the replacement Iphone

An out of warranty replacement reinstates the remainder of the original device warranty, or provides 90 days coverage, whichever is longer.

An in warranty replacement simply continues the remainder of the original warranty (or 90 days if replacement was within less than 90 days of the end of the original warranty).

The replacement device in either case is a service unit. Service units can be retail new units or refurbished units.

See - iPhone Repair - Official Apple Support

”Our guarantee after service

We guarantee our service, including replacement parts, for 90 days or the remaining term of your Apple warranty or AppleCare+ coverage, whichever is longer. We offer this whenever you get service from us or from an Apple Authorized Service Provider. This is in addition to rights provided by consumer law.”

I can verify that. When I worked for a cellular carrier, we would see, in people's accounts, that the phone they got replaced by Apple had previously been active on another account.

Michael Black wrote:

The replacement device in either case is a service unit. Service units can be retail new units or refurbished units.

I thought that they were replacement units by definition, even if they're "new". They're not typically going to pull a new one out of a box to replace another one.

If they don’t have a service unit model in stock, yes, they will pull a retail unit off the shelf to meet the warranty terms rather than make someone wait for a service unit.

And at least early on in a model’s lifetime, service units are factory new units shipped direct from the factory intended as service units. In the USA and elsewhere, when you offer a written limited warranty on a product, at the time sales start you must already have sufficient replacement parts/units in stock to meet service issues. So some proportion of production for each new model launch date is already marked for use as service replacement units.

Service units just refers to intended use of the unit as a replacement unit for service requests. But the sources of service units varies. In the first weeks of sale, it may be an off the shelf retail unit if that’s all a Store has when someone comes in with an issue, or it may be new but one that shipped out prior to launch day to be on-site service replacement stock. Or it may be refurbished (which I’d think must become more likely the longer into a model’s lifespan the service is provided).

Thats why the terms are written as they are. All Apple says is you’ll get a properly functioning device in exchange for your broken or malfunctioning one. But they have the freedom to meet that commitment as quickly or efficiently as possible from available stock.

Sure. I get that. But of course it all depends on when in the product cycle the replacement occurs.

I've received a warranty replacement on a Lightning cable. It was pulled out of the retail package and I wasn’t allowed to keep the box. I suppose they don’t have “replacement” cables in plain boxes.

Still, aren’t replacement units designated as such for bookkeeping reasons? Also, pulling out a new retail device for a replacement means they’re going to pull the accessories and figure out what to do with them.

I use the term service replacement unit because that is what the service manager at my nearest Apple Store refers to them as. They can be new or refurbished.

No, they don't usually have service replacement cables although I have seen them go to the back to get one that was not in a box. A question I'll have to ask on Sunday.

Apple usually will not pull a device from retail (especially after Angela Ahrendts took over) unless they have been notified that it will be a long time before any service replacements will arrive, the person needing the replacement has a long history as a purchaser, or the service manager decides to do so. It used to be done more often (I had an iPod Touch replaced via this manner) but has slowed to a trickle. It isn't really a problem of what to do with the accessories and why do we care about bookkeeping issues?

As deggie mentions, it’s a discretionary thing at each store. But I too once (the only iOS device I ever had to have serviced) had an iPad replaced with a retail new unit off the store shelf so I could receive my service that day (I had made an appointment) and not wait for a replacement (this was about 4 or 5 weeks after the launch of the iPad Air 2 so very early in that model’s life).

I would imagine that otherwise, service units are designated as such, distinct from those intended for retail sale. But that would occur in China or Taiwan with the manufacturer since they would package it separately before shipment. There was also an article years ago in Macworld about why you couldn’t make any changes in what you get relative to what you bring in. There is some kind of agreement with the manufacturer that exchanges must be an exact like for like as the exchanged units go back to the factory for refurbishment, parts recovery and re-use or parts recycling. So presumably the manufacturers are trying to control their own inventories so they can be sure to provide Apple with sufficient service units for each model during its hardware supported life span.

The primary device warranty goes to replacement device.

It would be a replacement device. It could be new, but most likely refurbished. Which model? Newer models obviously don’t have enough returned phones to refurbish.

msm_alsaadi wrote:

is replacement iphone under warranty refurbished or new?

Yes.

It may be either. There is no way for you or anyone at your local Apple Store to tell the difference.

That doesn’t sound correct. I’m pretty sure there are some replacement units that have never been used, but Apple absolutely refurbishes iPhones and puts them back in service as replacement devices.