What should you do if you receive a text message informing you that your phone is not registered in the Renteseg whitelist?

As part of the measures established by the Peruvian government to combat mobile phone theft and illegal trade, all imported mobile devices must be registered on the white list (a list of valid devices) of the National Registry of Mobile Terminal Equipment Security (Renteseg) before they can be placed on the market.

According to the Supervisory Authority for Private Investment in Telecommunications (OSIPTEL), importing companies must register mobile devices at the Registry of Imported, Assembled and Manufactured Mobile Terminal Equipment (RETMIEF) in Renteseg. Before delivery or transfer to marketer, Dealer or third partyso you can be aware of all the equipment authorized to operate in the country.

“Currently, 99.65% of importing companies for the period June 2023 to June 2024 are registering their equipment in RETMIEF, reports Tatiana Piccini Antón, Director of User Assistance and Protection at OSIPTEL.

Therefore, marketers or distributors who purchase mobile devices from importers must request the importer to pre-register the said devices so that they can be used without any inconvenience.

In addition, the regulator representative advised users that before buying a mobile phone or mobile device in Peru, ask the store if the device is registered with the RETMIEF of Renteseg. In addition, he asked to buy the device in an institution or place that provides a registration guarantee.

Piccini Antón said: “From July 22, 2024, mobile devices not registered in the list of valid mobile devices will be blocked without prior notification by text message or SMS.”

What happens if a user buys a mobile phone that is not registered by the importer?

If the user uses a mobile line, insert the SIM card card (chip) on a mobile device that is not in the list of valid devices, it will be detected and you will receive a text message or SMS so that you can regulate your situation.

Once you have received the communication, you must confirm that the IMEI indicated in the SMS corresponds to the IMEI of your device. To do this, you must verify that the physical IMEI located on the back of the device or on the chip tray (if available) matches the logical IMEI obtained by dialing *#06#.

If the IMEI displayed in the message belongs to the user’s mobile phone, the user must go to the store that sold the mobile device to comply with the registration obligations, otherwise the device will be blocked.

Once the registration is complete, it will be found in the list of valid Renteseg devices and can be used without any inconvenience. If the company that sold you the mobile device does not pay attention to or solve the user’s problem, you must contact the National Institute for the Protection of Competition and Intellectual Property (Indecopi) to file the corresponding claim or complaint.