Here’s how to check if your iPhone or iPad is brand new, a replacement unit, or a refurbished model. There’s no additional installations or software required to obtain this information.

Most of us have likely been in the situation whereby we have purchased a device through a secondary sales channel and then subsequently wondered if we are actually getting what we have been told.

Where Apple’s iPhone is concerned, we could be purchasing a brand new device or a refurbished model. That makes all the difference and affects what we are willing to pay for a phone. With this little trick, you will be able to quickly ascertain the type of device on offer. Let’s take a look at the process.

Step 1: First of all, you are going to need to have the device charged, powered up, and ready-to-use. Once that’s all done, launch the native Settings app.

Step 2: There’s no additional third-party apps or software required for this. Once in Settings, navigate to General > About. This is where a lot of relevant information about your device is located.

Step 3: Scroll down through all of the provided information until you find the label which gives you the device’s “Model” number. This will give you a unique number pertaining to that device which either begins with “M”, “F”, or “N”, and then followed by a series of letters and numbers.

Step 4: If your Model number starts with the letter “M”, then it is a brand new device. If the Model number begins with the letter “F” then it is a refurbished device. And if your Model number starts with a letter “N” then it is a replacement device.

• M: Brand new device

• F: Refurbished device

• N: Replacement device.

Extremely quick and easy and a sure fire way to tell what type of device you are currently in ownership of. If you are planning on buying something through secondary sales channels, and you are presented with the opportunity to take a look at the Model number, or you can get an unedited screenshot from the seller, then it’s a really good and quick way of ascertaining if that person is being honest about the type of device that is being sold.