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[Q] Galaxy Note from China, can I buy it ?????

Hello every one
I am a french citizen living in China for one year
I am dreaming to buy a Galaxy Note, but I can buy it only in China, is someone can tell me if it will work properly when I will come back to France ?
If not is there a possibility to change the system at this moment?
Sorry but I am a novice in this matter
Thank you in advance for your help

Yes as long as you buy the GSM version. Not sure if there is some CDMA weird version for the Chinese market.

Agreed, look for the GSM bandwidths, I think the EU's on 900 and 1800.

Jacques Deliessche said:
Hello every one
I am a french citizen living in China for one year
I am dreaming to buy a Galaxy Note, but I can buy it only in China, is someone can tell me if it will work properly when I will come back to France ?
If not is there a possibility to change the system at this moment?
Sorry but I am a novice in this matter
Thank you in advance for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is only one variant of the galaxy note in the present market.
So go to store and buy it
It has this bands:
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900
UMTS850, UMTS900, UMTS1900, UMTS2100

Thank you very much
Thank you very much for your help
I have very much appreciated it
Thanks again

Thank you very much for your help. i have a similar question

where are you folks planning to buy?
hey, I'm an American in Shanghai - I've been planning on buying one as well, but it seems the only choices are
a) buy a "brand-new" model, grey-market European version, 50% chance it's a refurb, but can offer local store warranty for ~3280rmb ($520 USD), or
b) buy an official, brand-new one for 4100rmb ($650 USD)
I almost pulled the trigger on the grey-market one, but it just kills me to know that I can get a brand-new NON-refurb for $500 USD through Newegg in the US... arrgh.

segascott said:
hey, I'm an American in Shanghai - I've been planning on buying one as well, but it seems the only choices are
a) buy a "brand-new" model, grey-market European version, 50% chance it's a refurb, but can offer local store warranty for ~3280rmb ($520 USD), or
b) buy an official, brand-new one for 4100rmb ($650 USD)
I almost pulled the trigger on the grey-market one, but it just kills me to know that I can get a brand-new NON-refurb for $500 USD through Newegg in the US... arrgh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine on taobao from Shenzhen, 1 day shipping. I think that is safer than buyer from a store in shanghai, as the taobao sellers are selling loads of these phones.
Mine had been opened and made chinese even it is a european version. they changed some settings so you'll default to chinese language after a wipe/upgrade, and the samsung keyboard didn't work when I first good it. But after reinstalling european firmware everything is good.
I would stay away from official version because of price and I'm also not sure if all google services work on those.

Moved To Q&A​
Please post all questions in the Q&A section​

Be careful - there are now clones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzbe9Hv1py0

yeah - the quote I had for ~3300 was from a taobao seller with a brick 'n mortar store. At least there's somewhere to go if the thing is borked. The "warranty" is through the store and not samsung, but at least they know where (taobao!) to source screens/mobo and claim to give 2 years replacement service should anything go wrong. still might pull the trigger on it... unless one of my friends goes back to the states in the next couple of weeks.
Did your seller offer any kind of warranty?
nick5000 said:
I bought mine on taobao from Shenzhen, 1 day shipping. I think that is safer than buyer from a store in shanghai, as the taobao sellers are selling loads of these phones.
Mine had been opened and made chinese even it is a european version. they changed some settings so you'll default to chinese language after a wipe/upgrade, and the samsung keyboard didn't work when I first good it. But after reinstalling european firmware everything is good.
I would stay away from official version because of price and I'm also not sure if all google services work on those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Downside of importing?

Hi guys!
I'm planning to buy a HTC one in the near future, but I have some questions about bying it.
- Should I import a device to cut the price?
In Belgium, the phone costs 699 euros (= 917 dollar), but in America the phone costs 699 dollar (= 533 euros).
--> http://catalogue.proximus.be/PUB/gs...&contentpath=18a6cf96bd1acba60000013d42e53d96
--> http://www.amazon.com/HTC-One-Facto...e=UTF8&qid=1370519371&sr=8-3&keywords=htc+one
- What issues could I face if I bought an HTC one from Amazon?
It's more than 150 euros cheaper for the phone (international version).
And normally, this would work in Belgium, right?
So guys, let me hear your opinions.
Importing, yes or no, and why?
Thanks!
Matt

No LTE, warranty will cost you (maybe 30euros per issue,) and only be 1 year not 2, import duty...

Why don't I have LTE?
If I insert a SIM from a local provider, it should work.
Or not?

Depends on what frequencies your local telcos use for LTE.
From this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks#Europe I see Belgium uses the 1800MHz bands so the international one supports it. However, a UK set supports the 800MHz as well, and 2100MHz is supported by both EU and International units.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2223236

MattProductions said:
Why don't I have LTE?
If I insert a SIM from a local provider, it should work.
Or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, a US version won't work, but obviously the international one will.

BenPope said:
Oh, a US version won't work, but obviously the international one will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the only thing is warranty and maybe some import duty.
I think I can live with that.
For the American peeps:
Is there another online store I could buy an international version from?
Maybe cheaper then the Amazon one?

If you're picking up the Euro model, then warranty should be fine...

BenPope said:
If you're picking up the Euro model, then warranty should be fine...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Euro model?
You mean the interntional version?

Have you checked if there are any fees in belgium?
In Germany, we have to pay 19% import sales tax (which is equal to our VAT) plus customs fees.
For me that would make at least 640 euros for that device.
The german amazon website shows both, white and black, for 599€
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00BFUS8C6?t=bfde-21
This could be cheaper for you

sicorax said:
Have you checked if there are any fees in belgium?
In Germany, we have to pay 19% import sales tax (which is equal to our VAT) plus customs fees.
For me that would make at least 640 euros for that device.
The german amazon website shows both, white and black, for 599€
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00BFUS8C6?t=bfde-21
This could be cheaper for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you mean I would have to pay taxes and fees when importing from America.
But when i'm importing from Germany, no taxes (but some fees) have to be paid.
Interesting...

I'd be surprised if they do any warranty work. This is from experience. I bought a galaxy nexus my first, from Singapore. After a week it stopped connecting to mobile data. No one would touch it. Samsung here or there. And too boot the seller offered a warranty that they would honor. It cost me an extra $126 too ship it back only to have them give me the run around for 4 months. Then one day it magically appeared still broken. It is the most expensive battery charger I have ever owned .
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

MattProductions said:
The Euro model?
You mean the interntional version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I can't be sure what is meant by "international". If it's from Europe, you'll get warranty in Europe.

MattProductions said:
So you mean I would have to pay taxes and fees when importing from America.
But when i'm importing from Germany, no taxes (but some fees) have to be paid.
Interesting...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I assume, the european countries handle non-EU imports similar, so there will be additional taxes and fees buying outside the EU.
Within the european union (no matter if you buy in Britain, Sweden, Germany or Poland) there will be no additional taxes, and there shouldn't be any fees for that, just like you buy your device in Belgium.
And warranty issues will be easier to handle. When I remember right, I had to send my HD2 for display repair to a company based in the Netherlands.
Buying in the EU has some big advantages

sicorax said:
Exactly. I assume, the european countries handle non-EU imports similar, so there will be additional taxes and fees buying outside the EU.
Within the european union (no matter if you buy in Britain, Sweden, Germany or Poland) there will be no additional taxes, and there shouldn't be any fees for that, just like you buy your device in Belgium.
And warranty issues will be easier to handle. When I remember right, I had to send my HD2 for display repair to a company based in the Netherlands.
Buying in the EU has some big advantages
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I should go for the german one, because of the advantages?

Hi, I've done it a lot. Just few advices:
1/ pay attention to tax. As soon as it comes from outside EU, you can pay taxes.
But it's not only TVA (sorry, I'm FR) but you have to add additional taxes (custom tax, import tax...). For FR is close to 25-30% of purchase price (own experience ...).
2/ all the taxes are not based on the invoice or the price you declare. It's based on a "Custom" price fixed for your country.
3/ depending on the carrier, you have more or less chances to pay the taxes.
DHL, UPS... 100% chances to pay. It's a service they charge!
From US I was using USPS (US postal services), most of the time you don't pay. It's as fast (letters do not take boat anymore).
4/ Warranty is working by region. The serial nb of the phone gives the country of sales.
You buy in US => warranty is in US. So you can send it back, take a plane. All this is expensive.
Take into account that you can't complain so much, the seller knows it.
5/ The deal is made under seller's country's laws. And you don't know them... US can be ok, asia is different.
If you don't speak the local language, complain is also very difficult.
6/ You can have surpises with the product... the Chinese HTC One has no google apps... depending of the country you import from you will lose LTE (some care) but also 3G (a lot care). For ex, in china we have 3 providers, only one is EU compatible. For US it's the same, you may lose 4G and 3G.
Of course, taking into account all of this, if the price difference is big enough, go import.
For such a phone, just losing the warranty we have in EU worth some bucks/euros...
I'm in asia now... we have very good warranty and laws in EU!
I advise you to search internet for a good price in EU. If you still want to import, I can send you one from China... with a SD slot
I think for small amounts (< few thousands), if it's not 30-50% cheaper, do not import. Or, you have to buy bellow taxe exemption price (depend of each country, few hundred euros).

Nexus 5 - Hong Kong

For anyone who cares the Nexus 5 is officially out in Hong Kong. Its being sold by LG, rather than Google. Price is around HK$3,800 - 3,900 depending on where you buy it. Big name retailers such as Broadway are selling it. Only the 16GB model is presently available.

browngeek said:
For anyone who cares the Nexus 5 is officially out in Hong Kong. Its being sold by LG, rather than Google. Price is around HK$3,800 - 3,900 depending on where you buy it. Big name retailers such as Broadway are selling it. Only the 16GB model is presently available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HK3800 = USD490.. what a ripoff.

tangosierra_ said:
HK3800 = USD490.. what a ripoff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, but that's the rrp. Same price as in UK or thereabouts.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

2 expensivessss

Why is it HK always gets the low storage. First note 3, now this! Infuriating!!

Nice! I'm in Hong Kong right now, considering this (my Google Play order wont ship until November 8). Do you know if the International version will work on US networks and LTE bands, specifically T-Mobile?

l000needles said:
Nice! I'm in Hong Kong right now, considering this (my Google Play order wont ship until November 8). Do you know if the International version will work on US networks and LTE bands, specifically T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am very sure hk lte band is different from USA. So no it don't work

l000needles said:
Nice! I'm in Hong Kong right now, considering this (my Google Play order wont ship until November 8). Do you know if the International version will work on US networks and LTE bands, specifically T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. LTE wont work in North Americia. But 3G will work of course.

Damn. I had a feeling LTE wouldn't but was holding out hope. Oh well, guess I'll have to play the patience game some more..

Hond Kong LTE use band 3, and the US version of Nexus does not support that.
But does anyone know on the UMTS 2100, is HSPA supported by the NEXUS 5?

wonder when nexus 5 32 gb will release in hong kong.. right now for that price its still a steal!

heard from wilson guy that around nov 20 there will be google play order available in hk, with price around HKD3200..
dont yell at me how ridiculous this may be.. im just repeating their words..
is this really possible (that google play order is coming to hk)?

iamelton said:
heard from wilson guy that around nov 20 there will be google play order available in hk, with price around HKD3200..
dont yell at me how ridiculous this may be.. im just repeating their words..
is this really possible (that google play order is coming to hk)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HK Google Play store would be a very welcome development.
I think I am probably going to wait it out for around a month or two and hopefully the N5 price is drop a bit or at least a 32GB model will make its way to HK, otherwise seems the Oz store has the best value at the moment.

Fortress
Dear All,
I was at Fortress MK (MK New Century Mall) and they are selling it for $3,880.00. The guy says ONLY 16GB and I asked about 32GB and he said no. I don't believe him since he had to check 5 minutes to give me a price on the N5. Late Nov. HK PlayStore have it? I highly doubt it. I'm waiting till close to Christmas to buy it as the price will go down and retailers will have discounts.

if u go to "smaller" shops in mongkok/wanchai etc. the price is now in the range of 3700+..

Make sure..
iamelton said:
if u go to "smaller" shops in mongkok/wanchai etc. the price is now in the range of 3700+..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, parallel import will be cheaper in price but watch for what you get. Remember, US version (D820) won't work in HK for LTE. We have (D821) which is international version to work for Asia. I would stay with Fortress, Broadway etc. to be safe.

fcng said:
Yes, parallel import will be cheaper in price but watch for what you get. Remember, US version (D820) won't work in HK for LTE. We have (D821) which is international version to work for Asia. I would stay with Fortress, Broadway etc. to be safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as the smaller shop confirms its HK stock and you can get local warranty through LG I don't see an issue buying through them.
Remember the D821 is also being sold in Australia where the price is actually quite comparable to the North American prices. But you won't get local LG warranty if you get that.

Was at Broadway Shatin on Friday, asked if 32gb was available, sales said usually Hong Kong only get one version.
Agreed that it is expensive to buy from them, if really available through Play Store at end of November then Ill be one of the first to buy from there!

Was just in WCC.
Asked two shops for price, one said HK$4.2k the other said HK$3.9k!!!!! Local stock.
Wasn't going to buy and was in a bit of a hurry so didn't ask around too many places or try and negotiate for price.

duplicate post

Does region really matter?

I brought a Galaxy watch 3 on Amazon listed in the title as (UK version) yet when I got it and started set up the language was fine but regions were only Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Czech Rep, Slovakia and a few others, yet no UK....
I figure the reason a manufacturer uses regions is because some content may or may not be available in some regions?
I called Amazon and they offered a refund only, no replacement and the biggest kick in the teeth loss of any prime day discount, they stated they could not replace as its a third part seller. He claims the region does not matter, so I came here to try to find out if it does and why?
Thanks for helping me to decide whether to send it back or not. I paid £369.99 for the 45mm

Change the region. There are some guides on youtube how to change the region csc.

Question Will a Galaxy Watch 5 bought in Spain work in the UK?

Good afternoon,
I appreciate the watch itself will work, but I am wondering about things like Google Pay/Samsung Pay. A few years ago I bought a galaxy watch 3 (pro maybe?) from Amazon which happened to be from UAE, so I couldn't set Samsung Pay up (google pay wasn't available back then).
Thanks!

Hey Carlos,
I can't say for sure that this will work well, Samsung usually makes different kinds of software for different regions which can cause issues like your UAE watch had. I've had a friend who ordered one from Germany and all the Google Pay / Samsung Pay things worked normally. Keep in mind you'll pay an import duty on it.
The only thing that immediately comes to mind is that you will likely not be able to fall back on your warranty in case any issues arise. Also your charger will have an EU plug. I normally get my smartwatch accessories at Smartwatch-Straps.co.uk but they don't seem to have any chargers in stock, sadly.
Kind regards,
David

Good morning,
I bought via Rakuten (marketplace) a Galaxy Watch 5 4G in Spain and I live in France. On reception, I have Eastern European countries but not France. Will I have limitations? Why does this watch, in the EUR/UK version, offer eastern countries but not all western European countries? Is it possible to replace the firmware for a compatible one in France?
Regards,
Romain

Romano_the_One said:
Good morning,
I bought via Rakuten (marketplace) a Galaxy Watch 5 4G in Spain and I live in France. On reception, I have Eastern European countries but not France. Will I have limitations? Why does this watch, in the EUR/UK version, offer eastern countries but not all western European countries? Is it possible to replace the firmware for a compatible one in France?
Regards,
Romain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Romain, you can change your region perhaps. This is a one-time process though, and you can't revert it. You must first find the EMEI of your watch. this should be in your settings somewhere.
To start the progress:
Open your watch dial pad and enter: " #272*EMEI# " of course use your own EMEI here.
Next you should be able to select your region code. For france this should be XEF.
Hope this helped. Let me know!
Kind regards