Apple provides one-year warranties with its products as standard, in the UK and the US. But it’s possible to pay for additional coverage – and easy to then forget about it. Or forget exactly when you bought the product. Or realise you have different warranty terms because you bought the device in a different country.
If you’re wondering if your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or other Apple product is still covered by warranty, you’ve come to the right place. And fortunately it’s really simple to find out.
Use Apple’s warranty coverage checker
Apple makes it nice and easy to check your product’s warranty status. If you go to checkcoverage.apple.com and enter your device’s serial number (and fill in the captcha code below to prove you’re not a bot), the site will spit out all the information you need.
If you’re not sure how to find your serial number, we can help with that too.
Finding an iPhone’s serial number
iPhones can be tricky. If it’s willing to turn on, you just have to open the Settings app and go to General > About, but if you’re looking for warranty information there’s a good chance it’s bust.
Some older iPhones have the serial number printed on the SIM tray (and the very first iPhone has it printed on the back of the device). But for newer iPhones, assuming you can’t find the packaging, the best approach is probably to check in your Apple ID account settings.
We explain how to do this our article How to find an iPhone’s serial number.
Finding an iPad’s serial number
iPads make your life easy. The serial number will always be printed on the back of the device, along with the rest of the regulatory information. It’s labelled as “Serial”.
Finding a Mac’s serial number
Macs always have their serial numbers printed on them somewhere, but because they can be rather heavy and because the location varies from machine to machine, it’s probably easier to click the Apple logo at the top left of the screen and select About This Mac. You’ll see the serial number on the Overview pane.
If it won’t turn on, however, take a look on the bottom of the device – that’s the most common location. It’ll be with or near the regulatory information. On a few Macs – mainly older Mac Pros – it’s printed on the back instead.
We cover all this in more detail in our article How to find a Mac’s serial number.
What if my warranty has run out?
You can still get support from Apple, but you won’t have as many rights to get free repairs and replacements. (If the device has a known problem, however, Apple may announce a recall programme and offer replacements for even out-of-warranty products.)
And of course you can contact Apple and take out AppleCare for extended coverage.
We explain your rights as an owner of an out-of-warranty Apple product (as well as your legal rights under a variety of other circumstances) in our article How to get a broken iPhone repaired or replaced.
Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.