Ipad replacement - new or refurb ?

The out-of-service warranty page (http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_Kingdom&product=ipa d) says :

If you own an iPad that is ineligible for warranty service but is eligible for Out-of-Warranty (OOW) Service, Apple will replace your iPad with an iPad that is new or equivalent to new in both performance and reliability for the Out-of-Warranty Service fee listed below.

I'm assuming that your replacement will fall under the same out-of-warranty service 'rule', so it may be new (assuming that they still have any first gen iPad's left) or a refurb (which personally I think is more likely).

I have purchased (by choice) a number of refurbished devices from Apple and been extremely pleased with them. They have been indistiguishable from new except for the packaging. If the price is good, I would do it.

but you wouldn't take you're new car in after 14 months and accept a reconditioned one eh ?

I most certainly would, if the car were put through as thorough a process as Apple puts iOS devices.

In any case, you have no choice in the matter. Apple, except in very rare circumstances, will replace an iPad that is in for service with a refurbished unit. They have deemed this to be more cost-effective than trying to service a user's specific units. This is quite common practice for manufacturers of electronic devices of this class. If you cannot accept a reconditioned unit, you'll need to purchase a new device.

Regards.

memyself100 wrote:

' put through as thorough a process as Apple puts iOS devices"

What kind of thorough process are we talking about here ! Switch it on (that works) Switch it off (that works too), or something more thorough ? Any insight would be apperciated.

See this -. http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/apple_certified.html

This is what Apple says about their refurbishment process:

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/apple_certified.html

Packaging for replacement stock will differ from that for units being sold, but the process is the same. I don't trust anecdotal reports, but it's not impossible that given the thousands of units being processed someone in the depot could not slip up and send out a unit that hasn't been through the process. It's absoutely very rare, if indeed it does happen.

I believe if they (Apple) want to swap-out my new device for a recon after 14 months (too short timings), they should also offer a 50% discount on a new device for those that want it,

Sorry, but that's a totally unrealistic expectation. No manufacturer, anywhere, that I've ever heard of offers such a program.

Again, Apple will give you a refurbished unit. If that's not acceptable to you, you'll have to decide what you wish to do. There's nothing more we can say.

Regards.

I was one of the many lucky owners of the first batch of the iPad2 with defective cameras. One month out of the box, the camera was dead. They exchanged my iPad. It took about three weeks to get it. They were really short on supply of these devices and they were in very high demand when they first came out so I wasn't surprised.

When I picked it up, it wasn't in a box but it had the same protective plastic wrap that my original came in. I had the salesperson in the store take it off and turn it on to make sure the camera was working. I don't remember why we opened it to check the 3G chip slot but we did, and there was a micro-SIM card in there. It wasn't even one from a Canadian service provider so, I'm pretty sure I received a refurbished device from who knows where. I have to admit, it is annoying to think that you pay so much for stuff and it comes defective and then you get someone else's refurbished, defective product as a replacement.

Having said all that, my "new" iPad works very well and in fact, it doesn't have the tiny chip on the edge of the glass screen that my original had. That chip drove nuts. The refurbished device was in better shape than the "unused" one out of the box.