miko1988:
... As an officer with little experience in the tracking field, somtimes dis issue comes up as a result of box swap, dat's y if u purchase phone confirm d IMEI number by dialing *#06# and compare to d one in d box before going home, if dey swap ur box and gave ur phone box to wrong person, anytime d person with ur real phone box containing ur phone imei lost his/her phone there's possibility of tracking ur genue phone

Good heads up!

KingsArome:


Maybe ur brother twerk his imei, or mistakenly app that change his imei, which is very possible

Awon pepper dem gang! Pe ari phone to tun "twerk". Ahh, gbege don land!

Electronzeez:
From OEM two phones can not be produce to have the same international mobile equipment identity ,but a single imei can be writing on at most three devices and all three device can receive call SMS browse and do everything other phones can do .

Writing of imei on a phone main board is a software process and yes a single imei can be writing on multiple device .

I like this, good info!

Datazone:

At times, ignorance makes one to become a victim of certain things. Have you ever wondered how the NPF wandered all over Nigeria searching for IMEI and, by magic selected your brother's phone? I haven't heard of any tool that scans IMEI on the fly as we pass anyone on the road, even if it exists, NPF do not have it. How then did they handpicked your brother? The NPF is playing a smart one on you guys and sadly, you fell for it. You and your brother are not tech aware at all. Did you bother to ask of the formal complaint laid by the said person looking for his phone? I don't even know what to type next, you fall our hand. You still even come NL on a Sunday morning to disturb us. To see the number of youths arguing about whether two phones can have same IMEI sums up the problem solving state of our youths. Have you guys thought about how the police managed to singlehandedly pick his brother given the fact that this incident took place in two different states? Is it my voodoo or NPF dey maga somebody?

I like the way you process logically. You will be a good detective/lawyer or an analyst.

Datazone:

At times, ignorance makes one to become a victim of certain things. Have you ever wondered how the NPF wandered all over Nigeria searching for IMEI and, by magic selected your brother's phone? I haven't heard of any tool that scans IMEI on the fly as we pass anyone on the road, even if it exists, NPF do not have it. How then did they handpicked your brother? The NPF is playing a smart one on you guys and sadly, you fell for it. You and your brother are not tech aware at all. Did you bother to ask of the formal complaint laid by the said person looking for his phone? I don't even know what to type next, you fall our hand. You still even come NL on a Sunday morning to disturb us. To see the number of youths arguing about whether two phones can have same IMEI sums up the problem solving state of our youths. Have you guys thought about how the police managed to singlehandedly pick his brother given the fact that this incident took place in two different states? Is it my voodoo or NPF dey maga somebody?

I didn't tell you that he was picked on the road, they call him to inquire about where he schooled. Just to ask for his where about and he told them his location. Where he was picked up that such complaint has been laid against him. I don't understand what you want him to do. You want him to resist police and got dealt with mercilessly?

You may have bought a refurbished phone.
The panel/ mother board of the stolen phone may have been used to set up another phone and sold out as a new phone. So there could be a clash.
IMEI numbers are unique to each phone.

Again the police may have a wrongly copied serial number and one or two mumbers may tallied with yours.
As long as you are sure you bought the phone from Slot, keep the pack and receipt very well and safe.

Not at all.

So, OP's query is "whether two phones can have same IMEI"

Simply the answer is YES!
Every phone on the planet can have same IMEI.

What is missing in the question is whether phones with duplicate IMEI can operate on public cellular network.

To answer the question will require an elaborate lecture on wireless technology, mobile technology, TCP/IP...and so on. Nairaland does not pay me to lecture. In fact they often ban me for lecturing in politics section but lets not go into that.


Im going to keep this very short, straight to point and educative.

First, what is the reason phone device has IMEI?
I want you all to know that IMEI is only for purpose of registration, authentication and roaming management. Prior to GSM there was nothing known as IMEI. GSM introduced SIM card which necessitated IMEI.
To the extent SIM cards can be orphaned, they need to be paired to a surrogate device, IMEI is the identity of its surrogate mother.

A SIM card will always need its mother to connect and register on cellular network but the mother does not need SIM to connect to networks. In particular, a mobile handset can connect and work on wifi even when its SIM does not have service or has been deactivated.

When you power on handset SIM is what connects to provider network, authenticates, registers and obtains an IP for your phone in the public network. The IP table in the subscriber server contains identity of SIM and the IMEI that is surrogating for it.

That same IMEI can be repeated elsewhere with a different SIM and a different IP. This will be temporary however. Periodically switches, routers and servers in the public network do audits where they scrub tables for duplicity or conflicts and try to self-resolve the issue. Duplicated IMEI in public network will soon be discovered during audits and attempts made to reconcile or deny service if reconciliation fails.

OP, it is possible to have duplicate IMEI and operable but not for too long. Its discovery can lead to legal problems (read End User License Agreement for more on this) but because the internet is minimally regulated mostly violations of this nature is widely ignored. Instead of coming after you they simply block (blacklist) or deactivate (denial of service) your SIM.

Hope this helped.

iammo:




Download custom ROM and flash the phone to get a new imei

Always flash a used phone to avoid people tracking you


..

You might be too wise for your own good!

What if you flashed a legitimately acquired used phone, whose original owner legitimately disposed off and end up with an IMEI number belonging to a stolen phone?

An imei number tells, who the phone manufacturer is, phone type and manufacturing date, so you most likely will duplicate another number and/or assign a number that indicates a different manufacturer, phone type and date...in essence, your phone is now a fake!

And the very police armed with devices that can check imei numbers that you are trying to avoid or fool will detect the fake, thus putting you in a precarious situation to explain your innocent purchase, that you have turned into a fake & fraud!

IamCharles123:

The report of the stolen phone and were his brother was arrested are two different location. For police to check his bro phone and say that the ime match that of a reported stolen phone, there has to be a database were all reported stolen phone ime are saved. I doubt the nigeria police has such system, they are just trying to scam the young man.

I thought the OP said he was tracked by the police to his new location. Gps enabled phones, especially smart phones can be tracked!

oloyedayo:
My brother bought an infinix hot 7 at slot in VI Lagos sometimes in July this year. He traveled to his village, Igboho in Oyo state where he was picked up by police undercover agents (SIB) for phone theft.
His offence was that the phone he bought from slot in Lagos was stolen at a church in Jos.
We have to request that some one bring the phone box and receipt from Lagos to igboho, after which the SIB release him to us that they have seen evidence that he bought the phone.
My fear now is that they can pick him up again if they track same IMEI again. What should we do.

I contacted slot and they said he should visit the store where the phone was purchased. But can two phones have same IMEI?

One thing I know is that IMEI Number can be tweak. So it's possible for numerous phones to have same IMEI Number.

iammo:




Download custom ROM and flash the phone to get a new imei

Always flash a used phone to avoid people tracking you


..

Wat are you saying bro?

Yeah

MetaPhysical:


I like the way you process logically. You will be a good detective/lawyer or an analyst.

Thanks man.

IMEI are unique to a particular phone just like our fingerprints. But its possible to clone it. That is why its good to buy original phones. All these China clones come with duplicated IMEI.

joe4christ:


I thought the OP said he was tracked by the police to his new location. Gps enabled phones, especially smart phones can be tracked!

Of course that possible but the op didn't state it that he was tracked

Lexusgs430:



Some people like Ashirioluwa, would still doubt and want to argue this point..........

Hands up...... thanks for the info

NEVER! Two phones can not have the same IMEI