Concept in Definition ABC

My name and surname make me almost unique; after all, it is rare, but there is a possibility that someone will get to be called exactly like me. But there is one factor that is going to differentiate us: the number of our national documents of identity or, failing that, the number of our respective passports.

How do we distinguish two electronic devices that are of the same manufacturer and model? Sometimes it is not trivial to see the serial number, which could give it away, but it is not a universal identifier due to the disparity of criteria, since each manufacturer makes them to their liking.

Identify the phone uniquely throughout the world

One possibility is the MAC number (Media Access Control), which is an identifier of the network cards, but in a beginning mobile phones did not have Wi-Fi connectivity and therefore did not have a network card that would allow them to use this system.

For them the IMEI was created, acronym for International Mobile Station Equipment Identity

, a code 14 or 15 numerical digits, used to identify the terminal when it is connected to the communications network.

This code is divided into different sections:

• the first six digits identify the country in which the device is manufactured


• the next two identify the manufacturer of the terminal


• the next six correspond to the serial number of the phone


• finally, we have one digit that is the verification that the IMEI is correct

How to know the IMEI of our mobile

Let's have a mobile phone conventional, or the latest and most modern smartphoneIn all cases, looking at the IMEI number of our terminal works in the same way: we must type the sequence * # 06 #

Why should we know the IMEI of our phone? Simple: if it identifies the terminal when it connects to the network, imagine that it is stolen from us. To the communicate IMEI, it will be possible for the forces of the law Identify the mobile if it connects, or the operators may block its use.

Yes, I understand that it is possible to falsify the IMEI number to avoid this blocking or the detection of the phone, but it is such a difficult process and with so little safety that it continues to work in time, which I also understand that it is hardly used.

Photos: iStock - Eva Katalin Kondoros / Leonardo Patrizi

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