I knew devices were getting blocked, but not to this extent. Or the fact that mexico’s own government/regulatory bodies condemned the blocking itself.
Here’s a written article (not English): https://pisapapeles.net/bloqueo-celulares-mexico/
Xioami is the only one (in the list) that sent a notification but didn’t block any function or the device itself: https://www.gearrice.com/update/xiaomi-affirms-that-it-is-not-blocking-mobile-phones-purchased-on-the-gray-market-in-mexico-even-though-it-continues-to-be-a-problem/
Wtf. There are some features my Samsung has that I don’t want to give up but this outweighs everything. It’s shocking that this functionality was ready for use in the software of many brands to begin with. I wonder if it could be disabled ahead of time without replacing the os/rooting…
You would have to dig deeper to see which system services and apps would need to be disabled and repeat those steps after every update. The simplest solution would be to flash a custom ROM.
Custom ROMs? In new Samsung devices? Is that even possible?
Depends on the model, and even if you can get a custom rom on it, some of them will lose certain features with an unlocked bootloader. It’s not impossible to unlock them, but Samsung will kick and scream and break shit the whole way. That’s why it’s best to aim for a manufacturer that will allow bootloader unlocking. Pixel, Motorola, Sony, and I think most of the others will help you unlock the bootloader or at the very least won’t stop you. Samsung is easily the most spoiled child of the lot.
Jokes on you! My Samsung hasn’t been updated in over a year!
Custom Roms are the best option
Yup, if you don’t control the OS, you don’t own the phone
non-free modem noises
You don’t control shit with OS on mobile phones. That’s the sad truth.
Which is why Samsung is the worst option
You definitely “own” your device
Get a Pixel, install GrapheneOS and something like this will never happen to you. And you will also be much more private and secure.
Looks like these devices don’t comply with Mexican regulation. I wonder in what they they don’t comply.
I’m a little surprised the government asked Samsung to stop taking action against incompliant devices. I guess they admit that they have no power enforcing rules and regulations on this scale?
There are regulations regarding power and network configuration phone need to comply. Bought from outside Mexico, these devices are not being regulated. Still, do you think Samsung and the rest have our best interest in mind?
Any phone bought from a carrier will be blocked by them, not allowing you to used with any other carrier. They also install bloatware in them, making them slower. That’s why the las phone I bought was an American phone, a Pixel.
From what I can tell, Mexico copied the SAR requirements from the international standards that have been set up by that kind of thing. As for network configuration, carriers can push that stuff over text messages as soon as a phone registers with their network, I don’t think you can get a strict ban on phones for not having the right APNs. Maybe Mexico has some kind of radio band that phones will try to access for 5G licensed off for special purposes, but Mexico seems to use the standard 1900/1700/2100MHz bands for phones too.
I know bloated carrier phones are used to subsidise expensive phones and sell them for cheap, but Samsung still sells most devices (at least the ones verified to comply with the law) directly. They’re more expensive, but that’s because Samsung isn’t getting compensation from the carriers. If you want the non-bloated version, you’ve got to pay the difference.
The thing is you can’t really buy phones directly for the brands themselves, you can only buy them through the carriers. Apple is the exception, and I’ve recently seen a few brands having their own stores, but those are the exception.
Most if not all people have to buy theie phones from at&t or similar, which have their phones lockes to their networks, and having them unlocked is a PITA, without considering the bloatware you’re stuck with unless you get into ROMs
I got sick of this business model years ago, the las phone o bought just last month is a Pixel I got from Amazon marketplace, shipped from the US.
As for configuration yes, those are pushed through sms upon activation. I’ve no idea why they came up with locking these importe phones just now, but thats certainly a violation to our rights as consumers…
Samsung has physical stores similar to how Apple has their own stores. They also seem to have an online store for Mexico. There’s an American store as well. AFAIK, Google also sold phones independently, but I can’t access the American version of Google’s store.
I don’t know why so many Americans buy their phones through their carriers, but it’s certainly not the only option.
Those devices are a dream of any dictator.
