The IMEI number is the identity of your phone – it tells a lot about your phone including its history. Think of it like the passport of your phone. Before you buy a phone, a simple IMEI check can reveal if there’s something suspicious about your phone – like it being a stolen one or a blacklisted phone.
IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. It is a number assigned by the phone’s manufacturer and is unique to every phone. This number is hard-coded into your device. This means the user cannot change it and it also does not change when you change your SIM card.
Buying a new or used phone – both these situations carry the risk of being handed over a stolen or blacklisted phone. On getting one of these phones you may find that your phone is permanently locked or does not receive network signal. In case of iPhones, the phone’s iOS, iCloud or Activation may be locked.Also if you’re using a stolen phone, there’s a high chance of being approached by law enforcement agencies. These are just some of the many problems that one may face when buying a phone that is either stolen or blacklisted. This makes it very important for you to check the IMEI number before purchasing a phone.
Even though IMEI number is an identity for your phone, it does more than just that. IMEI numbers also help:
IMEI search tools are databases that track the status and information about IMEI numbers. Every carrier network has their own IMEI database and there are other third party databases available to check for IMEI numbers.
The big question is how reliable are these IMEI search tools? Can you trust the information provided by these IMEI search tools? The answer to this really lies on the IMEI search tool that you’re using. While there are many IMEI search tools available, some of them are known to highly reliable.PhoneCheck is one such tool. PhoneCheck is available for Android and iOS phones and performs a series of checks that include – IMEI search, hardware functionality, locked and stolen phones, manufacturer, model and many more.Having the phone checked with a reliable IMEI search tools gives the seller and the buyer the confidence that the device has been inspected and passed the required certifications.