topic Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone in Get Support

purchasing an unlocked iphone

sush_b — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 08:46:17 GMT

Hi, I'm looking to purchase an unlocked iphone (not on contract). I see an iphone 7 for sale on the pm site, but it doesn't state what the battery health % is. How do I find out this info?

Also, anyone have any suggestions for other sites to shop for an unlocked iphone?

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

hairbag1 — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:23:12 GMT

@sush_b wrote:
Hi, I'm looking to purchase an unlocked iphone (not on contract). I see an iphone 7 for sale on the pm site, but it doesn't state what the battery health % is. How do I find out this info?

Also, anyone have any suggestions for other sites to shop for an unlocked iphone?

I got a nice refurb'd cell on bestBuy.ca.

The PM phones are refurb'd back to near perfect condition, plus you get a 1 yr warranty.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:25:11 GMT

@sush_b : Many of the little repair shops will have a stock of used phones. Some London Drugs out west will sell phones outright. Of course the "classifieds" on your preferred classifieds sites but there are some risks there.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

Triguy — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:31:36 GMT

The PM phones have a one year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee.

Public Certified Pre-Owned phones come with a 1-year Certified Pre-Owned warranty, backed by TELUS, so you can shop with confidence. Plus, if you’re not happy with the device you selected, return it within 30-days of purchase under our Money Back Guarantee.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:35:25 GMT

@sush_b

all purchase device is unlocked on contract,
for battery health % no one know in here, you have to purchase it and check it out

**just to you know

In June 2017, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) updated the Wireless Code of Conduct to address a number of common consumer complaints. One of them was the cost to unlock a phone, even after a customer has fully paid for the device.

Certified Pre-owned Phones (publicmobile.ca)

CPO Warranty, Returns & Repair (publicmobile.ca)

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

jib_tech — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 12:31:28 GMT

Facebook marketplace can be an option but search their profile and check out their friends to make sure they are legit. No friends=no sale. Do your deal at the cop shop safe zone.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

BlueB — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 13:58:11 GMT

@sush_b

Big retail businesses, like Bestbuy or London Drugs are reputable as opposed to private sales like Facebook/Craigslist/Kijiji where there's a chance the phone could be stolen. For online ads, you could wait for postings that are at least a week old. If stolen, this gives the original owner some time to report it stolen and for providers to blacklist the phone.

You could ask friends and family too to see if they know anybody selling their used phone unless you're really picky with what phone you want.

You can check whether the used phone has been blacklisted here:

https://www.devicecheck.ca/check-status-device-canada/

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

hTideGnow — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:09:22 GMT

@sush_b wrote:
I see an iphone 7 for sale on the pm site, but it doesn't state what the battery health % is. How do I find out this info?

Honestly , not too many places will provide you this info. I think all you can do is to trust the difference between the choices there: Like-New, Good , Very Good . But you do have 30 days to return if anything

Please be aware delivery time varies, it could be fast like within a week or could be longer. PM does not do very well in terms of telling customers how long they will fulfill the order

If you want newer iPhone, Apple is selling refur. iPhone as well

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/refurbished/iphone

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

Dunkman — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:09:04 GMT

@sush_b

Buyers beware for Kijiji, Craiglist, etc. Many scams in the community. The phone might work for a while, but then the previous owner can blacklist the phone in the future.

Nice thing about PM certified phones is the ability to return the phone and the one year warranty.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

Meow — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:21:15 GMT

@BlueB wrote:
@sush_b
Big retail businesses, like Bestbuy or London Drugs are reputable as opposed to

I watched few days ago at CBC Marketplace clip regarding Best Buy's marketplace. Very bad review and even employees will not buy phones/tablets/laptops there. I guess BB is renting web space for 3rd part sellers.

Look for genuine BB refurbished phones with BB warranty. Get warranty in Writing!

Consider 'open box' phones. Usually they are returned within days as buyer did not like something so battery should be brand new.

Kijiji might be good place if somebody sells gifted, not needed phone.

Auction place selling open box phones...

Most important would be to try your SIM in new phone to avoid any issues later with unlocking 'unlocked' phone.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

BlueB — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 17:23:48 GMT

@Meow

Oooh, yes very good observation about the Bestbuy "Marketplace" - I have never bought anything from one of those 3rd party vendors. The quality standards between Amazon's and Bestbuy's 3rd party vendors are very different. I feel like Amazon holds their 3rd parties up to a certain standard (which I assume is their "A to Z Guarantee") whereas Bestbuy...........

A friend of mine bought a high end camera from a Bestbuy Marketplace seller and received all these bonus accessories for free. It was a great experience for them- but that also goes to show how variable that experience can be and also how badly it can go the other way too. I always filter for Bestbuy-only products! 🙂

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

0PX9O4 — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 17:35:58 GMT

Here's an article that follows up on the CBC investigation of several electronics products bought from 3rd party sellers on the Best Buy Marketplace: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-best-buy-test-1.6201499

The same page also contains the full video of the original investigation.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

fujiyama — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 19:40:10 GMT

I've heard that Orchard is also good.

https://www.getorchard.com/

Never used them myself though.

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

dabr — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 00:41:47 GMT

Re: purchasing an unlocked iphone

Korth — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 22:21:14 GMT

@sush_b

There's a variety of free third-party programs available to check battery status. I use iCopyBot on a PC for this purpose. The battery itself contains a chip which stores this information.

A "typical" smartphone battery with "typical" charge/discharge/recharge usage will last about 18-24 months before it starts to lose capacity and performance. It'll still work for 3-5 years overall, maybe even 7-8 years or longer if treated with special diligent care. But after a couple years (and roughly 400 charge cycles) you can expect them to have about 80% of the original rated capacity and power output. This 80% coincides with Apple's built-in "Low Power Mode" which basically cripples your device capabilities and performance.

Don't believe the marketing hype, a lithium-ion or lithium-poly battery is just a battery. Same old electrochemistry with gradual small refinements over the years, the flagship phone makers just use whatever best/cheapest thing is readily available for them to use each time they release a new product.

You can buy replacement batteries (in a little kit with all the tools and instructions you need) at iFixit. Or at many other sites which aren't as good. If you buy a used iPhone then you might need to also buy a $40-$60 battery to make it functional.

All the devices sold through Public Mobile are guaranteed for one year. So if they give a lemon battery then I expect they would replace it.

https://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-check-how-many-battery-cycles-is-your-Apple-iPhone-battery-on_id69150

https://www.icopybot.com/download.htm

https://www.ifixit.com/