Can I Track My Phone By Imei

As practice shows, most often they steal a phone with the help of a primitive robbery in a dark alley, a quiet park, an underpass. Such actions are usually aimed at people who cannot defend themselves and repulse attackers. Young women, adolescents become victims of criminals most often. Sneaky theft takes place mainly in a crowded place, where in a hurry and crush it is difficult to notice how a thief sneaked into his pocket or bag.

Theft or loss of a mobile phone always brings a lot of worries to its owner. The difficulty of returning the found phone is due to the peculiarities of the Russian mentality. People who find a phone do not want to return it and appropriate it. One of the most effective ways is to search for a mobile phone by IMEI.

What is IMEI?

IMEI is a 15-digit code (international identifier for mobile equipment). It is unique for each device and is assigned by the phone manufacturer. This code is issued to each cellular device operating in GSM, IDEN, WCDMA networks. IMEI is stored in the factory firmware of the phone. Its main task is authorization and identification in the cellular network. Therefore, searching for a cell phone by IMEI can be effective if it was stolen or lost.

When stealing a smartphone, the owner submits an official application and puts IMEI on the black list. In the countries of the European Union and the United States, such a phone will not work on any cellular network, since it is barred from calling except emergency services, and when you try to register, it receives a signal to the service, which allows you to send the police relevant information about the place and time of exit to the network. Therefore, in foreign countries, thanks to such a system of work, it is possible to successfully track the phone by IMEI and to prevent theft, since when it is blacklisted, it becomes a useless thing. Unfortunately, such a mechanism for combating intruders has not yet been developed.

How to find out IMEI phone?

First of all, to answer the question of how to find a phone by IMEI, it is important to find this code. In order to find out IMEI, just type the simple command # 06 #. and a 15-digit code will be displayed on the screen. Also, the information is placed under the battery in the table along with the serial number, on the original packaging or sticker and in the warranty card. Thus, this code is a kind of “fingerprint”, because at each registration in the GSM network, the mobile operator sees the location via the phone’s IMEI.

Is it possible to change IMEI?

On some phone models, a way to change IMEI was found, as a rule, these are Chinese devices. On new mobile devices, this is not possible. Since manufacturers are interested in providing their users with the highest level of protection and security, they are therefore constantly on the lookout for solutions to counter theft. However, along with manufacturers, fraudsters are also looking for ways and loopholes for hacking device software and reselling a stolen phone. It is worth noting that in some countries, for example, Kazakhstan, an article is provided for unauthorized access to protected information, which threatens with imprisonment for up to 3 years. for the change of IMEI, Articles 273, 272 of the UKRF are provided. And in judicial practice, cases of imprisonment under these articles for a period of 3 years are known.

How to find a phone by IMEI

access to the location information of the phones are mobile operators. However, they have no right to disclose this information to ordinary citizens and provide it only at the request of law enforcement agencies.

To search for a phone by IMEI, you need to contact the police with a free-form statement stating your last name, first name and patronymic, passport details and IMEI of the stolen phone. It is also necessary to provide copies of documents proving ownership of the device. After that, police officers make a request to a cellular company in Russia, which check whether the subscriber with the specified IMEI is registered on the network and give an official response to law enforcement agencies. Special services, in turn, after finding out the whereabouts of the attacker, search for him and take appropriate measures.

However, in practice, due to the bureaucratic structure of our state, requests to the police are processed rather slowly, and while the matter goes, the attacker will have time to resell the phone on the secondary market or change IMEI. And mobile operators, in turn, do not turn off the cell phone until it is proved until it is truly stolen. Therefore, a review of the legislative framework is required to simplify the system of work with the theft of mobile devices.

Is it possible to return a stolen phone by independently calculating it by IMEI

Despite the fact that a number of web services are available on the Internet that offer to use the phone to search by IMEI code, they do not give any guarantee about the accuracy of the information. Since only cellular operators officially have information, they are not entitled to give information to anyone, with the exception of law enforcement agencies. Therefore, these methods are questioned, and you should remain vigilant when accessing them. It will be possible to calculate a stolen phone only if it is not turned off and any actions will be performed from it. calls, checking the balance, sending messages.

How special services calculate the location of a stolen phone

A mobile phone can only be detected using the GSM standard. The signal from the mobile device is analyzed by software that allows you to determine the sector and the nearest base of the station in which the subscriber is registered. Such a search system allows you to find the phone by IMEI and find out its location with an accuracy of 100-200 meters, which is sufficient for the attacker to be caught by law enforcement officials.

What to do if a phone is stolen?

For those who want to know how to find a phone by IMEI, just follow the following steps.

1. To search for a stolen phone, do not immediately block the SIM card. If calls are made from her, it is likely to locate the attacker, which will help police officers investigate the case. It is advisable to carry out a blocking only if there is a large amount of money in the account and a tariff with a postpaid payment system is used, since all conversations on the attacker’s cell phone will have to be paid by the owner.
2. Learn IMEI. In the event that the IMEI is unknown, it can be found on the original packaging in which the device was sold. By identifier, it is possible to find a stolen phone even if the SIM card is replaced with another mobile operator. However, the factory code of the phone does not always coincide with the code indicated on the package, so you should check it at the stage of buying the phone.
3. Contact your operator’s mobile phone salon to receive a printout of calls from the date your phone was lost.
4. With a passport, documents to buy a phone that confirm ownership (warranty card, check, box), a printout of calls, you must contact the police with a statement about the loss of a mobile device. The application must indicate your contact details, as well as the IMEI number, and insist that law enforcement officials contact the mobile operator to search for the missing number by identification number.
5. You can add your phone to one of the databases of stolen phones on Internet resources such as imeis.ru, trackerplus.ru, tech-touch.ru and others. If you enter your data, you can protect buyers from purchasing a stolen phone. And also in the event that an attacker tries to sell the phone in the secondary market, other participants in this service will inform you about this.

Search Methods for a Stolen Phone

Android Device Manager. This is a service that is provided for mobile devices running on the basis of Android. When registering in the service, it becomes possible to use the service “Phone Search by IMEI-satellite”. Also, the option offers to make a free call to the lost phone at maximum volume, which allows you to find the phone if it was not stolen, but lost on the street or at home.

How to Find a Phone by Apple’s IMEI

IPhones are popular all over the world and most often it is they who become a tasty trick for attackers. These devices are in high demand, price and good liquidity. Manufacturers of Apple products have taken care of the safety of their users by providing the ability to track the location of the device thanks to the geolocation system. To do this, use the iCloud option, in which you can enable the Find IPhone feature. After the device is lost, just go to icloud.com and enter your password and Apple ID. If this function was not activated before the theft, the phone will not track the system, and you cannot find it in this way. In this case, the only right decision is to apply to the law enforcement authorities with the appropriate application.

Alternative search options for a stolen phone

1. It is recommended that you create a business card in the phone about the owner with contact information in case the phone is not stolen, but lost, and people who find it will want to return the loss to the rightful owner.
2. Many manufacturers of mobile devices offer various services that involve sending SMS messages when changing a SIM card to the number specified during registration.
3. You can use the LoSToleN service, which is a database of stolen phones and allows you to put information about the IMEI of the missing gadget for a fee in case of a find.

Internet Data Search

With the development of information technology, many Internet services offer an IMEI phone search program. However, it is worth remembering that in most cases, such offices are fraudulent, which work illegally. They ask to send a paid SMS message to gain access to a service that ultimately does not provide any information. Therefore, in finding a solution to the problem of how to find a phone by IMEI, you should not resort to methods of finding information on the global network.

In order to find a phone, you must have access to the equipment and software of all mobile operators in the country. Therefore, such a service cannot be provided by ordinary web-offices. Access to information is only available to law enforcement agencies, which receive information upon request from any mobile operator. Therefore, an independent search for a stolen phone is a futile task that takes a lot of time and effort. The only right solution that can help. appeal to special services.

How to warn yourself against buying a stolen phone

When buying a phone in the secondary market, it is worth checking it in the database of stolen phones to avoid future troubles. Since in the event that the owner has already filed a complaint with the police, it will be quite difficult to prove that it was not you who stole the phone, and the device would have to be returned to the copyright holder. However, not all stolen mobile devices are entered into the database. You should not buy a mobile phone without documents from a private person, and if such a device is offered, this should immediately alert. Also, when buying a device, it is recommended to verify the IMEI of the phone with the one indicated on the package.