Several Moto G units rendered useless after IMEI issue (Update: Fix available for some)

Update (June 4): Motorola has announced that the Moto G units with IMEI nos starting with 3533 have been registered with telecom operators and can now be used by the consumers. If your Moto G IMEI number starts with something else and was affected by the IMEI issue, chances are that a fix is coming soon.

Here is the full statement:

“?#?MotoG update: We wanted to let you know that we now have #MotoG devices with IMEI nos starting with 3533 registered with ALL network operators. All impacted customers can now activate your phones immediately. Once again apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and faith in Motorola!”

Earlier (June 1): Motorola has announced that it has discovered an issue with the Moto G dual-SIM version sold in the Indian market, which might be causing network issues on your newly bought phone.

According to the company, some of the recently sold Moto G smartphones have been shipped with IMEI numbers, which are not yet registered with the Indian telecom operators and as the carriers don’t recognise these IMEIs, they don’t let the phones connect to their networks, thus leaving them essentially useless.

If you have been facing such issues with your new Moto G, chances are that e-retailer Flipkart, which exclusively retails Motorola phones in India, would have sent you an e-mail explaining the issue. The retailer is also offering INR 1200 wallet credit to all the affected consumers for the inconvenience, who have the option to wait for a fix or get the faulty unit replaced with a functioning one or return the faulty phone for a full refund.

If you want to wait for a fix, Motorola has stated that it is working round the clock to fix this and your phone will soon start working properly.

Here is the full statement from Motorola:

“Dear #MotoG customers, we’ve uncovered an activation problem with some #MotoG devices sold in India as they have been shipped with IMEI numbers that are not yet registered with carriers. If you have recently purchased a Moto G and have network connectivity problems this may apply to you. This is due to a programming error from our end and we owe you a big apology.  We are working around the clock to resolve this. If you are impacted, we’ve sent you an email via Flipkart to explain everything and what we’re doing to make it right.”

What is International Mobile Station Equipment Identity aka IMEI?

IMEI is a unique number associated with every GSM, UMTS, LTE and iDEN mobile phone. It is used by the GSM networks to identify valid devices. Every IMEI number needs to be present in whitelist of a network operator for it to work on that carrier. If your phone’s IMEI number is not registered with a particular telecom operator (or is blacklisted), you won’t able to use your phone on that operator.

In the latest case, the IMEI numbers of some of the recently sold Moto G units in India haven’t been registered with any telecom operator in the country.