An International Mobile Equipment Identity number is one of the main identification codes for individual cell phone handsets. Many cell phone networks will check a phone’s IMEI before allowing it to connect to the network; the network can then block communication with blacklisted handsets, thus making it useless. Note that the IMEI is different to either the handset’s telephone number or an identification number for a SIM card, neither of which is necessarily permanently linked to the handset in the same way as an IMEI. Writer Bio
