IMEI Number Registration Becomes Compulsory; Central Government Confirms

• There have been concerns over inability to track lost mobile phones
• CEIR project only has blocking facilities of stolen or lost mobiles
• CEIR project is working to resolve the issue of lost mobile phones

How important is smartphone protection? What is IMEI? How relevant is it for keeping your smartphone safe? Find out.

IMEI In Brief

We all know the importance of smartphones in current times because they have become an indispensable part of our lives in more ways than one. Earlier, mobile phones were limited to making/receiving calls and sensing SMSs to friends and family.

Smartphones are basically ‘smart’ devices that don’t just store contact numbers and messages, but a slew of other things like account details, credit/debit card info, licenses, and many other documents are now available in online format that people also store in their phones.

Losing a smartphone is akin to losing your right hand and once it happens, it is near impossible to get it back unless of course you’ve misplaced it. But if it gets stolen, then things are different as it will come back after a long time or never at all.

Fortunately, things are considerably improving and locating lost smartphones isn’t that difficult either. The credit for it goes to International Mobile Equipment Identity number (IMEI), which is a 15-digit code that identifies the smartphone even if the SIM card has been changed.

Each smartphone has its own 15 digit IMEI number that is exclusive for identifying the device because thieves take care to immediately dispose off the SIM Card the moment they get hold of the phone.

IMEI Number also reveals the country and network that the device hails from, along with date of purchase, warranty info, device specification, carrier information, system version, and all the relevant information about the device that is necessary.

Latest Report

There is good news for mobile phone users as the central government has made registration of IMEI Numbers mandatory on all mobile phones before they begin sales in India based on its anti-counterfeit and lost handset blocking portal, which begins from January 1, 2023.

Both local and imported smartphones have to be registered and get IMEI certificates from the Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction portal, which is handled by the Telecom Department.

The new order has been issued under the Prevention of Tampering of the Mobile Device Equipment Identification Number (Amendment) Rules, 2022. Meanwhile, the central government has also launched the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) project for blocking and tracing lost/stolen mobile phones, which is limited only to blocking in current times.

With this new order, now imported devices will also have to register on the ICDR system for obtaining the IMEI number while CEIR project is trying to sort out the matter of lost smartphones by bringing up counterfeit devices.

Also Read: Top Ten Facts About Smartphones