does the IMEI serve any purpose at all?
What purpose does the IMEI serve, since service is tied to the SIM and not the phone. Is it just there to make inventory activities easier for retailers? Is it possible for a carrier to determine the IMEI of the phone im using just from my cell number?
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they can use it in their systems to tell what kind of phone you use for activating additional features. i.e. they couldn't put u on a GAIT plan if your IMEI said it was a GSM only phone. the same goes for data plans and what not.
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think of it like your car. You carry a drivers license and your car has a license as well. The billing system keeps track of the imei per call as well as the standard stuff like call origination, roaming and call length. This is also used to detect fraud. While it is extremely difficult to clone GSM lines, multiple IMEI's in a billing system within seconds of each other would likely be the result of cloning.
In europe where GSM is more standard, they have a shared database between carriers that blacklists stolen phone imei's. Because the network can read the imei's off calls, it can block stolen phones from being used at all, regardless of the sim card.
In europe where GSM is more standard, they have a shared database between carriers that blacklists stolen phone imei's. Because the network can read the imei's off calls, it can block stolen phones from being used at all, regardless of the sim card.
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also, if you have a phone that needs a special update, like the one they for the lg 1500 and 2000 and it's not in our billing system, you may not get those updates. And some data can experience problems if the billing system is showing a different imei.
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features working properly. Dropped calls poor service due to having the wrong imei on your account.
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Marcus....the IMEI has absolutely nothing to do with dropped calls!!?? Where in the world did you get that?
Tell me one good reason a wrong IMEI on an account would cause a dropped call.
I go between about 5 different phones, have my V635 on my account for the IMEI and I dont drop calls.
Tell me one good reason a wrong IMEI on an account would cause a dropped call.
I go between about 5 different phones, have my V635 on my account for the IMEI and I dont drop calls.
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Good question not all customer most customers are not affected by having the wrong IMEI becuase the newer sim cards do send the network the phone information even if it is not on your account. It is in the HLR and also in the MSC so your features work fine. But on some of the older GSM phones dropped calls can happen due to wrong IME. Especially if you are talking about GSM GAIT or GAIT-GSM. Or networks that have converted from 1900 to 850mhz. It depends on the phone you are using and where you live.
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dca said:
IMEI is to GSM as ESN is to CDMA...
Not exactly since for CDMA the service is tied to the ESN whereas with GSM the service is tied to the SIM.
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yossi296_65 said:
What purpose does the IMEI serve, since service is tied to the SIM and not the phone. Is it just there to make inventory activities easier for retailers? Is it possible for a carrier to determine the IMEI of the phone im using just from my cell number?
IMEI is International Mobile Equipment Identifier. It's a serial number similar to but not the same as the ESN (Electronic Serial Number) on CDMA and TDMA phones. Your carrier can see which phone you are using since every time your phone is on the network it's broadcasting its IMEI.
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Yes the IMEI allows the carrier to track what kind of phone you are using but it wont usually effect service like having the wrong ESN on TDMA would. The IMEI will allow carriers to provide critical software updates for specific phones. It also serves as a serial number that can allow the carrier to track where the phone was bought, when it was bought, what factory it came from, etc. I've mostly seen the IMEI used for software updates and for warranty issues myself.
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I called Cingular about my unlocked Krzr and he first asked for my IMEI number which I did not give. He then told me the phone may not work if I don't give it to him. Well, so far it is working fine, browser etc. I switch from three different phones all the time with Cingular. BUT then I am going to have to give it to Cingular if I want updates for my phone? Can I just get updates from the Cingular site myself later? The only thing I find I cannot do tho the book with it says I can is assign ringers to specific ids. THen have read that will come from a Cingular update anyway????
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no, caller specific ringing is a non network thing...to be honest, over all no it doesnt matter one hair what your imei is...however there are updates that go thru based on your imei...if you are ever experiencing a problem, then give the imei and ask for an update to be sent..otherwise..eh, my account still thinks i have a p107 if im not mistaken and i am using a nokia 9300
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I acually have a question about IMEI myself. I have had customers come in with phones before that they had found and were using. One guy acually found a phone in a Burger King parking lot and put his sim in and started using it. My question is how do they track IMEI's for fraud or do they even do that? I know at least on a few occasions that ive had customers come in using phones that I know were reported lost or stolen but nothing was brought up about it. I just wanna know how this acually works?
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Kiafice said:
I acually have a question about IMEI myself. I have had customers come in with phones before that they had found and were using. One guy acually found a phone in a Burger King parking lot and put his sim in and started using it. My question is how do they track IMEI's for fraud or do they even do that? I know at least on a few occasions that ive had customers come in using phones that I know were reported lost or stolen but nothing was brought up about it. I just wanna know how this acually works?
None of the US carriers use IMEI to "blacklist" phones as they do in Europe. Be assured though that when someone makes a call their IMEI is broadcast.
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littlefuzzbear said:...Kiafice said:
I acually have a question about IMEI myself. I have had customers come in with phones before that they had found and were using. One guy acually found a phone in a Burger King parking lot and put his sim in and started using it. My question is how do they track IMEI's for fraud or do they even do that? I know at least on a few occasions that ive had customers come in using phones that I know were reported lost or stolen but nothing was brought up about it. I just wanna know how this acually works?
None of the US carriers use IMEI to "blacklist" phones as they do in Europe. Be assured though that when someone makes a call their IMEI is broadcast.
(continues)
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simplymarcus said:...littlefuzzbear said:Kiafice said:
I acually have a question about IMEI myself. I have had customers come in with phones before that they had found and were using. One guy acually found a phone in a Burger King parking lot and put his sim in and started using it. My question is how do they track IMEI's for fraud or do they even do that? I know at least on a few occasions that ive had customers come in using phones that I know were reported lost or stolen but nothing was brought up about it. I just wanna know how this acually works?
None of the US carriers use IMEI to "blacklist" phones as they do in Europe. Be assured though that when someone make
(continues)
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well to answer you question tho..it is used for fraud in the sense of...well for one, if you order a phone and then say you never received it...it can be checked what phone your using...or if you order phones and then "send em back" but put alternate phones in there...that is checked too..mostly it is employee initiated checking that imei's become useful
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here's the way it works......the SIM (as I'm sure you know) is disconnected from the line and banned when reported lost or stolen. The IMEI in this situation is not. It does, however, come into play quite importantly when dealing with replacing a lost or stolen phone. That IMEI is used to verify whether or not the phone is still in use, and if so, if it is in use on the same line, account, or to an account that has a steady call history with the claimed line. That is how it prevents fraud.
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warranty claims, insurance claims, inventory purposes, receipt purposes, piracy purposes, manufactor recalls, tracking, rebate purposes.
need i go on?
need i go on?
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OK..so isn't Cingular able to read the IMEI somehow wihtout me giving it to them? Since I got it unlocked I did go to the Motorola site and register the IMEI for warranty purposes. Do I need to do something else? This is my first unlocked that I purchased online. So far everything is working and paired up my headset fine too.
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that is non network related too...and no not every system at cingular communicates with 100 percent efficency...you dont need to give it...but honestly not giving it serves you little to no purpose
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I think that's determined by the flex version. At least for Cingular's web-based downloads like games and ringtones it is.
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Cingular will use the IMEI to find stolen phones, but it doesn't work too well. If they find you are using a stolen phone they wil turn it off, but then you just have to call cust care and say you bought it at a pawn shopa nd they will turn it back on. Not exactly a bulletproof system or anything.
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