FP1 In Colombia - how to Homologise & register the phone model

Hi, I am in Colombia for 6 months and got a sim for my FP 1 from ‘Claro’ a month ago - the phone is working but I have received messages that the phone will be blocked unless the phone (equipment) is Homologised - I never heard this word before … but its an aspect of registration. The phone needs to be registered but before that it needs to be homologised. I have been on various Colombian sites and looked through models of phones eligible to be registered here in Colombia but I don’t see ‘Fairphone’… Has anyone out there gone through this process in Colombia or a country with a similar registration/homologisation process? I would like to see how I can resolve this. I would really appreciate some help on this! Thank you! Sinead

Perhaps this means a kind of certificate that the phone complies to regulatory standards of the country or region, much like regulation in the EU for such equipment.

Normally a manufacturer or seller goes through this process in a target market before the product in question can enter or be used in this target market.

A little search leads for instance to the LARCG’s references to regulation in Colombia.

  • "CRC (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones) is the telecommunications regulating agency in Colombia. All voice cellular products, most satellite equipment, and products that connect to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) require CRC certification. Most RF (Radiofrequency) equipment does not require approval in Colombia at this time. For those products exempt from approval, we suggest to obtain a “No Homologation’ letter from the agency for your records and to avoid any issues with Customs.
    In most cases, testing is not required in Colombia; we can use international test reports for the homologation process. Technical documents will be reviewed and validated in the approval process.
    Local representation is not required at this time. In some cases, there are labeling requirements that apply.
    We handle the entire process from start-to-finish and deliver the CRC certificate upon approval of your equipment."

So to me the messages you get would imply there is no such CRC certificate for the Fairphone 1, and somebody intends to act on this. Seems rather drastic for dealing with smartphones.

But that is all speculation, can’t you ask about it in a phone shop over there?

Edit: Registration seems easy enough, if (big if) you have a proof of purchase on you.

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Hi, Thank you for your reply - yes i was thinking that the Fairphone and the FP1 model would need to be certified here. I’ve asked about this in 5 phone shops, each one sending me higher up the "Claro’ ranks… now I have been told to go straight to the CRC “Comision Regulacion de Comunicaciones”… but they are not open today and I leave Bogata tomorrow… And I don’t have proof of purchase for the FP on me… I bought it over 3 years ago so the receipt lies in old files back home in Ireland… So, I’m not sure what to do next…

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Maybe you still have the invoice in your mailbox. I do, just checked it.

Or you ask the people at Fairphone support. (Maybe you can even still log in to your old account from the time when you bought the phone.)

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Hi, Thanks
Yeah as it turns out I found my invoice in an old email… but it doesn’t actually help me… proof of purchase is required for registration but if the model of phone has not been certified it can’t be registered… Fairphone is not registered in Colombia ( I checked here: Terminales Homologadas …no Fairphone listed) so my phone will be blocked (I don’t know if this will be a national or International block) unless the following information is provided…

https://www.crcom.gov.co/es/pagina/tr-mite-homologaci-n-de-equipos-terminales-m-viles

"Procedure - Homologation of Mobile Terminal Equipment
It is a procedure by which the interested party to approve a terminal equipment, in accordance with the definitions established in TITLE I, must submit to the CRC an application with the full of requirements for each terminal model. ( Article 7.1.1.2 of Resolution CRC 5050 of 2016 )

REQUIREMENTS FOR REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR MOBILE TERMINALS:

FIRST: Required Specific Documentation established in Number 7.1.1.2.7. of Article 7.1.1.2 of Resolution CRC 5050 of 2016 , for mobile terminal equipment:
1.1. Certificate of conformity of technical standards, issued by a certification body and / or accredited laboratory.
This certificate must state that the cell phone complies with FCC Part-22, Subpart H and FCC Part 24 or its technical equivalent.
The certificate must also certify that the equipment complies with the exposure limits set out in the IEEE Std C95.1 standard or the ICNIRP on safety levels with regard to human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (ITU-T Recommendation K. 52).
If your phone has an FCC-ID certificate of compliance, follow this step by step to obtain the documentation.

1.2. Copy of the manual or documentation with the technical specifications of the equipment specific model, including the frequency and power ranges in which it operates.
1.3. Equipment labeling specifications (label or label) to verify the relationship between the model of the terminal equipment in question and the associated FCC compliance certification code.
1.4. Letter by which the GSMA reports the TAC assigned to the make and model of the mobile terminal equipment. In case of not owning it, this situation must be stated in the request so that the information of the TAC associated to the specific brand and model is corroborated in GSMA. (This letter is not required)
SECOND: Letter of introduction:
Letter of presentation in accordance with the format included in Annex 7.1 of Resolution CRC 5050 of 2016 .
NOTE 1: The information pertaining to IMSI digit identification capability verification and TAC must be included in the “Technical Description” section of the online request form of the link at the bottom, while the final adjustments are made for these fields in the format.
NOTE 2: For terminal equipment for fixed and satellite telephony, please check the other procedures.
THIRD: Online application platform"

I am here to do some research on eco-communities and need my phone… I hadn’t planned on spending my time doing this kind of research… can someone please help me with this???

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Wow!
You really have done some research.
In my opinion, that’s a process that would have to be done by Fairphone, as all those regulations or Resolutions seem to be national ones and I can not believe, that the user has to get his phone homologised individually.
I have no idea, if it might be sufficient to present the EU-Certificates, but I have my doubts. Maybe you could give it a try and call the service number given on the CRC-homepage for further explanation and information. However, do not expect the process for homologisation to be for free.
Possibly you even might need a lawyer.

I guess this kind of paperwork and those national regulations to be met are the reasons, that Fairphone does not sell outside of the EU right now.

I keep my fingers crossed for you.

Maybe you could try a “workaround”, if the SIM-card is working for - let’s say 2 months; then you could get a new one every 2 months if it is just for 6 months in total?
Ok, it’s inconvenient, as you would get a new number every two months as well, but maybe thats even easier to solve than the homologisation.

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The Fairphone 1 is FCC certified (the FP2 is not). You should be able to find the FCC ID under the battery, and use that to find the FCC certification of the phone.

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AFAIK, it should be the one linked below, but double check just in case (forgot my phone today):

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Thanks BertG,
Yeah it looks like a company process for sure… its frustrating as the people who sold me the SIM officially should have made me aware of this process but hey…
I thought about changing the SIM but its not the issue… the issue is that I already started the Registration process and submitted the IMEI number of my phone… and as the registration has not been completed (due to Fairphone not being Certified in Colombia… my phone will be blocked. I don’t know if this means that I won’t be able to use the phone just in Colombia or if the block will be international. I have read that the Authorities are really enforcing all of this registration and certification to stop phone theft and that that they can block phones internationally… :frowning:
I don’t see myself going through this Homologisation/Certification process… so I guess I will be reporting on the extent of the block if/when it happens.
Thank you
Sinead

Hi AlbertJP, as my FP1 was sent for repair at one stage I don’t have the original body … to there are no numbers on my FP1 under the battery… just nice shiny metal. Where else would I find certification information? The certification I refer to is a form of Registration/Certification with the Colombian Authorities… if it was certified here it would be on their official list of Certified companies… and it isn’t… and I don’t think that just a number will suffice… I need the actual certificate of compliance and docs …as outlined in CRC requirements…

REQUIREMENTS FOR REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR MOBILE TERMINALS:

FIRST: Required Specific Documentation established in Number 7.1.1.2.7. of Article 7.1.1.2 of Resolution CRC 5050 of 2016 , for mobile terminal equipment:

1.1. Certificate of conformity of technical standards, issued by a certification body and / or accredited laboratory.
This certificate must state that the cell phone complies with FCC Part-22, Subpart H and FCC Part 24 or its technical equivalent.
The certificate must also certify that the equipment complies with the exposure limits set out in the IEEE Std C95.1 standard or the ICNIRP on safety levels with regard to human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (ITU-T Recommendation K. 52).
If your phone has an FCC-ID certificate of compliance, follow this step by step to obtain the documentation.

1.2. Copy of the manual or documentation with the technical specifications of the equipment specific model, including the frequency and power ranges in which it operates.
1.3. Equipment labeling specifications (label or label) to verify the relationship between the model of the terminal equipment in question and the associated FCC compliance certification code.
1.4. Letter by which the GSMA reports the TAC assigned to the make and model of the mobile terminal equipment. In case of not owning it, this situation must be stated in the request so that the information of the TAC associated to the specific brand and model is corroborated in GSMA. (This letter is not required)
SECOND: Letter of introduction:
Letter of presentation in accordance with the format included in Annex 7.1 of Resolution CRC 5050 of 2016 .
NOTE 1: The information pertaining to IMSI digit identification capability verification and TAC must be included in the “Technical Description” section of the online request form of the link at the bottom, while the final adjustments are made for these fields in the format.
NOTE 2: For terminal equipment for fixed and satellite telephony, please check the other procedures.
THIRD: Online application platform"

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Ahhhh Thanks Johannes…
I’ll have a look through this!!!

The shiny metal is the regular condition. I guess the FCC ID might be hidden deeper. I will give it a try and take a look into my FP1. :wink:
But I fear that you are right and that the FCC-ID is just the first step.
Well, it can’t do any more damage, if you collect the documents @Johannes has linked to and give the CRC a call. Maybe they know a way out for you, as you are just in Colombia for half a year. Possibly you could get something like a temporary permit?
I will get back if I should find a FCC-ID inside my phone; although @Johannes already provided it.
I’m just curious. :wink:

@BertG, usually there is a sticker under the battery but some FP1’s lack it. I have disassembled phones from the buyback program and a fair number of them had no sticker. The sticker does contain the FCC ID. It may be that FP1 and FP1U have a different one - @Sinead_Cullen, do you know which FP1 model you have, and @Johannes, do you know whether that FCC ID came from an FP1 or an FP1U?

I just checked my FP1 (first batch), and under the battery there is a sticker with two IMEIs, a serial number, and the FCC ID I linked to previously.
That does indeed raise the question whether the FP1U is not FCC certified whilst the FP1 is. I don’t recall seeing new SAR tests for the FP1U, so I’d be tempted to hope that this wasn’t necessary - but I don’t have enough knowledge of these processes to be able to judge that. This is probably a question that Fairphone support wouldn’t immediately have an answer to either, but someone in Fairphone surely must know.

)Well, I have a FP1 (first batch) as well and no sticker under the battery. And I can’t say, that I would remember it having fallen off.
But it should be there, as you can see in one of the documents (it’s fantastic what you can find there :astonished:) on the FCC-homepage:


On the picture from inside the phone, the label reads “Model FP1”, so i guess it’s not the 1(U).

But I doubt, that the 1(U) would have needed a new FCC ID.

Well, that clearly needs clarification by someone like @Douwe from Fairphone.

Or maybe someone with a FP1(U) can take a look inside the phone for a label with a FCC-ID.

Hello to all,
All what I’m reading here scares me : I travel a lot, and the next year I will be mostly in South America… Moreover I bought my Fairphone 2 second hand (through the FP community here), so I don’t have any proof of purchase… I agree that the Fairphones don’t have any certification outside of Europe “and that’s why they sell it only in Europe”, but you know… We are not in the Middle Age, people are active, they travel internationally, they live abroad and so on… So it is not an excuse for Fairphone not to get online with all certifications needed allover the world !
Anyway, at least for Europe, I am wondering if it is recommended to register my FP online here, in order to identify myself (for getting help from support team, or to prevent theft etc…) I have no idea how to do that. I will check with the person who sold it to me if she can send me the proof of purchase (however it will be under her name I guess… So is it still meaningfuk anyway?)
Thanks a lot !!

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This is specifically for Colombia and only for people who stay there for half a year or longer (EDIT: I had misread that) and use a local SIM card. Other countries have other rules but the idea is the same: you should use only certified phones in the country where you live and the FP2 is only CE certified, not FCC. These laws exist to ban dangerous devices but have unwanted side effects with a harmless device like a Fairphone.

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I see, thank you Albert. However, how do they make a difference between those who stay 6 months and more? They block it only after 6 months?
When I travel I always use a local SIM card of course, otherwise at the end using your phone costs you the price of an air ticket! :confounded:
I intend to stay 6 months in Ecuador and probably in the future I will settle somewhere in South America… So that’s why it is also an important question for me…
If anyone knows more about registration with Fairphone company, let me know!
Thank you !

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You need to check local laws. It was the OP who said his phone would be blocked after a certain period so that is apparently how regulation of wireless devices (in itself not a bad thing) works in Colombia. I have no idea about the regulations in Southern America otherwise. It makes sense however that Colombia accepts USA FCC certifications, probably other American countries work that way as well.

Edit: it turns out I just misread the first post, the period until the phone is blocked is not mentioned, 6 months is just the time the OP stays there.