from revealing personal information to being able to lock the phone

In the early 1980s, the idea of ​​having a computer at home began to become popular., a device that could be used for work and play, as well as learning. During this and subsequent decades, PCs, and sometimes Macs, became the computing tool around which the lives of Spanish families revolved. But that changed with the new century, with the popularization of PDAs first and smartphones later.

During the first decade of the 20th century, cell phones began to gain importance., initially as fairly simple devices that did little more than call and send SMS and gradually absorbing the functions of dozens of other devices used on a daily basis or while traveling. The turning point came in 2007, when Apple introduced the iPhone and popularized smartphones.

Since then it has been normal to be able to carry out advanced operations of all kinds with the device that we carry in our pockets, since it has advanced operating systems and can install applications. But that doesn’t mean that basic mobile phones, like the Nokia 3310, didn’t have their own operating system, if only to be able to perform the basic tasks they were designed to do. At that time, systems used all types of codes to obtain information. a kind of control console miniature that current smartphones still have.

Information menu

The code offering the most possibilities in the list is probably one of the most unknown. This is a code that gives us information about the phone, such as IMEI, connection to certain networks, etc. It is structured into mobile information, WiFi network information and application usage information. To activate it you must write *#*#4636#*#* in the phone app.

With this code it is possible access certain settings that can modify the behavior of the mobile when connecting to networks, but it is not good to do it without knowing it, as this could block the terminal. The same thing happens with how we connect to the WiFi networks we have configured.

Finally, it allows you to know the time of use of certain applications, although it does not allow filtering by days, nor by any other period of time, and simply marks the number of hours of use of these applications. The management done by the system in Digital Wellbeing is much more interesting if that’s something you want to consider.

IMEI

Perhaps the best known code is the one that allows you to obtain the IMEI code of the phone. This code is the SIM drawer identifier, so if the device has two drawers it will have two IMEI numbers. To find out what it is, just write the code in the phone app *#06#.

This code is important to know for be able to lock the mobile in the event of loss or theft. This way it will be impossible for thieves to use it as a cell phone since no national SIM card can be used in the device. This code allows, for example, when purchasing a second-hand cell phone, to know whether it has been stolen or not. We can use this code to get the IMEI and then access any centralized database to check if the IMEI appears. A free service is offered by the Federal Telecommunications Institute of Mexico, with data from hundreds of operators around the world.

Camera information

Code with a very specific usage is *#*#34971539#*#*, which provides information about the hardware of the mobile phone camera in which we insert it. In addition to the data, it allows you to perform certain checks to see if there is a problem with the camera and the system detects it.

Like other similar codes, these are designed so that manufacturers and developers can access certain information about devices, which should not be used by any user, although in the case of verifying information this is not dangerous, provided you do not modify the parameters of the configurations that appear.

Calls

There are two useful codes for making and receiving calls. One is *#67#, which allows you to know if calls are forwarded to another number. When you write this code, a floating window will appear with information about available call forwarding.

Another code is *31#, which means that when we call another number, our ID does not appear on the screen. In other words, it allows you to call with a hidden number. To deactivate this function you must write #31# in the phone app. Another option is to use it for a single call. In this case, you will need to put #31# in front of the phone number, leaving something like #31#123456789.

Finally, if you want to activate call waiting, you must type *43#. This way, when someone calls, it will be possible to pause one call and answer the other. To deactivate this function you must write #43#.