Finding your appliance’s serial number or model number

Have you ever wondered what an appliance’s serial number and model number are for? Probably not, until someone asked you for these numbers and you had to go looking for them.

Essentially, these numbers help the manufacturer or repairer identify your appliance and the parts it contains. You might need these numbers to hand if:

• You’re booking a repair
• You want to register your appliance
• The manufacturer recalls the appliance because of safety concerns
• The appliance is lost or stolen and you want to track it down
• You want to check whether the appliance is still under guarantee

As for how to find these numbers, it varies from one appliance to the next. On most appliances, you’ll find them:

• On a sticker or plate somewhere on the appliance
• In the appliance’s manual or user guide
• In the on-screen menu, if the appliance has one

If you can’t find the numbers anywhere, your best bet is to contact the manufacturer. They should be able to help you identify the appliance another way.

A model number belongs to a group of appliances which are all the same model. The serial number, on the other hand, is unique to each individual appliance.

These numbers tell us different things:

• The model number can tell us about the parts in the appliance, which is useful for repairs.
• The serial number tells us about your appliance’s age, warranty dates and place of manufacture.