Will it be a Refurb?

[-aggie-]

This is absolutely correct. AT&T doesn't refurbish iPhones, they just rebox and resell. My original AT&T "Refurb" had a scratched screen and fingerprints all over it. The white box replacements may be new or refurbs, but you'll never know. 5K DOES NOT DESIGNATE A REFURB. This is where people get confused, halfway through the 3G lifecycles they stopped using 5K to designate refurbs and it now designates "Replacement" iPhone. Apple produces some replacement iPhones directly off of the brand new assembly line with a 5K serial.

This far into the lifecycle though you're most likely to receive a refurb, which is just as good as new. Unless you get lucky and the stores all out of refurbs that is.

One of the things I've always wondered is if you bought your phone from AT&T are you stuck with having to go back to AT&T?

 

[dread]

after having to get my phone replaced for the 4th time, I asked the apple employee, what are you giving me refurbs? How is it possible that I have had so many defective phones. He assured me the replacements are all new and that returned phones get bought by at&t to be sold as refurbished phones. He was probably full of ****.

 

[The Californian]

One of the things I've always wondered is if you bought your phone from AT&T are you stuck with having to go back to AT&T?

Nope. I could give you all of the dirty details of my painfully long experience but basically, I bought a refurb from AT&T with a new contract, got it replaced multiple times at an Apple Store and ultimately had AppleCare replace it with a brand new, sealed in the box iPhone. So now I have double accessories, and an iPhone that works properly. But they swear those "reserialized" ones are as good as new.