3 Composition of IMEI

22.0163GPPInternational Mobile station Equipment Identities (IMEI)Release 17TS

The composition of the IMEI shall be such that each individual mobile station equipment can be separately identified.

Information is contained in the IMEI by which the PLMN, after requesting it, can immediately decide whether or not to accept calls made by means of this equipment.

Secondly, the IMEI shall directly or indirectly contain all information which is necessary for the network operator to make relations through its administrative system to trace the equipment to its origin of production. 3GPP TS 23.003 [2] describes the structure of the IMEI in detail.

The IMEI is complemented by a check digit. The check digit is not part of the digits transmitted at IMEI check occasions, as described below. The Check Digit shall avoid manual transmission errors, e.g. when customers register stolen MEs at the operators’ customer care desk.

NOTE: The Check Digit is not applied to the Software Version Number.