MBP and I see a few refurb standard config/BTO's on offer on the website.

Eager to hear how well people get on with the Apple Certified refurbished macbooks.

...I always wonder if Apple sells brand new surplus stock under the guise of refurbished. I can only dream!
 
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Great machines. I've bought refurbished Macbooks, iMacs, iPads, and iPods (back in the day). Never had an issue with any of them and all of them looked brand new.

It's assumed, if not known, that Apple does sometimes sell surplus stock as refurbs, but you can never be sure what the backstory is on any given machine. Many refurbs are retail returns; someone bought it, used it briefly but didn't like it, and returned it within the return period. Some are products that were initially defective in some way but they'll replace the logic board or whatever they need to do to fix it and then sell it as a refurb. All refurbished products are tested individually, which is not done for brand new retail stock, so some people would argue that refurbs are actually more reliable than retail.
 
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Not a notebook person, but I have purchased a number of refurb desktops on the Apple site as well as elsewhere. Never had a problem. YMMV
 
I bought a refurb 27 iMac in 2009 which is still going strong today… wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one
 
Got my Refurbed 14" 8/14/32G/1TB from Apple Online Store (Austria) this week. It looks and feels completely brand new. No sign of anything being used etc ... Battery capacity is at 100% with a cycle count of 6.

It's a beauty and beast of a machine. Cool and dead silent so far, although just mostly installing stuff until now.
 
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Adding my voice to the crowd, I've bought several refurbished devices over the years from Apple, and they've all been great. And they come with the same warranty as a new Mac, so I wouldn't hesitate.
 
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I had a good experience with my 2017 13” MBP as a refurb. I did have an issue with the keyboard but that was a known issue with the model and was covered under a special repair program. It actually worked out better for me because replacing the keyboard meant also replacing the battery (apparently they’re soldered or something) so the resale value of it ended up better :p

The way I see it is that these are models that have actually undergone more stringent checks than a regular machine coming off a line.
 
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One scenario to watch out for would be getting a MBP of a certain vintage that has had it's internal SSD replaced by a third-party one and has NOT had it's firmware updated so as to run more recent versions of macOS.
 
BrianBaughn said:
One scenario to watch out for would be getting a MBP of a certain vintage that has had it's internal SSD replaced by a third-party one and has NOT had it's firmware updated so as to run more recent versions of macOS.
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Pointing out that wouldn't be relevant for a refurb purchased from Apple. You certainly wouldn't want to buy a "refurb" from Amazon, for instance.
 
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posguy99 said:
Pointing out that wouldn't be relevant for a refurb purchased from Apple. You certainly wouldn't want to buy a "refurb" from Amazon, for instance.
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Good point.

I'd recommend Apple's own refurbished products without any hesitation. The only perceivable difference is the somewhat plainer packaging and the lower price.

Third-party refurbished products are a whole other story, and I'd make sure to buy only from a reputable dealer and make sure there's some kind of warranty because you just don't know who "refurbished" it or what quality of parts they used.

For instance, Woot! had a really great price on refurbished AirPods Max a couple weeks ago, but when I read through the reviews there were people who'd experienced hardware failures just a few months in, and after the 30 day warranty had expired.
 
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appreciate you guys!

after some research and reading the consensus on this forum, i did it - ordered a M2 MBA 16GB/256GB yesterday and it just arrived! Absolutely pristine, not a blemish or flaw in sight. I was nearly dissuaded by the stigma but so glad i took the chance, i'm over the moon 😊
 
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thestugots said:
appreciate you guys!

after some research and reading the consensus on this forum, i did it - ordered a M2 MBA 16GB/256GB yesterday and it just arrived! Absolutely pristine, not a blemish or flaw in sight. I was nearly dissuaded by the stigma but so glad i took the chance, i'm over the moon 😊
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Congrats! Enjoy your new MBA.
 
I bought my '15 MBP Refurbished in June '16 and it's been great. I'll likely buy a refurbished M1 in the near future, the Intel units will likely not receive much support in the future since Apple is producing their own chips now.
 
balticgreen said:
Great machines. I've bought refurbished Macbooks, iMacs, iPads, and iPods (back in the day). Never had an issue with any of them and all of them looked brand new.

It's assumed, if not known, that Apple does sometimes sell surplus stock as refurbs, but you can never be sure what the backstory is on any given machine. Many refurbs are retail returns; someone bought it, used it briefly but didn't like it, and returned it within the return period. Some are products that were initially defective in some way but they'll replace the logic board or whatever they need to do to fix it and then sell it as a refurb. All refurbished products are tested individually, which is not done for brand new retail stock, so some people would argue that refurbs are actually more reliable than retail.
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Besides getting thorough testing, they also get different packaging and even a different serial number. You can tell if it's a refurb just by looking at the serial number.* Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I thought that might be interesting for some to note.

Anyhow, the only reasons I don't usually buy refurbs now is because I get edu pricing which often can be close and because my credit card doesn't provide extended warranty on refurbs, only on new purchases (either retail or edu).

*I bought a used MacBook Air off Kijiji and had a look through the OS and About This Mac. Seeing the serial number format, I knew it was a refurb. So I asked the seller who lied right to my face saying it was not a refurb. :p Conveniently, the packaging (which would say refurb on the box) was also missing. I didn't care though since it was in as-new condition, and we were actually meeting at her house, not some sketchy parking lot somewhere.
 
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As long as you buy from Apple:

www.apple.com

Certified Refurbished Products

Every Apple Certified Refurbished product includes savings up to 15%, and comes with a one-year warranty and full functional testing. Shop & save now.
www.apple.com

...they are good as new, come with full warranty, and are eligible for AppleCare etc.. They even have that factory fresh smell. :) The box is different which may or may not matter to you.

3rd party resellers could be cheaper but may vary in terms of how 'new' the machine is and also will likely have a chunk of time off of Apple's OEM warranty.
 
thestugots said:
In the market for a MBA/MBP and I see a few refurb standard config/BTO's on offer on the website.

Eager to hear how well people get on with the Apple Certified refurbished macbooks.

...I always wonder if Apple sells brand new surplus stock under the guise of refurbished. I can only dream!
Click to expand...

I’ve bought several macs through the Apple refurbished store - Mac minis, iMacs, iPads, an iPod and an M1 MBA. I have never had an issue with any of them…
 
Stellar. I've probably purchased close to 50 (from the Apple US refurbished site) for myself, family, friends, colleagues and at work. None have been a problem.
 
I doubt I’ve purchased 50 refurbs, but I’d say I’ve purchase a dozen. Never had a problem. Just bought a 14” M1 max today. 2tb. 32gb. I think I saved $600 or so.
 
I love refurbished MacBooks. I remember back in ~2012 I purchased a refurbished 2011 17" MBP with 8 GB RAM and 256 SSD. The machine arrived with 16 GB RAM and 512 SSD for the same price! Apple let me keep it.
 
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I just stacked veteran discount on top of awesome refurb price.... tax plus apple care still ~$200 less than new price... now the wait
 
Inspect the screen carefully. There is a chance a refurb was returned due to dead pixels or other screen imperfections. (There is a chance of the same on a new one, but less so)
 
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