How to disable a stolen cell phone?
@Professor2010 (20162)
India
August 17, 2010 1:31pm CST
Friends, to check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone* # 0 6 # 
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. 
When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.
You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
There is another feature called’ mobile tracking'. By this you can track down your stolen mobile. You have to save one emergency number and whenever someone tries to replace the old SIM with a new one that number gets intimated and the new number comes up on the emergency cell phone number
I think this information is useful, what is your view?
Professor
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.
You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
There is another feature called’ mobile tracking'. By this you can track down your stolen mobile. You have to save one emergency number and whenever someone tries to replace the old SIM with a new one that number gets intimated and the new number comes up on the emergency cell phone number
I think this information is useful, what is your view?
Professor3 people like this
16 responses
@annavi23 (6522)
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
hello prof! you have a great information there! thanks for sharing it to us here.
i have heard about that before,about those serial numbers and have tried it but when i have my phone stolen,i can't even find the serial number of it,even the receipt i have when i brought it.that's why no matter how hard i wanted to block that,i can't do anything with it.and about the mobile tracking,i don't have any idea on it.is it something to do with places also? i mean,you can track where the unit is? please fill me in,prof!thanks
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
18 Aug 10
Thank you Prifessor for this information. I will try it out on my phone.
@calai618 (1773)
• Philippines
18 Aug 10
Wow thanks! This is suc a useful discussion. I haven't really lost any mobile phones in the pass but I know a lot of people who have lost theirs. All they could do is let go because they didn't know what to do. Glad there are these things that can be done so even though you've lost your phone, you know that the person who has it cant take advantage of it. :D
@sinaj292 (602)
• India
18 Aug 10
yes of course this is a vital information to the all mobile users... nowadays mobile stealing is very common... so we have to do something against that.... i this is a nice way to do so......
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
18 Aug 10
This is very helpful Paps! I already got my 15 digit number. However what if the phone was bought second hand? The service provider is for phone? not for sim? if a people buy their phones through a not legitimate dealer then they will not get any help from it. This is useful Paps, thanks for sharing.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
18 Aug 10
hi professor you have done all the cell phone owners a great
service with this discussion as they can heed your advice
and even if they do not get their phones back the crook has
a useless phone and that knowledge is really so helpful
as people do lose their phones in spite of everything.
the mobile tracking is also good information for all the
mylotters who have cell phones which I bet is most every
one except me. sob. sad.
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
17 Aug 10
dear professor,
this i have tried and it really showed the 15 digit code.
i have listed it down now. the rest of the responses i have read are also very useful. thank you for posting this.
ann
@vokial_voc (172)
• Indonesia
18 Aug 10
i think it can be used in all country, i had my phone stolen and i tried to contact the phone company with imei number i had, but they said that this country doesn't support for blocking the phone. and as far as i know imei number can be change using some flash hardware, so if the thief is clever, the stolen phone won't be blacked
@qianyun6 (2067)
• China
18 Aug 10
Thank you for sharing this useful trick.
Nowadays mobile services have become the thieves' preference. I think it's time for the service producer and the police to find out how to catch the thieves and find back the stolen services. Maybe we can have some technical method to track them.
@lindaharding627 (1442)
• United States
18 Aug 10
I had this happen to me with a prepaid cell phone that I bought from Virgin Mobile but I did not have this number at the time. It was stolen from a telemarketing place that I was working at at the time. I called Virgin Mobile and they put a freeze on the phone so it was no good for the person who stole it. Serves them right- it isn't nice to steal things and I lost a lot of money when they did that.
@deve_annrn (1856)
• Philippines
18 Aug 10
this is very helpful but does this applies to all countries? i'm more interested in mobile tracking feature rather than disabling the cellphone...it's more important to get the cellphone back..especially if all the important contacts are stored nowhere else..=(
@RamRes (1723)
• Argentina
17 Aug 10
About "mobile tracking", no idea of what is it, nice to know.
But....., it's not completly true what you say about that code. While it's true that your company can disable your stolen phone, it's not necesary for you to tell your IMEI (that's the name of the "serial number") to them. Your company has the necesary means to get it themselves and not wait for you to write it down and tell them.
The trick is this: every time a mobile phone conects to the network, it reports a code related to the SIM card (basically, your phone number) AND the IMEI the of the phone, trus linking that SIM card with that phone at that time. When your mobile is stolen, you call the phone company and report it, telling only your phone number. They then can go to their records and find what IMEI was linked with your number, and completly block that IMEI.
You don't have to know your IMEI as they can get it themselves.
@SolidSingh (34)
•
17 Aug 10
Just did it. It's called an IMEI number, and this is one of the most useful things ever. Thanks.
@therenthead (298)
• United States
17 Aug 10
I think this information is VERY useful, and I'll keep it in mind in case I ever have to face this situation. Thanks for sharing :)
