Locating Your iPhone Serial Number

Your iPhone serial number isn't something you need to know very often, but you want to find it quickly when you need it. You may need to your phone's serial number if you're sending the device in for repair, checking your warranty status, or selling the phone, among other things.

There are actually a lot of ways to find your iPhone serial number, they're just not totally obvious. This article provides step-by-step instructions for some of the most common methods.

How to Look Up Serial Number on iPhone

Your iPhone's serial number can be found directly on the device.

You just need to know where to look:

1. Tap the Settings app to open it.

2. Tap General.

3. Tap About.

4. Scroll down to the Serial Number line.

5. You can copy and paste the serial number by tapping and holding on it and then tapping Copy in the pop-up menu.

How to Find iPhone Serial Number in iTunes

Besides on the iPhone itself, you can find the serial number in iTunes, too.

Here's what you should do:

1. Connect the iPhone to a computer with iTunes installed on it. Connect to iTunes using Wi-Fi or USB.

   If you don't normally connect this iPhone and this computer, you may need to allow them to connect by tapping the Trust button in the pop-up window on the iPhone and/or entering your iPhone passcode.

2. Open iTunes if it doesn't open automatically.

3. Click the iPhone icon in the top left corner of iTunes, just under the playback controls.

4. In the box at the top of the main iPhone management screen, just beneath the iPhone model number, look for the Serial Number section.

How to Find iPhone Serial Number in iPhone Backup

If you can't connect your iPhone to iTunes for some reason, you may still be able to use iTunes to find the serial number.

If you've backed up your iPhone to this computer in the past, the backup file actually contains the serial number. Here's how to find it:

1. Open iTunes.

2. Open the Preferences window. On a Mac, do this via iTunes > Preferences. On Windows, go to Edit > Preferences.

3. In the Preferences window, click Devices.

4. On this tab, the Device backups section lists all of the devices that have been backed up to this computer. If the iPhone whose serial number you're looking for is there, hover your mouse over it (don't click it, though).

5. In a second or two, a window will appear with information about the iPhone that was backed up, including the serial number.

How to Find iPhone Serial Number Online

If the iPhone won't turn on, and you haven't backed it up to iTunes (or don't have your iTunes nearby), you can get the serial number for your phone from Apple's website. Here's what to do:

1. Go to the Apple ID website at https://appleid.apple.com/.

2. Sign in using the same Apple ID you use on the iPhone whose serial number you want.

   If you've set up two-factor authentication on your Apple ID, you'll need to use that more-secure sign-in process.

3. Scroll down to the Devices section and find the device you need.

4. Click on the device and a window will appear with information about the phone in it, including the serial number.

How to Find iPhone Serial Number on the Original Packaging

If none of the other options presented so far work for you, you should be able to get your iPhone's serial number from the original packaging it came in — assuming you've still got that.

Check the original box and look at the back. On the bottom on the back of the box are a series of barcodes. One of them is the serial number.