I had a v1 and it has a unique identifier. A serial number. I saw it myself. I had to give it to peak design for a warranty

https://peakdesign.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004982006-Finding-Your-Serial-Number-or-QC-Number#EDBV1SN

It’s so people can’t commit fraud mostly. There’s an epidemic of people buying something from a place like Amazon and then 2 years later buying it again and returning it but sending the old one back instead.

This allows tracking of that. Otherwise the company loses money and has no recourse. I get it from that perspective. Even some phone cases have the same thing. Apple cases. Pikata cases. Many things and it is for this reason mostly.

Not so they can track theft or hopefully track you.

People are so misinformed here. I bought a v1 long time ago in like 2018 from a local store. Paid cash no one asked my name and it has a unique serial number.

I know this because it has some discoloration that I recently found out was a known issue with the color I bought. I hit them up and told them I bought it in 2018 from a local store and don’t have the receipt.

They just asked for pictures and my information like name and address to send the replacement.

Instead I asked for credit since the V2 isn’t the exact same. They said ok and gave me the credit for the full price of a new one. Super easy.