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Block a Lost or Stolen Phone on Sanchar Saathi (CEIR): Full Process, Status Check and Unblocking

Phone lost or stolen in India? Here's what to do right away, which papers to keep ready, and how to get it blocked through CEIR / Sanchar Saathi, track the request and reverse the block once it's back.

By Lokesh Rathore 7 min read

Phone guarded by a padlock and shield, representing blocking a lost handset through CEIR

The short answer

Work in this order: report the loss to the police, get your old number back on a duplicate SIM (texts on it begin roughly 24 hours later), and then submit the Block Stolen/Lost Mobile form on CEIR, the government portal that also opens from inside the Sanchar Saathi app. The portal gives you an 18-digit Request ID. As per CEIR, once a request goes through, the handset is shut out of every Indian mobile network inside 24 hours. Should the phone turn up later, that same Request ID is what unblocks it.

In this article10 sections
  1. Before the form: three urgent jobs
  2. Keep these ready before you start the form
  3. Blocking the handset: the full walkthrough
  4. Tracking your request
  5. Got the phone back? Here’s how to unblock it
  6. Is blocking worth the effort?
  7. More about the Sanchar Saathi app
  8. Planning to buy a used phone? Run an IMEI check
  9. Questions people ask us
  10. Sources

Before the form: three urgent jobs

  1. Remotely lock or wipe the handset while that is still possible. Android owners can use android.com/find (Google’s Find Hub); iPhone owners have Find My. A CEIR block cuts the phone off from mobile networks, yet everything stored on it stays untouched. One catch on Android: a wiped phone disappears from Find Hub, so copy down its IMEI before you erase it.
  2. Pick up a duplicate SIM for the missing number at your operator’s store. The blocking form sends its OTP to this number, and having the SIM back also means nobody else can receive OTPs meant for you. Texts on a re-issued SIM begin only 24 hours after it is activated, so expect roughly a one-day gap before the form can be submitted.
  3. Report it to the police through an FIR or a lost report, then hold on to the complaint number as well as a copy. The form will ask you for each of them.

Warning: Were UPI or banking apps installed on that phone? Ring your bank and get them blocked. If money has already gone out of your account, dial 1930 without delay and lodge a report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Keep these ready before you start the form

Police complaintThe complaint number, plus a copy you can upload
Mobile numberYour missing number, now running on a duplicate SIM that can receive texts (fill Mobile Number 2 only when the handset held a second SIM)
Phone detailsBrand and price; the model too, if known
Where and whenDate and place of the loss, along with State/UT, district and police station
ID proofOwner’s name and address, with a copy of an identity document such as masked Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID, driving licence or any other ID
IMEI numberNot compulsory, since the form wants it only “if available”. Leave the field empty and a window appears listing devices linked to your number, so you can select yours (pop-ups must be allowed).
Purchase billNot compulsory
Checked against the CEIR block request form on 9 October 2026.

Don’t know the IMEI? Where to look

  • Check the box the handset came in or the purchase bill. A dual-SIM phone will have two IMEI numbers.
  • On Android, visit android.com/find, select the missing handset and open its settings, where the IMEI is listed (provided Find Hub was switched on).
  • On iPhone, log in at account.apple.com with the Apple Account that was signed in on the handset, go to Devices and tap the iPhone; its serial number and IMEI appear there.

Tip: Don’t wait for a loss to happen. Dial *#06# right now and store the IMEI numbers it shows in a place you can always reach, your email for instance.

Blocking the handset: the full walkthrough

  1. Visit sancharsaathi.gov.in or launch the Sanchar Saathi app, then tap Block Your Lost/Stolen Mobile Handset. That takes you to the CEIR form, the very same one found at ceir.gov.in → CEIR Services → Block Stolen/Lost Mobile.
  2. Type in the missing number, the handset’s brand and price, and its IMEI if you know it.
  3. Add the place and date of the loss, your State/UT, district and police station, plus the complaint number, and attach a copy of the complaint.
  4. Give the owner’s name and address, select the ID type and attach that ID.
  5. Fill the captcha and tap Get OTP. It arrives on Mobile Number 1, which the form pre-fills with your re-issued lost number. Type the OTP, tick the self-declaration and hit Proceed.
  6. Note down the 18-digit Request ID shown at the end. Both the status check and any later unblocking depend on it.

Per CEIR, a handset with a successful request is cut off from every Indian mobile network inside 24 hours, while the police keep the ability to trace it. DoT adds that if anyone puts a SIM into the blocked phone, an alert reaches both you and the police station that registered your complaint.

Note: Seeing the message “Request already exist… by State police”? It means the State police have already registered a blocking request for this handset and number. For a brand-new phone that went missing before any SIM had ever been used in it, approach the CEIR nodal police officer for your district, carrying an FIR that mentions the IMEI numbers. Also keep in mind that the form takes only phones lost on or after the date CEIR went live in your state.

Tracking your request

Head to ceir.gov.in → CEIR Services → Check Request Status, then type in either the Request ID or the police complaint number. If the Request ID is gone, that menu also has a Forgot Request ID option.

Got the phone back? Here’s how to unblock it

  1. Let the police station that took your complaint know the phone has turned up.
  2. On ceir.gov.in, go to CEIR Services → Un-Block Found Mobile and select Un-Blocking Request.
  3. Fill in the Request ID along with the mobile number that received the OTP at the time of blocking. Say why you are unblocking (the options are recovered by police, found by self, blocked by mistake, or other reason), and finish with the captcha and OTP.

A phone that the police blocked can only be unblocked by the police as well. And, going by a Communications Ministry statement carried by IANS, people whose phones are recovered get an SMS advising them to factory-reset the handset as a safeguard against malware.

Is blocking worth the effort?

Here are the figures. 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 (77,692 phones). A block is no promise that your handset will come back, but it makes a stolen phone far tougher for a thief to use or sell on.

More about the Sanchar Saathi app

Sanchar Saathi comes from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which released the app for Android and iPhone on 17 January 2025; from July 2025 it has supported Hindi plus 21 regional languages. Blocking a lost handset is just one feature. You can also see the mobile connections registered against your name, flag suspected fraud calls and messages through Chakshu, and verify whether a handset is genuine. On 3 December 2025 the government withdrew its rule that phone makers pre-install the app, so installing it is your choice, and you are free to delete it.

Planning to buy a used phone? Run an IMEI check

Before handing over any money, dial *#06# on the handset and text KYM <15-digit IMEI> to 14422, or open Know Genuineness of Your Mobile Handset inside the Sanchar Saathi app. Walk away if the result says black-listed, duplicate or already in use. Our second-hand phone checklist covers everything else, with iCloud and FRP locks through to battery health.

Mobivault shop note: We hand our customers two pieces of advice. Phone gone missing? Sort out the duplicate SIM and the police complaint before anything else, as the blocking form won’t go through without both. Picking up a used handset? Make sure the IMEI printed on its box matches the number *#06# displays, and then run that IMEI through KYM.

Questions people ask us

Is a police complaint really required to block the phone?

Yes, it is. The form can’t be completed without the complaint number and a copy of the complaint, so get that done first.

What if I don’t have the IMEI? Can the phone still be blocked?

It can. The IMEI field is needed only “if available”. Skip it, and once the OTP is verified a window opens listing devices tied to your number so you can choose yours (pop-ups need to be allowed). That said, look on the box, the bill or android.com/find before you skip it.

Does blocking wipe my photos and other data?

It doesn’t. All a block does is stop the handset working on mobile networks. To wipe your data you will need Find Hub (Android) or Find My (iPhone).

How soon is the phone actually blocked?

According to CEIR, inside 24 hours of a successful request, on all Indian mobile networks. Keep in mind that the duplicate SIM you need for the OTP starts receiving texts only after roughly 24 hours.

Sources

Lokesh Rathore

Founder of TechMitra · owner of Mobivault, MP Nagar, Bhopal

Lokesh Rathore owns Mobivault, a mobile phone shop in Zone 2, MP Nagar, Bhopal. He started TechMitra to turn the everyday questions his customers ask into clear, checked guides.

How we made this: Based on official sources rather than a device test. The draft used AI assistance and was verified against those sources and approved by Lokesh Rathore before going live.

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