The appliance delivered to us as a replacement can be new or refurbished, but this is not immediately apparent. Before revealing the system to understand exactly what kind of device is in your hand, it is good to make some clarifications.
Appliances reconditioned by Apple are equal or best than new ones. Each part used in the assembly has passed a long series of tests and the parts subject to wear are absolutely new and also the battery is always new. The device, at the end of the assembly procedure, is tested and inspected with care. But there is a further advantage that makes us to say that sometimes a refurbished phone can be better than a new one. For example at last two problems affected the old iPhone 6 Plus: the TLC memories, which on many models were mounted in place of the most performing MLC type resulting in a dramatic drop in performance, and a manufacturing defect of the rear camera. In case of replacement with a regenerated product you can be sure that none of the defects mentioned above will be present.
That said, here's how to figure out if the phone we own, that has been replaced or that we want to buy, is new or regenerated.
From the your device go to Settings-> General-> Info.
Observe the code indicating the model number (NOT the serial number), in particular the first letter:
• If it starts with "F" it is a unit regenerated by third parties, generally the carrier;
• If it start with "M" is a unit intended for sale in an Apple Store or in an authorized store: in short, it is the one that is sold to us when we buy a new product;
• If it start with with "N" it is a replacement unit equivalent to a new one coming from an Apple factory;
• If it start with with "P", it is a custom unit from an engraving.
The units marked with the letter "N" are not necessarily the result of the regeneration of a device belonging to another user; they are often units discarded from the production line due to defective parts that were subsequently replaced by obtaining a perfect product.
We hope to have clarified this long-standing problem once and for all.
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