Help Center
Answers to common questions about checking and registering devices, reporting a lost or stolen device, managing a business, and keeping your account secure. Use the search box above to filter, or jump to a section below.
Getting Started
What is GadVerify?
GadVerify is a device verification and business management platform. Anyone can check whether a phone or gadget has been reported lost, missing, or stolen, free of charge and without an account. Device owners can register their own devices and keep a permanent ownership record, and gadget businesses can run their inventory, point of sale, sales, and staff operations on the same platform.
How does GadVerify work?
Every device on the platform shares one identity record, built from its IMEI, IMEI2, and serial number. When a business receives, sells, or flags a device, or when a device owner registers, transfers, or reports one, that action is checked against the same central record. This is what lets a single check protect a buyer, a seller, and a business at the same time.
How do I create an account?
Use "Get Started" or "Register" from the homepage. Choose a device owner account to register and manage your own devices, or a business account to run a gadget business on the platform. You will need a name, an email address or phone number, and a password.
How do I verify my account?
Depending on how you signed up, you may be asked to confirm your email address or phone number with a one-time code before you can sign in. If you did not receive a code, check your spam folder, or request a new one from the sign-in screen.
How do I verify a device?
Go to Verify a Device, also available directly from the homepage search box, and enter the device's IMEI, IMEI2, or serial number. No account is required, and the result appears immediately.
Device Verification
How do I verify using IMEI?
Dial *#06# on the phone to display its IMEI (and IMEI2, if it has two SIM slots), then enter either number into the search box on the homepage or the Verify a Device page.
How do I verify using Serial Number?
A device's serial number is usually found in its Settings/About screen, on its original box, or under the battery on older devices. Enter it into the same search box used for an IMEI. The platform checks whichever identifier you enter against the correct field automatically.
What is an IMEI?
An IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is a 15-digit number that uniquely identifies a mobile device's radio hardware. Most phones with a SIM slot have one.
What is IMEI 1?
IMEI 1 is a device's primary IMEI. Every phone with at least one SIM slot has one.
What is IMEI 2?
IMEI 2 is the second IMEI found on a dual-SIM phone, one number per SIM slot. Single-SIM devices do not have an IMEI 2. A stolen or lost device report and the device verification check both look at IMEI 1 and IMEI 2 together, so a device is covered no matter which of its two numbers someone happens to check.
What is a Serial Number?
A serial number is a separate identifier a manufacturer assigns to a specific unit. Unlike an IMEI, it is not always purely numeric; it can contain both letters and numbers, for example SNX8A92K31. Not every device type has an IMEI, but most have a serial number.
IMEI vs Serial Number: what's the difference?
They are two separate identifiers, and GadVerify never treats one as the other. An IMEI identifies a device's cellular radio and is, with rare exceptions, a 15-digit number. A serial number identifies the physical unit itself and can be alphanumeric. A device's verification record stores and displays each one under its own correct label. If a device has no serial number on file, its verification result shows that plainly rather than showing an IMEI in its place.
What does a verified device mean?
A "confirmed clean" result means the identifier you checked does not match any active lost, missing, or stolen report right now, and, if the device is registered, shows the registered owner's name so a buyer can confirm they are dealing with the right person. It is not an absolute guarantee, since a device can be stolen without ever having been reported yet.
What if my device cannot be found?
A result of "no report found" simply means nothing matches that identifier in the registry yet. It is not an error. If you believe your own device's details were entered incorrectly when it was registered or reported, sign in to your account to review and correct them, or use Contact if you do not have an account.
What if the information is incorrect?
If a device report or a registration contains a mistake, such as a wrong IMEI digit or the wrong brand or model, the account that created it can update it from their dashboard. If you spot an error on a report that is not yours, for example if you believe it was filed in error against your own device, use Contact and we will help you resolve it through the ownership dispute process below.
Stolen & Lost Devices
How do I report a device?
Use Report a Device and fill in the device's identifiers (IMEI and/or serial number), a brief description of what happened, and where. Filing a report requires a report fee plus a recovery reward deposit you choose, both paid upfront. See the Refund Policy for exactly how each is treated.
What information is required?
At minimum, the device's IMEI or serial number, the brand and model if known, and a short incident description. The more accurate the details, the more reliably the device can be matched if it is checked or offered for sale elsewhere.
How do I update a report?
Sign in and open the report from your dashboard, or use its reference number on the Check Report Status page if you filed it without an account.
How do ownership reports work?
A report is a claim tied to a specific device identifier, not automatically tied to a registered ownership record. If the device was also registered to an owner on GadVerify, a report against it is cross-referenced so the platform can tell the two apart when a dispute arises.
What happens after a report is submitted?
Once payment clears, the report becomes searchable platform-wide: anyone who checks that IMEI, IMEI2, or serial number sees a warning. If someone submits a sighting of the device, a recovery case opens automatically, and you are notified through your reference number or account dashboard.
False report policy
Reports must be accurate to the best of the filer's knowledge. Knowingly filing a false report is a misuse of the service. The report may be removed without a refund of the report fee, and the account that filed it may be suspended.
Device Ownership
How does ownership work?
Registering a device ties it to your account as its current owner, using its IMEI, IMEI2, and/or serial number. This record is what a device verification check shows a buyer as proof of who currently owns the device, similar to a receipt.
Transfer of ownership
When you sell or give away a registered device, start a transfer from your device dashboard using the new owner's account details. The new owner must accept the transfer for it to complete; until they do, you remain the device's registered owner. The full transfer history stays on record, and the name shown on a future verification check updates automatically to whoever accepted the transfer most recently.
Ownership verification
Anyone checking the device sees a "confirmed registered owner" status with the current owner's name and a partially masked phone number, enough for a buyer to confirm they are dealing with the right person without exposing the owner's full contact details.
What happens when ownership is disputed?
If someone believes a registered device is actually theirs, for example after a lost or stolen report, they can raise a dispute from the device's verification page. A dispute is reviewed rather than resolved automatically, since it usually involves two people each believing the device is theirs.
Business Management
Inventory
Track every unit your business holds by IMEI, IMEI2, and/or serial number, across as many branches as your plan allows, from purchase through to sale.
Sales
Record sales at the point of sale, including installment and wholesale/credit transactions, all tied back to the same device identity used everywhere else on the platform.
Customers
Keep a record of customer details tied to your sales and installment history, visible only to your own business.
Staff
Add employees and control exactly what each one can access using the platform's built-in roles and permissions. Only the business owner can flag inventory as stolen or clear that flag.
Reports
Your business dashboard includes sales, inventory, and financial reporting drawn from your own records, never another business's.
Device records
Every device that passes through your inventory keeps its own history on the platform, so it can be verified and accounted for at every stage, even after it is sold.
Business dashboard
Your dashboard is the starting point for inventory, point of sale, sales, staff, and reporting. Sign in to your business account to reach it.
Account & Security
Password
Change your password from Account Settings at any time. If your platform administrator has enabled password complexity rules, a new password must meet them.
Two-factor authentication
Where two-factor authentication is available for your account type, you can turn it on from Account Settings for an extra layer of protection beyond your password.
Identity verification
Signing in can also be done with "Continue with Google," or with a passkey tied to your device's own fingerprint, face, or screen-lock sensor. Set these up from Account Settings. GadVerify never receives or stores your actual fingerprint, face data, or Google password.
Changing account information
Update your name, email, phone number, or, for a business, business details from Account Settings or your business profile page.
Suspicious account activity
If you notice a sign-in or change you do not recognize, change your password immediately and contact us using the details on the Contact page.
Account recovery
Use "Forgot Password" on the sign-in page to reset a lost password by email. If you have lost access to every sign-in method on your account, contact us for help recovering it.
Privacy & Safety
Privacy
Read our full Privacy Policy for what information GadVerify collects and how it is used.
Data rights
You can request a copy of, a correction to, or deletion of the personal data we hold about you, subject to what must legally be retained. See Data Retention for specifics, and Contact to make a request.
Reporting abuse
If you believe someone is misusing the platform, whether that is a false stolen report or an attempt to harass a device's reported owner, use Contact to let us know.
Security concerns
If you believe you have found a security issue with GadVerify itself, please report it through Contact rather than testing it against real accounts or data.
Payments
Available payment methods
Payments, including business subscriptions, paid device verification reports, and paid stolen device reports, are processed through our payment provider, Paystack, which supports card payments and bank transfer. GadVerify never stores your full card details.
Receipts
A payment confirmation is issued for every successful payment. A stolen device report and a paid verification report each get their own reference number you can use to look them up later.
Payment issues
If a charge on your statement does not match anything in your account, contact us before starting a chargeback with your bank or card issuer, so we can look into it directly.
Refunds
Most payments are non-refundable once made. See the full Refund Policy for the one exception, a genuine billing error, and for how a stolen device report's reward deposit specifically works.
Failed transactions
A payment that fails or is declined at Paystack was never actually charged, so there is nothing to refund. If you were charged but the platform shows the payment as failed or pending, wait a few minutes and check again before contacting support, since card payment confirmations can occasionally take a moment to arrive.
Contact & Support
Contact support
Visit the Contact page for the current support channel and the fastest way to reach us depending on what you need.
Report a technical problem
Describe what you were doing, what you expected, and what happened instead, and send it through Contact.
Report abuse
See "Reporting abuse" above, or go directly to Contact.
Privacy request
See "Data rights" above for how to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data.
Legal request
Law enforcement or other legal requests for information should be sent through Contact, clearly marked as a legal request.