To check an IMEI, dial *#06# on the phone and it appears on screen. With that number, the official lookup at portal.crt.gob.mx/consultar-imei tells you whether the device is reported stolen or lost in the GSMA's global database. It has two limits. You get two lookups per user per day, and it only works from a connection in Mexico. A blacklisted IMEI does not work on any network that takes part in that database, in Mexico or abroad.
How do you check an IMEI?
There are four places to find it, and on a genuine device all four say the same thing.
- Dial *#06# on the phone's keypad. The IMEI appears right away, without placing a call.
- In the settings. On iPhone, Settings > General > About. On Android, Settings > About phone, or a similar path depending on the brand.
- On the physical label, under the battery on devices with a removable battery, or on the SIM tray.
- On the box and on the invoice.
If you are buying remotely, ask for the IMEI in writing before you pay. A seller who will not give it does not deserve your money. With the number in hand, run the CRT lookup before the device leaves their warehouse.
Where it has to match
The IMEI from *#06#, the one in the settings, the one on the box and the one on the invoice all have to be the same. If the box shows a different one, the box is not from that device, and the same goes for the model number. If the invoice shows a different one, the shop's warranty is tied to a device that is not yours. Both are grounds to ask for an exchange or a return within the five business days the law gives you on distance purchases, as explained in your rights when buying refurbished.
A dual-SIM device has two IMEIs. Look up both.
The CRT lookup and its limits
The Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones (CRT, Mexico's telecoms regulator), which replaced the IFT, runs the official lookup at portal.crt.gob.mx/consultar-imei. It compares the IMEI against the GSMA's global database of stolen and lost devices, which more than 150 operators feed daily, including 38 from 15 Latin American countries.
What to know before you use it:
- It only allows two lookups per user per day. Choose carefully which IMEIs you look up.
- It only works from an IP address in Mexico. With a VPN set to another country it does not respond.
- It tells you whether the IMEI is reported. It does not tell you who reported it or why.
- It does not tell you whether the device has an account lock or a carrier lock. See below.
If the device shows a report, do not buy it, and if you already paid, demand a refund. A reported IMEI stays blocked on the networks that take part in the GSMA database, and there is no confirmed way to reverse that report other than through whoever filed it.
What a stolen or blacklisted IMEI means
A blacklisted IMEI belongs to a device that its owner or its carrier reported stolen or lost. Networks that take part in the GSMA database reject that device, in Mexico and abroad. In practice, the device cannot register on any mobile network that participates in that database. That is why some people sell them "for parts" at very low prices, and sometimes present them as working phones.
On iPhone it gets worse. A stolen device usually also ends up with Activation Lock, tied to the owner's iCloud, and cannot be reactivated without their Apple ID. There is a documented pattern in Mexico of iPhone theft followed by extortion of the owner for their iCloud credentials, precisely because without them the device is worth almost nothing. Never accept "I will send you the unlock once you pay." More warning signs are in how to tell if an iPhone is original or fake.
What the IMEI does not tell you
A clean IMEI at the CRT is necessary, but not enough. There are four things it does not cover.
- Activation Lock (iPhone). Apple no longer has a public page to look it up by IMEI, and the third-party pages that claim to do it have no confirmed accuracy. The reliable way is to erase the device and confirm that on restart it does not ask for someone else's Apple ID.
- FRP (Android). Factory Reset Protection ties the device to the previous owner's Google account and cannot be removed remotely. Factory reset it and confirm it does not ask for someone else's Google account.
- Carrier lock. An "AT&T only" device has a clean IMEI and still rejects other SIMs. Insert an active SIM from another carrier to find out.
- CRT type approval (homologación). An imported model that was never sold in Mexico may not be approved even if its IMEI is clean.
How to run these with the device in your hand is in what to check when it arrives.
The IMEI is also what unlocks it
If you buy a device locked to a carrier, the IMEI is what they will ask you for. AT&T México unlocks for free when the device is fully paid off with no balance owed, through a request to customer service using the IMEI, and usually resolves it in under 24 hours. A device reported stolen or lost cannot be unlocked. The details for each carrier are in US, Chinese or European iPhone.
Sources
- CRT, IMEI lookup
- AT&T México, unlocking
- Selectra, unlocking an AT&T phone
- iManzana MX, how to tell if an iPhone is stolen
- Xataka México, iPhone theft and iCloud extortion
- Dr.Fone, Activation Lock lookup pages
- Swappa, FRP lock on used phones
The limits of the CRT lookup were taken from the description on its own page; reread it before each lookup because they can change.