IMEI AND IMSI NUMBER
To Check IMEI Number On Your Smart Phone
*#06#
IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity
The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique, to identify
3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones.
It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone, but can also be displayed
on-screen on most phones by entering *#06# on the dialpad, or alongside other system information
in the settings menu on smartphone operating systems.
GSM networks use the IMEI number to identify valid devices, and can stop a stolen phone
from accessing the network. For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can
have their network provider use the IMEI number to blacklist the phone.
This renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks, even if the
thief changes the phone's subscriber identity module (SIM).
The IMEI only identifies the device and has no particular relationship to the subscriber.
The phone identifies the subscriber by transmitting the International mobile subscriber
identity (IMSI) number, which it stores on a SIM card that can, in theory, be transferred
to any handset. However, the network's ability to know a subscriber's current, individual device
enables many network and security features.
When someone has their mobile equipment stolen or lost, they can ask their service provider
to block the phone from their network, and the operator does so if required by law.
If the local operator maintains an Equipment Identity Register (EIR), it adds the
device IMEI to it. Optionally, it also adds the IMEI to shared registries, such as the
Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), which blacklists the device with other operators
that use the CEIR. This blacklisting makes the device unusable on any operator that uses the CEIR,
which makes mobile equipment theft pointless, except for parts.
IMSI
Internation Mobile Subscriber Identity
The international mobile subscriber identity or IMSI is used to identify the user of a
cellular network and is a unique identification associated with all cellular networks.
It is stored as a 64 bit field and is sent by the phone to the network. It is also used
for acquiring other details of the mobile in the home location register (HLR) or as locally
copied in the visitor location register. To prevent eavesdroppers identifying and tracking
the subscriber on the radio interface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and a randomly
generated TMSI is sent instead.
The IMSI is used in any mobile network that interconnects with other networks. For GSM,
UMTS and LTE networks, this number was provisioned in the SIM card and for cdmaOne and CDMA2000
networks, in the phone directly or in the R-UIM card (the CDMA equivalent of the SIM card).
Both cards have been superseded by the UICC.
An IMSI is usually presented as a 15 digit number but can be shorter.
For example, MTN South Africa's old IMSIs that are still being used in the market are
shown as 14 digits. The first 3 digits are the mobile country code (MCC), which are
followed by the mobile network code (MNC), either 2 digits (European standard) or 3 digits
(North American standard). The length of the MNC depends on the value of the MCC, and
it is recommended that the length is uniform within a MCC area. The remaining digits
are the mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) within the network's customer
base (mostly 10 or 9 digits depending on the MNC length).
Example of IMSI numeric presentation
IMSI:4041501234567890
IMSI:310150123456789
MCC Mobile Country Code
MNC Mobile Network Code
MSIN Mobile Subscriber Identification Number
IMSI analysis is the process of examining a subscriber's IMSI to identify the network
the IMSI belongs to, and whether subscribers from that network may use a given network
(if they are not local subscribers, this requires a roaming agreement).
If the subscriber is not from the provider's network, the IMSI must be converted to a
Global Title, which can then be used for accessing the subscriber's data in the remote
HLR. This is mainly important for international mobile roaming. Outside North America,
the IMSI is converted to the Mobile Global Title (MGT) format, standard E.214,
which is similar to an E.164 number. E.214 provides a method to convert the IMSI
into a number that can be used for routing to international SS7 switches. E.214 can
be interpreted as implying that there are two separate stages of conversion; first
determine the MCC and convert to E.164 country calling code then determine MNC and
convert to national network code for the carrier's network. But this process
is not used in practice and the GSM numbering authority has clearly stated that
a one-stage process is used.
Have a Nice Stay Here :)
*#06#
IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity
The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique, to identify
3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones.
It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone, but can also be displayed
on-screen on most phones by entering *#06# on the dialpad, or alongside other system information
in the settings menu on smartphone operating systems.
GSM networks use the IMEI number to identify valid devices, and can stop a stolen phone
from accessing the network. For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can
have their network provider use the IMEI number to blacklist the phone.
This renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks, even if the
thief changes the phone's subscriber identity module (SIM).
The IMEI only identifies the device and has no particular relationship to the subscriber.
The phone identifies the subscriber by transmitting the International mobile subscriber
identity (IMSI) number, which it stores on a SIM card that can, in theory, be transferred
to any handset. However, the network's ability to know a subscriber's current, individual device
enables many network and security features.
When someone has their mobile equipment stolen or lost, they can ask their service provider
to block the phone from their network, and the operator does so if required by law.
If the local operator maintains an Equipment Identity Register (EIR), it adds the
device IMEI to it. Optionally, it also adds the IMEI to shared registries, such as the
Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), which blacklists the device with other operators
that use the CEIR. This blacklisting makes the device unusable on any operator that uses the CEIR,
which makes mobile equipment theft pointless, except for parts.
IMSI
Internation Mobile Subscriber Identity
The international mobile subscriber identity or IMSI is used to identify the user of a
cellular network and is a unique identification associated with all cellular networks.
It is stored as a 64 bit field and is sent by the phone to the network. It is also used
for acquiring other details of the mobile in the home location register (HLR) or as locally
copied in the visitor location register. To prevent eavesdroppers identifying and tracking
the subscriber on the radio interface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and a randomly
generated TMSI is sent instead.
The IMSI is used in any mobile network that interconnects with other networks. For GSM,
UMTS and LTE networks, this number was provisioned in the SIM card and for cdmaOne and CDMA2000
networks, in the phone directly or in the R-UIM card (the CDMA equivalent of the SIM card).
Both cards have been superseded by the UICC.
An IMSI is usually presented as a 15 digit number but can be shorter.
For example, MTN South Africa's old IMSIs that are still being used in the market are
shown as 14 digits. The first 3 digits are the mobile country code (MCC), which are
followed by the mobile network code (MNC), either 2 digits (European standard) or 3 digits
(North American standard). The length of the MNC depends on the value of the MCC, and
it is recommended that the length is uniform within a MCC area. The remaining digits
are the mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) within the network's customer
base (mostly 10 or 9 digits depending on the MNC length).
Example of IMSI numeric presentation
IMSI:4041501234567890
| MCC | 404 | INDIA |
|---|---|---|
| MNC | 150 | JIO |
| MSIN | 1234567890 | |
IMSI:310150123456789
| MCC | 310 | USA |
|---|---|---|
| MNC | 150 | AT&T Mobility |
| MSIN | 123456789 | |
| MCC | 502 | MY |
|---|---|---|
| MNC | 13 | Celcom |
| MSIN | 123456789 | |
| MCC | 460 | CHINA |
|---|---|---|
| MNC | 00 | CMCC |
| MSIN | 1357924680 | |
| MCC | 520 | THAILAND |
|---|---|---|
| MNC | 03 | AIS |
| MSIN | 1234567890 | |
| MCC | 470 | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
| MNC | 01 | Grameenphone |
| MSIN | 0171566423 | |
MCC Mobile Country Code
MNC Mobile Network Code
MSIN Mobile Subscriber Identification Number
IMSI analysis is the process of examining a subscriber's IMSI to identify the network
the IMSI belongs to, and whether subscribers from that network may use a given network
(if they are not local subscribers, this requires a roaming agreement).
If the subscriber is not from the provider's network, the IMSI must be converted to a
Global Title, which can then be used for accessing the subscriber's data in the remote
HLR. This is mainly important for international mobile roaming. Outside North America,
the IMSI is converted to the Mobile Global Title (MGT) format, standard E.214,
which is similar to an E.164 number. E.214 provides a method to convert the IMSI
into a number that can be used for routing to international SS7 switches. E.214 can
be interpreted as implying that there are two separate stages of conversion; first
determine the MCC and convert to E.164 country calling code then determine MNC and
convert to national network code for the carrier's network. But this process
is not used in practice and the GSM numbering authority has clearly stated that
a one-stage process is used.
Have a Nice Stay Here :)
