With Apple AirPods proving to be quite costly for some buyers, there have been multiple "discounted" AirPods being sold on Amazon and eBay. The thing is, not all of these products are authentic. Fortunately, there are certain ways to spot fake AirPods.
According to the story by TechRadar, the popularity of the Apple AirPods have led to discounted deals for fake buds on Amazon and eBay. For those that have AirPods or are planning to purchase one, here are a few ways to tell if they are fake or not.
Checking the Apple AirPods Serial Number
According to the publication, the first way to know if the pods are real or not is by checking the serial number. The said number can be found under the lid of the charging case as well as the bottom of the right earbud.
The number can then be inputted on check.coverage.apple.com to find out if the Apple AirPods are authentic or not. The site also allows owners to review the status of their Apple warranty. However, no status will appear for fake buds.
Connecting the Buds to an iOS Device
Another way for owners to check if their buds are authentic or not is by trying to connect the AirPods to an iOS device. Although this seems like an obvious feature that should be included even with ripoffs, connecting to fake buds will not show an AirPods icon next to the Bluetooth settings.
Owners of authentic buds should be able to see their serial and model numbers once they connect to an iOS device. To do this, owners can connect their AidPods or AirPods Pro with an iPad, iPhone, or a Mac.
Design Indicators of Fake Buds
The last but also most complicated way of checking whether the AirPods are fake or not is by inspecting certain physical attributes. Aside from the serial number, there could be a few design differences that could show a fake AirPods.
This could be in the form of typos, the box not fitting perfectly, or the package not arriving to the buyer wrapped in plastic. This, however, is hard to tell due to fraudsters becoming more and more capable of producing close to reality replicas.
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Ways to Avoid Purchasing Fake AirPods
In order to avoid buying fake AirPods, the best thing to do is to purchase directly from an Apple Store or through the official Apple store on Amazon. There are also other legitimate third-party sellers that sell the AirPods, AirPods 2, AirPods 3, and AirPods Pro at competitive prices.
Another option to get original buds without having to spend too much is by purchasing second-hand buds. The condition of these pods, however, may vary and may sometimes not even be worth the discounted price.
As per TechRadar, it would be better for buyers to get alternatives to the AirPods instead of buying second-hand ones or risk cheaper (and potentially fake) Apple buds from third-party sellers.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
