In the last weeks, Motorola and Samsung, two of the brands that sell the most cell phones in Mexicoannounced that they will block equipment that has been purchased on the ‘gray market, that is, outside their official stores, and these will be unusable, a measure that has caused a lot of controversy among users.
For example, some Motorola users have received a message like this on their cell phones: “Did you know that your phone is not complying with regulations in Mexico? Due to the high rates of irregular devices in our country, with the consequent security risk for the user, you have received a disabling alert on your Motorola device, since it is not certified by Mexican regulatory entities and does not comply with all the Standards, approval protocols and warranty policies applicable in the country of use, and will not work correctly since it was not designed for networks in Mexico.”
The company added that the user “will not be able to use the device, consequently, they will not have access to its files, functions or applications, since there will be a disabling screen and they will only be able to access Emergency Calls.”
Because of this, all your files, photos, and app history will be lost if they are not backed up.
This measure was initiated by Motorola to encourage users to buy their phones only from their official distributors.
What phones will be locked?
The good news is that this measure is not retroactive and will only apply to smartphones that have been purchased on the gray market and have been activated in Mexico as of July 27, 2023. In this way, all phones purchased after that date and that were not purchased through official Motorola channels (it doesn’t matter if you bought it in an e-commerce like Mercado Libre or Amazon) They can be blocked.
On the other hand, Samsung also made a similar announcement and said that its smartphones purchased on the gray market in Mexico starting September 21 will be blocked from October 11.
“Due to the high rates of irregular devices existing in our country, you received an information alert on your Samsung device, since it does not have the certifications issued by the different Mexican regulatory entities and does not comply with the standards, approval protocol and policies. warranty applicable in Mexico, which represents a risk to your security, since the device was not designed to operate over local networks,” says Samsung.
Both Motorola and Samsung offer 30% discount vouchers for users whose phones have been disabled and want to buy a new device through the official stores of these brands.
But what is the gray market?
According to the Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (Profeco), the gray market refers to parallel imports with which products legally manufactured abroad are entered into our country, but which are imported without going through the official distributor and/or owner. of the brand, failing to comply with legal procedures such as the lack of warranty and technical specifications, product certification and labeling of the Official Mexican Standards, among others.
For example, a seller imports a batch of legally manufactured Samsung phones made to be sold in Taiwan. The seller can sell them at a much cheaper price than in an official store in Mexico. These types of products can be found on e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Mercado Libre, Linio, and even on department store websites in Mexico, such as Coppel or Walmart.
And even if the imported products are authentic, The manufacturers insist that they were not made for the Mexican market, They do not comply with Official Mexican Standards and may not function in optimal conditions.
These measures have been highly criticized by consumers, to pressure them to buy in the official Motorola and Samsung stores and thus increase their sales. The truth is that in recent months smartphone purchasing habits have changed and fewer and fewer are purchased from official distributors.
A report from The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU) shows that, at the beginning of 2022, un 60% of users in Mexico acquired their smartphones through their line operator; that is, Telcel, Movistar, AT&T, etc.. However, this percentage fell to 47.5% in the third quarter of the same year.
“Other sales channels are registering an increase in their preference. For example, the acquisition of equipment online, but the establishments that have gained the most ground are department stores and self-service stores,” added The CIU.
How do you know if your phone was bought on the ‘gray market’?
Samsung says that some elements to detect that the cell phone does not come from the gray market are: verify if the NOM seal is on the box label, information on electrical requirements and information on the commercial importer in accordance with Mexican regulations. . This can also be verified on the device: Click on “About Smartphone” >>> Regulatory Labels and observe that the information is compatible with Mexican regulations.
You can find more information about the devices that will be blocked, you can consult the statements from Motorola here and from Samsung here.
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