New iPhones being sold with fake accessories or body parts ?

[ahmadka]

Hi guys .. So I'm wondering if someone with proper know how can clarify this for me ..

Over the past month, I've bought 2 supposedly brand new iPhone 5S's. While some shopkeepers denied this, others didn't, that all iPhones being sold in Pakistan, except the new 6 and 6 Plus, are all opened when they arrive in Karachi, their contents are checked (make sure phone is working, etc.), and then the phones are repackaged and sent to shops. Some people call this 'Pakistani/Karachi Packaging', while others outright deny it.

Secondly, both the phones I've bought have data cables which I know are fake. When you connect it to the iPhone, you see a message after a short while telling you that the accessory you're using is a fake.

Now, is it possible that the phones are also modified maybe when they're repackaged ? That is, original screens are removed and replaced with a Chinese ones, for example ?

Both times when I bought the phones, I checked the serial numbers via Apple's website, and both were supposedly bought during or after August 2014.

However I don't understand why the phones would need to be opened in Karachi. It doesn't make sense. It's not like Apple sells broken phones. They probability of getting a DOA phone is probably 0.1%, and it doesn't justify opening EVERY phone to check whether it works or not. Some shopkeepers claim that its done to make sure the phone is factory unlocked. However this again can be verified by looking at the barcodes mentioned on the back of the box.

So my gut feeling is that they actually open the phones to not only replace the original accessories with fake ones, but they also take out original 'body parts' of the iPhone, and replace them with Chinese counterparts.

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Also, I checked like 20 of the most famous mobile shops in RWP/ISB .. All had iPhones whose packaging looked 'Pakistani'.

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It could even be the case that refurbished iPhones are possibly being sold as brand new here, which is sad :/

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Does anyone have any insider info on what truly happens to all iPhones are they enter Pakistan ?

 

[shad0w]

Buying an Iphone 5 and 5S is a real pain, most are refurbished, some are refurbished locally while some come refurbished from dubai/china. If it's new like new 90% of the time it will be refurbished.

Used Iphones bought from the market are all opened, the shopkeepers themselves open the phones when buying to check if repairs have been done or not.

 

[ahmadka]

I don't think the phones I bought are refurbished in the proper sense .. The second phone had an Apple purchase date of 28th October 2014. So it could only be refurbished if someone in the US bought the phone on 28th Oct, then returned it to apple, who then sold it off as refurbished, and then it made it's way to Pakistan somehow ..

I think the phone itself is new, considering that Apple dispatched it from their inventory on 28th October, which is very recent, but it COULD be that when the phone entered Pakistan, it was stripped of its original parts and was given chinese parts instead ..

Although looking at the phone I have no direct reason to suggest that this might be the case (as the phones look perfect), the other scenario that they ONLY replace the original accessories (data cable, earphones) with Chinese counterparts and leave the phone intact also doesn't sound plausible, since Pakistanis are by nature too crooked to leave a brand new phone alone even when the box has been opened ..

So I guess I don't know what to believe :/

 

[babarali124]

All boxes are opened and repacked.. whether its iphone or any samsung s4 .. The original chargers and cables are also replaced with fake ones. But this is only done by small shop keepers and not by big like homeshopping . Although the boxes are repacked but their accessories come original... to confirm ur android phones that if its refurbished . Just go into settings->software info or i guess device info.. at the bottom you will see firmware (official/custom) so if its official than ur mobile is not refurbished. But if its custom then u got a refurbished one. I dont know about other android mobile but this applies on samsung cellphones. Lastly its also possible they might be changing screens but its a rare case. However, replacing original accessories is a normal thing and they seperately sale them for more profit.

First rule of a buyer in Pakistan. Never trust the whatever shopkeeper tells u .. 95% of them lie.

 

[ads496]

This isn't something new and has been happening all over Pakistan for a long time now. The thing is that the local sellers don't get the phone from the companies and rely on third party dealers which aren't the most trustworthy. This is why they check every single phone. Also the authorities at the port usually do open the boxes to check out the stuff and then those boxes need to be repacked. Yes the accessories are changed sometimes by the shopkeepers but there are some trustworthy ones too. I have never seen a phone with a changed display though although that is possible.

 

[Dark Sith]

sir most of the phones are sold as new are mostly refurbs hard to spot --hell this is how now they make money ---original chargers/ hands free its possible that screes might be changed ---an average bloke wont even know --i have seen them re seal phones boxes takes rs.100 / 150 and damn --no one in hell can tell ...its like it was never opened .

 

[ahmadka]

sir most of the phones are sold as new are mostly refurbs hard to spot --hell this is how now they make money ---original chargers/ hands free its possible that screes might be changed ---an average bloke wont even know --i have seen them re seal phones boxes takes rs.100 / 150 and damn --no one in hell can tell ...its like it was never opened .

But how can it be a refurb if Apple's site states that the phone was bought from Apple on 28th October 2014, which is just 20 or so days ago ?

They can't fool Apple, can they ?

Also, Apple refurbed phones have certain indicators in their Serial Number, none of which are present in the serial number of the phones I own .. Yes, the phone could have been refurbished by someone outside Apple, but even then, my above point still remains ..

 

[Riz]

Most of the iPhone's are repacked and the accessories are used to replace with fake one's. It doesn't matter the shops selling them are big or small as i know many of lhr, rwp, khi wholesalers who import, open, repack and do this to all units. Also there are the retailers who online buy or import iPhone's by themselves also involved in such business to maximize their profit!
The original accessories are being sold separately as i bought them many times from some of my shop friends and very often they took them out of their original boxes.