Do you know what can happen when you dial ‘*#06#’ with your mobile phone?
29 Aug 2019
Dear LPG,
I have recently learned how easy, and also how much cheaper it can be, to use the internet to make contact with family members who live abroad. I have a sister who lives in a part of the world where she would find buying the cheapest of smartphones quite expensive so I decided to make a present of one for her. When I looked into buying one, it occurred that a second hand one would do quite well so I went off to the market and found one which I thought would be perfect for the job.
I brought it home and then came across an old post on your pages which alerted me to the fact that phones can get stolen, blacklisted and are sent abroad quite often (►►►) in your post that was dated 25th November 2017. After hearing about PC’s ordeal it occurred to me that the phone I was about to give to my sister could cause her some problems and that I should check to make sure that I was not storing up trouble for her.
I phoned my mobile phone service provider who checked that the phone I had had not been blacklisted, and I am glad to say it is fine. I found out that it is possible to also check on line and thought it to be a good idea to share the web pages that extend this service just in case any readers in LPG world find themselves with the need to check.
When I phone to ask I was told that even though your phone has its phone number that really identifies the ‘sim card’ inside the phone which is removable. Each mobile phone’s IMEI number identifies the actual handset. I also learned that it is usually somewhere in the box when you buy a new one and it is stored in the phone. For many phones it can be found by dialling ‘*#06#’ on the phone itself.
I would suggest that it is well worth making a note of your mobile phone’s IMEI number just in case you ever lose it. We so often throw the packaging away when we by something new these days and it would be so much easier to find.
I hope that LPG will share the information I found on the subject.
CM, New Cross
CM asked LPG to pass on the following links…
