How to track a lost Android phone with IMEI, what can you do – Tracking a lost Android phone with an IMEI number is always an interesting topic to discuss because there are still many who don’t know how this tracking technique actually works.
How to track a lost Android phone with IMEI, what can you do in 2023
IMEI can indeed be used to identify cellphones, but tracking a lost cellphone with IMEI is not an easy matter that can only be done by simply clicking, clicking or copying the IMEI number to a site or application.
If carelessly later, we can even get stuck on a scam site or application, so at least it will waste our time on useless things.
To make it easier to understand, the first thing we should know is what IMEI is and what it does. Why IMEI can be used to track cellphones and how.
What is IMEI?
IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity which is a series of unique numbers (15 digits) that are used to identify devices on a network.
We can also get information about the cellphone model, year of release, and specifications through this IMEI number. You do this by entering the IMEI number into the IMEI identifier site or application.
Just try to practice, copy the following IMEI number:
356938035643874
Then paste it into the site: https://www.imei.info
Fill in the captcha Kik CHECK. Later, detailed information about the cellphone model, release date, and specifications will come out.
To see the IMEI number on an Android phone, it’s very easy, we just press the code *#06# and then click the dial button, information about the IMEI number on our cellphone will appear.
IMEI function in tracking lost cellphones
Cellular operators are one of the parties that use IMEI to identify cell phones. Cellular operators can block cellphones on their network based on this IMEI number.
After being blocked by the network, we will no longer be able to enter the network even though we have changed SIM numbers because the IMEI is permanent.
If needed, cellular operators can also perform location tracking by utilizing IMEI to identify the device accurately.
Notice the sentence I bolded above, that is the function of IMEI in tracking a lost phone.
IMEI function is only to identify the device, not to determine the location. Because in the IMEI itself there is no information about the whereabouts of the device at all.
So if there is a site or application that claims to be able to track the whereabouts of a lost cellphone just by copy-pasting the IMEI number, it’s definitely a lie.
So it’s better not to easily trust such sites or applications. Either way, our personal data will be stolen or we will be trapped by fraud.
How to track a lost cellphone with IMEI
Tracking a lost android phone using IMEI is not an easy and cheap thing. To track a cellphone with IMEI we need access to towers of several BTS towers that are connected to the cellphone at the same time.
The tracking technique commonly used to track cellphones with IMEI is the BTS triangulation technique. It is called triangulation because it requires at least 3 BTS connected to a cellphone to get a more accurate location.
BTS stands for Base Transceiver Station or we often call it a signal tower. Each cellular operator has its own BTS, its function is to connect our cellphones to the cellular network of the provider we use. This BTS is easy to spot because it is usually painted in red and white.
Tracking can only be done if the cellphone is still on, what if the cellphone is off? Of course, you can’t, because a dead cellphone can’t transmit any signal.
Before tracking using BTS triangulation, the tracker needs sensitive data such as cellphone number or IMEI to identify the device and LAC and CID which are useful for determining the search area.
This data is always sent by our cellphones whenever it is connected to a BTS tower, so the party holding this data is the cellular operator. This data is confidential, the operator will not give it to the public or unauthorized persons.
After that, the tracker will use the 3 closest BTS towers that are simultaneously connected to the cellphone you want to track.
Each BTS tower is used to detect the distance between the cellphone to the tower by calculating the time it takes for the signal from the cellphone to reach the tower, and by using 3 towers, the estimated location will be more accurate.
See the following image to understand:
The location obtained from this technique is also not 100% exact, the tracker still has to determine the search range. It’s still more accurate than Google Maps which uses GPS if the signal is good.
So is it possible to track a cellphone by IMEI?
Technically you can. But the process is complicated and expensive. Tracking a cellphone with this IMEI will not be done unless it has a high urgency value if only because someone lost their cellphone, I don’t think the cellular operator wants to bother.
Tracking cellphones with IMEI also cannot be done by ordinary people because they need access to the BTS tower. So just forget your idea of tracking a lost phone with IMEI because we won’t be able to do that. Likewise, sites or applications that claim to be able to track cellphones only by copy-pasting IMEI, of course, are lies.
An easier way to track a lost phone
After knowing that tracking a cellphone with IMEI is not for ordinary people, it is better for us to choose another, easier option. Currently tracking a lost cellphone can be done easily, here are some tutorials that have been posted before:
