How to identify genuine mobile phone for Nigeria network -NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) has urged Nigerians to ensure they verify the status of a mobile phone before purchasing it to ensure it is compatible with Nigerian networks.

The commission said buyers can check the status of the phone before purchasing it, using the device checker code, *315#.

The commission said buyers can also use the device checker on its website to determine whether a phone has received type approval and has been verified for use on Nigerian mobile networks.

Speaking on Newsnight on Arise Television, NCC’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Eduyemi Ogoh, said the checks were crucial for people buying second-hand mobile phones or devices imported from abroad.

“Before buying a phone, dial *315# and confirm that the phone is fully verified before you pay,” he said.

Ogoh said the NCC introduced these checkers to fulfill its legal responsibilities under the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003, protect consumers and address complaints about poor network services related to mobile devices.

“The overall goal is to ensure that every device that comes into the country is genuine and functions as intended,” he said.

He said consumers should be sure they are spending their money on genuine devices, not “old telephone devices that are fake or imitations of genuine devices.”

Ogoh said the commission found that some service quality complaints were caused by the devices consumers were using. Unapproved or malfunctioning phones can impact their users and other people in the same area, he added.

To check the phone, buyers can dial *315# and follow the instructions to enter the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), a unique number assigned to each mobile device. Ogoh said buyers can check the IMEI of their cellphone before paying, including by asking the seller to provide it.

Devices that fail inspection are not necessarily fake, he said. Type approval involves laboratory testing of a phone model to ensure that it meets applicable standards and can operate properly on the Nigerian network. Verification confirms that an individual device has been registered in the NCC device checker system using its IMEI.

“Type approval is only done once per model,” Ogoh said, adding that the manufacturer, vendor or importer, not the buyer, is responsible for obtaining it.

The enhanced compliance process applies to devices brought into the country starting October 7. Ogoh said the devices that were already operational on the Nigerian network at midnight on October 6 had been installed and verified. The NCC has registered about 231 million such devices, he said.

“We know that people have spent their money doing this, so you can’t ask them to throw away the phone,” he said.

Ogoh also sought to allay privacy concerns, saying that examiners only use IMEI to verify devices and do not give NCC access to calls, contacts, messages or user stored information.

He said verification can help buyers avoid unexpected device problems and determine whether poor service is caused by an unapproved phone.

Consumers who submit complaints through the device checker can call 315, while the NCC consumer complaint line is 622.