How to Tell an iPhone 4 from a 4s: Quick Guide

Insiderty

Editor

posted on 10 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Perhaps you have recently received an older iPhone as a gift or are in the market to buy a used iPhone. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s are almost identical, but there are some slight physical differences between the two. To determine which iPhone you are looking at, you can differentiate between some physical differences, or find the model number in settings and look it up online.

Things You Should Know

Find the model number on the back of your phone. A1332 and A1349 are iPhone 4 models. A1431 and A1387 are iPhone 4s.
There are also slight differences between the SIM card trays and antenna breaks on some 4 and 4s models.
You can find a different model number in Settings > General > About. Search for it online to find your exact iPhone model.

Differentiating Physical Differences

Look at the model number on the back. The quickest way to distinguish between the iPhone 4 and 4s is to look at the model number. You can find it engraved on the back of the phone, near the bottom. The iPhone 4 has the following model numbers: A1332 for GSM models and A1349 for CDMA models. The iPhone 4s has these model numbers: A1431 for GSM model China, and A1387 for CDMA models and GSM models.

Check the SIM tray. Either an iPhone 4 or an iPhone 4s can have a SIM tray, but there are a few differences depending on the exact model. There are two models of the iPhone 4: GSM and CDMA. CDMA (A1349) has no SIM tray, but the GSM model (A1332) has one for a micro-SIM card on the right side of the phone. There are 3 models of the iPhone 4s: GSM, GSM model China, and CDMA. All models have SIM trays for micro-SIM cards on the right side of the phone.

Identify the differences in antenna breaks. Depending on the model, your iPhone will have a slightly different pattern of antenna breaks, or small notches in the iPhone's silver side band. The iPhone 4 A1332 (GSM) has three antenna "breaks" in the metal band (one on the top and one on each side toward the bottom). The iPhone 4 A1349 (CDMA) and iPhone 4S each have four breaks (two on both sides toward the top and bottom).

Looking Up the Model in Settings

Look up the model number in Settings. On newer iPhones that run iOS 12 and later, you can easily look up your iPhone’s model name in Settings. While you can’t do this on the iPhone 4 or 4s (which won’t support any iOS later than 7), you can still look up the model number this way. Here’s how: Open your iPhone Settings App Icon Settings app and go to General > About. Locate the Model Number. It will be a different number from the one on the back of your phone, starting with “M” instead of “A.”

Search for the number online. Plug the model number into Google search to find your exact phone model. For example, a search for “MD237LL/A” will bring up the white 16GB iPhone 4S, model A1387.