The other day, I read a report in the newspaper that stated startling facts and statistics about mobile-phones being stolen. There are organized rackets in the cities, with smart thieves working overtime to pocket our objects of affection.
Yes, I can call my mobile phone just that- object of affection!
We all love our phones.
We invest so much time to research on a phone when we have to buy one & then invest so much money, our hard-earned thousands to buy a phone as good phones are expensive.
Then, we spend time, clicking pics & adding details of contacts, setting reminders, adding Apps, downloading songs... the list is endless!
But, how horrible when an unscrupulous element succeeds in stealing the love of our life right from our purse or pocket...
That person has succeeded in stealing a part of us...
It is a serious breach of our safety and security...
Makes sense to always keep a backup of our phone's info that can be retrieved in dire situations.
Our phones are our treasure-island- of precious info, data, messages, pics & contacts.
Remember the Hindi-movie, Chennai Express? The character, Rahul, played by SRK, is virtually crippled without his mobile-phone as he remembers no phone numbers of his contacts!
That is our story!
While Technology is getting better, we are getting more dependent...
Of course, some Mobile-Phones have anti-theft technology. But, buyers need to employ them. Many are lazy or are too busy even to register the mandatory phone-numbers that will be informed should the phone get stolen...
My cousin recently splurged her entire salary on the latest high-end phone. But, her joy was short-lived as it got stolen from our grandparent's home that too when we were mourning a death in our family... It is suspected to be the handiwork of one of the house-helps.... But, there was no way we could trace the culprit or her phone...
Brrrr! I shudder to think of such nightmarish situations where my phone may be stolen...
Dhan-Ta-Nan! Prevention is better than the cure!
| Source |
Enter IMEI
IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity.
The method 1 described in the above-mentioned post is:
"Dial it in. Most phones have a very simple key-in
method to retrieve IMEI/MEID numbers: enter a 5-digit string—*#06#—and
the number will be displayed on your phone."
This is
true for most phones, however this method is not true for some advanced
phones.In that case, do read WikiHow's Post & find out the other methods to retrieve this
info.
What to do in case our mobile device, like Phone or iPad does get stolen?
Action: First report the phone's loss by filing Police-complaint & providing info about the Phone's Brand & Model Number details and the IMEI number.
Ask the Police to track the IMEI!
A friend recently got his phone back this way by filing for a complaint along with providing the IMEI number.
The police succeeded in tracking the thief, who was using the same phone but with another network connection & SIM-card.
(Those who feel the police cannot help them, can shut their mouths!)
The IMEI can be blacklisted too so that the thief or the 3rd Party
cannot use the phone ever, even after inserting another SIM of another
service-provider.
Such blacklisting will render the phone useless & it will be a deterrent for such phone-thefts.
Why would thieves steal if every mobile-phone-owner followed this simple rule of noting down the IMEI number?
The IMEI
number ought to be securely saved, God forbid, just in case should we require it...
I have emailed myself the IMEI numbers of my two mobile-phones!
Time to note down your cellphone's IMEI number too!
Come on, don't be so lazy or busy!
Dial *#06# NOW & save the IMEI number carefully!
Very informational and useful post Anita! I noted my IMEI. I would kill the person who stole my phone. I feel lost and confused without it!
ReplyDelete:)
Delighted that you found my post useful, Soumya :) Glad you have taken the action of noting the IMEI.
DeleteOops i had lost my phone last week but found it luckily.
ReplyDeleteGreat! I love when I find such lost & found happy-stories :)
DeletePhone manufacturers are reluctant to see this in operation as their sales will not flourish.
ReplyDeleteI feel sales will any how increase as people have aspirations to own the newer and better models! :)
Deletevery informative post .. i'm sure it will be helpful for those who wasn't aware of this .. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ankur. Yes, like I have mentioned, we take no action if we are not aware or are too lazy/busy :)
DeleteThanks for such an useful post, unfortunately we all know the importance of this, but due to carefulness we ignore noting IMEI number. Normally what we think is that since it is written on the bill, so we need not to store it.
ReplyDeleteTrue Alok. We are careless about noting the IMEI. But, what if we are careless about storing/finding the bill that has the IMEI written! :)
DeleteBetter to be safe than sorry...
I didn't know about this. Going to hunt for my bill and IMEI now!
ReplyDeleteYou can find the IMEI from the phone itself, Khushboo :)
DeleteVery informative post, Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you found it helpful, Deepa :)
DeleteI emailed mine to my email id already..:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this informative post.
That's great, Preethi! Delighted :)
DeleteInformative!! Thanks Anita! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://heywaitlistenblog.blogspot.in/
I actually noted it down now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know.
That's nice, Indrani :) My pleasure!
DeleteDamn thank you for this. I needed that!
ReplyDeleteWonderful to get what we need, Red :)
DeleteMy phone was stolen last year. Thank God I had the box that the phone came in. I had filed a police complaint and gave the imei no from that box. I got my phone back after 6 months. I had lost all hopes, bought a new phone but yes I got it back!!
ReplyDeleteVery informational post Anita. Wonder why it didn't occur to me to write a post having experienced first hand...
Nevertheless people had to know and thanks to you they do now:)
That's some experience! Glad that you got it. Many people aren't as lucky :)
DeleteThanks for your nice words & for sharing :)
Readers will know that there is some hope at least to retrieve their lost object of affection... even after 6 months!
Very informative, Anitha!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. There's no 'h' in my name please :)
DeleteReally a very informative post Anita ..thanks for sharing all these details.. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Mani :) Do follow :)
DeleteI would save it now. Great info, Anita. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you saved it, Namrata.
DeleteI must confess that this was new info for me. Thanks. I have already applied the new knowledge :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to learn, Sir :)
DeleteThanks Anita-nice thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks Induji :)
DeleteNice post Anita! I must admit that despite knowing this being in telecom field, I had not noted down mine due to carelessness. Thanks for reminding, I noted it after reading your post. It is very useful for tracking down the stolen mobile.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have done so, Ratna. Better late than never :)
DeleteThanks :)
Lot of information.. and yeah mobile phones have become part of life , I wonder how i will survive if i lose it .. Thankfully I have got mine insured against theft and lose.. but even then it has so much info , I still shudder ..
ReplyDeleteBikram
Thanks for visiting my Blog & sharing your comment, Bikram :)
DeleteGood that you have insured your phone. Yes, data & info in our phone is priceless. Need to keep backup.
Though I was aware of these , thanks for this very informative post :-). BTW, I nominated you for Sunshine Blog award for your exquisite blog and writings ...Do check my post on the same :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jayanta. Honored to receive my 2nd Sunshine Award thanks to you :)
DeleteHeading over to your Post :)
Point duly noted , and yeah the IMEI number too. :p
ReplyDelete*#06# worked for me and so does for 95% of the phones out there.
A very useful info. . And u said that right ,In this hustle bustle world we do are kinda helpless without our phones.
So thoughtful of you to share this. Thanks! :)
Wonderful to know that, Nikhil :)
DeleteThanks for your kind words :) Sharing is my pleasure :)