Refurb iPad (9th Generation) purchased from Apple: hardware problems out of the box. Common? Anomaly? Try again? Or...

Bought a Refurbished iPad Wi-Fi 256GB (9th Generation) with iOS 16.6 directly from Apple. Set it up without restoring any old back-ups or anything from my other devices - just a blank slate. Immediately, I noticed all sorts of random glitchy problems and lag. I reconnected it to my computer and a window popped up saying "There is a problem with your iPad" and links to the Service Center / Apple Store locations. Took it in, and the tech had never seen this issue before. He ran all the diagnostic tests he had and they all came back clean - saying there was nothing wrong with it. But when he tried to restore (factory reset) it and reinstall software, an error msg said it couldn't be updated or restored and then froze. He couldn't even get off the error screen. I returned it. Is this type of experience with the tech an anomaly? Or are refurbs from Apple a roll of the die? I can't find any information out there addressing this except to say "buy from Apple" (I did). That lack of conversation about this makes me leery. Looking for tech/user info/experience/statistics/clarity. Anything you've got so I can make an educated decision in my next steps. Thanks.