In this article, we’ll show you the signs of counterfeit AirPods and what you can do to be sure you don’t get duped.
AirPods are among the most popular Apple products. Therefore, you’ll discover a variety of copies on the market. As a normal Apple device, the AirPods can be costly. If you’re in looking to purchase a secondhand or a bargain-priced pair, be cautious, or else you’ll end up buying AirPods that are knockoffs.
It’s not a difficult task to identify a fake product when you spot one. But when it comes to AirPods it’s difficult to identify one. There are a lot of fake AirPods available on the market. We also got our hands on a brand new counterfeit pair of AirPods 2 that look exactly like the genuine ones. What can you do to determine whether AirPods are genuine or fake?
How to Identify Fake AirPods
Follow these seven ways to verify whether you’re AirPods are genuine.
- Serial number
- Original Packaging
- The bottom of AirPods
- Speaker grill
- Charging case
- The light indicator
- Lightning port
1. Find the Serial Numbers on the Official Apple Website
The most reliable method of identifying counterfeit AirPods is to confirm that the serial number is on the official Apple website. The serial number under the side of the AirPods charging lid of the case (where is the second AirPod is located). It is also possible to locate that serial number in the packaging alongside the barcode.
Once you get that code written down, enter it here https://checkcoverage.apple.com. If Apple can locate its serial numbers, then the AirPods are genuine. You’ll find all kinds of information regarding service coverage and purchase date, and support via phone.
But, if Apple did not make the AirPods then they won’t be able to locate the serial number in their database. So, you’ll receive an error message after you’ve checked the code.
Be aware that you could purchase fake AirPods that come with a legitimate retail or charging case. If that happens you must look for more clues in order to confirm the authenticity of the AirPods.
2. Verify Original Packaging for Inconsistencies
One of the factors that make people enthralled by Apple products is the small things. From the product itself to even the package, Apple does not disappoint.
We’ll have a look at the box retail (the authentic and fake ones) look at them in comparison and discover the distinctions. What we’ve found:
On the other side of the box, the genuine one had two distinct stickers, while the fake counterpart has only one that ran across the entire length. For the authentic box, they chose to use the San Francisco font, while they chose to use another font.
Moving to the side that has the Apple logo You can observe from the box that is fake,, the Apple logo appears curvy around the edges. On the other hand, the Apple logo that is on the real box had sharp edges.
If you examine the other side of the cover of the box, the fonts clearly differ. On the real box, the fonts are more pronounced as well, and they have less space between them. However, these fonts are smaller.
On the backside of the case, fonts are different, and there’s a status lamp on it that on the real box is more bright than the one in the counterfeit AirPods box. Also, the cover is secured on the authentic AirPods but untidy on the fake version.
Let’s look at the inside and read the instruction manual. The words “Designed in California by Apple in California” appear in grey on the outer cardboard of the authentic AirPods and on the fake model, it’s made in black.
Apart from the fonts that differ, the genuine manual is available in four different dialects (English, French, Spanish as well as Japanese) and the fake manual has just three (English, French, and German).
The images on the fake AirPods manual are clearly not Apple’s actual icons. Take a close look and notice the distinction.
3. Looking at the Bottom Side of AirPods
We’ll then examine the actual AirPods. Start with the lower part of the AirPods, which is where the charging contacts are. The bottom grills of authentic AirPods are oval, unlike the fake ones. They’re oval but are larger and almost round.
The fake AirPods feature grills made of silver, not the dark grey that is found on their genuine counterparts. Additionally charges contacts (the stripes of white) of the fake AirPods are bigger than those on the authentic AirPods.
4. Verify AirPods Speaker Grill
We’ll move to the next step, which is to determine if you’re AirPods are genuine. We’ll look at the grills on the speakers.
On the genuine AirPods, you will be able to clearly see the design of the speaker through the grill. On the fake AirPods, you can only see the grill.
It is worth noting that the IR proximity sensors in the real AirPods are fully in line with its body. AirPods. It is difficult to touch the tiny black dots on the finger while they are on those fake AirPods.
There’s not a gap between the grills on the side of that of the IR proximity sensors and between the very top AirPods (not visible in the picture above) and the body of the genuine AirPods. On fake AirPods, there’s a gap between, which indicates poor quality manufacturing.
5. The Charging Cases are Comparable
Continue with our How to identify fake AirPods guide, we will look at the authenticity of both charging cases.
There are not many differences when you take an examination of chargers. The hinges on the charging case can be loosened when the case is open.
Again, the fonts differ when you compare the original case. Did you notice that odd additional gap between “in” in The case that was assembled by China?
The small button at one side of authentic AirPods charging cases is flat. In the fake version, the button for pairing protrudes out of the case. It is easy to locate the button without having to look at it. However, it may be difficult to locate it in the real charging case.
6. Checking Light Indicator
Another way to determine the authenticity of the AirPods are authentic is to check the indicator light located on either the outside or interior of the case. Check for any missing components or color changes.
There were no issues with the unit we received. The opening port of the light indicator is smaller than the original AirPods.
7. Checking Lightning Port
Moving on to this tutorial by checking for lightning connectors on the charging case.
We found a tiny space between the charging case’s lightning connector and the counterfeit AirPods charging case, and this is not present on the actual case.
In addition, there are sharp edges on the fake are sharp, while they’re smooth on the authentic one. This, again, indicates poor-quality manufacturing. This is logical. They need to stay within their budget and that’s the reason they’re so cheap.
Closing Up
As you can see, even the most technologically savvy person will believe that this fake pair of AirPods are genuine. The AirPods’ makers did an excellent job of replicating these in terms of resemblance-they appear and feel exactly identical.
They’ve even copied Apple’s H1 chip. This lets the fake AirPods to seamlessly connect to other iOS as well as Mac devices. They were perfect fake AirPods 2 with an H1 chip.
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