A Man Bought Two Refurbished iPhones From Temu - Here's What He Found When He Opened Them

Let's face it: Apple's iPhone pricing isn't for everyone. Plus, if you want the latest tech from the Cupertino giant, the yearly releases may make you feel like you are missing out on something unless you upgrade. But if you just want to get your hands on premium smartphone technology without paying full price, Apple sells refurbished iPhones, too. The company offers unlocked refurbished iPhones, as well as iPads, Apple Watches, and Mac devices. They don't cost as much as the brand-new and latest models, but they do come with a one-year limited warranty. Besides Apple, many other marketplaces offer reconditioned iPhones, such as Back Market and Reebelo. Interestingly, Temu has also started selling Apple's refurbished smartphones.

The Chinese e-commerce giant has earned a bad rap for the different scams on its platform, which is one of the reasons why you should delete your Temu account. However, these issues did not stop YouTuber Suhaib El-Komy, who runs the channel Phone Repair Guru, from ordering Apple's smartphone from the retailer. And he did not just get one, but two iPhone 14 Pros to see if the renewed devices are still good or a complete waste of money. He filmed an unboxing and teardown of each refurbished gadget to show his subscribers his honest impression of the units. Surprisingly, he found both iPhone 14 Pros to be in pristine condition, with no visible traces of internal part replacements at all. Still, he has a gripe with Temu's refurbished iPhones.

The refurbished iPhone 14 Pros Suhaib El-Komy got from Temu had screen protectors. While this may be beneficial for protecting the phone's display from harsh elements, El-Komy says it's sometimes a trick that sellers use to conceal scratches. However, upon removing it, he discovered that one of the units only had minimal marks, while the other appeared almost flawless without the protector. El-Komy noticed that the chargers that came with the phones were third-party accessories. Nevertheless, this is actually favorable, considering Apple stopped including power adapters and earphones in its iPhone packaging with the 2020 iPhone 12 lineup.

Before tearing down the devices, El-Komy checked the battery health. The first iPhone's maximum battery capacity was at 80%, while the second one was at 83%. According to Apple's Support page, battery health between 80% and 100% is still considered normal. This suggests that when battery health drops below 80%, performance may be affected, and a battery replacement may be necessary. In case you're wondering: An iPhone battery replacement can cost $99 out of warranty. Next, El-Komy ran Apple's Diagnostics feature to identify software issues, and both units turned out to be in excellent condition. The only issue found was the outdated operating system of the phones. But an over-the-air software update can immediately fix that. The YouTuber also tested the cameras, and suffice to say, no problems with the lenses and the camera software functions were found.

Tearing down the iPhone 14 Pros he got from Temu made the Phone Repair Guru realize that the devices were indeed of good quality. After prying open the phones by separating their displays from the units, he noticed that the seals had never been removed before. This is a good sign that the internal components of the iPhones have not been replaced, repaired, or tampered with. 

Even the water damage indicators inside the units were still white or silver. These small stickers typically turn red or pink when they have been exposed to liquid. Having seen that the devices still had OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts, the YouTuber concluded that the iPhones he got from Temu were pristine and "in almost perfect condition." He also praised the specific seller from whom he bought the units.

While he was impressed by the renewed iPhone 14 Pros he got, El-Komy still had some issues, not with the units themselves, but with their pricing and the platform itself. He paid 858 Canadian dollars (US$615) for each device, and says this is double the price for the same model on the used market. The YouTuber also issued a warning on how buying from Temu can be risky. "I still cannot recommend buying phones from Temu. The amount of fake iPhones on Temu is kind of ridiculous," he said at one point in the video while showing screenshots of fake iPhone ads and pages he found on the app.