CEIR IMEI check: how to verify a used phone is not stolen or blocked
Thirty seconds, free, and it is the only check that can save you the whole phone. How to read an IMEI off a handset and verify it against the Government CEIR database.
This is the one check almost nobody runs, and it is the only one that can cost you the entire phone. A handset with a blacklisted IMEI can be disconnected from every Indian network at any time — and you will have no way to get your money back once the seller has gone quiet.
It takes about thirty seconds. Here is exactly how.
First, get the IMEI off the phone itself
Dial *#06# on the handset. The IMEI appears immediately — no call is placed. Dual-SIM phones show two numbers; either will do for the check.
Do not take the IMEI from the box, and do not take it from a photo the seller sends you. Boxes get swapped, and a photo proves nothing about the device in front of you. Read it off the screen of the phone you are actually buying, and cross-check it against the number printed in the SIM tray or on the back. If those do not match, walk away. A mismatch is the single clearest sign the IMEI has been altered.
Then check it against the Government database
The Department of Telecommunications runs CEIR — the Central Equipment Identity Register. It holds every IMEI reported stolen, lost, duplicated or tampered with in India. There are two ways in, and both are free.
By SMS, which works on any phone
Send KYM <15-digit IMEI> to 14422. So for IMEI 353285114928423 you would text KYM 353285114928423. The reply comes back with the manufacturer, brand, model and the device’s status.
On the web
Go to the CEIR portal at ceir.gov.in and open the “Know Your Mobile” verification page. It asks for your own mobile number and an OTP, then takes one IMEI at a time.
How to read the answer
- The brand and model come back and match the phone in your hand. Good. That is what a clean device looks like.
- Blacklisted. Reported stolen or lost. Do not buy it at any price. It can be disconnected from every network without warning.
- Duplicate. The same IMEI exists on more than one device, which means at least one of them has been tampered with.
- Already in use. Someone else’s active handset is running that IMEI.
- The returned brand does not match the phone. The IMEI has been reprogrammed. This is the one people miss, because the status itself may read fine.
Why this matters more than it used to
In October 2025 the Government amended the Telecommunications (Telecom Cyber Security) Rules to create a central database of tampered and restricted IMEIs, and to place a duty on anyone buying or selling used telecom equipment to check it before the transaction. The obligation sits on the trade, not on you — but the direction of travel is clear, and a seller who cannot show you a clean IMEI is a seller with a problem.
Tampering with an IMEI is separately a criminal offence under the Telecommunications Act 2023, carrying up to three years’ imprisonment. Knowingly buying a device with an altered identifier is not a grey area either.
Two more checks worth the extra minute
Activation lock. On an iPhone, the previous owner must have signed out of iCloud. Reset the phone and take it to the setup screen — if it asks for someone else’s Apple ID, the device is worth spares value and nothing more. On Android, the seller must remove the Google account before the factory reset, or Factory Reset Protection locks it the same way.
Battery health. On iPhone, Settings → Battery → Battery Health shows maximum capacity as a percentage. Anything below 80% is a battery that needs replacing soon, and that cost belongs in the price you negotiate.
What we do about it
This check is yours to run, on any used phone, from any seller, including us. We do not run it on your behalf and we do not print a screening date on the product page — what we do is record the IMEI of the exact handset we dispatch and put it on your invoice, so the check takes you thirty seconds the day the parcel arrives.
You should not have to take our word for that, which is why the IMEI of the unit you are sent is printed on your invoice. Run the check yourself the day it arrives. If anything looks wrong, send it back inside the seven-day window and we refund in full.