How to know the IMEI of the mobile

How to know the IMEI of the mobile

Knowing how to find the IMEI number of our phone can be incredibly useful. It is likely that you will never have to locate it in your life, but it never hurts to know where it is for when it is necessary, such as when your terminal is lost or stolen or you are going to sell it.

Although many people confuse it with the PUK number, this number will not help us to unlock the SIM card in case we forget the PIN or to access hidden data on the phone, but it will help us for countless other things . That is why it is so important to know where we can find it on the phone and the many different ways we have to do it.

You’ll recognize it because it’s a 15-17 digit number that allows networks to identify a phone and get information about what type of terminal it is, including where it was made and its model.

imei

What is the IMEI for?

If you’ve been saving long and hard to buy one of the best phones on the market and it’s stolen, it’s going to be very angry, but you can use your IMEI to easily find your phone again and even lock it from accessing your content or data. the information stored within the device. All IMEI numbers for products sold in Europe are linked to a continental database that allows providers to see if it has been marked as lost or stolen.

You may also need to know the number if you travel abroad , as it is necessary to register the smartphone using this numerical code to use it in certain countries.

This ID is also useful if you are buying a used phone, as you can immediately check if there are any issues with the second-hand device, such as being blacklisted by certain carriers.

Where to find it on mobile

It doesn’t matter if you have an iPhone or a phone from Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, Huawei… running on the Android operating system. In almost all terminals this identifier is located in the same places .

in the mobile box

The most common way to find this code is on a sticker that comes on the edges of the box where the device was stored at the time we bought it, which is why it is always so advisable to keep these boxes.

imei caja

You will recognize it identified by the IMEI text, followed by the more than 10 digits that we indicated before. You should not confuse it with the serial number or other identifying data as it appears well defined.

If you don’t have the box, don’t worry, there are many more ways to find out.

With the code *#06#

Perhaps the easiest way of all, as long as you don’t have the equipment box at hand or you can’t open the device, is to use the phone app to enter one of those hidden codes that show us important information on our mobile device.

IMEI

In this case all you have to do is open the Phone app and the dialer from it. Now enter the code * # 06 # and immediately you will see how a pop-up window appears on the screen that shows you your IMEI numbers. If you have the dual SIM option (either through two cards or one card and one eSIM), you will get two different numbers

Inside the phone (if you can open it)

In the old days, you could find your IMEI number in the battery compartment of your phone . But these days you can’t open your phone, so it’s often printed on a sticker on the back of the phone.

IMEI

However, if you have a smartphone that is a few years old or one of the few that is still being sold that allows access to the battery, finding the IMEI is as easy as opening the smartphone and taking a look at the plate that is housed right under the smartphone battery.

From the Settings menu

Here things do change a bit, depending on whether you have a smartphone that works with the Google operating system or an iPhone.

on Android

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Select the About Phone or Phone Information menu
  3. On some models, you may have to go into the Status menu
  4. Your IMEI number will appear at the top of the screen. If you have a Dual SIM mobile, two

IMEI

on iOS

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Then tap General
  3. Now select Information
  4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find your IMEI number

imei iphone

In your SIM tray

It is not the most common, but, although not all manufacturers do it, if you are lucky you can also locate the IMEI of your mobile screen printed on the tray where we insert the SIM card.

imei sim

This measure was born as a measure to the impossibility of opening the smartphone to consult this number, as we indicated before. However, if you have a skewer to hand with which to open the phone card tray, it is easy to remove it to locate this important numerical code.

While on newer Apple phones this is the case, on some older iPhones, you’ll find it on the back of the phone .

With an app on Android

There are no applications that allow us to obtain this number on iOS, since the Apple brand is committed to physical systems such as screen printing on the SIM or on the back of the phone, but in the case of mobiles that work with the Apple operating system Apple yes we can download an app like IMEI number .

This app shows us all device status information, memory information, network information, software and hardware information about our phone. But what matters most to us is that it also allows you to easily locate the phone’s IMEI .

Use iTunes with your iPhone

If your iPhone is locked and you have no way to open the SIM tray, you can connect it to a Mac and use the Finder app, as long as the computer is running macOS Catalina 10.15 or later. Once you’ve connected your iPhone to your Mac, open the Finder app and select your phone in the sidebar.

Go to the General tab and locate your device to click on Phone number under your device name, which will allow you to see the IMEI number.

apple imei iphone itunes

If you don’t have a Mac and are running Windows, you can use iTunes to accomplish the same thing. Once you connect iPhone to computer, open iTunes . Next, click Summary to view your Apple device information, including the IMEI number.

What information does it contain?

The basic information contained in an IMEI number refers to the device. This is encrypted when the number is created, delving into the make, model, and specifications of the device it refers to. But it does not host any type of personal or compromised information of the user, only of the equipment.

This data is mainly added when the phone is built. It does not include any information about the name or address where the phone is registered, nor the SIM card number. However, it is true that it may contain some network and location information that could be considered personal in the wrong hands. It is for this reason that we recommend that you do not share the number with anyone.