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Free IMEI Check and TAC Lookup

Paste the 15 digits and we will tell you two things straight away: whether they form a mathematically valid IMEI, and which make and model of handset that number was allocated to. That part is free and always will be.

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The number itself

What those 15 digits are

An IMEI — International Mobile Equipment Identity — identifies the radio in a handset, not the person using it and not the number people ring. It is burned in at the factory and does not change when you swap the SIM, sign in to a different account or move country.

It is not one number but three fields joined together. The first eight digits are the Type Allocation Code, issued by the GSMA to a manufacturer for one specific model and variant. The next six are that unit’s serial within the batch. The fifteenth is a Luhn check digit, and its only job is to catch typos.

Two practical consequences. A dual-SIM handset has two IMEIs, one per radio, and *#06# will list both — they share a TAC and differ in the serial. And an IMEI ending in a slash and two more digits, as you sometimes see in software, is an IMEISV: the same number with a software version suffix rather than a check digit.

Which digits do what

353847101234567
First 8
TAC
The model, issued by the GSMA
Next 6
Unit serial
This one handset in the batch
Last 1
Check digit
Catches a mistyped digit

Read it off the handset, not off the listing. Dial *#06# and the IMEI appears without placing a call. A number a seller types into a chat window is a number a seller can type wrongly — or copy from a different phone.

Scope

What an IMEI can and cannot tell you

Plenty of sites imply one free lookup reveals everything about a phone. It does not, and the reason is structural: identity is in the number, but status lives in databases that belong to carriers, the GSMA and the manufacturers.

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Free here

Make, model and variant

The TAC resolves to the handset it was allocated to — including which variant, where our tables distinguish them.

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Free here

Whether the number is even real

We run the Luhn check as you type. A number that fails it is a typo or an invention, and no database will recognise it.

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Free here

Whether it matches the phone in front of you

If the box says one model and the TAC resolves to another, stop. That mismatch is the single most useful thing this page does.

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Needs a supplier lookup

Lost, stolen or barred status

Held on carrier and GSMA registries. It cannot be inferred from the digits, and any free tool claiming to read it is guessing.

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Needs a supplier lookup

Activation Lock, Find My and carrier lock

These live on Apple’s and the network’s own systems, queried one device at a time. Signed-in members can run those checks.

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Needs a supplier lookup

Warranty dates and purchase country

A manufacturer record tied to the serial, not the TAC. Two handsets sharing a TAC can have entirely different warranty positions.

Under the bonnet

What happens when you press check

1
The digits are cleaned
Spaces, dashes and stray characters are stripped. Only digits survive, and only the first fifteen are used.
2
The check digit is tested
Luhn runs client-side as you type, which is why the field turns green or red before you submit anything.
3
The TAC is split off
We take digits one to eight. That is the part that identifies a model; the remaining seven are specific to one unit and tell a lookup nothing.
4
Our own tables answer
The TAC is matched against allocation data we hold locally. No request leaves for a paid provider, which is precisely why this step costs nothing.
5
You land on a result page
The identified handset, with the specialist checks that need a live lookup listed separately rather than mixed in as if they were free.
Finding the number

Five places the IMEI is written

1
The dialler Start here
Type *#06# and it appears at once. A dual-SIM handset lists both radios. Works with no SIM fitted and no network.
2
Settings
iPhone: General, then About. Android: About phone, then Status or IMEI information. Useful when the dialler is locked behind a passcode.
3
The Activation Lock screen For locked phones
On a locked iPhone, tap the ⓘ in the corner of the setup screen — the IMEI is printed there on most iOS versions.
4
The SIM tray or rear casing
Laser-etched on the tray of most iPhones, and on the back of an iPhone 6 and older. Cellular iPads carry it on the rear shell.
5
The original box
Printed beside a barcode on the retail packaging. Check it matches the handset — a mismatch means box and phone have been separated.
The live lookups

Checks that query somebody else’s database

Each of these asks a live system a question about one specific handset, and each costs us money to run — so they sit behind a free account rather than being given away to anyone who lands on the page. Pick the one that matches the question you actually have.

Apple hardware

Coverage and repair eligibility
What Apple’s own record says about warranty, AppleCare and whether the device is still entitled to service.
Activation Lock and Find My
Whether the handset is still claimed by an Apple Account. Do this before you hand over money for a used iPhone.
Carrier lock on an iPhone
Whether the SIM slot is restricted to one network, and which network that is.
Older Macs and accessories by serial
For hardware with no IMEI at all — the serial is the only identifier it has.

Android manufacturers

Samsung warranty position
Coverage status held against a Galaxy handset’s IMEI, including whether it has been through a service centre.
Samsung Knox
Whether the Knox warranty bit has been tripped. Once it trips it never resets, and it blocks Samsung Pay and Secure Folder for good.
Huawei coverage
Warranty dates for Huawei-branded handsets and tablets, which sit on a different record from Honor.
Xiaomi Mi Account lock
Whether a Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco handset is still bound to somebody’s Mi Account.

Networks and registries

Original selling network
Which operator the handset was first sold through — the thing you need before you can ask anyone to unlock it.
Lost and stolen registry
Whether the IMEI appears on the reported-lost lists that carriers act on.
eSIM support
Whether the model can hold a downloaded profile, or needs a physical SIM.
Test IMEI generator
Luhn-valid numbers for use in your own test fixtures. They identify no real handset and never will.
Asked often

IMEI questions, answered properly

Is the free check really free, or is there a catch?
It is genuinely free and it needs no account, because it runs entirely against allocation data we already hold — validating the check digit and resolving the TAC to a model costs us nothing per lookup. The checks that do cost us money are the ones that query a live system belonging to somebody else, and those are the ones we ask you to sign in for. We would rather draw that line clearly than advertise everything as free and then surprise you at the result.
Will this tell me whether a phone is stolen?
Not on its own, and be sceptical of anything that claims otherwise for free. Lost and stolen status is recorded on carrier and GSMA registries that have to be queried one IMEI at a time and charge for the privilege. What the free lookup does do is confirm the number is real and belongs to the model you are being shown — useful, because a seller quoting an IMEI from a different handset is a fairly common trick. For the registry itself, use the lost and stolen check.
Is it safe to give my IMEI to a stranger?
Handing it over carries no direct risk to your data: an IMEI cannot be used to read your messages, locate you or get into any account. The real risk is indirect and worth knowing — a number posted in public can be quoted in a fraudulent warranty claim or used to dress up a listing for a different phone. So share it with a buyer who needs to verify a device, and do not paste it into public forums or marketplace listings.
Why does my brand-new phone come back as unrecognised?
Because a TAC only appears in allocation data after it has been issued and published, and a model released a few weeks ago may not be there yet. An unrecognised TAC on a new handset is a gap in the data rather than a sign of a fake. The check digit is the better signal in that situation: if Luhn passes and the number came off the handset with *#06#, the number is fine.
Two IMEIs on one phone — is something wrong?
No, that is dual SIM working as designed. Each radio gets its own IMEI, they share the same first eight digits because it is the same model, and they differ in the unit serial. Checking either one identifies the same handset. Record both if you are reporting the phone lost, because a carrier may act on only the one it sees.
What is the difference between the IMEI and the serial number?
The IMEI is a global identifier with a fixed 15-digit structure, governed by the GSMA, and it is what networks use to recognise or bar a device. A serial number is whatever the manufacturer decided to make it — different length and format for every brand — and it is what warranty and repair records are filed against. Apple lookups often want the serial; network lookups always want the IMEI. Devices with no cellular radio, such as a Wi-Fi-only iPad, have a serial and no IMEI at all.
Why is there a check digit, and how does it work?
It exists so a human error is caught before a number reaches a database. Double every second digit from the right, subtract nine from any result over nine, add everything up, and a valid IMEI totals a multiple of ten. That catches every single mistyped digit and most transpositions. What it cannot do is prove a number was ever issued — it is arithmetic, not a registry, which is why a made-up number can pass Luhn and still match no handset on earth.
My phone shows an MEID or an ESN instead. Now what?
Those are the older CDMA-era identifiers, and you will still meet them on legacy hardware and in North American carrier records. An MEID is 14 hexadecimal characters; many devices of that generation carry both an MEID and an IMEI, and the two are related but not interchangeable. If your handset offers an IMEI anywhere, use that — it is the one every modern registry is keyed on.
Can an IMEI be changed?
Reflashing an IMEI is a criminal offence in the United Kingdom and many other jurisdictions, and it is the standard way a stolen handset gets laundered onto a network. We do not explain how it is done and will not help anyone attempt it. Practically it is also a bad bet: a cloned IMEI collides with the real one, and networks notice.
Does a clean IMEI mean a phone is safe to buy?
It means one specific worry is reduced, not that the phone is clear. A handset can have a spotless registry entry and still be locked to a network you cannot use, still be claimed by somebody’s Apple Account, or have been reported lost an hour after you checked. Pair the number check with the two that actually block a phone from working — Activation Lock and carrier lock — and do them while you are stood in front of the seller, not afterwards.