cellphone magic numbers

About

Woozle notes: Based on personal observation, it would seem that cellphone carriers use a system of "magic numbers" to perform a small number of internal functions. I remember running into at least one or two other magic numbers on other cellphone services, but have not yet been able to find any documentation I might have of those encounters.

• *#06# (universal): retrieves IMEI/MEID number
• *#*#8647#*#* - Republic Wireless: "clears the SIM card to work with our service", according to support, but actually probably tells the service to accept the phone. This is a key part of the process for getting Republic to work with an "unsupported" phone.
  • Source: How to Refresh the Republic Wireless Activation
  • Possibly "clears the SIM card" means "authorizes the phone to use the [new] SIM card", in which case this is a phone function, not a service function.

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