Today while browsing a secondhand electronics store I managed to snap up a great deal: An 11" M1 iPad Pro 2TB cellular model for £800. After testing out the hardware, everything seemed to be perfectly working, so all's well ends well, right? Well...
When looking up the serial number and device history, I found some interesting and unusual details that makes me wonder what happened when the iPad was originally bought and right before it was sold. Here's the gist of it:
Because this store erases all devices before selling, I can't check the diagnostic logs to see the iPad's past history.
Initially I thought it was an ex-demo unit but that doesn't make sense because the serial number isn't associated with a demo unit and besides, who would buy a maxed out 2TB model to use as a store demo for less than 30 days anyway? It was also bought at a time when the M1 model was no longer the newest and had already been discontinued by Apple in favour of the M2 model.
I also wondered if it was stolen property but that can't be right either because it has a valid purchase date registered with Apple and no previous owners' iCloud account had ever been linked.
Any guesses as to what this iPad's previous life could have been?
When looking up the serial number and device history, I found some interesting and unusual details that makes me wonder what happened when the iPad was originally bought and right before it was sold. Here's the gist of it:
- The serial number indicates a manufacturing date of late June 2021 so I was expecting it to have a long history of use and wear, but this serial number has a validated purchase date of 25th February in *2023*. At the time of writing/my purchase, that's less than 2 months ago.
- Based on this, it seems the iPad was bought brand new not too long ago and hasn't been used a lot before it was sold to the secondhand store. This is further corroborated with the fact that the battery only has 12 cycles and is at 100% health.
- However, the screen is badly worn with many visible scratches. The casing itself is in immaculate condition, so it looks like the screen scratches are from genuine use and not from someone dropping the iPad in an accident.
- A full check of internal component serials indicates that the device has not been opened before and everything inside is original and had not been replaced.
- The serial number indicates that the device is not a demo unit and nor is it refurbished.
- The device had been restored to iPadOS 16.3.1, meaning it was sold to this store on or before March 27th 2023.
- When I signed into my iCloud account, it offered me the free trials of Apple TV+ and other services, meaning that my Apple ID is the first to have ever been linked to this device.
Because this store erases all devices before selling, I can't check the diagnostic logs to see the iPad's past history.
Initially I thought it was an ex-demo unit but that doesn't make sense because the serial number isn't associated with a demo unit and besides, who would buy a maxed out 2TB model to use as a store demo for less than 30 days anyway? It was also bought at a time when the M1 model was no longer the newest and had already been discontinued by Apple in favour of the M2 model.
I also wondered if it was stolen property but that can't be right either because it has a valid purchase date registered with Apple and no previous owners' iCloud account had ever been linked.
Any guesses as to what this iPad's previous life could have been?
