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iPhone SE (2022) New iPhone SE 2022 activation screen shows IMEI instead of "hello" animation - is it a fake or tampered phone?

macthekatt

macthekatt

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 29, 2022
19
4
Hello everyone!
I recently bought a new iPhone SE 2022 from A_maz_on UK.
The box seemed intact, but when I opened it the iPhone was positioned with the back (where the Apple symbol is) towards the outside instead of the normal, forward facing phone screen.
When I first turned it on, the screen showed three long strings of numbers, they seemed to be the IMEI and something else, which I did not have time to read as the screen quickly turned itself off, and then the normal "hello" animation appeared.
When I go to "about" in Settings, the IMEI seems to correspond to an iPhone made in UK; but the model's name is not "iPhone SE 3" or "iPhone SE 2022" but just "iPhone SE".
I have owned iPhones before, and am familiar with the way new iPhones are packaged etc. I have never seen a new iPhone put in the box with the back facing forward. Also, all iPhones turned on with the activation screen/hello animation, not with disappearing strings of numbers. And all of them had the correct model displayed, not just a generic iPhone name, like "iPhone SE".
I am not very tech savvy, and I wonder if this iPhone might be counterfeit, fake or even a 2020 model modified to look like a 2022 model.
I still have the option to return it, so any help or advice would be extremely welcome.
Thanks in advance, all the best for all of you!
 
@Frankras - Thanks for the answer, I checked, and it seems to match an iPhone SE 2022. Yet it only has "telephone technical support" active until January 2023, even though it was purchased new 2 weeks ago?!
 
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I believe my iPhone 8 was facing face down when I purchased it from Apple all those years ago. Your phone’s name being ‘iPhone SE’ rather than SE3 is normal too. I don’t know about the IEMI on startup, I have no recollection of ever seeing that on any of my phones. I am 99.9% sure you have a genuine Apple phone and that it is not counterfeited.

Stick your serial number through a decoder if you want piece of mind.

Apple Serial Number Decoder
 
I ran it through the serial number decoder, here is what it says:

Results for Apple serial number JM4P7XXXVJ

This device was made in week 4 of 2014.

So ... it IS a fake iPhone it seems?!
 
macthekatt said:
I ran it through the serial number decoder, here is what it says:

Results for Apple serial number JM4P7XXXVJ

This device was made in week 4 of 2014.

So ... it IS a fake iPhone it seems?!
Click to expand...
Erm, could be, lol. Which version of iOS are you presently on? Are you able to update to iOS 16.1?

If it was made in week 4 of 2014 it would have an A7 chipset and would be as slow as heck.
 
Darn, I was not expecting this kind of surprise from A_maz_on! I thought I would steer clear of Ebay and such, and it seems I was swindled anyway!
It runs IOS 16.0.3. Now it tries to update to IOS 16.1, but now seems stuck on "update requested"?! Hmmm...
Does not seem too slow, but the battery dies extremely quickly, even if it is in standby it seems to go down by 3-5% every hour!
And I am not tech-savvy at all, so maybe there are other problems which I did not notice!
Something feels "not right" about this phone. I think I will just return it to A_maz_on UK.
 
All recent iPhones are facing down (the back of phone faces you) when you first open the box.

That decoder site is some 3rd party site, if I recall a few years ago I tried some similar site and it showed incorrect information about my phone.

Did you buy the phone from an Amazon 3rd party seller? Avoid those at all costs. Saving a few bucks isn’t worth the potential hassle, that’s just me.

You can try downloading an app like iMazing for your PC / Mac, it’ll show you every detail about your phone; if it has an older processor then you know right away. Also your battery shouldn’t be draining -that- quickly?

Sorry, must be a real pain. Return the POS asap if it is a fake. Hope it works out.
 
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macthekatt said:
Darn, I was not expecting this kind of surprise from A_maz_on! I thought I would steer clear of Ebay and such, and it seems I was swindled anyway!
Yes, it is able to update to IOS 16.1.
Does not seem too slow, but the battery dies extremely quickly, even if it is in standby it seems to go down by 3-5% every hour. And I am not tech-savvy at all, so maybe there are other problems which I did not notice!
Something feels "not right" about this phone. I think I will just return it to A_maz_on UK.
Click to expand...
I am at a loss. Are you sure you punched in the correct serial number?

If your chipset was made in 2014, you wouldn’t be able to install iOS 16 and you’d be stuck on something like iOS 12.

Was the phone box properly sealed with the wrap not creased or looking unprofessional?

I am again not convinced that it’s a counterfeit phone. The battery is notoriously poor on SE3s due to the smaller size compared to the mainline phones.
 
The decoder should tell you the model of phone you have also.

This is the format:

This 'iPhone SE (1st generation)' was made in week 25 of 2016.

Click here to see what an Apple iPhone SE 1st generation may be worth (via previously sold items on eBay)

Apple model name= iPhone SE (1st generation)
Apple serial format= 2010 onward
Date of manufacture= Week 25 of 2016
 
If you see a unboxing video's on youtube, you will find that almost most iphones are screen facing down, back camera facing you. I have never seen an iphone unboxing with screening facing you when you first unbox it.
 
Shadowbech said:
If you see a unboxing video's on youtube, you will find that almost most iphones are screen facing down, back camera facing you. I have never seen an iphone unboxing with screening facing you when you first unbox it.
Click to expand...
The 6S definitely was facing up alongside the SE and possibly the 7. Apple began facing down when they moved to glass backs.
 
Thanks a lot to everyone who answered!
Ok, I get it, maybe the new iPhones are facing down in the box, and maybe that site offers incorrect information about the date of manufacture.
But what about the fact that the first time it was opened it was showing 3 or 4 rows of numbers on a blu-ish background - IMEI and presumably others, I did not have time to read them as they vanished fast - instead of opening with the familiar "hello" animation? Is that normal?
And no, it was not bought from a third-party vendor; it was - sold by Am_az_on UK.
 
macthekatt said:
Thanks a lot to everyone who answered!
Ok, I get it, maybe the new iPhones are facing down in the box, and maybe that site offers incorrect information about the date of manufacture.
But what about the fact that the first time it was opened it was showing 3 or 4 rows of numbers on a blu-ish background - IMEI and presumably others, I did not have time to read them as they vanished fast - instead of opening with the familiar "hello" animation? Is that normal?
And no, it was not bought from a third-party vendor; it was - sold by Am_az_on UK.
Click to expand...
I think your phone is 100% genuine and you are trying to convince yourself of faults. As far as I am aware, the IEMI should be processed by the operating system on startup. It is not normally shown so there may have been a glitch. If it does not do that anymore then you are fine, it’s a one off.

By going into General -> About in settings, you will find information about your phone which I believe will be accurate along with the serial number.

Your actual serial number will accurately depict the make/model on the decoder site, you typed it in wrong the first time.

Enjoy your new phone.
 
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Andeddu said:
I believe my iPhone 8 was facing face down when I purchased it from Apple all those years ago. Your phone’s name being ‘iPhone SE’ rather than SE3 is normal too. I don’t know about the IEMI on startup, I have no recollection of ever seeing that on any of my phones. I am 99.9% sure you have a genuine Apple phone and that it is not counterfeited.

Stick your serial number through a decoder if you want piece of mind.

Apple Serial Number Decoder
Click to expand...

That decoding site doesn't work properly, the serial number for my 14 Pro comes up as being made in week 26 of 2017!

If you want to find out the basics of your device, just use the Apple website: https://support.apple.com/en_GB/specs (which shows my iPhone as what it is).
 
kitKAC said:
That decoding site doesn't work properly, the serial number for my 14 Pro comes up as being made in week 26 of 2017!

If you want to find out the basics of your device, just use the Apple website: https://support.apple.com/en_GB/specs (which shows my iPhone as what it is).
Click to expand...
That’s so odd. I have tried it on my iPad Mini 4 & 5, 6S, 8, 4 different SE1s and a 12 Mini and the information appears completely accurate.

What model does your phone appear as when the serial number is decoded?

Make sure you copy and paste the serial number to ensure no mistakes. As far as I am aware the decoder is accurate and some people just do not know how to use it correctly.

My other thought is that Apple have moved to a different serial number system which is not compatible with this decoder for their newer phones.

Going on the Apple site you’ve linked does not tell you when your device was manufactured nor does it tell you the model of your phone.
 
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could you run the geekbench and see if it matches a similar score as others "iphone se 2022"?

Home - Geekbench

Geekbench measures your computer's processor and memory performance. Use the Geekbench Browser to share and discover Geekbench results with other people around the world.
browser.geekbench.com
 
Andeddu said:
That’s so odd. I have tried it on my iPad Mini 4 & 5, 6S, 8, 4 different SE1s and a 12 Mini and the information appears completely accurate.

What model does your phone appear as when the serial number is decoded?

Make sure you copy and paste the serial number to ensure no mistakes. As far as I am aware the decoder is accurate and some people just do not know how to use it correctly.

My other thought is that Apple have moved to a different serial number system which is not compatible with this decoder for their newer phones.

Going on the Apple site you’ve linked does not tell you when your device was manufactured nor does it tell you the model of your phone.
Click to expand...

The decoder site just gives me this:

Results for Apple serial number [Redacted]

This device was made in week 26 of 2017.

Click here to see what an Apple may be worth (via previously sold items on eBay)

Apple serial format= 2010 onward
Date of manufacture= Week 26 of 2017

Copying and pasting the same serial number from the decoder into the Apple site tells me that I've got an iPhone 14 Pro.
 
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kitKAC said:
The decoder site just gives me this:

Results for Apple serial number [Redacted]

This device was made in week 26 of 2017.

Click here to see what an Apple may be worth (via previously sold items on eBay)

Apple serial format= 2010 onward
Date of manufacture= Week 26 of 2017

Copying and pasting the same serial number from the decoder into the Apple site tells me that I've got an iPhone 14 Pro.
Click to expand...
It looks like the serial number is not compatible with the decoder because it’s a 2022 phone. It definitely works up to iPhone 12 as the site explicitly states I have a 12 Mini and accurately provides the correct date of manufacture.

For example:

This 'iPad mini (5th generation)' was made in week 33 of 2019.

Click here to see what an Apple iPad mini 5th generation may be worth (via previously sold items on eBay)

Apple model name= iPad mini (5th generation)
Apple serial format= 2010 onward
Date of manufacture= Week 33 of 2019

I believe that the decoder does not accept phones made in 2022. This, I suppose, adds credence to the OP being in possession of a genuine SE3.
 
Thanks again to everyone who answered!
I really hope that my iPhone is a genuine SE3, after all this is why I bought it!
I checked on a few more sites, and they seem to give contradictory results, some say it is an SE3, some say it is from 2014 or 2015.
Not sure...Also the battery life seems to be abysmal, it just drains even in standby!
I will think about it all and decide whether to keep it or return it.
All the best to you all!
 
macthekatt said:
Thanks again to everyone who answered!
I really hope that my iPhone is a genuine SE3, after all this is why I bought it!
I checked on a few more sites, and they seem to give contradictory results, some say it is an SE3, some say it is from 2014 or 2015.
Not sure...Also the battery life seems to be abysmal, it just drains even in standby!
I will think about it all and decide whether to keep it or return it.
All the best to you all!
Click to expand...
Did you paste your serial number into the Apple site provided by kitKAC? It should reveal that you have an SE3. This will settle the matter for once and for all.
 
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This is what Chipmunk says:

We are very sorry, but this serial number does not make sense...

And this is what the serial number decoder provided by kitCAC says:

Results for Apple serial number JM4PxxxVJ

This device was made in week 4 of 2014.

Click here to see what an Apple may be worth (via previously sold items on eBay)

Apple serial format= 2010 onward
Date of manufacture= Week 4 of 201

Nothing else, no model info

In the iPhone settings, in "about" it says "iPhone SE" not SE2022 or SE 3.
So... I suspect Am_a_zon UK sold me a (very sophisticated, I grant them that) fake or refurbished or renewed or who knows what kind of product... and not a genuine, absolutely new, untouched iPhone.
 
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