Apple Planning Switch to Randomized Serial Numbers for Future Products Starting in 'Early 2021'

[MacRumors]

Apple will soon be making a significant change to its serial number format for future products that will see some key information stripped out.

In an internal AppleCare email this week, obtained by MacRumors, Apple said the new serial number format will consist of a randomized alphanumeric string of 8-14 characters that will no longer include manufacturing information or a configuration code. Apple said the serial number format transition is scheduled for "early 2021," and confirmed that IMEI numbers will not be affected by this change.

Any currently shipping Apple products will continue to use the current serial number format, while future products will use the new format, according to Apple. The new serial numbers will initially be 10 characters, the company indicated.

Apple's current serial number format has long allowed both customers and service providers to determine the date and location that a product was manufactured, with the first three characters representing the manufacturing location and the following two indicating the year and week of manufacture. The last four characters currently serve as a "configuration code," revealing a device's model, color, and storage capacity.

Apple initially planned to transition to the new serial number format in late 2020, but delayed.

Article Link: Apple Planning Switch to Randomized Serial Numbers for Future Products Starting in 'Early 2021'

 

[inigou]

This is the end for manufacturing week conspiracies 😫

 

[BB8]

Probably got sick of people returning their iPhones for having the wrong panel manufacturer or something.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

So are we not going to be able to find out the build date, year or month anymore?

There goes looking for info on the assembly line.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This is the end for manufacturing week conspiracies 😫

What conspiracies are you referring to?

 

[inigou]

What conspiracies are you referring to?

People thinking their phones are defective because of week of production.

 

[mikeyy00]

RIP iMessage on hackintosh... I mean, they were already half way dead due to the Arm thing.. but this should be the final nail in the iMessage hackintosh setup

 

[Td1970]

Probably got sick of people returning their iPhones for having the wrong panel manufacturer or something.

Have every panel be identical and this won’t happen. Yes I know that there are odd defective panels but they should all be the same

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Have every panel be identical and this won’t happen. Yes I know that there are odd defective panels but they should all be the same

The main supply chain problem is it’s not the same. Some devices are out there that are defective.

 

[Slix]

Wonder how this will affect websites like everymac.com that allow you to see a specific model just by entering a serial number. Helpful for buying used items without having to set it up first.

 

[macintoshmac]

Looks like Apple redefined privacy for their products.

 

[dannyyankou]

Thank god, I’m tired of people being like “my phone has x issue because it was manufactured in y week”

 

[fenderbass146]

ugh...gonna make looking up devices harder on everymac when I'm flipping them.

 

[Applicator]

But why? I just don't see any real necessity

 

[anshuvorty]

So long everymac.com, such a great website. It will become obsolete after this change.

 

[retta283]

Big shame. I always enjoyed seeing this info especially on the iPods. With Coconutbattery or similar apps, Macs and iOS devices can show the manufacture date but it was nice to intuit from the serial. I showed a buddy of mine that recently and he was fascinated by the fact he could find his manufacture date on his iPods from serial.

Of course many people used to explain defects this way. iPod touch negative screens, iPhone yellowing issues, MacBook panel types etc. Many times it didn't actually mean a whole lot, it was always the same lottery regardless of your numbers.

 

[newphone22]

I’m so glad apple done away with this old archaic system! Good job Apple on the new move and IM SURE other COPYCAT COMPANIES will follow. Apple you are brilliant. Take THAT S******!

 

[HudsonSteele]

Someone will figure out the code and create an online tool to give you all the info about your phone, and skim data in the process. Sometimes I think steps forward can seemingly take you steps back.

 

[anshuvorty]

Someone will figure out the code and create an online tool to give you all the info about your phone, and skim data in the process. Sometimes I think steps forward can seemingly take you steps back.

Remember that time when Apple removed the MagSafe connector, only to bring it back on the iPhone and seemingly on the MacBooks?

 

[Phil77354]

Interesting. Less transparency. It has been interesting to be able to obtain this information, but its not really something I feel I must have. Seems to me that the demand for most Apple devices is such that they don't sit on the shelve for very long. There are exceptions - on that comes to mind is the original HomePod, where they clearly produced many more than were needed to satisfy demand, and folks are still receiving 'new' HomePods that were manufactured a couple of years ago. Then, if they take note of that long time gap, it creates anxiety for no good reason.

 

[Neepman]

No doubt brainstormed from the "lets screw over right to repair even more" committee.

 

[AL1630]

So long everymac.com, such a great website. It will become obsolete after this change.

At least they still have data for older and current devices. It's always fun to see when and where my stuff was made though, so this is kind of a bummer. I wonder what Apple's reason for the change is.

 

[ArPe]

Yeah it should be random. The iCloud account can keep track of model, ownership and warranty anyway.

There are in the world of pirate products serial numbers that are cloned or generated from predetermined formula and with random strings that makes it harder for a pirate product to be activated.

 

[Jony Quest]

Wonder how this will affect websites like everymac.com that allow you to see a specific model just by entering a serial number. Helpful for buying used items without having to set it up first.

On iOS: settings-> general-> about
On Mac: Apple icon -> about my Mac

 

[forrie]

But why? I just don't see any real necessity

I'm curious, too, that the motivation behind this decision is. In a sysadmin capacity, where I used to work, we had many Macs around and the SN was useful in asset tracking (with the information gleaned), among other things. Introducing opacity like this doesn't seem to have any advantage, to a customer.