IMEI checker
An IMEI is 15 digits whose last one is a Luhn check digit, recomputed from the other fourteen. This catches a typo, never a theft — a well-formed IMEI can belong to a stolen phone as easily as to one that never existed.
Dial *#06# on the phone to display it. 16-digit IMEISVs are recognised.
How the check works
- 1
The 15 digits are isolated
Spaces, dashes and dots are stripped. A 16-digit IMEI is an IMEISV: it carries two software-version digits instead of the check digit, so Luhn does not apply to it.
- 2
The Luhn check digit is recomputed
Every second digit is doubled from the right, results above 9 are reduced, and the total must be a multiple of 10. The expected digit is shown next to the one you entered.
- 3
The number is broken down
The first 8 digits are the TAC, assigned by the GSMA to one specific device model; the next 6 are the manufacturer's serial number.
What the check digit proves, and what it does not
It proves the fifteen digits are consistent with one another — exactly what you need to catch a transposed digit in a trade-in form or a police report.
It says nothing about the device: not the exact model, not whether it is reported stolen, not whether a carrier has blocked it. That lives in closed databases — the GSMA for the TAC, national EIR lists for blocking — that no free tool can reach.
One phone, two IMEIs
A dual-SIM device carries two IMEIs, one per slot, usually consecutive. On a warranty claim or a loss report, the second one often gets copied while the carrier expects the first.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my phone's IMEI?
Dial *#06# on the keypad: it appears immediately, even with no SIM card. It is also in Settings (About phone), on the original box label, and engraved on the SIM tray of most devices.
Does a valid IMEI mean the phone is not stolen?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. The Luhn check is pure arithmetic: it consults no file. To find out whether a device is reported stolen you need the carrier's EIR database or law enforcement — no free public service exposes that list.
What do the first 8 digits mean?
That is the TAC, Type Allocation Code: the GSMA assigns it to one specific device model from one manufacturer. Two phones of the same model share a TAC and differ by the following six digits, which are their serial number.
Why is my IMEI 16 digits long?
It is an IMEISV (Software Version). It replaces the check digit with two digits giving the device's software version, so there is no Luhn key on it. The tool recognises it, splits out the version, and does not deliver a check-digit verdict that would mean nothing.
The same check over API
This tool runs in your browser. To run the same check from your code, in bulk or server-side, the API answers in JSON.
Read the documentation