At this point, we should all know that when looking at online listings for AirPods, the serial number printed on the box is no longer a safe and reliable check for authenticity. Anyone can take a legit serial number from an Apple product and print it on a box of fakes and put it for sale online (CoughFacebookMarketplaceCough). If you're buying from anywhere that's not an official Apple retailer, you will always run this risk.

One current way of checking is to connect the earbuds to your iPhone, then look under device settings to see if they show up with their serial number. While this works, there are two main problems with this method:

1. You need to have the item physically, which probably means you've already paid the scammer by that point and will have a hard time getting a refund if they turn out to be fakes.

2. Some counterfeit AirPods have been programmed to mimic this software feature.

In light of this, I've written this guide to hopefully help you tell if the serial number printed on a listing is suspicious without having purchased the item first, as well as explain how the Apple serial number system works. First, let's look at the format of an Apple serial number. They usually follow this pattern:

AAABBCCCDDDD

The first three characters (AAA) represent the site of manufacture. While these may vary significantly, codes beginning with D, F, and G tend to be from China while more recent units assembled in Vietnam may begin with the letter H. If you see "Designed by Apple in California, assembled in Vietnam", this is not always a sign that the earbuds are fake. However the rest of the serial number may provide further clues.

The second section (BB) is linked to the week of manufacture. The 4th character is always a letter to represent which half-year the item was made while the 5th character is the week within that half-year. The years are as follows:

W - 1st half of 2018
X - 2nd half of 2018
Y - 1st half of 2019
Z - 2nd half of 2019
C - 1st half of 2020
D - 2nd half of 2020
E - 1st half of 2021
F - 2nd half of 2021

The week identifier is a little trickier to interpret. It uses the digits 1-9 to represent the 1st to 9th week, then the letters C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, T, V, W, X, and Y to represent weeks 10 to 27. Note that letters A, B, E, I, O, S, U, and Z are not used. For example, if the 4th and 5th characters of a serial number read "C2", then it means the item was manufactured in week 2 of 2020. Here are some warning signs to look out for in this section:

• If the date of manufacturing appears to be in the future.

• If the date of manufacturing conflicts with the date printed on the label.

• If the date of manufacturing appears to be significantly earlier than the date of release of the product (for example, if an AirPods Pro box has something like "WX" as the 4th and 5th characters then it's a huge red flag because that's a whole year before they were even released).

• If the 5th character is A, B, E, I, O, S, U, or Z.

The third section (CCC) is a unique identifier for that specific unit. Not much to say here.

The final section (DDDD) represents the charging case and generation of product. They are as follows:

H8TT - AirPods 1st generation, wired charging case
LX2Y - AirPods 2nd generation, wired charging case
JMMT - AirPods 2nd generation, wireless charging case
LKKT - AirPods Pro, wireless charging case

The warning sign here is if the model identifier does not match the alleged product. For example, if an AirPods Pro box had a serial number ending in H8TT printed on it, it's guaranteed to be a counterfeit.

Beyond the serial number itself, there are a number of other factors to consider:

• The barcode under the serial number should decode with the letter "S", followed by the serial number itself. If it has just the serial number without the preceding S, or if it mismatches completely, then this is a red flag.

• The serial number printed on the box should only match the AirPods charging case, it's normal for each earbud to have a their own individual serial number separate to the case. If the seller shows a screenshot or photo showing them all to be identical, then they are fake.

With all that being said, these are just a few pointers for obvious fakes. Just because a serial number passes these tests does not necessarily mean the listing is genuine. The old adage still applies - if it sounds too good to be true, then it's probably a scam. Scammers are constantly updating their wares and it's very likely they can lift serial numbers from legit products that fit their counterfeit goods. Even worse, there have been cases where sellers have taken the packaging from legit AirPods and swapped out the contents with their fakes so what you see on the listing is not what you get. Remember, always exercise common sense, and stay safe out there!