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Serial Numbers, sometimes referred to as Serials, are no longer unfamiliar to us as they increasingly appear on goods and products in our daily lives. However, many still may not understand its purpose. To answer the question of what a Serial Number is and what it's used for, please refer to the explanation below.
What is a Serial Number?
A Serial Number (often abbreviated as Serial No., SN, or S/N) is a unique number or character string used to identify a product. While any product can have a Serial Number, they are particularly common with electronic devices, such as computers or mobile devices.
No standardized format exists for Serial Numbers. Instead, manufacturers choose a style or convention. Some Serial Numbers consist solely of digits, while others include both letters and numbers. Typically, Serial Numbers exclude the letter 'O' to avoid confusion with the number '0'.
What is the Purpose of Serial Numbers?
Due to their uniqueness, Serial Numbers are used to identify a specific device, much like a fingerprint identifies a specific individual. Therefore, when you purchase a product, the Serial Number links that product to your name or account, proving very useful for warranty purposes and for technical support requests during product usage.
Serial Numbers also assist manufacturers in tracking their products. For example, if a company produces the same type of product at multiple facilities, each facility may use a different range of Serial Numbers. A manufacturer may also use different ranges of Serial Numbers for different time periods. This helps the company maintain quality control over products across multiple locations and at various times. In the event of a product recall, the manufacturer can provide the range of Serial Numbers for the affected devices.
Another utility provided by Serial Numbers is counterfeit and theft prevention. For instance, banknotes and certain documents always feature Serial Numbers to deter counterfeiting and to track stolen money/documents.
Serial Numbers in Computing and IT
On your computer, you may have encountered Serial Numbers many times before. Nearly every component of a computer has a Serial Number, including the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and sometimes the entire computer system. Internal components such as hard drives, optical drives, and motherboards also possess Serial Numbers.
Hardware manufacturers utilize Serial Numbers to track individual components, often for quality control purposes.
Not only hardware, but nowadays with the evolution of computing, even software comes with Serial Numbers. The distinction lies in the fact that with hardware, Serial Numbers are designated to devices, whereas software Serial Numbers are applied to the users of that software. In other words, a Serial Number for a software program will be linked to the purchaser, not a separate copy of the program.
Serial Numbers for software are often utilized to help ensure that software installation occurs only once and solely on the purchaser's computer. Once the Serial Number is utilized and registered with the manufacturer, any future usage with the same Serial Number (from the same software) may become unfeasible as no two Serial Numbers are alike.
How to Locate a Computer's Serial Number?
Serial Numbers are commonly situated on the underside of laptop devices, or on the back or inside the case shell of desktop computers. This number may be printed on a label or engraved onto the hardware itself. It's vital to identify phrases such as 'Serial Number,' 'Serial No.,' or 'SN' as there may be other character strings listed, such as Product ID, Network ID, or UPC.
Many devices permanently store Serial Numbers in the device's ROM. This allows you to view it using software. For example, you can look up a computer's Serial Number by checking BIOS or UEFI information, or for smartphones, you can go to Settings > About.
For most computers running Windows, to find the Serial Number, you can use a command in Command Prompt as follows:
Step 1: Press Windows + R keys, type 'cmd' then press Enter.
Step 2: Enter the command 'wmic bios get serialnumber' then press Enter. The Serial Number will be displayed on the line below.
Through this article, I've introduced you to what a Serial Number is, its utility, and how to find a Serial Number on a computer. Hopefully, the information shared above will be helpful to you all!
