Motorola is disabling Android phones purchased through unauthorized sellers in Mexico

Android phones are often among the most affordable options for many customers, but in Mexico, Motorola has been dealing with issues with high volumes of its phones being sold through unauthorized sellers. Over the past couple of months, the company has taken the drastic measure of disabling those phones entirely.

A support page on Motorola’s website says that, due to “high rates of irregular devices in our country,” the company has been disabling smartphones for users in Mexico. The reason given is that the devices were “not certified by Mexican regulatory entities” and were “not designed for networks in Mexico.” The devices in question were destined for other markets around the globe, but ultimately sold through unauthorized sellers in Mexico.

As reported by Xataka in July, Motorola is only disabling smartphones that are sold in this manner if they were activated after July 27, 2023. Users will see a notification after they first set up the device, and another 10 days after activation warning of the situation. 11 days after setup, the device will no longer be operable.

Motorola explains:

The user will not be able to use the device, consequently, they will not have access to its files, functions or applications, since there will be a disabling screen and they will only be able to access Emergency Calls.

Devices purchased abroad for use in Mexico, though, will apparently not be disabled, but will receive a “usage alert.”

According to Xataka, purchases of Motorola smartphones through unauthorized markets have gone up by 5x over the past three years alone. Motorola has been continually pushing the purchase of its devices from authorized retailers via its Twitter/X account.

Motorola is offering affected customers a 30% discount on “regular” Motorola hardware that’s authorized for Mexico.

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