How to quickly and easily tell if an iPhone is genuine before opening the box.

There’s an easy way to check an iPhone 15 or later box to see if what you’re buying is genuine or a fake. All you need is a cheap UV light pen to see the hidden markers.

Starting with the iPhone 15, Apple made these hidden markers to help thwart off fake iPhones that are all over the markets. There is a QR code, and an “ iPhone” symbol that is only visible with UV light. With the iPhone 15, the QR code and “ iPhone” markers are one on top of another, so when you peel off the tabs, the “ iPhone” gets discarded leaving only the QR code. Take a look at a new iPhone 15 Plus box vs. an opened 15 Pro Max box for comparison:

Figure 1. To the naked eye, nothing is visible. Figure 2. Shine a UV light, and you see the “ iPhone” logo and QR code. Figure 3. Pull the green tab to open the box, and the “ iPhone” logo gets discarded.

On the iPhone 16, both the QR code and “ iPhone” markers are on the same line, so nothing gets discarded after opening the package. Here is a new 16 Plus vs. an opened 16 Pro Max:

Now when you open the device (Figure 3), both the logo and QR code are on the bottom.

There is another QR code at the bottom of the box that you can check in case there are some stickers covering the top areas. It is in the same place on all iPhones.

Whether you have an iPhone 15 or 16, the QR code on the bottom is in the same spot.

This applies to all iPhone 15 or later models, and I’m assuming the iPhone 16e too. These are for iPhones worldwide and not just the USA because I have the following iPhones from the following countries that all have these markings:

1. 15 Pro Max purchased in Saudi Arabia.

2. 16 Pro Max purchased in Toronto.

3. 15 Plus and 16 Plus purchased in USA. (Wife has to decide which one she likes based on color 🧐).

I posted this information on X a few days ago, and it seems that even the scammers have caught up and put these same hidden markings on their boxes. From what I have seen online though, that is not the case and most fake iPhones don’t have these markings because, who really carries a UV light pen with them?

By the way a UV light pen is only a few bucks on Amazon, or you can just ask your daughter or niece if you could borrow her invisible ink spy pen because odds are they have one (my daughter did!).

That being said, this is the quickest and easiest way to determine if an iPhone you’re buying is fake. Nothing is guaranteed until you open the box and boot up the device, but one thing to know for sure is, if you don’t see these markings on an iPhone 15 or 16 box, it is a fake.