Daily Tip: How to get your UDID number from System Profiler on Mac

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

Forget to add your UDID (universal device identifier) to the iOS Developer Portal before loading up iOS 5 beta and wondering how to find it so your iPhone or iPad will activate? It happens. Your iPhone gets swapped out by the Apple Store due to a hardware issue or you get an iPad 2 and forget to add it before you install the new software. iTunes won't help you until the device is activated. Usually you can just grab it from Xcode but if you don't have Xcode handy, you can also get it from System Profiler. We'll show you how, after the break!

To get your UDID:

  1. Launch System Profiler (it's in the Utilities Folder or just hit Spotlight and start typing)
  2. Under Hardware in the sidebar, go down to USB
  3. In the top right pane, go to USB High Speed Bus. If you have a MacBook or iMac, the first one is usually the iSight/FaceTime camera, so open the second to find your iPhone or iPad
  4. Click on your device
  5. In the bottom pane, look for the serial number. That's the UDID.
  6. Copy and paste it
  7. Head back to developer.apple.com and add it to your authorized device list

That's it, from crisis to cool in just a few clicks.

If you have any other developer tips, leave them in the comments!

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Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

14 Comments
  • Thanks for the post! Also, you guys got Disqus! Any particular reason for this? Just wondering
  • How do I get the iOS 5 bata
  • Go go cheapudid.tk or email mac@verdedenver.com
  • You can thank me for this tip. I asked Rene this question on twitter today. He was so helpful. I am now happily running iOS 5 beta on my iPhone 3Gs and loving it. Thanks Rene!
  • Perhaps this works differently on a Mac, but on a Windows PC you just launch iTunes, connect your iPhone, then click on the Serial number field. Voila.
  • Thats not your UDID.
  • Actually that IS your UDID: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4061
    Once you click on the iDevice serial number in iTunes, it changes to UDID.
    So, the instructions for the rest of us:
    1) Connect your iDevice and launch iTunes
    2) Click on the serial number field - you see the UDID
    (3) Click Edit->copy. Your UDID is on clipboard ready for pasting.)
  • Of course, like said in the post, your iDevice needs to be activated first to use iTunes for UDID checking, so don't forget to check the UDID BEFORE you upgrade to iOS5.
  • Does this work for apple TV?
    If no how can i FIND MY UDID FOR IT? i want to have it provisioned for the latest software (airplay mirror)
  • Thank... You... You saved me $400!!!!! Thank you all!!
  • Hello all From Ukraine=)
    Please friends activate my UDID: b49c5d959079668226bb394ddc670a552a651206
    Best Regards
    I wait for IT=)
  • You can go to anothersteptaken.com to get registered.
  • This literally just stopped me from having a heart attack! Seriously thank you, i thought i was screwed!
  • Thank you so much!