Bought an iPhone 8plus in Silver at the Millenium Mall, Orlando. When we removed the cellophane wrapping and opened the box we found a gold old used phone in the box. Serial number on box differs from serial number on phone. Apple not very helpful an

There is no place called iStore in Orlando. There is an Apple Store at the Millenia Mall in Orlando. As far as I can tell, iStore is an electronics retailer in South Africa.

Millenia - Apple Store - Apple

Did you check the serial numbers with Apple - both the phone if you can locate it and on the box?

Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support

renettefromharlow wrote:

We live in South Africa. Bought at the iStore, Millenium Mall, Orlando. We send all the information to them, received a case number but nobody gets back to us.

So you're saying that you bought it at a real Apple Store (I'm guess you don't have Apple Stores in SA) in the United States and it seemed factory sealed when you got it?

Did you try anything with it, such as configuring it? There might be a chance that someone at the factory loaded a refurbished unit into the box by mistake. Your basic problem is that if you're no longer in the United States, there's very little that Apple is likely to be able to do. iPhones are country specific, and it would be unlikely that you could get a local retailer or Apple to exchange this one for a local one. I'm also guessing you probably wanted one that was unlocked and not carrier specific.

If you had opened it before leaving and figured this out, perhaps they would have been able to sort it out at an Apple Store.

Joeshhmo21 wrote:

Only luck would be to take it back to the mall

I don't know what they would do. It might be possible to send it to them, but as far as I know Apple doesn't ship anything internationally. They don't really even support iPhones that are taken outside the country where they're sold.

renettefromharlow wrote:

That is true. My son bought it fir me as a gift and asxwe both have numerous Apple products, bought in the UK, US and SA he had no reason to even think that something like this can happen. I’m happy to courier the phone back to them firvanbexchange. What I don’t understand is why they cannot tell me where and when the phone should’ve been in the box was activated. In my book this is a fraudulent transaction from an Apple Store. Even in South Africa, considered a third world country and not a first world country like Ametics, the store will jump through hoops to rectify this. I did expect more from a huge company like Apple.

OK. I got it. I originally thought that perhaps you purchased it while on vacation. But as a gift I would understand why your son wouldn't open the box while in the United States.

I certainly do understand that people do purchase iPhones for use in other markets, although Apple doesn't specifically support it. I have friends and family members who have given iPhones as gifts to be used outside the United States, and an "unlocked American iPhone" is considered a valuable item and may even cost less than one in that other country. However, Apple doesn't even have an international warranty or service when nearly all other Apple products do. I've heard maybe replacement glass or a new battery is possible, but that's it.

I frankly wouldn't know how they would respond to something like this. I would at least check the serial number of the phone you have in your possession to try and understand when it was considered initially purchased. This is also kind of a risk from doing what you son did, although it sounds as if this was some really odd situation.

Did you purchase this at an Apple Store? It does not sound like something that Apple would do.

So what happen when you took it back where you bought it from?

Only luck would be to take it back to the mall