The IMEI: the number that decides whether a phone can be used
The short answer
An IMEI is a fifteen-digit number unique to a phone, used by networks to identify the handset rather than the SIM. It is how a lost or stolen phone gets blocked from every network in a country, and it is what a network lock and a stolen-device check are both held against.
Finding it, three ways
A phone with two SIM slots has two IMEIs, and an eSIM adds another. That is normal. Any of them identifies the device.
Write it down before you need it. If a phone is stolen, the IMEI is what the network and the Gardai will ask for, and getting it afterwards from a device you no longer have is not possible.
- Dial *#06# on the phone. It appears immediately and works on almost every handset
- Settings, General, About on an iPhone, or Settings, About phone on Android
- Printed on the SIM tray on several models, and etched on the back of some older ones
- On the original box, which is the one to check if the phone will not turn on
What a blocked IMEI means
When a phone is reported lost or stolen, the network adds its IMEI to a shared database. Every network in the country checks against it, so the handset stops working on all of them, not just the one it was sold by. A new SIM makes no difference because it is the phone being blocked, not the account.
A blocked phone can still connect to wifi and work as a small tablet, which is why they turn up for sale described as wifi only. It will never make a call on a mobile network again unless the block is lifted by whoever reported it.
Blocks can be reversed if a phone is recovered or reported in error, and only by the network that placed it.
Why you check it before buying
Because a blocked handset looks and behaves perfectly normally until you put a SIM in it, and the person selling it knows that.
Because an IMEI check takes ten seconds and there are free services that query the shared database. Doing it in front of the seller is entirely reasonable and any honest seller expects it.
And because buying a stolen phone is not a bargain in any sense. You lose the money, you lose the phone, and depending on the circumstances you may have a conversation you would rather not have.
- Dial *#06# on the handset itselfNot a number the seller reads out. On the phone, in front of you.
- Check it against the printed numberSettings, the SIM tray and the box should all agree. A mismatch is a serious warning sign.
- Run a free stolen checkSeveral services query the shared database. It costs nothing and takes seconds.
- Put your own SIM in and make a callThis settles both the block and the network lock at once.
- Get the IMEI written on the receiptEven a handwritten one. It is what proves which handset you actually bought.
What it is not
It is not a tracking device. An IMEI identifies a handset to a network; it does not give anybody a location, and members of the public cannot look one up to find a phone.
It is not your phone number, which belongs to the SIM and moves with it between handsets. The IMEI stays with the phone.
And it is not something to hand out casually. An IMEI plus a little social engineering has been used to make fraudulent lost-phone claims, so it belongs on your receipt and in your own records rather than in a public advert.
Where we use it
Every device we buy is IMEI checked before money changes hands, and every device we sell has been. That is the reason we can put a warranty on a used phone.
Customer records here can hold the IMEI of a device against the job, so a repair can be tied to a specific handset rather than a description.
And it is the number a network needs from you to arrange a network unlock, which is usually the free route people should try first.
Common questions.
Dial *#06# and it appears on screen. It is also in Settings, About, printed on the SIM tray on several models, and on the original box.
The handset has been reported lost or stolen and added to a shared database, so it will not work on any network in the country. A different SIM makes no difference because the phone is blocked, not the account.
Only by the network that placed the block, and normally only if the phone is recovered or was reported in error. It is not something a repair shop can do.
Treat it as private. It is not a tracking number and it cannot be used to locate you, but it has been used in fraudulent lost-phone claims, so keep it on your receipt rather than in a public advert.
No. It is tied to the device and a screen, battery or port replacement does not affect it.
Where this leads.
Something actually broken? Bring it in.
Free diagnostic, a firm price before any work, and a 360-day warranty on every completed repair.
Book a repair 24/7 · No fix, no fee · 360-day warranty · Free diagnostic