I bought a pair AirPods Max which turned out to be fake.

Post date: 2024-03-29 01:00:06

And my iPhone got fooled and thinks they're real!

I bought them from someone via Milanuncios (a popular online second-hand market in Spain) and got them in the mail yesterday. Upon trying them for the first time, they paired up with my phone and showed up as "AirPods Max" but something was obviously off. The dead giveaway was the chintzy plastic button on the right ear cup, which pops in and out with a loud tinny click, more reminiscent of an old toy from the 80's than of Apple's engineering. Needless to say, sound quality is pretty low, but I must say this fake is relatively convincing. Anyone who's never used the real deal might quite possibly be fooled by this thing. It even appears to have some kind of rudimentary noise cancelling and ear detection capabilities. Anyway, the weirdest part is that my iPhone itself seems to have been fooled. Not only does it show these headphones as AirPods Max, it even sees and displays their serial number, which is also verifiable on https://checkcoverage.apple.com. They appear as being under limited warranty until 2024-06-05. This serial number even matches the one printed on the sticker on the outside of the box. (I could theoretically take these to an Apple Genius somewhere, but I would definitely get laughed out of the store.) How is it that these fakes are able to bypass Apple's guardrails? I'm contesting this purchase with the website, of course, and the fact that the serial number checks out might make it harder for me to prove my case. Any knowledge would be appreciated. Stay safe out there!

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