Why Your Phone Has Two IMEI Numbers (Dual SIM & eSIM Explained)

You dial *#06# expecting one number and get two — sometimes three or four lines once you count the EID and MEID. Is the phone a fake? Has it been tampered with? Almost certainly not. Two IMEIs are completely normal on any phone that supports two SIM lines, and today that’s most of them.

Here’s why it happens, how eSIM changes the picture, and which number you should use for checks, unlocks and reporting a lost phone.

One IMEI per SIM line

An IMEI identifies a phone’s cellular radio to the network. When a phone can keep two SIM lines registered at the same time, each line appears to the network as its own piece of mobile equipment — so each needs its own identity. The manufacturer therefore assigns two IMEIs, usually labeled IMEI 1 (or just IMEI) and IMEI 2.

It doesn’t matter whether the phone physically has one modem or two. Most dual-SIM phones are DSDS (Dual SIM Dual Standby): both lines can receive calls, but only one is active in a call at any moment. A few are DSDA (Dual SIM Dual Active). Either way, two lines mean two IMEIs.

Both numbers are genuine 15-digit IMEIs with their own Luhn check digit. They often share the same first eight digits — the TAC code for the model — but not always.

Physical SIM, eSIM and the second IMEI

Dual SIM no longer requires two card slots. An eSIM is a SIM chip soldered onto the phone’s board that downloads carrier profiles over the air. The common combinations are:

• Two physical SIM slots — typical of many Android phones and iPhones sold in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. IMEI 1 belongs to slot 1, IMEI 2 to slot 2.
• One physical SIM + eSIM — iPhone XS, XR and later outside the US, Google Pixel, recent Galaxy flagships and others. One IMEI is used by the physical slot and the other by the eSIM line.
• eSIM only — US models of iPhone 14 and later. There’s no SIM tray, but the phone can keep two eSIM lines active, so it still has two IMEIs.

A phone without any dual-SIM capability normally shows a single IMEI.

What is the EID, and how is it different?

Phones with eSIM also show an EID (eUICC Identifier): a 32-digit number that usually begins with 89. It identifies the eSIM chip, not a phone line. Carriers use it to send an eSIM profile to your device.

• There’s only one EID per phone, even if the chip stores several eSIM profiles.
• The EID is not used for blacklist, carrier-lock or unlock checks — those use the IMEI.
• Giving your EID to anyone other than your carrier is unnecessary.

For a full side-by-side comparison of IMEI, serial, MEID, EID and ICCID, read IMEI vs serial number vs MEID vs EID.

Where to see both IMEIs

• Any phone: dial *#06#. Dual-SIM phones list both IMEIs, and eSIM phones usually show the EID too.
• iPhone: Settings › General › About. Scroll down to the SIM section; you’ll see IMEI and IMEI2 (on older dual-SIM models also MEID).
• Samsung: Settings › About phone shows IMEI (slot 1) and IMEI (slot 2).
• Pixel and other Android phones: Settings › About phone, then tap IMEI or IMEI (SIM slot 2). Some brands put it under Status or SIM status.

The box label often lists both numbers too. More methods, including how to find them when the phone is lost, are in how to find the IMEI number.

Want to be sure both numbers are real? Paste each one into the validator — a genuine IMEI 1 and IMEI 2 will both pass the check digit:

Which IMEI should you use?

For a quick validation, run a GSMA blacklist check on IMEI 1. Use the USA blacklist / barred check for phones that came from a US carrier, and a carrier + SIM-lock check to see whether the phone will accept your SIM. On iPhones, the All-in-one Basic Info report confirms the model and Find My status. If you only have an iPhone’s MEID or serial and need the second IMEI, try the MEID → IMEI2 → serial conversion.

Carrier locks, settings and IMEI 2

A few practical points that trip people up:

• SIM-lock applies to the phone, not one slot. A carrier-locked dual-SIM phone normally rejects other carriers’ SIMs in either slot or as an eSIM. Some locked phones accept a second SIM only from the same carrier.
• Switching the primary line doesn’t change the IMEIs. Choosing which SIM handles data or calls in Settings › Cellular (iPhone) or Settings › Connections › SIM manager (Samsung) only changes how the lines are used.
• Disabling a slot doesn’t remove its IMEI. The number stays assigned to the hardware even if the line is turned off.
• A factory reset or new eSIM never changes either IMEI. If someone offers to “give the phone a new IMEI”, that’s tampering.

Common questions and red flags

“IMEI 2 is blacklisted but IMEI 1 is clean”

When a phone is reported stolen, carriers typically block the IMEI that was used on their network, and many block both. A blacklist on either number should be treated as a blacklist on the phone. Don’t buy it. Our guide what a blacklisted IMEI means explains the details.

“The phone shows only one IMEI but the box shows two”

Some phones hide the second IMEI if the second slot or eSIM is disabled in software — but more often it means the box belongs to a different variant or a different phone. Compare carefully.

“The two IMEIs point to different models”

This shouldn’t happen on a genuine phone. It suggests a swapped board, a counterfeit or a tampered IMEI.

Check both numbers in seconds here, or use our IMEI check page: