Apple Is Planning to Start Using Randomized Serial Numbers

• A leaked internal email from Apple indicates that the company will move to randomized serial numbers.
• The serial number will no longer give any indication about the model, year, and configuration.
• This change won’t bring many consequences in general, but it will mitigate some risks.

According to a leak of an internal AppleCare email that somehow reached MacRumors, the consumer tech giant is planning to start using randomized serial numbers across all products starting any time now. Previously, Apple products included codes about the manufacturing information and the specific configuration of the device and the model onto the serial number, but allegedly, this will be omitted now.

The new serial numbers will consist of a randomized alphanumeric string of 8 to 14 characters/digits, giving no specific information about the model. No longer will people and service providers be able to determine when a device left the production line, where it was manufactured, how much storage it “hides” inside, what is it model exactly, and even the color.

The question that arises from this news is what could be the reason for this decision? Obviously, there’s no official reasoning behind this as it’s all based on a leak, but we can still make some assumptions. First of all, unauthorized service points will now have practical obstacles to deal with, and they won’t be able to tell what exactly it is that they’re asking to fix.

Secondly, users will stop trying to find signs of flaws in specific production batches basing their observations on the link between the manufacturing date and a problem. And thirdly, the odds of having to deal with fraudulent warranty claims are further minimized. Apart from all that, there’s isn’t much else we can think of, and considering that the IMEI will remain unchanged, the difference brought by the randomized serial numbers will be far from dramatic.

In general, we would advise you to keep your device’s serial number private, but don’t be too paranoid about it. Just don’t post it on social media or YouTube. Anyone who has your serial number can find out about the remaining warranty time and play a good phishing trick to you when the time comes. Also, someone could report your device as stolen and cause you trouble if you ever bring it to an authorized service point for repairs.