Getting an IMEI from an iPhone 4 serial number

January 12, 2013 10:05 PM

My iPhone 4 was stolen. The police detectives want the IMEI number. I never backed up the phone or synced it to my computer, so I can't access the IMEI through iTunes. I don't have the original packaging. I do, however, have the phone's serial number. Is there a way to somehow use this number to get the IMEI?

A poster in this thread was able to do so. The fact that he or she never revealed his or her method makes me think it's not easy to do legally or with publicly available tools.

posted by painquale to Technology (11 answers total)

Have you tried calling your carrier? They should be able to provide it for you.
posted by wongcorgi at 10:31 PM on January 12, 2013

Yep, your carrier has it. It might take you a while to wade through customer service to find somebody willing to give it to you, but they should definitely have it.
posted by maniactown at 10:33 PM on January 12, 2013

Maybe Apple is able to provide that information if they receive a subpoena?
posted by Phssthpok at 10:33 PM on January 12, 2013

Response by poster: I tried calling them (AT&T), but the automated message tells me to call back during business hours on Monday. The detectives said they'd prefer to have the number sooner rather than later, so I was hoping their was an easy way to get it before then.
posted by painquale at 10:36 PM on January 12, 2013

There is at least SOME number you should be able to reach with AT&T. I did customer service for them, and we were there 24/7. Try just hitting 0 0 0 0 or staying on the line until someone picks up, instead of putting in your phone number. Different phone numbers are routed to different areas. You might also try their online chat assistance if that's up and running. Good luck!
posted by HermitDog at 11:29 PM on January 12, 2013

Forgot to mention: If for some reason you still have any packaging from the phone, the box would have the IMEI on it.
posted by HermitDog at 11:30 PM on January 12, 2013

Have you ever logged in to AT&T's website to pay your bill or anything? Might be able to get it from there.

Also I would try calling again, play around in the phone tree and look for options that seem like they might be staffed 24/7. Might be able to find a better phone # or option info by Googling.
posted by radioamy at 12:27 AM on January 13, 2013

Apple should have it on hand. I know both serial and IMEI show up in their web portal in the device record when service departments are exchanging phones for warranty service.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 12:55 AM on January 13, 2013

Best answer: Have you tried this? It was linked in the forum post you mentioned.
posted by KMB at 12:58 AM on January 13, 2013

Yes, call Apple tech support if you can't reach your carrier. I used to work for them, if you have the serial number they will be able to look up the IMEI for you. It MIGHT also be available on the support website. Try registering it here, there's a chance that this will show you the IMEI once the registration is complete. Unfortunately I don't have one of my own to check, and it's been 3 years since I worked there so my memory's a bit hazy.
posted by fearnothing at 4:40 AM on January 13, 2013

Response by poster: The site KMB mentioned gave it to me! (All the other information about my phone the site gave me was accurate, so I believe it is trustworthy.) I entirely missed that link in the forum post I found.

Thanks for everyone advising me to call apple or AT&T. It would have been my next step.
posted by painquale at 5:57 AM on January 13, 2013