The Technician's Guide: Checking IMEI on a Dead iPhone

A customer brings in a smashed iPhone. Is it worth repairing, or is it iCloud locked? You can't see the screen to check Settings. Here is how professionals find the IMEI.

Method 1: The SIM Tray (Physical Check)

For models from iPhone 6s up to iPhone 13, the IMEI is printed on the SIM tray.

• Pros: Fast and easy.
• Cons: Trays can be swapped! A scammer might put a "Clean" tray into a "Blacklisted" phone. Always verify with software if possible.
• Note: US Models of iPhone 14/15/16 do NOT have a SIM tray (eSIM only).

Method 2: Recovery/DFU Mode (The Most Reliable)

Even if the screen is black, the logic board usually works. Connect it to a PC/Mac.

1. Connect via USB.
2. Hard Reset the phone into Recovery Mode (Volume Up, Volume Down, Hold Power).
3. Open iTunes (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
4. The device will appear as "iPhone (Recovery Mode)".
5. Click on the text "iPhone" or the Serial Number area. It will cycle through: Serial -> UDID -> ECID -> IMEI.

Method 3: "ideviceinfo" (Command Line for Geeks)

If you have a Mac or Linux machine with libimobiledevice installed, you can query the device directly even if it's locked.

Method 4: The Support Page Trick

If you have access to the owner's Apple ID (or if it's your phone):

1. Go to appleid.apple.com.
2. Login.
3. Go to "Devices". You will see the IMEI and Serial of all linked devices, even if they are broken and offline.