In many jurisdictions, modifying or repairing an IMEI number is illegal (e.g., under the US Anti-Phone Theft Act or similar laws worldwide) because IMEI is a permanent hardware identifier. Tampering with it can facilitate trafficking stolen phones, evading network blocks, or committing fraud.

Before attempting any "fix," you must identify your device's unique 15-digit IMEI number. Both sites recommend these methods:

Changing an IMEI to a fake number is illegal in many jurisdictions. The method below is for restoring the original IMEI that the phone was manufactured with.