The truth about refurbished phones

Of course you’ve heard of refurbished phones. But why would you choose one over a shiny new handset straight out of the factory? What are you missing out on?

Prepare to have your brainbox blown as we reveal exactly how your old phone gets wiped, primped and packaged, ready for a brand new owner.

What you didn’t know about refurbished phones

There’s a lot of rumours out there about refurbished phones. That’s why we’ve decided to set the record straight.

• Rumour 1: Refurbished phones won’t save you much money
• The truth: Now this is absolutely untrue. Refurbished phones could save you a lot of money. In fact, throughout April our members saved an average of £204 by choosing a refurbished phone over its brand-new counterpart. Pretty nifty, huh?
• Rumour 2: The refurb process isn’t even that eco-friendly
• The truth: Now, where did you hear this? By buying refurbished, you’ll be helping the planet even while you shop. That’s because each refurbished phone saves around 50 kg of carbon - the equivalent carbon captured by planting two trees.
• Rumour 3: Refurbished phones are always old models
• The truth: You can buy recent models refurbished too. That’s right, refurbished isn’t just for ‘outdated’ handsets. giffgaff offers a full range of refurbished models, from our most popular iPhone 11 and the new iPhone 13 to the Samsung S21 and Sony Xperia 1.
• Rumour 4: Refurbished phones won’t last long
• The truth: All giffgaff refurbished phones come with a minimum 12-month warranty. So you can be absolutely certain you’re getting a quality phone that will stand the test of time.

How does giffgaff refurbish phones?

There are three key steps to the refurbished phone journey, but the good news is most of it is on us and our recycle partners. So you barely have to do anything at all. Let’s break it down:

Step 1: You decide to sell your phone through giffgaff

So you want to give your phone a brand new life? The first bit is up to you:

1. Tell us about your used phone at giffgaffrecycle.com and receive your quote
2. Package up your phone or, if you don’t have a package to hand, request a pre-paid envelope to send it in
3. We’ll welcome your phone at the Trade In returns centre and give it a quick once over to make sure our quote is right
4. We’ll send you your final quote so you can decide if you want to go ahead with the trade

Step 2: Diagnostic checks

You accepted your quote. Woohoo. Time to send it off to our refurb partners for a little health check before it gets refurbished.

1. Your old phone gets a full diagnostic test to make sure it’s in working order
2. Time to wipe your phone clean of data, so you can sleep easy knowing that all your personal info is erased
3. A quick cosmetic test to check for general wear and tear
4. Lastly, they’ll test to see if your phone has any bars or activation locks that might limit its new owner

Step 3: the giffgaff refurb

Now it’s time for us to get down to business. This is where we make sure your old phone is ready for a new home.

By the end of our refurb process, every refurbished phone giffgaff sells will tick every item in this checklist:

• Good battery health
• Phone not locked to a network
• Full clean, including the headphone ports, speakers and all surfaces
• Final quality check passed
• Packaged up with a charging cable and sim pin
• Sealed and labelled with Make, Model and Grade

Once all that is done, we’ll ship your (now) refurbished phone back to the distribution centre, ready to find a new owner at giffgaff.com.

Ready to trade in your phone?

Check out how much money you could get for your used phone at giffgaffrecycle.com. It only takes a few minutes to get a quote and kickstart your phone’s refurb journey.

So you’ll be helping do something good for the environment by contributing to the circular phones economy. And you’ll get some cash in your pocket to buy your next phone.

Be sure to check out our great range of refurbished phones. As we’ve highlighted in this blog, you can get some great quality, modern handsets and save yourself some cash in the process. What’s not to love?