Swiss laws on IMEI

Tech, TV, Mobile, Internet and Geek Corner
41
Will his insurance cover it?

42
The IMEI is the mobile phone equivalent of a VIN for your car - or whatever it is called in the UK. It is there for a reason - namely to identify a handset in a network.

Of course do you not really harm anyone if you change it, but as soon as you do it for any form of fraud - and that can range from "re-using" software that was licensed for a specific IMEI to "real criminal" activities as unlocking stolen and blocked handsets by giving them a new IMEI or cloaking your identity for some other criminal reasons.

Let me guess: You got yourself a new phone and you figured out that a lot of software guys got you by the balls as you licensed all games and programs for you old phone - specifically for your old phones IMEI. Yes, it is technically possible with most phones to change the IMEI. But: You're breaking a lot of contracts and you have no idea if any of the programs is possibly checking some other parameters as well - it could be something as banal as screen resolution.

In Germany, there is no special IMEI law - there is no need for it. As soon as you change it for a fraud, you are most likely also breaking § 269 StGB "Fälschung beweiserheblicher Daten". It's basically treated as document forgery to comit a crime. I am pretty sure that there are Swiss laws against the forgery of documents as well.

43
A helpful post but UTH has already established that the OP bricked his phone and now we're trying to figure out if household insurance will cover his thoughtless tinkering.

44
I do not see what the IMEI would have to do with toasting a phone. Even if you totally screw up the operating system and you have to completely flash the device - the IMEI stays the same and does not cause any issue.

So: I don't believe it.

45
Wrong: http://android.modaco.com/content/zt...lash-solution/

Most smartphones are basically portable computers now. IMEI is rarely burned into a ROM but is normally held in NVRAM which normally shouldn't be changed after production, but sometimes the manufacturers get it wrong.

46
Then go ahead and fix it. If you are only changing the IMEI back to the original setting, it will be pretty impossible to make a case of fraud out of it, no?

P.S: Next time - read the manual and make a back-up...

47
That's not the problem. I wrote a tool to fix it, but not sure if it is legal to distribute it.

48
But why would people want to change it. What would that do. Maybe I want to change mine. Also, do you know how to remove that Orange branding from my OS??

49
One way to find out is to start distributing it and wait to see who comes knocking on your door

There's all kinds of programs floating around the interwebz, alot of which are probably not legal in some countries. If you want to legally distribute it (ie: sell it), then yea, you need some legal experts* advice, if you want to be 100% legit.

(*This doesn't mean asking people on forums )

50

not quite true, even nokia have been known to send out thousands of phones with the same imei, a lot of cheap no make chinese phones also do not have a unique imei, and mobile phone companies do not rely on imei actually being unique, switzerland also doesn't block imei's