There was a hack for previous firmware using a reverse engineering of Code Telephony but it does not work anymore.
As far as I know, you can only get the UDID on the iphone.
[UIDevice currentDevice].uniqueIdentifier
A unique device identifier is a hash value composed from various hardware identifiers such as the device’s serial number. It is guaranteed to be unique for every device but cannot publically be tied to a user account. You can use it, for example, to store high scores for a game in a central server or to control access to registered products. The unique device identifier is sometimes referred to by its abbreviation UDID.
Related
The function
[[UIDevice currentDevice] uniqueIdentifier]
Is deprecated in iOS 5 and I found the solution in this project using the MAC address: https://github.com/gekitz/UIDevice-with-UniqueIdentifier-for-iOS-5
Ok, it is solved. But now I discovery that iOS 5 CHANGED the format of code that uniqueIdentifier return.
In iOS 4.x it is in this format:
93F38DEB-3C0B-5C09-B746-0DFDFDDB297C
Now the iOS 5, the same function return in this format:
93f38deB3c0b5c09b7460dfdfddb297c
Anyone know if the code changed at all? It is different only is format or the code in really different for the same device?
A MAC Address is a (supposedly) globally unique identifier attached to a network interface, though they can be changed in many ways.
The uniqueidentifier that Apple used to provide access to was attached to the device hardware and not changeable, which made it excellent for tracking a user across apps and sessions. That's also the reason Apple is removing it, if I had to guess. Not having a way to track users across apps and sessions increases a user's privacy on their devices.
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple removes access to the MAC Address eventually for the same reasons, so it might benefit you to examine other options for tracking devices.
[[UIDevice currentDevice] uniqueIdentifier] will still give you the same result as before. The project that you link to is not a 1:1 replacement, it is an alternative that gives you a similar solution using a different implementation, thus the two string are different.
You shouldn't use unique identifier on iOS 5. That's all you need to know.
The unique identifier on iOS was always something redundant and a big security threat. Other operating systems don't have unique identifiers and they can live without them.
You can always generate unique identifiers on your server and send them to your device.
You can always generate them from some unique system property (e.g. MAC), using system functions. On iOS you can create a unique identifier using CFUUIDCreate. This identifier is unique across devices and across time (you'll get a different identifier every time you call it) but you can save them (e.g. into keychain).
The code CHANGED!!!!!
UniqueIdentifier is no more UNIQUE!!!
The first format have 36 hexa lenght
93F38DEB-3C0B-5C09-B746-0DFDFDDB297C
The second have 40 hexa!!!!!
Because this, it changed. I don't know if it append more hexa to identifier, but the bigger size changed al all.
My app has a feature which requires identifying each app users. I'm planning making the app sends UDID to my server. Server stores it, for later use.
I don't think that's a personal information, however, I want to know is it approvable or not in Apple's AppStore.
And, including transferring phone numbers. In the case of WhatsApp, it recognizes my friends' numbers automatically. I think that's impossible without some kind of data transfer.
You are allowed to transfer a device's UDID to your servers. That's what it's intended for.
Access to the UDID is grounds for rejection from the App Store. See an alternative to using the UDID at https://stackoverflow.com/a/10037636/1286639
Just make sure that it is no secret what your app does. If it transfers phone numbers to store those on your server then clearly mention this in the app's description or even ask the user for permission the first time.
That actually is a a reason to be rejected I think: not being clear about storing user's data on your own server/service.
Its important to note the difference between a UDID and a UUID.
UDID "unique device id" is hardware specific. It never changes for a particular device. For this reason, it has become a privacy concern and Apple is blocking apps that try to use this. As a result, Apple has generated an opt-out-able "device id" hash, particularly for advertisement usage. This new ID hash is called IFA and is available in iOS 6.0+.
UUID "universally unique id" is not hardware specific. It is a hash used to identify a device; but not particularly an absolute value. For example, PhoneGap generates a UUID based on device properties; this is what you get when you do device.uuid. If you delete the app and reinstall, you will get a new id hash. UUID is not being blocked by Apple.
I think the best solution in your case would be to use the IFA, with OpenUDID as a backup for iOS < 6.0.
Here is the code we use. If IFA is not available, get OpenUDID. [[You must install OpenUDID, read more about that here, https://github.com/ylechelle/OpenUDID.]]
NSString* uuid = nil;
if ([[UIDevice currentDevice] respondsToSelector:#selector(identifierForVendor)]) {
// IOS 6 new Unique Identifier implementation, IFA
uuid = [[[UIDevice currentDevice] identifierForVendor] UUIDString];
} else {
// Before iOS6 (or if IFA disabled) you shoud use a custom implementation for uuid
// Here I use OpenUDID (you have to import it into your project)
// https://github.com/ylechelle/OpenUDID
NSString* openUDID = [OpenUDID value];
uuid = [OpenUDID value];
}
calling #*06# tells the IMEI ( International Mobile Equipment Identity ) of the device.
I checked International Numbering Plans and found out that this actually is the IMEI number.
Is it possible to obtain it programmatically?
Thanks
You cannot get device IMEI programmatically. However UIDevice class has "unique device identifier" property.
#property(nonatomic, readonly, retain) NSString *uniqueIdentifier
A unique device identifier is a hash value composed from various hardware identifiers such as the device’s serial number. It is guaranteed to be unique for every device but cannot publically be tied to a user account. You can use it, for example, to store high scores for a game in a central server or to control access to registered products. The unique device identifier is sometimes referred to by its abbreviation UDID.
Is there a unique ID like the mac address for each iPhone / iPod Touch?
Do I have to ask the user for permissions to transmit such a unique id?
Yes, you can get it using UIDevice's uniqueIdentifier property:
A unique device identifier is a hash value composed from various hardware identifiers such as the device’s serial number. It is guaranteed to be unique for every device but cannot publically be tied to a user account. You can use it, for example, to store high scores for a game in a central server or to control access to registered products. The unique device identifier is sometimes referred to by its abbreviation UDID.
Edit: uniqueIdentifier property is deprecated in iOS5 and you should not use it now. As an alternative you can generate your own unique ID (for example check this questions).
Also in iOS6 Apple added 2 new methods to get unique identifier (as an instance of NSUUID class):
UIDevice -identifierForVendor:
The value of this property is the same for apps that come from the
same vendor running on the same device. A different value is returned
for apps onthe same device that come from different vendors, and for
apps on different devices regardles of vendor.
ASIdentifierManager -advertisingIdentifier:
Unlike the identifierForVendor property of the UIDevice, the same
value is returned to all vendors. This identifier may change—for
example, if the user erases the device—so you should not cache it.
I know each iPhone has a electronic identifier other than the phone # or ESN - how do I call it and what does it return?
The UIDevice class contains the information you need.
[[UIDevice currentDevice] uniqueIdentifier]
If you need security, then you probably can't use the device's built-in unique identifier, because one could easily spoof this information. I'm just guessing here, but, most likely, from your server's perspective there's an incoming connection/request that contains the phone's ID. Now, how can you be really sure the connection/request is actually coming from the iPhone with that ID?
One solution is to issue each new device that connects to your server with a unique ID of your own in a secure way (i.e., the ID can't be obtained by a third party). You then need to use a secure protocol whereby a connection/request proves to your server that it originated from a device that knows the above ID.
if you are writing a web app, why don't you use standard cookies?