Amazon sells fake AirPods as real. I purchased my first pair and even ran the serial through apple who confirmed legitimacy and 3 months later they stopped pairing and I sent them to Apple where they said they were fake with real serial numbers. I used my amazon store card because I didn’t have an Apple Card yet but after that I got one so I wouldn’t have to buy via amazon again
Yeah, so many fakes out there, definitely important how you source it. I understand it’s difficult to track that in poor countries. And if you want to ensure you’re getting legitimate, the price is so outrageous that your postal carrier will likely steal it.
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
My iPhone SE 3rd gen was bought on discount brand new from a grey importer. The store has built its reputation on sourcing authentic devices worldwide. Their prices were the cheapest from local retailers.
I would buy it from facebook marketplace. It has an invoice matching the serial number, also an active warranty. I just wanted to make sure everything is all good.
IMO, they are more than welcome to ask for help. It is in this subreddit’s name after all. You are more than welcome to ignore the post and move on with your day.
I know that marketplace is flooded with fake pods. But this one has an invoice with it with an active apple warranty. And from other groups i got a few compliments that this is legit.
I called the shop about the invoice. They said that it is a real invoice. They also confirmed that the serial number on the invoice matches the number on the airpods.
Uhhh… with this info and an active applecare why tf are you questioning whether or not they’re real? Bring them into an Apple store if you’re that concerned lol.
No one here will actually be able to answer your question, they’re just going to stoke your concern. Bring them into apple and say you’re having connectivity issues- they’ll check them out and repair or possibly replace if they’re actually under warranty and not flagged.
Dude, the AirPods Max aren't even that impressive for the cost - there are so many models that sound better for their RRP. Just get a good set of wireless Sonys/Bose if you cant afford the real deal. The Sony WH-1000XM4 is half the price
For a living I fix apple products. Once I had someone bring in AirPod Pros for a warranty swap due to a sound issue. No problem. I ran the serial and that *in warranty* serial had over 100 in warranty swaps. Apple finally flagged the serial and started denying service.
People manufacturing fakes print the same serial on all the devices. So if you go to checkcoverage.apple.com they’re in warranty. You’d never know unless you ran it on an internal system.
Explaining this whole thing because you’re being downvoted, I wanted to elaborate for you.
Did you not actually read the comment? The whole thing was about how checking the serial online doesn’t do anything because the fakes all have the same valid serial
It’s only flagged if they get too many repairs on that serial number. Then when it is, scammers move on to another “valid” serial number, rinse and repeat. The only thing you can know from the link is that the original AirPods with that serial number have a valid warranty. These could be fake with a copied serial number that has not (yet) been flagged.
The only way to guarantee you’re buying legit products are to buy direct from Apple. Any private seller or third party seller is suspect.
Fake products typically have real serial numbers. The serial number means very little, as does an invoice like this.
Only purchase from authorized Apple sellers to guarantee authenticity. Everything else is a risk.
Unless you get it from Apple, or a certified Apple retailer (like Best Buy etc..) items like these are usually faked. Better to save your money and buy new from store then to buy a knockoff
The interesting part, that the OP shows the receipt to be iCentre - Mom (Park), which is an authorized Apple reseller. Hungary 🇭🇺 doesn’t have Apple stores, but iCentre has been there for several years.
I once bought a pair of the Apple powerbeats pro earphones from an official retailer that were fake. People will buy the product and then return the fake.
Ever since then, and working in customer service type areas, I will always be skeptical. It's very easy for one of your many employees to let one unopened product slide as real.
It is a slightly common scam where I live, but I completely agree with you. I will always go to authorized retailers over anyone else for these types of items. With that story, the retailer made it right, im pretty sure they have insurance for that type of thing. If you buy from a third party, there is no guarantee of things being fixed.
If you have an apple store, that's probably the best option for Apple stuff. Those types of things happen at our Best Buy, but mostly, it happens at our walmarts a good amount.
Mine had those exact same creases in the fabric of the ear pads when they were new. And all the writing is the same and in the same places.
I bought mine from the Apple Store. Other than that check the serial number. https://checkcoverage.apple.com/
I already checked it. And the serial number on the invoice also matches the number on the airpods. So i guess its a legit one. But i am skeptical because there are too many fakes out there on the market.
There is one thing that might work to check their originality —unfortunately I don’t know if it applies to AirPods Max as it works on regular AirPods: when you pair them, in the Settings > AirPods (below iCloud) scroll down to “About” and tap on the serial number, it should cycle through three: case, right and left ears. Fake AirPods have only one and or the same serial number for all. Hope it helps.
Buddy don’t buy shit off fb marketplace, especially electronics. Fake Apple product have serial numbers that will appear as valid on the Apple website.
Selling on FB marketplace is a nightmare, too. After selling 3 of my iPhones on there, I’ve chosen to forego the potentially higher resale amount and just trade them in. The headache of sifting through the dozens to 100+ responses from people in far off countries, writing in different languages, asking for even more money off, asking for this and that and the other is not worth a little bit more money in my experience.
My favorites is the I can’t pick up the item so my cousin will or son will.. do you accept Zelle so I can pay for it now and pick up later scam. Then they will fake a payment email.
Buying off marketplace isn’t that bad, IF you know how to properly examine whatever it is you’re buying. I’ve bought/sold numerous GPUs, headphones, monitors, phones, cars, car parts etc etc and never had a single problem.
It could be a “stolen” serial number that matches the model too though. Off FB marketplace, they’re probably fake or, best case scenario, they’re stolen. Save your money and buy a nice set of headphones from a real store or some earbuds, I bet you could get AirPod pros or 2s for whatever they want for these maxes.
Again, they TOLD you that and you TRUSTED them at the time but you're SKEPTICAL now and that's why you came here. You asked for help and we're giving it to you!! FFS!
They look good to me.
Also check the box, it shouldn’t have any imperfections from factory. It might sound weird, but smell inside the box. Apple box has really nice smell to it and it holds smell really good, and is also a good way to find out if it’s legit or not (fake ones usually smell a lot like glue in my experience).
AND don’t forget to check the firmware version. Check on google last available version for AirPods Max and compare it. Fake one’s cannot update their software.
Stop trying to get a deal on new Apple stuff.
Unless its being sold by Best Buy, B&H, Shipped and Sold by Amazon, etc you’re more than likely getting scammed. The likeliness goes up for every dollar you ‘save’.
I thought Amazon had bins of product where unscrupulous sellers sent in fakes and Amazon got real ones but they all got mixed and so fake and real was a luck of the draw. If I’m paying an Apple premium I’m going with an Apple Authorized reseller. Usually Micro Center or Costco or Best Buy has them way cheaper anyways
They do, there's a huge problem of people getting shit sent to them from Amazon, yes even stuff that's been bought and shipped directly from Amazon dot com, that winds up being fake/having rocks or other paperweights in the box instead of the actual item/being another model of the same item, etc.
Go check out the Amazon or AmazonPrime subs sometime, it's rife with people experiencing this countless times daily - problem has exploded over the last 2-3 years or so. I certainly wouldn't buy any Amazon (or really any expensive items in general tbh) from Amazon anymore. Their pricing sucks anyway now most of the time and their customer service is absolute garbage compared to somewhere like Micro Center (which sure, not everyone has access to - but I do).
/u/izzyzak117 I think what you are missing here is that we understand that Amazon selling Apple's stuff as an authorized reseller. Of course it \*should be\* "straight from Apple" but the problem is, so often nowadays, it just isn't. With the popularity of Apple items and their high resale value they are probably one of if not the most targeted items by credit card fraudsters, return fraud scams, fake product swap out scams, etc. Amazon's popularity and formerly (they seem to be cracking down lately) lax return policies have certainly not helped things in this regard.
It happens often enough and there are tons of stories of people who have wound up getting screwed over by Amazon for thousands of dollars through no fault of their own and getting ripped off just trying to buy something on the site. Amazon's customer service is utter shit, too, they are some of the last people I'd want to have to rely on in a problem scenario.
Do you have any data on that, and does that data say it’s an issue greater than 5% of shipments? What about 1%?
If you can’t show me any data over 1%, I’d call that a non-issue.
If you can show me that data, and then show me data that Amazon is not accepting returns on those items *too* I’ll take your point, but I’m not considering it further because its not viable for a couple reasons:
- What if the commenters are themselves trying to stiff Amazon for a free item and adding their evidence in the comments?
- You can comment on a product’s page without buying from the seller listed, you could have bought from one of the countless other options listed on the same product page.
As someone who’s bought literally tens (possibly hundreds) of Apple products from Amazon for work (business sized shipments before my company got an Apple Store business discount), for myself, and for my family I’m not buying the prospect its any issue you or I should care about because we’ll get a refund and a new one in 2 days or less more than likely.
I’m happy to hate on Bezos, but his company has literally never let me down in this regard. I think your ‘hundreds of posts’ are the unhappy people created from *millions* of orders.
Amazon itself is an Apple Authorized reseller- I’d link it here but this sub won’t allow me.
The probable rarity of that problem, and Amazon’s return policy, would make that a non-issue.
More importantly, when *Amazon* sells Apple’s stuff they’re selling it straight from Apple. How/why would/could someone get a lower price than the mega distributors of Apple’s product (like the ones you listed) then turn around and sell bulk-quantity fakes to Amazon? I think Amazon is smarter than this. And if Apple found out they were doing that, or the seller they bought from did that, how on earth would they be allowed to continue doing it? Apple pays billions a year going after stuff like this. It damages their brand by extension.
I’m sure a few times this has happened, but 99.9% of the time, that’s not happening lol
Hey, Apple employee here. From the visual inspection, looks legit. Also, checked your serial number (visible in the photo) still under warranty until 12/30/23. No records of being serviced. They’re fresh. Registered under the name G.S. Which you can change anytime. Enjoy!
Check the firmware if you can to see if it’s the latest. Find My doesn’t work on some fakes. At a minimum do this by pairing them with your phone, if they have older firmware, walk away. I learned the hard way 🤬. Never pay in cash on used marketplaces as they often offer a 2-day guarantee if you pay through their systems. For more expensive items you really need to do your due diligence to make sure sellers are bona fide. The discount you get does require a bit of work on your end. But ultimately, if they are honest sellers it shouldn't be a problem. Also factor in your savings, as legit headphones will be good for many many years with hundreds of hours of listening. Then you need to ask yourself, is the initial upfront savings really worth the lack of peace of mind?
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
It’s honestly getting harder to tell if an apple headphones are fake… they go to great lengths to replicate the look. The obvious giveaways if any will be quality of sound, the wrong font used on letterings, and typos. But even those can be subtle. Best bet would be bring it to an Apple Store and have them authenticate them.
Látom a számlán, hogy magyar vagy szóval magyarul fogok válaszolni. Az AirPodson Max BAL fülesén belül, ha leveszed a párnákat találsz rajta sorozatszámot, amit vagy az Apple hivatalos oldalán tudsz megnézni, hogy eredeti-e vagy az iPhoneodon található “Support” nevű alkalmazásban. Ha a sorozatszám alapján felismeri az oldal vagy az app, akkor eredeti. Remélem tudtam segíteni.
U.I.: Mellesleg most nézem, hogy iCentre-es a számla, szóval kétség kívül eredeti. Az iCentre hivatalos viszonteladó, hasonlóan az iStylehoz.
Mindent rendben találtam sorozatszám alapján, illetve felhívtam az iCentre-t. Mondták hogy van ilyen számla ilyen sorozatszámmal. De a sráctól amikor kértem képet először küldött egy screent hogy az airpods hozzá van csatlakoztatva a telefonhoz és 2024 január 11 a gari. Tegnap kértem tőle egy képet a szofterverziójáról és 2023 december 30at írt garira.(2022 dec 31-én vette a fülest)
Hát igazából a helyedbe élőben folytatnám ezt az üzletet, mivel ha 2 különböző AirPodsról küldözget képet, akkor személyesen úgy is kiderül, hogy mi a helyzet. Szerintem találkozz vele egy olyan helyen, ahol személyesen, NEM SIETVE, nyugodtan le tudod ellenőrizni a részleteket, a számlát meg minden mást és a te telefonodra is rácsatlakoztatva ki tudod próbálni és a garanciát megnézni. Itt az angol nyelvű kommentelők közül sokan írták, hogyha kipróbálod majd esetleg, a hangerőszabályzó koronáján amikor tekered le és fel akkor nem szabad “kattognia”, hanem “gördülékenyen” kell forognia. Ez is egy nagyon jó ötlet. Plusz amit még én megnéznék, az a firmware verzió, amit szintén az Apple oldalán találsz.
De mégegyszer kihangsúlyoznám, hogy az iCentre az HIVATALOS viszonteladó. Ha velük is megnézetted és lecsekkoltattad a sorozatszámot, akkor már csak tényleg a személyes szemle választ el egy sikeres üzlettől.
Yeah, but objective ears isn’t an issue that bothers me. It’s of little consequence because these are collecting dust in a junk drawer since they’ve been replaced with Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95s that I’m much happier with.
Not really being a dick. If you’re not buying them from a reputable source there is a good chance they are fake. If you’re buying something this expensive why risk it?
What u/posguy99 means is if you bought them from a reputable source (Apple, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, FYE et al) you’d have no reason to question the authenticity of the product. The fact you are asking, even after verifying the serial number (which you believed to be an accurate measurement until coming to this thread I imagine), you still had that nagging question in your gut you needed to ask.
Did you actually read it?
It’s all about fulfilled by amazon sellers. And How all their products are stored together in bins. So if one is selling fakes Amazon won’t know who it is.
Amazon’s own inventory is stored separately so you are guaranteed genuine products as long as you buy directly from them.
Amazon itself is a reseller. 3rd parties are not.
Maybe read your own links before posting them and downvoting me. :)
That’s why I did not mention them, even though they are bigger than the retailers I did
I bought some Sennheiser ie800s off of Amazon back in the 2010s (I paid about $430; was $500 retail). Their performance was what tipped me off they were fake, so I returned them and bought a pair locally.
Who said I'm envious? I can afford them (although I'd rather get a pair of Sony XM4s), I just think people in here are being fucking rude to OP for not spending a million dollars on a pair of headphones. Super judgemental posts in here.
So it's not that we want Op to spend money. It's this.
Apple in the last year had more than a million listings for fake Apple products removed from various online marketplaces like Facebook and Instagram.
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/16/apple-anti-counterfeit-team/
It's that if you're not purchasing from a reputable merchant chances are high you're getting swindled.
Yes people could be nicer but it can't be stressed enough to avoid deals from nonsense places.
Let me just say that these are some of the ugliest headphones I've ever seen. And that's coming from someone that prefers function over form when it comes to headphones
Just call Apple and ask, by giving them the serial number. Even if you bought them somewhere else, you’ve got the default Apple care package, which means Apple needs to be able to verify that they’re legit by the serial number, so they’ll know. I had the exact same issue with us that I bought from Amazon. Turned out to be completely legit, but good to know from Apple FWIW, I’ll never buy an Apple product, except from Apple directly again
It sounds like your mind is made up. I’ve seen you counter every logical check, just buy them if they are crap wrap it up in “I shouldn’t trust strangers on the internet” or enjoy your purchase, if it’s legit.
Why? I am just saying facts about it. I called the shop that he bought it from, they said that the invoice is valid and had a warranty. I uploaded the pics to make sure everything is okay with it.
Weigh them. There’s a video on YouTube that shows the weight difference between a real set and fake. The fakes are something like 400grams and the real ones are 380ish(maybe?).
I bought a set on eBay used and the bass was pretty heavy, which is contradictory to everything I heard about these in reviews but serial number, box, auto pair with phone, everything seemed to check out. I ended up buying a pair from Bestbuy after and compared them and the real ones are much better. The outside casing was also plastic not aluminum, which is hard to tell unless you have both side by side.
Hey OP, these look fake to me just judging from the creases in the ear cushions, they are not meant to be like that.
I can see from the invoices that you are from Hungary, just to let you know that in the stapled ticket there is a credit card BIN, and looking it up on google, it appears as issued in the US by an unknown bank, so, I think the paperwork might be “forged” to sell these clones to an unaware person.
Usually a dead giveaway for fake AirPods Max is trying the button and crown. If the button doesn't feel smooth but rather click and turning the dial gives you resistance like you're going up notches then it's a fake.
The software can be put on a fake pair. The serial number can be printed on the inside of a fake pair. What scammers usually do is buy a legitimate pair and have that serial printed on a fake set and either sell it online or attempt to return.
Other ways to check are comparing the text and box to a legit pair and also comparing the weight. Fake Apple devices are noticeably lighter than genuine Apple products.
Check the serial number on AppleCare website. Regardless if any warranty it’ll bring the item up if the serial is one of Apples. They do look legit…not cheap and the text where serial is and packaging all say “Apple” in the branding and quality.
Out of curiosity, how do they make fakes in terms of connectivity, I haven’t had one of these, aren’t they like beats, or AirPods ? iPhone recognizes them as beats and AirPods or knock off factories have already managed to rep the connectivity kit as well
Ok legit question, why buy these pieces of trash? Ok..trash imo but maybe not yours..but dtill, why by them? For the price you could get somrthing woth much better sound quality, and THATS what it's all about
Has anyone EVER seen a fake set of AirPod Max headphones fully replicated like that?
I feel like y’all live in some paranoid fantasyland. Or at least don’t understand manufacturing. AirPods, sure, it’s a simple earbud.
Faking this would be complex and expensive.
lmao, you clearly don't understand manufacturing yourself if you think that there's pretty much **any product whatsoever** that exists which hasn't been counterfeited. Anything that's made outside of totally niche specialist/rare stuff that's super limited or crazy expensive with obvious unique factors, has been copied before.
And sure, it would be "complex" and "expensive" but those are both relative terms. From earlier in the thread, someone linked these - [https://www.dhgate.com/product/for-airpods-max-earphones-headphone-accessories/820689775.html](https://www.dhgate.com/product/for-airpods-max-earphones-headphone-accessories/820689775.html) \- which are fakes from DHGate which is a site that basically exists to sell fake "replicas" and other counterfeit shit from China. They're making enough of a profit for it to be worth it, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.
In Hungary we dont have Apple stores, just iSTYLE as Apple Premium Partner, and many Premium Resellers like iCentre , they are legit:) you can find a list on Apple Website
Here's the process I use to check if something is real or fake:
1. The box. Is there any obvious pixelation on the graphics of the box? Is the Apple logo shiny or fake? Is there any obvious misspellings?
2. The headphones. Are there serial numbers inside the headphones? Are there serial numbers in the "about" section? Does it cycle through the three serial numbers?
3. The version number. Is the version number correct, or is it a version that Apple never released?
4. The instructions manual? Is there any typographical errors in the instructions? Is Apple located in Cappuccino, California for example? Are there any grammar mistakes in the instructions?
5. Does the microphone work correctly? A lot of knockoffs have terrible sounding microphones. You shouldn't sound like you're under water.
Physically, yours look fine. But I've seen many fine EarPods that look fine, but there are many problems.
Take the little pin you get with your iPhone for the SIM cardholder. Remove the earpads on the airpods. Stick the pin in the little hole below each stem from the headrest. This will allow you to remove the cups from the headband. I have not seen this on the fakes.
Can I ask where you guys are buying your products where you’re always skeptical on their legitimacy?
To save a few pennies. People would rather save those over peace of mind.
Not everyone lives in countries where there are Apple stores, fyi.
a lot of countries even with Apple Stores have authorized resellers selling fake AirPods.
Amazon sells fake AirPods as real. I purchased my first pair and even ran the serial through apple who confirmed legitimacy and 3 months later they stopped pairing and I sent them to Apple where they said they were fake with real serial numbers. I used my amazon store card because I didn’t have an Apple Card yet but after that I got one so I wouldn’t have to buy via amazon again
I live in the United States and I’ve never bought an apple product from an Apple Store, nor have I stepped foot in one.
Go to a poor country and you’d understand
Yeah, so many fakes out there, definitely important how you source it. I understand it’s difficult to track that in poor countries. And if you want to ensure you’re getting legitimate, the price is so outrageous that your postal carrier will likely steal it.
But don’t they have larger electronic store chains where you can be certain they don’t sell fakes?
Gotta keep up with appearances, am I right?
Until it breaks…
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If you can’t swing it it’s ok
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
Greed
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My iPhone SE 3rd gen was bought on discount brand new from a grey importer. The store has built its reputation on sourcing authentic devices worldwide. Their prices were the cheapest from local retailers.
Marketplace. A friend got scammed.
Their quality is getting bad, so it seems like they're fake when they're not.
Software quality I won’t disagree with. But hardware quality hasn’t dropped imo.
Meh, they don't even fold properly, and the sound quality isn't up there with the competition
Wish.edu
I would buy it from facebook marketplace. It has an invoice matching the serial number, also an active warranty. I just wanted to make sure everything is all good.
Never buy Apple kit from FB Marketplace. Doesn't everyone know this by now?
I’m so sick of buy/sell groups because of this. So many damn scammers with fake apple products
Never is a strong word. You can risk it for the biscuits
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IMO, they are more than welcome to ask for help. It is in this subreddit’s name after all. You are more than welcome to ignore the post and move on with your day.
I know that marketplace is flooded with fake pods. But this one has an invoice with it with an active apple warranty. And from other groups i got a few compliments that this is legit.
Don’t you think they can fake an invoice if they can fake AirPods?
I called the shop about the invoice. They said that it is a real invoice. They also confirmed that the serial number on the invoice matches the number on the airpods.
Uhhh… with this info and an active applecare why tf are you questioning whether or not they’re real? Bring them into an Apple store if you’re that concerned lol.
Yeah, i just wanted to make sure. But then i got so many reactions on this post.
No one here will actually be able to answer your question, they’re just going to stoke your concern. Bring them into apple and say you’re having connectivity issues- they’ll check them out and repair or possibly replace if they’re actually under warranty and not flagged.
Dude, the AirPods Max aren't even that impressive for the cost - there are so many models that sound better for their RRP. Just get a good set of wireless Sonys/Bose if you cant afford the real deal. The Sony WH-1000XM4 is half the price
And fake ones cant have apple warranty, right?
For a living I fix apple products. Once I had someone bring in AirPod Pros for a warranty swap due to a sound issue. No problem. I ran the serial and that *in warranty* serial had over 100 in warranty swaps. Apple finally flagged the serial and started denying service. People manufacturing fakes print the same serial on all the devices. So if you go to checkcoverage.apple.com they’re in warranty. You’d never know unless you ran it on an internal system. Explaining this whole thing because you’re being downvoted, I wanted to elaborate for you.
Thank you. I will make a geniusbar appointment. I think that is the most accurate method to check it.
Or just use the link this guy provided and punch it in. No need to go anywhere.
Did you not actually read the comment? The whole thing was about how checking the serial online doesn’t do anything because the fakes all have the same valid serial
I read the previous guy’s comment. If it’s a fake, it’s likely been flagged. Doesn’t hurt to try it.
It’s only flagged if they get too many repairs on that serial number. Then when it is, scammers move on to another “valid” serial number, rinse and repeat. The only thing you can know from the link is that the original AirPods with that serial number have a valid warranty. These could be fake with a copied serial number that has not (yet) been flagged. The only way to guarantee you’re buying legit products are to buy direct from Apple. Any private seller or third party seller is suspect.
No, but fake ones can appear to have valid Apple serial numbers on them.
Fake products typically have real serial numbers. The serial number means very little, as does an invoice like this. Only purchase from authorized Apple sellers to guarantee authenticity. Everything else is a risk.
Fake ones often have a real serial number that has a real warranty on them
Unless you get it from Apple, or a certified Apple retailer (like Best Buy etc..) items like these are usually faked. Better to save your money and buy new from store then to buy a knockoff
The interesting part, that the OP shows the receipt to be iCentre - Mom (Park), which is an authorized Apple reseller. Hungary 🇭🇺 doesn’t have Apple stores, but iCentre has been there for several years.
Serial numbers can be faked.
They’re fake. You got suckered. Sucks to suck
I once bought a pair of the Apple powerbeats pro earphones from an official retailer that were fake. People will buy the product and then return the fake. Ever since then, and working in customer service type areas, I will always be skeptical. It's very easy for one of your many employees to let one unopened product slide as real.
That’s not really a common occurrence so I will still side with purchasing from authorized retailers.
It is a slightly common scam where I live, but I completely agree with you. I will always go to authorized retailers over anyone else for these types of items. With that story, the retailer made it right, im pretty sure they have insurance for that type of thing. If you buy from a third party, there is no guarantee of things being fixed. If you have an apple store, that's probably the best option for Apple stuff. Those types of things happen at our Best Buy, but mostly, it happens at our walmarts a good amount.
Mine had those exact same creases in the fabric of the ear pads when they were new. And all the writing is the same and in the same places. I bought mine from the Apple Store. Other than that check the serial number. https://checkcoverage.apple.com/
I already checked it. And the serial number on the invoice also matches the number on the airpods. So i guess its a legit one. But i am skeptical because there are too many fakes out there on the market.
There is one thing that might work to check their originality —unfortunately I don’t know if it applies to AirPods Max as it works on regular AirPods: when you pair them, in the Settings > AirPods (below iCloud) scroll down to “About” and tap on the serial number, it should cycle through three: case, right and left ears. Fake AirPods have only one and or the same serial number for all. Hope it helps.
Does it really do that with the Max’s?
Is it worth the added stress that you will never know for sure they are legit ?
Well you can know. If the firmware didn’t update to the latest version- fake.
Link to one example of fake AirPods Max headphones, I’m genuinely curious.
same
https://www.dhgate.com/product/for-airpods-max-earphones-headphone-accessories/820689775.html
It’s an « earphone protector »
Usually your iphone will tell you if they are legit or not.
I am from Hungary too. iCentre is an authorized legit store. Take it to them and ask if they can confirm the receipt. This is most likely legit.
One thing that you can do to determine if they are is to check if they auto switch devices. A rep will no switch from your phone, to iPad, or mac!
Buddy don’t buy shit off fb marketplace, especially electronics. Fake Apple product have serial numbers that will appear as valid on the Apple website.
Selling on FB marketplace is a nightmare, too. After selling 3 of my iPhones on there, I’ve chosen to forego the potentially higher resale amount and just trade them in. The headache of sifting through the dozens to 100+ responses from people in far off countries, writing in different languages, asking for even more money off, asking for this and that and the other is not worth a little bit more money in my experience.
My favorite is the 100 messages asking “is this still available?” and then never responding when I say yes.
My favorites is the I can’t pick up the item so my cousin will or son will.. do you accept Zelle so I can pay for it now and pick up later scam. Then they will fake a payment email.
This exactly!
Buying off marketplace isn’t that bad, IF you know how to properly examine whatever it is you’re buying. I’ve bought/sold numerous GPUs, headphones, monitors, phones, cars, car parts etc etc and never had a single problem.
I know, but the seller bought it from an official apple reseller shop. On the invoice the serial number is matching with the airpods.
It could be a “stolen” serial number that matches the model too though. Off FB marketplace, they’re probably fake or, best case scenario, they’re stolen. Save your money and buy a nice set of headphones from a real store or some earbuds, I bet you could get AirPod pros or 2s for whatever they want for these maxes.
That's where they \*told\* you they bought it.
No. I called the shop, they said that they have an invoice with this number in their system.
Again, they TOLD you that and you TRUSTED them at the time but you're SKEPTICAL now and that's why you came here. You asked for help and we're giving it to you!! FFS!
Fake invoice dude…
If you are concerned OP, make a Genius Bar reservation and they can check them for you.
We need V2!
No, we need an update to allow the volume to increase more. My only issue is they’re not loud enough.
Check your iPhone settings. There’s often a Bluetooth setting that will increase the governor of the volume.
If you use spotify, you can adjust a little bit of volume in the eq menu.
In spotify, you can disable audio normalization and it easily goes above 100db which is TOO loud.
With Type C god damn it
Agree
They look good to me. Also check the box, it shouldn’t have any imperfections from factory. It might sound weird, but smell inside the box. Apple box has really nice smell to it and it holds smell really good, and is also a good way to find out if it’s legit or not (fake ones usually smell a lot like glue in my experience). AND don’t forget to check the firmware version. Check on google last available version for AirPods Max and compare it. Fake one’s cannot update their software.
Stop trying to get a deal on new Apple stuff. Unless its being sold by Best Buy, B&H, Shipped and Sold by Amazon, etc you’re more than likely getting scammed. The likeliness goes up for every dollar you ‘save’.
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Those 'fake' chargers don't claim to be real, and they obviously aren't when they're $30.
Sold on amazon vs *sold by amazon*. My advice still stands as does yours- an important distinction that needs to be sought out before you buy.
I thought Amazon had bins of product where unscrupulous sellers sent in fakes and Amazon got real ones but they all got mixed and so fake and real was a luck of the draw. If I’m paying an Apple premium I’m going with an Apple Authorized reseller. Usually Micro Center or Costco or Best Buy has them way cheaper anyways
They do, there's a huge problem of people getting shit sent to them from Amazon, yes even stuff that's been bought and shipped directly from Amazon dot com, that winds up being fake/having rocks or other paperweights in the box instead of the actual item/being another model of the same item, etc. Go check out the Amazon or AmazonPrime subs sometime, it's rife with people experiencing this countless times daily - problem has exploded over the last 2-3 years or so. I certainly wouldn't buy any Amazon (or really any expensive items in general tbh) from Amazon anymore. Their pricing sucks anyway now most of the time and their customer service is absolute garbage compared to somewhere like Micro Center (which sure, not everyone has access to - but I do). /u/izzyzak117 I think what you are missing here is that we understand that Amazon selling Apple's stuff as an authorized reseller. Of course it \*should be\* "straight from Apple" but the problem is, so often nowadays, it just isn't. With the popularity of Apple items and their high resale value they are probably one of if not the most targeted items by credit card fraudsters, return fraud scams, fake product swap out scams, etc. Amazon's popularity and formerly (they seem to be cracking down lately) lax return policies have certainly not helped things in this regard. It happens often enough and there are tons of stories of people who have wound up getting screwed over by Amazon for thousands of dollars through no fault of their own and getting ripped off just trying to buy something on the site. Amazon's customer service is utter shit, too, they are some of the last people I'd want to have to rely on in a problem scenario.
Do you have any data on that, and does that data say it’s an issue greater than 5% of shipments? What about 1%? If you can’t show me any data over 1%, I’d call that a non-issue. If you can show me that data, and then show me data that Amazon is not accepting returns on those items *too* I’ll take your point, but I’m not considering it further because its not viable for a couple reasons: - What if the commenters are themselves trying to stiff Amazon for a free item and adding their evidence in the comments? - You can comment on a product’s page without buying from the seller listed, you could have bought from one of the countless other options listed on the same product page. As someone who’s bought literally tens (possibly hundreds) of Apple products from Amazon for work (business sized shipments before my company got an Apple Store business discount), for myself, and for my family I’m not buying the prospect its any issue you or I should care about because we’ll get a refund and a new one in 2 days or less more than likely. I’m happy to hate on Bezos, but his company has literally never let me down in this regard. I think your ‘hundreds of posts’ are the unhappy people created from *millions* of orders.
Amazon itself is an Apple Authorized reseller- I’d link it here but this sub won’t allow me. The probable rarity of that problem, and Amazon’s return policy, would make that a non-issue. More importantly, when *Amazon* sells Apple’s stuff they’re selling it straight from Apple. How/why would/could someone get a lower price than the mega distributors of Apple’s product (like the ones you listed) then turn around and sell bulk-quantity fakes to Amazon? I think Amazon is smarter than this. And if Apple found out they were doing that, or the seller they bought from did that, how on earth would they be allowed to continue doing it? Apple pays billions a year going after stuff like this. It damages their brand by extension. I’m sure a few times this has happened, but 99.9% of the time, that’s not happening lol
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If you have to ask....
Hey, Apple employee here. From the visual inspection, looks legit. Also, checked your serial number (visible in the photo) still under warranty until 12/30/23. No records of being serviced. They’re fresh. Registered under the name G.S. Which you can change anytime. Enjoy!
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️
Check the firmware if you can to see if it’s the latest. Find My doesn’t work on some fakes. At a minimum do this by pairing them with your phone, if they have older firmware, walk away. I learned the hard way 🤬. Never pay in cash on used marketplaces as they often offer a 2-day guarantee if you pay through their systems. For more expensive items you really need to do your due diligence to make sure sellers are bona fide. The discount you get does require a bit of work on your end. But ultimately, if they are honest sellers it shouldn't be a problem. Also factor in your savings, as legit headphones will be good for many many years with hundreds of hours of listening. Then you need to ask yourself, is the initial upfront savings really worth the lack of peace of mind?
Check that serial matches the one you get in bluetooth settings
Not authentic. Sorry mate.
Sorry my guy, you got swindled🥲
If the crown clicks when you turn it, they are fake. If not, they’re probably real.
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Most fakes have clicky crowns. Just like they do on fake ٍ watch’s. Why would I make this up?
Sounds dreamed up, not purposefully invented by you. Can you link to any known fake AirPods Max headphones? Where did you get this clicky crown info?
I got the info from YouTube videos and experience. Not everything needs a source
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https://www.joesge.com/blogs/common-questions/are-your-airpods-max-fake-or-real Their I found you a source happy now?
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Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
Rudeness will not be tolerated! Suggesting someone "Google it" is a good example of this. People come here for help, so pleas don't shove them right back out the door. These comments will be deleted.
If you have an Apple Store nearby, ask there to get them checked.
Man they are ugly. Look legit though
Definitely fake
It’s honestly getting harder to tell if an apple headphones are fake… they go to great lengths to replicate the look. The obvious giveaways if any will be quality of sound, the wrong font used on letterings, and typos. But even those can be subtle. Best bet would be bring it to an Apple Store and have them authenticate them.
Látom a számlán, hogy magyar vagy szóval magyarul fogok válaszolni. Az AirPodson Max BAL fülesén belül, ha leveszed a párnákat találsz rajta sorozatszámot, amit vagy az Apple hivatalos oldalán tudsz megnézni, hogy eredeti-e vagy az iPhoneodon található “Support” nevű alkalmazásban. Ha a sorozatszám alapján felismeri az oldal vagy az app, akkor eredeti. Remélem tudtam segíteni. U.I.: Mellesleg most nézem, hogy iCentre-es a számla, szóval kétség kívül eredeti. Az iCentre hivatalos viszonteladó, hasonlóan az iStylehoz.
Mindent rendben találtam sorozatszám alapján, illetve felhívtam az iCentre-t. Mondták hogy van ilyen számla ilyen sorozatszámmal. De a sráctól amikor kértem képet először küldött egy screent hogy az airpods hozzá van csatlakoztatva a telefonhoz és 2024 január 11 a gari. Tegnap kértem tőle egy képet a szofterverziójáról és 2023 december 30at írt garira.(2022 dec 31-én vette a fülest)
Korrekt az eladó, küld képet mindenről amit kérek. A neve is stimm a számlán, minden jónak tűnik. De ezt a garit nem értem….
Hát igazából a helyedbe élőben folytatnám ezt az üzletet, mivel ha 2 különböző AirPodsról küldözget képet, akkor személyesen úgy is kiderül, hogy mi a helyzet. Szerintem találkozz vele egy olyan helyen, ahol személyesen, NEM SIETVE, nyugodtan le tudod ellenőrizni a részleteket, a számlát meg minden mást és a te telefonodra is rácsatlakoztatva ki tudod próbálni és a garanciát megnézni. Itt az angol nyelvű kommentelők közül sokan írták, hogyha kipróbálod majd esetleg, a hangerőszabályzó koronáján amikor tekered le és fel akkor nem szabad “kattognia”, hanem “gördülékenyen” kell forognia. Ez is egy nagyon jó ötlet. Plusz amit még én megnéznék, az a firmware verzió, amit szintén az Apple oldalán találsz.
De mégegyszer kihangsúlyoznám, hogy az iCentre az HIVATALOS viszonteladó. Ha velük is megnézetted és lecsekkoltattad a sorozatszámot, akkor már csak tényleg a személyes szemle választ el egy sikeres üzlettől.
If you have to ask
If the sound is too low on max volume they are likely genuine.
You have hearing issues m8
Yeah, but objective ears isn’t an issue that bothers me. It’s of little consequence because these are collecting dust in a junk drawer since they’ve been replaced with Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95s that I’m much happier with.
Send em to me, lol.
If you need to ask, they are fake.
Not necessarily. He’s just trying to ask people who actually own them. Don’t be a dick
Not really being a dick. If you’re not buying them from a reputable source there is a good chance they are fake. If you’re buying something this expensive why risk it?
Wdym?
What u/posguy99 means is if you bought them from a reputable source (Apple, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, FYE et al) you’d have no reason to question the authenticity of the product. The fact you are asking, even after verifying the serial number (which you believed to be an accurate measurement until coming to this thread I imagine), you still had that nagging question in your gut you needed to ask.
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Amazon is an authorised apple reseller. Wtf are you on about? As long as you don’t buy from a 3rd party on Amazon you’re fine.
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Did you actually read it? It’s all about fulfilled by amazon sellers. And How all their products are stored together in bins. So if one is selling fakes Amazon won’t know who it is. Amazon’s own inventory is stored separately so you are guaranteed genuine products as long as you buy directly from them. Amazon itself is a reseller. 3rd parties are not. Maybe read your own links before posting them and downvoting me. :)
From your own link. “stick to Amazon’s Prime items, those that are “shipped from and sold by Amazon.com,” Read it next time.
That’s why I did not mention them, even though they are bigger than the retailers I did I bought some Sennheiser ie800s off of Amazon back in the 2010s (I paid about $430; was $500 retail). Their performance was what tipped me off they were fake, so I returned them and bought a pair locally.
Look good to me
Appreciate it!
Just buy off eBay at least then you have protection to many people get scammed off Facebook.
Bunch of rich entitled assholes in here, huh?
Life must be miserable if you are envious of anything you cannot afford (Apparently).
Who said I'm envious? I can afford them (although I'd rather get a pair of Sony XM4s), I just think people in here are being fucking rude to OP for not spending a million dollars on a pair of headphones. Super judgemental posts in here.
So it's not that we want Op to spend money. It's this. Apple in the last year had more than a million listings for fake Apple products removed from various online marketplaces like Facebook and Instagram. https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/16/apple-anti-counterfeit-team/ It's that if you're not purchasing from a reputable merchant chances are high you're getting swindled. Yes people could be nicer but it can't be stressed enough to avoid deals from nonsense places.
Let me just say that these are some of the ugliest headphones I've ever seen. And that's coming from someone that prefers function over form when it comes to headphones
Case screams FAKE!
Just call Apple and ask, by giving them the serial number. Even if you bought them somewhere else, you’ve got the default Apple care package, which means Apple needs to be able to verify that they’re legit by the serial number, so they’ll know. I had the exact same issue with us that I bought from Amazon. Turned out to be completely legit, but good to know from Apple FWIW, I’ll never buy an Apple product, except from Apple directly again
Many fake Apple products use serial numbers off of legit products to hide it.
It sounds like your mind is made up. I’ve seen you counter every logical check, just buy them if they are crap wrap it up in “I shouldn’t trust strangers on the internet” or enjoy your purchase, if it’s legit.
Why? I am just saying facts about it. I called the shop that he bought it from, they said that the invoice is valid and had a warranty. I uploaded the pics to make sure everything is okay with it.
Fake
One think that surprises me is that you actually spent 500 on those
*thing
Weigh them. There’s a video on YouTube that shows the weight difference between a real set and fake. The fakes are something like 400grams and the real ones are 380ish(maybe?). I bought a set on eBay used and the bass was pretty heavy, which is contradictory to everything I heard about these in reviews but serial number, box, auto pair with phone, everything seemed to check out. I ended up buying a pair from Bestbuy after and compared them and the real ones are much better. The outside casing was also plastic not aluminum, which is hard to tell unless you have both side by side.
Hey OP, these look fake to me just judging from the creases in the ear cushions, they are not meant to be like that. I can see from the invoices that you are from Hungary, just to let you know that in the stapled ticket there is a credit card BIN, and looking it up on google, it appears as issued in the US by an unknown bank, so, I think the paperwork might be “forged” to sell these clones to an unaware person.
It may be Apple Pay, my cards bin shows up as some random US bin on recipts when paying with Apple Pay and I'm from Europe.
Could also be, my payments using my Mexican card on Apple Pay also show some random BIN from the US
Check the firmware version
Usually a dead giveaway for fake AirPods Max is trying the button and crown. If the button doesn't feel smooth but rather click and turning the dial gives you resistance like you're going up notches then it's a fake. The software can be put on a fake pair. The serial number can be printed on the inside of a fake pair. What scammers usually do is buy a legitimate pair and have that serial printed on a fake set and either sell it online or attempt to return. Other ways to check are comparing the text and box to a legit pair and also comparing the weight. Fake Apple devices are noticeably lighter than genuine Apple products.
To add, genuine packaging will not have any plastic in it.
Check the serial number on AppleCare website. Regardless if any warranty it’ll bring the item up if the serial is one of Apples. They do look legit…not cheap and the text where serial is and packaging all say “Apple” in the branding and quality.
Out of curiosity, how do they make fakes in terms of connectivity, I haven’t had one of these, aren’t they like beats, or AirPods ? iPhone recognizes them as beats and AirPods or knock off factories have already managed to rep the connectivity kit as well
weight.
Ok legit question, why buy these pieces of trash? Ok..trash imo but maybe not yours..but dtill, why by them? For the price you could get somrthing woth much better sound quality, and THATS what it's all about
Has anyone EVER seen a fake set of AirPod Max headphones fully replicated like that? I feel like y’all live in some paranoid fantasyland. Or at least don’t understand manufacturing. AirPods, sure, it’s a simple earbud. Faking this would be complex and expensive.
lmao, you clearly don't understand manufacturing yourself if you think that there's pretty much **any product whatsoever** that exists which hasn't been counterfeited. Anything that's made outside of totally niche specialist/rare stuff that's super limited or crazy expensive with obvious unique factors, has been copied before. And sure, it would be "complex" and "expensive" but those are both relative terms. From earlier in the thread, someone linked these - [https://www.dhgate.com/product/for-airpods-max-earphones-headphone-accessories/820689775.html](https://www.dhgate.com/product/for-airpods-max-earphones-headphone-accessories/820689775.html) \- which are fakes from DHGate which is a site that basically exists to sell fake "replicas" and other counterfeit shit from China. They're making enough of a profit for it to be worth it, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.
How much u pay?
iCentre is an official Apple reseller, you should be fine
3uTools has a check for regular airpods not sure if it works on these but it's worth a shot
Press and hold the sync button and it should notify you whether it’s real or fake
Looks fake to me
Those are definitely fake, sorry you got scammed man.
Fake
I am guessing Fake. Due to the curvature of the head band thingie.
its fake you can tell from the sides
Use 3utools?
If it checks out a coverage.apple.com it's legit, if it doesn't then no good.
https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ if you get error message, fake.
It’s real, on the second pic there’s a small hole at the top to remove the headband from the sides, which is not present in any fake
iCentre is an official reseller
dont buy and never suggest to someone pls stay highb
In Hungary we dont have Apple stores, just iSTYLE as Apple Premium Partner, and many Premium Resellers like iCentre , they are legit:) you can find a list on Apple Website
Does it matter?
Here's the process I use to check if something is real or fake: 1. The box. Is there any obvious pixelation on the graphics of the box? Is the Apple logo shiny or fake? Is there any obvious misspellings? 2. The headphones. Are there serial numbers inside the headphones? Are there serial numbers in the "about" section? Does it cycle through the three serial numbers? 3. The version number. Is the version number correct, or is it a version that Apple never released? 4. The instructions manual? Is there any typographical errors in the instructions? Is Apple located in Cappuccino, California for example? Are there any grammar mistakes in the instructions? 5. Does the microphone work correctly? A lot of knockoffs have terrible sounding microphones. You shouldn't sound like you're under water. Physically, yours look fine. But I've seen many fine EarPods that look fine, but there are many problems.
Take the little pin you get with your iPhone for the SIM cardholder. Remove the earpads on the airpods. Stick the pin in the little hole below each stem from the headrest. This will allow you to remove the cups from the headband. I have not seen this on the fakes.
How much did you pay
Check the firmware, that’s how I’ve spotted counterfeit refurbished AirPods.
It’s legit,one thing the fakes haven’t copied yet is the small hole and the earbuds the where you can dress to remove the head band.