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Authorized by the brand and eligible for direct or indirect importation to be sold at retail in Vietnam.
Legal import means being recognized and licensed by the government. It includes circulation permits and adherence to state tax regulations.
1.2 Distinguishing Genuine iPhones from Parallel Imports
Apple, the US technology giant, ensures 100% quality assurance through pre-market inspection. How to check if an iPhone is genuine or counterfeit:
- If directly imported from the manufacturer, the label on the device indicates the importing entity. In Vietnam, it is 'Apple Vietnam Limited Liability Company'
- Depending on the market, the product will have different suffixes. In Vietnam, the iPhone series will be VN/A (TH/A for iPad, ZP/A for Macbook)
- Genuine products are sold at authorized dealers such as FPT Shop or F.Studio by FPT, the highest authorized Apple dealers in Vietnam. FPT Shop has been officially authorized to import all Apple products since August 2016.
Parallel-imported iPhones are genuine Apple products imported from abroad, such as from the US, Japan, or South Korea. These parallel-imported products are much cheaper than genuine ones. However, using parallel-imported products carries the risk of buying inferior or counterfeit goods, with less favorable warranty conditions. Currently, the market is flooded with counterfeit and low-quality products, such as fake iPhones.
Ways to identify an authentic iPhone and recognize signs of 'unofficial' or unclear origin include:
- Authentic products won't have the import label of Apple Vietnam, and the part number will differ from genuine Vietnamese ones, meaning no VN/A suffix. The specific code will depend on the market the device is imported to.
- Items are often imported through various channels, not directly from Apple. As a result, sellers themselves may not be certain about the quality of the device they sell to consumers.
- Products with unclear origins may be sold at a lower price, ranging from 500,000 to 2,000,000 VND, or even 3,000,000-4,000,000 VND. However, customers may find it challenging to independently assess whether the purchased product falls into the following cases:
2. Ways to verify the authenticity of an iPhone that you should know
2.1. Checking the authenticity of an iPhone using the ICT label
For products directly imported from Apple Vietnam, the ICT label will be present on each item. In Vietnam, the label belongs to Apple Vietnam Co., Ltd., and behind the device box, there is the VN/A code. Customers can check the authenticity of the iPhone by verifying the product's IMEI on Apple's official website (https://www.apple.com/) after activation, which will be entered into Apple's system within 24 hours. Note that the iPhone 6, 7; the modern-performance iPhone 8, and the stylish iPhone 8 Plus all have similar verification processes. This is also one of the three common methods to check international and authentic iPhones today.
2.2. Verifying the authenticity of an iPhone through the supplier
Customers can verify the authenticity of their genuine FPT iPhones on the official website.
2.3. Authenticating Genuine iPhones using iMei
Step 1
Configure your iPhone settings to check its authenticity using iMei. Navigate to settings, then general settings, select phone information, and scroll down to find the iMei. Alternatively, you can dial *#06# on your phone to receive the iMei.
Step 2
Access this website and enter the iMei code from your phone: “checkcoverage.apple.com/vn/en”
In the third step:
At this point, the system will display information about your iPhone. To determine whether the device is genuine or not, read the following specifications from Apple:
- iPhone has been activated.
- Current warranty limit of the device on Apple, covered by free technical warranty
- Warranty period from the manufacturer
In the previous article, Mytour.vn shared a method to check the authenticity of an iPhone using the IMEI. With the provided information, you can confidently get a fully sealed iPhone at the best price and enjoy all the amazing features.
