Buy iPhone 16 from Unofficial Channels? Ministry of Industry: Must be willing to have IMEI blocked

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – The iPhone 16 series is not yet officially available in the Indonesian market, and has become a hot topic of discussion in various circles due to the ban on the free distribution of Apple devices in the country.

This policy was taken by the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) following public reports regarding the sale of iPhone 16s brought in as passenger luggage.

Recently, information has circulated that the iPhone 16 series has been bought and sold in a number of online marketplaces and offline stores by various parties in Indonesia.

Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, stated that his party had received reports from the public and was continuing to monitor the circulation of these devices, especially those bought and sold through online marketplaces.

Febri reminded that the iPhone 16 series–iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max–which entered Indonesia via the baggage route were only intended for personal use.

If bought and sold, the status of the item becomes an illegal iPhone because it does not comply with the entry permit intended for personal use.

“Purchasing an iPhone 16 unit could be detrimental to the buyer because there is no official guarantee from the local distributor,” said Febri in his official statement, Friday (1/11/2024).

That way, buyers will not get consumer protection in terms of after-sales service or official repairs.

“We ask the public not to be tempted to buy iPhone 16 from marketplaces or unofficial offline stores. We (Ministry of Industry) will follow up on incoming information and also the information we have managed to collect regarding the buying and selling of iPhone 16,” said Febri.

It was stated that the Ministry of Industry would legally process parties advertising the iPhone 16 series on online marketplace should be suspected of violating article 35 of Government Regulation Number 46 of 2021 concerning Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting.

Apart from that, according to Febri, the Ministry of Industry is also considering deactivating the IMEI of the iPhone 16, aka blocking it, if it is proven that it is currently being sold in Indonesia.