How to block your IMEI mobile phone after robbery or loss

When you lose or steal your mobile phone, it is normally to feel this mixture of disappointment and panic. But before resigning, there is something very useful, what you can do to use it to anyone else: block IMEI. This action will not allow anyone to do or receive calls, send messages or use mobile data, although access to files and phone applications will be possible. Fortunately, if you restore it, you can easily unlock it.

What is IMEI?

IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is a unique 15 -digital code that identifies your mobile phone, as if it were your passport. You can find it in a box for a device, on the purchase account or directly by phone.

How to find out what your mobile phone is

If you want to know your IMEI right now, these are the steps that you must follow in accordance with the operating system you use.

In Android

Step 1: Go to SettingsField

Step 2: Go to About the phone or Telephone informationField

Step 3: Look for the IMEI section. If your mobile phone has a double sim, you will see two code.

On the iPhone

Step 1: Open the application ConfigurationField

Step 2: Go to General and then a InformationField

Step 3: Show until if he finds it.

Universal method

The brand *# 06# in the call application, and the code will appear on the screen. You will not really call anyone, it’s just a shortcut to quickly see IMEI of your device.

How to block your mobile phone on IMEI

If you have lost or stole your mobile phone, and you have IMEI manually, follow these steps to block it:

Step 1: condemns theft or loss. Although this is not always necessary, some operators can request a police report before continuing the blockade.

Step 2: Contact your operator. Call the support service to your phone company and request a blockade of your mobile phone using IMEI. When they ask for this, provide the code. The operator will inform you when the blockade is active, and, as a rule, it is necessary to spend more than 72 hours to conduct. In some countries, such as Chile, operators have a maximum period of 24 hours for this.

If you bought a mobile phone with the operator, and then changed it to another, you must first register IMEI in the database of your new operator before requesting a blockade. Then follow the same process to block it.

What happens when you block a mobile phone from IMEI?

When you block a mobile phone on IMEI, it stops working to make or receive calls, send messages or use mobile data, but you can still connect to Wi -Fi networks. This means that although the line is useless, the device will remain functional for other tasks.

It is important to believe that IMEI blockade is effective only in countries that cooperate with the GSMA database, which includes most America and Europe, but not in all countries of Africa, Asia and Oceania. If the mobile phone is delivered to the area where this restriction is not used, it can continue to work with the local SIM card.

In addition, IMEI locking does not delete information on the device. If you do not have a configured block template or output, a person who has a mobile phone can still access all your data, applications and files. Therefore, it is advisable to activate additional security measures, such as remote restoration of factories using tools to search for my Android device or search for my iPhone in iOS.

Can you unlock your mobile phone blocked by IMEI?

Unlocking the IMEI mobile phone in some cases is possible, but not always. Here we explain when you can, and when you cannot do this:

Cases in which a mobile phone can be unlocked by IMEI

• If you have restored your mobile phoneThe field if you block the device for loss or theft, and then you found it, you can call your operator and request an unlock. Depending on the company, the process can take from several days to several weeks.
• If the blockade was for administrative reasonsIn some cases, the operators block a mobile phone for insoluble or violation of the contract. If you streamline your situation, the company can unlock it.

Cases when you cannot unlock

• If a mobile phone reported a stolen personThe field in these cases will not allow the operator to be unlocked, since it is considered part of the measure against the theft of the devices.
• If you try to do this using unauthorized methodsThere are services that promise to unlock mobile phones using IMEI, but these methods are usually illegal and can cause problems, such as constant blocking or safety vulnerability.

If you need to unlock the mobile phone blocked by IMEI, the best option will always contact your operator and follow the official procedure.