Knowing how to spy on a phone using an IMEI number could prove vital. You might be concerned about your family’s safety, need to monitor your employees’ activity during work hours, or tackle suspicions about a cheating partner. You may also want to track your own IMEI if your phone has been lost or stolen.
Tools like IMEI trackers can help you find a phone’s historic geolocation and block it from connecting to a cell network. However, it offers no other spying capabilities like real-time location tracking, remote phone control, or data snooping. You’ll need a dedicated spy app for that.
In this guide, I’ll explain how you can track a phone with an IMEI number, as well as my experience with IMEI trackers and spy apps, so you can find the best solution for your needs.
What Is IMEI Phone Tracking?
IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. This is a unique numerical ID that contains 15 or 17 digits and is assigned to every smartphone, tablet, and even smartwatch by its manufacturer.
The IMEI number of a device can be found on its original packaging, SIM card tray, and battery. If your phone has dual-SIM support, it will have two IMEI numbers.
However, you don’t need any of this to check your device’s IMEI number. All you need to do is dial *#06# on your phone and your IMEI will immediately display. This can be a handy number to keep on file in case your phone is lost or stolen.
The Settings of any Android or iOS device will also tell you your IMEI number, but you might not see it at first and may have to dig a bit deeper. For example, my Samsung phone displays its IMEI number in the “About” section of Settings, but my Xiaomi phone buries the details inside a sub-menu of the “All Specs” section.
If you don’t have access to the phone you’re trying to track or its original packaging, there’s yet another way to find its IMEI number. On Android, the Google account that you use on your phone contains all essential device details, including its IMEI number.
Similarly, you can sign in to your Apple ID in any browser to find the IMEI number of your iPhone or iPad.
IMEI‘s primary purpose is to identify a device. It’s useful for tracking the whereabouts of a missing or stolen mobile phone. Phones are always with us, making them perfect for monitoring your children and protecting them from danger.
Another reason to track an IMEI number is to keep tabs on your better half. It can be a proactive measure to ensure that you can get to them quickly in the event of an emergency, or to weed out suspicion in a relationship. Do remember, however, that there are legal ramifications if you track a phone with an IMEI number without the person’s consent.
It’s also important to note that an IMEI number doesn’t tell you anything about someone’s location without an app or tool to decipher it. IMEI tracking alone also doesn’t necessarily tell you everything you need to know about someone’s location.
Police and other investigation agencies often have the resources and permissions to find a phone with an IMEI, but if you’re looking for easy and accurate location tracking, you’ll need a specialized Android spy app or iPhone spy app that can do all this, and a lot more.
Is Tracking Someone’s IMEI Number Legal?
A mobile phone is a personal device; if you plan to track the phone using IMEI, beware of the legal implications.
Investigative agencies do not track IMEI numbers for personal gain. A theft or potential threat is the probable reason behind it, and an IMEI number acts as a tool to get to the perpetrator faster. The authorities comply with laws and have all the necessary judicial permissions.
Tracking someone’s phone using the IMEI number without permission is a punishable offence in many countries. That said, you can use an IMEI number tracker on your child’s phone because you are their legal guardian and they are a minor. In this case, it isn’t a punishable act because you are doing it to protect them, but your child (especially adolescents) could perceive it as an invasion of privacy.
Married couples use IMEI number tracking to clear doubts about faithfulness in a relationship, but if you do so without your partner’s consent, you could land in legal trouble.
How To Locate A Phone With IMEI Number
A phone’s IMEI number is unchangeable and can’t help you with live-location tracking or accessing a phone’s data. However, a phone’s SIM card transmits its IMEI and other details to cell towers to connect to its network.
Most people can only find out the historical location of a phone when using an IMEI tracker, as that’s all the functionality it can offer.
However, law enforcement agencies can leverage this working principle when tracking phones by IMEI in real time. To do this they use specialized technology and the assistance of network carriers.
Tracking a phone with IMEI is a two-step process. Here’s how it works:
- Recovering the device’s IMEI number
The authorities need the device’s IMEI number to get the wheel in motion. They use the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) database to get it. The device’s SIM card transmits its IMEI details to CEIR, and the police can use it to find your IMEI number.
- Narrowing down the phone’s location
The police will add the device’s IMEI number to a watchlist, inform all the network carriers, and request access to its SIM records (phone and personal details, call history, area codes, routes, and more).
The network carrier alerts the authorities whenever that specific phone requests to connect to a cell tower. They use triangulation to find a phone’s approximate location, which uses the following data points:
- Distance of the phone from cell towers.
- Total turnaround time of the signal from the phone to the cell tower.
- Connection attempts with one or more towers.
The authorities then look for the phone in its triangulated location. Finding it becomes difficult if the phone is switched off or the target SIM card hasn’t been active (sending signals) for some time.
If all search attempts fail, the authorities add the IMEI number to a block list, preventing it from being misused. In my experience, knowing a device’s historic location doesn’t help much because whoever has it is always going to be on the move.
For real-time location tracking, you can use an app like mSpy, which offers far better tracking features. You can view the phone’s movement on a map and analyze any movement patterns. An app like this takes phone tracking to another level, allowing you to see everything (messages, social apps, web activity) that happens on your phone.
IMEI Tracking – What You Can & Can’t See
IMEI tracking is beneficial only to some extent. You can use it to get a semi-accurate idea of the phone’s location, but it falls short in other crucial areas, like tracking live location. I wouldn’t rely on it for accurate location information and phone access.
What You Can See With Someone’s IMEI Number
An IMEI number isn’t worth much to the average Joe. Here’s what you can do with it:
- Some device details: An IMEI number can give you insight into some device details, including its make, model, warranty, and some other basic info. That’s about it.
- Locate the device: Telecom companies can use an IMEI number to get your phone details and triangulate its location, giving you an approximate idea of its last whereabouts.
- Block the IMEI: If the device search is unsuccessful, the authorities will add the IMEI number to a block list. All telecom companies share the list and will prevent the phone from connecting to their network.
What You Can’t See With Someone’s IMEI Number
Apart from semi-accurate location and blocking, there’s not much that you can do with someone’s IMEI number. It lacks the following features:
- Accurate location info: IMEI cannot help you know a device’s exact location. You’ll only get historical information about the last area it was detected. This is a deal breaker if live location information is your priority.
- Tracking without a SIM Card: IMEI tracking is impossible unless a SIM card is in the phone you’re trying to track and it’s connected to a network.
- Spy on or control a phone: You cannot use IMEI tracking to control or spy on a phone. You can only block it from connecting to any network and cannot spy on the phone’s data or apps. This means you won’t see their social media, texts, email, or anything else. You need to use an app for these features.
- Get help from authorities: You can’t convince the authorities to track a phone on a whim. You’ll have to present a valid reason (theft or otherwise) to convince them to track a phone IMEI.
A dedicated phone monitoring app doesn’t have any of the shortcomings I’ve mentioned above. I’ve tested many, and they are excellent for 24/7 phone tracking, with add-on features like phone control and location history. We cover this in detail in our guide on how to track a phone.
Free Online IMEI Tracker Options – Are They Worth It?
All free IMEI tracker apps or websites are scams. Please heed my advice from my personal experience and avoid them at all cost because you have a lot to lose.
I had a bad experience when I lost my phone during college. My first hasty attempt was to Google my problem, and I found a suggestion to use the IMEI number to track it. I searched “find phone with IMEI number,” and landed on a website claiming to help.
My situation made me gullible, so I entered my IMEI details and location. It then displayed a processing screen and some details, followed by a message.
The website wanted me to complete some offers to reveal the phone’s location. After a few attempts, I realized it did nothing except waste my time and the app was just a scam.
Even though that happened to me seven years ago, I can see that there are still many similar websites and apps that come up in Google and offer to show you IMEI location history. Sadly, phishing scams are increasing in the U.S., and tracked instances have jumped from 26,379 in 2018 to 298,878 in 2023.
Fake IMEI locator services will make you jump through hoops, forcing you to click on links that download malicious extensions and inject malware. Some free online IMEI trackers only want you to stay on the page longer to show more ads, while others are just phishing scams.
I even found one suggesting using their “improved accuracy tool” or downloading an app. Ultimately, they’ll present you with random information that doesn’t help in phone tracking. In worse cases, they’ll install spyware or ransomware on your computer.
Rather than falling prey to a bogus IMEI tracker online for lost mobile, it’s better to use a trusted and safe app to track your child’s phone.
IMEI Tracking Using a Spy App
By now, you have a clear idea about IMEI tracking and how much it can help you. If you lose your phone, the police can use IMEI tracking to get it back and prevent misuse. But why wait for something bad to happen? With a specialized and trustworthy app, you can proactively combat such scenarios and do much more beyond IMEI tracking.
A premium app like mSpy will help you monitor your child or spouse’s phone without compromising their safety and privacy. Even if someone steals your phone, you can track its movement and get help from authorities to find it. You are in complete control as long as it’s connected to the internet.
An app like this works in stealth mode and is nearly impossible to detect. It runs in the background, logging and feeding you all the information. You need to manually install the app on the target phone, but the setup only takes 5-10 minutes.
Here are some of the tracking features you can expect from the best spy apps:
- Live-Location Tracking: Phone monitoring apps track a phone’s location around the clock. You can pinpoint the phone’s location on the map and follow it when needed.
- Geo-fencing: This is an additional perk of a tracking app that lets you set digital boundaries. If the person you’re tracking steps out of the defined zone, you’ll be alerted and can take immediate action.
- Social Media Tracking: Call and SMS tracking are the core features of a device-tracking app. You can also monitor all the social media communication in popular apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, and more.
- Restrict apps and websites: Some apps let you block access to apps or websites that are inappropriate for your child. I love this feature because it also helps curb children’s app addiction and reduces their screen time.
mSpy packs all of the above features along with a few more phone tracking tools, including camera monitoring, automated screenshots and screen recording, a keylogger to track what the person types and a dashboard to display the complete phone activity.
It also ranks as the top hidden screen recorders because as well as all of the above features, it also records another phone’s screen in real time, showing you what they are seeing and doing on their device.
It does all of this in stealth mode too, so the person you’re tracking has no idea. This level of data is simply possible to collect with an IMEI number alone.
Final Verdict – Can You Use An IMEI Tracker To Find a Phone?
A trustworthy and specialized app is far superior to an IMEI tracker when it comes to finding and tracking a phone. IMEI tracking is ineffective if you’re trying to track someone personally, and it’s basically inaccessible to anyone except law enforcement.
I prefer using a reliable device tracking app, as it removes ambiguity from the picture. It tells you where the person is, the time and place, and all previous activities. You can snoop on their conversations, record them, and even control the phone remotely.
mSpy does all of this for a justifiable price. When you check out its interactive demo, you’ll understand its features and why it’s among the best iPhone spy apps that also works on Android. If you want to learn more about it, our detailed mSpy review explains all the features and includes a setup guide.
FAQs
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References
- U.S. Phishing Victim Numbers (Statista)
- Central Equipment Identity Register Definition (Wikipedia)