“Refurbished” is the least standardised word in hardware distribution. Two suppliers can both call a unit refurbished when one has bench-tested and reflashed it and the other has wiped the dust off. Here is exactly what the word means when it appears on a Nixovan quote.
The four steps
1. Functional bench test
Every unit is powered up and put through a function check appropriate to its type. For an IP phone that means boot, display, handset audio, speakerphone, both Ethernet ports, PoE negotiation, and every key on the keypad. For a switch it means every port at link speed, PoE budget under load, and fan behaviour. Units that fail any step are pulled — they are not repaired and re-offered.
2. Factory reset and data wipe
Configuration, provisioning URLs, credentials, call logs and directories are removed by a full factory reset. On devices with persistent storage this is a wipe, not a settings reset. This matters more than people assume: a phone that arrives holding the previous owner’s SIP credentials is a security problem you have just shipped to your customer.
3. Firmware to current
Units are reflashed to a current, stable manufacturer firmware image — not necessarily the newest release, but the one currently recommended for general deployment. This removes the most common cause of “refurb does not work” support calls, which is a unit shipping on a five-year-old image that will not register against a modern platform.
4. Cosmetic grade
Only then is the unit graded on appearance, under consistent lighting, by someone who does that job and not another one.
The grades
| Grade | Cosmetic standard | Accessories | Offered publicly? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade A | No visible wear at normal viewing distance. No screen marks. No scuffs on visible faces. | Complete unless stated. Generic PSU and handset cord where original is absent, disclosed on the quote. | Yes — this is what appears on the card |
| Grade B | Light scuffing on non-display surfaces. Fully functional. Base or stand may show wear. | Often incomplete. Always itemised. | By request, on named lots only |
| Grade C | Visible wear, marks or discolouration. Function unaffected. | Variable. | Not sold — returned or recycled |
What we reject outright
- Units with any liquid ingress indicator triggered
- Units with asset tags, engraving or adhesive residue that cannot be removed cleanly
- Units that fail a function test, regardless of how cheaply they were bought
- Units from a lot where more than 10% failed — the whole lot goes back, because a bad lot is usually bad for a reason
- Anything that cannot be traced to a purchase invoice
What you get in writing
On any refurbished line, the quote states the grade, what accessories are included, whether the power supply is original or generic, and the warranty. Ask for condition photographs before you commit and you will normally have them the same day — on larger lots we will photograph a representative sample rather than every unit, and we will tell you the sample size.
Warranty
Refurbished stock carries a 90-day Nixovan replacement warranty from the delivery date. If a unit fails within it, we replace it and we pay the return freight. Manufacturer warranty on refurbished hardware is generally void and we never imply otherwise — if a supplier tells you refurbished units carry full manufacturer coverage, ask them to put it in writing and watch what happens.