Purchase Date being April 1978 + No Warranty + 5G model number

A model number starting with a digit means that the phone is a refurb, and it was not refurbished by Apple, but instead by an Apple-authorized 3rd party. In other words, you were not sold a new phone, and the phone has no warranty coverage. Take it back for a refund.

That model was discontinued in September of 2021.

It is absolutely NOT “new”.

If you paid $1000 for it, you got ripped off.

Return it and get your money back, then go buy a phone from an actual authorized retailer or directly from Apple.

I mean Apple stopped manufacturing and selling the iPhone 12 Pro Max in September of 2021.

It was replaced by the iPhone 13 series, then that was replaced by the iphone 14 series in 2022.

The 12 Pro Max has not been sold by Apple for almost 2 years.

A brand new iphone 14 Pro Max, the current high end model, sells for about $100 more than you paid for the 12 Pro Max…

It is possible that a retailer somewhere still has them in stock on a shelf somewhere, but I wouldn’t buy one. If it’s true, the battery could be severely degraded from sitting unused for almost 2 years.

Return it to the store where you bought it and go buy a phone from a legitimate, authorized source instead.

Your purchase was not properly reported to Apple.

Update your proof of purchase - Apple Support

xswifyy wrote:

So like is it used??

As I wrote above, it is refurbished. While the facility that refurbished the unit has been authorized by Apple, I have no idea of the quality. If it was refurbished by Apple, I would have no problem saying it was a quality unit ….. for other facilities, I have no idea.

Well if it shows 1978 apr 1st... it means you got an Apple ' AS IS' machine. 'AS IS' means it is been refurbished by Apple factory or Apple authorized partner, but been sold through Apple channel like Bright Star, instead of Apple itself.

Usually the phone has no problem because it is coming from Oficial channel as well... but IT IS refurbished and it has no warranty from Apple oficial.

5G sounds like a reference to 5th-generation cell phone service, not like an Apple model number. Or perhaps it is part of a retailer model number (as opposed to an Apple model number).

Apple and MacTracker both report that the iPhone 12 Pro Max has model numbers

• A2342 (United States)
• A2410 (Canada, Japan)
• A2412 (China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao)
• A2411 (Other countries and regions)

Identify your iPhone model - Apple Support

The 5G at the start of the model number indicates that it has been refurbished by an Apple authorized facility, but not by Apple themselves. Any warranty coverage (if available) would be provided by the seller.

Well, the seller lied about it being a new device, but as to whether it is good or bad, only you could say. I would be very mistrustful of a seller that would claim it was a NEW device.

It was remanufactured outside of Apple, and the device model in the iPhone 15 was changed from 4u to mu. Thank you, Omar.