This Apple page checks support, warranty, and AppleCare availability for Apple products. Entering an Apple device serial number, however, will also display that device's model and type. I just tried it with the iMac on which I'm typing this answer, and it returned the correct information. Look up information based on Serial Number / SNID / Service Tag / IMEI. Info@SNLookup.com $ 0.00 0.00.
Understanding common Apple codes and identifiers
Apple use many different identifiers with their products. The table below illustrates the differences between some of the most important codes:
The API supports many other Apple identifiers, most of which are described below.
Note that we can expose Apple GSX service data for some clients.
Conflicts in Apple's identifier terminology
A number of the identifier names that Apple uses are re-used by them in different contexts. For instance, whilst an Apple product's box may say its model is MC922LL/A
, Apple's 'Identify your iPhone model' page only references identifiers with the format A1865
. These are completely different IDs. Similarly, if one is using iTunes to learn about a device, it could state the 'model identifier' as iPhone10,6
, which is yet a third type of identifier.
Name | How Apple use 'model' in its name |
---|---|
Identifier | Model identifier |
Family number | Model number |
Internal name | Hardware model |
Model part number | Model |
As if that weren't confusing enough, Apple's internal names are referred to as 'board ID's in some areas by Apple and the Open Source community. However, this is not the same as the BOaRD ID or the logic board ID that Macs use (eg. Mac-F4208DC8
), and as such the API adheres to 'internal name' rather than the thrice-defined 'board ID'.
Having spoken with a large number of Apple Geniuses -- and many Apple engineers & managers over a series of WWDCs -- it's clear that there's ambiguity within Apple on what is meant by 'an Apple model code'. For our purposes, this usually means a true model / MPN if the context buying through resellers or servicing, or a Family number when ordering new direct from Apple.
The examples in this document are shown using the DeviceIdentifier Python client library.
Apple serial numbers
The API supports all three of Apple's major serial number formats: legacy
, 2000
and 2010
. Examples:
F4412SAM0001
is alegacy
format serial (for the early 128k Mac)84021NCV3NP
is a2000
format serialC8QH6T96DPNG
is a2010
format serial
Apple will likely be able maintain the 2010
format serials until the early 2020s, when they will run out.
Apple MLB serial numbers
The API supports Apple's main logic board (MLB) serial formats, for both 13 and 17 digit codes.
Apple model numbers (MPN)
Also known as: Marketing Part Number (MPN)
An Apple model number identifies a particular hardware configuration of an Apple product. Apple model numbers can be presented with or without their regional or sale type encoding. These are also known as a marketing part number, or MPN. MPN is a misnomer in the sense that model numbers aren't actually numbers.
Model numbers are always prefixed with a sale code (often but not necessarily M
), and usually follow with a letter and some numbers. They end with an optional sale region indicator of variable length.
What's encoded in an Apple model number?
Apple Model codes can provide the sale region of a device, as well as whether it was sold at retail, refurbished, or personalised, and the following data:
- Apple Internal name class. This can be used to narrow it to a range of internal names.
- Apple Identifier.
- Sale region. The broad region that the device was intended to be sold in. This is stored as an optional part of the number.
- Model specification. MPNs are reliable for indicating case size, colour, material and storage for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and computers.
- OEM carrier. MPNs are typically made available to a discrete range of carriers, and carrier range can be identified by examining them.
- Sale type. ie. whether the unit was sold as retail, refurbished, replaced, or personalised.
Example Model numbers
Serial Number Lookup Apple Airpods
Working with Apple Model numbers
- Example Apple Model direct API request: MC605FD/A
- Example Apple Model client library request:
Apple identifiers
Apple identifiers are their core, top-level model identifier, such as iPhone9,3
.
Apple internal names
Internal names are Apple's internal model numbers, like N90AP
. They are sometimes referred to as BoardConfig
, and also -- misleadingly -- as HardwareModel
.
Apple IDFA / IDFV
identifierForAdvertiser
(IDFA) and identifierForVendor
(IDFV) values replaced the UDID after iOS 5. They are set per application, or per vendor.
Apple state this of the IDFA:
iOS 6 introduces the Advertising Identifier, a non-permanent, non-personal device identifier, that advertising networks will use to give you more control over advertisers’ ability to use tracking methods. If you choose to limit ad tracking, advertising networks using the Advertising Identifier may no longer gather information to serve you targeted ads. In the future all advertising networks will be required to use the Advertising Identifier. However, until advertising networks transition to using the Advertising Identifier you may still receive targeted ads from other networks.
And this for the IDFV:
An alphanumeric string that uniquely identifies a device to the app’s vendor. (read-only)
The value of this property is the same for apps that come from the same vendor running on the same device. A different value is returned for apps on the same device that come from different vendors, and for apps on different devices regardless of vendor.
See Full List On Powerbookmedic.com
Ole Begemann has written more on the migration from UDID.
Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs)
Apple Serial Number Lookup Owner
There are two formats of UDID:
2007
: This format was introduced with the first iPhone and used on devices introduced up until 2018. It is a non-reversible composite identifier built from IMEI, ECID and MAC values. It is represented as a 40 character lowercase hex value.2018
: This newer format was introduced for device models manufactured in 2018 and onwards (ie. iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, and Apple Watch Series 4). It is an uppercase 8 character hex value joined to a 16 character uppercase hex value by a dash (-
) in the format00000000-0000000000000000
.
Apple usually uses this ID to associate a device with an iCloud ID. This also holds the Find My iPhone activation status. The UDID was deprecated for use within iOS applications with the introduction of iOS 5, though it still has a number of other uses
Apple Watch Serial Number Lookup
Apple Family numbers / 'A' numbers
Apple Imac Serial Number Lookup
Apple Serial Number Lookup Tool
Apple describe these for each phone on their 'Identify your iPhone model' page.