The Commission said phone buyers can now easily check whether a device is genuine and approved for use in Nigeria by dialling its short code, _315# or by using the device checker portal on its official website.
According to the NCC, the checker will show if a phone has passed type approval and has been verified to work properly on all Nigerian mobile networks.
The Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the NCC, Eduyemi Ogoh, gave the advice while speaking on Newsnight, a programme on Arise Television.
Ogoh said the verification has become more important, especially for Nigerians who buy second-hand phones popularly known as UK-used phones, or devices imported from outside the country.
He urged buyers not to pay for any phone until they have confirmed its status.
"Before you buy the phone, dial _315# and confirm that the phone is fully verified before you pay," Ogoh said.
He explained that the NCC introduced the device verification system in line with its mandate under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 to protect consumers and ensure quality of service.
He noted that many complaints about poor network service received by the Commission are actually caused by the kind of phones people use.
"The whole intent of type approval is to ensure that every device coming into the country is genuine and works the way it should work," he stated.
Ogoh added that Nigerians deserve value for their money and should not end up buying fake or cloned devices.
"Consumers should be confident that they were spending their money on genuine devices, rather than an old phone device that is fake or an imitation of the real thing," he said.
He further explained that an unapproved or substandard phone does not only affect the user, but can also degrade network quality for other users in the same location.
Giving details on how the checker works, Ogoh said all a buyer needs is the phone's IMEI number, the unique 15-digit identity assigned to every mobile phone. The buyer can request the IMEI from the seller, dial *315# and follow the prompts to verify it before making payment.
He clarified that if a device fails verification, it does not automatically mean it is fake. He said type approval is done once per phone model after laboratory testing to ensure it meets Nigerian standards, while verification is to confirm that the individual device with that IMEI is registered on the NCC system.
"Type approval is done just once per model," he said, stressing that it is the responsibility of manufacturers, vendors and importers, not consumers, to obtain type approval.
The new enhanced compliance process, according to him, applies only to devices brought into the country from October 7. He disclosed that all devices that were already active on Nigerian networks as of midnight on October 6 have been automatically onboarded and verified.
"We know that people have spent their money to do this, so you cannot be asking them to go and throw those phones out," he said, adding that about 231 million devices were captured in that exercise.
On data privacy, Ogoh assured Nigerians that the device checker only uses the IMEI to verify a phone and does not give the Commission access to calls, contacts, text messages or other personal information stored on the device.
He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the platform to avoid buying problematic devices and to easily identify if network issues are from their phones.
For complaints related to the device checker, subscribers can dial 315, while general consumer complaints can be channelled to the NCC's toll-free line 622.
