1. Objective To explain how an iPhone’s serial number can be used to determine its exact model (e.g., iPhone 12 Pro Max), including production details, and to highlight the practical methods and limitations of serial number–based lookups. 2. Background Every iPhone has a unique serial number (12–17 alphanumeric characters) assigned during manufacturing. Originally, serial numbers contained embedded info like factory, year, week of production, and model identifier. Since 2021, Apple has switched to randomized serial numbers for most new devices, making decoding without official tools impractical.