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How to change IMEI of iPhone 4

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jlan2747

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Can anyone point me in the right direction?

BTW Ziphone does not work as it is for iphone 3
 
As far as I am aware changing an imei no of any phone is illegal and I am sure it is punishable by prison. The only reason I can think anyone would want to change the imei is because the phone has been reported stolen. Ways of changing an imei should not be discussed and this thread should be closed.
 
A phone may be blacklisted (or barred) for many different reasons, but the most common reason is that it has been reported either lost or stolen! It is only the networks (Orange, T-Mobile, O2, Vodafone etc) that have the facility to blacklist a handset.

If you are unfortunate enough to either lose or even worse have your phone stolen you should report it to your service provider (your network) immediately! Your service provider can then blacklist the handset so that it can no longer be used to make or receive any calls. The networks do this by adding your phones serial number onto a national blacklist database (Central Equipment Identity Register). Effectively the handset becomes absolutely useless and the thief is in possession of a pretty paper weight! :))
So How does blacklisting Work?

Every mobile phone has a unique serial number. This serial number is called the IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity). It can normally be found underneath the phones battery and it is 15 digits long.

Now each time you switch your phone on or attempt to make a call the network systems check the IMEI number of the handset you are using. At this point the IMEI number of your handset is cross referenced with the Central Equipment Identity Register. If the IMEI number of your handset is on the CEIR then the network will either:

1) Refuse to send a signal to your phone (No signal strength at all)

2) Or will supply a signal but will not allow any outgoing or
incoming calls.

If your IMEI number is on the CEIR your handset is blacklisted and therefore useless. By spreading the word that "stolen handsets will not work" it is hoped that street crime can be reduced!

Unlocking & Blacklisting, is there any Connection?

The answer is that there used to be a connection before O2 and Vodafone started blacklisting handsets! Orange and T-Mobile have been blacklisting handsets for a long time (It is only recently that O2 and Vodafone also started blacklisting handsets).

NB Orange & T-Mobile always lock their handsets!(e.g. an Orange handset will only accept an Orange SIM and will not accept an O2, Voda or T-Mobile SIM)

So if you reported your Orange or T-Mobile handset missing to your network it became barred/blacklisted! BUT it was only barred on your home network. Therefore unlocking the barred handset would enable it to work on every network except the one it was originally locked too! Therefore the phone still had some commercial value, as it would function on at least 3 out of the 4 networks.

It wasn't long before Orange and T-Mobile began to combine their individual blacklist databases. Therefore a phone barred on Orange was also barred on T-Mobile and vice versa. Even at this point the barred handset could be unlocked and used but only on 2 out of a possible 4 networks (O2 & Vodafone).

The government eventually stepped in and forced O2 and Vodafone to update their systems and introduced the CEIR. Now that all the networks share a central blacklist database, even if a barred handset is unlocked it still remains useless on ALL UK networks!
How Do Criminals Get Around The Blacklisting Scheme / CEIR?

So now that handsets are blacklisted on all networks what do the criminals do to get around this? They find ways to change handset IMEI numbers! Amazingly it is only recently that the altering/changing of IMEI numbers has become illegal! Home Secretary David Blunkett introduced a new law making re-programming IMEI numbers punishable by up to five years in jail. View / Download the Mobile Phones (Reprogramming) Act 2002 here! This new law became active on the 4th October 2002 . (this new law does not effect handset unlocking).

Never the less it is possible to change IMEI numbers on certain handsets. So if an individual obtains a blacklisted handset, they can change the IMEI number and the handset will then work again!!

In my opinion the responsibility now lies with the handset manufactures. They need to make it as difficult as possible to change IMEI numbers. To be fair some manufactures are doing their bit (but some are not!). For example Nokia's new DCT4 range of handsets remains un beaten with regards to changing the IMEI. This is largely down to the type of memory used to store the IMEI number. Nokia have chosen to use OTP (one time programmable) memory, which by its very name indicates that data cant be over written. (unless you change the UEM/memory chip - technically this is out of the realms of most criminals!)
 
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