Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers

Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by londons_explore on Tuesday April 30, 2024 @04:06PM (#40215679)

In Kazakhstan, when a phone is used on a mobile network for the first time, the IMEI of the phone gets locked to that mobile network and that sim card. When you buy the sim card, they photocopy your passport/ID card.

No other sim will work in it until you take that photo ID/passport to the mobile companies office to have it unlocked. The photo id (even if expired) becomes the unlock code for the phone.

Made phone theft drop to pretty much zero.

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Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by medo-bear on Tuesday April 30, 2024 @06:22PM (#40217146)

> Made phone theft drop to pretty much zero

Use a nuke to kill a fly?

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Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by 6th on Tuesday April 30, 2024 @07:41PM (#40217823)

It was the only way to be certain.

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Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by _heimdall on Wednesday May 01, 2024 @12:40AM (#40219565)

The ends always justify the means.

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Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by sambazi on Wednesday May 01, 2024 @04:16AM (#40220785)

i imagine that phone theft is more common in poorer regions

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Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by medo-bear on Thursday May 02, 2024 @02:45AM (#40233378)

Stupid assumption. Phone theft including being robbed for your phone, was more common in London, Sydney, Melbourne than in any place in Eastern Europe I lived in.

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Re:Answering Every Question You Have About IMEI Numbers by sambazi on Thursday May 02, 2024 @02:57AM (#40233441)

i guess you haven't been living in a crowded place in eastern europe then

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