Just bought one refurbished on Amazon and mine was practically new. No issue. I think it just depends on the seller. Luckily there is a 30 day warranty

Nice video. Here are my thoughts to your experience: - Outer amazon box: Looks ok to me. You did not buy it from Apple, so you should not expect that outer box. I think I only ever got the outer box, when ordering from Apple directly. I only recall the nice boxes from Apple for iPads and MacBooks. I can't recall, if I also got nice boxes for iPhones. - Activation problem: Might have been an intermittent internet connectivity problem. Or sometimes the Apple activation servers themselves might have a problem. But that is just me guessing of course. - Warranty started in December: This is definitely unacceptable. This would suggest, that this phone was somehow already activated in December of 2023. If there was no mention of a "used product" in the Amazon listing, then this is wrong in my opinion. Good luck with your phone. I hope the problem will be resolved.