Last week, there were reports that Xiaomi smartphone users in some countries such as Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Sudan were banned from using their smartphones. The move was intended to curb the illegal activities of resellers who smuggle such smartphones into unauthorized regions to sell them.
Now, according to Gizmochina, Xiaomi said it was part of an ongoing investigation to determine if the smartphones were smuggled into the aforementioned countries. The move is seen as an anti-smuggling measure to prevent resellers from selling Xiaomi smartphones in these prohibited regions.
However, buyers who bought their devices from legal markets and use them in these banned countries can now continue to use their smartphones. For example, in Cuba, which is included in the list of banned countries, Xiaomi accounts for up to 15% of active smartphones in the country. Shutdown would lead to disruptions in the work of a huge part of the population.
Xiaomi says the ongoing investigation has yielded significant results, though the company has not provided any further details. The decision to restore access to legitimate owners of Xiaomi smartphones in these markets may be an interim solution, as the company’s export policy explicitly prohibits the use of its smartphones outside of legal markets.
Today, we have already published a comment from the external press service of Xiaomi, which states: «No Xiaomi smartphone in Europe and the CIS countries has been blocked, and the company does not plan to take such actions.»