Summary
- Find your iPhone’s model number in the Settings app. If it starts with an F, it was refurbished by Apple or a carrier.
- Refurbished iPhones from Apple are cleaned, fitted with working parts, and come with a new battery and outer shell.
- This method won’t tell you if the phone was refurbished by a third party after its original sale.
After buying a used iPhone, you might wonder about its history. Did it leave Apple as a brand new device or was it sold refurbished? There’s an easy way to tell how Apple sold it, but it can be harder to find out whether it was refurbished after that.
Find Your iPhone’s Model Number
Open the Settings app and navigate to General > About. Once you tap on About, you’ll be presented with a list of important information about the iPhone, including the device’s name, its software version, and a model number.
Pay careful attention to the model number because this will reveal the origin of the iPhone.
- If the model number starts with M, it was purchased new from Apple.
- If the model number starts with F, it was refurbished by Apple or an authorized carrier.
- If the model number starts with P, it was sold as a personalized iPhone with an engraving.
- If the model number starts with N, Apple provided it as a replacement device for a malfunctioning iPhone.
If you find that your phone was refurbished, it’s not cause for alarm. Apple puts its Certified Refurbished products through a rigorous process that makes them like-new. This process cleans each unit thoroughly, replaces any broken parts if necessary, and changes the battery and the outer shell.
In general, Apple Certified Refurbished products look and operate like brand new iPhones but, for legal reasons, Apple cannot sell them as new. Apple typically offers these refurbished products at a sizable discount, so they can be a great deal.
Carriers such as AT&T and Verizon also refurbish iPhones and sell them at a discount. Unlike Apple, they may not change the battery or provide a new one-year warranty on the phone. You can check the warranty status on your iPhone by visiting Apple’s warranty site and entering the device’s serial number.
Third-Party Refurbished Devices
Even if the iPhone model number indicates that Apple sold it as new, it may have been refurbished after the fact by a third party. Few third-party vendors have the stringent standards for refurbishment that Apple does, so it is best to avoid third-party refurbished devices if possible when shopping for used iPhones.
It can be difficult to tell if an iPhone was refurbished by a third party because the model number can’t be changed. However, you can get an idea of the phone’s history in these ways:
- Check the packaging: If the phone came in an official Apple box that doesn’t say “refurbished” anywhere, there’s less chance it was refurbished after the fact.
- Check the parts history: If the phone is running iOS 15.2 or later, you can see a list of replaced parts by going to Settings > General > About.
- Take your phone to Apple: By making an appointment at an Apple Genius Bar, they may be able to assess the screen quality or the internal parts of your phone to discover if it’s been unofficially repaired or refurbished in the past.
None of these are foolproof measures to determine if an iPhone was refurbished by a third party, but they’ll give you much more information about the history and quality of the device.
While knowing the Apple-based origins of your iPhone won’t make much difference in how it functions—that depends more on how previous owners treated it—it’s always good to be more informed, and this quick tip does the job.