EOS Rebel T3i Unable to read serial number on damaged label

[stevecoash]

i bought a used camera from a reputable party. eos rebel t3i. i've been having a great time playing around with it, buying lenses, tripods, bags etc... the problem is that i have now discovered the canon website and tried to register it so i can get support. the tripod has torn the sticker with the serial number, so now its only partially readable. and not able to register. i downloaded exiftool and the info from the photo says that my camera is a 600d, and there is no serial number listed. HELP!!!

[rs-eos]

What do you mean by "reputable party".  Was that an authorized Canon reseller?  Or used departments of say KEH, B&H Photo or Adorama to name a few?

In the United States, these cameras were released with the Rebel name.  But overseas I think they used different names such as 600D.

[Stephen]

Hey there! The easiest way to tell which camera you have is simply by looking at it. On the front, does it say EOS Rebel T3i, or EOS 600D. If it says Rebel, it's a Rebel. 

You don't need to register it for support. You certainly can, but it's not required. You can just call 800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666), Monday through Friday from 9am to 9pm (ET) or Saturday from 9am to 8pm (ET), and they will help. 

If you need the software, grab it here: https://canon.us/3RfEQ1B 

If your camera needs repair, however, it was retired in 2018. We no longer have parts to fix it. 

[stevecoash]

I try downloading the software and it asks for the serial number. So.... Still not able to do anything.

[Stephen · Accepted solution]

OK..., it sounds silly, but change the OS dropdown to Vista. That's the version of Windows that the original CD came with. Once you have it installed, just upgrade it to the most current. 

You'll need to scroll down a bit until you see this:

[stevecoash]

Thank you. I'll give it a try when I get home.

[stevecoash]

I found the disk's from when I bought the camera. Thank you so much!!