iPhone 11 Why do people buy used or refurbished iPhones?

[adrianlondon]

Why do people buy used or refurbished iPhones since the FaceID parts may be aftermarket or third party and not have the original and genuine FaceID parts? Wouldn’t that be unsafe and cause injury to your eyes and skin? How are the people all over the world that use refurbished or used iPhones not blind since if the FaceID parts are aftermarket, it could damage their eyes, especially if they use the device unknowingly day to day and didn’t know the FaceID parts were not the original and genuine ones?

Mine shoots nails out towards my eyes each time I go to unlock my phone.

I've learnt to look away each time. Happy with the savings vs. a new phone.

 

[winxmac]

As a purchaser of pre-owned smartphones many years after their release [since I don't have the funds to purchase them in full/one time payment at the time of their release] I feel offended...



I have purchased iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5c, 5s, 6s, SE 2016, all pre-owned due to older software and to experience what I cannot afford to experience at release/launch date of the smartphone...

I decided to purchase Galaxy S10+ since it is the last Samsung flagship that has a headphone jack and I really don't need very high MP count in cameras... I'm okay with 12MP and 16MP... I don't need big jumps in resolution like 8MP/12MP then 50MP then 200MP or something... To smartphone manufacturers, either use camera resolutions as close as possible to each other or make them all as high as possible rather than big jumps...

Even though it will not get android 13 or 14, it still gets the job done and works fine for me... I also keep with me a 6 year old turning 7 model, iPhone 7 Plus which I purchased brand new in 2020 due to the sale price... It's also another smartphone that will be outdated since it will not get anything newer than iOS 15 but it still works fine... Once they reach the point that repairing them is not worth it that will be the time to have them replaced with something newer although maybe not brand new or newly released...

 

[lordhamster]

Wouldn’t that be unsafe and cause injury to your eyes and skin?

Surely you can't be serious?

 

[aries81]

Surely you can't be serious?

People come up with all sorts of nonsense about things they don’t understand it seems.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I just don’t understand why many people have told me you cannot use aftermarket or third-party Face ID parts, and still have working Face ID. Then another user here on this thread says you can use aftermarket Face ID parts and they don’t have to be genuine original.

FaceID modules can only be repaired/replaced by Apple. Even if you take a genuine Apple FaceID module from another device and put it in your iPhone it will not work. FaceID will be disabled unless you go to Apple and have them pair the module with the logic board. The tool necessary is proprietary and only Apple and AASP have access to it.. There are no 3rd party repairs for FaceID and the only 3rd party parts available are the front selfie camera and have nothing to do with FaceID

 

[ian87w]

Why do people buy used or refurbished iPhones since the FaceID parts may be aftermarket or third party and not have the original and genuine FaceID parts? Wouldn’t that be unsafe and cause injury to your eyes and skin? How are the people all over the world that use refurbished or used iPhones not blind since if the FaceID parts are aftermarket, it could damage their eyes, especially if they use the device unknowingly day to day and didn’t know the FaceID parts were not the original and genuine ones?

Mainly because of price. When you are in a market where iPhone prices are 30% higher than what Apple advertised, you will try to find alternatives. Add on with Apple not allowing 3rd party repairs to get parts, and the so-called authorized service centers are literally gouging customers, users often don't have much choice.

It is beyond me that Apple couldn't care less about the customers, and actually made it harder and more expensive to get actual genuine repairs/products.

 

[okkibs]

the only 3rd party parts available are the front selfie camera and have nothing to do with FaceID

That's what I am thinking too. Even if someone did manufacture 3rd party FaceID hardware - FaceID hardware require pairing by Apple AFAIK, and they only ever pair original Apple parts. Even if you got an original Apple replacement part yourself, Apple still wouldn't pair it to the iPhone, they only do that with repairs initiated through Apple, in which case the replacement part would also be handed out by Apple themselves. (You can do repairs yourself at home, Apple allows that, but the part is sent to you by Apple, and only that part will be paired, you can't switch it out.)

I don't see any way of using FaceID with some off-the-shelf replacement part, even if that part were to exist.

...and because of that, nobody is going to bother manufacturing such a part in the first place, as they know they would never be actually usable and thus couldn't be sold.

And of course all this has nothing to do with buying used, refurbished, or whatever.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

... Everyone else on iFixit and other iPhone forums say you cannot because Face ID will not work without the original parts. I’m surprised you know something they don’t.

Asking random people you don't know on different online forums for factual information will yield all kinds of different replies, with varying quality. Take it with a grain of salt. If someone says repaired or replaced FaceID parts were actually injuring people, I'd say that sounds like BS. Ask for proof. If they don't have links to sources of proof that this is happening, I'd say you can safely ignore their comments about it.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Surely you can't be serious?

So I won’t go blind?

 

[Larsvonhier]

OP "suspended".
May we hope that we're spared with this crap from now on (at least from his side)?
Hope dies last.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Asking random people you don't know on different online forums for factual information will yield all kinds of different replies, with varying quality. Take it with a grain of salt. If someone says repaired or replaced FaceID parts were actually injuring people, I'd say that sounds like BS. Ask for proof. If they don't have links to sources of proof that this is happening, I'd say you can safely ignore their comments about it.

There are no 3rd party FaceID parts.. The front selfie camera is available from 3rd party suppliers but, it will only allow use of the front camera and FaceID will still be disabled.. Similar to if you have to replace the home button on a TouchID phone Apple is the only one that can pair the home button with the logic board and restore TouchID. Without it the home button works but TouchID is disabled

 

[lordhamster]

So I won’t go blind?

Catholic nuns already told me how to avoid going blind.

 

[jpr281]

Why do people buy used or pre-owned cars?

 

[Fred Zed]

After market Face ID module

 

[Brandon42]

FaceID that doubles as laser hair removal. That sounds like a feature. Patent pending.

 

[Shirasaki]

Why all of sudden FaceID becomes your major concern, when the threat that cyber criminals remotely hacking into your device without your knowledge exists and will continue to exist in the future? Besides that, how about the cost? Not everyone has the spare cash of $1500 lying around to purchase a brand new device Willy-nilly. It’s not a thing Nowadays for most people Not earning millions a year.

If you are so concerned about third party repair and don’t trust them to the slightest, go and throw away ”unfixable” iPhone or always go to Apple and bear their egregious repair costs to make your iPhone Working again. Letting Apple fixing their device is the most common first choice among customer base as long as cost sounds reasonable to them.

 

[darngooddesign]

So you can use aftermarket or third-party parts for Face ID? Like for the dot projector.

Without being snarky, a couple fo things…

1. There are no aftermarket Face ID components.
2. Refurbished phones from apple use Apple parts. They are largely indistinguishable from new and come with the same warranty.
3. Refurbished phones from other sources still contain Apple parts, but they usually come with a shorter warranty.
4. Some people believe that refurbished Apple product are better than new since every one is tested.
5. Refurbished saves you money.

 

[darngooddesign]

Catholic nuns already told me how to avoid going blind.

Must have been some other reason you lost your eyesight. 😜😁

 

[rafark]

Why do people buy used or refurbished iPhones since the FaceID parts may be aftermarket or third party and not have the original and genuine FaceID parts? Wouldn’t that be unsafe and cause injury to your eyes and skin? How are the people all over the world that use refurbished or used iPhones not blind since if the FaceID parts are aftermarket, it could damage their eyes, especially if they use the device unknowingly day to day and didn’t know the FaceID parts were not the original and genuine ones?

This is like saying: why do people buy Chevrolets instead of bmws?

 

[BigMcGuire]

I buy Refurbished when I don't need/want the latest and greatest. Which I hope to become most of my purchases in the future. And I'd only buy refurbished from the Apple Store.

 

[WoodTableFromIkea]

Why do people buy used or refurbished iPhones since the FaceID parts may be aftermarket or third party and not have the original and genuine FaceID parts? Wouldn’t that be unsafe and cause injury to your eyes and skin? How are the people all over the world that use refurbished or used iPhones not blind since if the FaceID parts are aftermarket, it could damage their eyes, especially if they use the device unknowingly day to day and didn’t know the FaceID parts were not the original and genuine ones?

What?

 

[MacProFCP]

Sounds like the OP is being just a bit facetious. In all seriousness, I buy Apple or Amazon refurbished iPhones to save costs. The worse situation I faced was battery issues and even those were rare.

However, with iPhone SE line for employees, as of late, I have found little use for refurbished phones.

 

[joeblow7777]

In the years since FaceID debuted on the iPhone X, I haven't heard of any instances of anyone's eyes or skin being damaged by it, despite millions of people using refurbished devices.

 

[Chester Stone]

Some people also never use Face ID, or use it so little that they don't care whether the parts are authentic.

Example: I never use Face ID. I either lock with password, or don't lock at all (when developing). Face ID has always been a nuisance, and I couldn't care less whether or not the part was authentic.

 

[KOTN91]

Why do people buy used or refurbished iPhones since the FaceID parts may be aftermarket or third party and not have the original and genuine FaceID parts? Wouldn’t that be unsafe and cause injury to your eyes and skin? How are the people all over the world that use refurbished or used iPhones not blind since if the FaceID parts are aftermarket, it could damage their eyes, especially if they use the device unknowingly day to day and didn’t know the FaceID parts were not the original and genuine ones?

I think the reason you’re looking for is money. But I guess because you still live with your mum and she buys your iPhone for you then it doesn’t matter to you