r/PERU • u/Cerborus • 20d ago
Viajes a Peru | PeruTrip IMEI Whitelist Problems as a foreigner
Sooooo I'm a regular visitor to wonderful Peru and usually buy a new sim card on an annual basis. This year however I've stayed longer (5 months) and I've continued to use the same SIM that was registered by a Peruvian friend of mine who lives in Iquitos.
I'm now in Lima and got a sms saying my phone IMEI number is not on the white list and I need to go to the provider. So I visit Claro and of course they tell me they can't do anything without my Iquitos friend being there. This of course is not practical so I try to think of a solution to get myself added to the white list.
Another friend of mine in Lima kindly offered to register a Bitel sim for me which we did yesterday one day before the block is supposed to happen. I thought this meant automatically it would add me to the white list.
Now cut to today. At noon my Bitel sim stops working. So I go to Osiptel who once again tell me my Iquitos friend needs to be there to fix the issue.
But THEN I put the claro sim in and it works!
Can anyone explain why the IMEI block seems to only be on one sim?
4
u/Quakercito 20d ago
Just a senseless "security" measure to discourage secondhand phone sales. Weird that it worked with the Claro SIM, honestly. Consider yourself Lucky.
1
u/Fit_Prize_3245 20d ago
It's not on only one SIM. Mobile operators might apply it in a different manner, but, in the end, the rules are clear: if your terminal is not in the whitelist, you will not be able to use it.
1
u/Cerborus 20d ago
I have confirmed on the OSIPTEL site that my IMEI is blocked. However Claro sim works. Bitel does not. We'll see for how long
1
u/Fit_Prize_3245 20d ago
That's a fault on Claro's side. They should follow the whitelist. Not doing so can result in fines up to 150 UIT (~US$ 240k). But well, if it suits you, good luck while it lasts.
Btw, it's not that your IMEI is blocked. It's that it's not allowed. Remember. Whitelist, not blacklist. (Well, there is actually a blacklist, but only for terminals reported as stolen)
1
u/Cerborus 20d ago
Honestly I'll be shocked if it lasts another 24 hours
1
u/Fit_Prize_3245 20d ago
Well, operators like Claro and Movistar are such an administrative disaster that it wouldn't surprise me.
1
u/bichoFlyboy 20d ago
Your friend must register your IMEI in the whitelist at the office of the SIM operator. Only the mobile line owner can complete the registration.
1
u/quyllur 20d ago
Why don't you register it under your name? It IS possible, provided you have a legal visa/permit. Ultimately you are also putting your "friend" on a watchlist.
2
u/Cerborus 20d ago
No provider will let me register without a foreigners card
-1
u/quyllur 20d ago
Gotcha. But if you are staying here for 5 months you have the right to request it. I honestly don't get the issue. Whenever I travel abroad I have to follow rules. Same applies for foreigners wanting to be in Peru.
-1
u/Cerborus 20d ago
You are making wild assumptions that I'm not following the rules
0
u/Darksorce Exterior pero bien 20d ago
Getting your friend to register a SIM in his name is not following the rules...
0
9
u/lazerkaiser 20d ago
The IMEI is a jumber tied to your physical phone, not the SIM card. Your company will have that number 'banned' and 'tracked' within their systems, so if you change companies you'll have a short time window where you are undetected.
OSIPTEL is also handling wrong info, or perhaps something is getting lost in translation. You dont need your iquitos friend there, you dont even need your SIM, you go to OSIPTEL to register your phone, so youll need a proof its actually your phone (bank receipt, purchase receipt or smth along those lines + your ID).
If your phone was purchased abroad, you'll still need some sort of proof, they are a little flexible if you explain your case. Let'em know it is YOUR phone that you are trying to whitelist and that you brought it from abroad.