iPhone warranty by serial number. How to check if you bought a new iPhone (activated or not)

Proven ways.

The more popular Apple devices become, the more often you can see cheap Chinese fakes for original smartphones. And if a few years ago a fake could be identified by the characteristic crack of the case or a poor-quality picture on the display, now craftsmen are churning out almost perfect copies of the iPhone. So how not to fall for the bait of scammers and not buy a “leftist”?

The easiest way out is to buy an iPhone from an authorized dealer. The method is obvious, but not for everyone, because sometimes you want to buy a gadget, and you only have enough money for a used model. But in any case, if the situation bears, then it’s better to save up and take the original and legally “clean” (I don’t think it’s necessary to remind about the frequent theft of phones) iPhone in a specialized store - that’s the official Apple reseller in Russia.

However, if you have looked after yourself a model on the ad site, a la Avito, and seriously decided to purchase a model from your hands, then you need to know a few distinguishing features.

Checking the serial number

Whether you go to buy an iPhone alone or with a friend, be sure to arm yourself with a smartphone or tablet (you can even run Android) with the ability to access the Internet. This is necessary for an absolutely accurate check on the originality of the purchased device. What should be done?

Step 1. Go to the iPhone menu " Settings» → « Main» →« About this device” and find the item “ Serial number».

Step 2: From your device, go to this link. The link leads to the official Apple website to the section for checking serial numbers.

Step 3. In the box under the inscription " Enter the hardware serial number» specify the serial number of the device to be checked and click « Proceed» .

Step 4. If the iPhone is not Chinese, you will see its model and other information, such as the possibility of obtaining support from Apple by phone. Otherwise, you will see the message " Unfortunately this serial number is not correct. Please check your information and try again", which means that it is better to bypass this unfortunate seller.

Be careful when entering the serial number of the device, because due to a mistake in one character, you can think badly about a person and be left without a brand new (or used) iPhone.

Opening our eyes wider

No matter how high-quality the replica of the iPhone is, the creators of the clones technically cannot do everything perfectly like Apple does. Therefore, even with a cursory glance, without resorting to checking the serial number of the device, it is possible to identify a fake. You need to pay attention to the following details:

• There should not be any hieroglyphs, spelling errors or other calligraphic errors in the system.
• On the back cover of the device there should be inscriptions: iPhone, Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China, model number, certification marks (as in the picture).
• The iPhone cannot have an antenna.
• The iPhone also cannot have two SIM cards, a built-in memory card and charging from usb and mini-usb.
• The back cover of the iPhone of any model is not removed until the fixing screws are unscrewed.

Another quick way to identify a fake

A very simple and easy method - take the iPhone in hand, go to the standard application App Store. Any, even the coolest Chinese iPhone will be forced to transfer you to Google Play, the app store for Android devices.

This is what the App Store should look like:

This is what Google Play looks like:

In addition, you will not be able to find most Apple branded applications on Google Play. Try to search for applications such as Keynote, iMovie, Pages, Numbers, Apple Store - if they are not in the store, then you have a fake, not the original iPhone.

Another sure way to identify a Chinese iPhone

Well, I would like to complete this article on one more sure way, which will reveal even the most inveterate Chinese geniuses with giblets. To do this, you will need a laptop or personal computer (if the seller came to sell the iPhone directly to your home) with iTunes installed. You can download iTunes from the official Apple website.

The thing is that when you connect your iPhone to your computer and turn on iTunes, the program should detect the device and try to synchronize it. If iTunes is silent like a partisan, most likely they are trying to slip you a fake, be careful.

Read more about how to distinguish a real iPhone from a fake on our forum in the topic.

The number of fakes is also growing, so you need to know how to properly check the iPhone for authenticity when buying.

Also, it is important to be able to determine if the phone is stolen and whether it has the right to warranty service in iStore stores.

A few years ago, a fake device could be immediately distinguished from the original model, because Chinese fakes were made of poor quality.

This applied both to the body of the device and its software shell.

Today, a fake is extremely difficult to distinguish from the original Apple products., so before buying it is important to familiarize yourself with how you can confirm the originality.

Content:

What you need to know aboutiPhone?

The easiest way to avoid falling for a scammer is to buy only from authorized dealers.

These can be trusted online stores or hardware supermarkets that have been selling Apple equipment for more than a year, have good reviews on various online sites and provide customers with warranty service.

It is important to note that official dealers have 20%-30% more iPhone prices. the price stated by Apple. That is why many order smartphones directly from the US through distributors. Another way to save money is to buy a used machine that is in excellent condition.

Remember, in all ways to buy at a lower cost, there are a lot of "pitfalls" that you need to be aware of. The first way to save These are devices from the USA.

In the States, it’s really much cheaper than in our country, and there are no problems with the availability of different colors either.

However, you can't just pick up and order a device from the US. Such a purchase would not make sense, because the gadget will not work anywhere except the United States.

According to American law, each purchased phone must be assigned to one of the national providers of cellular services.

Such a binding is carried out immediately upon purchase. Not a single American operator operates in the Russian Federation, so the smartphone will not work.

The verification procedure should include an examination of the external parameters of the phone, as well as verification of all serial numbers and software shell:

• Case condition, including external features of each iPhone model;
• Checking the technical characteristics of the model;
• The authenticity of the serial number and IMEI code;
• Apple ID verification.

Stage 1. CheckIMEI, serial number and parametersiOS

Never buy an iPhone without a manufacturer's box, because with its help you can immediately determine the authenticity of the phone.

Go to device settings and open the tab "Basic". And then "About this device". A window will open in which all the factory settings of the smartphone will be displayed.

They must match the information on the box. If the data is not identical - a fake or stolen device, and the seller is trying to sell it to you in a box from a different model.

Stage 2. Checking through the official websiteApple

Each user can check its authenticity using the Apple website. This source is the most accurate and reliable. Examination it only takes a few minutes:

note, the main purpose of the service is to check the possibility of service maintenance. We advise you to use the site even if you buy a phone at official points of sale. Often, chain stores may try to sell an iPhone that has already been returned due to a non-working condition.

Online service shows the following information:

• Smartphone model;
• Serial number;
• date of purchase;
• Availability of technical support and the possibility of warranty service.

Important! If the valid warranty period is an optional parameter for a used smartphone, then the field "The actual date of purchase" must be marked with a green checkmark. This means that a genuine smartphone was purchased from an authorized dealer.

You can check the IMEI number on the website. The service will show the country of manufacture, the date of purchase and information about whether the device has been restored.

activation lock- what is it and how to check?

activation lock is a feature that allows you to block . Thus, if the phone is lost, no one will be able to unlock it. Activation Lock is activated through the service. Data that the phone was stolen is instantly added to Apple's unified database.

To check if the iPhone is stolen, do the following:

All about bindingiPhonetoApple ID

Apple ID- This is an online service, without being tied to which it will not work. The site is needed to identify the user. In simple words, the user creates his account in the system, and then enters account data on each of his devices.

Thus, it is tied to a personal page. , gestures and other biometric options will be available on all gadgets.

Even if it is stolen, another person will not be able to use the phone.

Before buying an iPhone from an uncertified retailer, be sure to . No account should be linked to the smartphone.

If you see that the previous owner has not logged out of the account, demand that the seller also disable the ID used in the smartphone.

If he refers to the fact that he forgot the password a long time ago and you can quickly figure out the settings at home, cancel such a purchase. If there is no way to get out of Apple ID, the phone is stolen.

If the seller really forgot or didn’t know that it’s not enough just to reset the phone to factory settings, ask him unbind your Apple ID while you are there:

• Go to device settings;
• Click on an item "Basic" and then on "Apple ID";
• In the window that opens, a key will appear for logging into your account if the gadget is not linked to an Apple ID. If the phone is still assigned to someone else's page, the username and photo will be displayed in the settings;

• Click on the item "Security and Password"("Password and Security");
• In a new window, press the button "Exit"("Sign out").

Information on how to check iPhone by serial number and IMEI will be useful for users who are going to buy a smartphone from their hands or are not sure about the honesty of the seller. To verify the originality of the device, it is enough to enter its identification data on a special page on the Apple website that provides information about the availability of service and support rights.

Identity lookup

Each iPhone has a unique serial number and IMEI, which can be used to determine the time of release, sale and activation, and other information. There are several ways to find out the serial number:

1. Look at the box.
2. Open the main settings and go to the "About device" section.
3. Find on the SIM card tray or phone case.

Please note: the code uses the number "0", but cannot be the letter "O".

Checking by serial number

On the latest iPhones, only the IMEI is placed on the case or SIM card tray, but this is not a problem: it can be used instead of a serial number for authentication. iPhone verification is carried out on the Apple website on the page checkcoverage. Paste the number into the field, enter the code from the picture and click "Continue" to start searching for information about the phone.

The system will quickly recognize the original device and show its status. It is important that there is a check mark next to the "Valid Purchase Date" item - this is confirmation that the iPhone is genuine and was purchased from Apple. If there is no mark, then you are holding a fake in your hands, which has nothing to do with the American company, no matter how similar to the original phone it looks.

If more than a year has passed since the purchase of the smartphone, the international warranty on it ceases to be valid. You can understand this from the information indicated in the paragraphs "Telephone Technical Support" and "Repairs and Service Coverage". The official Apple website does not provide any more information, so if you need additional information, you will have to turn to other sources to find out the information:

• smartphone model.
• The region for which it was made.
• Main technical characteristics.
• Release date.
• Manufacturer.

The serial number can also be used to identify an officially restored iPhone - for such phones, the code begins with "5K". Many sellers pass off refurbished smartphones as new ones, so pay attention to this option.

Phone check by IMEI

IMEI is an international mobile equipment identifier, which is not only for the iPhone, but also for other phones. If you can only find out about the status of the international warranty by the serial number, then IMEI allows you to find out much more information about the iPhone.

You can find out the IMEI in the same way as the serial number of the iPhone. The easiest way is to look in the settings.

1. Open the "General" section in the settings.
2. Go to the section "About the device".
3. Find the "IMEI" item.

The #06# request entered in the Phone application is also used to display the code. In addition, the IMEI is engraved on the body of the device or the SIM card tray, as well as on the label with a barcode on the packaging, so if you cannot see it in the settings, there are other options. The main thing is that the number matches in all places: on the packaging, case and in the settings. IMEI discrepancy is a reason to think about the originality of the device and the honesty of the seller.

Checking by IMEI is carried out not on the Apple website, but on the imei.info resource. Here you need to enter the code in the search box, check the box that you are not a robot, and click "Check". When you search, you'll see information about the device, including year of manufacture and model, as well as key specifications.

Knowing how to check the iPhone by serial number and IMEI, you will protect yourself from buying a non-original or simply problematic smartphone, which, after flashing, may stop working or be blocked. When purchasing an iPhone from hands or from an unofficial dealer, do not make an advance payment until the device has been checked against all possible sites that provide information about the phone by IMEI and serial number.

Due to the rather high cost of the iPhone, and most importantly, due to the huge number of fakes, be sure to carefully check the data about the device before buying. Especially before purchasing it from your hands, it will be useful to find out the date and place of release of this iPhone. This alone will help to verify its originality. Because there were cases when an old restored phone was inserted into the case of a new model, and outwardly it looked quite decent. And the factory serial number and other codes are registered in the device's memory, and they cannot be changed.

In light of the fact that with the release of the new iPhone 6S, many owners will sell their used “sixes” in order to buy a more advanced new product, this guide will surely come in handy.

Looking for a serial number

In this case, the analysis of the serial number of the device will be very informative, which will help at the initial stage to immediately dismiss dubious gadgets. It can be found on the original packaging of any iPhone, on the back - on a sticker with the main characteristics and barcodes. Therefore, the presence of a branded box is especially important when buying used iPhones. We are interested in the second row of numbers marked - Serial No. It contains encrypted data about the place of production (which plant), the release date (six months and a week), information about the series and technical parameters, and a personal code for this device.

However, there are cases when cunning businessmen pack a fake or problematic iPhone (blocked, broken, restored, stolen, locked, etc.) into the original box. So be sure to check the data on the package, and pre-installed in the phone itself. True, they can only be recognized by turning on the smartphone, if it is new and not configured, ask the seller to help activate it.

After that go to settings. Select the section - General, and in it - the item "About the device". If the data matches exactly, great!

It is also important to know the date of release and activation of the iPhone in order to correctly calculate the validity of the official warranty. Especially if the previous owner activated it immediately, and the required year has already passed. You can check the remaining period of manufacturer support in a special section on the Apple website.

Information about the serial number can also be taken from the receipt for the purchase of the iPhone. Authorized points prescribe these data so that the user has a confirmation of the start of the warranty period countdown.

Another way to find the manufacturer's information about an iPhone is to connect it to a computer that has the proprietary iTunes application installed (always download its latest version to avoid update conflicts and errors).

After connecting, find your device in the program menu, select it. Click on the first tab in the settings list - Overview. Information about the capacity, cell and serial number will be displayed.

In older iPhone models, the serial number was imprinted on the SIM card slot. Starting with "fives", only IMEI (MEID) is indicated on the back of the case.

Determine production time

So, we found the serial number. What will he tell us? Until 2012, the old encoding was used - for eleven characters. In it - the third, in a row from the left, the symbol showed the last digit of the year, and the 4th and 5th - the corresponding week - in the interval from the first to the fifty-third.

Modern iPhone models have a twelve-digit code consisting of a combination of letters and numbers. When checking, note that Apple never uses the letter O in serial numbers, it will most likely be the number zero. Otherwise, the search will give an error, although the smartphone is actually all right.

For example, let's see what this serial number of this iPhone tells us.

In the "About Device" menu of the smartphone settings, we find the desired code: F17NGDERG5MG. We are interested in two letters in the middle: the fourth and fifth - F17 NG DERG5MG.

We will use the special plates below to find out the date of production. We look in the first table the letter N - this is the cipher of the year of issue. It means that the device was manufactured in 2014, in the second half of the year.

1. Spell definition table (4th character in serial number)

iPhone production years:

Year	First half	Second semester
2010	FROM	D
2011	F	G
2012	H	J
2013	K	L
2014	M	N
2015	P	Q
2016	R	S
2017	T	V
2018	W	X
2019	Y	Z

Now we specify the week of production by punching the letter G in another table (we select the column for the second half of the year, based on the results of the analysis of the previous code). It turns out that our iPhone was released at 39 weeks.

1. Letter definition table (5th character in the serial number)

iPhone production weeks:

Symbol	Production week number		Symbol	Production week number
	1st half (January-June)	2 semester (July-December)		1st half (January-June)	2 semester (July-December)
1	1	27	J	15	41
2	2	28	K	16	42
3	3	29	L	17	43
4	4	30	M	18	44
5	5	31	N	19	45
6	6	32	P	20	46
7	7	33	Q	21	47
8	8	34	R	22	48
9	9	35	T	23	49
FROM	10	36	V	24	50
D	11	37	W	25	51
F	12	38	X	26	52
G	13	39	Y		53
H	14	40

In addition, almost all of the listed information about the device, without unnecessary "troubles", can be found using the following service.

The given result completely coincides with ours. This iPhone was released in 2014, at week 39, by the Chinese manufacturer Foxconn, which officially manufactures most of Apple's equipment. You can safely take such a device.

Advanced technology, as well as the impeccable quality of Apple products, along with the highly professional work of marketers, have made the iPhone the most popular smartphone in the world. It is in great demand among users from all over the world.

Such success led to the appearance of pirated copies on the market. Counterfeit Apple companies have gone to great lengths to create barriers to authenticity verification. Doubt the authenticity of your device?

Then use the instructions to check it out.

How to check if your iPhone is genuine Apple

Any smartphone that was not manufactured at the Apple factory is considered a fake. Due to the fact that original products are made from expensive materials, fakes are not completely copied, which is why they are quite easy to recognize.

You can do this by following the signs:

1. First of all, you need to find the serial number. It must be 11 or 12 digits long. It is located at the bottom of the packaging and on the smartphone case. The number can also be found in the smartphone menu (“Settings” – “General Settings” – “Device Information”). Make sure that all numbers are present and match each other.
2. Original smartphones have only one SIM card slot, while Chinese copies may support two or more cards. In the 1st generation iPhone, the slot is located at the top of the case, in more modern models - on the side. Also, only micro-sim is placed in the slot, the size of which is much smaller than classic cards.
3. You can check the screen dimensions by measuring it. After that, they should be compared with the characteristics indicated on the official website of Apple.
4. You can check the smartphone for authenticity using the special service SNDeepinfo. If this software cannot determine the serial number, or does not establish a discrepancy between it and the smartphone, then this is a copy.
5. Having an android system instead of iOs is a guaranteed Chinese fake.
6. When you open the App Store, Google Play should not start.
7. The original iPhone has a non-removable battery.
8. The SIM card must be inserted from the outside, while the installation of flash memory is not provided at all.
9. The envelope that contains the instructions (attached to the purchase) has a colored flyer with two stickers, each of which is made in the form of a company logo.
10. The body must be solid, monolithic and made of quality materials.

External signs

In appearance:
The original Apple logo has a bitten apple. The bite is on the right
Check the model name
Genuine products do not include the ability to remove the back cover
The smartphone case should not have non-original shades. To date, the iPhone is available in gold, white or black.

One of the most effective ways to determine the authenticity of your device is to check the IMEI code. It is a unique identifier that the manufacturer assigns to each phone. The code is located on the SIM card slot, as well as on the back cover of the smartphone. It is also located in the settings and on the barcode.
To check your phone by IMEI, you need to go to the official website of international mobile device identifiers. There you should enter a number in a special line. Next, the user will be provided with information about the phone.

Equipment

First of all, you should pay attention to the presence of an interface in Russian when you first turn on the smartphone. The complete set of branded iPhone consists of:

• Genuine packaging (without hieroglyphs, third-party inscriptions and defects)
• data cable
• Set of documents
• Headphones with remote control and microphone
• Installed Apple Store and iTunes software
• Power device
• Operator's warranty card.

There should not be any additional accessories and other things in the package.

Workmanship

The manufacturer pays reverent attention even to packaging. It never saves that it applies even to small things and all sorts of paraphernalia. Even a used device is characterized by high speed and responsiveness to requests.

The original packaging is made of thick cardboard, which in its structure resembles high-quality plastic. The bottom of the box has a sticker that provides all the data about the smartphone. The charger and headset must be soft. They are also rubberized at the factory.

Cost plays a big role. Before buying, it is important to carefully research the pricing policy. The cost of the device should not be significantly lower than the average. If the discount is too high - a reason to think about the authenticity of the device.

When buying, try to find out from the seller where the phone was brought from, and also when it was purchased (all this data can be easily checked on the official Apple website).

Note: It is not uncommon for iPhone copies to work using a stylus. This is a cause for concern, because original Apple products are controlled exclusively by fingers.

In addition, copies, even of the highest quality, often have problems with translation and localization. It can be erroneous or inaccurate, often there are typos in words.

Copies never install the original iOS. This operating system is also counterfeited. It can give out menu items and interface.

Only genuine products make it possible to feel and fully appreciate all the benefits, as well as the functionality of a smartphone. A copy, even the highest quality one, is money thrown to the wind, so everyone needs to know how to check the iPhone for the original.