What happens to a device before it goes on sale
Refurbished is not a protected term. Anyone may use the word, including someone who has only run a cloth over a device. So here is exactly what we do.
Check the IMEI against the international blacklist, read out the network lock and MDM lock, check the iCloud status. If anything is locked, the device goes back to the seller.
The storage is fully overwritten and the device is then set up again. Nothing from the previous owner is left behind.
Battery cycle count and maximum capacity, charging current, the screen for dead pixels, burn-in and touch across the whole surface, both cameras, flash, speakers, microphones, vibration motor, every button, Face ID or Touch ID, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile network, GPS, and the moisture indicators.
Whatever is not right goes on the bench. A battery below 85% is replaced. Board level too: charging ports, display faults and sensors we repair ourselves with microsoldering instead of writing off the whole device.
A new screen goes in and a new housing goes on. We do that on every device, even when the old screen still looked fine. That way only one condition ever leaves here.
Twenty-four hours of function testing with a full charge cycle, then cleaning, a new screen protector and packing with cable and SIM tool.
What you take out of the box
Other shops split their stock into conditions, from nearly perfect to well used, and leave you to decide how many scratches you are willing to accept. We do not need to, because the screen and the housing come off as standard.
Every device gets a new screen. No scratches, no dead pixels, no burn-in.
The old housing comes off and a new one goes on. No dents, no scuffed corners.
32 check points: battery, cameras, ports, sensors, network and every button.
Cleaned, with a screen protector, in our own box with a cable and SIM tool.
About the battery
A lithium battery loses capacity through charge cycles and through heat. Apple calls a battery worn out below 80% after five hundred cycles. We set the line higher: below 85% a new one goes in, because a battery already at 82% when you buy it will be at a level within a year where you are on the charger every afternoon.
The measured capacity is listed with every device. If we replaced the battery, that is listed too, and the warranty on that battery simply runs along for the full 24 months.