Technology is allowing us to do more and more things through our phones – from shopping to banking to social media – as well as making calls and sending texts. Not only are our phones more valuable in themselves, but many of them will also contain valuable data, whether that's downloaded music and films, the photographs you have taken, or other personal information. As a result, mobile phones can be a very tempting target for thieves, with the loss of a phone causing great inconvenience to the user.
Most mobile phones have a range of security features that are intended to stop anyone else accessing and using them should they be stolen. These security features include:
However, these features will only protect your mobile phone if you have them switched on. Some of these features may not be available on certain handsets. For further details about what is available on specific handsets, please see your handset instructions.
You need to know more than the model and colour of your handset.
Each mobile phone manufactured for use in the UK has a unique International Mobile Equipment Identity number (IMEI) hardwired into it during the manufacturing process. Knowing the IMEI will help the police and insurance companies identify your handset should it be stolen. Network operators may be able to prevent a stolen phone from working across their respective networks if they know its IMEI.
You can find your handset’s IMEI by:
