What is the DEVICEINFO file format?
.deviceinfo files are proprietary device-record files created by iPhone Configuration Utility (iPCU), Apple's enterprise tool for managing and provisioning iOS devices. The utility was available for Windows (XP, Vista, 7) and Mac OS X (10.5 through 10.8) and was discontinued in 2014 following the release of iOS 8.
Each .deviceinfo file is an Apple Property List (plist) document - either a binary plist (beginning with the bplist00 signature) or an XML plist (opening with a standard <?xml declaration). It stores hardware and software metadata captured when a device was connected to iPCU: the device UDID, name, serial number, iOS version, installed configuration profiles, certificate status, and provisioning state.
Files are small, typically 1 KB to 50 KB. They were created and consumed exclusively by iPhone Configuration Utility; no other Apple tool produces or reads them.
iPCU was superseded by Apple Configurator 2 (macOS, 2012-present), which handles modern iOS device management but does not use the .deviceinfo format. The associated .mobileconfig format used for configuration profiles remains current, but .deviceinfo records are stranded artefacts from enterprise MDM deployments of 2007-2013.
Inspecting a .deviceinfo file is straightforward when it is in XML plist form - any text editor will work. Binary plist variants can be converted with the plutil command-line tool on macOS.
Security & safety
RISK: LOW.deviceinfo files contain device identifiers (UDID, IMEI) and profile inventories - sensitive from a privacy and asset-tracking perspective, but not executable. No malware risk from the file itself. UDIDs in old files could be used for historical device correlation; handle as PII in enterprise cleanup.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open DEVICEINFO files
Windows1 app
iPhone Configuration Utility (legacy)
Free The discontinued iPCU for Windows (last version 3.6.2.1285) can open these files on Windows XP/Vista/7. No longer available from Apple; the download page is archived. Does not run reliably on Windows 10/11. 
macOS2 apps
iPhone Configuration Utility OS X (legacy)
Free The discontinued iPCU for Mac OS X (requires 10.5-10.8 / Mountain Lion or earlier). Does not run on macOS 10.9+ (Mavericks and later). Download no longer available from Apple.
Apple Configurator 2
Free The modern replacement for iPCU (Mac App Store, macOS only). Does NOT open .deviceinfo files. Listed here for users who need to continue iOS MDM workflows - use this going forward. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Apple Property List device-record file (plist) |
| Container | Apple binary plist (`bplist00` signature) or XML plist (XML declaration header) |
| Byte order | Big-endian (Apple binary plist convention) |
| Encoding | Binary (Apple binary plist) or plain text (XML plist) |
| Data stored | Device UDID, name, serial number, iOS version, installed configuration profiles, and certificate status |
| Typical file size | 1 KB - 50 KB (compact device metadata record) |
| Created by | iPhone Configuration Utility (iPCU) versions 1.0-3.6, 2007-2012 |
| Associated OS (host) | Windows XP/Vista/7; Mac OS X 10.5-10.8 (Mountain Lion) |
| Inspection tool | XML plist variant readable in any text editor; binary plist variant readable with `plutil` on macOS |
| Deployment era | Enterprise iOS MDM deployments, approximately 2007-2013; files are now stranded artefacts |
| Released | circa 2007 (alongside iPhone Configuration Utility 1.0) |
| Latest version | iPhone Configuration Utility 3.6 (last release, 2012) |
DEVICEINFO conversions
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