The question ‘How old is my phone?’ might have been raised in your mind at one time or another. This may be simply out of curiosity or because you want to know when the phone was made while purchasing a used phone or because you want to sell it. You have come to the right place where you’ll be helped with finding the answer to this question.
You can easily find when your phone was launched, but finding your device’s exact manufacturing date is somewhat complicated. This article enlists and explains some methods you can use to find the age of your phone. Though some methods mentioned here are model specific, hopefully, one or the other method will work for you. You may also want to have a look at the Best Phones under £150.
Quick tips
- Check the box: The manufacturing date can be found written on the packaging box of your phone.
- Serial number decoding: You can find the manufacturing date by decoding the serial number of your phone. Different brands require different decoding methods.
- Phone information apps: Various third-party apps extract details of your phone including the manufacturing numbers making your search easier.
- Manufacturing code: Some dial codes can be used to find the serial number but they are mostly model-specific.
- Phone settings: You can find the manufacturing date in the settings option of your phone by tapping About Phone.
- Web: Certain web tools use your phone’s IMEI number to gather information about your phone. You can also use google to get an idea about the date of manufacture of your phone.
How old is my phone?
Check the box
When you buy a new phone, the box in which the phone is packaged consists of some information written over it which might be in the form of words, numbers or barcodes. If you are lucky enough, you’ll find the manufacturing date written on the box. This is the easiest way to know the date. The manufacturing date is usually seen written on the box in the case of brands such as Oneplus and Motorola, so you do not have to work extra to find the date of manufacture of your phone.
When checking the manufacturing date of your phone using this method, make sure to match the IMEI number on the phone or device with the IMEI number written on the box. If the numbers do not match, you will get incorrect information about your phone as it means that the box does not belong to the phone and so does not the information provided on it.
Serial number decoding
If you cannot find the manufacturing date on the box, the next method you can use is to decode it from the serial number. The serial number of a phone can be found by tapping About in the Settings menu. Each number may denote a date, month, year, or some other information that may help us decipher the manufacturing date. But the way a serial number is encoded is not common to all manufacturers. As such, the decoding process will be different for different brands or models, making this process hectic.
For example, the fourth and fifth digits respectively represent the year and month of manufacturing in the case of Samsung phones. In the case of iPhones, the serial number’s third digit depicts the last digit of the year and the fourth and fifth digits depict the device’s production week of the year. but this is the case with older iPhone models. Newer models have a more complicated serial number in which the third character represents the half of the year in which the device was made. C depicts the first half of 2020, and D is the second half, and so on. The fifth character denotes the week in which the device was made.
Phone information apps
To make your search for the manufacturing date of your phone easier, various third-party apps have kicked in. These apps extract information about your phone from the serial number, IMEI number, etc. making your search effortless. You just need to download one of these apps and all the information will be at your fingertips. You can easily get these apps in the Play Store or App Store by searching for ‘Phone Info Apps’. Examples of such apps include ‘Device Info’ and “Phone INFO +’.
Manufacturing Code
Another way by which you can find out the age of your phone is by using manufacturing codes. Manufacturing codes are basically dial codes that when dialled open a service menu from which you can find the manufacturing date. Some of the codes you can use are:
- *#0000#
- #197328640#
- ##197328640#*#*
After you dial any of the manufacturing codes which work for you, tap on the Menu Version Information in the service menu and then go to Hardware Versions to read the manufacturing date. The drawback of this method is that the codes are model specific and will not necessarily work for your device or phone.
Phone settings
To get the answer to your question ‘How old is my phone?’, another way that you can try is checking your phone settings. In the settings menu, tap on About Phone and various details regarding your phone will flash on the screen including the manufacturing date. This is a very simple way to find the manufacture date of your phone and if you are lucky enough, might work for your device.
Web
Certain web tools help you to gather information about your phone. These include IMEI checking tools like imei.info where you can enter the IMEI number of your phone to get all your required details. You can also google your phone’s serial number or model and google will display information about your phone which might help you to get an idea of what time your phone was manufactured, if not the exact date.
Surely, any one of the above means will help you find the age of your smartphone and answer your question ‘How old is my phone?’
