Enter a serial number to confirm which model you are actually being offered, when it was bought and whether the warranty still runs — before the money moves.
The serial number is the manufacturer's own identifier. Where the IMEI is what mobile networks recognise, the serial is what Apple's and Samsung's records are keyed to: model, configuration, purchase date, warranty and repair history.
That makes it the right identifier for the question "is this really the device described in the listing?" — a question that photographs cannot answer.
On iPhone both appear under Settings → General → About. The IMEI is also available by dialling *#06#, and on recent models it is laser-etched on the SIM tray. On the original packaging both sit on the barcode label.
If the device is switched off or locked, the box label is the only route — which is one reason to ask for a photograph of it before travelling to a sale.
Queried against Apple's records, the serial resolves the exact model and configuration, the estimated purchase date, warranty and AppleCare status, and whether the device has been through a repair or replacement.
That last point matters more than most buyers realise: a replacement device carries a different serial from the one on its box, which is legitimate but should be explained by the seller rather than discovered by you.
Counterfeits and re-badged devices usually fail at the first comparison: the serial resolves to a different model, a different capacity or no record at all.
Combine it with the IMEI check. A device whose serial and IMEI resolve to two different models has been assembled from parts, and its history cannot be established.
Samsung serials work the same way for warranty and model verification, with one extra field that has no Apple equivalent: the Knox warranty bit, which trips permanently once unsigned firmware is flashed and cannot be reset.
It is the strongest single indicator. A genuine serial resolves to a specific model and configuration in Apple's records; a counterfeit typically resolves to nothing or to a different device than the one in front of you.
Settings → General → About, on the SIM tray of recent models, and on the barcode label of the original box.
Yes. The report includes the estimated purchase date, warranty and AppleCare status, and whether the coverage is still running.
Yes. Model, warranty and Knox state can be resolved from a Samsung serial number in the same way.
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