Should You Buy a Super Cheap Refurbished iPhone From Amazon?

Amazon maintains lists of its best selling products, and right now, the best-selling smartphone that's available from Amazon is an Amazon "Renewed" iPhone 8, which is priced starting at $178.


That's super cheap for an ‌iPhone‌, and cheaper than Apple's own refurbished price for the same device, so in our latest YouTube video, we picked up one of these Amazon Renewed iPhones to see if it's worth the savings.

Amazon's "Renewed" devices are all pre-owned and are not Apple certified, but Amazon says they've been professionally "inspected, tested, and cleaned" by Amazon-qualified suppliers. Note that the iPhones come from various third-party suppliers and are not necessarily provided direct by Amazon.

amazon refurbished iphone box
Amazon has two product grades: Renewed and Renewed Premium. Renewed is the cheapest option and starts at $170 for an ‌iPhone‌ 8 with 64GB storage, while Renewed Premium is a bit more expensive. It's worth noting that prices on Renewed and Renewed Premium devices do fluctuate, and sometimes the Premium versions go out of stock. Apple doesn't offer a new ‌iPhone‌ 8 anymore, but for comparison's sake, charges $339 for a Refurbished version.

amazon refurbished iphone checklist
Amazon says that its Renewed devices have no "visible cosmetic imperfections" when held at an arm's length and a battery capacity that exceeds 80 percent relative to a new device, while Renewed Premium versions are "certified to work and look like new," so we chose the Premium option to get as close as possible to new ‌iPhone‌ 8.

The ‌iPhone‌ 8 that we received from Amazon looks and feels like a new device, but it did ship with a non-factory charger and Lightning cable. There were a few hairline scratches on the screen that weren't super noticeable, but will likely annoy perfectionists.

amazon refurbished iphone
After charging, the ‌iPhone‌ 8 worked as expected and had a 90 percent battery capacity. Over the course of a few days of usage, we ran into an issue with the speaker. At loud volumes, it sounds off with a noticeable crackling, which was not a problem with an original launch day ‌iPhone‌ 8 that we had on hand. The speaker issue did not impact call quality, so the phone was functional even with this problem.

amazon renewed certificate
If you're looking for an ‌iPhone‌ on the cheap, Amazon's Renewed devices are worth checking out, but don't expect total perfection. We ran into some minor problems, and if you check out the Amazon reviews, other users have also had more significant issues with the used and refurbished iPhones that they've purchased from Amazon.

Amazon offers a 90-day return policy for Renewed devices, while "Premium" versions come with a one-year customer satisfaction guarantee with an option to return the product, so if something is wrong with a device, you can send it back and get a refund.

Tag: Amazon

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

aesc80 Avatar
56 months ago
Let's be honest, y'all - this ain't for us. This is for those people who have parents / siblings / hermits who don't care about certain features and just want a working device for FaceTime, iMessage, or whatever sort of communication (including phone calling). I'd personally buy this for my dad who would rock a Samsung Galaxy S < 7. As long as it works, that's all that matters to him.

Us though - we're the class of uppity kids driving year release BMWs and Mercs, laughing at the kid driving the used B6 Audi A4. I know that makes us sound terrible, but look at the iPhone 12 in your hands. Yeah - you wouldn't have it any other way! ? ? (jokes, of course!)
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alpi123 Avatar
56 months ago
Why is Apple's own refurb store so limited in terms of choice and stock?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiranmk2 Avatar
56 months ago
Renewed Premium versions are "certified to work and look like new,"
There were a few hairline scratches on the screen that weren't super noticeable, but will likely annoy perfectionists.
So it doesn't look like new then...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
inigou Avatar
56 months ago
A used battery and scratched display is not an option for me. Even being cheap.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
56 months ago

Nothing should be bought on Am**on. Stop advertising it. It's one of the cancer of this society.
That is an absurd statement, in my opinion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying needed products on Amazon, especially during a pandemic.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
posguy99 Avatar
56 months ago
So the difference between these two levels of "renewed" would be that the Renewed Premium they wipe with a damp rag vs a dry one before chucking it in a box?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)