How IMEI no. helps to recover lost or stolen mobile phones?
Have you lost your mobile and are looking for information on how to recover your lost or stolen mobile? Do you want to know how to find the IMEI no. of your Nokia, Sony Ericsson or Blackberry handset? Read this article to know more about IMEI no. and the exact procedure to report for your lost or stolen mobile phone.
With the advancement in technology now a days it has become very easy to recover your stolen or lost mobile phones. If you are reading this you have probably lost your mobile phone somewhere. One of the easiest ways to recover your lost mobile phone is through the IMEI no. of your mobile. We have here tried to gather all possible information to help you with the recovery procedure.What is an IMEI number?
IMEI is the acronym for International Mobile Equipment Identity. An IMEI no. is a unique number which is used for identifying a GSM, iDEN, WCDMA or a satellite phone. You can say that it is similar to something like a passport no. , roll no. etc of a person. Like these no. uniquely identifies the identity of person, similarly an IMEI no. uniquely identifies a valid mobile phone device on a GSMA network.
Structure of an IMEI number
An IMEI no. is 15 digit decimal no. of which 14 digits specify the device specific information on its origin, model and serial number and the last digit is the checksum digit. The first 6 digits called the Type Allocation Code specifies the origin and model no. of the device. The first 2 digits of the TAC are the Reporting Body Identifier. This is a GSMA approved code that allocated the TAC.
The next 2 digits are called Final Assembly Code and is manufacturer specified.
The rest of the IMEI digits usually denotes the serial no. as specified by the manufacturer. This serial no. is also specified in the bill at the time of purchase.
The last digit denotes the checksum calculated by Luhn Algorithm. Luhn Checksum is calculated as a function of all other digits and its purpose is to check for incorrect entries which might have crept in the 14 digit IMEI no.
However, the old IMEI format has now been changed a little and it is now composed of 16 digits(1 digit extra to the old one) and is called IMEISV number. The change here is only that FAC has been removed and the TAC has become 8 digit. Another difference is that the checksum digit has been replaced by 2 digits for the Software version no.(SVN).How to retrieve IMEI of a mobile device
It is very easy to get the IMEI no. of your handset. You should keep the IMEI no. of your handset saved somewhere so that in case of loss you can report about it to the operator. Following are the procedure to see the IMEI no. of various company handsets:
1. To get the IMEI no. of Nokia Handsets enter the command: *#06#.
2. To get the IMEI no. of Sony or Sony Ericsson handsets press the keys * Right*Left Left*Left*.
3. To get the IMEI no. of Blackberry handsets go to the 'Options' >> 'Status'.
4. To get the IMEI no. of Android phones go to 'Settings' >> 'About Phone'.How to report your lost or stolen handset by using IMEI no.?
If you have lost your mobile phone follow the below mentioned steps to report for your lost/stolen mobile phone:
1. Immediately call your local operator and quote the IMEI no. of your handset.
2. The local operators have an Equipment Identity Register(EIR) server. The operator would register the IMEI no. of your lost device on EIR and would communicate it to the central server Central Equipment Identity Register(CEIR).
3. There your device will be blacklisted for all other operator switches and would become unusable.
4. The next step now should be filling an FIR in your nearest Police station about the loss or theft. This step is necessary so that someone might not misuse your mobile phone for wrong activities.
By calling local operator can we locate where our phone is using gps or using some other technology.