It is estimated that there are about 680,000 counterfeit phones on Safaricoms’ network, 100,000 on Airtel Kenya, 45,000 on yuMobile and 20,000 on Telkom Kenya that will be switched off on 30 September 2012. Is your phone amongst the unlucky few?

Earlier this week a rumor emerged that genuine unlocked or jailbreak phones also stand to be switched off come 30 September 2012. This spread a wave of panic among users who had previously unlocked their genuine phones. We were unable to get in touch with Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) in regard to this, forcing us to seek advice from recognized techies.

Jailbreaking a phone involves opening a phone so that you can access and modify portions of the phone that are normally out of bounds. This is common in apple devices, users jailbreak their devices so that they can download and operate applications that are not supported by their devices. Unlocking a phone entails a user changing a phone service provider from the one which it was previously locked to, giving it access to other networks. Rumor had it that jailbroken and unlocked phones have corrupted International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, thus increasing the likelihood that such phones will be switched off.

According to Mark Koskei, Information Security Researcher, "a jailbreak is essentially getting the master keys to the house. No one said anything about rearranging the furniture." The phone's original IMEI number remains intact. The same goes for unlocked phones.

Counterfeit phones have duplicated and fake IMEI numbers. Genuine IMEI numbers are issued only by GSMA. CCK uses the GSMA database, which is upgraded every time a new phone is introduced to the market, to identify whether a phone is genuine or fake.

Due to the fact that some counterfeit phones have duplicated IMEI numbers, one perhaps valid and other not, there have been claims that such phones have passed CCK’s test and proved to be genuine.

If your phone is among the 680,000 counterfeit phones, and you're on safaricom, chances are you have received a text message, notifying you that your handset is fake and that you will be switched off.

How will know you have been switched off?

The switch-off process will involve blocking a phone that bears a fake IMEI number from accessing a mobile operators’ network. This means your phone will not have network access as of 30 September 2012.

The switch off won’t affect your SIM card. It will still be active when you install it on a genuine handset.

About 2.5 million counterfeit phones will be switched off on 30 September 2012, a process that will take at least 15 hours to run. Coupled with the financial loss and mental anguish of having your phone rendered useless by the switch off, 30 September may just be a nightmare of some Kenyans.