How to Identify an original and fake mobile phone

What are your chances of buying an original phone, taking into consideration that we are swamped with fake mobile phones?

Fake phones are often practically the same from genuine ones, since they are made with the intention of misleading buyers that they have the real product while fake product are made to look as close as possible like the real ones but have a twist, only noticeable at closer look.

In Kenya for instance, it could be a tainted  brand name for example, Nokia for Nokla, hi phone instead of iPhone, samsvng instead of Samsung.

While there are a handful of people who knowingly buy fake phones, mostly because they are cheap, most people are unsuspecting victims of counterfeits because they cannot distinguish the real from the fake. Some of the ways to differentiate between which of the phones are genuine and which are fake include:

Made in China does not always mean fake.

Many international corporations manufacturing handsets have factories in different parts of the World including China. For example, Nokia has production facilities in China, India, South Korea, Hungry, Finland, Mexico to mention just a few. No seller should then tell you not to buy a phone because of its geographical origin. Fake handsets, are usually smuggled from Dubai, Singapore and also China.

Fake phones are cheaper than original ones.

This is not always the case. Counterfeiters know which  models of which handsets maker are fast selling around the world and start making copies of those hit models. Due to the high demand of the particular models, counterfeiters hardly change the price. Furthermore, when you get it cheap, the phone's life is usually short, exploding when charging or just turning them on.

That only priced phone models are targeted by counterfeiters.

Higher value phones such as Nokia E37 model is definitely a better target for counterfeiters since they expect higher returns. No phone model is immune; be careful of fake Samsung models such as Samsvng E250, Samsing D880, Samsang D780 whose original versions are priced both at the lower and upper ends

• Place of purchase: Where you buy a phone is one of the most important considerations to avoid fake ones. I would recommend Mobile service providers' such as Safaricom, Orange, Yu and Zain. This is because they are highly recommended by the handset manufacturers. Nakumatt is also another option.

• Warranties:  Always insist on 12 months warranty certificate from the handset manufacturers; Never an oral agreement with the seller. Fake phones come with a shorter warranty periods since counterfeiters cannot guarantee it will last so long

• Be careful about the spelling:  Counterfeiters will replace some letters in the brand names to make the difference unnoticeable. For example, Soniericsson, Nokla and Samsvng

• Check for performance of the handset: Some people carry their phones home without testing it first. Some dealers encourage this, knowing the handset is fake. As you check it out, you may notice some points of low performance such as memory which is smaller or poor quality photos.

• Price: When the deal is too good think twice. When shopping for a particular phone model, you will often have a price range in mind and if you get an unbelievably good offer, you may have cause to be suspicious. I would suggest checking around from various shops.

In a view to protect consumers from falling victims to fake mobile handsets, Nokia and Samsung have identifiable features on their phones that customers should look out for:

Nokia

1. Gives a 12 month warranty, which is indicated and is valid.
2. In Kenya, Swahili is on the language option menu as well as in the operating manual
3. Buy your phone at authorized dealers such as Nokia center.
4. Batteries have a hologram watermark that bears the Nokia patent and the two hands logo. The edge of the logo has the words "original enhancement" engraved on it.
5. *#0000# only works with genuine Nokia to give you the software version that was used for your mobile phone and the year of manufacturer.
   
   Also, the easiest way to tell the origin of your phone is to  press *#06# on your phone and the IMEI number will appear. Then check the seventh and eighth digit of this 15-digit number. If the seventh and eighth digits are 0 2 or 2 0 this means your cell phone was manufactured in China and may be of questionable quality. When the 7th and 8th digits are 0 1 or 1 0 your mobile phone was made in Finland which most likely is a good quality.
   
   But if the 7th and 8th digits are 0 8 or 8 0 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Germany. However, if these digits are 0 0, then your cell phone was made in original factory which is best in phone quality. 05, indicates your phone was made in Brazil or USA. 03, shows your phone was made in Korea. IMEI also indicates the serial number of the phone which should be similar to the serial number inscribed at the back of your mobile phone. You can verify at the shop of purchase.

Note: The IMEI is a unique 15-digit code that identifies a phone. It stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The IMEI is an automatically registered with the mobile service provider as soon as your phone is activated. For every call you make, your mobile phone provider gets to know the IMEI number.

The 15-digit code is important because it prevents the use of stolen handsets from making calls and allows security agencies to track down a specific user. It also helps to track and render stolen phones useless. That means, if a phone is reported stolen, and the IMEI is reported, it can be blocked from registering in any mobile network in that country. Thus, you need to be concerned if your cell phone has no IMEI number. You are carrying a fake phone.

If your device is dual-SIM by design, which means both SIM cards can be connected to the network at the same time, it has two IMEI numbers.

Samsung

1. Look out for Samsung genuine seal and register your new phone using e-warranty.  To register your phone using e-warranty; send an sms to 5585 with the following information: *IMEI number# for e.g. reg*352800311107673#. The IMEI number can be found inscribed on your battery or press *#06#, and follow instructions as stated above.
2. Samsung phones comes with a 1 year warranty from the date of purchase.
3. Basic features are FM radio, colour screen and mobile tracker. As handsets go into mid and high end markets more features such as MP3 player, Mega pixel camera, Blue tooth, GPS are available. Look for more features at Gsmarena.com
4. Retail prices are set by distributors such as FoneXpress, which are carried in newspapers adverts to help the buyers know the price range of particular handsets.