This is weird. It’s hard to believe it happened again. I had to return another iPhone to Amazon for a refund because of a problem with it. It’s the second iPhone 13-series phone I ordered and had to send back. This past September, it was a 13 mini; now it’s a 13 Pro. Of all the many great refurbished iPhones I’ve bought from Amazon before, maybe I’ve just been unlucky with the number 13.
The other strange part is that both iPhone 13s were for my wife. She’s simply needing to upgrade her four-year old iPhone 12 mini. It too often has problems because the 64GB storage is almost always nearly full. The battery life isn’t great either.
- In late September, I ordered a 13 mini for her (sold by Woot). We had to return it. Refurb-lottery: lost.
- Then in late October, I ordered a 12 Pro for myself (also upgrading a 64GB 12 mini). It was and is excellent. Refurb-lottery: won.
- Now in late November, I got my wife a 13 Pro (sold by Hybrid IT). And it’s already on its way back to the seller for a refund. Refurb-lottery: lost.
The problem with the 13 Pro – it was broken. Straight up.
Upon setup, a warning message stated the camera had an unknown or non-genuine Apple part and may not function correctly. This message was also found in the Settings app.
Sure enough, the ultrawide 0.5x and Macro camera totally would not work! The camera refused to switch to that lens. And switching between the 1x and 3x lenses was glitchy and inconsistent. Mind you, this phone was listed as “Renewed - Excellent” and said to be fully tested and fully functional. But my wife, who isn’t a tech nerd or IT person, could clearly and easily tell the camera wasn’t right. What gives? How was this phone fully tested yet the glaring problem of a broken camera was missed?
We checked online for more info and found others had similar camera problems. We also learned it could be a software issue, not necessarily a hardware issue. Whatever the case, this iPhone didn’t “just work.” And the seller somehow didn’t catch the broken ultrawide lens.
I’m not mad, just frustrated. More than that, I’m kind of shocked that this is the second used iPhone I’ve had to return in the past two months. As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
We are not playing the refurbished phone lottery again, sad to say.
While I’ve had five or six great renewed iPhones before and only two bad eggs, a negative one weighs a lot more than a positive one. On top of that, I got those two negative ones in the past two months from two different sellers. Something is weird.
So what’s my next move to solve my wife’s iPhone 12 mini situation? I may do something I’ve not done in years. I might walk into the AT&T store and say, “What’s your current best holiday deal on an Ultramarine iPhone 16?”
But my wife said something this weekend that surprised me. She said that maybe she should consider switching to Android (!).
Okay now, whoa, that…would be something. [jaw slightly dropped]
I mean, I had every intention myself to stick with Apple – I just bought an iPhone 12 Pro, you know. Yet the same week I did that, I received an Android phone for my birthday and just started switching – from Apple to Google. So, yeah, it can happen.
…Sometimes it seems that decisions are kind of made for you…
It’s been over seven years since both my wife and I were on Android. Maybe it’s the right time for us to both be on Android again. Works for me. But would it work for my wife? She’s pretty locked into Apple…
What doesn’t work is this: ordering another used iPhone. I am not doing that again.
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