How to Find the IMEI Number on a Mobile Phone

Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu

JF-Expert Member
Feb 3, 2009
42,357
33,200
Having your cell phone or tablet stolen is not just a bad day at the zoo, it potentially compromises your safety and security. Thanks to the FCC (back in the age of the dinosaurs, the early '80s), ESNs were created to give a unique identifiers to mobile devices. Since then, usage of mobile devices has exploded, and the ESN of yore became the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) and the MEID (Mobile Equipment ID—a superset of IMEI) of today.
If a phone, iPad, or other mobile device is stolen, carriers in some countries can blacklist the IMEI or MEID so that the thief cannot use the phone in any capacity (regardless of whether or not the SIM card has been replaced). This is a number you should keep on file, in a secure place, should the need ever arise. We'll show you a few tips on how to do this.

Steps

Keypad Method


  • 1
    Dial it in. Most phones have a very simple key-in method to retrieve IMEI/MEID numbers: enter a 5-digit string—*#06#—and the number will be displayed on your phone.
    • This is not true for all carriers or phones. For example, while an iPhone on the AT&T network will return the MEID number, an iPhone on the Verizon network dials the number and reaches a recording that says, "Your call cannot be completed as dialed." Good thing there are other methods!

  • 2
    Go to the dial screen on your phone. On the keypad, enter *#06# without any spaces, as shown:










  • 3
    Copy your IMEI. The IMEI will appear as you dial the final character, and should call the information automatically without your having to hit dial or send.
    • Consider adding *#06# as a phone contact. That way you don’t have to look it up again!


The Battery Method


  • 1
    Turn the phone completely off. As with any electronic device, it's always best to power down before you start poking around the innards. It's doubtful the phone will give you a jolt, but you could fritz out phone easily, and then what good would there be in having your IMEI?
  • 2
    Remove the back cover. Slide the back open carefully, and remove the battery.










  • 3
    Find the IMEI. Look in the empty battery slot for a white label noting the IMEI (highlighted in yellow here). It should be 15 or 17 digits, not including a few forward slashes, and shouldn’t contain any letters. Only the first 15 digits are needed.











iPhone and iPad


  • 1
    Tap Settings. This will open up the Settings window where you can set and see all your preferences.
  • 2
    Scroll down to General, and tap that. You will be shown a list of all the basic information about your pad or tablet. Tap the About field, hightlighted on the iPhone below:










  • 3
    Locate your MEID. Scroll down the information list that tells you about your songs, videos, photos, etc. Towards the bottom, you will see MEID and to the right of that, a 14-digit number. This is your MEID. Shown below on an iPad:










  • 4
    Look on iTunes. Connect your iPhone to your computer, and launch iTunes.
  • 5
    Locate your phone. It will be listed on the left-hand column, under the heading Devices. At the top you will see a picture of your phone, along with your name, capacity, software version, serial number, and phone number.
  • 6
    Click on your phone number. When you click on your phone number in iTunes, it will toggle between your number and your MEID.











Android


  • 1
    Use the dial method. From the phone keypad, enter *#06#, and your IMEI will be displayed.
  • 2
    Look under the battery. Like all phones with an accessible battery, the IMEI is located on a label underneath.
  • 3
    Look in settings. From the home screen, press Menu, then Settings, then About phone, and then Status. Your IMEI (or IMSI) will be located on the resulting screen.

Motorola iDen Units


  • 1
    Turn on your phone. Power up your phone and go to the dialing screen. Press the following key sequence in rapid succession: # * [menu] [right arrow]. Try not to pause or linger.
  • 2
    Locate your IMEI. On units with SIM cards, scroll down until you see IMEI/SIM ID and select Enter. From here you can view your IMEI, SIM, and on some units, your MSN. The first fourteen digits are displayed; the fifteenth is always a 0.
    • On older units without SIM cards:
    • Continue to hit the [right arrow] key until you see IMEI [0] on the display. The first seven digits are displayed.
    • Hit the menu key and then the "soft key" under "next" to display the next seven digits. The fifteenth and final digit is most often a 0.


Lost or Stolen Phone


  • 1
    Locate the original packaging for your mobile device. Don’t worry about the booklet; look for the box.
  • 2
    Locate the barcoded label stuck to your box. It might have been placed over the opening to act as a seal.
  • 3
    Look for the IMEI. It should be clearly labeled and is usually listed together with the barcode and serial number.
Tips


  • Write your IMEI down before your phone gets lost or stolen.
  • Not all phones have an IMEI number. Currently, it’s on all GSM and UMTS mobile phones commonly found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and increasingly in America. AT&T & T-Mobile are the major US carriers using GSM with IMEI numbers, but there are growing numbers of regional carriers who are switching to GSM like Centennial Wireless, Highland Cellular, Dobson Cellular to name a few. Verizon and Sprint phones will generally not have IMEI numbers but rather MEID numbers—unless they have a dual mode module for overseas use. Most pre-paid and non-contract phones in America don’t have IMEIs; the same applies to disposable phones throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.
  • If your mobile phone is stolen, you can call or go to the nearest service center of your mobile network and give that IMEI number to staff to block your phone.
  • If you are South African, you are required by law to report the theft to your service provider and to the police (either SAPS or your local Metro Police). It will be blacklisted across ALL networks so that it can't be used for criminal activities. If it is recovered, it is possible to de-blacklist it provided that you have proof of ownership.



Warnings


  • Blocking a stolen or lost phone via the IMEI will cut off all communication between your phone and your carrier, making it impossible for the phone to be recovered via tracking. Only do this as a last resort if your phone contains sensitive information.
  • Some thieves replace the IMEI numbers of phones they steal with the IMEIs of other devices. If you purchased a phone from someone or someplace you don’t quite trust, try to research whether or not your supposed IMEI actually goes with that model of phone.





 
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Kujuwa Simu yako imetengenezwa China au ulaya weka namba ya IMEL yako hapa utaijuwa imetokea wapi hiyo simu yako kwa mfano kama hii hapa chini .........................

Analysis of IMEI numbersAll mobile phones are assigned a unique 15 digit IMEI code upon production. Below you can check all known information regarding manufacturer, model type, and country of approval of a handset.Tip! The IMEI can be displayed on most mobile handsets by dialling *#06#. Otherwise check the compliance plate under the battery.Enter IMEI number below

Example: 350077-52-323751-3

Information on IMEI
Type Allocation HolderNokia
Mobile Equipment TypeNokia 9300
GSM Implementation Phase2/2+
IMEI Validity Assessment
>|<
Very likely
Information on range assignment
Est. Date of Range IssuanceAround Q3 2004
Reporting BodyBritish Approvals Board of Telecommunications (BABT)
Primary MarketEurope
Legal Basis for AllocationEU R&TTE Directive
Information on number format
Full IMEI Presentation
Reporting Body Identifier35
Type Allocation Code
Serial Number
Check Digit8

Bonyeza hapa utaipata hii website International Numbering Plans, © 2001-2012
Bonyeza hapa http://www.numberingplans.com/?page=analysis&sub=imeinr
 
How To Check The Validity Of IMEI Number Of A Mobile Phone: Mobile Security



IMEI stands for The International Mobile Equipment Identity. It is a number unique to every GSM and WCDMA and iDEN mobile phone as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed on the phone underneath the battery. All mobile phones are assigned a unique 15 digit IMEI code upon production. You can find it by typing *#06# on your handset.
imei-number.jpg

Now you can check the validity of IMEI number of your mobile phone by visiting NumberingPlansand entering your unique 15 digit IMEI code. After entering 15 digit IMEI code you will get the information regarding manufacturer, model type, and country of approval of a handset.
imei.jpg

By the way if you are wondering about the of need of checking the validity of IMEI number of a mobile phone, then here comes the very simple answer:
Suppose your mobile phone with a valid IMEI number is stolen, now if you know your valid IMEI number you can call your network provider and instruct them to “ban” the phone using its IMEI number. Now IMEI number is generally valid when you buy a mobile phone through a cellular operator, but in some other cases there are chances that your newly bought mobile phone may have invalid IMEI number. So its always better to check the validity of your mobile phone’s IMEI number.
 
How To Block Lost/Stolen Mobile phone Using IMEI Number



International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI number is a unique number for every GSM, WCDMA and iDEN mobile phone as well as some satellite phones. We have already covered some important IMEI aspects onVirginTech, like how to check IMEI validity, how to find a valid IMEI number and how to find iPhone IMEInumber. If you’ve not gone through them earlier, I would recommend you to take a minute to go through them.
How to block Lost/Stolen Mobile Phone using IMEI number:

Mobile phones have a IMEI number associated with them which you must note down at some secret location. The point that makes these IMEI numbers very important is that with the help of IMEI number you can impose a ban on your stolen or lost mobile phone.

If you have IMEI no of your stolen phone then report it to your local operator to block the device. This makes your network provider to put your phone’s IMEI no in a shared database called as an Equipment Identity Register (EIR) which reduces the threats of theft of handsets by enabling individual operators to prevent the use of stolen handsets in their own network.
Now to make the stolen phone inaccessible in other networks (service providers) also, your IMEI no is transferred to Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) which is a database of the IMEI numbers of blacklisted handsets. Once the device number is listed on CEIR, it wouldn’t work with any of the network provider.
 
Reporting Body Identifier codes

According to Permanent Reference Document TW.06, Appendix A of the GSM Association, the current RBI codes indicate the following approval/allocation bodies:
CodeGroup/indicationOrigin
00Test IMEINations with 2-digit CCs
01PTCRBUnited States
02 - 09Test IMEINations with 3-digit CCs
10DECT devices
30IridiumUnited States (satellite phones)
33DGPTFrance
35BABTUnited Kingdom
44BABTUnited Kingdom
45NTADenmark
49BZT / BAPTGermany
50BZT ETSGermany
51Cetecom ICTGermany
52CetecomGermany
53TUVGermany
54Phoenix Test LabGermany
86TAFChina
91MSAIIndia
98BABTUnited Kingdom
99GHAFor multi RAT 3GPP2/3GPP
Normally, when a RBI is 35, the phone device has 1800 band, but if its 01, it will not have it, e.g. Motorola, Nokia. There are some exceptions for the RBI 01, e.g. on LG and Sony Ericsson.


Reporting Body Identifier vs Regional Code


The "Reporting Body Identifier" is also known as the Regional Code in the CDMA world. The IMEI and MEID structures are superficially the same except that the first two digits must be decimal for an IMEI, and must be hexadecimal for an MEID. In 3GPP2 speak the GSMA is the Global Decimal Administrator while the TIA is the Global Hexadecimal Administrator.
 
Phone compatibility

Check your phone will work on XT.



Do you have a phone or data device that you bought from someone other than Telecom? Take the steps below to check its compatibility with Telecom Mobile on our XT Mobile Network. You'll need your device identification (IMEI) number.

What else you should know...

XT is a 3G network, using the 850mhz and 2100mhz frequencies.
If your phone is incompatible with EITHER of the 850mhz or 2100mhz frequencies, it's likely to receive limited or no reception, meaning calling, texting and data will perform poorly or not at all. Please check your phone or device specifications to ensure it is compatible.
The information in our IMEI checker is indicative only, and doesn't guarantee that your device can connect to our Smartphone Network. Also, please be aware that some services may be different or unavailable with a device that was not sourced from Telecom.
We recommend you test your device with a Telecom SIM - just visit us in store to try one out!











Maelezo zaidi Bonyeza hapa
Phone compatibility - Our Network - Mobile - Telecom NZ Ltd


 

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