Ok so I got a refurbished phone from a third party. Will Apple still fix it if I pay for it?

No, Apple won't have anything to do with that iPhone. You really should put the poor thing out of its misery and get you a cheap flip phone. And water exposure and drops, both accidental damage, void any warranty.

It really depends. That an iPhone is used or resold doesn't specifically mean that Apple won't touch it. Sometimes "refurbishing" can be limited to cosmetic things. Sometimes it's just an inspection and a check to see that everything works, and it's "reburbished" without any kind of repair or new parts. If that's the case, then you're probably still eligible for Apple to service it.

What might affect it is if the "refurbishing" process involved any aftermarket parts. The big one is the battery, where it's an instant no to Apple or an AASP servicing it. You never really know how Apple might respond if just the screen was replaced.

You could always try. The worst they could do is say no. From your description it's in pretty bad shape now, so even if Apple would consider any service, it sounds as if it would only be a complete replacement.

moyoo wrote:

But when I went into a random tech store they said the warranty is void the minute the phone is cracked and also because of the water exposure (which is bs). I'm still definitely going to pursue getting it fixed under warranty but I also wanted to know if I could get it looked at at an actual Apple certified store? Since it's technically not a certified Apple product?

Just wanted to clarify a few things. What did this "random tech store" say about the "warranty"? Did you explain that it was under a 3rd party warranty, and have you read the specific terms of that warranty to see what is or isn't covered? With all the damage you describe, the only thing you might be looking at from Apple (if it qualifies) is a complete OOW "replacement device". That's $299 in the United States for an iPhone 6.

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair

If Apple accepts it, then you'd be paying $299 for a phone that will have a 90 day warranty from Apple. So definitely consider all that before bringing it in to an Apple Store.

I'm just saying that "refurbished" doesn't have any specific meaning as to whether or not all the parts are original and/or OEM replacements.

Actually, your Apple warranty was voided before you bought it, as soon as a third party “refurbished” it (whatever that means in this specific case). Whatever warranty you had or have will only be through whomever refurbished or sold it to you. So you‘ll have to deal with the seller as that 13 month warranty was from them, not Apple.

Third party refurbished devices have no Apple warranty at all. If they have any warranty, it is with the seller or whomever they contracted to refurbish it (e.g. Amazon refurbished iphones have an Amazon warranty, but no warranty with Apple).

Note too that third party refurbishers have no access to Apple OEM parts either. So anything they replace in the phone was with used, salvaged, or non-OEM replacement parts.

No, it doesn't really depend. As you say they can always ask but they are going to be disappointed. Carriers also sell refurbished iPhones that they have done by a 3rd party company and as Michael already pointed out the warranty is solely through the carrier, not Apple.

deggie wrote:

No, it doesn't really depend. As you say they can always ask but they are going to be disappointed. Carriers also sell refurbished iPhones that they have done by a 3rd party company and as Michael already pointed out the warranty is solely through the carrier, not Apple.

I'm saying it does depend, because some companies take a used phone and call it "refurbished" after maybe cleaning up the case and doing little else other than a factory reset. If it's never been opened up, then it should still be considered serviceable by Apple.

Can you name the companies that do this? I don't know of any. Usually people selling refurbished phones buy broken ones and then refurbish them to get them working again. They usually have a replacement case (many times a salvaged one that has been cleaned), a 3rd party battery and often solder work on the logic board and other replaced parts.

If it is the iphone 6 in the OP’s signature tag, those havent been sold in 2 years (other than the limited releases in India from devices built with residual parts stocks after the iPhone 6 was discontinued everywhere else). So whatever warranty they were offered is from the seller, not Apple. And Apple does not and never has offered a 13 month warranty (although that could be a typo in the op).

I’d also point out that actual reputable sellers of third party refurbished or certified pre-owned iphones (e.g. Amazon, Verizon) give, at best a 90 day warranty. Only a fool of a business person would give out a 13 month warranty on a 2+ year old electronic device with sealed battery where all they'd done is clean it up and maybe test it.

deggie wrote:

Can you name the companies that do this? I don't know of any. Usually people selling refurbished phones buy broken ones and then refurbish them to get them working again. They usually have a replacement case (many times a salvaged one that has been cleaned), a 3rd party battery and often solder work on the logic board and other replaced parts.

There's no industry standard for what "refurbished" means. Hard drives and SSDs are often sold as "refurbished" even though they basically can't be repaired to like-new operation. Sometimes "refurbished" may only mean "used". I've even heard of it mean "returned". There's really no way of knowing what it's been through without bringing it in for an evaluation. If it's still minimally working, Apple should be able to run a diagnostic to see if it qualifies for "service".

y_p_w wrote:

I'm just saying that "refurbished" doesn't have any specific meaning as to whether or not all the parts are original and/or OEM replacements.

It does when you buy an OEM refurbished product from Apple itself. That‘s why Apple refurbished iPhones have a full, normal Apple one year warranty, and are also eligible for AppleCare+.

Regardless of what a third party means by their own “refurbishment”, legally those are nothing more than used devices. As with any Apple used device, if the original Apple warranty has expired, there is no warranty recourse with Apple.

I never said there was a standard but buying working iPhones and "cleaning them up" isn't going to leave a lot of room for profit and as Michael said offering a 13 month warranty would be exceedingly foolish.

I've never seen hard drives and SSD's that were sold as refurbished. It is possible someone was selling external drives that the enclosure was refurbished. And I've never seen the two terms used interchangeably. Also Apple does not decide if it qualifies for out-of-warranty replacement by running a diagnostic on it. A device does not have to be working, minimally or not, to be eligible for out-of-warranty replacement with the exception if it is missing parts or near obliterated.

Michael Black wrote:

It does when you buy an OEM refurbished product from Apple itself. That‘s why Apple refurbished iPhones have a full, normal Apple one year warranty, and are also eligible for AppleCare+.

Regardless of what a third party means by their own “refurbishment”, legally those are nothing more than used devices. As with any Apple used device, if the original Apple warranty has expired, there is no warranty recourse with Apple.

The OP has clearly stated it was a 3rd party seller categorizing it as "refurbished". With that little information there isn't enough to know what it's been through. The OP seems to understand that there's no Apple warranty, and in fact the topic title asks about paying Apple for repairs.

However, Apple really doesn't care how many owners a device had been through in order to provide service. All that matters is what's been done to it. I'm just saying if the OP really wants to see if Apple will provide a service replacement, then by all means bring it in.

In is the OPs time, by all means let them bring it in, especially if the Apple Store is convenient to them. They also need to make a Genius Bar appointment prior to going. But they should be well aware that Apple is unlikely to do an out-of-warranty replacement of a 3rd party refurbished iPhone.

Please stop posting your opinion, and trying to disguise it as fact.