Just like every car has a unique VIN number, the same thing applies for mobile phones, except it’s called an IMEI number. This number is of huge importance, and by knowing it you can do numerous interesting things regarding your device.
Since not many people are informed about all of the interesting facts about IMEI numbers, we decided to create an article in which we’ll explain all of it in a beginner-friendly fashion. The existence of IMEI numbers helps a lot of people avoid purchasing a blacklisted device or a stolen one, as the uniquely generated code can help you find out about the history of the device in just a few seconds if you use the right services for it.
You don’t need to be tech-savvy to understand these things as we won’t be using complicated terms and phrases. Let’s take a look at these six things that you as a smartphone user need to know about your IMEI number.
1. The IMEI number can be used to track a person down
Although this is not the most common thing that may happen to someone, as it takes a lot of knowledge and skill to track someone down, it’s not impossible either. The government can track you down through your IMEI number but you have to be in some big trouble for that to happen.
This is why some people use prepaid sim cards as purchasing one doesn’t require any personal information to be given to the seller. However, you shouldn’t worry too much about this because even the government needs a warranty and a good reason to commence an operation in which they’ll track you down through your IMEI number. As we said above, you have to be in some kind of trouble for this to happen.
2. Not every mobile device has an IMEI number (counterfeit phones don’t)
IMEI stands short for International Mobile Equipment Identity. As you can see, this is a number that is accepted throughout the whole world, hence the “International” tag. Each mobile device has a unique number. There cannot be two devices with the same IMEI number unless one of them is a counterfeit phone. Counterfeit phones sometimes don’t even have such a unique code, which makes it easy for you to find out whether it’s a fake build or not.
But, what about changing this code on an already-existing device? Hm, so you’ve somehow heard of this. Okay, it can be done, but here’s the thing. You cannot do it without really damaging the device itself, which will make it difficult to re-sell after to anyone who knows about these things.
3. If you suspect that your phone has a bad IMEI number, you can verify that online
Imeidb.xyz is only one of the many examples of services where you can verify the IMEI number. It doesn’t take any knowledge or skill to do so. You just load up the website and paste your IMEI number in the search bar, then you get accurate results based on your search. But, how do I find this number on my mobile device? Well, feel free to check the following section for the answer.
4. Where can I find this number on my mobile device?
If you’ve recently purchased a brand-new mobile device from an official mobile store, you can see this number on the device box itself. But, some people don’t really like keeping these boxes and most of them throw the package away after unpacking the phone. If that’s what you did, it was a bad decision, but it isn’t the end of the world, as you can still find it in other places.
Going into the settings section and then in the About Phone tab, you can find the “Status” and IMEI Information tabs. You can find your unique code there without too much effort. Make sure not to share it with strangers.
5. You can use the IMEI number to check whether your phone is blacklisted
It’s the same thing when it comes to purchasing a vehicle. You want to know if it was stolen or not. Well, by searching up your IMEI number on online services such as the one we recommended above, you’ll find out whether the device was blacklisted, stolen, or tracked by the authorities. Doing so will help you avoid ending up with a phone that shouldn’t be in your hands, as you can get in trouble for something you’re not guilty of.
6. The cleaner your IMEI is, the more attractive it looks to thieves, so keep it safe
Clean IMEI numbers are attractive to those with malicious intent, and just like people do carding services (selling stolen credit cards), the same thing is happening with clean IMEI numbers. You don’t want someone to re-sell your IMEI number which is why we recommend keeping it safe and never sharing it with strangers. Also, when you are purchasing a used phone, you should pay attention to whether you’re being given a device that was blacklisted or used for something suspicious. Thankfully, we have so many free websites nowadays that allow for such a service for free.
Conclusion
Nowadays there are a lot of scams and frauds related to technology, and the way these people pull tricks on others is by using the lack of knowledge to their advantage. Not everybody knows what an IMEI number is or what can be done with it, so it’s really easy to steal it from someone who doesn’t protect it well enough. In today’s article we listed six really important things that every mobile device user needs to know about their IMEI number, so feel free to check out the content, and as always, remember to double-check things and stay safe on the internet as much as you can. Thank you for reading.