Bad news if you’re from Mexico and bought a Samsung mobile phone outside of the company’s own store. After some rumors and warnings, Samsung blocks mobile phones purchased from the gray market.

If you are reading us from there, we will tell you what the problem is, What will happen and what is the solution the company offers?. Small spoiler: It means buying a new mobile phone at a discount from the official store.

Samsung’s blockade is retroactive

The news broke a few hours ago and the truth is that it did not come as a surprise to many people. With this lock, Samsung became the third company after ZTE and Motorola turning gray market-bought cell phones into paperweights.

If you’re Spanish, this gray market business may sound like smuggling or something like that, but it’s nothing like that. And that’s it, Unlike the black market, the gray market is not illegalHowever, products sold in this ‘category’ are sold without an official license. This means that manufacturers do not allow distribution in that sales channel.

In fact, as our colleagues at Xataka México point out, Mercado Libre falls into this category, but so does Amazon. So, if Samsung (Motorola, ZTE, whatever company) doesn’t allow a device to be sold on Amazon but we can find it there, it’s a gray market sale.

There are companies that do not want their devices to be sold outside their own stores. or from partners in each country (Samsung is one of them) and sends notifications to mobile phones purchased in this gray market. You can see an example below:

Along with the message, the company says:

“At Samsung Mexico, we are committed to security and compliance with local regulations in every country in which we operate. “As of October 11, we will start blocking smartphones coming from the gray market and becoming active in Mexico as of September 21, 2023.”

Solution? It is also provided by Samsung itself.:

“For users whose smartphones are blocked, we offer a 30% discount coupon that can be used on our official website. www.samsung.com/mx or on the Samsung Shop APP available for Android devices. The discount code will be valid until December 31, 2023.”

So you won’t be able to use your mobile phone, but You can buy a new one with a 30% discount from the official website. You can also purchase it from sales points authorized by the company.

Xataka contacted México’s PROFECO (Federal Agency for Consumer Protection, a public agency) and told them that consumers have the right to freely choose where to purchase a device, but Samsung assures that this action is not against the law in Mexico.

And what is particularly troubling about this blockade is that it is a retroactive measure. So Samsung just stated the same, but in its statement Includes devices activated in Mexico from September 21, 2023.

In short, if you got the message, the best thing you can do is try to contact the point of sale because there are stores that will handle the warranty. They will also block activated devices starting September 21st. You can always try to give it back.

Cover image | Xataka

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