Is there a way to tell when my iPhone was purchased/first activated?

Kalhank50 wrote:

Is there a way to tell when my phone as purchased/first activated

Yes.

Go to Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support

Enter the 12-digit serial number you find at Settings > General > About

Enter the anti-bot code to submit the serial number.

I bought my iPhone SE 2nd gen just a few weeks ago as a "renewed" item from Amazon.

When I submitted the serial number, I got:

Diane

iPhone SE

Purchase Date: April 09, 2022

Serial Number: [xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Then it goes on to say that the coverage has expired.

• "Diane" is what I named it when I got it (after the voice recording device that Agent Dale Cooper used in "Twin Peaks", but which actually turned out to be a real person back at the office).
• It did not specify which version of SE it was, which surprises me, but then neither did the info at Settings > General > About.
• Purchase date has to be when the original owner bought it, about a month before that model was discontinued. By sheer coincidence, it was on my birthday.

They say "Our records indicate that your product is not covered under Apple’s Limited Warranty or an AppleCare product for hardware repairs and service based on the estimated expiry date."

"Estimated"? Don't they know when? The only thing I can guess is perhaps that if you buy it on, say, January 1, but don't turn it on and be the first owner to register it with an Apple I.D. until January 5, perhaps the coverage actually starts on January 5.

Look at your receipt.

Why do you ask?

John Rose6 wrote:

The only thing I can guess is perhaps that if you buy it on, say, January 1, but don't turn it on and be the first owner to register it with an Apple I.D. until January 5, perhaps the coverage actually starts on January 5.

Coverage starts on the day it was purchased even if you don't turn it on for 6 months. That's why you see posts here where somebody buys a device from a third party reseller and wonders why their coverage expiration date is coming up in a month or two instead of the standard warranty period.

As for your other questions:

Why not start with the receipt?

Why do you ask?

Does that make any difference to the answer you would give?

It might. With 20 years experience of having been on this forum, people not infrequently post questions that are not really the underlying issue. The actual solution may be very different if we know the basic reason. It's like somebody holding a nail and asking you where to find a screwdriver. Then in the end you find out all they really need is a piece of tape.

Limnos wrote:

Look at your receipt.

They may not have the original receipt.

Maybe it was a gift, maybe it was purchased as a used device (like mine), maybe they lost the receipt.

Why do you ask?

Does that make any difference to the answer you would give?