Hi all,

A friend of mine had his phone stolen yesterday, and it got me thinking about my own situation. I bought my iPhone 3GS just over a year ago on PAYG, and put my Orange contract SIM in it. (I have a good deal with Orange and didn't want to go on to a rubbish iPhone tariff.) I've since renewed my contract with Orange, told them I was using an iPhone and didn't need a new phone. They sent me a basic Nokia but said to only register it if I intended to use it.

Anyway, I presume my iPhone's IMEI won't be linked to my contract SIM in any way. So, if my phone was stolen, how would I go about getting it blocked?

The networks have a record of which IMEI is being used on a particular number.
But handsets aren't registered to an individual, unless you manually add yourself to a third party property register.

But how do the networks have those records? Is it down to the particular phone they supplied, or is it more technical than that?

I suppose what I'm saying is this:

Orange did not supply my iPhone. However, I've been using my Orange contract SIM in it for over a year. Say my phone was stolen tomorrow, could/would they block the IMEI?

When the phone connects to the network it tells the network it's IMEI number. The networks keep a record of this and also use it to check if the phone is blacklisted (which happens at the networks end and not the handsets end). If a phone is blacklisted the networks will not permit it to connect (or will allow it to connect but not to make or receive calls - varies per network)

Thanks. I should have realised it works like this, otherwise IMEI blocking wouldn't actually work at all!

This IMEI database is only within the UK and maybe some parts of Europe.

You could take a blocked phone to say India and it would be fine.