# How to Find Your Android IMEI Number When the Phone Is Lost *Published:* 2026-01-24 *Author:* Farzan Hussain If your Android phone is gone and you need the IMEI for a police report, insurance claim, or carrier blocklist, you do not have to recover the device first. Google, your carrier, and the original box all store the IMEI separately, and at least one of those paths will work for almost everyone. We walk through the four routes that actually exist, in the order most people should try them, and flag the one trick from 2022-era guides that no longer works. ### TL;DR **The pick:** **Check your Google account at myaccount.google.com/device-activity** first; the IMEI is listed under each device. **Runner-up:** **Carrier app or web portal** if Google does not show it, since billing records always include the IMEI. **Skip if:** Skip third-party “IMEI recovery” tools; they are scams and cannot access a phone that is offline. Route one: your Google account ------------------------------ Sign in to your Google account from any browser and open the Security section. Under “Your devices” you will see every Android phone the account has been signed into, with the IMEI listed in the device details panel. This works even if the phone is offline, because the IMEI was recorded when the device first registered. On the same screen you can also trigger a remote lock or factory reset, which is worth doing before you file the carrier report. Route two: your carrier ----------------------- Every carrier stores the IMEI of every device that has ever been activated on your line. Open the carrier app, look under Devices or Equipment, and the IMEI is visible alongside the model. If the app doesn’t expose it, the web portal does, and any phone-support agent can read it back after identity verification. Carriers will also blocklist the IMEI on request, which prevents the phone from being reactivated on most networks worldwide. Route three: the original box or receipt ---------------------------------------- If you still have the box, the IMEI is printed on the barcode label on the side. Receipts from carrier stores typically include it too. Photograph these the next time you buy a phone, because they are the most reliable backup. If you bought refurbished or used, the seller may have a record of the IMEI from when they wiped the device. It is worth a polite email. What no longer works --------------------- The old trick of dialling \*#06# only works on a phone you still have in your hand, so it does not help if the device is missing. Same with reading the IMEI from the SIM tray, since modern phones have moved to embedded eSIM and the printed tray label may not exist. Web tools that promise to look up an IMEI by phone number, email, or name are uniformly fraudulent. Real IMEI databases are restricted to carriers and law enforcement. The setup, step by step ----------------------- 1. 1#### Sign in to your Google account From any browser, go to myaccount.google.com and pick the Security tab to surface the device list. 2. 2#### Open the device details Click the missing phone under “Your devices” and expand the IMEI field. 3. 3#### Trigger a remote lock While you are there, lock the device and add a contact message before someone else has time to power it off. 4. 4#### File the carrier blocklist Call your carrier with the IMEI in hand and ask for an immediate blocklist entry, which prevents reactivation. 5. 5#### File the police report Most insurers require a report number; carriers and insurers cross-check the IMEI against your account. Your IMEI is a globally unique identifier issued under [GSMA](https://www.gsma.com/) rules; carriers and law-enforcement use it to block stolen handsets across networks. Your IMEI is a globally unique identifier issued under [GSMA](https://www.gsma.com/) rules; carriers and law-enforcement use it to block stolen handsets across networks. FAQ --- ### What if I never signed into Google on the phone? Then route one will not work, but the carrier still has the IMEI in billing records, and the box label is still valid. Route one fails only if the phone was never online with Google, which is rare. ### Can the police track a phone using just the IMEI? Law enforcement can request location data from a carrier with a court order. They cannot ping a phone in real time just from the IMEI, despite what 2010s television scripts suggested. ### Is the IMEI the same as the serial number? No. The IMEI is fifteen digits and identifies the cellular radio. The serial number identifies the device chassis. Insurers usually want both, so grab both from the Google or carrier record. Bottom line ----------- When a phone is gone, the fastest path to its IMEI is your Google account, then the carrier, then the box. Start at the top, get the number, and use it to file the blocklist and the police report on the same call. Ignore any web service that claims to recover an IMEI from your name or email; they cannot, and the ones that ask for payment are lifting the fee and giving you nothing. #### How we put this guide together The picks and steps in this guide reflect what works on current Android builds. Our editors test [apps](https://bestforandroid.com/best/apps-android/ "Best Apps Category") on Pixel 8a and Galaxy S24 hardware running Android 15 and Android 16, cross-check against vendor documentation, and update each guide when behavior changes. ### Related on BestForAndroid - [How to Find a Lost Android Phone (Find Hub, Theft Detection Lock, Insurance Claims)](https://bestforandroid.com/find-your-lost-android-phone/) - [How to make your Android phone secure: 12 settings that actually matter](https://bestforandroid.com/secure-your-android-device/) - [How to Get the Most From Your Android Phone During FIFA World Cup](https://bestforandroid.com/take-benefit-of-android-device-during-fifa-word-cup/) - [How to Find Someone on Instagram by Phone Number (Legitimate Paths)](https://bestforandroid.com/find-instagram-account-by-number/)