If a text from “NCC-Checker” just told you your phone is not verified for use on Nigerian networks, you are not alone. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed the rule behind it: every SIM-enabled device on Nigerian networks must be registered and type approved. It has not publicly confirmed the warning texts themselves, so check the message before you act on it. Here is what the NCC phone not verified text says, how to tell a real one from a scam, and what to do next.
The short version
Texts that appear to come from the NCC are warning owners of phones its device register does not recognise. The NCC has confirmed the registration rule but has not publicly confirmed the texts, so check the message first, then talk to your seller.
- The warning texts started arriving around Saturday, 10 October 2026, from a sender called NCC-Checker, according to reports. The NCC has not publicly confirmed them.
- According to the text, a phone could be disconnected after 30 cumulative days, meaning 30 days that it is actually used on a network.
- A genuine notice will not ask you for money, a link to click or a one-time code. If yours does, it is a scam.
- Dialling *315# and following the steps shows a phone’s status, according to reports, but the NCC has not yet published the steps on its own website.
- There is no public registration process yet for phones bought abroad or from private sellers.
What an NCC phone not verified text means
In plain terms: if the text is genuine, your phone’s IMEI, the 15-digit serial number every phone has, is not yet on the NCC’s list of approved devices. It does not mean your phone is fake or stolen. It means the NCC’s new system cannot match it to a phone that was approved and registered before it was sold.
According to screenshots of the message published on Saturday, the text reads: “Your (Device Model) is not verified for use on Nigerian mobile networks.” It then says the device could be disconnected after 30 cumulative days, and tells people to contact their seller or dial 315.
Is the text really from the NCC?
The NCC has confirmed the registration rule, but when we checked its website on 12 October 2026, it had not posted anything about these texts, the 30-day countdown or the *315# check. Scammers often pretend to be regulators, so treat the message with care. A genuine notice will not ask you for money, a link to click or a one-time code. If yours does, it is a scam: do not reply, and do not call any number it gives you other than 315. Check your phone yourself with the steps below, and watch the NCC’s official website and verified social media accounts for an announcement.
Why is the NCC doing this now?
The rule is not new, but the enforcement is. Under Section 132(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, phones and other communications equipment need NCC type approval before they can be sold or used in Nigeria. In August 2024, the NCC issued business rules that set up a Central Equipment Identity Register, a national list of approved IMEI numbers, and a Device Management System that checks phones against it.
In its statement on the system, the NCC said “all SIM-enabled communications devices brought into the country must be registered before they are sold” and that “Devices that are not duly registered will not be permitted to operate on Nigerian networks.” The NCC says the goal is to cut down on fake and substandard phones and make stolen phones harder to use. You can read the NCC’s statement on type approval in full.
The NCC also says the register holds device details like the IMEI number and does not look at what is on your phone. Engr. Edoyemi Ogoh, the NCC’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, said the platform is “designed solely to support device identification and Type Approval compliance.”
Who is getting the warning?
People have reported warnings on phones from many different brands. The rule covers every SIM-enabled device, so tablets, routers and POS terminals with a SIM fall under it too.
What to do if you got the text
- Don’t panic and don’t throw the phone away. According to the text, the 30 days only count when the phone is in use on a network, so nobody is cut off on day one.
- Check your phone’s status. Reports say you can dial *315# and follow the steps to check your phone. If the code does not work on your network, dial 315 as the text says.
- Find your IMEI by dialling *#06# and write it down. Keep the box and the receipt, because both show the IMEI and where you bought the phone.
- Contact the shop or seller with your receipt and IMEI and ask them to confirm the phone is registered with the NCC. Sellers can work with the brand or distributor to get it cleared.
- If you bought the phone abroad or from a private seller, watch the NCC’s official website and verified social media accounts. There is no public registration process for these phones yet.
- Ask questions only through official channels. The NCC Consumer Affairs Bureau lists +234-209-461-7000 and +234-209-461-7514 on its type approval help page.
Watch out for ‘unblocking’ offers
Any rule that threatens to cut off phones brings scammers with it. Expect WhatsApp messages and social media posts offering to “register” or “unblock” your phone for a fee. Do not pay anyone who contacts you first, do not share your IMEI with strangers, and never send a one-time code from a text message to anyone. Our guide to spotting online scams covers the usual tricks.
Buying a phone this month? Check first
Before you pay for a new or used phone, ask the seller to dial *315# on it in front of you, or check the model against the NCC’s approved handset list. Our guide on how to check if a phone is original walks through the rest of the checks, and our explainer on what your IMEI number can and cannot do shows why the number matters.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether the NCC will publish the *315# check on its own website.
- How people who bought phones abroad will register them, and whether there will be a fee.
- Whether sellers or buyers will pay for registration. The Association of Mobile Phones and Allied Products Traders of Nigeria supports the system but opposes registration fees for new imports, and its president, Musa Haruna Mamza, has warned that costs could be passed on in higher prices.
- The exact date the first phones could be cut off.
The next thing to watch is the registration process for phones bought abroad. Until it is out, the most useful thing you can do today is dial *315#, find your receipt and talk to your seller. We will update this page when the NCC publishes the steps.
