This is a long-standing discussion amongst me and my friends that never seems to get anywhere!
Is it safe in the UK, to give someone your IMEI number when you're trying to sell a phone. Personally, I always thought that it would be really useful because you could check to see if it's been stolen / lost etc but others say that it could be cloned and land you in a lot of trouble with huge network charges etc.
Surely the sim card is the thing that you need to protect as you can use it in any phone with any IMEI..
Can someone offer any expert advice?
Ive read it said to never give out imei for all the reasons you stated and maybe more.
Well I'm no expert but what's important about deciding on whether or not to give out your IMEI is to find out exactly what it is going to be used for.
For example a closed beta application may be coded to only work on specific IMEI numbers.
As a general rule I'd say find out what it's needed for, give it to trusted people only and keep it out of public viewing.
Related
I'm currently running an HTC touch pro 2 and i still have my HTC touch pro. I turned my TP1 on the other day for the first time in many months and the phone picked up a text message, not only did it pick it up, it picked it up at the same time my TP2 did. Unfortunately it hasn't happened since.
What i'd like to know, is there a way i can emulate the IMIE number on the tp2, so that i can have both my TP2 and my TP1 working at the same time.
I want to be able to use my TP1 as a full data device while i make my calls on my TP2 or vice versa.
If you can't post the answer here for what ever reason feel free to private message me.
*edit it will recieve every txt message that is sent to my number but it won't send and it won't take incoming calls.
Good luck with that, cause that aint gonna happen. Well, at least not anyway that I can possibly think of. Carriers wont allow more than one phone per mobile number. They say it isn't possible, but I personally think it IS possible and that they just wont allow it. Technically, it should be able to work. But the problems would fall with the GPS. Even if GPS was on in one device while off on the other, they couldn't track someone if they wanted to. I'm sure there are other reasons to this. I have never heard of what you are experiencing. They probabbly didn't fully remove the old phone's IMIE data from the system, hence why you can receive texts but not send anything. What service are you on?
THE-COPS said:
Good luck with that, cause that aint gonna happen. Well, at least not anyway that I can possibly think of. Carriers wont allow more than one phone per mobile number. They say it isn't possible, but I personally think it IS possible and that they just wont allow it. Technically, it should be able to work. But the problems would fall with the GPS. Even if GPS was on in one device while off on the other, they couldn't track someone if they wanted to. I'm sure there are other reasons to this. I have never heard of what you are experiencing. They probabbly didn't fully remove the old phone's IMIE data from the system, hence why you can receive texts but not send anything. What service are you on?
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1) unfortunately telus.
2) The GPS on my phones has been completely deactivated except for when I want to turn it on. I refuse to allow someone to turn it on remotely, also in Canada that's akin to wireless phone tapping so the cops can't do it. And even if they could legally i'd still reprogram my phone so they can't.
3) That's my point. If they didn't fully remove it and my old phone can still get the txt messages that means they can re-add the old MEIE numbers back to the system and both should work. OR if i could put an emulator onto my phone or even hard code the MEIE number change on my old phone to the same as my new one...
Remember back in the day when cellphones were still a new thing, the brick and bag phones and so on, well someone figured out how to clone phones and the practice caught on like wildfire and since then has been literally outlawed. AS IN IT IS ILLEGAL TO CLONE ONE OR MORE PHONES TO THE SAME IMEI, MSID, DEC OR HEX SERIAL TO GAIN USE OF MULTIPLE PHONES ON THE SAME LINE AT THE SAME TIME. Not being mean or an ass to you, but I would research this a little bit and tread lightly on the subject. Stuff like this is not tolerated very well on xda.
Plus, now it would be almost impossible to do this with any carrier as the data the phone sends out is not just what you want it to. Whenever it connects to the network is sends and receives configuration data such as manufacturer and model among other things and will throw red flags if it doesnt match up to what the expected result of the data sent and received to the network and carrier has on file.
Again, tread lightly on this path.
"AS IN IT IS ILLEGAL TO CLONE" I'm serious, I'd like to see an actual Canadian law stating this. And if it's not illegal in Canada then it's a legit question. Well it's still legit.
"not tolerated very well on xda." Why? the whole point of these forums is to learn and teach people how to modify their phones. If they didn't want people sharing this information they should never have started this website to begin with.
As to my actual question and as to one stated answer
"They probably didn't fully remove the old phone's IMIE data from the system"
If it's still partially in the system that means it could be wholly in the system and means it should be able to be done. If they say it can't but i'm still getting txts on both phones that means the carriers are lying and are just making excuses to get more money. If thats all it is i'll do my best to get every penny out of them for every penny they're stealing from me.
Ok rant done, how do I clone my IMIE number? (no i won't tread lightly)
slight22 said:
"AS IN IT IS ILLEGAL TO CLONE" I'm serious, I'd like to see an actual Canadian law stating this. And if it's not illegal in Canada then it's a legit question. Well it's still legit.
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its considered fraud under the law in most counties, like changing the VIN on a car, even if there isnt a specific law to deal with it
and besides that, its against the rules of this forum, so even if it was legal to do its not ok to ask about here
defaultdotxbe said:
its considered fraud under the law in most counties, like changing the VIN on a car, even if there isnt a specific law to deal with it
and besides that, its against the rules of this forum, so even if it was legal to do its not ok to ask about here
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Your making a mountain out of a mole hill and there is a very real difference between a 6 or 8 hundred dollar phone and 15 thousand dollar plus car; unless you own both then i see no issue switching out the vin, as long as you own the cars.
as to being the against forum policy i challenge that on the simple fact there is nothing wrong with sharing knowledge.
slight22 said:
Your making a mountain out of a mole hill and there is a very real difference between a 6 or 8 hundred dollar phone and 15 thousand dollar plus car; unless you own both then i see no issue switching out the vin, as long as you own the cars.
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lawmakers disagree
as to being the against forum policy i challenge that on the simple fact there is nothing wrong with sharing knowledge.
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forum admins disagree
"lawmakers disagree"
I can't trace out anywhere where they say cloning your phones IMIE is illegal in Canada, and i also just got of the phone with HTC and they said they don't know of any laws saying it is.
As to the forum admins, they are allowed to disagree, but i'll be they want to know just as much as I do.
Another thread (closed) on this site which discusses ESN cloning: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=380172
Just search on google, and you will find what you need. There are programs like cdma workshop out there.
I know this is a touchy subject due to the potentially illegal uses of IMEI numbers. Let me be very clear, I want to restore MY original IMEI number. Here is my situation:
Through various ROM flashes I have changed my IMEI number. Kies says my device in unregistered because I have the wrong IMEI. I wanted to try going back to stock since GB is now available without using a custom ROM. I have my device's original IMEI number saved in a document (in case it was ever stolen). I do not have a backup of my original EFS folder, only the IMEI number itself saved in a text document.
Is there any way for me to manually input my devices IMEI number and save it back into my phone?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881162
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Thanks for the suggestion. I had already seen this, but since it was talking about setting the values to a "generic" setting I was trying to avoid it. I tried it anyway and it didn't fix the problem. I unrooted the phone and took it to AT&T. The problem ended up being that the APN setting couldn't be accessed and they weren't configured. The rep was able to do a hard reset. Not sure what kind of reset it was though. Not factory. It didn't revert back to Froyo, but it did remove all the apps (to include all google apps) I had to reinstall the market and restart the phone before it would work. Anyway, everything seems to be working fine now. I just wish I could have seen what the rep was doing so I could describe the solution better, but he was on the other side of the counter and didn't seem to want me to see.
IMei Problems in turkey and registration rules
Hi there
I know this will probably yield me a "no its illegal" reply but please hear me out on this. Im a good person!
I moved to turkey 6 months ago to work here as an IT teacher in an international school. I brought with me my lovely HTC HD2 which i had hacked using XDA software to now run andoid (was very pleased with my phone). registered my phone here with my passport. The phone then broke and while trying to fix it I snapped some of the internal data cables...
I have my old HTC wildfire here but cant use it on the GSM network as im only allowed to register 1 phone to my passport every two years!
I know its not technically allowed but i was thinking of changing the imei on my wildfire to that of my broken (but registered) HTC HD2 and was figuring if i got caught for it that they would see that the imei number is in fact registered to me anyway.
I have searched high and low for solutions for this. I found the Iwizard but I think that this was released in 2007 and my phone was released in 2010 so i am presuming that this will not work. also had some problems and questions about using activesync on my windows 7 computer along with presuming that I cant connect an android phone to activesync.
As I said before. Im not tying to commit a crime here but just trying not to go out and spend lots of money (and phones do cost lots of money here) on buying a turkish phone.
if anyone can help then please let me know
my email is [email protected]
cheers..
Thats called cloning. Will not be discussed here as it is illegal in the states and many other places. Check Turkish law, they may not have any laws against it, however you would still be on your own as its not discussed here.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
just because something is illegal doesnt mean it is illegal to discuss it. it is called freedom of speech. this guy stated he wish he knew how to clone a phone. if you preface your response with the fact the information is not intended for illegal use, you are not aiding anyone. he is responsible for his own actions. a good example of this is when a group attempted to ban "the anarchists cookbook" , a judge ruled that even though the book detailed how to construct illegal devices it could not be baned. the judge cited the first amendment.
i would never advise anyone to break a law but i would not look down on anyone who seeks information. my point is this: it is illegal to make TNT in your basement but it is not illegal to speak or write about how TNT is made. the op should seek his information on the web elsewhere since xda is not for q and a for phone cloning. there are many web sites that explain cloning and it is not illegal to read or write about this matter.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Uh ya, and in short, its not discussed on XDA. I never trounced on anyone's freedom of speech.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
georgiajad said:
just because something is illegal doesnt mean it is illegal to discuss it. it is called freedom of speech. this guy stated he wish he knew how to clone a phone. if you preface your response with the fact the information is not intended for illegal use, you are not aiding anyone. he is responsible for his own actions. a good example of this is when a group attempted to ban "the anarchists cookbook" , a judge ruled that even though the book detailed how to construct illegal devices it could not be baned. the judge cited the first amendment.
i would never advise anyone to break a law but i would not look down on anyone who seeks information. my point is this: it is illegal to make TNT in your basement but it is not illegal to speak or write about how TNT is made. the op should seek his information on the web elsewhere since xda is not for q and a for phone cloning. there are many web sites that explain cloning and it is not illegal to read or write about this matter.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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It's not about whether or not it is illegal for the topic to be discussed. If you allow potentially illegal information to be placed on the forum freely then you open the community up to unnecessary scrutiny. There are a lot of people out there that do not like developers helping people alter there mobile devices. Yes it's legal, but it also pisses a lot of companies off. So one way the community protects itself is through self-censorship.
that's right
reply
ConeyKiller said:
Thats called cloning. Will not be discussed here as it is illegal in the states and many other places. Check Turkish law, they may not have any laws against it, however you would still be on your own as its not discussed here.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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cheers for taking the time to at least explain this. I was under the impression that someone from XDA had previously posted software on here for the very purpose i am describing in my last post (re turkey). I saw a screen capture of the software (iwizard) and it has a picture of a turkish cup of tea on it. I was guessing that XDA had decided to help people in turkey with the the registration issues we have. But after about 1 week of free time spent searching the internet for solutions I am ready to give in and just go out and buy a turkish mobile phone (can sell me blocked one in england next time i go home) .
Cheers and thanks for all the great software I have previously had from the site for my HTC HD2
f
So I've got a discussion thats bugged me for ages. I've always wondered about bad IMEI's/ESN's. Phones that cannot be used because they are reported stolen
It has a great purpose, It's like if someone stole your car, the car nolonger can start(bad analogy, don't laugh). But it leaves me with something that really really bugs me
Now what happens to people who legitimately buy devices second hand from original owners and such and then the original owner decides to be a you know what and blacklist the device? Or worse, what happens then to all of these devices in their after life? We now have a pile of useless phones that there seems to be no procedure to ever unblacklist these devices... thats the part that sickens me. We literally are rendering useless perfectly good phones that have the ability to be reused, be it the device is sent to the manufacturer first for refurbishing, the original owner gets the device back into their possession. I just feel there so many phones out there that are rendered useless when they are really expensive pieces of equipment... I Know there's always "changing the IMEI" but we aren't going the illegal route here.
Anyone else have feedback, Idk why it just gives me this feeling of being very wasteful.
XDA simply doesn't want to dabble in any "grey" areas. There may be legitimate/legal reasons for changing an IMEI. Most (or at least many) cases, the reasons aren't legitimate or legal. So, to avoid any confusion (or liability), discussion is prohibited. Similarly, certain "patcher" apps. Lots of legitimate uses, like back-ups/restores, root app removal, etc. But also lots of illegitimate uses. So XDA takes the blanket stance of not discussing such apps. It saves them from any hassle of legal/ethical issues, and alleviates the moderating staff from sorting out the fraction of legitimate questions from the dubious questions, lies, damned lies, and flat-out admissions of nefariousness.
If you buy a phone without doing your research into its IMEI or its unlock status, then I think it's your own damn fault for getting burned. Just my opinion. If you're asking about changing IMEI, then either you screwed up in that regard, or you've knowingly purchased a phone with a bad IMEI (buying a "parts" phone off eBay or craigslist), or are the cause of it having a bad IMEI itself (failing to fulfill a contract agreement). Regardless of the reason, even if it's innocently/ignorantly getting burned by an unscrupulous seller, such discussion is barred from XDA because of those other concerns.
My exact question is at the end more than anything, I see this being wasteful of phones? If a device is blacklisted for being "stolen" but is later found by the original owner? Then what? Still a dead device? I just think there's hundreds of good phones out there that could still be used even if they are found or returned or by who knows what means end up on the service providers desk cause someone found it and sent it to the police or something and it's reunited with it's owner...
You get where I'm going with this?
I SPECIFICALLY STATED CHANING IMEI's, HOW-TO's, and such are NOT to be discussed here. I even said this was a discussion, not a Help me thread... Sorry I feel just like you didn't read my op :/
to make it more basic, I think the current system is super inefficent and wasteful and there must be better solutions out there or some future legal way to deal with unblacklisting phones(i.e. original owner finds phone, goes to carrier, proves their identity with an ID and clearly the carrier can look up the account and devices)
Greetings everyone,
I have an issue i have been trying to combat for a full week now, so i am now based on your expertise to resolve my situation. I have a friend who has bought a fake lenovo clone with the model code S850c. Because the firmware it shipped with was fulled to the brim with bloatware and popups, he asked me to flash another ROM using SP Flash tool. Since it is not a legit model, i only found a couple of ROMS which actually worked.
In between firmware flashes, i had to do a "Format all and flash", which also resulted in the IMEI numbers originally binded with the phone to be deleted. However, I am not able to restore them, because i ommited writing them down before flashing the phone. As a result, the phone recongnises the SIM card but is unable to register to any network. Naturally, i went into engineering mode and punched in the 2 IMEI numbers located under the battery(it is dual SIM), but they must be invalid, since the phone will still not register and imei.info cannot recongnise them.
As a last resort, i also tried to input IMEI numbers from old working phones i have in my drawer, but i still experience the same behaviour. Is there any way to find the original IMEI numbers again or i am doomed? Also, with known working IMEI failed to work?
Only ways xda will advise is to restore a backup that should have been made or to return it to the oem.
Messing with the imei in anyway is illegal in most countries so the above is the only ways xda allows to be talked about.
Thanks for the tip, but I can provide proof that my statements are true and the devices are not stolen, if that is required. I am by no means a thief, i just want to correct a mistake i made in the first place.
In addition, what i asked is about another way to retrieve the IMEI that ORIGINALLY came with the device in order to restore it, without having a backup beforehand. As i mentioned before, the ones under the battery are NOT blacklisted, they are simply fake ones.
With that said, i understand and respect XDA's rules and policies.
DarksonDAP said:
Thanks for the tip, but I can provide proof that my statements are true and the devices are not stolen, if that is required. I am by no means a thief, i just want to correct a mistake i made in the first place.
In addition, what i asked is about another way to retrieve the IMEI that ORIGINALLY came with the device in order to restore it, without having a backup beforehand. As i mentioned before, the ones under the battery are NOT blacklisted, they are simply fake ones.
With that said, i understand and respect XDA's rules and policies.
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I am sure you can. That wasn't a question really. The biggest issue is that any of the tools that might even help you are illegal so you understand the hard place xda is in. Your issue will be most likely the fact that it is a knock off which will mean that it doesn't have a valid imei to begin with. See if you can track down a stock OS for it in another site. (you won't find one here) and see if flashing it will bring it back. Other then that I would send it back and get it replaced but to be honest, with clones you are best off not touching them.
ok i see, thank you so much for your help! I hope i did not sound agressive in my reply, but i was really desperate for a solution
Best regards!
Ive looked all through the threads and have found nothing of an relevance on this subject. Surely with everything we know and can do with phones someone has something. Android devices are much greater than just Google Find my device when our devices are stolen. But it seems we cant track them after someone easily erases the google account from the device. Can someone please restore my faith in the Android community and help me figure out how to properly locate my stolen device.
Ask for police.
They are professional for catching thief. Just offer the IMEI code to the police and trust they will track your phone and get it back very soon.
Not the police around here, they can barely spell IMEI. :/