IMEI tracker: What is it and how to use it - Croma Unboxed (2024)

Can you track a lost phone with the IMEI number?

There are a whole host of sites and services which claim to track your lost phone if you just provide them with the IMEI number. IMEI number is a unique 15-digit identification number of your phone. These sites ask for your IMEI number and in turn show you the last location of your phone on the network. This location, too, is not pin-point and is just a broad geographical area. To put it simply, no, it is not possible to track a lost phone using the IMEI number, at least not by civilians.

What can be done?

The first and foremost thing to do is to file an official complaint with the police and get a duplicate SIM with the same number. You can contact your service provider for that. The next step would be to block the IMEI of your phone. For this, you can visit the Central Equipment Identity Register’s website and request a blocking by filling in some rudimentary information. This will put law enforcement authorities and network operators on the lookout for your phone.

Losing a phone is a hectic ordeal. Many of us simply panic but the logical thing at that moment is to secure our personal data on the phone from falling into wrong hands. Wasting time on sketchy sites would yield nothing but more disappointment. Wiping the data on the phone using Find My Device, officially registering a lost complaint with the police authorities followed by getting the IMEI number blocked is the best course of action.

What are the benefits of IMEI number tracking?

IMEI trackers are usually websites that can help you locate and recover your lost mobile phone. Your IMEI number is unique to your phone and tracking pages can access the relevant data for you.

They usually have location-specific software or databases linked, with a repository of various network providers, to fetch you accurate results. Furthermore, tracking websites can also remotely lock your phone in case you report it lost and prevent any unauthorised access on it.

What is CEIR?

Central Equipment Identity Register or CEIR was launched by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, to tackle the growing concerns of stolen smartphones in the country.

You can check the status of your mobile phone by visiting the website or can KYM (Know Your Mobile) status by sending a text on 14422 with the given format: KYM <15 digit IMEI number>. If it shows blacklisted, it is best to avoid purchasing the handset as it may have been stolen in the past.