Behind TECNO Mobile’s glossy adverts and dominant market share lies a growing crisis of substandard smartphones, leaving millions of Nigerians grappling with overheating devices, crippling software failures, and unmet promises, an investigation by this publication reveals. Mounting evidence points to a pattern of deception and planned obsolescence, prompting urgent calls for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and other regulatory bodies to impose severe sanctions on the brand, TRUETELLS Nigeria brand analysis reports.
The Burning Reality in Nigerian Pockets
While TECNO boasts affordability and extensive reach, users across the nation report alarming, consistent problems that transcend typical “budget phone” limitations:
- The Overheating Hazard: Numerous users document phones becoming dangerously hot during routine tasks like calls, browsing, or charging. This isn’t merely uncomfortable; it poses a tangible safety risk, especially when combined with Nigeria’s often unstable power grid and the common practice of prolonged charging. “My SPARK 10 feels like it will catch fire sometimes, just watching a video,” shared Adeola K. from Ibadan. “I fear for my children using it.”
- Software Sabotage & Security Neglect: TECNO’s HiOS updates, instead of improving devices, are frequently reported to degrade performance. Phones slow to a crawl, batteries drain rapidly, and crashes become commonplace post-update. Crucially, TECNO fails to provide timely, long-term security patches, leaving millions vulnerable to known exploits. “My phone got slower with each update, then they just stopped supporting it after a year,” lamented Chinedu O. in Abuja. “It’s like they built it to fail.”
- Fragile Hardware, Broken Promises: Despite marketing showcasing sleek designs, specific models exhibit shockingly poor build quality. Recent complaints highlight expensive screens shattering from minor drops and batteries swelling or failing prematurely. TECNO’s extensive Carlcare network, touted as an advantage, often faces criticism for costly repairs and delays, negating the value proposition.
- The Update Mirage: TECNO’s software update policy remains notoriously opaque and short-lived, especially compared to competitors gaining ground in Nigeria. Users purchase devices expecting reasonable support, only to find them abandoned to security risks and app incompatibility far sooner than anticipated – a classic case of planned obsolescence disguised as affordability.
A Pattern of Deception, A History of Scrutiny
This isn’t a new phenomenon for TECNO in Nigeria:
- 2012 NCC Sanctions: The NCC sealed TECNO’s office for selling uncertified phones, a clear breach of regulatory standards meant to protect consumers.
- 2016 Local Manufacturing Push: The NCC again pressured TECNO and others to establish local plants, explicitly linking this to improved quality control and service – a call largely unmet in substance regarding device longevity and software support.
- 2025: Renewed Fury: A significant surge in user complaints across social media and tech forums highlights that the core issues – poor updates, hardware fragility, and performance degradation – persist and are worsening as TECNO’s user base grows.
Regulatory Failure: Complicit Silence?
While the NCC has recently intensified efforts against pre-registered SIMs and collaborates with Customs on device imports, its actions regarding the enduring quality and safety of devices saturating the market, particularly from the dominant player TECNO, appear woefully inadequate. The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), tasked with ensuring product quality, also faces questions about its enforcement of standards for mobile devices flooding the country.
“The NCC sealed them once for uncertified phones, but what about phones that are certified yet demonstrably substandard, unsafe, and fail to deliver on basic software support promises?” asked tech consumer advocate Bimpe Williams. “Where is SON? This is a systemic defrauding of Nigerian consumers on a massive scale. Regulatory inaction is tacit approval.”
The Call to Action: Sanction TECNO Now
Given the documented evidence of widespread device failures, safety concerns, misleading software update practices, and a history of regulatory non-compliance, consumer groups and affected users demand immediate and decisive action:
- NCC Investigation & Sanctions: The NCC must launch a full, transparent investigation into TECNO’s compliance with device standards, software update policies, and advertising practices. Findings must lead to substantial fines, mandatory recall programs for demonstrably hazardous models (e.g., severe overheating), and enforced commitments to long-term security updates.
- SON Enforcement: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria must rigorously test TECNO devices in the market for compliance with safety, durability, and performance standards. Non-compliant models must be barred from sale, and SON must publicly report findings.
- Consumer Compensation: Regulators must facilitate avenues for redress for consumers sold demonstrably faulty or unsafe devices, including repair, replacement, or refund programs enforced upon TECNO.
- Enforce Local Manufacturing Quality: If local assembly is part of TECNO’s strategy, regulators must ensure it translates to higher quality control and better post-sales support, not just tax breaks.
TECNO’s market dominance was built on serving Nigerian pockets. However, evidence now suggests this success is underpinned by selling millions of Nigerians phones engineered for premature failure, riddled with safety risks, and abandoned by software support – a betrayal of trust masked as affordability. The ball is now firmly in the court of Nigeria’s regulators. Will they protect consumers or continue to let a major player defraud the nation with substandard technology? Silence is sanction.