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someone is making big money out of this, not only importers.
the ones who implemente the system as well and the ones behind him.

but again, we still nag about every single issue without doing anything about it. all of this are the symptoms of a corrupt system. we will keep seeing it again...and again

this is nothing compared to other stuff, like f*king with our health (garbage, Medicine...)
Salloum wroteHas anyone with a rooted Android tried to change their IMEI to see if the network can be tricked?
Is it possible to change IMEI number on my phone after root ?
Short answer: no, it's not possible. The IMEI is tied to the baseband SoC on your device and since the baseband is what communicates with your carriers network, Android isn't really involved at all. With root access it's possible to spoof the IMEI on the Android side of things but your carrier has nothing to do with that part of your device from a billing point of view so it wouldn't make sense.

Bear in mind, even if you could modify your IMEI, chances are that your fake one would be blacklisted by your carrier pretty quickly. The IMEI follows a strict format including a TAC and duplicate IMEIs is something a carrier will typically discover pretty quickly.
From what I heard it was customs who implemented this law. Telecom doesn't get any benefit from it.
infiniteloop wroteMinistry of telecoms should have prepare this whole Libanpost system before starting this very badly made law.
23 days later
Just to update you guys on this matter.

It's been 3 months now since I got the infamous sms.
(I received it on Nov 9 2018, and now it's Feb 10 2018)
The sim car is still working on my phone.

I guess the law is not being implemented??
(unless, with my bad luck, and just so the universe gets back at me, the sim will stop working on my phone during these couple of days and make this post void)
AVOlio wroteJust to update you guys on this matter.

It's been 3 months now since I got the infamous sms.
(I received it on Nov 9 2018, and now it's Feb 10 2018)
The sim car is still working on my phone.

I guess the law is not being implemented??
(unless, with my bad luck, and just so the universe gets back at me, the sim will stop working on my phone during these couple of days and make this post void)
Interesting--that is 93 days, so past the 90 day window. Let us know if anything changes, because if it does, my next phone will come through Dubai and delivered to me by a family member :P
A friend of mine got the message over 4 months ago and could still use his phone.
I have two cases in my office where after passing the window, phone and sms worked however mobile data stopped working.
nefe_lpmk wroteI have two cases in my office where after passing the window, phone and sms worked however mobile data stopped working.
So it's Alfa/MTC who will lose in this situation :P
Are you sure they are not taxing you 3$ per month now that you finished the 3 months?
infiniteloop wroteAre you sure they are not taxing you 3$ per month now that you finished the 3 months?
Where'd you get that number? Also that would be more convenient and a lot cheaper if it were true.
2 months later
Yesterday i passed by a Libanpost point of sale with my 6T as if I send a message to 1014 they say I have till the 30th of April to pay my customs, the lady there took my 6T and search the database, she said I don't have to pay because my phone is not yet in the database!
I told her ''great but why they said I had to pay this month? will they stop my line?'' and she say that as long as it's not in the database they have no right to stop my line as I can't pay the customs yet
infiniteloop wroteYesterday i passed by a Libanpost point of sale with my 6T as if I send a message to 1014 they say I have till the 30th of April to pay my customs, the lady there took my 6T and search the database, she said I don't have to pay because my phone is not yet in the database!
I told her ''great but why they said I had to pay this month? will they stop my line?'' and she say that as long as it's not in the database they have no right to stop my line as I can't pay the customs yet
If that's the case, I'm going to get the Xperia 1. Sony phones are almost non existent in Lebanon... lol
Kareem wrote
infiniteloop wroteYesterday i passed by a Libanpost point of sale with my 6T as if I send a message to 1014 they say I have till the 30th of April to pay my customs, the lady there took my 6T and search the database, she said I don't have to pay because my phone is not yet in the database!
I told her ''great but why they said I had to pay this month? will they stop my line?'' and she say that as long as it's not in the database they have no right to stop my line as I can't pay the customs yet
If that's the case, I'm going to get the Xperia 1. Sony phones are almost non existent in Lebanon... lol
Xperia 1 is an old phone with a known brand so 100% in the database
OnePlus is a total mystery for Lebanese authorities, they only know that apple,samsung and Huawei are making phones in 2019 lol, heck even mobile phones shops calling themselves ''android experts'' don't even know OnePlus exists.
I will call alfa tomorrow to get a confirmation about Libanpost's claims
infiniteloop wrote
Kareem wrote
infiniteloop wroteYesterday i passed by a Libanpost point of sale with my 6T as if I send a message to 1014 they say I have till the 30th of April to pay my customs, the lady there took my 6T and search the database, she said I don't have to pay because my phone is not yet in the database!
I told her ''great but why they said I had to pay this month? will they stop my line?'' and she say that as long as it's not in the database they have no right to stop my line as I can't pay the customs yet
If that's the case, I'm going to get the Xperia 1. Sony phones are almost non existent in Lebanon... lol
Xperia 1 is an old phone with a known brand so 100% in the database
OnePlus is a total mystery for Lebanese authorities, they only know that apple,samsung and Huawei are making phones in 2019 lol, heck even mobile phones shops calling themselves ''android experts'' don't even know OnePlus exists.
I will call alfa tomorrow to get a confirmation about Libanpost's claims

Xperia 1 is not released yet. Another month to go. That basically confirms what I'm saying. Nobody knows anything about Sony.

What's even funnier is that in France for example, SFR mobile tethering for prepaid cards is blocked on all Android phones except Sony Xperia ones. Go figure.
7 days later
is the database of phone customs prices available to the public, or the only way to check it is at Libanpost?
13 days later
Hello All,
I'm wondering if anyone let the 90 days period run out and got his phone blocked. i believed that it wont so i told a friend suffering from this issue not to pay and wait. After 90 days, he got another sms saying he has an extra 30 days and if he doesnt it gets blocked. Obviously told him to let that period run as well and not pay unless it gets blocked, and it actually did after those extra 30 days. So after 120 days in total, he had to pay 298,000 LBP including Libanpost fees. IPhone XS 64Gb.
@infiniteloop and @AVOlio any updates on you situations? 5T and 6T still working?
Just wondering whether to consider a oneplus or maybe a Xiaomi Mi8 Pro (if also applicable) as next phone in case it costs 200$ less to keep it working compared to "recognized" phones.
This law was made for the official dealers in Lebanon meaning for samsung,apple and Huawei, I think xiaomi has also a dealer now, they don't care about OnePlus as it doesn't have a wakil, my 6T is running fine and no sms from MOT since then.
Called and went to libanpos they told me they don't have 6T in the database.
Frankly if they wanted to add it they would have done so 4 months ago already
My 5t is still working as well.
The deadline has passed 120 days for sure.
so do they include every Xiaomi mobile ever made in this database?