How to tell an official phone: checking the IMEI

In Bangladesh the same phone model is sold two ways: official and unofficial. The price gap is often several thousand taka, sometimes more. Before you buy the cheaper one, know what the difference is and how to check that the phone is legal.

Official and unofficial phones

An official phone comes through the brand’s Bangladeshi distributor. Its import is registered, it is approved by BTRC, and the brand gives the warranty: if it breaks, the brand’s service centres repair it.

An unofficial phone is imported by the shop or a trader. It is usually cheaper, but:

• the warranty is the shop’s, not the brand’s, on the shop’s terms;
• it may be a model made for another region, with slightly different network bands or features;
• if its IMEI is not registered in Bangladesh, it may not work on the networks.

So official and unofficial prices should be compared apart. On bdrate.fyi’s mobile prices they sit in separate columns, and when a shop doesn’t say which a phone is, it reads “not stated”.

What the IMEI is, and where to find it

The IMEI is a phone’s own 15-digit identity number. A dual-SIM phone has two.

• Dial *#06# and the phone shows it.
• It is also printed on the box. The two should match; if they don’t, be careful.

Checking it against BTRC’s register

BTRC (the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) keeps a national register of legal handsets, the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR). To check before you buy:

1. Write a message: KYD, a space, then the 15-digit IMEI. For example: KYD 356789012345678
2. Send it to 16002.
3. A reply within a few minutes says whether the number is in the register.

BTRC’s NEIR website has the check and registration information too, and your operator’s customer care can help.

The reply’s wording has changed over time; what matters is whether the phone is in the legal register. If it isn’t, don’t buy it, or ask the seller for a written guarantee.

What to check when you buy

• The IMEI on the receipt. It helps with the warranty, or if the phone is ever lost.
• Whose warranty it is. For an “official” phone, ask which service centre repairs it; for an unofficial one, get the shop’s warranty period and terms in writing.
• That the box and phone IMEIs match.
• The same model at several shops. Check that the RAM and storage are the same; the lowest price is usually for the smallest RAM/storage option.

How bdrate.fyi shows prices

The mobile prices page reads six shops’ prices from their own websites every day. Each phone’s page shows every shop’s price, whether it is official or unofficial, whether it is in stock, and the price history. Still, confirm the final price, stock and warranty with the shop before you buy.

Sources

• BTRC: NEIR
• BTRC’s and the mobile operators’ guidance on checking an IMEI by SMS (for example Airtel’s NEIR page)