HT201173: Mac mini: How to find the serial number

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Steve07b

Q: Find out when I purchased my mac mini

I'm trying to find out when I purchased my mac mini, or my iPhone for matter as my Apple account only details apps that were bought for my phone and not the actual hardware itself.

Posted on Jul 24, 2015 8:31 AM

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Q: Find out when I purchased my mac mini

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  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Jul 24, 2015 8:36 AM in response to Steve07b
    Level 6 (15,140 points)
    Peripherals
    Jul 24, 2015 8:36 AM in response to Steve07b

    Do you have AppleCare or warranty details?

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Jul 24, 2015 8:44 AM in response to Steve07b
    Level 10 (188,672 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 24, 2015 8:44 AM in response to Steve07b

    See if viewing your support profile allows yo to determine the purchase date:

    My Support Profile

    Also you may be able to calculate it by looking at your warranty coverage. Enter the devices SN here:

    https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

    Without AppleCare you have a one-year warranty

  • by Steve07b,

    Steve07b Steve07b Jul 24, 2015 8:47 AM in response to seventy one
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2015 8:47 AM in response to seventy one

    No I don't have them. I'm sure I bought it about 2011 but want to find out exactly when. I find it hard to believe that Apple won't shown me when I bought a product form them, if so I'm sure there would be a legal issue there as there will be a record of my purchase, and as the consumer, I'd expect to have access to it. Sometimes I feel like we just rent stuff form Apple and they decide what you do with the products you buy from them.

  • by Steve07b,

    Steve07b Steve07b Jul 24, 2015 9:00 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2015 9:00 AM in response to lllaass

    Hi ,

    As per my reply to seventy one, I don't have any Warranty (which would have run out) and never buy Apple warranty anyway. I just don't understand why I can't get access to my purchases other than apps for my phone. I'm not fussed about seeing when I spent 60p on an app, but I am when it comes to £600 on a computer or phone. Maybe it's just another excuse to try and force you to buy Apple care? I'm sure this info used to be available before when you logged into your Apple account.

  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Jul 24, 2015 9:06 AM in response to Steve07b
    Level 6 (15,140 points)
    Peripherals
    Jul 24, 2015 9:06 AM in response to Steve07b

    Steve,

     

    I'm not sure if you are approaching this too severely.  I appreciate you have a problem somewhere that you want to resolve but Apple would have given you a receipt for the purchase and surely that is something you are responsible for.    If your half remembered date is correct your machine is out of warranty and also out of Apple Care if you had taken it up.  Apple care, by the way is the cheapest insurance policy you could possibly have for an electronic item.

  • by Steve07b,

    Steve07b Steve07b Jul 24, 2015 9:19 AM in response to seventy one
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2015 9:19 AM in response to seventy one

    Hi seventy one,

    Thanks for the message.

     

    I will have a receipt at home that I can find, but I can't understand why the information is not available in my account? As it used to be in the past, so why has this changed? Is it now only available to you if you have bought Apple Care? That's what I'd like to know? I hoped there would be a simple solution to me getting the info I'm looking for, but I guess I'll be rummaging through my paper work when I go home.

     

    No other site I purchase from hide the products I've purchased from them, so I'd be intrigued to know why Apple now do this? Amazon show me every purchase for the last 15 years, as does Ebuyer etc.

     

    Thanks for trying to help.

  • by seventy one,Helpful

    seventy one seventy one Jul 24, 2015 9:34 AM in response to Steve07b
    Level 6 (15,140 points)
    Peripherals
    Jul 24, 2015 9:34 AM in response to Steve07b

    Happy to have been of some help.    The only link between the supply of a receipt and Apple care is the fact that Apple care can be purchased up until the last day of the Warranty (and then provides a two year extension to that warranty).   I know this is not the basis of your original question but I can assure you that while you may be encouraged to buy Apple care it is not an obligation.

    In my personal experience it proved an invaluable addition.

    As far as purchases are concerned, that has never to my knowledge been available within the system records.   Maybe that is because only the registration (which you need to undertake) is in any way proof of purchase.   You have to remember that if you have a 7.1 model Mac, for example, that only tells you when it was made ... not when it was sold.

  • by babowa,Solvedanswer

    babowa babowa Jul 24, 2015 11:04 AM in response to Steve07b
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Jul 24, 2015 11:04 AM in response to Steve07b

    Well, the Apple store shows past purchases for the last 18 months - go to the store site and click on the person button -

     

    Screen Shot 2015-07-24 at 10.46.57 AM.png

     

    choose return items. It will prompt you to sign in and then show all your purchases for the time you choose:

     

    Screen Shot 2015-07-24 at 10.45.58 AM.png

     

    Having said that, whenever I've purchased an item, I received an email confirmation and/or hard copy. I would a) copy that to a permanent folder for all computer purchase invoices and b) print out a copy to keep near my computer as it would contain the date, serial number and any other important info. Keeping those records is your responsibility.

     

    Under your support profile > devices (site linked to earlier), you will see when a warranty expires for an item (which will obviously be easy to figure out when you bought it be deducting 1 or 3 years from that date). Once the warranty has expired, it will not show you a purchase date. Again, that is something you need to note and keep. I did send feedback to Apple suggesting that they show the actual purchase date for any device.

  • by Steve07b,

    Steve07b Steve07b Jul 24, 2015 11:50 AM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 24, 2015 11:50 AM in response to babowa

    Hi Babowa,

     

    Thanks for the message.

     

    I was at work and needed the info and thought it would be a simple thing to get by logging into my account and seeing my previous purchases. Sadly I changed e-mail address to another company and no longer have the e-mail Apple would have supplied at the time. I do however have the printed receipt that came with the Mac when purchased, as I do this with anything that is expensive. I just don't understand why Apple only give you details of app purchases and not of your product purchases like every other online site I have purchased from. Being that over the years I purchased two Mac minis, two iPhones and two iPods, but can't see when and what I purchased in my account Other than apps.

     

    Not great customer service when you have to try and work out when you bought a product based on when your warranty ran out, rather than have information on your purchase which they must have on record.

     

    Anyway, I found the original receipt and have the information I need. Thanks for the info and sending feedback to Apple.

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Jul 24, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Steve07b
    Level 10 (188,672 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 24, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Steve07b

    Apple does as babowa provided how.

    It is also in your support profiles. However, you have to log in with ID you used at the time of the purchase.