Get Unique Device ID (UDID) under Windows Phone 8

47
votes

Is there any unique device ID (UDID) or any similar ID I can read out on Windows Phone 8 (WP8) that doesn't change with hardware changes, app-reinstallation etc.?

In older Windows Phone versions there were such IDs: WP7: Device Status for Windows Phone

WP7.1: DeviceStatus Class

But they doesn't work anymore with SDK 8.0.

Why I ask: The idea is that a user gets some free credits with the first start of the the app and I want to avoid that the user just re-installs the app for getting new free credits. A registration with email or phone number could solve this, but if I can, I don't want do bother users at the first start with a registration.

---///---SOLUTION----------

I can confirm that DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId") still works in WP 8.0. Got a little bit confused when I read the following text:

In Windows Phone OS 7.0, this class was used to query device-specific properties. In Windows Phone OS 7.1, most of the properties in DeviceExtendedProperties were deprecated, and the new DeviceStatus class should be used instead. However, where appropriate, you can still use any of the below properties that are not deprecated.

MSDN:DeviceExtendedProperties Class

I can run the following code, delete the app and re-install it and get the same ID:

byte[] myDeviceID = (byte[])Microsoft.Phone.Info.DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId");
string DeviceIDAsString = Convert.ToBase64String(myDeviceID);
MessageBox.Show(DeviceIDAsString);
9
c#windows-phone-7windows-phone-8
As far as I understand, there is a lot of pressure for mobile OS not to provide UDID because of the ability it gives to track users. So, the registration option is probably a better idea. Otherwise, in the future, UDID could no longer be available. This has already happened in iOS. – Davin Tryon
I know. Apple had the same problem and they 'mitigate' this by using a vendor ID. So I thought Microsoft does something similar? Not? – flexo
To be honest, I'm not sure about Windows Phone 8 because I haven't developed against it. But in principle, we should try not to use static identifiers unless they are stored on a server. There has been talk of legislation in the EU about avoiding a way to track users on mobile devices. – Davin Tryon

9 Answers

31
votes

I haven't yet started to develop for Windows Phone 8, still on 7, but you still should be able to use the original DeviceExtendedProperties class to pull back the Device Unique ID.

DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId")
20
votes

I've had this issue with returning the null value. Then remembered that it needs to be switched on.

In WMAppManifest.xml -> Capabilities tab -> switch on ID_CAP_IDENTITY_DEVICE

8
votes

There's a twist to this DeviceUniqueId - it is unique only for one publisher. So it is not really device-wide unique identifier but unique device id for one publisher. We have noticed when we worked on some customer project where we tried to identify the same phone from different accounts (customer publishes under two different accounts).

4
votes

You can get your own wp8 device Id by DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId") Here is the simple way to get deviceId as a string

byte[] id = (byte[])Microsoft.Phone.Info.DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId");
 string   deviceID = Convert.ToBase64String(id);
2
votes

By not providing DeviceUniqueId in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, Microsoft tried to avoid User Tracking but with increased pressure from Dev community, they are bringing it back again.

In Windows 8.1, Microsoft has introduced a new AdvertisingId API and may also bring similar Id to identify a unique user across apps in subsequent Windows Phone 8.1/9 versions.

2
votes

I used this:

    private static String getDeviceId()
        {
            byte[] id = (byte[])Microsoft.Phone.Info.DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId");
            return BitConverter.ToString(id).Replace("-", string.Empty);
        }

But the key is to Check the ID_CAP_IDENTITY_DEVICE in WMAppManifest, or else it throws error.

1
votes
string myDeviceID = (byte[])DeviceExtendedProperties.GetValue("DeviceUniqueId");
string DeviceIDAsString = Convert.ToBase64String(myDeviceID);

I have used this for windows phone unique device Id.

0
votes

The answers above work for Windows Phone 7 and 8 Silverlight. However, they will not work for Windows Phone RT (Universal) or Store Apps since the SDK does not have this dll library (Microsoft.Phone).

This is how you get the device ID and Name (and possibly other info) on Windows Phone 8.1 RT (Universal/Store Apps). 

private string GetHardwareId()
{
    var token = HardwareIdentification.GetPackageSpecificToken(null);
    var hardwareId = token.Id;
    var dataReader = Windows.Storage.Streams.DataReader.FromBuffer(hardwareId);

    byte[] bytes = new byte[hardwareId.Length];
    dataReader.ReadBytes(bytes);

    return BitConverter.ToString(bytes);
}

More details about reading the device info on Windows RT can be found here