Xiaomi Blocks Cell Phone Use In These Regions

Xiaomi blocks its phones in certain regions. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Chinese technology giant, Xiaomi has just updated its export policy that prohibits the use of its smartphones in certain regions of the world. The company is now preventing users from accessing its devices which may have been illegally transferred to some countries.

Compiled from Gizmochina, Saturday, September 11, some of the banned countries include Syria, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Crimea and North Korea. However, the main problem occurs when unauthorized sellers continue to smuggle Xiaomi smartphones into the region for sale.

Unfortunately, it's not very clear how some of those restricted areas could be defined by the company, as Xiaomi still doesn't have an official presence in many countries.

Xiaomi's export policy prohibits the sale or export of its devices to unapproved territories, although the devices may still function under certain circumstances. The company has just started implementing a policy of preventing new devices from being activated from unauthorized territories.

This new Xiaomi policy has affected some users, as their phones are locked and unusable. Affected users may get a notification that Xiaomi's policy does not allow the sale or provision of its products to the user's territory, so the activation request will be rejected.

Affected users are then directed to contact the seller for more information. It is not yet clear whether the policy affects Xiaomi devices that have been activated in approved areas and used in restricted areas.

Meanwhile, this policy is only running at the core of the reseller syndicate. Vendors thrive on their ability to provide functional devices in jurisdictions, where the manufacturer does not yet have a presence in those regions.