Skip to Content

Danish Court Rules Apple Must Replace Man's iPhone With New Rather Than Refurbished Model

A court in Denmark today ruled Apple must replace a Danish man's iPhone with a new model rather than a refurbished model in accordance with local law.

iphone-4-cracked

(Image: The Sydney Morning Herald)

A trio of judges found Apple was not entitled to replace David Lysgaard's iPhone 4 with a refurbished model since it may contain recycled parts, which could result in a lower resale value and went against his "legitimate expectation" of receiving a brand new iPhone equivalent to his original purchase.

By providing Lysgaard with a refurbished iPhone, rather than an equivalent new model, the court found Apple to have violated the Danish Sale of Goods Act. The judges upheld an earlier decision reached by Denmark's Consumer Complaints Board, which also said the replacement should be a new, not refurbished, model.

Apple disagreed with the Consumer Complaints Board's decision in 2014 and sued Lysgaard, arguing that refurbished iPhones are produced and tested in the same way as new iPhones. Apple also said refurbished iPhones undergo rigorous tests and strict quality control. Apple can now appeal the judgment with a higher court.

Earlier this year, a Dutch court similarly ordered Apple to replace a woman's iPhone 6 Plus with a new model, not a refurbished one.

(Thanks, Boris!)

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
HomePod mini and Apple TV Sage

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Are Still Missing, Here's Why

Thursday March 5, 2026 6:11 am PST by
Apple this week unveiled seven products, ranging from the iPhone 17e to the MacBook Neo, but new Apple TV and HomePod mini models were not among them. Given that there have been rumors about the next-generation Apple TV and HomePod mini since all the way back in late 2024, some customers are wondering why the devices have yet to launch, and the answer likely relates to Siri. In September, ...
MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

Apple Announces $599 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip

Wednesday March 4, 2026 6:15 am PST by
Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new kind of low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip for $599. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads,...

Top Rated Comments

121 months ago
And this is front page news because...
Because people from Denmark are reading Macrumors as well :)
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
121 months ago
And this is front page news because...
...it's news.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
121 months ago
And this is front page news because...
Because it could spill over into the EU and completely undermine Apple's push to replace parts instead of manufacturing new devices en masse, and have huge implications for not only the supply chain as well as their environmental goals? The question I counter with is, why did you have to even ask that question?
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chr1s60 Avatar
121 months ago
In other news, Apple iPhone support claims saw an 800% increase in Denmark today.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
121 months ago
To keep the same resale value, Apple should give him a phone that is used by exactly the same number of days he had his iPhone. :p
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
121 months ago
And this is front page news because...
Why wouldn't it be? This could majorly change how Apple handles repairs in one country, and other countries may be emboldened to try the exact same thing.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)