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N9500 UK - anyone used this and is it any good?

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

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 N960FD Dual sim 6GB/128GB

Hello there,
It's my first post here. Currently I am using samsung galaxy a3 2017.
I want to buy note 9. There is couple versions available at eglobalcentral and I'm looking for unlocked and eu/uk version.
Currently I'm with three, but dual sim option is tempting since I travel a lot.
Do you know if version n960fd is free of career useless apps and if it will be working fine in Ireland? Lte vise it should be working to my knowledge but I wanted to ask for your advice.
Regards,
Rafal

thunderfury_rafal said:
Hello there,
It's my first post here. Currently I am using samsung galaxy a3 2017.
I want to buy note 9. There is couple versions available at eglobalcentral and I'm looking for unlocked and eu/uk version.
Currently I'm with three, but dual sim option is tempting since I travel a lot.
Do you know if version n960fd is free of career useless apps and if it will be working fine in Ireland? Lte vise it should be working to my knowledge but I wanted to ask for your advice.
Regards,
Rafal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know 1800 mhz is Three LTE network, here in the UK as that's the band they purchased for 4G LTE i'm not sure about ireland. Also make sure you get the Exynos as it supports all LTE bands globally same for HSPDA, HSDPA+, 3G Etc,
Also im not sure about sim unlocked as i purchased my note direct from Samsung UK i have to make a full 5 min call in the UK/EU before i can use it in the asian region, or globally as there's a sticker on the box that warns me about that!
i aint sure if one would have to make the call in asia i.e Hong Kong for full 5 mins before it starts to work over here in the UK or in your case ireland,
as eGlobal is based in Hong Kong all is stock is for the Asian market...
i could be wrong i'm sure some XDA user will know the answer!

Hey, bump up on this thread.
I bought the model mentioned in the headline.
I did not try dual sim (or 2nd sim slot) in terms of LTE, but I have received a UK version of the phone from global central. It was 690 with shipping.
Everything works as intended and I'm happy with the device.

Will i able to use s10 snapdragon variants in uk/India ??

Will i able to get updates ?
Will i able to use volte(LTE) with UK/INDIA carrier or will i face any network issue?
or any other issue if i use snapdragon variant in non- snapdragon region.
Thank you in advance.

I'm using a Hong Kong model G9730 Snapdragon in UK, EE network. Everything works fine, updates and LTE+. The only thing that doesn't work is Samsung Pay but Google Pay works perfect. Can't say anything about other UK carriers or India.

ixman said:
I'm using a Hong Kong model G9730 Snapdragon in UK, EE network. Everything works fine, updates and LTE+. The only thing that doesn't work is Samsung Pay but Google Pay works perfect. Can't say anything about other UK carriers or India.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does VOLTE works? or it switches back to 3G/H for calls

devtstm said:
Will i able to get updates ?
Will i able to use volte(LTE) with UK/INDIA carrier or will i face any network issue?
or any other issue if i use snapdragon variant in non- snapdragon region.
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updates - not sure yet, we can push manually via adb.
VOLTE - In India, Airtel, Yes. I am currently using.

Using SM-G9730 HK version in UK or EU

I’m thinking about buying a Hong Kong model phone unlocked in the UK from wondamobile.com
And was wondering what issues I might face with updates play store google pay Samsung pay volte just any issues I might encounter as I’m in the UK - not bothered about rooting and flashing new roms as I literally have no clue how to do either so some advice would be good

No issues here. The only thing that I figured out recently is that the stock keyboard is a bit different than on the international version. It's not really a big deal since the stock keyboard kind of suck anyway. Use Gboard
Other than that the HK version has no compatibilities issues with what you mentioned

Mini Jay said:
No issues here. The only thing that I figured out recently is that the stock keyboard is a bit different than on the international version. It's not really a big deal since the stock keyboard kind of suck anyway. Use Gboard
Other than that the HK version has no compatibilities issues with what you mentioned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you UK based - also where did you buy your hk phone

As far as I understand your Google account is based on where your created it. So if it is UK you won't have an issue with app updates. I am in Thailand and use a UK Google account and it updates fine.
You'll get the HK samsung system updates for that model rather than UK version.
The HK samsung keyboard doesn't have the option to swap languages by swiping sideways on the space bar.
Samsung pay might be the HK version?
I would check that the frequencies match the UK so that you get full LTE switching.
Expansys sell HK phones.
I personally purchased a UK version and had it sent to TH as I like the keyboard language switching and the 512GB version is not available here locally.
I wasn't fussed about Exynos or Snapdragon CPUs.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

reverendhtc said:
As far as I understand your Google account is based on where your created it. So if it is UK you won't have an issue with app updates. I am in Thailand and use a UK Google account and it updates fine.
You'll get the HK samsung system updates for that model rather than UK version.
The HK samsung keyboard doesn't have the option to swap languages by swiping sideways on the space bar.
Samsung pay might be the HK version?
I would check that the frequencies match the UK so that you get full LTE switching.
Expansys sell HK phones.
I personally purchased a UK version and had it sent to TH as I like the keyboard language switching and the 512GB version is not available here locally.
I wasn't fussed about Exynos or Snapdragon CPUs.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean about google accounts because the phone will be from Hk but I use Uk google account so would I need hk google account even thought I’m from the uk

krackalackel02 said:
What do you mean about google accounts because the phone will be from Hk but I use Uk google account so would I need hk google account even thought I’m from the uk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your existing Google account will work just fine.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Loads of info regarding the HK variant here
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...hare_pid=79200109&share_fid=3793&share_type=t
welcome for discussing about our hong kong variant.<br />
our model have snapdragon, bootloader can be unlocked and also be rooted[emoji3][emoji3]
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Question Regarding CSC change on S21 Ultra [G9980] in India

Hi everyone!
I recently found that Amazon India is now selling the Snapdragon 888 variant of the S21 Ultra, planning to buy the same but I wanted to inqure here first if anyone has the snapdragon variant and has tried to change their CSC to INS? Also if all the services like VoLTE, WiFi calling work with the same or not?

Dev Jaskirat said:
Hi everyone!
I recently found that Amazon India is now selling the Snapdragon 888 variant of the S21 Ultra, planning to buy the same but I wanted to inqure here first if anyone has the snapdragon variant and has tried to change their CSC to INS? Also if all the services like VoLTE, WiFi calling work with the same or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are only 3 CSC's which can be enabled on the SM-G9980. CHC China, BRI Taiwan and TGY Hong Kong. If the device you referenced has it's Primary CSC as CHC China some content and certain apps are restricted. The TGY Hong Kong Primary CSC is best suited for international users. It isn't a Multi-CSC Device so any changes require flashing different firmware. The post you highlighted is misleading, it states Tmobile is the carrier but Tmobile doesn't sell a Branded SM-G9980. I have the same device in the US and have VoLTE, Wi-Fi Calling and timely Updates. In India YMMV. If Call Features and 5G are a priority your Service Provider's device is the best option.

Thanks for your reply!
You mentioned that you have the same model, which CSC are you on?
Yes, the Amazon Page says tmobile but it is an unlocked device that the seller is selling. In India we only get the exynos variant and this is the only Snapdragon variant that is available to us. The reviews say that Indian carriers are working fine my main concern is CSC related features like in-built call recording, does your device have that? I have it on my Note 20 (CSC = INS).
Also I'm curious when you say that it only supports those 3 CSC, does that mean it won't even change to INS if I tried? OR does it change but bricks the device or some other limitation happens (like Knox tripping)?

I'm on the TGY Hong Kong CSC, I wouldn't consider the CHC or BRI variants. Some users have reported the TGY and BRI have identical software but I'm not sure that's correct. The SM-G9980 TGY CSC is available on ebay or online from a number of retailers in Hong Kong, I purchased mine online from Hong Kong since most on ebay don't offer the 512GB option. The device doesn't offer native call recording however a number of apps can enable this function. At this time it's impossible to flash any Exynos Global Firmware on any Snapdragon variants and that's not likely to change going forward. You can't make a general rule that this or that feature will work in India, all service providers aren't using identical metrics. If your concern is maximizing call features acquiring your service provider's device is the best bet.

varcor said:
I'm on the TGY Hong Kong CSC, I wouldn't consider the CHC or BRI variants. Some users have reported the TGY and BRI have identical software but I'm not sure that's correct. The SM-G9980 TGY CSC is available on ebay or online from a number of retailers in Hong Kong, I purchased mine online from Hong Kong since most on ebay don't offer the 512GB option. The device doesn't offer native call recording however a number of apps can enable this function. At this time it's impossible to flash any Exynos Global Firmware on any Snapdragon variants and that's not likely to change going forward. If your concern is call features acquiring your service provider's device is the best bet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for your help! Just one last thing, does your device support VoLTE and WiFi calling?

Dev Jaskirat said:
Thanks again for your help! Just one last thing, does your device support VoLTE and WiFi calling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, as I mentioned previously.

Dev Jaskirat said:
Hi everyone!
I recently found that Amazon India is now selling the Snapdragon 888 variant of the S21 Ultra, planning to buy the same but I wanted to inqure here first if anyone has the snapdragon variant and has tried to change their CSC to INS? Also if all the services like VoLTE, WiFi calling work with the same or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh man ive broken my head on this, bottom line, now warranty ! and no repair in india as far as i know! they wont have the parts and if anything happens, expect delays of 1+month for repair!
also, do you really think its a good idea to purchase this off of amazon? its freaking one lakh rupees man ! i said eff it and bought the exynos from local samsung store ! sure its exynos, still amazing for what it offers!
id suggest asking a friend whos in the USA to buy it for you and get it while coming down to india! thats the only safe way my friend

shriom_manerker said:
oh man ive broken my head on this, bottom line, now warranty ! and no repair in india as far as i know! they wont have the parts and if anything happens, expect delays of 1+month for repair!
also, do you really think its a good idea to purchase this off of amazon? its freaking one lakh rupees man ! i said eff it and bought the exynos from local samsung store ! sure its exynos, still amazing for what it offers!
id suggest asking a friend whos in the USA to buy it for you and get it while coming down to india! thats the only safe way my friend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No friends coming anytime soon! Also that doesn't really solve the lack of warranty and delays in repair issues ...

Dev Jaskirat said:
No friends coming anytime soon! Also that doesn't really solve the lack of warranty and delays in repair issues ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes but at least you are getting a bill and a sale receipt to ship it back and get it repaired under warranty. sure its a long shot, but i bet itll still be cheaper than buying a new s21 ultra

Did you ever get it to move to a different country firmware?
I have the same device, and the lack of timely updates and the control of carriers of what get released and what not is scare to say the least.. especially when u are holding a hongkong/china variant..
Let us know if u figured any way out or experimented with it..

shriom_manerker said:
yes but at least you are getting a bill and a sale receipt to ship it back and get it repaired under warranty. sure its a long shot, but i bet itll still be cheaper than buying a new s21 ultra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My advice. Get your local version. Exynos this year wasn't bad. I got this 9980 for 16/512gb SD and am desperate to get other regions updates but so far haven't found a satisfactory way to do that. Either you figure that out or get the local version. That way your local carriers will be in charge not other country's.

kamirza said:
My advice. Get your local version. Exynos this year wasn't bad. I got this 9980 for 16/512gb SD and am desperate to get other regions updates but so far haven't found a satisfactory way to do that. Either you figure that out or get the local version. That way your local carriers will be in charge not other country's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has paused Android 12 Updates on the SM-G9980 at least until sometime this month. So far they’ve released 3 updates of Android 12 for the S21 and it still isn't stable. I'm not in any rush to receive A12, will wait a few weeks after it's available and see if they've finally fixed all the bugs. It's not so much Samsung's fault, blame Google, it causing problems on many different brands.