Vivo found selling over 13,000 smartphones with same IMEI number, complaint filed

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has allegedly been found to have sold over 13,000 smartphones with the same IMEI number! The issue was spotted after a sub-inspector got his Vivo smartphone replaced at a service centre in Delhi and noticed that the IMEI number of the device is different from what was printed on the box. The cyber cell team of Meerut Police was then put in charge of the investigation.

When reached out, the Vivo service centre manager in Delhi informed the cybercrime unit that the IMEI number had not been changed. The cyber cell, then, forwarded the IMEI number to the SIM operator used in the handset and asked for the data. 

The investigation lasted over about five months and it was found that as of September 24, 2019, over 13,500 Vivo smartphones were running on the same IMEI number and were active in different states across the country.

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The cybercrime cell unit of Meerut Police has even filed a case against Vivo and notice has been handed over to Vivo India’s nodal officer Harmanjit Singh under Section 91 of the CrPC.

Zee Business reached out to Vivo about the issue. Their statement will be added here, once received. 

For those unaware, IMEI or the International Mobile Equipment Identity number is a 15-digit code that is unique to every smartphone. In 2017, a notification from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) stated that all smartphones would have a unique IMEI number, failure to which in the form of manipulation or tampering could lead to a three-year jail sentence.