How To Spot A Fake Apple Watch (All Series) – Legit Check By Ch
Looking to learn whether you have a real or a fake Apple Watch? Tired of fakes and scams?
If that’s your situation, then no worries – you’ve come into the right place to learn how to spot fake Apple watches.
This fake vs real Apple watch guide will teach you everything you need to know in order to spot any fake Apple watches.
We’d like to mention that this real vs fake Apple watch guide applies in general to almost every release of the Apple watches, even though some features are more or less different from one model to another.
Along with every step of the guide on how to authenticate Apple watches, we are going to link reference real vs fake Apple watch comparisons.
These images with the real vs fake Apple watches will help you easily identify the flaws on the replica watch, as well as the details on the genuine watches, and how they are supposed to look like.
How to spot fake Apple Watches (All Series)
To put it shortly, the fastest way to spot fake Apple watches is to look at the serial code that’s written on the rear side of your watch and scan it on Apple’s Check Coverage website, where they can tell you easily whether you have a real or a fake Apple watch. If that is not enough, follow the guide to see the rest of the ways to authenticate Apple watches.
Step 1: Test your Apple watch on Apple’s Check Coverage website (serial number)
Just as we’ve previously mentioned, the serial number is absolutely the best way to spot fake Apple watches, and so, this is why we are starting the guide with the serial number.
This serial number that we’ve previously mentioned a lot can be found on the rear side of your watch – for recent models, or in its menu, and in order to check it, you’ll have to go to https://checkcoverage.apple.com.
As you go to that website, you’ll have to input your item’s code and complete a Captcha that proves you are a human.
Next up, you will see the result of your product’s serial number, and if your item is authentic, it’ll look just like in the image below.
Pretty much the only thing you’d have to care about when thinking of the authenticity of your watch on Apple’s website is the first green check: the Valid Purchase Date.
The Valid Purchase Date can give you at least 90% assurance that your Apple watch is authentic, and so, you’d have a lot of peace of mind just from this check.
What if my Apple watch’s serial code doesn’t match?
We are here to answer to that question as well. Yes, there can also be bad news when checking the serial number, and that is pretty much the red flag which commonly tells that an Apple watch is fake.
This image was used from the test of an Apple iPhone 11, but the fake results are always the same for every Apple product that’s scanned on the Check Coverage website.
As you can see in the image above, the replica item’s serial code was scanned on the website, and the website basically told us that they couldn’t find that specific serial code in their system, which leads us to the bottom line of a fake product.
Step 2: Verify the packaging box of your Apple Watch
As for the second way how to spot fake Apple watches, we are going to have a quick look at the real vs fake Apple watches for their packaging boxes.
In the three real vs fake Apple watch images above, we have highlighted the authentic box for random series of the Apple Watch, as well as a few angles of the fake Apple watch’s box.
Keep in mind that the genuine Apple watch boxes have to use high-quality materials, including the printing ones, as a genuine Apple box is hard to have its text peeled or faded, while for example, this is one of the most common flaws on the replica Apple boxes, including the fake Apple watch boxes. Furthermore, search online and have an idea of the original packaging that comes together with your specific Apple Watch.
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Step 3: Check the graphical user interface of your Apple Watch
For the third step of the guide on how to spot fake Apple watches, we are going to have a look at the real vs fake Apple watches for their GUI – the graphical user interface.
The graphical user interface is crafted by all of the icons of the apps, the menu, and actually the general software available on your Apple watch. Now, let’s quickly have a look at the comparison image between the real vs fake Apple watches for their GUI icons.
In most cases, the replica Apple watch manufacturers get the icons wrong, as they don’t always use the right shades, shapes, or even symbols for their icons on the display of the watches. This mainly has to do with the software installed on the watch, which for the replicas is more often than not the Android.
In the image with the real vs fake Apple watches above, you can see what the GUI of the genuine Apple watches is supposed to look like – all of the icons are listed right there.
Yet again, we’d like to mention that you have to pay attention to these icons because even though they might not look like a big deal, even these icons can easily tell you the authenticity of your device.
Other relevant real vs fake guides: AirPods Pro, Casio G-Shock.
Step 4: Inspect the serial number’s appearances on your apple watch
The fourth step is also about the serial number, but this time, we are going to talk about where else you can find the serial number, and more precise, where you should actually see it.
In the image above, we have highlighted the first two places where you can find your watch’s serial number, and that’s in the “About” section of the settings, on your Apple devices and on the watch itself.
Looking at both the Apple iPhone and the Apple watch, you can see how the serial number is mentioned and how it matches on both of the devices.
This image from above portrays the back of a fake Apple Watch 6 Series, where you can see how the serial code is not even there.
The genuine Apple watches must have their serial code listed on the rear side of the case, so keep in mind that this is something you’d have to look out for as well.
Just as we spoke about it, here it is – an authentic Apple Watch, with its serial code engraved on the left side.
As a side detail, this is the genuine serial code that we’ve used for the first step of the guide on how to spot fake Apple watches.
The steps we’ve written so far are the best ways to authenticate this item.
The next few steps are still reliable signs of authenticity but are for non-top-versions of replicas available for this item. We recommend sticking to the steps we’ve explained above to make sure you’re not drawing the wrong conclusions.
Flipping the real vs fake Apple watches to their profile sides, let’s have a look at their buttons.
Basically, we are talking about the only two physical buttons on the side of the real vs fake Apple watches, and so as to see what this is about, let’s have a look at the image below.
In the picture with the real vs fake Apple watches above, we have pointed out how the replica Apple Watch has a different design when it comes to its side button and crown.
What’s about the buttons is that we recommend you to check their functions and to see if they actually work and if so, if they do the job properly. This is besides their design
That’s because some of the replica Apple watches often break easily, and therefore, they cannot perform their job as genuine Apple watches – this is all due to the quality of the materials used to build the watches.
Step 6: Fake vs real Apple watch screen
The sixth step of the guide on how to see real vs fake apple watches brings us to the screens of the fake vs real Apple watches.
Regarding the screens, we are going to talk about how glossy and shiny the fake watches are, as well as what the genuine screens will always look like.
The image with the real vs fake Apple watches above shows you how the fake watch has its screen a bit too glossy and shiny, as it reflects way more light than it should. Its overall quality is quite low, to say the least.
Looking at the genuine Apple watch, you can see how its screen presents higher quality since it almost doesn’t reflect any light at all, and how it isn’t as glossy as the replica screen.
Step 7: Check if your Apple Watch allows you to change its bands
As for the seventh method on how to spot fake Apple watches, we are going to discuss a fairly simple spot to check, and that is the band of the watch.
Just as a point of reference, we’ve highlighted an authentic Apple watch in the image above where you could see its band, together with the two buttons that help you interchange it.
In some cases, the replica Apple watches don’t have the ability to change their band, while all the authentic Apple watches are supposed to allow you to change their band.
Step 8: Look at the back side of your Apple Watch
Proceeding to the eighth and the last step of the guide on how to spot fake Apple watches, we are now going to have a look at the real vs fake Apple watches for their back panel.
Just as always, let’s quickly brief the reference authentic vs replica Apple watch image, and after that, we’ll explain the situation with the two watches.
The flaw on the replica watch’s rear side is that it has a different layout from the authentic Apple watch’s layout. This also has to do with the different sensors equipped on the fake item.
While the authentic Apple watches evolve and get better with each new series, they still have the same layout and pattern that’s been followed in the previous series as well.
How can I spot a fake Apple Watch in 60 seconds?
We will finish this authentication guide by recapping the differences between counterfeit vs authentic Apple watches.
Therefore, please find below the differences between the authentic vs replica Apple watches in fewer words from the full guide above.
- Check the serial number of your Apple Watch on Apple’s website. The authentic items should be registered and their serial numbers should show specific results in Apple’s database
- Inspect the packaging of your watch, and make sure that nothing is missing or that the text is peeled
- Verify the GUI of your watch, since the replica watches always have. Android icons and not always the correct Apple interface
- Brief the serial number that’s linked to your watch. The authentic watches should have their serial number present on your Apple devices’ “About” section in the settings, as well as on the rear side of the case of the watches
- Examine the controls/buttons on your watch, since the authentic watches must have their buttons working properly and doing their job without any issues
- Look at the screen of your Apple watch, because the replica Apple watches are usually too glossy and too shiny
- Verify if your Apple watch has the ability to change its band, as some replica Apple watches don’t have this function available
- Check the back panel of your watch, because the fake Apple watches tend to have a different layout from the genuine watches on the rear side
Where can I get my Apple watch authenticated? The Apple authentication service
If you have read this guide and are still uncertain about whether your Apple watch is real or fake, the Legit Check App offers an authentication service to put your mind at ease.
Should you either not be confident in your ability to follow this guide or are simply lacking time, all you have to do is send us high-quality pictures of your Apple watch and we will get back to you with the results within 24 to 48 hours.
The results will also come with a report on why we believe your Apple watch is fake or authentic.
Need our opinion over your item’s authenticity? It’s a service we provide.
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Thank you for reading this,
Ch Daniel and Ch David
