I want to buy a galaxy note 5 from Amazon while I'm in America and use it in a different country where I live.
The device I am considering is the sm-n920a. I've checked the cellular bands and they Mach.
I'm have a few questions since it is not the international version or the sm-n920c that is sold in my country.
1. I heard people saying that it won't fully support my language since it is an att phone. It seemed odd to me because I thought that if the international version supports the language any module should.
2. Will there be a problem with OTA updates?
3. At the price point of 360$, is the note 5 really the best phone to buy?
Thanks
chaimgross said:
I want to buy a galaxy note 5 from Amazon while I'm in America and use it in a different country where I live.
The device I am considering is the sm-n920a. I've checked the cellular bands and they Mach.
I'm have a few questions since it is not the international version or the sm-n920c that is sold in my country.
1. I heard people saying that it won't fully support my language since it is an att phone. It seemed odd to me because I thought that if the international version supports the language any module should.
2. Will there be a problem with OTA updates?
3. At the price point of 360$, is the note 5 really the best phone to buy?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an unlocked AT&T Note 5 and an international one, both work perfectly even though I live outside America. And about updates I am not sure but you can always search for custom roms with the latest features for the device on the forum. And overall the n5 is a great phone in my opinion, has everything you need in a phone and more.
After a few years with my Samsung Galaxy Note Edge (AT&T) [SM-N915A], which wasn't bad until the last 6 months and then the inability to root it made it worse, I want to make my next upgrade worth it. I'm waiting for the 500 Gb version, and I want to be able to root it.
Of course, my eyes are on the Note 9, but which version should I buy?
International (SM-N960F)
International (SM-N960F/DS)
Unlocked
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
U. S. Celular
Verizon
https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/reserve/
jorgepr13 said:
After a few years with my Samsung Galaxy Note Edge (AT&T) [SM-N915A], which wasn't bad until the last 6 months and then the inability to root it made it worse, I want to make my next upgrade worth it. I'm waiting for the 500 Gb version, and I want to be able to root it.
Of course, my eyes are on the Note 9, but which version should I buy?
International (SM-N960F)
International (SM-N960F/DS)
Unlocked
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
U. S. Celular
Verizon
https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/reserve/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
International because it gets updates faster
And it has more development support (custom roms, kernels, etc)
Also ive been in this situation with the at&t note 4 ?
Looks like at&t doesnt want us to root our devices
So dont get at&t
jorgepr13 said:
After a few years with my Samsung Galaxy Note Edge (AT&T) [SM-N915A], which wasn't bad until the last 6 months and then the inability to root it made it worse, I want to make my next upgrade worth it. I'm waiting for the 500 Gb version, and I want to be able to root it.
Of course, my eyes are on the Note 9, but which version should I buy?
International (SM-N960F)
International (SM-N960F/DS)
Unlocked
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
U. S. Celular
Verizon
https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/reserve/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply put, If root is what you seek on Samsung devices these days, Don't get any of the U.S. carrier editions of the phone.
All of the U.S. Samsung devices ship with Snapdragons and Samsung has ultimately decided to lock all bootloaders on them as well, That's not to say that a Dev won't attempt to work on atleast a root method for Snapdragon devices but with a locked bootloader you won't be able to do much.
Samsung's also implemented a rather interesting tactic to deter rooting on Snapdragon devices, When they're rooted, The device will no longer be able to charge to 100% and instead will default to 80% only.
This can be demonstrated on the S8 and the Note 8.
The S9 Snapdragon U.S. variants still don't have root to this day, When and if it ever does, that same method may be usable to figure out the Note 9 as well, But don't get your Hope's up.
Now for the international and Unlocked devices they ship with an Exynos and subsequently unlocked bootloaders which allows for the creation of Mods, Roms, And the various other things most people root for nowadays.
All in all, You want an Exynos equipped Note 9, Hope this is useful for you.
Thanks,
Almost right after the the post I came upon this article
https://highonandroid.com/android-deals/best-deals-on-galaxy-note-9-new-galaxy-phones/
it goes a bit more in depth, covering GSM vs CDMA, when and where to buy it.
It seems that the Latin America Galaxy S9 and S9+ (SM-G9650) both had Snapdragon processors with an unlockable bootloader. You could then Odin firmware on them to be able to use them on Verizon, At&t, and T-mobile. I hope they will release a Snapdragon model of the Note 9 as well in Latin America! I need an unlocked bootloader on Verizon for sure.
Critical Detox said:
Simply put, If root is what you seek on Samsung devices these days, Don't get any of the U.S. carrier editions of the phone.
All of the U.S. Samsung devices ship with Snapdragons and Samsung has ultimately decided to lock all bootloaders on them as well, That's not to say that a Dev won't attempt to work on atleast a root method for Snapdragon devices but with a locked bootloader you won't be able to do much.
Samsung's also implemented a rather interesting tactic to deter rooting on Snapdragon devices, When they're rooted, The device will no longer be able to charge to 100% and instead will default to 80% only.
This can be demonstrated on the S8 and the Note 8.
The S9 Snapdragon U.S. variants still don't have root to this day, When and if it ever does, that same method may be usable to figure out the Note 9 as well, But don't get your Hope's up.
Now for the international and Unlocked devices they ship with an Exynos and subsequently unlocked bootloaders which allows for the creation of Mods, Roms, And the various other things most people root for nowadays.
All in all, You want an Exynos equipped Note 9, Hope this is useful for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesnt matter anymore which type of note 9 you get, because there is gonna be root protection where imei and network flies if you root, like the a8 on oreo
And also i agree with you, US carriers (especially at&t) prevent root all the way up to the fact that you cant root at all (the at&t note4 has no root but all the other note 4's have root)
will an international work on USA carriers?
oneandroidnut said:
will an international work on USA carriers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, if its unlocked, if you lived in canada, it wont matter if its unlocked or not because you can unlock for free in canada
SaboorTheCool said:
Yep, if its unlocked, if you lived in canada, it wont matter if its unlocked or not because you can unlock for free in canada
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm wonder if it will work on verizon
oneandroidnut said:
hmm wonder if it will work on verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And i wonder which infinity wallpaper will be featured on the note 9
I'm interested in the unlocked version instead of the T-Mobile, but I've read that the bands are not the same and wifi calling doesn't work. I'm over flashing ROM's, so that isn't an option for me. I'll probably get the carrier branded one to make sure I get the 600 band and wifi calling.
Semantics said:
I'm interested in the unlocked version instead of the T-Mobile, but I've read that the bands are not the same and wifi calling doesn't work. I'm over flashing ROM's, so that isn't an option for me. I'll probably get the carrier branded one to make sure I get the 600 band and wifi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can though unlock the phone by visiting canada ? because you can unlock phones here in canada for free
SaboorTheCool said:
You can though unlock the phone by visiting canada because you can unlock phones here in canada for free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can unlock the phone here for free. Why go to Canada? I buy my phones for cash. I'm not stuck with a locked phone. The only reason I would go with the non-branded unlocked phone is the lack of bloatware.
Semantics said:
I can unlock the phone here for free. Why go to Canada? I buy my phones for cash. I'm not stuck with a locked phone. The only reason I would go with the non-branded unlocked phone is the lack of bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash CSC from the non-carrier version
oneandroidnut said:
hmm wonder if it will work on verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely not
sent from my Exynos S9 plus, Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
force70 said:
Absolutely not
sent from my Exynos S9 plus, Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the old gUDP plan so I need a phone that does NOT check for hotspot eligibility. I understand the unlocked Note 8 did NOT check, so it's likely the unlocked Note 9 would be okay as well. So I'm definitely stuck with the US unlocked version, right?
Geez, I kind of hate both Verizon and Samsung, but I want to stay on gUDP and want a good phone that will work for me out of the box.
geoclooney said:
I have the old gUDP plan so I need a phone that does NOT check for hotspot eligibility. I understand the unlocked Note 8 did NOT check, so it's likely the unlocked Note 9 would be okay as well. So I'm definitely stuck with the US unlocked version, right?
Geez, I kind of hate both Verizon and Samsung, but I want to stay on gUDP and want a good phone that will work for me out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have gUDP plan on verizon and wondering same thing, do i get verizon note or unlocked??
oneandroidnut said:
I also have gUDP plan on verizon and wondering same thing, do i get verizon note or unlocked??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding:
Verizon model WILL check for hotspot eligibility and thus won't work for us.
International unlocked models will not work on Verizon's network.
Therefore, we're stuck with the US Unlocked model. It has a locked bootloader, and thus may never be rootable, but will work with Verizon and NOT check hotspot eligibility.
To be clear, at this point I just think it's very likely the US Unlocked model will NOT check hotspot eligibility. I will probably wait to confirm that before I pull the trigger.
geoclooney said:
My understanding:
Verizon model WILL check for hotspot eligibility and thus won't work for us.
International unlocked models will not work on Verizon's network.
Therefore, we're stuck with the US Unlocked model. It has a locked bootloader, and thus may never be rootable, but will work with Verizon and NOT check hotspot eligibility.
To be clear, at this point I just think it's very likely the US Unlocked model will NOT check hotspot eligibility. I will probably wait to confirm that before I pull the trigger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So unlocked model it is? And also does the 512 gb version come with 8 gb of ram in USA?
oneandroidnut said:
So unlocked model it is? And also does the 512 gb version come with 8 gb of ram in USA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
I'm considering buying a Note 9. I usually buy a year old model of a flagship phone when the prices come down. I see lots of Note 9 phones on amazon for reduced prices. It appears there are several different models and the descriptions from the sellers are usually not clear.
I saw another thread that said all the US versions were the same hardware. Can I buy an unlocked Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile phone and use it on any carrier? I will mostly be using AT&T and T-Mobile for now.
How could I tell if a phone is the US non-carrier branded model?
Can I flash a more universal ROM to a carrier branded phone and get rid of the carrier bloatware? Will the universal ROM still pass MDM security checks so I can use it with my company's MDM (Intune)?
DonS said:
I'm considering buying a Note 9. I usually buy a year old model of a flagship phone when the prices come down. I see lots of Note 9 phones on amazon for reduced prices. It appears there are several different models and the descriptions from the sellers are usually not clear.
I saw another thread that said all the US versions were the same hardware. Can I buy an unlocked Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile phone and use it on any carrier? I will mostly be using AT&T and T-Mobile for now.
How could I tell if a phone is the US non-carrier branded model?
Can I flash a more universal ROM to a carrier branded phone and get rid of the carrier bloatware? Will the universal ROM still pass MDM security checks so I can use it with my company's MDM (Intune)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy the USA unlocked model U1. You can then flash the USA T Mobile or AT&T rooms should you wish.
However, I also read that AT&T doesnt allow full network speeds for non AT&T devices. Maybe someone with an unlocked U1 on AT&T can chime in.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk
I have been running unlocked bought directly from Samsung phones since the note7 and I use them on AT&T. I am in Wyoming, and have noticed no loss of speed. I have Verizon for work phone and my unlocked phones is always faster in speed tests . Not very scientific buy my experience.
Sent from my Samsung SM-N960U1 using XDA Labs