Our iPhone 6ses are on their second batteries and now suddenly discharging. Time for new iPhones, I reckon. Not a fan of 36-month cell-phone contracts paying extra for new phones. Wondering about getting new or refurbished ones from Amazon. Maybe SE-3? Wife likes small size. Grandson suggests iPhone 11 or 12, maybe 'mini' version (I could go a little bigger than 6s, as tiny type a problem). Are the refurbs generally OK?

We have AT&T service currently; switched a couple of years ago from T-Mobile, before the Sprint merger. Is T-Mobile significantly better now? Before there were places where we couldn't get signal at all (e.g. daughter's place in Powhatan, VA). Wondering about third-party providers, too. . .

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may I suggest Swappa for used phones.
I'm on my 2nd, no issues.
Just buy from people who've sold many.

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!#$@@$#!

Nolite manducare flavo.

I really like my SE 3rd gen. Much better cameras, speed, newer iOS, 5G support, more memory…

Looks like the 6s can’t run iOS 16, 17 or 18



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2024 10:57AM by Forrest.

Quote
Fritz
may I suggest Swappa for used phones.
I'm on my 2nd, no issues.
Just buy from people who've sold many.

Interesting. Didn't know about the site.

Under 'Condition' they have some listed as 'New'. Are these really not used? New batteries? My main concern with used phones is limited battery life. And what's the difference between 'New' and 'Mint'?

dunno about New. Have to read their FAQ.
the ones I've dealt with will tell you batt heatlth if asked.
I have bought Good from 2 different places.
What arrived was Mint with >80% batt. I'm on Android.
Both phones were 2 yo and I paid less than 1/3 of current model of the time.

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!#$@@$#!

Nolite manducare flavo.

Quote
Fritz
may I suggest Swappa for used phones.
I'm on my 2nd, no issues.
Just buy from people who've sold many.

I avoid the ones that sell many - aren't they also the most likely to sell phones built from scavenged parts? or at least improperly replaced screens so that they're no longer waterproof?

Anything is possible, for sure.

the sellers and the site, in general, are well rated.
ratings for each seller are shown on the model page, as well as batt health now, for iPhos.

I bought from etronics ww in Jersey last time. Dunno if they still exist or sell iPho.

Pretty sure Swappa has ESN/IMEI/MEID checks on site.

You could also check apples refurbme.com, though I have read less than wonderful things there about resellers of some stuff.

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!#$@@$#!

Nolite manducare flavo.

Quote
Fritz
You could also check apples refurbme.com, though I have read less than wonderful things there about resellers of some stuff.

I hadn't thought of refurb.me in a while, so checked it out. Not actually "Apple's", but does list items from Apple's refurb store. Did see a seller's name I remember from the past, Mac of All Trades. Did that guy ever become legit?

yea, used to be predominantly from the muthuhship. But they have added many other "approved" sellers.
Only from experience, I'd buy from Swappa before refurb.

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!#$@@$#!

Nolite manducare flavo.

Another Swappa fan here, with 4 iphones and 3 watches bought there. Condition has been consistently conservative. I don't mind a small scratch or two, since I'll probably be adding some, so that saves a fair amount of money. With my limited experience, I haven't noticed a difference between sellers with many or few feedbacks (I've bought from both), though I do check their histories. Swappa seems a lot less tolerant of shady sellers than Amz or EB.

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Anyone with experience from BestBuy? Their website has 'pre-owned', 'refurb', and new iPhones. We have a store near us.

I've bought a number of Apple things on Swappa. My tendency is to buy from an individual who seems to be selling a personal device, as evidenced by a lack of many sales (of course, that might just be the first sale in a developing business). It's based on my own tendency to be more conservative in describing something simply because I don't want somebody to be unhappy and send it back at my cost as, "Not as described." I'd just bet that many individuals are like me. So far, I've not been disappointed in the seller rating vs. my inspection of the item.

mrlynn asked about "New." That means it is, in fact, new and in a factory-sealed package. [swappa.com]

I've bought used phones from both Gazelle and Swappa. That's what they specialize in. I don't think I'd buy on Amazon. If you have any interest in having a decent camera (and future-proofing) I'd say to buy an iPhone 12 at the minimum, and I'd actually push to get an iPhone 14 or newer if possible (and a Pro if you want a telephoto lens). My last purchase I went from a 6S to a 13 Pro and was completely blown away by the camera quality, so much so that I retired my Micro 4/3 camera.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2024 09:28PM by davester.

Things have changed so much from your current devices! You might benefit from a visit to your local Apple Store to play with the newer phones, see how they feel in your hand, etc.

P.S. The camera on my 15 Pro is amazingly awesome! I upgraded from a 7.