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Lost Phone? Block It on Sanchar Saathi CEIR and Unblock It Later

Phone missing in India? Get a duplicate SIM and a police complaint first, then block the handset on CEIR via Sanchar Saathi, track the request and unblock it if found.

Written by Lokesh Rathore 7-minute read

Crimson and red illustration of a smartphone guarded by a shield with a padlock at its centre

In short

Report the loss to the police and ask your operator for a duplicate SIM on the same number (it can receive SMS roughly 24 hours later). Then submit CEIR’s Block Stolen/Lost Mobile request on the government portal, which is also built into the Sanchar Saathi app. You are handed an 18-digit Request ID, and CEIR states the handset gets barred on every Indian mobile network inside 24 hours once the request is accepted. Keep that ID safe: it is what lifts the block if the phone turns up.

A missing phone feels urgent, and most people rush straight to the blocking portal. Pause for a moment, because the CEIR form will not go through until you have a working SIM on your old number and a police complaint in hand. Below is the order that saves time, what the form asks for, and how to undo the block if the phone comes back.

Jump to a section8 sections
  1. Sort out these three jobs before the form
  2. Details the CEIR form will ask for
  3. Filing the block request on CEIR
  4. Got the phone back? Removing the block
  5. Is blocking worth the effort?
  6. What else the Sanchar Saathi app does
  7. Questions readers ask
  8. References

Sort out these three jobs before the form

  1. Protect your data from a distance where possible. On Android, open android.com/find (Google’s Find Hub); on an iPhone, use Find My. Both let you lock or wipe the handset. A CEIR block only cuts the phone off from mobile networks, so your photos, chats and files stay on it. One catch on Android: a wiped phone disappears from Find Hub, so copy down its IMEI before you erase it.
  2. Ask your operator for a duplicate SIM on the lost number at one of its stores. The blocking form sends its OTP to this number, and getting the SIM back also stops a thief from receiving OTPs meant for you. A re-issued SIM can only receive SMS 24 hours after it is activated, so expect to wait roughly a day before the form can be sent.
  3. Report the loss to the police, either as an FIR or a lost report. Hold on to the complaint number and a copy of the complaint, because the form needs both of them.

Warning: Had UPI or banking apps on the phone? Ring your bank and get them blocked. If money has already left your account, dial 1930 and file a report at cybercrime.gov.in without delay.

Details the CEIR form will ask for

Police complaintThe complaint number, plus a copy you can upload
Mobile numberYour lost number, now on a duplicate SIM that can receive SMS (fill in Mobile Number 2 only if the handset held a second SIM)
Phone detailsThe brand and price, with the model if you know it
Where and whenDate and place of the loss, plus State/UT, district and police station
ID proofThe owner’s name and address, with a copy of an ID such as masked Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID or driving licence (other IDs are accepted too)
IMEI numberNot compulsory: the form wants it only “if available”. Leave it empty and a window pops up listing devices linked to your number, so you can choose yours (pop-ups must be allowed).
Purchase billNot compulsory
Based on the CEIR block request form as it stood on 9 October 2026.

Tracking down the IMEI when the phone is gone

  • Check the retail box or the bill from the shop. A dual-SIM handset will have two IMEI numbers.
  • On Android, go to android.com/find, select the phone and open its settings. The IMEI is listed there, provided Find Hub was switched on.
  • On iPhone, sign in at account.apple.com with the Apple Account the phone used, go to Devices and tap the iPhone to view its IMEI and serial number.

Tip: Don’t wait for a loss. Dial *#06# now and store the IMEI numbers it shows somewhere you can reach from any device, such as your email.

Filing the block request on CEIR

  1. Visit sancharsaathi.gov.in or launch the Sanchar Saathi app, then pick Block Your Lost/Stolen Mobile Handset. That takes you to the CEIR form, which also sits at ceir.gov.in → CEIR Services → Block Stolen/Lost Mobile.
  2. Type in the lost number, the handset’s brand and price, and its IMEI if you have one.
  3. Add the place and date of the loss, your State/UT, district and police station, and the complaint number, then upload the copy of the complaint.
  4. Fill in the owner’s name and address, select the type of ID and upload it.
  5. Type the captcha and tap Get OTP. The code is sent to Mobile Number 1, which the form fills in for you with your re-issued lost number. Key in the OTP, tick the self-declaration and tap Proceed.
  6. Note down the 18-digit Request ID that appears. Status checks and unblocking both depend on it later on.

Per CEIR, a successful request leads to the handset being barred on all Indian mobile networks inside 24 hours, while police are still able to trace it. DoT also says that if someone puts any SIM into the blocked phone, both you and the police station that took your complaint receive an alert.

Note: Seeing the message “Request already exist… by State police”? It means the State police have already registered a block for that handset and number. If the phone was brand new and no SIM had ever gone into it, approach the CEIR nodal police officer for your district with an FIR that mentions the IMEI numbers. Also keep in mind that only phones lost on or after CEIR’s start date in your state can be submitted.

Seeing where your request stands

Open ceir.gov.in → CEIR Services → Check Request Status, then type in either the Request ID or the police complaint number. Misplaced the Request ID? That menu also has a Forgot Request ID option.

Got the phone back? Removing the block

  1. Let the police station that registered your complaint know you have the phone again.
  2. Go to ceir.gov.in → CEIR Services → Un-Block Found Mobile and select Un-Blocking Request.
  3. Fill in your Request ID and the number that received the OTP when you blocked the phone. Choose a reason from the options (found by self, recovered by police, blocked by mistake, other reason), then complete the captcha and OTP.

A block placed by the police can only be lifted by the police. A Communications Ministry statement, as reported by IANS, says people who get a recovered phone back are told by SMS to factory-reset it, as a safeguard against malware.

Is blocking worth the effort?

When we looked on 9 October 2026, the CEIR dashboard listed 61,35,806 phones as blocked and 38,04,564 as traced, while its state-wise table put recoveries at 14,14,884. The Ministry of Communications says July 2026 was the first month in which recoveries crossed 75,000, reaching 77,692. A block is no promise that your phone will come back, but it does make a stolen handset far harder to use or sell on.

What else the Sanchar Saathi app does

DoT (the Department of Telecommunications) released the Sanchar Saathi app for Android and iPhone on 17 January 2025, and since July 2025 it has supported 21 regional languages as well as Hindi. Apart from blocking a missing handset, you can use it to see every mobile connection issued in your name, flag calls and messages you suspect are fraud through Chakshu, and confirm a handset is genuine. On 3 December 2025 the government withdrew the rule that phone makers must pre-install it, so the app is optional and you are free to uninstall it.

Buying a used phone? Run its IMEI through KYM

Ahead of handing over any money, dial *#06# on the handset and text KYM <15-digit IMEI> to 14422, or run it through the app’s Know Genuineness of Your Mobile Handset tool. Walk away if the result says black-listed, duplicate or already in use. Our used phone buying checklist covers the remaining checks, including iCloud and FRP locks and battery health.

Shop-floor note: At Mobivault, anyone who walks in after losing a phone hears the same advice from us: sort out the duplicate SIM and the police complaint before anything else, since the CEIR form won’t go through without them. And if you are picking up a used phone, compare the IMEI printed on the box with the one *#06# displays, then run it through KYM as well.

Questions readers ask

How soon does the block take effect?

CEIR states that a successful request gets the phone barred on Indian mobile networks inside 24 hours. Keep in mind that the duplicate SIM you need for the OTP can only receive SMS after roughly 24 hours, so build that wait into your plans.

Is a police complaint really required?

Yes, it is. The form wants both the complaint number and a copy of the complaint, so get it filed before you begin.

What if I never noted my phone’s IMEI?

You can still go ahead, since the IMEI field is only for use “if available”. Leave it empty and, once the OTP is verified, a window appears listing devices linked to your number so you can select yours (remember to allow pop-ups). It is worth looking at the box, the bill or android.com/find first.

Does a CEIR block wipe my photos and files?

It doesn’t. The block only keeps the handset off mobile networks. Erasing your data has to be done through Find Hub on Android or Find My on an iPhone.

References

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Lokesh Rathore

Editor, Seanomos Mobile · owner of Mobivault, MP Nagar, Bhopal

Lokesh Rathore owns Mobivault, a phone shop in Zone 2, MP Nagar, Bhopal, and edits Seanomos Mobile. The problems customers bring to the shop, from OTPs that never arrive to phones that will not fast-charge, become the step-by-step guides on this site.

How this guide was made: Put together from official help pages and operator sources rather than a device test. AI tools helped with the draft; Lokesh Rathore checked each fact against those sources and approved it for publishing.

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