How to know exactly when Xiaomi phone was purchased: official and alternative methods

Why it is important to know the date of purchase of Xiaomi smartphone

The date of purchase of a Xiaomi phone is not just a formality; it depends on the warranty period, the possibility of free repairs, and sometimes the market value of the device on resale. For example, if you bought a Redmi Note 12 in January 2023, but the seller claims that the phone is fresh (2026), the difference in price can be as much as 30%.

Unfortunately, Xiaomi doesn’t always prescribe a sale date in the phone’s settings (unlike Apple or Samsung), but there are at least 5 working ways to determine it – from official (via Mi Account or Samsung). IMEI) In this article, we will analyze each method with step-by-step instructions, nuances and examples for different models - from budgetary ones. POCO M5 to the flagships Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

⚠️ Important: If you buy a phone with your hands, never rely on the seller's words. According to Avito, one in three smartphones in the secondary market are sold with a fake date of purchase!

Method 1: Check through the official website of Xiaomi by IMEI

The most reliable method is to use IMEI (Unique Phone Identifier), which Xiaomi attaches the activation date of the device to this number, and it can be found through support.

1. Find it. IMEI: 📱 Dial on the phone keyboard *#06# - a window with a 15-digit number will appear. 📦 Look at the sticker under the battery (if removable) or on the box. 🖥️ In settings: About the phone → All parameters. → Status SIM-map.

Go to the site:

mi.com/global/verify

Enter the IMEI

Submit

Examine the result:

Activation Date

⚠️ Note: If the phone was purchased in China or on AliExpress, the activation date may differ from the actual sale date (due to the time of transportation.

Check the correctness of the number (15 digits without spaces)

Make sure your phone is not blacklisted (stolen/lost)

Try another browser or device

Contact Xiaomi with a photo of the box and check-->

Example of the result for Xiaomi 13T Pro:

If there is no activation date on the site, it may mean that the phone is unofficial (grey) or purchased before 2018 (before the change in Xiaomi’s IMEI registration policy).

Method 2: Date of purchase in the personal account Mi Account

If the phone is linked to a Mi Account, the date of purchase can be found through the history of the devices, which only works for phones purchased from official Xiaomi stores (for example, Mi Store or authorized partners).

Instructions:

1. Sign in at account.xiaomi.com.
2. Go to the Devices section → History of devices.
3. Find your phone in the list and click on it.
4. The Details section will show the date of the first link to the account (usually the same as the date of purchase).
5. Take the first 4 S/N characters, which represent the year and week of production. For example: 9H15 → 2019, 15th week (April). K32 → 2020, 32nd week (August). M10 → 2021, 10th week (March).

If the phone was made in March 2023 and the seller claims to have bought it in December 2023, that's a cause for concern.

📊 Table of decoding of the first symbols S/N:

⚠️ Attention: Some models POCO and Redmi, for example, POCO X3 NFC or Redmi 9A) They may have non-standard markings. S/N. If the first characters do not match the table, use alternative methods.

Official Mi Store Store

Partner shops (Svyaznoy, M. Video)

AliExpress/gearbest

Hands on (Avito, Yula)

Another option-->

Method 4: Checking checks and electronic receipts

If you have saved a check, receipt or email with confirmation of purchase, the date can be found directly. But what if the documents are lost?

• 📧 Email: Check the Buy, Finance or Spam folders in your email. Search by: Xiaomi, Mi Store, AliExpress, SberMegaMarket.
• 💳 Bank history: Go to your bank's mobile app and find the transaction with the store name.Date of withdrawal is the date of purchase.
• 📱 Cloud Storage: Check Google Drive, Yandex.Disk or Mi Cloud – sometimes checks are saved automatically when scanning.
• 🛒 Loyalty Programs: If you bought online (such as M.Video or Eldorado), check your purchase history in their apps.

Example of search in the banking application:

1. Open the application (for example, Sberbank Online or Tinkoff).
2. Go to Operations History.
3. Search for Xiaomi or Mi Store.
4. Find a payment with the amount corresponding to the cost of the phone.

💡 Tip: If you bought on AliExpress, go to My Orders - the closing date of the transaction (order completed status) and there is a purchase date.

Method 5: Indirect signs (if nothing worked)

If the official methods did not work, you can try to determine the approximate date of purchase by indirect signs:

• 📦 Box and equipment: On the boxes Xiaomi before 2020 year, the date of production in the format YY/MM (for example, 19/05 — may 2019). If the package is charging with a port USB-C, The phone is not older. 2018 The Mi hologram sticker on the box only appeared in the 2021 year.
• 📱 Version. MIUI: If it's on the phone. MIUI 12 and no offers to upgrade, it's most likely bought before 2021. MIUI 14 was released at the end of 2022 – if the phone is bought with her “out of the box”, the date of purchase is not earlier than 2023.
• 🔋 Battery status: Go to Settings → Battery → Battery status: If the capacity has dropped to 85% in six months, the phone is definitely used. Use the AccuBattery app to analyze the charging cycles — the more of them, the older the device is.

⚠️ Note: These methods only give a rough estimate, for example, a phone could be bought in 2022, but flashed to an older version. MIUI — And then you get the wrong data. Always double-check the information in other ways.

💡

If none of these methods worked, the only reliable way to do so is to contact Xiaomi’s service center with a passport and phone, and they can check the activation date internally (for free or for free, depending on the model).

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When checking the purchase date, many users make common mistakes that lead to incorrect conclusions.

1. They confuse the date of production and the date of purchase, for example, the serial number shows that the phone was made in March 2023, and the seller says that he bought it in June 2023. This is normal - it can take 2-3 months between production and sale.
2. Use of unofficial verification services IMEI. Sites like imei.info or imei24.com They often show incorrect information for Xiaomi. mi.com/global/verify.
3. Phones purchased in China or India may have a different activation date due to logistics, for example, the Redmi Note 11, bought on AliExpress, could have been in stock for six months before shipping.
4. Ignoring account history MI. If the phone is tied to the previous owner's Mi Account, the date in the history of the devices will be his, not yours.Always untie other people's accounts after you buy!

🔧 How to avoid mistakes:

• 🔍 Always check the information with at least two methods (e.g, IMEI + Mi Account).
• 📅 Compare dates with logistics deadlines (for example, the phone could not be bought in Russia before it went on sale).
• 🛠️ If the data is conflicting, contact official Xiaomi support.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions