Refurbished Macs any recommendations UK

Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I have no option but to replace my aging Macs. Both desktop and MB Pro are stuck with OS 10.6.8 and are fairly limited in their usefulness now. The cost of replacing both with new machines is eyewatering. I was wondering about going down the refurbished route but only from somewhere with a good reputation. Apple themselves never seem to have much to offer. Has anyone found a good reliable supplier of machines, must be UK based.
Many thanks
 

IWT


Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
10,218
Reaction score
2,175
Points
113
Location
Born Scotland. Worked all over UK. Live in Wales
Your Mac's Specs
M2 Max Studio Extra, 32GB memory, 4TB, Sonoma 14.4 Apple 5K Retina Studio Monitor
Good evening, Konda.

Only Apple offer genuine refurbished Macs. They are usually returned Macs with no faults or Macs that have been completely repaired and checked and are considered as "good as new" with a discounted price and the same warranty as brand new Macs.

If you look elsewhere, you must understand the risk. They may or may not be refurbished, but to Apple standards and with Apple parts? And look at the warranty. Must include parts and labour for 12 months, as Apple does.

Not saying that there aren't bargains to be had, but be careful and scrutinise the small print of their warranty.

Ian
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,494
Reaction score
1,541
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
Just ignore — duplicate post. Sorry.





- Patrick
======
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,494
Reaction score
1,541
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
Refurbished Macs any recommendations UK


What about the Macworld UK site and store??

But I haven't checked what they might offer but I see their ads and specials occasionally and they seem to have a UK store. Or am I confusing then with some other UK Mac place???





- Patrick
======
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,452
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
Here is the results of a search I did for the UK Apple refurbished store: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac

What is there varies every day, depending on what is in stock, so check back frequently until you see what you want (or close to it).
 
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
4,407
Reaction score
2,098
Points
113
Location
Sacramento, California
I have no option but to replace my aging Macs. Both desktop and MB Pro are stuck with OS 10.6.8 and are fairly limited in their usefulness now.

I'm wondering in what way you find them "limited in their usefulness."

I keep one Macintosh in my office running OS X 10.6, because it runs a couple of pieces of legacy software that didn't make it to be Intel-native, and hence require Rosetta, which was discontinued after OS X 10.6.

But the machine is still incredibly useful for most things. It won't run the latest software, but it still runs most of the software that it ever has perfectly and with good performance if you perform some routine maintenance:

Macintosh Routine Maintenance
OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting

Safari under OS X 10.6 is now too buggy to rely on. While the only way to upgrade Safari would be to upgrade your OS, there are more modern versions of Firefox available (which are older than the most current version) that are both fully compatible with OS X 10.6, and which support HTML 5 and other modern technologies.

Firefox (48.0.2) (free)
<https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/48.0.2/>
is the last version of Firefox that runs under OS X 10.6. It's an excellent choice.

An old Mac might be slowing down or getting flaky because it's rotating disk hard drive is on its last legs. You can easily replace that hard drive, and drastically improve your old Mac's performance, by replacing it with a SSD. SSD's have recently come down quite a bit in price. e.g.:

SanDisk 1TB Ultra 3D NAND SATA III SSD - 2.5-inch Solid State Drive - SDSSDH3-1T00-G25
$140 with free shipping
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071KGRXRG/?tag=macforums0e4-20

So, unless you badly need to run a version of some software that won't run under OS X 10.6, you can extend the life and performance of your old Mac pretty cheaply.
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks all for the helpful advice. I must admit I would be slightly uneasy about taking a chance on a non Apple refurbed product. I am sure there are some genuinely decent companies out there, but from what I have looked at so far, for a little bit extra I could buy new.
To be fair, the desktop still works perfectly well. It’s just that more and more I have found certain things that for one reason or another I am unable to do. For example, some websites tell me that my browser is out of date and unsupported. Thunderbird won’t work anymore, sometimes video clips won’t play. I think also YouTube won’t work. Non are huge problems but are a bit frustrating and spoil my enjoyment. The hard drive is almost fulll to maximum and has 12 years worth of family photographs stored there, plus music in iTunes. I have it all backed up through Time Machine on an external 500Gb drive. I would be nervous to clear them from the hard drive and have them solely on the external drive. I suppose I would have plenty room with another larger SSD installed. Decisions, decisions!
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,452
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
Also, you said you are "stuck" with 10.6.8. Is that as far as your Macs can go? What models do you have? If you can upgrade, that may be a way to relieve some of the problems online.
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Both are Core Duo, around 2006 mark I think. As far as I know it’s not possible to upgrade any further than 10.6.8.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
17,494
Reaction score
1,541
Points
113
Location
Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada
Your Mac's Specs
2011 27" iMac, 1TB(partitioned) SSD, 20GB, OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan
Both are Core Duo, around 2006 mark I think. As far as I know it’s not possible to upgrade any further than 10.6.8.



That Apple iMac "Core Duo" would be from the 2006 era and I'm surprised it's still running as I believe they were among the models that gave up working due to bad capacitors that many tried replacing with a replacement capacitor kit.
You can see the full specs here:
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index-imac.html


I would normally agree with Randy's comments and older Macs, but having replaced an Core Duo iMac several years ago, I would make an exception with those models. Just saying... and not exactly one of Apple's better released models!!! :Angry:





- Patrick
======
 
Last edited:

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
I am sure there are some genuinely decent companies out there, but from what I have looked at so far, for a little bit extra I could buy new.

What you mentioned is one of the biggest issues with buying a "used" Apple computer from online resellers. They add such a large upcharge to the price of the computer...that for just a little bit more you can buy new.

Imagine going to an electronics auction...purchasing MacBook Pro's by the pallet-load...taking them back to your warehouse & shop...making sure they all work...tack on a serious upcharge (many times way above market value)...and making a lot of profit. These used computers are NOT the same as purchasing an Apple refurbished computer!!!

I've many times seen the exact same computer model these online sellers are selling for 30-50% less on eBay (the true market value of a computer). And with eBay's strict return policies (usually favoring the buyer)...there's usually very little risk purchasing a used computer from eBay. As long as the computer purchased is examined carefully (specs of the computer match what the eBay auction description listed)...and the computer is "stress-tested" (use the computer in such a way as to test it fully).

The one advantage the online resellers of used Apple computers have over eBay sellers are...many times they include a 30-60 day warranty. But many times with used computers purchased on eBay...if you check them out throughly when you first get them (and all is well)...then they will also be fine 30-60 days later when these short 30-60 day warranties from the resellers expire.

My recommendation for purchasing computers is:

- Purchase Apple New (if someone wants a brand new computer).
- Purchase Apple refurbished (if the goal is to purchase a basically new computer at 15% or less than new & Apple has a model you want at the time you want to purchase).
- Purchase via eBay (if ok with purchasing a used computer).
- Purchase via online resellers (basically a used computer)...if really in a hurry or can't find the exact model/configuration on eBay. But expect to potentially pay a lot more.

HTH,

- Nick
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Well maybe I have just been lucky with my iMac. It has never missed a beat or given cause for concern. It would be just like the thing if I was to spend a little money on it and fit a SSD and then another component dies. It owes me nothing considering how old it is. Same story with my Macbbook Pro which incidentally I bought used on eBay, it is from the same era, circa 2006. It weighs a ton, but I love the solidity of it. It too works fine but with the same limitations of the iMac.
Sad to give up on them, they’re like old friends. Been trying to get Linux Mint to run on the MBP but am having problems burning the iso onto the memory stick.
 
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
4,407
Reaction score
2,098
Points
113
Location
Sacramento, California
To be fair, the desktop still works perfectly well. ItÂ’s just that more and more I have found certain things that for one reason or another I am unable to do. For example, some websites tell me that my browser is out of date and unsupported. Thunderbird wonÂ’t work anymore, sometimes video clips wonÂ’t play. I think also YouTube wonÂ’t work. Non are huge problems but are a bit frustrating and spoil my enjoyment. The hard drive is almost fulll to maximum and has 12 years worth of family photographs stored there, plus music in iTunes. I have it all backed up through Time Machine on an external 500Gb drive. I would be nervous to clear them from the hard drive and have them solely on the external drive. I suppose I would have plenty room with another larger SSD installed. Decisions, decisions!

Most of those things will be solved with the move to the version of Firefox I suggested.

You can get video formats that Quicktime won't handle to play perfectly using:

VLC (free)
https://get.videolan.org/vlc/2.2.8/macosx/vlc-2.2.8.dmg

You DO have to do something, and FAST, about a hard drive that is almost full. A hard drive that is approaching about 80% full or more can make your Mac run flaky, or even cause you to lose data:

OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting
Item #5 and Note #1

I'd reinstall the same version of Thunderbird, there is no reason that it should be running flaky under OS X 10.6. Or switch to Apple's Mail, which still runs perfectly under OS X 10.6.
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I guess it would be downright silly to bin the machine without giving some heed to your advice. I have alright started to clear out some of the rubbish and excess data stored on the hard drive and give it room to breathe. Maybe move some of the less important stuff onto the external drive for now and clear them completely from the machines hard drive.
Many thanks for the advice, it’s got to be worth a try. I’ll let you know how I fare.
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Update:
So far I have managed to slim down my hard drive from being almost full to having 106Gb available now. The computer does respond a bit quicker. I have run Yasu and cleared out some other stuff.
On my HD I have still 19Gb of photos and ahem, 40Gb of music! Neither of which I access very often truth be told. Is it possible to store the iTunes music library on the external drive and refer iTunes to that location? Same question with the photos that I view in Lightroom? I would keep a second backup on some other media in case of a fault with the external drive sometime.
I am using Firefox 48.0.2 and it seems ok. I used to like Thunderbird version 45.8.0 for email but I can not connect it to my Gmail account, are they incompatible now?
Getting there!
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,452
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
I cannot speak for Lightroom, I don't use it. But for iTunes, the answer is yes, you can put the database on the external. Open iTunes, then Preferences and look under Advanced for the full path to the iTunes Music database. Now go there in Finder and copy that database to where you want it on the external. Now go back to iTunes/Preferences/Advanced and Change... to point to the new location. Test that it works well, then you can delete the original location.

You may be able to do something similar in Lightroom.

Make backups before doing any of this so that if it doesn't work, you can restore it as it was before you started.
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thank you Jake, I will have a look at that. It is also possible with LR I have discovered. Isn't it funny how you just seem to trust the HD on your computer, up to a point, but get nervous transferring everything onto an external drive. Well I do anyways! I will of course make another backup of everything before I commit.
 
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
4,407
Reaction score
2,098
Points
113
Location
Sacramento, California
Update:
So far I have managed to slim down my hard drive from being almost full to having 106Gb available now.

Note that what is important isn't just how much free hard drive space you have, but rather how much free CONTIGUOUS space you have. The Mac's system uses chunks of contiguous hard drive space to work with. Read the links that I gave you.
 
OP
K
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Will do Randy. I have been working my way through it, I will check that part out again.
Thanks
Dave
 
Joined
Dec 11, 2010
Messages
1,808
Reaction score
40
Points
48
Location
Chicago
Your Mac's Specs
late 2012 mini w/SSD
If you move anything to an external, and delete the original, just remember to make a different backup -you don't want to lose anything.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top