Cellphone number portability might allow you to switch operators, but how likely are you to do this if it means you sacrifice the warranty on your handset? You might also sacrifice your warranty if you put a Sim card from another operator into your handset.<\/p>\n
The assumption is that a warranty is tied to a handset but, in an effort to discourage subscribers from switching networks, operators are stipulating that once you move off their networks your warranty is null and void, regardless of how much longer it had to run.<\/p>\n
The Mail & Guardian was informed this week by a number of retailers, which sell packaged handset\/Sim-card deals offered by cellphone operators, that this is the case.<\/p>\n
One retail assistant at Woolworths in Rosebank Mall said this is the operators\u2019 way of \u201ctrying to force you stay on their network\u201d.<\/p>\n
Another retailer said candidly: \u201cThey\u2019ll find any way to screw you.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the M&G contacted the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) with this anecdotal evidence, a spokesperson said that the cellphone operators could not possibly void a warranty in this manner and insinuated that if this was the case the regulator would have to take action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe warranty of your phone is usually for one year,\u201d said the spokesperson. \u201cIf you decide to port within this year, you cannot forfeit your warranty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour warranty is linked to the handset, not to the service,\u201d said the Icasa spokesperson.<\/p>\n
I discovered these new strategies implemented by the cellphone operators to fight subscriber churn when I recently had a cellphone meltdown myself.<\/p>\n
Late last week my cellphone decided it had had enough and, because it was a deadline day, I was left scrambling around the Rosebank Mall for a cheap, entry-level handset that would tide me over until I got my cellphone repaired.<\/p>\n
I was surprised at how many retailers informed me that their entry-level phones were Sim-locked although cellphone operators claim that they no longer to do this because of an agreed memorandum with Icasa to stop the practice, which was seen as anti-competitive.<\/p>\n
However, at Woolworths, Clicks, CNA and the MTN and Vodacom shops in Rosebank Mall, I was informed that entry-level phones were indeed Sim-locked and I would not be able to switch operators with these handsets.<\/p>\n
I was told by a number of retailers that, even if the handsets were not Sim-locked, I would forfeit my warranty on the handset if I ported or used another operator\u2019s Sim card before the warranty had expired.<\/p>\n
When I contacted Vodacom with the anecdotal evidence that I had collected I received a flat denial that the company still practised Sim-locking.<\/p>\n
To test this the M&G bought a Vodafone V125 handset with a Sim card from the Vodacom shop in Rosebank Mall for R298.<\/p>\n
The retail assistant assured me that the handset was Sim-locked and that if I wanted a phone that was not Sim-locked I would have to purchase the Nokia 1112 for R448.<\/p>\n
But, when we got the Vodafone V125 handset back to the M&G\u2019s office we successfully loaded an MTN Sim card into the handset and it worked fine.<\/p>\n
While this reinforces Vodacom\u2019s claims that they do not Sim-lock handsets it does not explain why the majority of retailers told the M&G that entry-level handsets were Sim-locked.<\/p>\n
Either the majority of handset retailers are uninformed and pass on misinformation to customers or they are using the Sim-lock issue to encourage customers to purchase more expensive entry-level phones.<\/p>\n
Vodacom\u2019s spokesperson Dot Field said most manufacturers offer a one-year warranty on cellphones for customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cVodacom, however, offers to extend this warranty to two years for Vodacom customers. Therefore, if a customer buys a cellphone from Vodacom and chooses to use another operator\u2019s Sim card, then he or she will still be covered by the manufacturer\u2019s one-year warranty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Field said Vodacom does not network lock or Sim-lock handsets and has \u201cnot done so for a few years now\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cVodacom respects the rights of every individual to choose their own network service provider,\u201d says Field. \u201cVodacom was not aware that certain retail outlets in Rosebank are possibly misinforming customers with regards to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Field said it is a priority for Vodacom to get to the bottom of this \u201cmisinformation\u201d.<\/p>\n
MTN\u2019s senior communications manager, Ntombi Mhangwani, said the operator stopped network-locking since the C122 handset started shipping in February this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of our current range is MTN network-locked, but obviously some legacy products are still in the market, in other words, products like the N1100 and Motorola C115 C116 and C118,\u201d said Mhangwani.<\/p>\n
But, MTN failed to respond to the M&G\u2019s query regarding the forfeiting of warranties.<\/p>\n
\u201cCell C customers do not forfeit their warranty upon porting to other networks as their handsets will work with any Sim card,\u201d said Cell C\u2019s executive head of communications, Shenanda Janse van Rensburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as they have the invoice for the handset they are at liberty to take it back to the retail store where they bought it if that handset is still within the one-year warranty.\u201d<\/p>\n