I saw a surprising note on clove.co.uk I think it was, they said all Samsungs shipped after 2013 are region locked. This was a note on the bottom of the page for a Tab S2 LTE. They went as far to say they were no longer selling sealed boxes because they are region unlocking all devices before selling to international buyers.
Can anyone confirm/deny there's a region lock on Samsung's 4G/LTE tablets? Thanks.
midnightrider said:
I saw a surprising note on clove.co.uk I think it was, they said all Samsungs shipped after 2013 are region locked. This was a note on the bottom of the page for a Tab S2 LTE. They went as far to say they were no longer selling sealed boxes because they are region unlocking all devices before selling to international buyers.
Can anyone confirm/deny there's a region lock on Samsung's 4G/LTE tablets? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think that's true. My Tab S LTE is international unlocked made in mid 2014 and sealed.
Tab A 9.7 lte I bought last year same thing.
Thanks. I didn't buy from them after I read that, I bought from another place to make sure I didn't get an open box item for the prices everybody is charging. It has not been shipped yet although it was supposed to go out Friday. I guess I will use it on wifi just to be safe until I get to the region where I bought it. Heading there for work anyway. BTW I didn't mean carrier unlocked, I meant region unlocked. Not sure if that came through ok.
midnightrider said:
Thanks. I didn't buy from them after I read that, I bought from another place to make sure I didn't get an open box item for the prices everybody is charging. It has not been shipped yet although it was supposed to go out Friday. I guess I will use it on wifi just to be safe until I get to the region where I bought it. Heading there for work anyway. BTW I didn't mean carrier unlocked, I meant region unlocked. Not sure if that came through ok.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my 715Y from Amazon in USA.
It is unlocked but I still haven't gotten MM and it is out for 715Y for more than a week.
However my local SIM card works fine.
There was a time when you had to activate the SIM in the country you bought it from (mine is built in Vietnam, impossible for me) and then it was OK anywhere.
None of that merry go round with the 715Y.
Shofar1 said:
I bought my 715Y from Amazon in USA.
It is unlocked but I still haven't gotten MM and it is out for 715Y for more than a week.
However my local SIM card works fine.
There was a time when you had to activate the SIM in the country you bought it from (mine is built in Vietnam, impossible for me) and then it was OK anywhere.
None of that merry go round with the 715Y.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much all of them are built in Vietnam.
In the end I couldn't find anyone to ship me an LTE model so I got the wifi only model which kinda sucks but is ok for now. I couldn't get the Exynos version either, the stores that would ship here only had the new one. I got a T819 with the Qualcom. I'll try to pick up an LTE version when I go to Europe for work later. Thanks guys.
ashyx said:
Pretty much all of them are built in Vietnam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it even says "designed and built in Vietnam" Kinda interesting, I had no idea Vietnam was a high tech center or that Samsung had a facility there.
Samsung UK support says LTE tablets are definitely region locked. I don't know if I believe them since they were trying to push me to buy a tablet in my country- which has no Samsung store, and no Samsung presence except for a company that is the "official importer" that has nothing in stock and doesn't import the tab s2 in lte anyway. I call B.S. and I would bet money the tablets aren't region locked like you guys seem to be saying. But I can't prove it until I see an LTE tab box with the region lock warning.
My S2 bought in Hungary died the day after i took it to the usa and put in a local sim. Specially the imei and the baseband went null. Hungary tech support says it's due to the out of region sim. Believe it or not.
The whole thing is kinda stupid. It seems to make some sick kind of sense with phones from a corporate strong-arming the customer point of view. On the phones they say you have to make an actual 5 minute voice call to unlock, they specifically say using data won't work. The whole point of an LTE tablet is not to make calls, although you can. It's supposed to keep you connected when you're away from wifi. So what are people supposed to do? Hold up a ten inch brick to their heads and make a 5 minute call to region unlock it?
The phones that are region locked are supposed to come with a warning sticker on the box. Unless your tablet packaging specifically warns of the region lock I call B.S. on Samsung support on this topic. Otherwise they've been reasonably helpful.
Related
Just a word of warning for potential buyers that the region locking on the Samsung galaxy S5 is different to that on my Note 3. My note 3 is unlocked and can use different sims and software update without issues.
But had a Samsung Galaxy S5 for more than a week, got it before UK official launch as it was a Korean model 32GB LTE snapdragon version, it was unlocked and was able to use several different sims from various UK networks but couldnt software update as phone would keep asking for SKT (south korea telecom) sim for software update even though would work with other UK sims for calls data and text for more than a week of me using phone. worked fine for streaming thousands of songs via google music and deezer and calls and texts but no luck with software update. see alert shown by phone on attempting to do software update https://plus.google.com/108877366358490804054/posts/X38mPrxYHmf
wireless charging worked fine though with Qi insert as shown on my youtueb uploads for the S5 which can be seen from my tagline below
Just a heads up to people wanting to import a Samsung galaxy S5 from abroad that their region locking is getting worse with every new phone.
Dont have the S5 anymore and wont be buying a samsung phone again..... due to region locking blocking features... like fingerprint scanner use in ebay app in the UK even though unlocked phone and also samsung has blocked use of triple sim adapters as it has blocked the loading of sim app need for triple sim adapters to work. The same adapters work fine on my s4 and note 3. The adapter was inserted correctly as my main sim works through the adapter but cant access the extra sims as samsung has blocked the sim app from launching on the S5 but works fine on S4 and note 3 and other phones.
Not sure about internationally, however North America region lock seems to be disabled if you first activate with the carrier that the phone was built for and then unlock. If you just buy a phone from a carrier that has it region locked and you never activate it with them, you will have issues.
bubblesmoney said:
Just a word of warning for potential buyers that the region locking on the Samsung galaxy S5 is different to that on my Note 3. My note 3 is unlocked and can use different sims and software update without issues.
But had a Samsung Galaxy S5 for more than a week, got it before UK official launch as it was a Korean model 32GB LTE snapdragon version, it was unlocked and was able to use several different sims from various UK networks but couldnt software update as phone would keep asking for SKT (south korea telecom) sim for software update even though would work with other UK sims for calls data and text for more than a week of me using phone. worked fine for streaming thousands of songs via google music and deezer and calls and texts but no luck with software update. see alert shown by phone on attempting to do software update https://plus.google.com/108877366358490804054/posts/X38mPrxYHmf
wireless charging worked fine though with Qi insert as shown on my youtueb uploads for the S5 which can be seen from my tagline below
Just a heads up to people wanting to import a Samsung galaxy S5 from abroad that their region locking is getting worse with every new phone.
Dont have the S5 anymore and wont be buying a samsung phone again..... due to region locking blocking features... like fingerprint scanner use in ebay app in the UK even though unlocked phone and also samsung has blocked use of triple sim adapters as it has blocked the loading of sim app need for triple sim adapters to work. The same adapters work fine on my s4 and note 3. The adapter was inserted correctly as my main sim works through the adapter but cant access the extra sims as samsung has blocked the sim app from launching on the S5 but works fine on S4 and note 3 and other phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
risestar2 said:
Not sure about internationally, however North America region lock seems to be disabled if you first activate with the carrier that the phone was built for and then unlock. If you just buy a phone from a carrier that has it region locked and you never activate it with them, you will have issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have any way to unlock it with no issue in the future?
risestar2 said:
Not sure about internationally, however North America region lock seems to be disabled if you first activate with the carrier that the phone was built for and then unlock. If you just buy a phone from a carrier that has it region locked and you never activate it with them, you will have issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is already unlocked as I used different UK sims For more than a week. The region locking only becomes apparent when trying to software update the phone. The phone was on Kitkat but there was an update available but couldn't update due to the issue mentioned.
If it is the international model (G900F) just flash it with the stock UK S5 rom.
electric0ant said:
If it is the international model (G900F) just flash it with the stock UK S5 rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if it's possible to root and flash something else without having removed the region lock?
Dont have the phone anymore with me and think the person having it now is flashing cyanogen mod rom for this phone.
Dont think will be getting a samsung phone again as tired of the pr1ck5 at samsung p1ssing off paying customers with some locking cr4p or the other. Presently still have 3 other samsung phones (S4 note 3 and note 1) and many of my playlists on youtube have loads of samsung phone related. But really fed up with samsungs locking idiocy and will look to sony or LG from now on.
electric0ant said:
If it is the international model (G900F) just flash it with the stock UK S5 rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think the SK Telecom model is the same as the G900F.
I think Korea uses some different network brands.
---------- Post added at 09:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 AM ----------
bubblesmoney said:
Dont have the phone anymore with me and think the person having it now is flashing cyanogen mod rom for this phone.
Dont think will be getting a samsung phone again as tired of the pr1ck5 at samsung p1ssing off paying customers with some locking cr4p or the other. Presently still have 3 other samsung phones (S4 note 3 and note 1) and many of my playlists on youtube have loads of samsung phone related. But really fed up with samsungs locking idiocy and will look to sony or LG from now on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't look at Sony.
You will receive software updates like 7 months after the release of that android version.
My Xperia Z still doesn't have kitkat.
Region lock on the 900A
I am looking to buy the galaxy s5 for use in several Sub-saharan African countries. I already have an old ATT sim with me and I will probably be ordering the 900A in/from the US and i want to make sure that the region-lock is not an issue. Will i be able to region unlock with an ATT sim card while in Africa or do i need to have someone make the 5min call for me while the phone is in the US? and is this call meant to be to or from the s5?
Thanks!
No one likes self serving restrictions by manufacturers or carriers. But Samsung is far from the only manufacturer doing things like this. And region locking is one of the easiest obstacles to overcome.
On single SIM phones at least removing the subsidy lock nullifies the region lock as well. In any event if you couldn't make a few calls in the area that the phone originated, you could simply have edited the region lock blacklist to circumvent the region lock.
.
bubblesmoney said:
Dont think will be getting a samsung phone again as tired of the pr1ck5 at samsung p1ssing off paying customers with some locking cr4p or the other. Presently still have 3 other samsung phones (S4 note 3 and note 1) and many of my playlists on youtube have loads of samsung phone related. But really fed up with samsungs locking idiocy and will look to sony or LG from now on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes that completely legal regioin lock this discourages grey market selling and scams
does this mean you arent buying blu rays or DVDs??
-PiLoT- said:
yes that completely legal regioin lock this discourages grey market selling and scams
does this mean you arent buying blu rays or DVDs??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the S5 but no longer have it. Bought the one plus one which is half the price but 64gb and miles better with no region locking crap and call recording apps work on it unlike on my several samsung phones. Call recording apps did work earlier on samsung phones and after software upgrades by samsung they no longer work on them. But they work on other android phones. So samsung is deliberately gimping android with their "updates". Sane way triple sim adapters don't work on the S5 but they do on my s4 and note 3 and other phones.
Coming to your reference to dvd and bluray. .. i don't but them anymore as have several paid digital subscription packages and don't buy dvd and bluray anymore as realised i haven't bothered to open the packs of several of my earlier purchases.
Several other android manufacturers don't region lock or block call recording apps or triple sim adapters so there are better and cheaper options.
bubblesmoney said:
I had the S5 but no longer have it. Bought the one plus one which is half the price but 64gb and miles better with no region locking crap and call recording apps work on it unlike on my several samsung phones. Call recording apps did work earlier on samsung phones and after software upgrades by samsung they no longer work on them. But they work on other android phones. So samsung is deliberately gimping android with their "updates". Sane way triple sim adapters don't work on the S5 but they do on my s4 and note 3 and other phones.
Coming to your reference to dvd and bluray. .. i don't but them anymore as have several paid digital subscription packages and don't buy dvd and bluray anymore as realised i haven't bothered to open the packs of several of my earlier purchases.
Several other android manufacturers don't region lock or block call recording apps or triple sim adapters so there are better and cheaper options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you research if the s5 was region locked, or had issues with call recording apps or sim adapater issues before you bought it. or did you buy it assuming they would work?
-PiLoT- said:
did you research if the s5 was region locked, or had issues with call recording apps or sim adapater issues before you bought it. or did you buy it assuming they would work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did research like i do all my purchases. My opinions are just that. ... my opinions!
Are you a Samsung employee or funded by samsung in any manner!
edit: If you see my youtube videos for the S5 you might notice that i had uploaded my video BEFORE the UK release date as it was imported from korea.
bubblesmoney said:
I did research like i do all my purchases. My opinions are just that. ... my opinions!
Are you a Samsung employee or funded by samsung in any manner!
edit: If you see my youtube videos for the S5 you might notice that i had uploaded my video BEFORE the UK release date as it was imported from korea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
region locking isnt an opinion. its an actual thing
heres my point
you want to buy a phone, you want it to have multi sim adapters support, no region locking and ability to record in calls.
you do your research like you do "all your purchases"
then you buy a device knowing these things wont work. then you ***** about samsung doing it anyway?
Dude pull that bee out of your bonnet. Dint you have anything better to do than dig up a few months old thread of mine!
Triple sim adapters work on the S4 and note 3.
Call recording apps do work on android phones and even older samsung phones and other new android phones and don't work on new or software updated older samsung phones.
Yes i know what region locking is.
I now choose to spend my money on other companies android products which i think are better. If that bothers you then that is not my problem. I have better things to do today than argue on the Internet with someone i don't know.
Good night.
bubblesmoney said:
Dude pull that bee out of your bonnet. Dint you have anything better to do than dig up a few months old thread of mine! .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt actually dig it up, read back a page
bubblesmoney said:
Triple sim adapters work on the S4 and note 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But research you said you did said it wouldnt on the s5
bubblesmoney said:
Call recording apps do work on android phones and even older samsung phones and other new android phones and don't work on new or software updated older samsung phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you said you did research so you knew this
bubblesmoney said:
Yes i know what region locking is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one said you didn't. ever
bubblesmoney said:
I now choose to spend my money on other companies android products which i think are better. If that bothers you then that is not my problem. I have better things to do today than argue on the Internet with someone i don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My issue isnt with you buying anything. my issue is with you being such a vocal detester of certain features or lack thereof, when you bought them knowing full well they had these things wrong with them because you did the proper research.
why would you even buy a phone that you know wont work the way you want, better yet why moan about samsung doing this. even though you knew they did it before you bought it
bubblesmoney said:
Good night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One last time. .. my trile sim adapters did work then on my note 3 and S4 but they didn't on the s5. That was my experience as I hadn't come across posts regarding that it didn't work on the S5. The adapter actually 'works' on the s5 too in the sense that the sim number 1 works via the connector but the other sims can't be used as samsung blocks the launch of the sim app but it doesn't get blocked on older samsung phones. Ps. they work on iPhones and other android phones.
Getting to call recording apps. . They did work on s4 and note 3 and stopped working on note 3 after software updates. Sometimes software have glitches so I gave them the benefit of the doubt but since on the newer s5 it didn't work either and works on other new android phones like my one plus one it is my understanding that samsung is blocking some features which you can gather if you read up more on the topic.
As explained AGAIN above and
in my personal experience the triple sim adapters worked in s4 and note 3 (but not after software update indicating it is samsung doing the blocking) and didn't work on the s5.
Call recording still works on loads of android phones including my one plus one. It used to work on my older samsung phones till later software updates and didn't Work on the S5.
If you need more of my reasons why I think the are better ones out there than the S5....
water proofing is **** as shown in my videos. Sony is better.
Internal memory is loads better on cheaper phones like the one plus one.
Camera is worse than much cheaper one plus one.
Speaker is much louder on the one plus one.
Battery life "without cutting back any features" is better on the one plus one. But would be better on s5 using that black and white ultra power saving mode which stops many features working.
Edit. I still have my note 3 and note 1 and s4 but I do like my gadgets and have other 6 android phones, 5 android tablets and 2 android mini pc's and ipad air. So after owning the and using many other android devices which I no longer have my personal impression of the S5 is that there are better ones out there.
If the above bothers you then not much I can do but say agree to disagree. Cheers.
eezeh said:
I am looking to buy the galaxy s5 for use in several Sub-saharan African countries. I already have an old ATT sim with me and I will probably be ordering the 900A in/from the US and i want to make sure that the region-lock is not an issue. Will i be able to region unlock with an ATT sim card while in Africa or do i need to have someone make the 5min call for me while the phone is in the US? and is this call meant to be to or from the s5?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ignore some of the apologists for Samsung on this thread trying to pester people who purchase their own android devices unlike the usual reviewers on many websites who get their free review phones and do your own research before spending your money.
Word of warning even when buying an unlocked or no region lock samsung phone in a country with no region lock, it can subsequently get region lock if you do any software updates while traveling or moving to another country with region lock as shown long time ago in the Note 3 thread (thread with hundreds of posts) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47664261&postcount=1380 As you can see paying customers who bought unlocked (no region lock phones) samsung phone later got region lock with software update while travelling and working in the Eu and their phone would no longer work with their home country sim. Please note phone was bought from official samsung store and not so called grey market what ever that term grey market may mean! So any person who travels and works across countries or even travelling abroad and wants to use roaming or local sims would be at risk of region lock unless they never want to update their phone or need to resort to hacking the software which most wont be able to do.
Mod Edit
Thread Closed
ronnie498
Forum Moderator
Hi All
September 1st I'm flying to Seoul for holiday and really wanna pick up a Note 5.
Does anyone know where the best place to buy is? Maybe dlight store in Gangnam?
Also do the Korean versions ever get root or roms?
Thanks!
the Delight store in Gangnam, the Galaxy store in Coex Mall... any Samsung mobile retail location. They were fully stocked as of release date as far as I saw last week and this week.
The only caution I would advise is make sure the Korean version supports the LTE band/bands you will need in your home country. I ended up having to buy one in the states because my phone company here uses Band 4, which the Korean Note 5 does not support.
I think the Korean one supports H+ on my current carrier... I can get sims that will work on there though.
I will head to dlight
That should be good enough. Good luck, and make sure to post pics of your Delight spoils! I've been home for 3 days and am already jealous of your trip
I love Korea!! Amazing place.. This will be my 5th time Fly out on tuesday, going to dlight as soon as ive dropped off my luggage lol
Korea is not very tourist friendly. Hard to even buy a sim card for visitors or tourists. If you are Korean with a Korean Passport and local ID then it should not be a problem. I believe that most telecom companies in Korea only sell carrier locked smartphones with contract and you need a local ID to buy one if I am not mistaken. Also pay attention to the 4G LTE bands on smartphone if you do manage to find one that you could buy unlocked. In the city you will notice that even some taxis will not stop to pick you up if they see that you are a white person.
@desiregeek my experience was the complete opposite. It's super easy to buy a SIM card at the airport from olleh or SK Telecom. Also, carrier locking is not as common as it is here...
Kalm_Traveler said:
@desiregeek my experience was the complete opposite. It's super easy to buy a SIM card at the airport from olleh or SK Telecom. Also, carrier locking is not as common as it is here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can only buy the rental sim card at the airport unless they recently changed the rules. You can not purchase an unlocked sim card at any of their carriers in South Korea. The ones at the airport are sort of like a rented SIM card. In Thailand,Hong Kong,China,Taiwan or pretty much every other Asian country one can get a SIM card at a 7-11 or telecom carrier that is unlocked of which visitors or tourists can purchase for use while in the country.
It's my 5th time in Korea lol. Never had any problems but I can speak Korean too so it helps. Posting from the note I bought now. Just trying to work out how to make a deodexed rom for the S model version
Visiting Busan
Guitarfreak26 said:
It's my 5th time in Korea lol. Never had any problems but I can speak Korean too so it helps. Posting from the note I bought now. Just trying to work out how to make a deodexed rom for the S model version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im also visiting Busan in October and was thinking of picking up a note 5, if I may ask how much did yours cost?
Mine was 1 million won so around 520 I paid but was 64gb. Haha just on the ktx back from busan to seoul now!
It seems Finland might not get the Note 5 at all, so if I want one, I need to pick one up on my trip.
Thanks for the info, I guess you had a nice train ride with your new Note 5, enjoy!
Unfortunately in the UK, the only way to get the Deep Sea Blue variant would be to buy the N9500. I understand that this was built specifically for China markets, but it should have the right network frequencies for the UK. I was just wondering if anyone has bought one of these before, and whether there's any quirks in the device compared to the UK model? Cheers
Using Note8 N-9500 for 3 weeks now
doubleluckstur said:
Unfortunately in the UK, the only way to get the Deep Sea Blue variant would be to buy the N9500. I understand that this was built specifically for China markets, but it should have the right network frequencies for the UK. I was just wondering if anyone has bought one of these before, and whether there's any quirks in the device compared to the UK model? Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Note 8 N-9500 is Hong Kong/China version. I have been using it for 3 weeks now, but I would not recommend it.
I have Hong Kong version. (China version doesn't support Google Play Store. Avoid it!)
Here are some negative things that I found out so far.
1. It works perfectly with UK network frequencies, however, you can't enable VoLTE or wifi cailling.
This is really downside. it keeps saying my current software does not support VoLTE.
2. It doesn't have Samsung Pass. Some apps require it to log in with your bio info (cf. finger print etc.), so it is bit annoying.
3. Android Pay works fine.
I have not use Samsung Pay yet, but Samsung Pay is registered as Hong Kong so you will get promotions from Hong Kong market only and you can't change it.
4. If you contact customer service through handset it automatically connect with Samsung Hong Kong Service centre. ha ha
I have tried to change it with other CSC roms such as Europe versions, but Note 8 N-9500 uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 not Exynos as Europe or Korean version.
At this point as far as I know it is impossible to use other CSC roms.
twotoy said:
Yes. Note 8 N-9500 is Hong Kong/China version. I have been using it for 3 weeks now, but I would not recommend it.
I have Hong Kong version. (China version doesn't support Google Play Store. Avoid it!)
Here are some negative things that I found out so far.
1. It works perfectly with UK network frequencies, however, you can't enable VoLTE or wifi cailling.
This is really downside. it keeps saying my current software does not support VoLTE.
2. It doesn't have Samsung Pass. Some apps require it to log in with your bio info (cf. finger print etc.), so it is bit annoying.
3. Android Pay works fine.
I have not use Samsung Pay yet, but Samsung Pay is registered as Hong Kong so you will get promotions from Hong Kong market only and you can't change it.
4. If you contact customer service through handset it automatically connect with Samsung Hong Kong Service centre. ha ha
I have tried to change it with other CSC roms such as Europe versions, but Note 8 N-9500 uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 not Exynos as Europe or Korean version.
At this point as far as I know it is impossible to use other CSC roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you managed to flash Europe firmware successfully?
I've also got N9500 deep sea blue, the only reason I bought this version was for the colour!
I quite like it but would like to have volte
SM N9500
No I haven't. As far as I know EU firmware doesn't work with this SM-N9500.
I ask some questions to Samsung customer service Hong Kong, but I haven't got the answer yet.
If I do, I will post it here. cheers!
Note 8 n9500
doubleluckstur said:
Unfortunately in the UK, the only way to get the Deep Sea Blue variant would be to buy the N9500. I understand that this was built specifically for China markets, but it should have the right network frequencies for the UK. I was just wondering if anyone has bought one of these before, and whether there's any quirks in the device compared to the UK model? Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the China variant of the N9500 in Deep sea blue
I I've had it for 3 months with no problems. I saw from one of the other posts that there had been some issues they had found with theirs. Just to comment on mine Samsung pay initially wouldn't let me load a card and work but now it works fine with no issues. Google play was installed and works without issue also. Unfortunately I have not been able to get VoLTE or WiFi calling to work as the firmware installed does not support the former and the latter, I'm still trying to get to work, but neither I or EE can come up with a reason why it doesn't. I've also not been able to install a European /UK firmware due to the Exynos/qualcom incompatability issue. mind you there are only a few reasons why you'd want to install the firmware as the phone works fine with the firmware installed bar the issues I've mentioned and f you can live without WiFi calling or VoLTE then there's no reason to use it. They are a great bit of kit as I they come with a much larger internal storage than is available over here. This was the reason I got mine in the first place as I store loads of books and music as well as videos and as an amateur photographer alongside my DSLR I still use this for photos as the shots are quite comparable in lots of cases. I hope this has helped, oh and one more thing, I i got mine new from a online phone store via ebay I ended up paying about £750-800 for it which was cheaper than the lower storage version that you can get in the UK so that's another plus
NDB19573 said:
I have the China variant of the N9500 in Deep sea blue
I I've had it for 3 months with no problems. I saw from one of the other posts that there had been some issues they had found with theirs. Just to comment on mine Samsung pay initially wouldn't let me load a card and work but now it works fine with no issues. Google play was installed and works without issue also. Unfortunately I have not been able to get VoLTE or WiFi calling to work as the firmware installed does not support the former and the latter, I'm still trying to get to work, but neither I or EE can come up with a reason why it doesn't. I've also not been able to install a European /UK firmware due to the Exynos/qualcom incompatability issue. mind you there are only a few reasons why you'd want to install the firmware as the phone works fine with the firmware installed bar the issues I've mentioned and f you can live without WiFi calling or VoLTE then there's no reason to use it. They are a great bit of kit as I they come with a much larger internal storage than is available over here. This was the reason I got mine in the first place as I store loads of books and music as well as videos and as an amateur photographer alongside my DSLR I still use this for photos as the shots are quite comparable in lots of cases. I hope this has helped, oh and one more thing, I i got mine new from a online phone store via ebay I ended up paying about £750-800 for it which was cheaper than the lower storage version that you can get in the UK so that's another plus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No volte is a biggie for some.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
i wonder if the wifi calling would work on the proper csc for n9500's or if like my provider, regardless of what mods are done to the phone's software, if its not a device purchased from them, they black list imei. well i should say they white list theirs and simply block everything else.
people on rooted 9500:
have you manualy extracted csc from relevant provider firmware and copyed to system/omc?
Limeybastard said:
No volte is a biggie for some.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/ appreciate that it must a deal breaker for some out. there .I guess its just never been such a huge issue for me really. Its the inactive wifi calling that's the pain in the rear for me. It's not that
its not working that annoys me the most, its more
that there is no actual reason why it shouldn't work. that's the most annoying thing. its just so usefull to have.
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
Just wondering if people considering buying from never-msrp or those that have bought from them realize they do not offer any warranty on their devices? Literally zilch and not even the manufacturers warranty is apparently honored?
Further, contacted them 6 days ago with couple of questions and no response. Sent a follow up couple of days ago and still no response.
So apart from price wondering if I am missing something here..... They dont honor manufacturers warranty, they dont offer any warranty (unless you buy extra from 3rd party) and they apparently can't be bothered to even reply so they can take my money...Wondering what they would be like then if something goes wrong :laugh:
Is there anyone else people recommend with similar pricing but honors warranty and has good customer service?
I am after the 64gb dual sim SM-N950F/DS and they are selling it for $820 delivered.
Manufacturers typically don't give warranty for grey market devices. Or more accurately, they will only honor the warranty in the market the device was made for, so if you buy a Korean phone, Samsung USA won't honor the warranty but you can still get warranty on it if you send it back to Korea.
harveydent said:
Samsung USA won't honor the warranty but you can still get warranty on it if you send it back to Korea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. Except I read never-msrp will not do that and will have nothing further to do with the process once you have bought it unlike some other sellers that will deal with Samsung in their region to honor warranty for you and ship replacement back to you and so on. Never-msrp hasn't even bothered to respond yet...
In one case, if true, the customer had a Sony phone and Sony USA wouldnt honor the warranty and Sony HK upon being presented the device and ebay/paypal purchase receipt wouldnt honor the warranty either claiming that it was sold overseas and warranty is no longer valid (of course that isn't Samsung so not sure what Samsung might pull especially since you wouldn't have any support from never-msrp or their original purchase receipt...)
Warranty is a concern when you are spending near $1000 or more...
OP, you don't want to buy from that seller anyway. That variant has the OEM unlock time released cancer.
iunlock said:
OP, you don't want to buy from that seller anyway. That variant has the OEM unlock time released cancer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by OEM unlock time released cancer? Don't they all take 7 days past activation and usage for the OEM UNLOCK to show up?
Then who apart from Clove is good? Still clarifying with qd_us if theirs shows OEM UNLOCK or not (last response was their's are Taiwan SM-N950F/DS, region free and no one has reported any issues yet).
And one thing I do not get is why don't people flash the XSG firmware on to their SM-N950F/DS (or for that matter the EU firmware or something else)? XSG apparently is confirmed to work and shows OEM UNLOCK and allows Samsung Pay functionality.
i almost bought from that seller but i decided not to because i don't want to deal with nonnsense regarding bootloadder unlock.
I went with the n950n korean version from wondamobile for just 35 dollars more than never-msrp
masri1987 said:
i almost bought from that seller but i decided not to because i don't want to deal with nonnsense regarding bootloadder unlock.
I went with the n950n korean version from wondamobile for just 35 dollars more than never-msrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonda's 950f/ds works out to ~$950. Where is their version from? I would guess Taiwan as they are from HK.
evangelionpunk said:
Wonda's 950f/ds works out to ~$950. Where is their version from? I would guess Taiwan as they are from HK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's actually 928 and change, also they only have gold.
I don't know where they get it, or if the bootloader unlock issue is present in their f\ds versions.
So far everyone who bought a korean version has absolutely no problems with unlocking bootloaders.
masri1987 said:
it's actually 928 and change, also they only have gold.
I don't know where they get it, or if the bootloader unlock issue is present in their f\ds versions.
So far everyone who bought a korean version has absolutely no problems with unlocking bootloaders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factor in the DHL shipping and it works out to $950. This is one big mess. Korean version no issues, EU version no issues if activated in EU first and 5 min call is made, HK/CN version apparently might work, UAE version apparently ok, the U version apparently locked down junk, the SG/TW sourced versions may or may not work (at least TW from never-msrp may not work)....
evangelionpunk said:
Factor in the DHL shipping and it works out to $950. This is one big mess. Korean version no issues, EU version no issues if activated in EU first and 5 min call is made, HK/CN version apparently might work, UAE version apparently ok, the U version apparently locked down junk, the SG/TW sourced versions may or may not work (at least TW from never-msrp may not work)....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and that is precisely why i just decided to get the N and not have to worry about what ifs
evangelionpunk said:
What do you mean by OEM unlock time released cancer? Don't they all take 7 days past activation and usage for the OEM UNLOCK to show up?
Then who apart from Clove is good? Still clarifying with qd_us if theirs shows OEM UNLOCK or not (last response was their's are Taiwan SM-N950F/DS, region free and no one has reported any issues yet).
And one thing I do not get is why don't people flash the XSG firmware on to their SM-N950F/DS (or for that matter the EU firmware or something else)? XSG apparently is confirmed to work and shows OEM UNLOCK and allows Samsung Pay functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as mentioned here the EU (F model that has been activated with a 5 Min call in the region) and the Korean (N) mode are not infected.
masri1987 said:
i almost bought from that seller but i decided not to because i don't want to deal with nonnsense regarding bootloadder unlock.
I went with the n950n korean version from wondamobile for just 35 dollars more than never-msrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good choice.
As for The Korean (N) model.......
masri1987 said:
and that is precisely why i just decided to get the N and not have to worry about what ifs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..... The (N) model is best for AT&T (since N has 1900 frequency) , however not so much for T-Mobile since TM uses 1700, which the N models doesn't have.
.
::iunlock::
iunlock said:
No, as mentioned here the EU (F model that has been activated with a 5 Min call in the region) and the Korean (N) mode are not infected.
Good choice.
As for The Korean (N) model.......
..... The (N) model is best for AT&T (since N has 1900 frequency) , however not so much for T-Mobile since TM uses 1700, which the N models doesn't have.
.
::iunlock::
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT sucks in AZ anyway lol
I've purchased a Galaxy Tab Pro and a S from them before. Devices were both brand new and had no issues so I'm not certain as of the warranty service. But I do believe they offer a limited 30 day warranty or something if the product malfunctions. Like the posters above said, the manufacturer warranty is usually covered by the country the product is shipped from. They sell mostly international variants so it makes sense.
evangelionpunk said:
Just wondering if people considering buying from never-msrp or those that have bought from them realize they do not offer any warranty on their devices? Literally zilch and not even the manufacturers warranty is apparently honored?
Further, contacted them 6 days ago with couple of questions and no response. Sent a follow up couple of days ago and still no response.
So apart from price wondering if I am missing something here..... They dont honor manufacturers warranty, they dont offer any warranty (unless you buy extra from 3rd party) and they apparently can't be bothered to even reply so they can take my money...Wondering what they would be like then if something goes wrong [emoji23]
Is there anyone else people recommend with similar pricing but honors warranty and has good customer service?
I am after the 64gb dual sim SM-N950F/DS and they are selling it for $820 delivered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, they are **** heads. I remember about 7 months ago contacting them vis eBay in respect of buying a Samsung tab s2, their response was sub par at best. I ended up buying it from someone else.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
I bought a Note 8 from Never MSRP. So far it seems to be good but I was little worried since the "security seal" on the box is the old white style found on S4 or S5 plus the Ink quality on the security label looked pretty shabby. The colour of the black fades. When I turned the phone on it loaded right away to a loaded phone screen which might also indicate that it wasn't factory sealed. Normally you would have to go through all the initial settings like language and what not first, am I right here ?
So other then that, it does seem like its a legit note 8 as far as performance goes. I am slightly worried that its a really really good fake but everything works so far and I'm using a T mobile sim.
It is a mystery to me as to how this unscrupulous ebay seller never msrp has a 99% favorable rating. I purchased a galaxy s8 plus, and when it arrived I noticed the ebay listing stated there was an adapter included. This aroused my suspicion that this was an international version, with no manufacturer's warranty. Amazon sellers clearly indicate when items are international version/no u.s. warranty. Not sure why ebay does not demand this kind of transparency. I returned the phone in an unopened box, and in addition to shelling out $10 in return shipping fees, I had to wait 8 days for a refund. Stay far away from this seller, awful experience
I got mine from amazon for 700ish from my company. It comes with no warranty either but I'm not worried about it. I'd go for the pixel 2 xl instead of the note 8. It's def not worth 850 of your hard earned money. If it was 600ish sure.
Bought the Samsung SM-N950U for $649.99 at Amazon today. 300 bucks combined savings, incl. $100 amazon prime membership.
The note 8 from never MSRP is going for 539.99. I bought an S8+ from them a year ago and tempted to get the note. Is it silly to upgrade from s8+ knowing the 2 phones are almost similar?
auky said:
The note 8 from never MSRP is going for 539.99. I bought an S8+ from them a year ago and tempted to get the note. Is it silly to upgrade from s8+ knowing the 2 phones are almost similar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tough decisions:laugh:, always too many choices, they also ran promotion for LG V35 ThinQ $599.99, but I realized they slipped some amazon software into that phone and I really wanted that stylus.
HI All, I am ordered the note 9 from PDAPLAZA the N9600, to be able to use dual sim. I live in Canada I will be using it with Telus and rogers. Looking at the forums here it sounds like there are some issues using this model with the networks in Canda.
Can someone please who bought this model in Canada comment if the phone work fine with the networks. Also any limitation like play store, pay app, or otheres.
Also, if someone bought it from PDAPLAZA can you comment if the phone comes with English or Chinese?
thanks for the help
iyas87 said:
HI All, I am ordered the note 9 from PDAPLAZA the N9600, to be able to use dual sim. I live in Canada I will be using it with Telus and rogers. Looking at the forums here it sounds like there are some issues using this model with the networks in Canda.
Can someone please who bought this model in Canada comment if the phone work fine with the networks. Also any limitation like play store, pay app, or otheres.
Also, if someone bought it from PDAPLAZA can you comment if the phone comes with English or Chinese?
thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a complete dedicated Canadian thread on here. Maybe you'll get better responses there.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the reply, where would i find the Canadian thread, new to this sorry.
iyas87 said:
Thanks for the reply, where would i find the Canadian thread, new to this sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=77279762
I got the SM-N9600 from PDAPlaza. It works fine, but the one thing I'm looking into right now is how to change the country code easily to a Canadian one without completely flashing the phone (as the firmware available for that specific model doesn't have a Canadian option, so I'd have to go with SM-N960W firmware, and I'm not sure if flashing with that version of firmware on a model number that doesn't match will have any negative effects). It's not a big deal, except that Samsung Pay doesn't work and assumes I'm in China. The other option I've read is to just keep it as it is and use Google Pay instead.
If you come across anything on that topic, let me know.
MikiMau5 said:
I got the SM-N9600 from PDAPlaza. It works fine, but the one thing I'm looking into right now is how to change the country code easily to a Canadian one without completely flashing the phone (as the firmware available for that specific model doesn't have a Canadian option, so I'd have to go with SM-N960W firmware, and I'm not sure if flashing with that version of firmware on a model number that doesn't match will have any negative effects). It's not a big deal, except that Samsung Pay doesn't work and assumes I'm in China. The other option I've read is to just keep it as it is and use Google Pay instead.
If you come across anything on that topic, let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the info. If it just samsung pay is the limitation then it should be fine. Can I ask you when you got the phone, was it sealed? Also, was it in English when you first set it up? and did it have a US adapter.
iyas87 said:
Thank you for the info. If it just samsung pay is the limitation then it should be fine. Can I ask you when you got the phone, was it sealed? Also, was it in English when you first set it up? and did it have a US adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got it in the mail on Wednesday (ordered it on Sunday, so pretty quick turn around over the long weekend). Everything was totally sealed and when you start it up you can select English right off the bat. I just got rid of the additional Chinese keyboard language settings and made it either English (US or Canada). The charger is an Asian one, but they send an adapter with it. Also, the cord is USB, so it can be used with any other plug-in. I'm not sure if that affects the fast charging, so I'll probably get an induction charger instead anyways. If you're switching over from a different brand, the Samsung Switch app is awesome. I just finished it and got everything, including my messages transferred from my iPhone.
MikiMau5 said:
I just got it in the mail on Wednesday (ordered it on Sunday, so pretty quick turn around over the long weekend). Everything was totally sealed and when you start it up you can select English right off the bat. I just got rid of the additional Chinese keyboard language settings and made it either English (US or Canada). The charger is an Asian one, but they send an adapter with it. Also, the cord is USB, so it can be used with any other plug-in. I'm not sure if that affects the fast charging, so I'll probably get an induction charger instead anyways. If you're switching over from a different brand, the Samsung Switch app is awesome. I just finished it and got everything, including my messages transferred from my iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh great! can I ask you did you order the 512gb or the 128gb. The 512gb model lead time 15-25day!!!
iyas87 said:
Oh great! can I ask you did you order the 512gb or the 128gb. The 512gb model lead time 15-25day!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the 128 GB model.
Hey there, thanks for the helpful info. Just womdering, have you noticed anything megative with network speeds? And I presume you got that model so you can root, correct? Have you had any luck? I saw the whole guide and everything, just curious if it was worked out for a canadian as well.
I received the 512GB from PDAplaza, it is great! for some reason, I found it much faster than the unlocked one 512Gb i bought from amazon US Version. Please note the device comes with Chinese first, you need to change the language, samsung pay and samsung members are stuck to hong kong.
I got the N9600 from Hong Kong and I am with Fido network right now. As soon as booted it up it was all in chinese but quickly changed to english, so no problems there. However, sadly it only runs on 4G network, no LTE
Turbenator said:
I got the N9600 from Hong Kong and I am with Fido network right now. As soon as booted it up it was all in chinese but quickly changed to english, so no problems there. However, sadly it only runs on 4G network, no LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sure it's not just showing 4G instead of 4G LTE?
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk
Turbenator said:
I got the N9600 from Hong Kong and I am with Fido network right now. As soon as booted it up it was all in chinese but quickly changed to english, so no problems there. However, sadly it only runs on 4G network, no LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4G =Lte
Just 2 different terminologies bars on the Rom u have