Best Cheap Refurbished iPhone Deals and Sales for April 2021

A new iPhone costs a pretty penny — actually, a lot of pretty pennies. Finding the best cheap iPhone deals can be tough if you insist on buying a brand new product. If you’re searching for cheap refurbished iPhones, however, you’re in luck. Many online retailers have refurbished iPhone sales, including Apple itself with its Certified Refurbished iPhone deals. We’ve gathered the best cheap refurbished iPhones below and will update this list regularly.

iPhones aren’t the only refurbished products with amazing deals. We’ve also rounded up the best refurbished laptop deals, refurbished MacBook deals, refurbished tablet deals, and refurbished iPad deals.

Today’s best refurbished iPhone sales

Should you buy a refurbished iPhone?

The bigger question may be “Why wouldn’t you buy a refurbished iPhone?” Depending on the reseller, you can easily find just about every recent model, configuration, and color in refurbished iPhone deals. Whether you want an iPhone 12, iPhone 11, or any other version back to at least the iPhone 7, you can find what you want without a lot of searching. There are differences between resellers’ refurbished iPhone sales, however, so consider the following before you leap for one of the first cheap refurbished iPhones you find online.

• How will you use it? — If you’re set on buying an iPhone but only intend to use it for phone calls and text messaging, any of the early refurbished iPhone deals will do the trick and save you hundreds of dollars. If, on the other hand, you push the limits with smartphone photography, you’ll likely want to choose one of the latest iPhones. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus is the oldest generation that’s still relatively easy to find and that powerhouse is an excellent compromise between basic iPhone functionality and power features.
• What can you expect from a refurbished iPhone? — Electronics don’t have moving parts, so if they work, they work, period. Cases and screens can show wear and batteries can lose some of their maximum charge time. Major online retailers openly detail the conditions and quality of their refurbished iPhone sales. You can expect the refurb unit will perform as a new unit of the same iPhone generation, except battery life with many merchants. Retailers commonly certify their refurbished iPhone deals have been tested to recharge to 80% to 90% of the original maximum battery life. Apple goes a big step further and sells Certified Refurbished iPhones with a new battery and a new outer shell.
• Guarantee — Warranties and guarantees for refurbished iPhone sales range from 30-day money-back guarantees to multi-year limited warranties. Because the time periods and the terms differ, be sure you understand what the retailer offers so you won’t be surprised. Apple’s Certified Refurbished iPhones are typically the most expensive, for example, but they also come with the same one-year warranty as a brand new iPhone.
• Cost — Have a budget. You can find cheap refurbished iPhones for less than $200 to more than $1,000 depending on the generation, model, storage capacity, condition, warranty, and the reseller’s refurbishing process or source. Sure, you can typically save more on the latest, most loaded models, but a $300 savings on a phone that still costs more than $800 isn’t all that wonderful a deal if your needs are pretty basic. Refurbished iPhone sales are a great way to save, but in the end, your budget measures how much you spend, not how much you saved.

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