Apple, Tips and Tricks
  • Home
  • OSX Daily

Apple, Tips and Tricks

  • Home
  • OSX Daily
Latest News

model

iOSiPadiPhonemodelOSX DailyrefurbishedtipsTips & TrickstricksTroubleshooting

How to Check if iPhone is New, Refurbished, or Replacement

written by applenws

If you’re buying a used iPhone or repairing an iPhone, you may wonder if you can find out if the iPhone was bought as new, is a refurbished model, or is a replacement device provided by Apple via a service request.

Wonder no more, you can use an interesting device model identifier trick to discover if an iPhone is new, refurbished, a replacement, or even personalized by engraving. This can be helpful information for buyers of used devices, if you’ve received a device as a gift or hand-me-down, if you’re troubleshooting or repairing an iPhone, and more.

How to Determine if iPhone is New, Refurbished, Replacement, or Personalized

You can decipher the device model prefix to determine the original status of an iPhone (and probably an iPad too) device, here’s how:

  1. Open the “Settings” app on the iPhone
  2. Go to “General” and then go to “About”
  3. Look for “Model” and then read the model identifier next to that text, it will look something like “MN572LL/A”, the first character will let you know if the device is new, refurbished, replacement, or personalized:
  • M – Brand new device, meaning the device was purchased new
  • F – Refurbished device, meaning the device has been through refurbishing process
  • N – Replacement device, meaning the originally bought device was replaced by this model likely due to a service request
  • P – Personalized device with engraving, meaning the device was customized with an engraving on purchase

How to check if iPhone is new or refurbished

That’s all there is to it, now you know how to determine if an iPhone is new, referred, replaced, or other. It’s possible there are some other identifier prefixes for iPhone devices that aren’t listed here, if you know of any do share them in the comments.

I have tested this with a handful of my own iPhone devices that I know are either new, refurbished, or replacements, and it has held up. I haven’t personally seen the “P” identifier however.

By the way, it’s important to note the model identifier shown here (like MN572LL/A) is different from the general model (like iPhone X) and model number of the iOS device (like A1822) – admittedly a bit confusing since they all have similar labels, but they are indeed entirely different things.

You can use similar tricks to sort out some details about iPhone devices by retrieving the iOS device serial number and then reading it too.

Thanks to a helpful post on the Apple Discussion forums for this neat little trick.

Related

Source: OSX Daily

How to Check if iPhone is New, Refurbished, or Replacement was last modified: January 27th, 2018 by applenws
January 27, 2018 0 comment
1 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Latest Apple Tips and Tricks

  • How to Find What iOS Version is on iPhone or iPad February 18, 2019
  • When Does the Mac Red Button Quit an App and When Does It Just Close a Window? February 18, 2019
  • How to Disable “Shake to Send Feedback” in Google Maps for iPhone and iPad February 17, 2019
  • How to Check What Mac OS Version is Running on a Mac February 16, 2019
  • How to Stop iPhone and iPad Apps From Updating Automatically February 16, 2019
  • How to Update iOS Automatically on iPhone or iPad February 15, 2019
  • 4 Ways To Type Superscript and Subscript On a Mac (MacMost #1853) February 15, 2019
  • How to Make Text Size Much Larger on iPad February 14, 2019
  • Using and Customizing iPhone iCloud Backup (MacMost #1852) February 14, 2019
  • How to Fix App “is damaged and can’t be opened. You should move it to the Trash” Error on Mac February 13, 2019
  • How to Enable Stacks in MacOS to Clean Up Messy Desktops February 12, 2019
  • Using SVG Graphics In Pages and Keynote (MacMost #1850) February 12, 2019
  • How to Attach a Tile Tracker To Your AirPods February 11, 2019
  • How to Disable Autocorrect in Microsoft Word for Mac February 11, 2019
  • Creating Animation With Keynote Magic Move (MacMost #1849) February 11, 2019
  • How to Send Animoji or Memoji in Apps like WhatsApp on iPhone February 10, 2019
  • How to Enter Recovery Mode on iPad Pro (2018) February 10, 2019
  • How to Setup a WyzeCam Security Camera with Motion Detection Alerts Sent to Your iPhone February 9, 2019
  • How to Post Instagram Stories Longer Than 15 Seconds on iPhone At One Go February 9, 2019
  • How to Bypass “Safari no longer supports unsafe extension” Error in Mac OS Mojave February 8, 2019

Archives

Categories

Apple tips and tricks


Back To Top