How to Check How Old Your Phone is in 2024
If you’re on the lookout for a new phone, want to sell your current one or are just plain curious, it could be important to tell how old your phone is. Unfortunately for those looking for a quick answer to the age of their phone, it can be trickier than it should be to find out.
Luckily for you, we’ve done the hard part – all you have to do is keep reading.
Why do you need to know the age of your phone?
Varying in importance, there are numerous reasons you could have for trying to find the age of your phone. Whether it’s an iPhone, Google, Samsung or Huawei branded phone, it’s important to know in what period and year your phone was made for the following reasons.
- Depending on the age of your phone, it may not be compatible with the latest update. For example, the latest version of Apple’s IOS, IOS 16 will be coming soon and users with an iPhone older than the iPhone 8 and second generation SE will be unable to support it.
- With the similarity of your phone compared to later versions, it can be difficult to remember what subcategory yours falls in. Was your iPhone an 8 or 7? Is your Google Pixel the 4g version or not? If you’re looking to sell your used phone, it’s critical to know how old your phone is to sell at the correct price.
- Is there a real issue with your phone or is it just old? When pondering whether to book in an expert to take a look at your sickly phone, you must know whether it’s just getting old and slow or needs repairing.
How to tell how old your phone is
There are ways to tell the age of your phone that are manufacturer specific. However, there are a few general rules of thumb that could be helpful in the search to find how old your phone is.
The box your phone arrived in
Don’t feel silly. It’s almost so obvious that it sounds ridiculous.
Usually branded with some kind of advertisement of your phone and the version of it, you can easily find out the age of your phone by checking its purchasing box.
If you’re in search of a more accurate age than just the version of your phone can provide, the box could further help you. Usually attached with a white sticker on the bottom or side of the box, this sticker could be hiding the manufacturer code, and age, of your phone.
While you’re there, make sure to check for the IMEI number of your phone. Confirm that the IMEI on the box is the same one that appears in your phone’s settings. If not, the box will be useless to learning the age of your phone, as it could not be the box your phone belongs to.
Applications
As with everything else, from buying groceries that are delivered to your door to dating, there are numerous apps for finding the age of your phone. Just download them according to your phone’s app store and the brand of your phone, select the application that best suits your needs and has good reviews and the app will delve into your phone’s data, providing you with your phone’s age in seconds.
Settings
The majority of phones will be able to tell you the age of your phone from the Settings app. Titled as some variation of ‘about’ or ‘about phone’, manufacturers usually make the date of manufacturing quite clear, however, there are times you will need to use a bit of brain power to figure it out.
Luckily, we’ve done all the hard work for you.
How to tell how old your iPhone is:
As is common with all of Apple’s products, ease of use is at the forefront. This doesn’t change when making it easy for you to find the age of your iPhone. With a tad of information, the manufacturing date can be found through the serial number of your phone.
First, let’s show you how to find your iPhone’s serial number.
1. Head to your phone’s settings through the app
2. Select ‘General’.
3. Under the ‘General’ category, select ‘About’.
4. You will find the ‘Serial Number’ towards the top along with the ‘Model Name’ and ‘Software Version’.
How does the serial number tell me how old my iPhone is?
Now that we’ve sorted that out, you just need to know how the serial number can help you. There are a few ways.
Firstly, head to Apple’s check coverage page and follow the instructions by submitting your serial number and filling in the Captcha code.
From here, you will be shown whether your phone is still covered by warranty or not. If your coverage has expired, you know your iPhone was purchased and activated more than a year ago. If not, you’re still within 12 months from the purchase date.
Looking for something more accurate? Say hi to Chipmunk. This Dutch website (yes it’s written in Dutch). Don’t worry, it has English help and is easy to navigate.
Just head to this page and submit your serial number into the allotted section. From there, select the grey button labelled ‘Laat de informatie zien’.
Viola! Along with a variety of other information about your phone, you’ll be provided with not just the year your phone was produced, but the week and month of the year.
How to tell how old your Android Phone is:
Android phones are extremely popular, mainly for the wide range of applications and freedom they provide to the user compared with iPhones. Sure, a lot of them allow for additional storage, 3rd party widgets and integration with google accounts, but how easy is it to find when your Android Smartphone was manufactured?
For the most part, following a two-step process will be the end of this journey.
- Open the settings app.
- Select ‘About ‘Phone’ or anything similar.
However, it could be more intricate depending on the model of your phone. If the steps above don’t work for you, give this a try.
- Open your phone app and head to the keyboard like you’re making a call
- Dial *#197328640* OR *#*#197328640#*#*. This should open up a service menu.
- Select ‘Menu Version information’.
- Select ‘Hardware Version’.
- ‘Select ‘Read Manufacturing Date’
How to tell how old your Samsung phone is:
Much like general Android phones, phones from Samsung are lauded for their versatility and available range of applications. In 2022, there’s seemingly an app for everything.
Luckily for anyone trying to find the age of their Samsung phone, there’s an app for that too.
There are numerous applications in the store to choose from and they all serve practically the same purpose. Just search ‘Samsung phone info app’ within your phone’s app store and select the most applicable and well-reviewed.
How to tell how old your Google phone is:
Google phones might be one of the newer popular products of phones on the market, but they’ve kept it simple when it comes to discovering how old your google phone is. Unlike some of the other models above and the iPhone which, without this article, would take an entire afternoon away from you, Google will tell you the age of your phone easily.
Just follow these simple steps.
Head to ‘Settings’.
→ ‘System’.
→ ‘About’.
→ ‘Phone’
→ ‘Model & Hardware’.
Don’t know what you’re looking at? The first digit will be the year of manufacture. For example, 8 would mean 2018. The second digit portrays the month in which it was manufactured.
How to tell how old your LG Phone is:
While you might be thinking you need to follow a similar set of steps to discover the age of your LG phone, it’s even easier. Just download the LG Phone Info App from the app store, follow the clear steps and you’ll know the age of your phone in no time.
Not a fan of downloading apps? An alternative is to use the online IMEI Checker. Just enter your phone’s IMEI number (that can be found in the ‘about’ section of your phone’s settings) and click ‘check’.
An unlocked phone allows users to use sim cards from various service providers and is incredibly useful when travelling, especially in a different country. When unlocked, you can use any sim card from any network provider across the globe.
So, it’s important to know whether your iPhone is locked or unlocked. Here’s how.
- Open your phone’s settings
- Select ‘Cellular’ or similar.
- If your phone is locked, the ‘Cellular Data Option’ won’t be visible to you. So, if you see it there, your phone is unlocked.
If you’re trying to find whether your Android phone is unlocked or not, you can follow a similar set of directions.
- Open settings.
- Select ‘connections’
- Select ‘Networks’
- Select ‘Network Operators’. You will know whether your phone is locked or not instantly. If you see just one result, your phone is locked. If you see several, it’s unlocked.
We’ve all frantically gone searching for an old phone number for whatever reason. Maybe you’re tracking down an old flame or you strangely used your phone number as the security question on an account you didn’t need until now. Whatever the case, it’s usually to no avail.
However, there are two options for you to try out.
The first relies on the availability and health of the phone you used when using that old number. If this is a viable option, then following the directions below should provide you with your old number.
- Open your phone’s settings.
- Find and select the about section.
- Select ‘Status’ or similar.
- Select ‘My phone number’ or similar.
The second option, even worse than relying on an old product, is relying on your friends and family. Ask anyone and everyone. They might still have a contact linked with your old phone number or your mum might have it in her records folder.
It can’t hurt to ask and usually will provide you with your old phone number… eventually.
There are a few simple options to take to find how long you’ve had your phone. The first is to scour your emails and find the confirmation of your purchase or delivery of the phone. The email will be dated – from there, it’s some simple math to find out how long you’ve had it. Another direction is to look through your tax records. However, depending on your organisation skills, this might not be the easiest or most viable option. Luckily there is another, only slightly annoying, option – calling your provider. Your network provider will have a detailed record of all your transactions. Just call them up, ask and you’ll know in no time.
Max Delaney is a Journalism student at Macquarie University, joining Gadget User in 2022 and reporting on a variety of topics. Only early in his career, Max is excited to write guides, reviews and more to help you make informed purchases!