Is it possible to disable a stolen Telecom mobile?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Is it possible to disable a stolen Telecom mobile?

DarthKermit

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#115419 25-Mar-2013 16:19

My partner lost her Samsung Telecom pre-paid cell phone a few weeks ago. Whoever picked it up obviously has no intention of returning it.

She had the 027 phone number cancelled and her number re-assigned to the new phone she purchased the next day.

What I'd like to know is if it's technically possible to get Telecom to disable this old phone so the theif can't use it any more? If so, what information would I need to supply?

Cheers.

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#786751 25-Mar-2013 16:20

Yup, if you have the IMEI (it should be on the box) then it'll help, but presumably Telecom should be able to look up the IMEI based on your phone number.

plambrechtsen

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#786753 25-Mar-2013 16:20

Yes

Ring up the police first, make a complaint there.. Take the complaint to Telecom. And we will bar the IMEI of the phone. Plus after a period of time Vodafone NZ will get the same list.

2Degrees don't have an EIR, so they can't bar phones.

johnr

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#786760 25-Mar-2013 16:27

plambrechtsen: Yes

Ring up the police first, make a complaint there.. Take the complaint to Telecom. And we will bar the IMEI of the phone. Plus after a period of time Vodafone NZ will get the same list.

2Degrees don't have an EIR, so they can't bar phones.

No we won't not anymore, You learn something new everyday

DarthKermit

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#786767 25-Mar-2013 16:37

plambrechtsen: Yes

Ring up the police first, make a complaint there.. Take the complaint to Telecom. And we will bar the IMEI of the phone. Plus after a period of time Vodafone NZ will get the same list.

2Degrees don't have an EIR, so they can't bar phones.

Hi and thank you for your prompt response (to everyone who has replied).

She has already filed a lost property report with the police just after the phone was lost.

We've dug out the box and there's a credit card piece of plastic that housed the sim card. There are two different very long numbers with bar codes on this card. Which one would the IMEI be?

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gregmcc

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#786771 25-Mar-2013 16:41

The IEMI is 15 digits long, it will be printed on a sticker attached to the box, the numbers you are looking at on the plastic surround from the sim card have nothing to do with the IEMI

DarthKermit

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#786774 25-Mar-2013 16:46

gregmcc: The IEMI is 15 digits long, it will be printed on a sticker attached to the box, the numbers you are looking at on the plastic surround from the sim card have nothing to do with the IEMI

Ok, I think I've found it now. It's got 15 digits and they're broken up by three "/" forward slashes. Yes?

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johnr

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#786777 25-Mar-2013 16:50

DarthKermit:
gregmcc: The IEMI is 15 digits long, it will be printed on a sticker attached to the box, the numbers you are looking at on the plastic surround from the sim card have nothing to do with the IEMI

Ok, I think I've found it now. It's got 15 digits and they're broken up by three "/" forward slashes. Yes?

Yes

freitasm

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#786779 25-Mar-2013 16:54

You shoukld contact all three operators and ask to block the IMEI. They currently do not share this information.

And yes, 2degrees says they are now blocking stolen handsets.

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gregmcc

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#786780 25-Mar-2013 16:54

sounds about right, the format of the 15 digits does vary by maker, try running the IEMI thru this web site to see if the information returned matched the make/model of your phone

http://www.imei.info/

You will need to report it seperatly to Telecom/Vodafone/2Degrees to ensure that it can't be used on any network, 2Degress have just recently got there IEMI blocking system working and their customer service people don't know it is up and running yet.

Greg

DarthKermit

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#786782 25-Mar-2013 17:06

gregmcc: sounds about right, the format of the 15 digits does vary by maker, try running the IEMI thru this web site to see if the information returned matched the make/model of your phone

http://www.imei.info/

You will need to report it seperatly to Telecom/Vodafone/2Degrees to ensure that it can't be used on any network, 2Degress have just recently got there IEMI blocking system working and their customer service people don't know it is up and running yet.

Greg

Thanks Greg, I did as you said and it says that it's a Sony Ericsson! That's clearly not correct. It was a Samsung S3370B, purchased new from a Telecom shop in 2011.

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freitasm

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#786783 25-Mar-2013 17:07

The number seems to be an IMEI then. Don't worry if a site says it's something else... If you're absolutely sure this is the correct box then that's the one to use.

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DarthKermit

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#786784 25-Mar-2013 17:16

freitasm: The number seems to be an IMEI then. Don't worry if a site says it's something else... If you're absolutely sure this is the correct box then that's the one to use.

Heya Freitasm

This is Mrs.Darth here. You guys do such a good job with advice on this site. I appreciate your help with this, thanks very much.

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freitasm

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#786788 25-Mar-2013 17:30

Thanks, you're welcome. Good luck with the rest of the "locking".

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wibble

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#787306 26-Mar-2013 16:04

freitasm: You shoukld contact all three operators and ask to block the IMEI. They currently do not share this information.

And yes, 2degrees says they are now blocking stolen handsets.

Yes 2degrees do block handsets, however they won't block handsets from other networks.

I don't think VF or TC will block handsets that haven't been on their network either - but happy to be corrected on this.

DarthKermit

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#787320 26-Mar-2013 16:21

wibble:
freitasm: You shoukld contact all three operators and ask to block the IMEI. They currently do not share this information.

And yes, 2degrees says they are now blocking stolen handsets.

Yes 2degrees do block handsets, however they won't block handsets from other networks.

I don't think VF or TC will block handsets that haven't been on their network either - but happy to be corrected on this.

I'm going to get her to phone VF and attempt to block her old phone. I'll let you know how she gets on...

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