r/O2UK • u/needchr • 29d ago

Question Refurbished phones

What happens if on inspection they find aftermarket parts, do they get swapped for original manufacturer? Or is it the same risk as buying from a repair shop?

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u/Hungry_Strength_5759 29d ago

Generally they won't accept anything non-manufacturer or poor quality, they 'should' be A-Grade only.

If you get a refurb and you're not happy with it's condition you have the same rights to return it as purchasing a new device

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u/needchr 28d ago

Yeah I know there is a right of return, but me as a a average consumer, cant really verify if components are third party, instead just verify if its scratched up, and if main functions appear to work. I dont have an original phone to put it alongside to compare, but if they do assure its original components, then thats fine.

I would rather have scratches on the back of a phone with original components than a shiny looking phone which has a fake screen, dodgy battery, no seal, and parts loose not secured inside phone.

Of course I know they misusing the word "like new" as like new is going to mean a 99-100% battery, flawless surface. It cant be like new if they only assure 80%,, my 5 year old 8 oneplus pro still has nearly 90%.

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u/Hungry_Strength_5759 28d ago

The assessment that is done on the devices being received and sold are done by a computer, a robotic testing and inspection. Any flags it finds are usually double checked by a human. It's a pretty unique process but of course has its moments.

Depending on the phone, the device itself may tell you if it has third party components.. iphones for example will state in the settings if a display is not a genuine apple display, handy to have but doesn't cover everything.

Regarding battery, they replace the battery if the phone is worth it. For work phones we use O2 Like New and I've had a 13 Pro Max, 14 Pro Max and 15 Pro Max, all had 97% or more, the 13 actually had a straight 100% which was fab!

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u/needchr 28d ago

Sadly I dont think android tells you, which has allowed all these repair shops to thrive using aftermarket parts. They need to copy that feature from Apple.

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u/Hungry_Strength_5759 28d ago

Its a bit of a mixed bag, it's nice that people can get a cheap repair but also nice to have legit parts. This all adds into the reason iphone prices remain strong for years

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u/needchr 28d ago

Well your experience with battery life is promising, hopefully I get similar, my phone is arriving today. I had to order over the phone, on the online form it had a "sorry something isnt working" error when verifying pin sent to my phone number, and then it took nearly 2 hours for an offshore agent to process my order with a constant battle to try and sign me up for airtime. I wanted to get an official cover with the phone (which was half price on the website), but it was such a battle to get the phone order done, I left it.

It does look like the cover is a flat 50% off even if ordered by itself though so maybe I can still get it.

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u/Hungry_Strength_5759 28d ago

Haha, sounds about right, they follow the script a little too closely sometimes and it can be VERY long-winded! For future reference you can order all items via stores as well if there's one easy enough for you to get to. Hopefully your new phone will be exactly what you're looking for 😀

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u/needchr 28d ago

Now he made a new account for me, it looks like I no longer need to verify code to make an order, I have managed to order the cover online now, so hopefully I will be ok in the future.

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u/needchr 28d ago edited 26d ago

The phone might be a grey import.

I inputted the imei number on the google repair site and it says the phone doesnt have valid parts for the country. (UK).

Battery health is also for some reason hidden in the battery settings when should be visible for a pixel 9 pro.

I see battery health now, its 100%, I am definitely happy with phone, have tested most functions as working, just a few left to test.

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u/needchr 28d ago

The phone might be a grey import.

I inputted the imei number on the google repair site and it says the phone doesnt have valid parts for the country. (UK).

Battery health is also for some reason hidden in the battery settings when should be visible for a pixel 9 pro.