Hello, i'm a producer who focuses on digital reality and helps people avoid pits. Working with a variety of digital products on a daily basis, there have been too many cases of ordinary consumer networks buying second-hand apple cell phones. Over the last six months, 80% of my fan help was for second-hand apples called "99 newer" and failed in a few days, and it was only after dismantling the machine that it was completely refurbished. Today we'll take this gray chain and share a machine test that can be used by ordinary people
Let's start with the most common scene: open an electrician platform or a short video booth, search for second-hand apple 13 pro max, second-hand iphone 14, and all that's coming on the face is tempting headlines. – “99 new country pure, unrefined” “a quasi-new machine only activates, 100% battery” “authentic, supports inspection, pays”. The price is even more fragrance, with the brand-new machine selling more than 6,000, and the “99 new” here is just over 3,000, or even 2,000. Many people look at the appearance as new, and the price is half the price, and they write down the bill with determination。
The grey industrial chain of the “99 new” refurbishers: the way from bad to nice
The “99 new” second-hand apple you think is not just an unpaved machine, but a clearly divided and profitable retrofitted industrial chain, with the core being a recycling machine, a major repairer, a water-entry machine, a shell changer, a tampering with data, and a disguise for sale。
Source: low-cost recovery of various “problem machines”
Refurbishment vendors, all of which are “spam machines” at low market prices, fall into four main categories:
- macro/ scraper: looks like a serious bump, screen break, border deformation, main plate may have glitch, normal nobody wants it, recovery costs are extremely low, like the iphone 12 series for hundreds of dollars。
- water intake/major repair machines: the main board has been repaired, the spare parts have been replaced many times, the danger is so great that they can be scrapped at any time, and the cost of recycling is more the price of cabbage。
- id/ locker: a machine with an apple id lock that cannot be unlocked and cannot be used properly can only be removed from parts and recovered at almost negligible cost。
- old-age phase-out machines: used-out models such as iphone 11, xr, retrofitted and impersonated as new or high-colour machines。
Refurbishment: "damn machine" seconds to "99 new", full flow line operation
Recycled machines will be sent to renovation sites such as shenzhen, jianxi, where they will be "a dragon retrofit" for less than an hour, and they will be "pretty" as follows:
- replacing the outer shell: removing the old border, the back, and replacing it with a high-supplendant shell, with almost no difference in colour, quality, or original, and the common man's eye。
- change screens: broken screens, old screens are all replaced, nationally produced high-level or assembled screens are used to display effects close to the original contents, but touch sensitivity, colours are much different and the screens are easily burned and disconnected。
- battery replacement: remove ageing batteries, replace them with imprescriptible high-capacity batteries, then use software to tamper with battery data, clean up cycles and disguise them as “100% battery health”。
- the main board/discovery: simple repair of the main plate glitch, cleaning of water trails, cleaning of the body with chemical reagents, removal of traces of use, new and smooth look。
- changed data/remodels: the most ridiculous is "remodelled" and changed iphone xr to iphone 11 pro, iphone 12 to 13 pro. It also changes the serial number, imei code, changes the u. S. To a national bank, 64g to 256g, which white can't see。
- packaging disguises: finally, they are packed in a high-suppress box, equipped with electric chargers, data lines, false labels, plastic seals, almost exactly the same as new machines。
3. Sales: multi-platform flow, layering
The “99 new” machine, which has been refurbished, will be sold to consumers through three main channels, one by one:
- electrician platform shop: the shop is open for “second-hand machines”, the pages of which are “purely”, “99 new and quasi-new machines”, “support network machines” and, in fact, retrofitters, which may close the shop at any time。
- short video broadcast: main broadcaster's passion carries the goods, “today's welfare price, 99 new iphone 13 pro max only 2999, limited to 10”, leads the goods to payment, bypasss the platform guarantee, blacks the money and no rights。
- second-hand trading platforms: personal accounts are disguised as “personal idle transfers”, describing “a year of self-use, unrepaired and perfect colour”, which is the bulk registered account of a commercial seller。
How terrible is the profits of this chain? An iphone 12 machine with a recovery cost of $500, at a cost of less than $300, can sell $2500 to $3,500, with a net profit of more than $2,000, driven by windfalls that drive countless businesses into danger and even create a complete black chain of “recycling-refurbishment-selling” involving millions of dollars。
Ii. The five fatal defects of the “99 new” refurbisher must be stepped on the pit at hand
Many people think that “99 new” is just a good color, and it's just like original. Refurbishers are essentially “assembly machines”, with all their poor-quality accessories, with five fatal defects, one after the other, and they don't need it:
1. The main plate is in danger and dies at any time
The main plate of the refurbisher, which is mostly a repaired “damn board” or water board, is simply repaired and is extremely dangerous. There will be frequent death machines, restarts, black screens, screens, severe direct end of life, data will be lost and no place will be available for repair。
2. Poor screen quality, touchy, burnable
Switches a nationally produced high imitation or assembly screen, which is extremely low cost, displays a poor effect, colour bias, light imbalance, and is not visible in the light. Touching is more like pulling, cutting, jumping, slow reaction is normal, burning screens, leaking fluids will take several months and hundreds more。
3. Battery failure, continuation of collapse, drums
The so-called “battery health 100 per cent” is all tampered with data and is in fact an impurity battery with a severe capacity deficit. Repeated urinal crashes, full of electricity two to three hours without electricity, chargers are also prone to heat, drums and even safety risks of a fire explosion。
4. Waterproof, ash-to-water direct end of life
The original apple phone has ip68 waterproofing, the refurbisher has been replaced with a non-original shell, the seal is of poor quality, is completely unwaterproof, is used daily ash and water, directly damages the main plate, and the machine is scrapped。
5. No security of sale, no protection of rights, no access to complaints
Refurbishment machines are mostly “one shot for another place” and run off after sale, without any official sale. There is a problem when it comes to selling it to a merchant, either by hacking it or pushing it away from “man-made damage”, and it is difficult to win the case because there is no valid evidence。
Iii. Ordinary people have to learn! 7 paces to quickly identify the "99 new" refurbisher and see how it works
After reading it, do you think the internet is full of holes? It is true that, with a simple and practical test method, ordinary people are able to learn quickly about retrofitting machines and avoid persecuring. Here's the seven steps, one by one, and the retrofitters are out of shape:
1. Search for physical details: cracks, screws, open hand
- look at the border cracks: the original frame of the new machine is so compact that it is smooth and smooth; the refurbisher replaces the retreader with a simulator shell, which is large and uneven, and with a fingernail that easily inserts the stitches of the border and back cover, the most visible sign of the renovation。
- look at the bottom screw: there are two pentagon screws on the bottom of the apple phone, with unpaved screws without scratches or paints; the refurbisher removes the machine, with visible scratches, varnishes or even wrinkles。
- touching the body: the original body is fine and the sand is natural; the refurbisher's shell is painted with small particles on the surface, rough hands, and can easily fall out of paint after a long time。
2. Smells: the new machine smells light and the refurbisher smells chemically
When the original apple cell phone is opened, there is a light humphine that is fresh; the retreader is wiped, sprayed, assembled and removed from the sim slots or back covers, and can smell the smell of snotty plastic, rubber or chemical reagents, which can be distinguished from the smell。
3. Serial number/imei: official network verification, data fabrication
This is a central step, and every apple phone has its only serial number and imei code, which corresponds to its “identity card”。
- view the path: open the cell phone "setting - general - about the machine" and find the serial number, imei code; read the imei code on the card slot, the packaging box, and must be consistent at three yards, and not agree directly。
- official network verification: login to apple network, enter "technical support -- see warranty" and enter a serial number to see the active date, warranty period, purchase location. - original installation of new machines: short activation time (1-3 months) and long warranty remaining (>9 months)
- refurbishers: the main plate has been replaced and is the refurbisher。
4. Battery health check: frequency of circulation shows the truth
The battery health of the refurbisher is tampered with, seemingly 100%, and the number of cycles is extremely high。
- viewing paths: settings - battery - battery health and charge, to see maximum capacity, peak performance, frequency of circulation
- the criteria for judging: original unrepaired second-hand apples, the number of battery cycles is generally within 500 and the health rate is > 85 per cent; the number of retrofitting machine cycles may be more than 1,000, the health level may be altered to 100 per cent and the true number of cycles can be viewed with third-party software (e. G. Aeth's assistant)。
5. Detection function: item-by-item testing, no location for failure
When you get there, you have to test the function on a case-by-case basis. Refurbisher functions are more dangerous
- screen test: open a picture of pure white, pure black, check if there is a burn screen, leak, colour difference, scratch; slide screen test touch, no contact, no jump。
- camera testing: photographing, video recording and checking for clarity of focus, watermarks, carden
- charge testing: the original charger is charged for more than 10 minutes, and it is normal for the refurbisher to charge the heat, cut off and charge slow
- loudspeakers/phones/microphones: play music, make phone calls, test sound, volume, noise or noise
- fingerprints/face ids: entry of fingerprints or faces, testing of unlock sensitivity, success rate, frequent refurbishment of face ids that fail to enter or unlock。
6. Waterproofing: red indicates water penetration
The apple cell phone sim slot contains a white water-proof sign, which was originally filled with no water; if the water-proof sign turns red, indicating that the cell phone has been watered, the probability is that it will be water-refurbished and the receipt will be refused directly。
7. Identification machine reports: refusal to sell home-made reports
Many sellers will issue “factors' reports” claiming that they are “purely unrepaired” and must verify their authenticity:
- reliance only on machine reports issued by the platform's official (e. G., switchover, finder) or third-party authorities, and refusal to sell false reports made by the seller
- scan the 2-dimensional code of the report, double-check the network, compare the body to imei, maintenance records, colour descriptions, and the discrepancy is a forgery。
Iv. Rational consumption! Second-hand apple phone selection advice
After reading the pit avoidance strategy, a lot of people would say, "can you buy a second-hand apple phone?" the answer is: it is possible to buy, but rationally, to choose the channels and test the machines, and it is possible to buy a two-cell phone at a very high cost. I'll give you three selections, and i'll give you a good deal of money for avoiding the pit:
1. Matching channels: priority for official accreditation, away from individual businesses/live booths
- pre-optimal apple official certification refurbisher: available online, one year's official warranty, original fittings, guaranteed quality, only slight signs of use, 20-30 per cent less expensive than the whole new machine
- second-selection of a large, regular, second-hand platform, such as a turnover, a lookout, an official examination, seven days without justification, a 180-day warranty, an inspection report, and a guaranteed sale, although at a price that is more expensive than that of an individual businessman, saves the mind
- unswervingly far away: short-time live airtime low-cost machines, personal “personal idle” (business disguises) and unskilled small shops, which are more than 90 per cent likely to be refurbished。
Reasonable view of colour: “99 new”, carefully chosen, and “95 new” more sarcastic
- the real 99 new originals on the market are rare and inexpensive, mostly in the guise of refurbishers
- buying by a common candidate, priority is given to 95 new ones: there are slight scratches, little bumps, unrepaired, functional, price-calculated, best value for money, low probability of refurbishment。
3. Maintain a pre-test and confirm and leave evidence for the whole trip
- do not rush to confirm receipt of the goods at hand, and record the video of the machine on the 7-step machine above, and record it all from the express to the body details, functional tests
- when the problem is immediately rejected, contact the platform to defend its rights. Video is the most powerful evidence to avoid scavenging and running。
At the end
Digital products are being upgraded quickly, trying to save money on second-hand apple phones, but never be overwhelmed by “99 newer” quasi-newer machines and low prices. Remember: the price is much lower than the market price's "pretty machine" and the probability is that the machine will be refurbished。
Today’s deep disassembly and machine tests will hopefully help every friend who wants to start with a second-hand apple phone, avoiding pitfalls and rational consumption. If you think this article is useful, it's a compliment, it's a collection, it's sent to anyone you need, you buy a second phone, you're not afraid of getting caught
I'm a digital producer. I'll see you next time
