I guess it can be discussed on this forum as it is not illegal in most countries.

In the UK however it IS illegal..

There are ways to change the IMEI on most phones but usually
it requires different methods depending on the model of the phone and newer phones tend to be more difficult to reprogram due to the lack of information about on the net.


Im UK based so dont want to go posting info on how to do it. I honestly dont know how to do it on the N900 yet but its almost certainly possible.

P.S 10% of IMEI's in the UK are duplicates (ref bbc website) so someone is modifying a hell of a lot of devices..... dont think that IMEI blacklisting is worth doing because it is no use against dedicated organisations that deal in stolen phones. the databases ar just there to make people feel better once their phone has been nicked )

"There are ways to change the IMEI on most phones"

Nokia started program IMEI into RF chip during production long time ago. So, it is impossible to change IMEI in Nokia phones "on-a-fly"/"on-a-run", it requires some hardware work.

So, all discussion about anonymity is useless - the permanent changing of IMEI is for stolen phones only but not for goal of non-tracking.

You're right the police have many different ways. A phone even while idle can be used as a microphone to listen to your conversations. Battery removal is the only way.

My efforts in another direction? I havent made any efforts in this regard. As for the Parliament to pass a law - thats a joke. Post 9/11 the police can do whatever they like without a law. No one openly admits to breaking of privacy laws but it happens. They can shoot you in the head 9 times on a train and say "oops", carry out early dawn raids and send you to Gitmo, lock you up in the UK without trial for a period of time and even have you arrested for thought crimes. No getting away from it.
Not that I have anything to hide, just saying us behaving like sheep and saying the IMEI number cannot be changed because we shouldnt isnt the answer.

Places like Asia/Africa/South America and even Europe now - there is always a danger of being picked up by secret groups. I've personally witnessed conversations with the police where they track people within minutes for whatever reason. No regard for the law. But that was Pakistan. In the UK we do it secretly.

yeah seriously if you dont want to be tracked then why not go buy a PAYG phone and seperate simm and supply incorrect details or pay by cash.

If you really dont want to be tracked then how about not using a bloody transmitter that can be triangulated via the masts it communicates with?? i.e dont use a mobile!

Again, it is a case to talk with your representatives and people to elect a right judge which WILL send that police guys to jail. It can't be solved by IMEI change. Moreover, in this environment an IMEI change could lead you to jail under false suspicion. You are going to wrong direction in UK.

As for Asia... I don't know, it depends from country and a reason why you visit it. More simple - don't use the same mobile/SIM, just in case.

IMEI's cannot be changed without physically ripping the chip out that contains it and replacing it with a blank one that doesn't yet have an IMEI.

They use write once eprom like devices just you don't get the e for erasable.. its physically impossible to achieve, and, you shouldn't be trying !

I imagine these chips aren't distinct devices either, probably a small piece of auxillary silicon on the cpu wafer....

In some countries you need to register prepaid card before activation. In registration process you need to give you name and secound name. It is matter of time when you will not be able to use non name-registered sim card.
Only way to use mobile phone anonymously is changing imei or having another phone with another sim card and be sure that persons who you calling won't give you credentials to cops.

Buying n900(legaly) i was hoping to have control over my phone.
I would like to have an ability to change IMEI, be sure if I'm turning gsm module off it's really off so I can not be traced, nor some gestapo guys can hear me.

People have not enough information about technology they are using. GSM network is powerful surveillance technology. Don't you think is nice to have as much controll over it as possible.

I'm not programmer but maybe some one with more skills agree with me and can inspect the source code and let community know how your beloved n900 can be used to control you.
Then maybe there will be possibilities to prevent it.

Isn't that what open source is about ?

Going back to IMEI topic.
Wifi card have hardware mac as well. When you changing your MAC(eg. ifconfig interface_name hw ether 00:your:mac:here) you are not changing anything physically on a wifi card. It should be possible to emulate IMEI somehow.

DONT TRY TO CHANGE IMEI IT WILL **** UP YOUR PHONE...

beacause IF certs watchdogs simlockdata imei are stored like in any other bb5 phone... you can change imei .... but it wont power on until you recalkulate Security zones....

are u a little bit paranoid??

NO changing the imei has nothing to do with openess...

Imei is an standart for Identification numbers on mobile phones.... if you could change it... it would be useless....
because you could use a imei from a brand new phone... insert it into your old phone (same Type) and give it to nokia for warranty repairs even if it is not on warranty....
if a phone gets stolen ... and the thief could change the imei ... the phone qould not be recognized.... even if they chatch the thief....

the imei is only stored @ the Manufacturer and the Resseller because of warranty ....

noone cant track you if he knows the imei .... only when they know the phone number... and have the technology....