How to Find Your Appliance Model and Serial Number Before a Repair

Before you call a repair shop or order a spare part, you need exactly one thing: the precise name of your device. This is a practical guide on how to find your appliance model and serial number — where the data plate hides on each type of device, what the string of letters and numbers on it means, and how to recover the model from a menu or app when the sticker has worn off. The point is simple: send us in one message exactly what diagnostics starts from, instead of getting clarifying questions back.

Why a technician needs the exact model and serial number

"My Samsung TV is broken" tells us almost nothing. Samsung releases dozens of model series a year, and behind one screen size there can be three different panels, two power boards, and different T-CON boards. The same is true for robot vacuum batteries, microwave magnetrons, and power-tool carbon brushes — a part fits one model and not its neighbour in the very same series.

An exact model and serial number give us three things straight away:

• The right spare part. We check part availability against the original number instead of guessing. The wrong power board, or a different revision of a panel, means a wasted trip and a delayed repair.
• The build date and revision. The serial number often encodes the year and month of manufacture — which matters when a model's board or firmware changed over its life, since early batches tend to have known weak spots.
• A history of typical faults. For a specific model we already know what tends to break: one QLED series for its backlight LED strips, one robot vacuum for its navigation module, one induction hob for its IGBT module.

Without it, the first step is not a repair but an exchange of messages asking you to walk around the device and photograph the plate. Do it up front and you save yourself a day or two.

Where the data plate hides, by device type

Almost every electrical device has a data plate or sticker with a model (Model, Cat. No.) and a serial number (S/N, Serial No.). It usually sits somewhere you never look day to day — on the back, on the bottom, or under a removable part. Here is where to look, by the categories we actually work with.

TVs, monitors and displays

The sticker is on the TV's rear panel, usually in the lower corner or near the ports. If the TV is wall-mounted and you can't reach the back, find the model and serial number in the menu (see the next section). On monitors the plate is on the back near the stand base. Write the whole string down — on Samsung TVs it looks like UE55AU7100UXXH or QE65QN90BATXXH, where the very last characters mark the regional version.

Robot, cordless and corded vacuums, floor washers

Turn a robot vacuum upside down — the plate is on the bottom, often near the wheels or under the removable dust bin. On cordless (stick-type) vacuums, look on the motor unit near the handle or on the battery pack — and if the problem is the battery or charging, write down the battery's own markings too (Li-ion, voltage, capacity in mAh). That is exactly what we need for a battery repack. On corded vacuums and floor washers the plate is on the bottom or back of the body.

Microwave ovens

The plate is on the back of the casing or on the side, and there is often a second sticker on the front frame edge, visible with the door open. Note the model; the magnetron, high-voltage transformer, and capacitor are chosen by it. Do not open the inside of a microwave — the high-voltage capacitor can hold a dangerous charge even when the appliance is off. A photo of the plate is enough.

Hobs, ovens, cooker hoods

On a built-in induction or ceramic hob the plate is underneath — you only reach it by pulling the hob out of the worktop, so do not do that yourself. The same model number is usually duplicated in the manual or warranty card — finding it there is simpler and safer. For an oven, look at the door frame edge with the door open. For a cooker hood, look inside once the grease filter is removed.

Small kitchen and home appliances

On meat grinders, juicers, blenders, irons, and similar small appliances, the plate or embossed marking is on the bottom of the body (on irons, near where the cord enters the soleplate). Here the model is often not on a sticker but moulded into the plastic — photograph it with light coming from the side so the characters stand out.

Power tools and their batteries

On drills, angle grinders, and other tools the plate is on the body, often near the handle or the motor housing. Important: the battery has its own separate marking — model, voltage (e.g. 18V), and capacity (Ah). If you're bringing in a battery repack or a charging problem, we need both the tool's and the battery pack's designations.

Audio and car electronics

On amplifiers, speakers, and home audio the plate is on the back near the connectors. On car head units the model is on the top or side of the chassis — visible only after the unit comes out of the dash, so it is often easier to identify it by the car's make, year, and trim, or by the original manufacturer code in the documents.

What the numbers and letters on the plate mean

A data plate is full of different numbers, and not all of them help with diagnostics. The key thing is to tell the two main ones apart:

The main takeaway: the model number is the long one, a mix of letters and digits (e.g. RV1140 or NV70K1340BS), not the short 18V or 1800W. The serial number is usually on its own line marked S/N, and often encodes the month and year of manufacture — which helps us work out your board revision without opening the device. If you're unsure which is which, photograph the whole plate and we'll read it ourselves. Don't stop at the model alone: the serial number matters just as much.

Finding the model in a menu or app when the sticker has worn off

Stickers wear off — especially on hobs under steam and on heavily-used tools. If the plate is only half-legible or gone entirely, you can often recover the model from the software side.

1. On TVs and smart devices, open Settings → Support → About This TV (Samsung) or Settings → System → About (LG, Sony, others). There you'll find the model code, serial number, and firmware version — photograph that screen.
2. On robot vacuums and smart appliances, open the manufacturer app (Mi Home, Roborock, Tefal, Samsung SmartThings). In the device settings there is usually a "Device info" or "About" field with the exact model.
3. In the manual and warranty card. These almost always carry the model number and often the serial with the date of sale — the fastest route if you still have the paperwork.
4. On the original packaging. The side of the box has a sticker with the same model and a barcode.
5. On the receipt or email confirmation. Shops often list the full model on the invoice or in the warranty registration.

If none of that is available and the plate really is unreadable — bring the device in, and we'll identify the model from the casing, the board markings, and the internals ourselves. It's possible, just slower than reading one sticker.

Safety line: what you must not do to find the plate

Hunting for the model must not turn into dismantling the device. A few clear "no"s:

• Do not pull a built-in hob or oven out of the cabinetry just for the sticker underneath — there's a 380V connection there and a risk of damaging the installation. Find the plate in the documents instead.
• Do not open the microwave casing — the high-voltage capacitor is dangerous even on an unplugged appliance.
• Do not break open a vacuum or tool battery pack — Li-ion cells can catch fire if opened wrongly. A photo of the marking is enough.

In each case, the sticker visible from outside plus the documents is enough — or you simply bring the device to us.

What to send us so diagnostics starts faster

For your first message to be complete, send this up front — you save the back-and-forth, and we can start checking part availability the same day.

1. A clear photo of the data plate — the whole sticker in frame, in focus, with legible characters. If the digits are moulded into plastic, light it from the side.
2. The model and serial number as text — type them out as well if the photo quality is poor.
3. A description of the symptom in your own words — what happens, when it started, whether there's an error code or a beep, whether there was a smell or smoke.
4. The battery marking separately — for vacuum, tool, and battery problems: voltage and capacity.
5. A short video if the fault can be heard or seen — a blinking indicator, a noise, lines on the screen.

Before bringing the device in, our guide on how to safely transport electronics to repair is worth a read — especially for TVs and anything with fragile glass. And if you're still deciding who to trust with the repair, read how to choose a repair service.