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I am trying to figure out when my devices (tablet, tv dongle, etc) were activated. Is there a place (in google account settings, device files, anywhere) this data can be obtained?

My devices are rooted, so I can use terminal access to read internal files if needed.

Some suggestions in the net say to find the first day of data usage in the logs, but I want to find an accurate date (preferably a timestamp) of the device activation.

I can't seem t be able to type dialer codes in a tablet, there's no phone app. Also this question is about android devices in general, not only phones.

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    I can't find anything in the build.prop myself, but as a workaround you could try: If you connect the handset to a PC and mount the internal storage as a removable drive you can check the last-modified date on its directories. Check ".temp" and "ShareViaWifi, as I believe both of those are created during initial setup and aren't modified later.
    – RossC
    Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 14:47
  • @Krampus its not only for phones, its for android in general (android TV, tablets, etc) - so its a related question, but not a duplicate.
    – Mindwin Remember Monica
    Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 18:00
  • The other question doesn't need to be specific to phones, either. I think it's a dupe.
    – Matthew Read
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 21:22

1 Answer 1

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If the date of activation matches the date of adding your Google account to the device, there's an easy way to check (unless you did a factory-reset in the meantime, and had to re-add the account):

  • with your Google account's credentials, log in to the Google Dashboard
  • Scroll to the section labeled "Android" and expand it (by clicking its title / the LGM [little green man])
  • Check the entry for the device you want to know the date for

At this place you should find the date you registered your device. That doesn't reflect the first time a device was added, but the last time the Google account was activated on the device. So if you activate your Google account following a factory-reset, this field is updated and thus reflects this point-in-time.

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  • I think its as good as it will get, because if the device has been wiped / firmware updated, it will show the same date anyway. My P1000L has had a firmware update, and it shows in google only the date of the update, not of the first activation. It also sheds some light on how G indexes your devices, it seems to be by IMEI number. (otherwise it would list two P1000 in my account.
    – Mindwin Remember Monica
    Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 18:06
  • Both correct: 1) it's the day you initially connected your device to the Google account (most likely using the ANDROID_ID, if I remember correctly, which is "overwritten" (or re-generated) with a firmware upgrade), and 2) it's the IMEI as well/additionally.
    – Izzy
    Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 21:01
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    Yes, ANDROID_ID is recreated when device receives a new firmware. And it has no guarantees that it will be unique. I ended up with someone else's farm on a game because of duplicated android_id.
    – Mindwin Remember Monica
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 12:48

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