What is a “gray” iPhone, and is it worth buying such a device? How does Rostest iPhone differ from other models? What does it mean that it’s not a Rostest iPhone?

iPhone RosTest is a well-known phrase, but not everyone understands its meaning, although those who are planning to buy an i-smartphone simply need to understand this concept. Well, we will help you - in this article we will tell you what RosTest means for an iPhone.

RosTest is a special certification center that is obliged to check goods imported into the country for compliance with established standards. Any imported product must undergo special examinations by RosTest and, if successfully passed, receive the “PCT” badge. Surely, you have come across this abbreviation more than once on one or another item of use.

For iPhones imported into the Russian Federation, testing, of course, is also carried out. And if everything is in order with the i-gadget, it receives the proper marking - the coveted letters “PCT”, which indicate that the device is genuine and was imported into the country legally.

But! Unfortunately, RosTest does not guarantee 100% product quality. Because, of course, not the entire batch is subject to examination, but only a random sample, and each unit of goods in the batch receives the PCT mark.

Advantages of iPhone RosTest

It’s worth saying right away that the RosTest iPhone is structurally no different from any other smartphone that came off the conveyor belt of the Apple factory and went for sale in one country or another (there is a slight difference only in the configuration, it lies in the chargers designed for different types sockets). However, iPhone RosTest still has certain advantages.

Authenticity

As we said above, RosTest is a guarantee of the authenticity of the product, as well as the fact that the device was imported into the country legally. But if the latter provision is of little interest to the Russian consumer, what difference does it make how the phone is imported, if everything is in order with it; then the guarantee of authenticity should definitely be considered one of the advantages of RosTest iPhone, because i-techniques are counterfeited very often.

Support for working with any operator

Another advantage of RosTest iPhone is the guarantee that it is not locked to work with one operator. The fact is that in the USA and Europe, locked iPhones are a very common practice; they are sold together with a communication contract of a certain operator and are much cheaper than i-smartphones, which can work with any mobile company.

Buying locked iPhones cheaply in the USA, illegally importing them to Russia and selling them under the guise of Sim-Free, that is, working with any operator, is a very common type of fraud, which, of course, you want to protect yourself from.

Hassle-free warranty service

The following agreement exists between the owners of i-equipment and Apple - the user has the right to receive full warranty service in the country in which the device was purchased.

If your smartphone is certified by RosTest, this proves that it was purchased in the Russian Federation, and you have every right to receive free repairs in Russia, or easily replace the gadget with a new one if it has a manufacturing defect, for example.

However, if you bought a smartphone, say, in Europe (in which case it will have EuroTest certification), then Russian authorized Apple service centers have every right to refuse you free repairs.

You can find out your warranty rights on the Apple website by indicating the serial number of your device in the appropriate field (“Settings” / “General” / “About this device” / “Serial number”). Look, the first iPhone 5S was imported into Russia legally and can easily receive free repairs and service here.

The second device does not have a PCT sign, which means there may be problems when contacting a service center.

On the other hand, warranty service in Russia is one big dark forest. If you study user experience, you can find a bunch of cases where owners of equipment with a PCT badge sought legal free repairs after a bunch of examinations, and the user of an iPhone purchased in the States received full warranty service in Russia without any problems.

However, one way or another, iPhone RosTest has the LEGAL right to free warranty service, and in case of incorrect behavior of the staff of an authorized Apple service center, you can always “complain” to the company’s support service. You can reach Russian-speaking operators at 8-800-333-5173.

By the way! Important tip! Many users who needed repair of a non-PCT smartphone, if you were refused free repair under warranty, recommend contacting several service centers - one or two will refuse, and the third will agree.

Disadvantages of iPhone RosTest

Yes, the i-smartphone, officially certified in Russia, has disadvantages, or rather a disadvantage.

Price

The fact is that a PCT device will cost 3-7 thousand more than a smartphone without this abbreviation on the box. But you don’t need to think that this is a “cape” for the above advantages; it’s just that a legally imported device has completely different costs and taxes than a smartphone brought in “gray.”

Fake flaw

There is an opinion among Russian users that when producing iPhones for the USA and Europe, Apple uses higher quality materials and components than for Russian i-devices. However, this is, of course, a myth.

How to find out RosTest iPhone or not?

It is very easy to distinguish a RosTest smartphone from a EuroTest or any other smartphone.

First of all, we look at the box - on it you should find a PCT icon, as well as a model code - an inscription like MD242RR / A, two letters before the slash - this is the country code. The letters RR just mean that the model is intended for the Russian market. Also, Russian models may have codes - RU, RP, RS, RM.

It would be a good idea to check the model code in the smartphone itself, because the box is not difficult to fake. How to determine the model code through the iPhone menu? Go to “Settings”, then “Basic” / “About this device” and look for the line “Model”.

Let's summarize

So, our article “An iPhone with a growth sign - what is it?” has come to an end and it’s time to draw conclusions.

The first and main thing is that the PCT iPhone is structurally no different from any other i-smartphone manufactured at the Apple factory.

The second and no less important conclusion is that an iPhone certified in Russia has a number of significant advantages. When purchasing a RosTest iPhone, you can be sure that you are purchasing a genuine and not locked gadget, and in addition, this device has the full legal right to free warranty service in Russia.

Someone, of course, can say - if you carefully approach the purchase, you won’t run into a fake and locked device either, I’d rather save a few thousand and take a “gray” phone. Well, it's your choice, but remember - iPhones are not perfect, they break and are not protected from manufacturing defects. Do you need problems with warranty service that you “buy” along with an iPhone that is not certified in Russia?

Articles and Lifehacks

Surely many of us have come across such an abbreviation as PCT. So, what is Rostest for iPhone, and how does it differ from Eurotest? Let's try to figure this out.

What is this standard

• So what is PCT for iPhone and how does it differ from other standards? The PCT standard, or Rostest, means a voluntary system of testing and certification of products.
• The presence of such markings on our Apple device actually means that it was imported into Russia on completely legal grounds - that is, either by legal distributors or by the manufacturer itself.
• This also means that the mobile device is completely Russified and unlocked, and is covered by Apple's official warranty and support.

Are there any differences from a standard such as Eurotest, and if so, what are they?

Choosing between Rostest and Eurotest

• Mobile devices labeled Eurotest can actually be equated to “gray”. This does not mean that their quality is worse than those that have passed Rostest certification.
• However, such iPhones are initially intended specifically for the European market, and therefore there is a big risk of encountering a phone without a Russian interface and menu, as well as with a locked device.
• In addition, these smartphones will not be covered by official warranty service.
• As a rule, official centers and sales offices offer their clients devices with the PCT mark. Eurotest products can be purchased on the market and via the Internet, and they usually cost much less (the difference is 5,000 rubles or more).
• On the territory of the Russian Federation, both iPhones with PCT markings and SIM-Free can be found. There are also simply unlocked devices, but without Rostest certification. When purchasing, you should also carefully examine the device to ensure its authenticity.
• What is SIM-Free? As a rule, this refers to devices imported from other countries. They are not locked to a specific operator, and therefore we can install any SIM card.
• The Russian language is built in by default, and most often there are no problems with software updates.
• Unfortunately, such a smartphone does not come with a Russian-language instruction manual, but it is easy to find it today on the Internet - for example, on the official Apple website.
• Of course, the seller cannot guarantee the absence of manufacturing defects in this case, although he often diagnoses the devices at his own expense.

Let us add that there is always a risk when purchasing, regardless of whether we decide to purchase a Rostest iPhone with an official guarantee, or Eurotest.

In the second case, its repair will have to be carried out at your own expense. It is recommended to pay special attention to the packaging, since for both Rostest and SIM-Free devices it should not be opened, but covered with a thick film.

Greetings! Today there will be a short note on iPhone certification for various markets. Why short? Because the topic itself has already been chewed and chewed on the Internet, and I’m unlikely to tell you anything completely new here (but I’ll try :)).

Why then write the same thing over and over again? Questions just keep coming in in the comments to the articles:

1. Should I take Eurotest or Rostest?
2. What happens if you take a European's iPhone?
3. What is the difference?

Well, everything like that. Repeating the same thing over and over again is difficult, and not answering at all is wrong. That’s why this article was born, telling us what iPhone certification you might encounter when buying it in Russia and what exactly is the difference between them? Let's go!

So, the most common iPhones on our market are:

We will not consider American ones and “I don’t understand which ones” in detail. About American ones, everything is clear - they were produced for sale in America, they can be blocked for a certain operator, they are contract, until recently they were not covered by a guarantee in the Russian Federation (some models are still not subject to free repairs in Russia), etc.

And by incomprehensible iPhones, I mean approximately the following devices - you can read it here.

With Rostest (PCT), everything is basically clear - these are iPhones officially imported into Russia, with all the ensuing consequences: guarantee, certification, taxes and fees provided for by Russian legislation, recommended market price :)

Sometimes they are also called “whites”. Of course, not because of the color of the case - it is assumed that they have gone through all the necessary paper procedures, were imported in compliance with the law and are completely “white” before the law.

Important! Recently, instead of the letters PCT, on the iPhone box you can find other symbols - EAC. This is a mark of Eurasian conformity and certification of the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan). If you look at it from the consumer’s point of view, Rostest and EAC are absolutely similar certifications, so there is no need to worry about this. If it is marked EAC, it means the iPhone is official and “white”.

Such gadgets are sold from official dealers. When buying them, you can be sure that they will definitely support all the necessary frequencies, work with all Russian SIM cards, and so on.

For sellers in our stores, in most cases it is customary to call an iPhone with Eurotest certification any smartphone from Apple that is not Rostest. All that was brought in bypassing official supplies is the iPhone with Eurotest (“gray” devices). Sometimes American gadgets are also brought in here, but this is probably wrong.

They are transported for resale from European countries, which allows you to save on paying taxes, duties, certification, etc. As a result, all this has a positive effect on the final price of the device.

It is clear that Rostest seems to be a priori better; if you buy a “white” and certified device, you feel calm and confident. So why do some people prefer the Eurotest iPhone, is it better or worse?

To begin with, the most important thing to decide is this: these are absolutely the same iPhones as those sold in Russia. There is practically no difference! But in some cases there are still differences and they lie in the firmware - for some countries in the iPhone:

1. There is a limit on the maximum volume of music in headphones.
2. FaceTime won't work.
3. You cannot turn off the camera shutter sound.

All these restrictions depend on the legislation of the country in which it is intended for sale. In essence, there is nothing wrong, but if you buy an iPhone with European certification, you may encounter this.

It is also necessary to remember that in some countries the iPhone may be sold locked to a specific telecom operator - the gadget will only work with its SIM card. When buying in a store, you are unlikely to encounter this, but if you buy it from an ad, then anything can happen. By the way, the Rostest iPhone doesn’t have any of the above.

In addition, there are four more important differences between Rostest iPhone and Eurotest:

As they say, the choice is yours. Save money and lose something (in my opinion, the biggest omission is the warranty period). Or buy Rostest, but more expensive.

P.S. What do you think? What's better? Write in the comments!

P.S.S. It's good that we have a choice, right? “Like” for this! :)

Updated! Dear readers, please do not ask me to recommend any store to buy Eurotest iPhone. It's not that I'm so bad and I'm sorry. No. I just can’t be completely confident in any store - even in those where I have already purchased before. Don't get me wrong - I don't want the purchase on my advice to be unsuccessful and instead of joy to bring disappointment. Thank you.

Updated 2! The question is often asked in the comments: “Where to buy Eurotest and save money”? I answer. In fact, there are a huge number of shops. As I already wrote, it is not in my power to recommend any one of them. But I can suggest something else:

1. To save money and get some money back from your purchase (it should be enough for a protective glass or case), go to this site and register.
2. After registration, we look at stores and compare prices. We take it where it is cheaper and get part of the money spent back.

As a result: we bought an iPhone (there are really a lot of stores - you can find Rostest and Eurotest phones) and saved money. Beauty!

First, let's figure out what this certificate is and what the consequences of its absence are. The first and most important thing is that if a device does not have Rostest certification, this means

that it was issued for another country and imported into Russia illegally - in Russian, the device is gray. In the case of the iPhone, this threatens you with the fact that the smartphone may be blocked to a foreign operator and simply will not work. In the case of the iPad, everything is simpler - it simply cannot be blocked. However, there are also pitfalls here - gray devices are not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. That is, if a defect is discovered or a breakdown that constitutes a warranty case, your device will not even be accepted for diagnostics and the money will not be returned. So the Rostest certificate for iPad is important.

The difference in price between a device certified for sale in Russia and a gray device is approximately 4 thousand rubles - of course, it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth risking the warranty. However, it is not uncommon for a gray device to be sold at the price of a certified one. To expose such would-be sellers, we want to offer you instructions for determining whether the iPad you are buying has a Rostest certificate.

It is enough to pick up the box of the device and carefully examine it. Firstly, the box must contain information in Russian. Read it carefully - there should be no mistakes or clumsy phrases, the font in which the inscriptions are made should also be uniform - the size of the letters, the quality of the print. On the sticker on which the barcode is printed or above it on the box itself, only two letters must be indicated - RR. This is almost a 100% guarantee that you have in your hands a device released for Russia, i.e. iPad has a Rostest certificate.

The next point in determining the Rostest certificate of a device is to examine the internal contents of the box - the network adapter must be designed for Russian outlets. Also inside the box of an iPad certified for Russia you will find a warranty receipt from a Russian reseller. Apple also has a special network resource aimed at determining the country for which a specific device is released. But this method is most likely available after purchasing and activating the tablet.

Now to the question of the warranty, many assure that Apple service centers do not care in which country the device was purchased, you can contact any authorized center to receive warranty service. So, it is so, but in the warranty license agreement company, you will find that the warranty is only provided to the first purchaser of the device. But in the case of the gray device, this is not the case. First, someone bought an iPad in another country, then it was imported into Russia and sold to you. Naturally, there is no Rostest certificate for such an iPad.

When it comes to buying a new smartphone, the user can check the cost of the device in various stores, for example, using the Internet. And you will probably be very surprised by the price range. One of the reasons why a smartphone in one store costs much more than in another is the presence of a sign (the so-called Rostest). At the same time, less expensive devices are called Eurotest. What exactly is it and what is the difference between the devices?

What are Rostest and Eurotest?

• The presence of the PCT (Rostest) sign on a phone or other device indicates that it has passed Rostest quality certification, which is what the designation symbolizes. This means that the device was officially imported into the country directly by the manufacturer or supplier.

• Eurotest is the unspoken name for devices that meet European quality and safety standards. Sellers usually import such devices themselves.

What is the difference between Rostest and Eurotest?

No matter how strange it may sound, in most cases the user will not find any differences at all when purchasing a device. Why? For the simple reason that there are no obvious differences.

Okay, you say, but then why are PCT devices more expensive? The fact is that the device must undergo certification, and this, as you understand, costs money. Accordingly, part of the costs for this falls on the shoulders of buyers. In addition, in this case, the manufacturer provides its guarantee directly. In the case of Eurotest, the guarantee is given by the seller, and it is impossible to say which is better in this case.

It is noteworthy that PCT smartphones are not always more expensive than Eurotest, it is often the exact opposite - they are sold cheaper, since the manufacturer can afford to reduce the cost of its products, and sellers, whose main goal is to make a profit, cannot do this.

The Rostest device cannot be a fake, while smartphones purchased from an unknown store may be. There are indeed a lot of fakes on the market and the user cannot in all cases understand that it is a fake, especially since the latter have become very high quality.

In rare cases, there will be a difference between Rostest and Eurotest devices. For example, a fairly well-known manufacturer of mobile devices has left the Russian language in its devices only for those that are officially sold in our country. Other devices use only English and Chinese languages. Accordingly, if you buy such a smartphone in some online store, it will not have the Russian language. However, this case is a rare exception, not the rule. But be careful.

As for everyone's favorite iPhone, the only difference will be in the warranty. In addition, a “gray” iPhone may be locked to a specific operator and it is unlikely to be unlocked just like that.

Which is better - Rostest or Eurotest?

In most cases there is no difference, other than the type of warranty. So if this doesn’t bother you, and the difference in cost is noticeable for your budget, you can safely take the Eurotest device.

In some cases, for example, when only the official version of the smartphone supports the Russian language, it is worth giving preference to the PCT sign. But this is an exception to the rule.