In recent years, teams working with Android device sanitization have increasingly encountered cases where the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) cannot be retrieved automatically. This is typically not a single-device anomaly, but the result of Android privacy changes and OEM-specific security hardening.
1. Android 10 (API 29) and later: tighter access to non-resettable identifiers
Starting with Android 10, access to non-resettable device identifiers (such as IMEI and serial numbers) has been restricted as part of Android’s privacy protections. In many cases, IMEI access is no longer available to regular applications and may require privileged/system-level capabilities.
Reference: AOSP “Device identifiers”: https://source.android.com/docs/core/connect/device-identifiers
2. Why ADB / service call approaches are increasingly unreliable
Some environments historically used ADB shell commands or internal service calls (e.g., service call iphonesubinfo) to retrieve IMEI. However, these paths are unofficial and unstable, and behavior can vary by Android version, security patch level, and OEM implementation. As a result, newer builds more often return empty results or errors.
3. OEM-specific debugging/security settings
Some OEMs and Android variants (e.g., MIUI/HyperOS) add additional security toggles beyond standard “USB debugging,” which can restrict what can be accessed via ADB. In practice, missing one of these settings may lead to incomplete device information retrieval.
4. Practical summary
- On Android 10+, automatic IMEI retrieval is generally harder by design
- ADB/internal commands are device/build-dependent and not guaranteed
- OEM settings can affect the workflow significantly
5. How MASAMUNE Erasure addresses this reality
MASAMUNE Erasure is designed so that sanitization work can proceed even when automatic IMEI retrieval is limited by platform policy. We continuously maintain compatibility with newer Android versions and devices, and provide operational guidance for common on-site issues.
We recommend confirming USB debugging, any OEM-specific security toggles, on-screen authorization prompts, and using the latest version of MASAMUNE Erasure.
6. Notes
On non-root, standard ADB environments, automatic IMEI retrieval can be significantly restricted by design, and manual input may be required depending on the device and OS build. While some privileged configurations may allow access, this should not be assumed in general operations.
Contact: If you need guidance for your device mix and operational environment, please contact our support team.
