Database Info

My phone may be black listed soon, what'next? (IMEI ID LOCK)

Hi all,
I have a SPV3000 from my work and I lost it for a while so I mentionned it to my manager who is going to state it to Orange to get it blacklisted.
The thing is, after a couple of weeks, I have just found my phone again!
I am not feeling I should mention it again to my boss as it sounds really ridiculous and he was kind enough not to argue on the loss. But well, now I have a phone fully working which IMEI code will soon be blacklisted by the 3 main operators in France running a common database on the subject (in case of phones stolen). I may send my phone to a friend abroad who will certainly be able to use it there but is there any tricky solution to be able to use it in France?
What is this IMEI code exactly and how does it work?
BE SURE I AGREE WITH THE IDEA OF BLACK LISTS TO AVOID SO COMMON AGGRESSIONS JUST FOR PHONES...
You may send me private posts in case you are reluctant to have this kind of information largely communicated.

Hi marcel06!
IMEI is kind of like a serial number which your cell company sees.
If you haven't noticed, there is a wiki link under the word for details.
There are no tricks when it comes to IMEI. There are ways of changing it, but that is illegal in most countries.
Because IMEI identifies your phone, thieves could change their phone IMEI to match yours so you would pay for calls made from other phone.
If you really want to use the phone again, you should report that it was found so they won't blacklist you.

levenum said:
Because IMEI identifies your phone, thieves could change their phone IMEI to match yours so you would pay for calls made from other phone.
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Oh.. no. I'm not sure about those pre-SIM period phone. But I'm definately sure that now, for phones that are using SIM cards, you are not able to charge to others account using IMEI. The controlling mech is the SIM card, the billing information is in the card, not the phone. But the operator will have the power (as I've heard) to disable/track phone by IMEI.

IMEI Tracking

Just a quick one guys. I am trying to resolve some issues for my wife right now with her new Motorola CLIQ 2.
Her phone was recently stolen from a party, and she is pretty sure that she just saw one of her ex-friends using a phone with the same case and exact same dents and whatnot (she's clumsy!).
I have the box with the IMEI number, we have locked her number so that it can't be used. TMOUS is giving us hell and saying they can't do anything to lock by IMEI or anything. She is trying to get in contact with the guy she thinks has her phone but surprisingly there is no word from him.
I was wondering, don't all GSM phones have to authenticate IMEI numbers whenever they jump on/off a tower? By that logic I feel that TMOUS could track this phone to a position between the towers. Or they could at least tell me if that IMEI is in use! I'm not asking for them to tell me WHO is using it, I understand privacy, but I am just asking if it is in use at the moment.
Thanks for any help.
Matt

For TMO to even check for that the IMEI would have to be reported as stolen and there'd have to be a legal document giving authorization to do a full trace. My dad's phone got taken and I went through the exact same BS, luckilly I could trace it the same night by using my phone to find the BT signal from his and i just yelled "this would be a lot smoother if they'd just turn it in,then the cops wouldn't have to get involved because I know where the phone is",the next morning it was "mysteriously" in the mailbox but yeah, if you have the IMEI and Serial numbers you should report it to the cops and HOUND them to get it tracked, if you have that info there's no reason they shouldn't be able to find it, but most police forces are too lazy to do so and just wait for the person to stop asking. If/when you get the phone back you'll need to call the cops and tell them you have it back in your possession so they can remove the numbers from the blacklist and the phone will be operable LEGALLY again.

different nations
in italy is more different
if forget / stoled your phone
you call your operator and tell him your IMEI and operator block the phone
but the real is if the "thief" change IMEI is possible use phone with onother SIM
the police, is not tracking the phone because is a hight cost

[Q] Lost My Phone...

I lost my damn G2X the other day while drunk and had just installed a new ROM and no tracking app yet. The guy at Tmobile today told that anyone could put their own SIM card in my phone if found and use it without a problem.
Can TMobile really not associate the IMEI off that phone (that I reported lost) with one that cannot be activated? I don't want to believe that and don't believe the fat slob at the store anyways due to how he bad he messed up my account today and failed to share important information with me

aburn95 said:
I lost my damn G2X the other day while drunk and had just installed a new ROM and no tracking app yet. The guy at Tmobile today told that anyone could put their own SIM card in my phone if found and use it without a problem.
Can TMobile really not associate the IMEI off that phone (that I reported lost) with one that cannot be activated? I don't want to believe that and don't believe the fat slob at the store anyways due to how he bad he messed up my account today and failed to share important information with me
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Click to collapse
Any T-Mobile sim card can work with any T-Mobile or Unlocked phone without the need of setting up a IMEI to that sim card. So yes they can just throw in there card and it will work. If you report your phone stolen then T-Mobile might be able to block the use of said IMEI from it's network. That is if you know what that number is and you ask about it over the phone. The first thing you should of done in this situation is called in your phone as stolen. Still it's possible they wont do that. I know I've seen comment for cell phone dealers on ebay who stated that the company sold them a stolen phone that is now deactivated. So best of luck. Also make sure you go to an actual corporate store. Not all T-Mobile stores are owned by T-Mobile. It's very hard to tell the difference between them.

Thanks I have the box it came in I think that has IMEI

its a gsm phone so they can't do anything, if it was a cdma then it won't work!

well crap. someones a lucky ************

If you are fast enough you log onto the Android Market on the internet and install Plan B. If they have not yanked out your sim yet plan b will install, automatically run, send an sms to you with the phone's location and allow you to track it online. You can also lock it and have it put a message on the phone to return it to the owner.

Jboxer is right, most probably the thief doesn't know as much to know that he can throw another sim card in there.
Best of luck though
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

And it is not true that T-Mobile cannot block the IMEI. If you call T-Mobile and report it lost they will definitely block the IMEI from use on their network. Whoever found it or stole it won't be able to use it on T-Mobile but they would still be able to sim unlock it and use it on AT&T or another network.

Thanks everyone. I think it's all too late. I tried installing Wheres my Droid from net the next morning but it either needs to be set up on phone first (can't remember) or the phone had already died. Wish I knew about "Plan B." This succcccks. I really hope something goes wrong with it for the new owner, And sure hope they like a basic ass setup of MIUI!!!

HELP! Phone stolen and Tmobile won't block IMEI!

My wife's phone was stolen yesterday. We didn't have insurance or that silly lookout security on it. I bought it on Craiglist last december for her Christmas gift. It was already unlocked and rooted. So the person who stole it can just through any sim in there and use it (we disabled the sim on it through tmobile immediately.) Tmobile is happy, they got a new phone sale and a 2 year contract extension out of it.
But they refuse to block/blacklist the IMEI!
I've called customer support *multiple* times and get the same answer every time - company policy is to not block IMEIs on lost or stolen phones. WTF? The only time they block IMEIs is if you buy a phone and don't pay for it, or if you have insurance (and even that part is not clear, it sounds like they just use the Lookout security program to lock it, which any savvy user can disable in minutes).
I've filed a police report, and when I finally told them that by not blocking the IMEI they are aiding and abbetting a felony theft. They said to write to the legal department.
The police report they gave my wife doesn't even say phone or the IMEI. I asked her to go back and get the full report or get the officer to write the phone model and make on the little slip as well as the IMEI, and I'm going to take it in person to every carrier and see if they'll block the IMEI from their system, just in case this person has another carrier (since it's unlocked).
Does anyone have advice on what to do? I know I won't be tracking or recovering the phone I just want to make sure it's unusable.

Well until you blocked the sim you could have used lookout's plan b to attempt to find the phone. You are pretty much screwed unless the phone shows up in a pawn shop. Did t-mo give a reason for not blacklisting the imei?

You can install androidlost remotely from a computer or another handset. Go to wwwDOTplayDOTgoogle.com sign into the account email that is on the phone that was taken and search for (androidlost) and click install. It will install the on the device when it connected to a data network via wifi or GSM. Then go to wwwDOTandroidlostDOTcom and follow the instructions on their site. I hope this helps. "Since this is my first post I am unable to put web links so Dot is used in place of (.)
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

The phone's sim has been disabled. My wife already has a new sim and new phone. I don't think I can remotely install apps anymore. And before blocking the sim, lookout hadn't been installed. I suppose I could've tried to push lookout, but it still has to be run and activated before it can be used. And I doubt the thief would've done that.
The reason they gave was A) they don't disable IMEIs on stolen and lost phones and B) they have no way to do it (which I called BS on and said connect me to someone who can, they wouldn't)

Ok I was able to install androidlost apparently. At least it said it could send it to the phone. However I go to the website and it says the program needs to be run on the phone first. Like I said, doubt the person will do that. And I can't send an SMS to it to start it, since the sim has been disabled. Now if I knew the phone number of the SIM they plugged into it then maybe I could do something. I also put lookout plan b on. Again I can't send it a text and I don't know if it will really even install. If they've thrown a new SIM, MAYBE plan B will work and send an email to my wife's gmail and MAYBE it'll have the phone number in it, from which I can text to start androidlost.
Edit: God I wish I'd known about plan B before we disabled it
Edit2: Anyone know if the person plugs another sim card in, will Google Play still be able to download to it?

If they dont change the google account then yes it will install. Otherwise mate your screwed. But as a aside you now know about things that can be done to help find the device. I suggest looking into cerabus for your current phones. You can set it up to remain through a factory reset/data wipe on rooted phones. Im sorry this happened and we cant offer much more help.

That's sucks man! There is a way to track a phone via imei and what tower they are connected to but i think that software is only available to certain agencies (the feds...lol). No matter what SIM is in the phone, or if there is even a sin in it, when you send an app to it via play store, it installs as long as your Google account hasn't been removed from the device.
Sent from my SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Well I installed both Plan B and Lookout but no emails from plan B At least I know if they do put a SIM card in, even for another carrier, I can still install stuff to it as long as the google account isn't changed. Of course I have no way of knowing if the google account is changed. Actually...if the google account is changed, will it disappear from the list of devices I can install to on the Google Play store? Does the fact it's still listed as one of my devices I can install things to mean the google account hasn't been changed?
Cerberus looks awesome. Actually, what if I just go ahead and buy and install Cerberus to it remotely? Does it need to be configured/enabled on the device itself before it starts being able to be tracked by the cerabus web site and give me the new phone number of a changed SIM?
Edit: Aw nuts. Cerberus DOES have to be configured on the phone itself and granted permissions. DAMN I wish I'd thought about this issue before. Also wish she'd at least put the PIN or pattern lock on her phone. I put it on mine but she didn't put it on hers. That would've prevented someone from getting into the phone unless they wiped the ROM, right?
Edit2: I went ahead and put Cerberus on my own phone and bought a license I was so impressed.. This is way better than Lookout. I hid if from my app drawer, but how do you make it so a person can't uninstall it? It still shows up on the list of installed programs.

I think you need to be rooted for that. I would ask the support for cerebus Im not real sure I just know people on reddit speak very highly of it.

All they have to do is factory reset it.....all gone.....and if its got a security lock when you wake the device all they have to do is the 3 button combo into recovery and do factory reset.....either way....your phone is gone and tmobile dont care cuz most likely it will be of use to someone else hoping with thier service....plus hey they just made a few more bucks from you

With celebrus it will persist through a factory reset/data wipe. The only way it will be removed is if they wipe system.

I guess they will do that too.
I always neglected these anti theft apps, since they appeared too heavy and RAM consuming..
I decided to take the chance, but I agree - it's a real bummer, our entire lives are in these devices.
sent from me

I'm pretty impressed with Cerberus. It consumes <1mb RAM, it has a disguised version, if your phone is rooted it will survive a factory reset, if the person change SIMs it will send you a message with the new # (which you can then send secret cerberus commands to), if the person changes the gmail account on the phone it will still work -- it's a SLICK program. It has an SMS command method and a web dashboard and you can do all sorts of stuff - track location, lock, display a message, sound an alarm, wipe SD, record video or audio, all sorts of stuff. It has a disguised version too (need root though) and the person can't uninstall it.
God I wish I'd installed this on my wife's phone. It's only $3 too, one time fee and you can install it on 5 devices with that license. No monthly fee. Just for comparison, Lookout has a 21MB RAM footprint.
I've not tried the Avast anti theft program but it sounds nice too. I'm not trying to shill for Cerberus here, I'm just really impressed. And damn I wish I'd put it on there before it got stolen...

Unfortunately no carrier will be willing to block a stolen phones imei
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium

New info only way to block imei is if your on a payment plan for the device.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium

New info. Look at the dates before pulling up dead threads.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

disabling sim is one of the worst things you can do to it, cause you block communication to it unless the other person puts a sim card with a data plan in it.

airfluip1 said:
disabling sim is one of the worst things you can do to it, cause you block communication to it unless the other person puts a sim card with a data plan in it.
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Click to collapse
Indeed very true. I learned that the hard way.
To elaborate - you can remotely install tracking software from the play store to give you a chance to recover it, wipe it and other useful tools.

My phone got stolen and the police says there is no way to find it

Hi, so my phone got stolen about year and a half ago and now I got a letter from the police saying that they are canceling the case because they can't tell who is the owner of the phone now. They told us that a sim card was activated on the phone, but they cannot say who is the owner of the sim. Also they found the person who stole my phone and he just told them that he found it and then sold it to another guy who the police found too, but he sold it to an unidentified person. I have tried to track my phone using find my android, but looks like the phone was restarted to factory settings immediately, because the last day it was connected to a network with my google account in it was the day it was stolen. I tried calling the phone when I saw that it is not where I put it, but it was turned off. We searched the whole school, but it was nowhere to be found, because it was stolen. That is the whole story. I am sure that there is a way to track it, but the police just don't want to waist their time. They aren't really doing any work, but there is nothing that I can do to convince them to find my phone. So I am turning to you guys. I have the box of my phone and the IMEI number. Is there a way to track it using the IMEI or something else?

ILoveZed said:
Hi, so my phone got stolen about year and a half ago and now I got a letter from the police saying that they are canceling the case because they can't tell who is the owner of the phone now. They told us that a sim card was activated on the phone, but they cannot say who is the owner of the sim. Also they found the person who stole my phone and he just told them that he found it and then sold it to another guy who the police found too, but he sold it to an unidentified person. I have tried to track my phone using find my android, but looks like the phone was restarted to factory settings immediately, because the last day it was connected to a network with my google account in it was the day it was stolen. I tried calling the phone when I saw that it is not where I put it, but it was turned off. We searched the whole school, but it was nowhere to be found, because it was stolen. That is the whole story. I am sure that there is a way to track it, but the police just don't want to waist their time. They aren't really doing any work, but there is nothing that I can do to convince them to find my phone. So I am turning to you guys. I have the box of my phone and the IMEI number. Is there a way to track it using the IMEI or something else?
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Click to collapse
Yes, there is an IMEI tracking app in the playstore that has been known to work.
If they have changed the IMEI, this won't help you.
I'd say, cut your losses and move on, take it as a lesson learned and be more careful with your next device.
I keep my device with me at all times, I've never had a device stolen from me and I've never lost my devices. I've owned dozens.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
Yes, there is an IMEI tracking app in the playstore that has been known to work.
If they have changed the IMEI, this won't help you.
I'd say, cut your losses and move on, take it as a lesson learned and be more careful with your next device.
I keep my device with me at all times, I've never had a device stolen from me and I've never lost my devices. I've owned dozens.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the name of the app?

ILoveZed said:
What is the name of the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMEI tracker
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