Saturday, 14 June 2014

How to know IMEI number of your Andorid device?


The International Mobile Station Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique, to identify 3GPP (i.e., GSM, UMTS and LTE) and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is used to block a device from the network in case the phone is stolen. The IMEI is only used for identifying the device and has no permanent or semi-permanent relation to the subscriber. Lets see different ways to view this IMEI number for your android device.

  1. Easiest and simplest way is to dial *#06# from your phone and IMEI number will be displayed on your phone.

    Note : Mine is a dual sim android phone. Hence getting 2 IMEI numbers. Also remember IMEI has nothing to do with network or sim you are using. Instead, the subscriber is identified by transmission of an IMSI number, which is stored on a SIM card that can (in theory) be transferred to any handset.It is just to identify your device over network and if you have to slots for sim card then you will be having two IMEI numbers.
  2. View it in the setting of phone.

    1. Go to System Settings -> About Phone -> Status
    2. Here you should see a row name IMEI information .
    3. In that you will find your IMEI number.

  3. Another way to find IMEI number is to log into the google account which is used to log into google services like playstore on your device. 

    1. Go to
    2. Select the Android section (4th from top).
    3. You should see your android IMEI number listed there.

  4. Lastly you can always get to know your IMEI number as it will be mentioned on the back of your device. Open the device remove the battery and you should see your IMEI number mentioned there. I have picked up a random picture displaying this.

On Losing the Phone

When you lose your handset, you will need to launch a FIR with the police, attaching a copy of the IMEI number with it. Then give a copy of this to your service provider who can track the phone based on its unique ID number and meanwhile block the handset so that it cannot be used by anyone else. IMEI number helps to tracks the handset, even when the SIM is changed or the SIM card is not activated. Once the phone is traced, the police should be able to retrieve it. 

Important Points to Note

  • Android does not support multiple SIMs, at least from the SDK. Device manufacturers who have created multi-SIM devices are doing so on their own. So programmatically it is difficult to retrieve two IMEI numbers for a dual sim phone.
  • IMEI value survives device wipes (“Factory resets”).
  • IMEI number is device specific. It does not depend on what network provider you are using.


Important Links 

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