https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/7710-changing-imei/8

A phone doesnt need a sim to connect to the network towers. Sim is only for billing. The network can see your imei and triangulate your location as long as your radio is on.

I have read this on https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/7710-changing-imei/8, but I’m bit confused. Does this mean our IMEI is identified by cell tower as long as the airplane mode is off? What exact setting is “Radio” referring to?

thanks a lot

thanks @rowinxavier@lemmy.world and @9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world

Short answer: Yes The network can see your IMEI and triangulate your location even though no SIM is installed. and theoretically with airplane mode off no radio is on

  • notabot@piefed.socialEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    Yes, the IMEI uniquly identifies the phone itself, so if the GSM radio is on, the network can monitor it’s approximate location.

    There’s a couple of caveats: IMEI cloning is possible, but unlikely, and he accuracy of the triangulation will depend on a lot of factors including how far apart the towers are and what sort of obstructions there are between you and the towers. My understanding is that it is done by comparing your signal strength at each of the towers as a proxy for distance. If there’s a large obstruction that reduces your signal to a tower it could throw those measurements off. They’ll know you’re in the area, but not exactly where.