Various situations can make me curious to know how old is my phone. Whether we are buying a fairly used phone or selling our old one, knowing how old it is becomes essential in such situations.
It may sound challenging, but fortunately, we can know how old a phone is by following simple steps. Regardless of the brand, several ways exist to determine a phone’s age.
If you also have the question ‘How old is my phone’ wandering in your mind, this guide is just what you need. This guide will unearth some of the best ways to determine our phone’s age.
Table of Contents
The significance of a phone’s age
In the world of the internet, finding the launch date of a particular smartphone model is relatively easy. However, the launch date cannot be used to determine how old a phone is as it might have been manufactured months or years after its launch date, depending on when you bought it.
Knowing the right age of your smartphone is significant in numerous ways. Some of these points that make their age important are-
- The age of your phone determines its resale value. When a buyer shows interest in buying your phone, one of the first things he/she will want to know is – ‘how old is this phone’. A more recent phone gets a higher resale value.
- A phone’s age is crucial to determine if your device is secure. An older device is less secure than a newer one.
- As a phone’s age increases, it usually results in a diminishing battery.
- Not only is the battery affected by age but a phone’s overall performance is also affected by age.
How to check how old a phone is?
Although there are numerous options to explore, some common methods can be used to quickly check out how old a phone is.
1. Check its retail box.
One of the first and easiest ways to do this is by checking its box. Usually, manufacturers stick a white sticker in the purchase box of a phone. This small sticker indicates the manufacturing date of the phone. The little sticker does not just include the manufacturing date; you might find a few words written, a barcode, and symbols. You will have to look for the date hidden in it.
One important thing to check before you try to find out the manufacturing date on the little white sticker is to look for the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number on the box. The IMEI number on the box must be the same as on your phone. If it is different, you must understand that the box does not belong to your phone, and the manufacturing date displayed on it is incorrect.
2. Go to your phone’s settings.
If the first method does not work for you, this one might. This is another easy way of checking how old your phone is. For this, you have to open the settings app of your phone.
The ‘About’ tab usually consists of this information. Here, the date might not have been made to be visible directly, and you may need to decode it between some digits of the serial number. The set of digits here displays your device’s manufacturing year and month.
Decoding the serial number is different for every model, and you must explore the internet to find the correct way to use it with your phone’s model. Below are the methods of determining the age of a Samsung phone and iPhone.
Samsung phone
If the question popping into your mind is, ‘How old is my Samsung phone’, the below steps will help you find the answer.
- Open the Settings app of your Samsung phone.
- Now, go to the About Phone tab, where you will find information regarding your phone. Here, you will find the Serial Number of your phone.
- The fourth character in this number represents the manufacturing year of your device. For example, if it is R, the manufacturing year is 2021. For 2019 it is M; for 2020, it is N; and for 2022, it is T.
- Now, take a look at the fifth character of the Serial Number. It shows the manufacturing month. For example, if it is 9, the device was manufactured in September.
- Finally, combine the fourth and fifth characters to find the month in which year your phone was manufactured.
iPhone
If you own an iPhone, the steps to check its age using its serial number are quite different from those for a Samsung phone.
- Open the Settings app of your iPhone.
- Click on the About tab.
- Find the Model name of your iPhone. For example, if it is an iPhone 11, find a tab named iPhone 11.
- Here, you will find the Serial Number displayed.
- The fourth character of the Serial Number might be D or C. C represents the months from January to June, and D represents the months from July to December.
- The Serial Number’s fifth character shows the week of manufacturing.
3. With the help of an app
The next method involves using an application to determine your phone’s age. Some Play Store and App Store applications might only seem useful once you understand their importance.
Specific applications not only provide your device’s specifications but also provide you with its manufacturing date. All you need to know about the manufacturing date of your device in these applications is the IMEI number.
These applications provide the manufacturing date of your phone in a much more understandable way. However, they might only sometimes work. The information they can pull out depends on how your phone’s manufacturer stored it.
4. Dial a specific code.
If the above three ways didn’t work for you, do not worry; there is one more method. Dial any of the below codes from your phone-
- #197328640#
- ##197328640##
- #0000#
After dialling any of the above codes, you will see a menu. Select the Menu Version Information tab from this menu and then go to the Hardware Versions. Now, go to Read Manufacturing Date to know your phone’s age.
This method might only work for smartphones of some brands or models. However, it is worth trying.
Maximising Your Phone’s Lifespan
The average cost of a smartphone has strikingly increased over the past few years. Thus, making it difficult to upgrade to a new device without being concerned with finance. Therefore, it is advisable to follow best practices to extend your device’s lifespan.
Wondering how? Well, wave your worry goodbye! We have come to your rescue with some best practices that you can utilise to save some bucks on unnecessary device upgrades!
Regular maintenance and cleaning
“It is important to clean and maintain your smartphone by taking necessary steps like discarding irrelevant files and rarely used applications. You can also invest in a protective case to protect your smartphone from scratches and physical damage. Additionally, consider physically cleaning your device screen, body, and ports with soft cotton or tools available online.
For those interested in starting a phone case business, I’ve previously covered this topic in detail in our article titled ‘How to Start a Phone Case Business.’ You can refer to that post for valuable insights on launching your own venture in this niche.”
Managing storage and optimising performance
Numerous smartphone users have encountered significant lags that make using their devices difficult. And this issue often arises due to the build-up of unnecessary files and rarely used applications. The constant neglect in optimising storage can make the device less responsive and convince the user to upgrade before they truly need to.
Managing storage and performance optimising are some of the crucial factors that you cannot miss out on to maximise your device lifespan. It is necessary to delete applications, files, and media that you do not require. By implementing this regularly, you can save your storage capacity from being maxed out. Thus, ensuring no-lag and seamless usage of your device.
Utilising protective cases and screen protectors
Operating your smartphone with a broken screen is not highly uncomfortable and hard to use. And in the long run, it can also lead to further damage to the display. Therefore, it is important to protect this integral component of your device.
Investing in a good screen protector will help you protect your device screen from any physical damage. Thus, saving you a lot of money on replacing a screen.
Similar to any other smartphone accessories, screen protectors are essential too! Although there are many smartphones available in the market that come with tougher glass screens, you still need to invest in a screen protector.
In addition, you should also be proactive with the rest of your smartphone components. So make sure to also get yourself a sturdy smartphone case. It will add a layer of protection and prevent it from being tampered by any possible physical damage.
Ensuring timely software updates
Numerous smartphone manufacturers only provide software support for approximately two generations. However, in some cases, you can update it even if it is an older device. But, does it work for the better? The answer is No.
It is very likely that updating your smartphone software after two generations can lead to performance instability. This is because it is difficult to create a stable update across a wide range of smartphones.
However, many users believe it to be a marketing strategy by the brand manufacturers. After all, why would the brand want to avail updates for older released smartphones when they can simply push consumers to upgrade to a new one?
Either way, we recommend avoiding updates after the release of two new generations to extend your smartphone lifespan.
In The End
Determining the age of your phone becomes of utmost importance in certain situations. Whether you are buying a fairly used device or selling your old phone, age is crucial in determining its resale value.
One of the above-listed ways will help you in such situations. However, if you want to know when you purchased your device, you have to look for its warranty expiration date and not get into finding its manufacturing date.
FAQ
Q. Does my old phone require software updates every month?
Ans. No. The software updates come as and when required. It may be after a few months or even after one or two years.
