France: List of cell phones withdrawn or updated for deception and endangering users (25 May 2023)

List of cell phones withdrawn or updated for deception and endangering users
By : Phonegate Team • 25 May 2023

There are now 42 models of cell phones, identified as dangerous to the health of users, which have been either withdrawn from the French market or have seen their Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) updated by software. The latest: the Motorola Edge, the Essential Clap 20+ (you have until June 30, 2023 to bring it back to Boulanger), the Xiaomi Poco X3 and the Logicom Le Swipe.

Motorola is fined 7500 euros!

In a press release dated May 22, 2023, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) announced that the SAR measurement tests of the Motorola Edge cell phone model did not comply with regulatory limits for the trunk (2.12 W/kg instead of 2 W/kg).

The control launched by ANFR dates back to May 2021. And the tests conducted by the approved laboratory CTC Advanced were carried out in August 2021. It has taken two years before users of these smartphones are finally informed of the non-compliance of their devices with European and national regulations.

Why such a delay?

The explanation is only in part due, according to the announcement of ANFR, to a failure of the manufacturer Motorola:

“The company MOTOROLA has taken the decision to reduce the power of its terminals via a software update. The control by ANFR of the effectiveness of the corrective measures has nevertheless highlighted a persistence of the non-compliance. Consequently, MOTOROLA has proceeded to the development of a second software update to put an end to the non-conformities observed.”

However, can we be satisfied with such delays when it comes to the safety and health protection of consumers? Our answer is clearly NO! We propose that as soon as the information is known by ANFR, the latter undertakes to inform the public immediately.

And it is not the administrative fine of 7500 euros imposed on the American manufacturer which will be able to play a dissuasive role for industrialists who are most often repeat offenders. This was the case of Boulanger for its private label, as well as manufacturers Samsung and Xiaomi to name only the most recent sanctions.

Will the Motorola Edge be updated throughout the European Union?

In 2022, with our partner, Europeans for Safe Connections, we launched a collaborative European campaign to ensure that a cell phone pinned in France or in another EU country is pinned in all of Europe.

It seems that we are starting to be heard. In a reply we received in April 2023 from the Greek telecom regulatory agency, we learned that a group of 9 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Latvia, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden) have set up (in all discretion) a working process called JAHARP 2020 aiming mainly at :

“Identifying non-compliant connected wearable devices and appropriate actions to bring them into compliance or remove them from the market…”

And the Greek regulator added in its letter:

“We further inform you that following a relevant French investigation regarding cell phones, withdrawal measures were taken in Greece for the relevant types of cell phones circulating in the Greek market. The extension of the measures to Greece took place in 2019.”

We therefore officially request that the Motorola Edge is the first smartphone to have to comply throughout the European area.

Continue reading:
https://phonegatealert.org/en/list-of-mobile-phones-with-non-compliant-sars-removed-or-updated-in-france-2/