How to homologate your cell phone purchased outside of Chile?

If you bought a cell phone outside Chile, or any other device such as a Tablet, Smartwatch, GPS, you have to homologate them so that they can be used by any of the telephone companies within Chile.

If you put a chip from any Chilean telephone company into your foreign equipment without homologation, you will receive a message warning you that you must homologate it before a certain period of time, otherwise it will be blocked.

Homologating your cell phone is not that complicated, but you do have to follow a series of procedures and take into account certain deadlines so that everything goes smoothly.

In this article we will tell you everything you need to do for the homologation of your cell phone purchased outside of Chile.

What is the homologation of a cell phone?

The homologation of a cell phone is the registration of the device in a State system to report that a foreign team has entered the country. If you don't register it, that device will be locked within 30 days after a Chilean SIM card is placed or 90 days if a foreign SIM is identified.

You can do this procedure yourself for free if you have some patience, or you can hire your trusted service store and pay to have it approved within 24 hours and without requesting so much documentation.

Step by step to homologate your cell phone in Chile yourself

1. You need to have some documents at hand and uploaded to your PC, such as:

• your identity card
• The purchase receipt of the cell phone to identify the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) of the equipment.

Take into account that the ticket or invoice is necessary if the equipment is new. If you buy it used in a store like eBay, you will need the purchase confirmation email to identify the IMEI. If it does not appear, nothing happens because it is understood that it is a second-hand device and you will necessarily have to look for it by looking inside the device.

2. Go to the multibanda.cl website and locate the cell phone model you want to homologate.
3. Fill in all the information requested, such as: name, identification number, contact telephone number, contact email, cell phone brand and IMEI. Some phones have 2 IMEIs, one physical and one virtual.
4. Select the type of record, this can be:

• Registration of a Chilean who traveled abroad
• Online shopping
• Registration by a third party
• Registration for foreigner.

One piece of information that I give you for this step is that, if you place purchased in an online store, you will save a series of steps and documents.

5. Upload the requested documents such as a photo of the identity document on both sides or passport. It will also ask you to upload the purchase receipt or digital invoice.
6. Identify the IMEI on your device and take a screenshot to attach it to the requested documents.
7. Check that you have read and accept all the terms.
8. Finally request registration.

You will receive an email confirming the registration and the waiting time, around 2 weeks.

For your comfort GSMPRO.CL has the homologation service to enable foreign cell phones in Chile and other devices in just 24 hours and with only 3 data: manufacturer, model, IMEI.