How to know that my smartphone does not come from a parallel import?

What is parallel import?

According to Armando Rangel, Motorola’s product manager, this phenomenon occurs when a product is imported that is manufactured by the same brand, but does not reach the country without going through the official distributor of the product. In other words, it could be a cell phone that is from Motorola, but that does not go through the verification and approval of Motorola Mexico and comes from markets such as China, or even Latin America.

“We have noticed that this type of business has grown and brings different problems for users, from the possibility that when it arrives in the country it stops working because it does not read the SIM card, to bigger problems, such as battery overheating and the possibility of having an accident,” Rangel said in an interview.

Faced with this situation, several telephone companies are promoting a series of campaigns that seek to make users aware of this type of phenomenon. One of them is what the Federal Consumer Attorney’s Office does, since it has released some tips with which users can verify that a phone comes from a parallel import.

Tips to identify that your smartphone was imported in an authorized manner

Profeco prepared a manual where you can recognize if a phone comes from an authorized distributor, as is the case with the local offices of technology companies, or official stores within marketplaces.

One of the easiest clues to identify is to verify that the equipment has a NOM 024 label, where you can see the importer’s information and all the details of the product in Spanish. In addition, a recommendation that both Profeco and technology companies give is that users verify that the website where the product is being purchased complies with Mexican standards.

“Although it is not a problem that is only limited to online purchases, growth and popularity does occur in this type of channel, which is why the ideal is for users to verify that the purchase is being made on an official website of the brand in Mexico or in one of the official marketplace stores,” Rangel said.

Another way to verify that the phone is imported in parallel is through the electrical connection chargers, since in many cases these types of phones have other types of inputs, very different from the local ones.

Consequences of acquiring parallel import products

According to Ernesto Piedras, director of The Competitive Intelligence Unit, this market is diminishing technology companies, but it also represents a challenge for institutions such as the Federal Institute of Telecommunications, since it is in charge of standardizing the technical conditions of many of these products.

“It is important that users know the origin of a product because otherwise it will not meet the IFT requirements, which will make their connection experience not adequate,” said Piedras.

In addition to having a bad or no connection, another of the consequences that exists is that there is no guarantee from the technology companies for this type of product, in addition to the fact that many times, in the event of a failure, many parts are not available in the local market, so it will be difficult for users to have an answer to their problem.