Motorola and Samsung stop blocking cell phones after request from IFT and Profeco

The companies had taken this decision as part of their measures to end the problem of the grey market in Mexico.

The gray market for cell phones is becoming a very controversial topic. Therefore, after the Federal Institute of Telecommunications and the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) made a request to avoid blocking smartphones, companies such as Motorola and Samsung stopped this practice.

In addition to lifting the ban on devices, Motorola said it will conduct awareness campaigns on the gray market and how it affects users who buy its devices without them being approved under Mexican standards.

However, the company also explained that the decision to block gadgets from parallel imports had represented a 70% reduction in this market.

For its part, Samsung said it is committed to complying with the regulatory framework, in addition to highlighting greater participation with government institutions to address this issue.

“In line with the request made by Profeco together with the IFT, we will suspend the blocking of cell phones from the gray market. We also express our willingness and interest in participating in the work, in order to find the best solution to address the problems generated by the gray market in Mexico,” said the South Korean company.

This morning, the organizations issued a statement in which they asserted that the absolute blocking of terminal equipment, in the way it is carried out, affects the rights of consumers and end users.

The IFT also proposed calling on manufacturers to form part of a working group with the participation of the various actors involved in order to identify measures and implement actions to deal with the grey market, safeguarding at all times the rights of users and consumers.

They stressed that the grey market affects the quality of service provided, as well as the possibility of validating warranties with the manufacturer, which is why they have implemented awareness campaigns so that users become concerned about the risks involved in this type of device.

On Thursday, Xiaomi announced that it will send notifications to users who have a device from a parallel import, as part of an information strategy and stressed that it has not carried out any blocking of its devices.

"We have started an information campaign through which users who have purchased this type of equipment receive notifications with information about the risks of buying Xiaomi phones from unauthorized channels. With this, we clarify that Xiaomi does not intend to block any equipment," the company shared with Expansión.

Oppo was another company that was considering taking action against the grey market, but the firm told Expansión that it does not yet represent a major problem, so they did not decide to take any blocking action.