International Mobile Equipment Identity

The International Mobile Equipment Identity, or IMEI, is a number assigned to identify an individual mobile phone or similar cellular device, distinct from the SIM card or phone number associated with its owner. A mobile network reads the IMEI when a device tries to connect, and can use it to block that specific handset from the network, most commonly after it has been reported lost or stolen, even if a new SIM card is inserted. The identifier is built into the device at manufacture and is normally unique to that one handset, which lets carriers and regulators track or restrict individual pieces of hardware separately from the accounts and phone numbers that pass through them over the device's lifetime. It can usually be found printed inside the battery compartment or displayed on screen through a dialpad code.