[Pilot] Certified Pre-Owned Phones Now Available at Public

[Jess_D]

Hey Community, 

Over the years, Public Mobile has committed to providing affordable wireless service for Canadians on the country's best network. We’ve primarily focused on providing wireless service, but now we are excited to announce that we are piloting Certified Pre-Owned phones! Each phone is backed by a 1-year limited warranty and includes a $0 Public Mobile SIM. This launch is a direct result of the feedback you all have shared with us over time around how we can make the Public Mobile experience better. Over the next few months we will be testing this out to see what customer response is like and how we can optimize our processes.

Starting today you’ll be able to purchase a Certified Pre-Owned Phone online only. Our Certified Pre-Owned phones are refurbished phones that are tested, inspected, fixed, cleaned and re-packaged to look and function like-new. Because of this, we are able to offer our phones at a price you and your wallet will love. Please note, we do not offer financing on these phones.  

Inventory of these devices is limited, so if you’re interested make sure to act fast! We’ll constantly be adding new devices to the catalogue as they become available and removing those that are out of stock.

These phones are available for purchase only on our website so make sure to check it out! There are only a handful of Samsung Galaxy S10s as a launch special - be sure to act fast before they are gone.

For more information on Certified Pre-Owned phones, please visit our Help Articles. 

Are you going to be purchasing one of our Certified Pre-Owned phones? Let us know below!

-The Public Mobile Team

[jimbobs]

For this to work, PM needs to source reasonable phones at reasonable prices.  Offering out of date or nearly out of date phones at high prices is doomed to fail.

[Lorca]

Agree. The prices are terrible.

[computergeek541]

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@Ed404 wrote:

These phones are too expensive and the so called "good deal" for the Samsung S10s is not a deal considering Amazon Warehouse Deals has them for $649-$669 also the S10+ is $743 there too.

You should have launched this program with the S10s at $500 or $600. This is just disappointing.

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I agree that the prices here aren't good, but when it comes to Amazon Warehouse Deals, these devices might not come with any warranty other than Amazon's standard return policy. Part of the difficulty that I have is how, with the exception of the Samsung Galaxy S10, the rest of the devices being sold by Public Mobile no longer receive updates or are on the verge of no longer receiving software updates. So while I can understand charging a premimum for the Galaxy S10, I am suprised that the rest aren't priced to clear.

[Ed404]

These phones are too expensive and the so called "good deal" for the Samsung S10s is not a deal considering Amazon Warehouse Deals has them for $649-$669 also the S10+ is $743 there too.

You should have launched this program with the S10s at $500 or $600. This is just disappointing.

[computergeek541]

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@dougc wrote:

p.s.

"these phones are supposed to be tested and A OK before shipping out. "

Yes I obviously have expected that too !   Considering PM phone sales dept hi-lites  at least  2 different levels within their refurb' process !  

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People make mistakes. It wouldn't be hard for a phone to placed in the wrong pass/fail pile of devices. I believe that it's possible for epsecially a second person checking a device to incorrectly pass a device that should have failed if that person knows that a previous person already approved it as a pass.

[dougc]

@Jb456 

"Is it just because of the name iPhone? Or is there something else that makes you want it? Like years ago it was a flagship phone? Or something else? "

🙂  

_ actually not a apple products person,   more  WIN'OS and BB playbook, Android,  person ! 

_ it was reading the PM sales pitch for this refurb' initiative and some of previous all positive feedback that had me actually considering the iphone.

_ FYI,  jb456  i also have posted a couple other times on previous page,    some info (even the 2015 rollout) which others might find useful for their PM iphone purchase  😉      Although the longest 'useful' post was bumped off by  *poof* the dragon, the reportedly over zealous spam filter   😞 

" When for similar price range you can get brand new 2020 motorola, Samsung, lg, etc..models."

Finally got thru to the M'W vendor  (former PM Sim provider) and clerk on phone downplayed that brand,   and mentioned they also have in stock  unlocked LG K20 units for only  a dozen dollars more,   which would be his pick of the 2 brands. 

Still have to chk LG K20 compatibility with PM system !

dougc

p.s.

"these phones are supposed to be tested and A OK before shipping out. "

Yes I obviously have expected that too !   Considering PM phone sales dept hi-lites  at least  2 different levels within their refurb' process !  

[Jb456]

@Korth my comment was more geared towards these phones are supposed to be tested and A OK before shipping out.

[Jb456]

@dougc  just my curiosity but do you care to share why you were considering a iPhone 6s that is 5 years old and will no longer be supported by Apple in a few months? It would still work but no more OS updates as it's hardware has reached its limit. When for similar price range you can get brand new 2020 motorola, Samsung, lg, etc..models.

Is it just because of the name iPhone? Or is there something else that makes you want it? Like years ago it was a flagship phone? Or something else?

I'm just curious, if you don't want to answer that is ok. 

[dougc]

Ya would think that if the refurb' and final audit process ,

as they say within their,   " Want to know more? Learn about the refurbishment process " page, 

was done properly and  units with (fd. still unresolved) issues sent back to the refurb dept.,      it would not be closer to 50/50  odds ( based on recent feedback)  of receiving  " Phones that are like new Tested to ensure 100% functionality " !  

An hour previous to seeing recent  posts, I mentioned to a family member (about the  6S), who declined the refurb' concept  (thankfully).    Even though aware of the 30 day quarantee and  1 yr 'warranty' !   

Last night I was even thinking of ordering a 6S unit,  finally upgrading from a 5 yr old flip phone but seeing these 'odds'  . . . maybe better to buy  brand new lowcost MaxWest (coincidentally a retailer of this c'phone brand  was announced a while back to be a PM Sim vendor,  but they are now stating Koodoo affiliation)   although I'm still trying to find more data on this cellphone brand  🙂 

dougc

[Korth]

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@Jb456 wrote:

And the issues start. On French forums one person received a phone. Has had it plugged in for 14 hours and battery not working. No signs of life.

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A setback, not a calamity.

One year warranty.

(And Canadian Consumer Law. If the "issue" ever escalates to court.)

[sbreakin]

This is great news.  A few but well chosen pre-owned phones that can be offered at low-ish prices but still quite functional.   

All these should work just fine. Most are older phones that are still quite functional.

Iphone 6. My wife moved up to iphone XR but the iphone 6s still working (& I am using/ testing it on a competitors new network) & even has up to date IOS.

I have a Google Pixel 3 but my friends Pixel 2 had longer battery life and was just as fast (until he dropped it). Only drawback is that the security/ OS updates are only scheduled to Dec 2020. 

If this works, might be possible to include 1 or 2 of the 'cheaper' new phones on IOS & Android (eg: iphone SE & Pixel 4a) especially if pre-owned are available. 

[LurganIeUk]

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@Jb456 wrote:

And the issues start. On French forums one person received a phone. Has had it plugged in for 14 hours and battery not working. No signs of life.

 

---

Hello,

great initiative, to recycle phones. I bought one and received it yesterday. For 14 hours it has been plugged in to find the battery, but it gives no sign of life ... Problem ??

[Jb456]

And the issues start. On French forums one person received a phone. Has had it plugged in for 14 hours and battery not working. No signs of life.

 

[hend0005]

My wife is happy to replace her failing 5c with it.

No indication of what if anything was done to it.

However, due to pristine condition, un-used corporate phone

seems to make sense. 

[dougc]

@hend0005 

Glad to hear you're  happy with it.

Sounds like that unit was upgraded with a new battery or

it has been lounging NIB on a warehouse shelf  somewheres.

Since according to wiki' and implied by cnet, the initial rollout was back  2015 (although not discontinued till 2019 ?).

Do they include any  audit checklist,  so you know what actually was done previous to the time of audit by (reportedly) final technician ?

edit;

According to their support page, Apple's online battery replacement program for the 6S was closed down,  program still mentioned in the bottom section of the 6S Wiki' page  .

But they do have another support program,  regards  ". . . certain iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices may not power on due to a component that may fail . .",  within manufactured 2018 - '019 units. 

doug c

[maheshboloor]

Wow..Pm keeps gettin better n better ..doesnt it ? /s

Any logical person would find these phones for much cheaper on other stores. Sure, 1 year warranty might be good but lets face it, how many times do you really get bad phones online. I have bought atleast 4 used/refurbished phones (for me and family members) over the years and none of them had any issues.

There was a time when I was recommending PM to my friends. PM was really a great value. But now competitors are upping their game and PM doesnt seem to care too much.

[computergeek541]

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@hend0005 wrote:

Picked up a 6s with this plan. Not sure about others, but this one still has original Apple waranty coverage until sometime next May. Those waranties are one year, so this is not that old, less than 6 months. Perfect in every respect, icluding 100% Battery. So I'm good with the value of this particular offering.

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It's great to hear that you got a really good unit. However, the device have Apple warranty (according to the Apple website) wouldn't always be an indication of the device being less than 6 months old. If that device was sold at one time as an Apple-refurbished device, the warranty period would have been adjusted. There's also no way of knowing if the any refurbishment process that took place before selling this device as Certerfied Pre-owned was authorized by Apple.  

[hend0005]

Picked up a 6s with this plan. Not sure about others, but this one still has original Apple waranty coverage until sometime next May. Those waranties are one year, so this is not that old, less than 6 months. Perfect in every respect, icluding 100% Battery. So I'm good with the value of this particular offering.

[makkahn28]

I am at least relieved that PM is finally coming up with some actual useful ideas, this being great.

Of course, they could try to expand the Line-Up a bit, and Prices being a bit more fairer, BUT I must applaud PM for listening on this

[LurganIeUk]

I believe they recommend to change an iPhone battery in the 80% health range. iPhones will tell the health. But it all depends on usage....low usage you don’t need to hop on it right away. 

Apple had has always had ways to not let the user fix things or buy non oem. Look back at all the law suits when Apple IIe clones and drives were produced. And I have replaced numerous iPhone batteries and mother board transplants using a website called iFixit. Apple had tried suing them number of times to no success. 

So thanks  to @Korth    for mentioning about batteries (like home buttons) being paired to motherboard or chipped. That cripples my hobby😟. The family depends on me. Some lightning cables are chipped too...so be aware of eBay lightning cables. They should charge and sync and one or the other or both might not work. 

[Korth]

"One-year warranty" suggests (to me) that they are expected to last a minimum of one year.

Meaning that an iPhone battery should have less than 200 (maybe 250) total charge cycles on it - and should be able to accept at least 200 more charge cycles before output capacity permanently drops below 80% (forcing the iPhone to always run "Low Power Mode").

Meaning much the same thing for other smartphone batteries. Although their counterpart "Low Power Mode" thresholds differ.

[computergeek541]

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@Korth wrote:

@computergeek541 

Battery replacement is trivial for repair centers. Consumers can even replace "non-removable" batteries with DIY kits, no technical challenge if you know how to use a screwdriver and can follow step-by-step video instruction guides.

Sure, but we don't know that each and every battery was replaced with a new one, only that the devices passed the diagnostic testing.

[Korth]

@computergeek541 

Battery replacement is trivial for repair centers. Consumers can even replace "non-removable" batteries with DIY kits, no technical challenge if you know how to use a screwdriver and can follow step-by-step video instruction guides.

Unless the batteries are "paired" with other embedded components. Apple has been accused of implementing this "feature" into recent iPhones (which makes servicing the batteries, cameras, and other components impossible outside authorized repair sources). But they hadn't gotten around to these countermeasures when iPhone 6S was the new thing.

Battery-status software can be installed (on-phone or off-phone) to report battery age, total charge cycles, "actual" vs "new" specs for capacity and performance, etc. I use iCopyBot for this purpose.

[computergeek541]

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@Jb456 wrote:

@computergeek541  Apple warranty is 2 years from very first purchase. These phones PM are selling would not have Apple warranty considering the iPhone 6s was released (in Sept 2015) just Mobile Klinik base warranty. 

I also think not all phones are originally from Telus or Koodo considering Telus acquired Mobile Klinik in July 2020.

I think that Public Mobile needs to be clear about what these devices are. In the past, almost all of Telus' certified pre-owned devices were nothing  more than phones returned with the 30 day return policy, although that did not mean that there some couldn't have been repaired warranty replacement units.  Personally, and regardless of any 1 year warranty and the devices passing quality control testing, I would not want a device that has a battery that has been used for a few years, at least not at these prices, and not when almost all phones now use internal batteries.

[Jb456]

@computergeek541  Apple warranty is 2 years from very first purchase. These phones PM are selling would not have Apple warranty considering the iPhone 6s was released (in Sept 2015) just Mobile Klinik base warranty. 

I also think not all phones are originally from Telus or Koodo considering Telus acquired Mobile Klinik in July 2020.

https://mobilesyrup.com/2020/07/02/telus-acquires-smartphone-repair-shop-company-mobile-klinik/

So I do not believe PM is pushing all old Telus/Koodo stock but the stock that Mobile Klinik has acquired through their time.

If you go to Mobile Klinik website they have the same 1 year warranty that PM is offering. Which is really a minimum basic warranty for hardware on the phone. 

Alittle cheaper on PM as I just checked and the only IPhone 6s mobile klinik still have for 32gig start at good condition for $229.

So who knows what people will get here.

From their site the conditions are listed like below.

Like New: Free of any clearly visible dents or chips on the front of the phone. Pretty much Like New!

Very Good: Some light scuffing on the side of the device, or some light scratches on the body or the screen!

Good: Visible scuffing on the side of the device, as well as hairline scratches on the body or the screen! (Don't worry, nothing that can't be covered up with a case!)

As for people asking to have a tab or things along those lines. Unlikely on here through PM but you guys might as well just go buy a used phone right from Mobile Klinik. Telus owns them.

They offer PayBright for some of their phones so you can split the payments on some of their phones that they sell.

 

[LurganIeUk]

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@Korth wrote:

@LurganIeUk 

Based on the few specifics offered, and on what the warranty explicitly does and does not include, I think the refurb basically amounts to a "factory" refresh/update of all softwares, a new battery (if needed), and a full checklist of tests and diagnostics to confirm everything works.

I doubt they did any "real" repairs. Maybe replaced the chassis plastics or screentop if they were too banged up, nothing too involved or time-consuming, nothing more involved than standard module replacements, no soldering tools or electronic bench gear anywhere.

It's a time-is-money numbers game. A pile of devices, a quota for the day, a deadline which budgets how much time can be allocated to each piece. If it can be fully fixed up, cleaned up, and tested then it's done, if it takes too much attention to troubleshoot or repair then it goes into the factory-return or spare parts piles.

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Yes, I have read what they do for a "refurb". There is no doubt in my mind and they have a supply of good used phones from employees and they must have some dealers that supply them as well. I have heard that when trading in a phone at Best Buy, the trade is just disposed of, so if you are on any of their plans....take any old phone for a trade in and give the one you keep away to any one that can use it. So there must be a supply to first pick an almost  cosmetically perfect phone and then do some checks. Keep in mind too any iPhone must be iCloud unlocked by the owner and I don't know much about other phones as far as owner controlled locks and unlocks. 

[Korth]

@LurganIeUk 

Based on the few specifics offered, and on what the warranty explicitly does and does not include, I think the refurb basically amounts to a "factory" refresh/update of all softwares, a new battery (if needed), and a full checklist of tests and diagnostics to confirm everything works.

I doubt they did any "real" repairs. Maybe replaced the chassis plastics or screentop if they were too banged up, nothing too involved or time-consuming, nothing more involved than standard module replacements, no soldering tools or electronic bench gear anywhere.

It's a time-is-money numbers game. A pile of devices, a quota for the day, a deadline which budgets how much time can be allocated to each piece. If it can be fully fixed up, cleaned up, and tested then it's done, if it takes too much attention to troubleshoot or repair then it goes into the factory-return or spare parts piles.

[computergeek541]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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@Lorca wrote:

$180 for a used 6s is expensive

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While these phones are used I would not consider them the same as what you would find for sale online by private sellers.  These phones have been factory refurbished to new condition and come with a 1 year warranty.

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Factory refurbished devices would usually have manufactuer's warranty, but for these, the warranty is stated to be from Telus.  It would be interesting to find out if these devices carry any manufactuer's warranty, sepcifically when it comes to interactions with the Apple Store.

[LurganIeUk]

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@Lorca wrote:

$180 for a used 6s is expensive

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But it is a 32gb

It will be iOS 14.2 updatable. It won’t have availability to iOS 15 though in 2021. 

It is under warranty. But what is the warranty? And what did the refurbishment include?

Never the less for a rooky first time buyer that wants an iPhone (reasonably priced vs new) and has no availability to a friends or family hand me down and doesn’t want to take the chance on Craigslist....this is a deal!!!

[ShawnC13]

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@Lorca wrote:

$180 for a used 6s is expensive

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While these phones are used I would not consider them the same as what you would find for sale online by private sellers.  These phones have been factory refurbished to new condition and come with a 1 year warranty.