IMEI Number What Does It Mean?

A few people are interested in digging around the secrets of their mobile phones. Whether they got an old mobile phone or the latest smartphone, people have different necessities. Some of them only need a phone for its actual purpose – talking. There are others who want the latest gadgets with dozens of features that can turn the smartphone into a robot. There are also some categories who want to find out as much as they can. You probably heard about the IMEI number left and right. You know it is a code of your phone, but you got no clue what it actually means or how to find it.

First of all, IMEI is short for International Mobile Equipment Identity. It is a unique code consisting of 15 or 16 digits. It is used to identify your mobile phone. It is something like the license number for your car. Each code is unique and it is impossible to find two mobile phones with the same IMEI number. The number is an extremely useful instrument to track down the phone or lock it in case it is lost or stolen. At the same time, the code can identify the brand and model of your mobile phone, just in case you got no clue what you have.

The IMEI number is set up and installed by the manufacturer and is automatically identified by the producer to connect your mobile phone to the right network. The code can be found in a few several ways. It should also be located under the battery lid, not to mention about the phone box. These three codes are supposed to match, otherwise there is something fishy with your phone. Once you get to see the number, you probably ask yourself what it means. Believe it or not, it hides a very complicated message, including the quality of your device.

The first six digits represent the Type Approval Code, also referred to as TAC. They represent the code of your mobile model. The first couple of digits are the same for most models coming from the same brand. The next couple of digits represent the code of the country where your mobile was assembled, but also the quality of your device. Basically, if these two digits are 00, it means your phone was produced in the main factory and it has the highest quality. In other words, it is perfect. If you see 01 or 10, it means you got a high quality, yet not the best one. 08 and 80 imply a decent and medium quality. As you go lower, when you find 02 or 20, you know you cannot count too much on your mobile, as you ended up with an inferior quality. Finally, at the end of the rope, you got 13 or 31, which mean the quality is extremely low and the phone is actually dangerous for your health from multiple points of view. When it comes to the country code, Korea is one of the few identifiable countries with codes 03 or 30. The quality is supposed to be very high.

The IMEI number is longer though. The next six digits come as the serial number of the phone. They will not tell you too much about it, but will just help the manufacturer identify it. In the end, the last digit is for control. It is the SP (Spare). Most mobile phones come with 15 digits in the IMEI number, but there are also a few exceptions that have 16 digits. Such codes were popular when the manufacturers relied on a model for longer periods of time and they were running out of serial numbers. However, this is less likely to happen today, especially since each producer releases a few phones on a yearly basis. The IMEI number may not be the most interesting aspect of your mobile phone, but it is definitely worth to check out some basic information, such as the quality.