Phone’s age just like we humans do. No matter how top-notch or expensive your smartphone is, it is bound to deteriorate with time and usage. Although the phenomenon is universal to all smartphones, the exact age can only be determined and matters for iPhones. And if you own an iPhone yourself, you must have searched, “how old is my iPhone?” at least once.
Is it Important to Know How Old is My iPhone?
Despite the fact that Apple launches a new phone every year, the previous iPhones are bound to stay. iPhones can smoothly run for 4 – 5 years without exposing a major issue. That is the reason why you still see people using older models like iPhone SE, 6, and 7 that were launched back in 2016.
Knowing the age of the iPhone will help determine its exact value. The information comes quite handy when you are selling your iPhone or buying a used one. Apart from that, you’d know whether to have it repaired or to upgrade to a newer model. If you are interested to know how long your iPhone would last, here are three effective and proven ways to find out.
Methods to Find out How Old is My iPhone?
The Serial Number Method
Probably the simplest of all, this method allows you to determine the age of your iPhone with just the serial number. For those who don’t know how to locate the serial number of your phone, here is a quick walkthrough:
- Go to settings.
- Click General.
- Select the About option.
The about options list all information about your iPhone’s details including the serial number. The serial number is a combination of alphabets and numbers that indicate the model number along with the date, time, and place of manufacturing.
The fourth character, out of the 12-character serial number will tell you the year of the phone’s manufacturing. They are denoted by English alphabets like (K, L, M, etc.). Each alphabet implies the date of manufacturing in the first half of the year while the next alphabet indicates the second half of the same year.
Do note that, the process is only viable for iPhones create between 2013 till the first half of 2020. Other methods should be adopted to check the age of iPhones manufactured after 2020.
Apple’s Check Coverage Method and Support App
You can also use the Apple warranty query to figure out your iPhone’s age. The method is also valid for checking the warranty status or expiry date of the warranty of an iPhone. Here’s how it’s done;
- Go to the checkcoverage.apple.com website on your phone or PC.
- Enter the serial number from your iPhone’s settings on the search bar, fill out the CAPTCHA code, and click continue.
The next pop-up page will enlist the expected date of warranty expiry for your iPhone under the Repairs and Service Coverage tag, as well as the support coverage details. Depending on the one-year manufacturer’s warranty that Apple provides on its devices, you can easily calculate back from the mentioned date of expiry. The warranty period also indicates the exact date the iPhone was bought which can come in handy while purchasing a used iPhone.
The Apple Support app, on the other hand, connects iPhone users with customer service executives for any inquiries about bugs and faults in the phone. It allows users to check and monitor the device’s performance and get information about any subscriptions. Be that as it may, you can also determine how old your iPhone is through the app.
- Download the Apple Support app from the App Store.
- Open the app and click the device details option.
- You can check the expiration date under the Coverage Info, but only in case, your iPhone is less than a year old.
Note: Both Apple check coverage Methods and the Apple Support app aren’t viable if you are using an older model of iPhone that is older than one year. That brings us to the third and final method of checking the iPhone’s age.
Chipmunk Tool Method
Chipmunk or Chipmunk Klantenservice is a “third party” Dutch website that tells the year and date of your iPhone’s production based on its serial number.
- Open the Chipmunk Klantenservice website on your browser.
- Enter the copied serial number from your iPhone’s setting on the specified bar. Click the “laat de informatie zien”, a Dutch expression for “show the information”.
- Now scroll down to view the details about your iPhone including the production week and production year of the phone. The tool provides the correct information even if your iPhone is older than a year.
The date of manufacturing and the date of purchase of an iPhone is different from each other. Since most of the iPhones are assembled in China, there’s usually a gap between the actual date of manufacturing and the date it is available in stores. Another efficient tool you can use in such scenarios is the SNDeepInfo.
SNDeepInfo is another third-party website that provides you the date your iPhone was assembled with the help of the serial number just like Chipmunk Klantenservice. Both websites are free to use and exhibit accurate results to a great extent.
How to Determine the Age of an iPhone Using IMEI Info
IMEI Info is among the greatest websites for determining the age of your iPhone. The IMEI Info site provides the most precise details of any third-party website. All you need is your iPhone’s serial number and IMEI number. Go to Settings General About to locate the serial number. Make a note of the serial and IMEI numbers. The serial number is made up of 10 or 12 characters of letters and alphabets. Keep the serial number in your hand to copy it.
(1) On your computer, navigate to the IMEI Info site (https://www.imei.info/).
(2) Enter your iPhone’s IMEI or serial number and confirm the captcha.
(3) Then, press the Check button.
(4) You will now be able to see the age of an iPhone as well as other information.
(5) You can obtain warranty status along with the purchase date if you are on a Pro account on the IMEI Info website.
How to Check the IOS Version to Determine the Age of An iPhone
Another way to tell how old your iPhone is is to look at the iOS version. Apple regularly releases new versions of iOS, and every version corresponds to a specific time period. You can estimate the age of your iPhone by looking at the iOS version.
Here’s how to verify your iPhone’s iOS version:
- Navigate to the Settings app.
- Select General.
- Select About.
- Find the “Software Version” section. The iOS version will be available here.
You can use the following list to identify the age of the iPhone depending on the iOS version:
- iOS 14 from September 2020
- iOS 13 from September 2019
- iOS 12 from September 2018
- iOS 11 from September 2017
- iOS 10 from September 2016
Final Verdict
There are more than 900 million active iPhones used around the world including the latest and older models as well. Because Apple provides a 1-year warranty for its iPhones, which makes it is highly necessary to determine the age of the iPhone while purchasing a new one. If you want to figure out how old is my iPhone regardless, we have enumerated three proven methods to do so.
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Lucas Brown 
