If you are buying a used phone you should always check its status to make sure it hasn’t been reported as lost or stolen. Some sites, such as Swappa, check the IMEI number before allowing a phone to be sold in the marketplace.
Having the IMEI number checked before a listing is approved removes the potential for phone fraud. This is one reason why Swappa is trusted and considered to be a safe marketplace, but that same level of trust may not be available if you purchase your phone from another site, or from a third party or individual that you do not personally know.
We hope that you use Swappa to purchase your newish phone, but we also have you covered if you plan to get your phone elsewhere. Using our Swappa IMEI Checker — you can quickly and easily check to see if the phone’s IMEI is on a blocklist (formerly known as a blacklist).
The Swappa IMEI (ESN, MEID) checker is free, and there are also several other key benefits. Keep reading to learn more about how to find a phone’s IMEI number, and how to check the IMEI for free on Swappa.
How to find a phone’s IMEI number
The steps to find an IMEI in the device settings often vary based on the phone manufacturer and the type of phone you are checking — an Android smartphone or an iPhone. But finding a phone’s IMEI number is easy, you just need to know where to look, or more to the point — what to dial. Regardless of the make or model, you can quickly and easily find the IMEI using these two steps:
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- Open the Phone (dialer) app
- Dial *#06#
As soon as you hit the final # sign, the phone will show you the IMEI, which stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. Essentially, the IMEI is a unique serial number, often referred to as a device identifier, and it is used to identify phones on wireless networks.
Carriers use the IMEI to see if a phone is active on their network. And, in cases where an IMEI has been reported as lost or stolen, they can also block the phone from being used. This is why it is very important to always check a phone’s IMEI before you buy (or to buy from a marketplace that handles that check).
One tip to keep in mind is that some phones have two IMEI numbers. For example, if you are checking a newer iPhone (Xr, XS, XS Max, or later), there will be a Primary SIM and a Digital SIM (also known as eSIM). You may also see these listed as being IMEI1 and IMEI2. This next part should go without saying, but if there is more than one IMEI you should make sure to run a check on each.
Check a phone’s IMEI on Swappa for free
Now that you have the phone’s IMEI, you can now move on to checking it. Similar to finding the IMEI — checking the IMEI is just as easy. You can visit the Swappa IMEI Checker page and enter the IMEI in the “ESN / IMEI /MEID” field. After that, you just tap the green “Check” button.
The main benefit of using the Swappa IMEI Checker include finding out if the IMEI is good (on the Allowlist) or bad (on the Blocklist). Other key benefits also include the following:
- Model information: The results page provides information on the model of the phone associated with the IMEI number. This will help you to confirm the IMEI matches the model of the phone you are thinking about buying.
- Pricing information: The results page also displays pricing data, a current average selling price, which is based on actual Swappa sales. This will help to ensure you are not overpaying.
As we’ve covered here in this post — it is important to always check the IMEI before you buy a used phone. Alternatively, you can buy your used newish phone from the Swappa marketplace and take comfort in knowing that a Swappa staff member has already checked the IMEI number. Checking the IMEI is a part of our listing review process here at Swappa, and is just one piece of what makes Swappa a safe and trusted marketplace.
