Buy refurbished

MacBook 12"

It is important to choose the right refurbished Mac laptop for you; after all, this piece of hardware could last you many years. What you need to consider is which specs matter the most to you and why.

Do you want to use your Mac laptop to browse the net and watch YouTube videos? You can probably get away with an older edition MacBook. Do you want to use your laptop to edit videos? Then elements like graphics, processor speed and screen size will be crucial for you. Do you want to use your refurbished Mac laptop to make conference calls from home? Then you'll be happy with a simple but functional MacBook Air.

Each need is met with different hardware properties. First, you need to define the main use for your laptop; this will tell you which aspects are most important to focus on.

On RefurbMe, you can filter your MacBook search down to the exact right model for you. In this screenshot, you can see some filtering options for MacBook Air models.

But that's not all! You can also click on More Filters if you know exactly what kind of processor you want to have in your device.

All in all, you can filter your search by:

• Category (MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro)
• Price range
• Refurb condition (Excellent, Good and Fair)
• Seller (Amazon, Apple Store, Backmarket, Gamestop, Gazelle, Mac of All Trades, Renewed Macs, Uptrade)
• Touch bar
• Color
• Screen size
• Screen type
• Storage
• Memory
• Processor type
• Processor speed
• Year
• Graphics

You won't regret it. Between our partners' warranty options, refurb quality and unbeatable prices, you'll fall in love with your purchase. We're sure of it. :)

Of course, refurbished MacBooks are fully tested. In fact, when a MacBook is getting refurbished, testing is one of the most important stages.

A refurbished MacBook is submitted to: 

• hardware tests;
• software tests;
• thorough checking of all components.

Typically, most parts pass these tests without an issue. If any faulty part is discovered, the refurbisher will either fix it or replace it. For instance, a loose wire on a MacBook motherboard can easily be reconnected but a broken keyboard needs to be replaced. 

Once the repairs are done, a refurbished MacBook goes through the entire product testing process again. Note that refurbished MacBooks go through the same testing process as any new MacBook does. It is put up for sale only after passing all functional testing.

When MacBooks get refurbished, their hard drive is erased of all data, then their operating system is reinstalled.

A refurbished MacBook is ready for use with a clean copy of Mac OS X or macOS, as a brand new model would be. Once you get your refurbished MacBook, you will be able to set it up as new or restore your settings from a backup of your previous MacBook. 

We have curated an article to further make the doubts on refurbished MacBook clear. It tells you what are the pros and cons of using one.

Refurbished MacBooks usually come with a warranty, but every refurbisher offers a different policy. In order to avoid any bad surprises regarding the quality of your product, make sure that you buy a refurbished MacBook from a professional and certified refurbisher. You can compare our partners' warranty policies here.

Read your seller's warranty policy thoroughly to make sure your device benefits from the protection you're comfortable with. If the warranty period feels too short for you, some sellers allow you to upgrade it for an extra cost, so you can enjoy your MacBook worry-free for as long as possible. If you buy your refurbished Apple device from the Apple Store, you can choose to add an AppleCare plan to your order.

On RefurbMe, we only feature Apple devices that come with a 30 day warranty or more. When looking at a particular device, scroll down to the sellers' offers to check the warranty information:

If you would like further information, we encourage you to click on Buy now to be redirected on the seller's site, where their specific warranty information will always be up-to-date.

Whenever you buy an electronic product, the possibility of it failing can be worrying. Laptops and MacBooks especially are a significant investment. Sometimes, a new product may pass every test it needs to pass to be put on the market... and somehow fails due to a manufacturing issue once it reaches its new owner.

Although random fails are always possible, bear in mind that refurbished MacBooks go through high standard quality checks twice: 

Even if a defective part manages to pass the quality tests the first time around, it's very likely going to be caught, fixed or replaced during the second round of tests.

Because of this, we suspect that refurbished MacBooks are less likely to fail than new MacBooks. However, there isn't any data on this yet, so we will have to settle for saying that refurbished MacBooks are not more likely to fail than new MacBooks. 

Refurbished MacBooks are computers which are pre-owned. They might have had a faulty part—a faulty SSD, a screen issue, a battery problem, an unresponsive keyboard—and were sent back to the manufacturer. Or, they were a display item that is now getting prepped to go on the market.

Product testing is crucial to make sure the device is ready for sale. Only when a MacBook passes these tests—just like a new one would!—can the refurbisher stamp them as refurbished.