The iPhone 11 Pro Max was Apple’s flagship in 2019, and the funny thing about flagships is that they age slowly. That triple-camera array, the OLED Super Retina XDR display, the A13 Bionic chip that still runs the latest apps without complaint, none of it has stopped being good. What has changed is the price. A refurbished iPhone 11 Pro Max gives you genuine pro-tier hardware for a fraction of what it once cost, and in Australia that gap is wide enough to be worth understanding before you buy.
The numbers that change the conversation
Top refurbished iphone 11 pro maxs on eBay right now
Here are current listings from Australian sellers, sorted so you can compare storage size, colour and grade at a glance.
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Why second-hand is not “second best”
The iPhone 11 Pro Max was built to a standard that simply does not show its age the way a budget phone would. The 6.5-inch OLED panel is the same one Apple shipped new, colours and blacks do not degrade like an LCD backlight. The stainless steel frame and textured matte glass back resist the scuffs that plague aluminium handsets, so even a used unit often looks close to new. And the triple 12MP camera system, wide, ultra-wide and 2x telephoto with Night mode, still produces photos most people would never guess came from a 2019 phone.
A proper refurbisher will have already replaced anything that fails inspection: a tired battery, a cracked screen, a worn charging port. That means the unit you receive can genuinely be in better working order than a privately sold “mint condition” phone whose battery quietly sits at 78% capacity. Refurbished is not a compromise here. It is the same excellent device, checked and corrected.
The 11 Pro Max didn’t get worse with time, the only thing that dropped was the price tag.
The savings are real
When this phone launched, the Pro Max sat at the very top of Apple’s range and was priced to match. Today a refurbished one lands in the same territory as a brand-new mid-range Android, except you get a flagship OLED, a stainless frame and Apple’s long software support instead. Refurbished stock typically runs 20-60% below original new pricing, and the larger 256GB and 512GB variants, the ones that were eye-wateringly expensive new, often show the steepest discounts, because there is more original price to come down from. If you want the most phone per dollar, the Pro Max second-hand is one of the strongest cases in the Apple line-up.
New vs used, side by side
| Brand new | Used / refurbished | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | No longer sold new by Apple | Widely available across grades |
| Price | Premium when last new | Roughly 20-60% less |
| Battery | 100% health | Often replaced; check health % |
| Cosmetics | Flawless | Graded A to C; pick your finish |
| Environmental cost | Full manufacturing footprint | Reuses an already-made device |
| iOS support | Same as used | Still receiving updates |
The five-minute checklist before you pay
- Battery health. Ask the seller for the figure from Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Above 85% is good; a freshly replaced battery showing 100% is ideal for a phone of this age.
- Storage size. The 11 Pro Max came in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB. Confirm which you are buying, 64GB fills fast if you shoot 4K video on those cameras.
- Face ID. Confirm it is enabled and working. A disabled or non-functioning Face ID points to a past screen or front-sensor repair done poorly.
- All three cameras. Ask that wide, ultra-wide and telephoto have each been tested. Switching between 0.5x, 1x and 2x should be instant and clean.
- IMEI / blacklist status. Get the IMEI and check it is not reported lost, stolen or blocked on Australian networks before money changes hands.
- Network lock. Confirm it is carrier-unlocked so it works on any Australian SIM.
You have more protection than you think
Buying from a business, a refurbisher, a store, or a commercial seller on a marketplace, means the Australian Consumer Law applies, and it cannot be signed away. The phone must be of acceptable quality, match its description, and be fit for normal use. If a refurbished iPhone 11 Pro Max arrives with a fault that was not disclosed, or fails within a reasonable time given its price and condition, you are entitled to a remedy regardless of any shorter “warranty” the listing mentions. That is a genuine safety net, and it is one reason buying refurbished from a real seller beats a cash-only private deal with no recourse.
Ready to find yours?
Browse current refurbished iPhone 11 Pro Max deals from trusted Australian sellers below.
Red flags to walk away from
- “Activation Lock” or an account still signed in. If the previous owner’s Apple ID has not been removed, the phone is locked to them and useless to you.
- No IMEI offered. A seller who will not share the IMEI for a status check is hiding something.
- Vague camera wording. “Camera works” with no mention of all three lenses often means one lens is faulty.
- Battery health withheld. Refusing to state the percentage usually means it is low.
- Price far below the rest. A Pro Max priced like an entry phone is either faulty, fake or stolen.
- Aftermarket non-genuine screen sold as original. Watch for off colours or a “Unable to verify display” message in Settings.
Frequently asked questions
Will a refurbished iPhone 11 Pro Max still get iOS updates? Yes. Apple has continued to support this model well beyond its launch, and it remains capable of running current iOS versions, so you will keep receiving security and feature updates for some time yet.
Is the battery a problem on a phone this age? It can be, which is exactly why you check the health percentage. The good news is the Pro Max had the largest battery in the 11 range to begin with, and any reputable refurbisher will have swapped in a new cell if the original was tired.
Which storage size should I choose? If budget allows, skip the 64GB. The cameras shoot large 4K files and the bigger 256GB option ages far more gracefully. The 512GB is overkill for most people but excellent value second-hand.
Can I use it on any Australian carrier? An unlocked unit works on every Australian network. Just confirm carrier-unlocked status before buying, since some refurbished stock originates from overseas carrier contracts.
The bottom line
The iPhone 11 Pro Max is one of those rare phones that earned its “Pro” badge and never really gave it back. Buying refurbished lets you step into that flagship hardware, the OLED screen, the stainless build, the triple camera, at a price that finally makes sense, while keeping a perfectly good device out of Australia’s e-waste stream. Do the five-minute check, buy from a seller covered by Australian Consumer Law, and you get a phone that still feels premium for a lot less than premium money.
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