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[Q] Galaxy Note 3 - Region Lock Question

I know this is the AT&T thread, so I apologize. I got my Note 3 while in Germany, last month. It is still factory sealed in the box and is carrier unlocked.
I have done all kinds of reading about the region lock. I have access to a SIM that has been activated in Germany. If I were in Germany with the phone, I would simply put the SIM in the phone, use the phone for five minutes of talk, and the phone would be forever unlocked.
My question is, what if I am in the U.S. when I power on the phone for the very first time out of the box?
Although the SIM is already activated on a German cell provider, the phone will be roaming since I am in the U.S. Will the region unlock procedure still allow me to use the phone for five minutes and be permanently unlocked? Or, does the procedure of using the phone for five minutes with a German SIM also have to be accomplished while the phone is in its home region?
In other words, the SIM will be from the same region that the phone is from, but the initial power on and use will be outside of the region. Will it matter? Does the phone/SIM need to latch onto a carrier from its own region?
Thank you!

JOFTAA said:
I know this is the AT&T thread, so I apologize. I got my Note 3 while in Germany, last month. It is still factory sealed in the box and is carrier unlocked.
I have done all kinds of reading about the region lock. I have access to a SIM that has been activated in Germany. If I were in Germany with the phone, I would simply put the SIM in the phone, use the phone for five minutes of talk, and the phone would be forever unlocked.
My question is, what if I am in the U.S. when I power on the phone for the very first time out of the box?
Although the SIM is already activated on a German cell provider, the phone will be roaming since I am in the U.S. Will the region unlock procedure still allow me to use the phone for five minutes and be permanently unlocked? Or, does the procedure of using the phone for five minutes with a German SIM also have to be accomplished while the phone is in its home region?
In other words, the SIM will be from the same region that the phone is from, but the initial power on and use will be outside of the region. Will it matter? Does the phone/SIM need to latch onto a carrier from its own region?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just need to activate with that SIM card.

Agent said:
You just need to activate with that SIM card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, very much. So you are under the impression that it won't matter that I will be roaming and hitting a cell tower in the U.S.
I plan on giving this a try on Sunday (22nd), so unless I hear otherwise from anyone, I'll be reporting back with results at that time.
Thanks, again!

JOFTAA said:
Thank you, very much. So you are under the impression that it won't matter that I will be roaming and hitting a cell tower in the U.S.
I plan on giving this a try on Sunday (22nd), so unless I hear otherwise from anyone, I'll be reporting back with results at that time.
Thanks, again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it will work I have a client that was in the exact same boat you are in and I watched him do it. Let us know how it turns out for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk 4

Agent said:
I know it will work I have a client that was in the exact same boat you are in and I watched him do it. Let us know how it turns out for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thank you very much for your answer. I will post back on Sunday after I see the look on my son's eyes. :good:

Slight delay. I got a SIM from Italy to use, but the provider forgot to give me the PIN. I will get it, tomorrow.

Ok... I have the answer for anyone who is interested.
I got a SIM from an Italian cellular company. I got the SIM from a place called CellularAbroad.com. I inserted the SIM into the Note 3, powered on the phone and used my Google Voice account to call the Note 3 and used the phone for a five minute phone call. Upon completion of that call, I removed the Italian SIM, inserted my U.S. T-Mobile SIM, and the phone works just fine.
The key is to use a SIM from the region the phone was intended to be used in. This has to be the FIRST SIM the phone sees. If you use a SIM that is not from one of the EEA countries, your phone will lock. This assumes you bought your phone in Europe.
Countries in the European Economic Area (EEA):
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania , Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK, Switzerland, Croatia

Should my HTC One work anywhere in the world?

I bought my One in the UK and, as far as I'm aware, it's locked to Three (the network I bought it from). Since I've come to China and South East Asia, I do not get any signal on my phone. My girlfriend who has an iPhone 3Gs and is also on Three gets signal (or she did before she cancelled her contract).
Should I get signal out here? I thought the phone would be able to work anywhere in the world in spite of where it was purchased. Anybody know anything about this? It's rooted and I have a custom ROM and custom firmware installed. Pretty sure I also updated the radio manually too, but I can't remember.

melted_cow said:
I bought my One in the UK and, as far as I'm aware, it's locked to Three (the network I bought it from). Since I've come to China and South East Asia, I do not get any signal on my phone. My girlfriend who has an iPhone 3Gs and is also on Three gets signal (or she did before she cancelled her contract).
Should I get signal out here? I thought the phone would be able to work anywhere in the world in spite of where it was purchased. Anybody know anything about this? It's rooted and I have a custom ROM and custom firmware installed. Pretty sure I also updated the radio manually too, but I can't remember.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not working because the phone is SIM-locked to Three network. You will have to SIM unlock the phone.
http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI..._cat=billing,varset_subcat=3772,Case=obj(4363)
Request an unlock code and continue the process. Then, your SIM will be unlocked and you will be able to use it anywhere

raghav kapur said:
Its not working because the phone is SIM-locked to Three network. You will have to SIM unlock the phone.
http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI..._cat=billing,varset_subcat=3772,Case=obj(4363)
Request an unlock code and continue the process. Then, your SIM will be unlocked and you will be able to use it anywhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh, I thought that would only happen if I tried to put a non-Three SIM in the phone. Thanks, man

If you have your UK SIM in there, maybe you need to activate roaming on the network. But you know what they're like, you can only do that whilst in the UK.
Get an unlock code from eBay or a website and buy a local SIM, it'll save you money in days or even hours given the stupendous price of data roaming.

Region Lock

Did Samsung region lock the Note 4 as well?
I couldn't find any information whatsoever, no mention anyway..
Thanks

In Lithuania we are getting 910Cs and they are locked to EU countries + some non EU countries.
I wonder too if carriers in Europe are selling locked devices.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I bought mine from Germany and it has a region lock also here in europe... you can call samsung to get your code if you want to travel in other region...
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

johnfranz29 said:
I bought mine from Germany and it has a region lock also here in europe... you can call samsung to get your code if you want to travel in other region...
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is getting a code free of charge service?
Should I call local Samsung or any other?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Can anyone confirm that note 4 is region locked?

A reviewer from Android Authority for metioned in a youtube video called "Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Unboxing and First Impressions!". Can't post links yet so
he mentioned that he has a European model, however he inserted a US sim-card, and it worked fine.. Odd, he didn't mention it, like it was a big deal, so I am skeptical somehow.. maybe someone reviewed it in Europe before him so I don't know

Germany, Vodafone: Region Lock.
By the way: Samsung CLAIMS they'll send you an unlock code.
I tried last year... Contacted them three times, via Chat, eMail and phone.
I NEVER got an unlock code.

What would happen if I got the device activated and working probably , then decided to reset to factory and flash a stock/custom rom ?
am I going to activate/unlock it again ? or is it just for one time ?

Vodafone España seems to NOT have it.
normally, if there's a lock, it should have a sticker on the box. (there was none).
anyway, i made a call over 5 minutes as was required earlier, and tried it with a non-EU sim - it registered fine.

N910F has region lock...
I talked to the guy in the Samsung store when buying it, and he said you need to make 2 calls over 5 minutes total time with a SIM from EU, then you can switch SIMs no prob.
I tried putting in a Russian SIM, and it did ask for the unlock code, which I didn't input.
Restarted with an EU SIM, made a 5 min and a 1 min call from it, then restarted with the Russian SIM and sure enough - it works. Didn't ask for an unlock code, nothing... Works no prob now!
--
白い熊

白い熊 said:
N910F has region lock...
I talked to the guy in the Samsung store when buying it, and he said you need to make 2 calls over 5 minutes total time with a SIM from EU, then you can switch SIMs no prob.
I tried putting in a Russian SIM, and it did ask for the unlock code, which I didn't input.
Restarted with an EU SIM, made a 5 min and a 1 min call from it, then restarted with the Russian SIM and sure enough - it works. Didn't ask for an unlock code, nothing... Works no prob now!
--
白い熊
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odd, I've never heard anyone importing Note 4 needing to do this, even in some reviews I remember they mentioned that their imported Note 4 was not locked. But then again, it was back when European version was still not released and the imported Note 4s were the Exynos ones. Searching in Google, I cannot find anything about Region Locked Note 4.
Possibly only the 910F are Region Locked, due to EU laws? Or due to Snapdragon?

白い熊 said:
N910F has region lock...
I talked to the guy in the Samsung store when buying it, and he said you need to make 2 calls over 5 minutes total time with a SIM from EU, then you can switch SIMs no prob.
I tried putting in a Russian SIM, and it did ask for the unlock code, which I didn't input.
Restarted with an EU SIM, made a 5 min and a 1 min call from it, then restarted with the Russian SIM and sure enough - it works. Didn't ask for an unlock code, nothing... Works no prob now!
--
白い熊
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please clarify. Was the phone carrier unlocked or died you do that above and beyond what you wrote here?
Thanks

ShadowFlare said:
Odd, I've never heard anyone importing Note 4 needing to do this, even in some reviews I remember they mentioned that their imported Note 4 was not locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See above - i have N910F and it did not have the region lock sticker.

Wooba99 said:
Can you please clarify. Was the phone carrier unlocked or died you do that above and beyond what you wrote here?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it in Samsung official store, it was carrier unlocked, no region lock sticker, but the rep warned me it has region lock... As per my post above.
And indeed it was region locked, as I tested, described in my post above.
--
白い熊

how I did region unlock in argentina
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/help/region-unlocked-t2969890

Network unlock?

Hi all. My friend got a new P20 Pro, which he though was network unlocked but it isn't. Is it possible to unlock? Do the many unlock sites work with this phone? Any recommendations if so? Thanks!

I am also looking for a solution as I am due to travel to asia next month. Mine is locked to EE. I can carry two phones but I really wanna avoid this for safety reasons and also because when holidaying i'm always carrying other valuables like passports, cash, external battery bank, sunglasses etc etc.

subhani said:
I am also looking for a solution as I am due to travel to asia next month. Mine is locked to EE. I can carry two phones but I really wanna avoid this for safety reasons and also because when holidaying i'm always carrying other valuables like passports, cash, external battery bank, sunglasses etc etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A network lock does not mean it cannot be used in another country, you can still travel else where and use the phone with locked network, well it's actually called SIM Lock not network lock, when SIM is locked it means it only accepts 1 provider to be used on the phone. But when you travel it can still borrow other networks systems so you will still be able to call and send sms and such as you can do now.
So let's say you live in UK and got provider called three and it's locked to three, then when you travel to asia it will automaticly borrow one of their network somehow but it will etc say three (vodafone) on the phone, that means it is borrowing network through vodafone in asia but billing will go via three and not vodafone. since vodafone will bill three and then three will bill you for the sms, calls and such.
Answer to OP: easiest way is to go to provider where your bought the phone from and have them unlocking your SIM lock on the phone. But it would cost you money for it thought. But be aware, if your phone is under a subscription deal then provider will reject the SIM unlock. Since they don't want you to try use another provider or try cancel current one while you got phone from them cheaper under a subscription. So this is why SIM lock is set on the phone to avoid this. But you can still use other networks called roaming with same SIM card, like i explained further up how it will go when you travel.

Jake.S said:
A network lock does not mean it cannot be used in another country, you can still travel else where and use the phone with locked network, well it's actually called SIM Lock not network lock, when SIM is locked it means it only accepts 1 provider to be used on the phone. But when you travel it can still borrow other networks systems so you will still be able to call and send sms and such as you can do now.
So let's say you live in UK and got provider called three and it's locked to three, then when you travel to asia it will automaticly borrow one of their network somehow but it will etc say three (vodafone) on the phone, that means it is borrowing network through vodafone in asia but billing will go via three and not vodafone. since vodafone will bill three and then three will bill you for the sms, calls and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, Jake. I was hoping to use a local sim on my holiday in Asia and then to Egypt... as data is a LOT cheaper using a local sim instead of roaming on my UK EE sim. If it is network locked, it would mean I cannot use a local sim abroad, correct?

subhani said:
Thanks for the reply, Jake. I was hoping to use a local sim on my holiday in Asia and then to Egypt... as data is a LOT cheaper using a local sim instead of roaming on my UK EE sim. If it is network locked, it would mean I cannot use a local sim abroad, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
never heard of something called network locked, but i have heard of sim lock. sim lock is diffirent to network lock, it means you can only use carrier you got phone off. But it will still use function called roaming what so ever when you travel to be able to connect to your carrier through other carriers systems.
So try asking your provider again is it network lock or sim lock. They could of meant sim lock and not network lock. If they say this then you are good to go and can use your SIM card anywhere, but then it will show on phone something like Three (Other operators name) since it will automaticly borrow through another carriers system. But you will be charged via your local carrier for the calls, internet use and so on.

So as stated, mine was locked to EE and they wouldn't unlock it.
I used https://www.unlockunit.com and got some unlock codes in less than 24hrs. My o2 card now works!
I assume now it's sim unlocked, that any card from any country would work. But that's a guess on my part.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

rendez2k said:
So as stated, mine was locked to EE and they wouldn't unlock it.
I used https://www.unlockunit.com and got some unlock codes in less than 24hrs. My o2 card now works!
I assume now it's sim unlocked, that any card from any country would work. But that's a guess on my part.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very exciting! Your EE locked P20 Pro got unlocked using a code from that website? Now you can use an o2 sim in it?
Please confirm.

Yup! That's what happened. Basically, a friend purchased the P20 from a third party site (ie, not EE) with the intent to sell it (to me in the end). He assumed it was unlocked, which it wasn't on arrival. EE wouldn't unlock it until 6 months in.
I put the details into that site and honestly expected nothing. Less than 24hrs later I got a bunch of unlock codes, first one worked. Very happy
subhani said:
This is very exciting! Your EE locked P20 Pro got unlocked using a code from that website? Now you can use an o2 sim in it?
Please confirm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

they even don't have mate 20 pro on list just mate 20 lite.
So it's impossible to take out simlock with this fake site

Network / SIM lock, same thing.
Basically you just want to use another SIM than was originally intended, for travelling purposes or for if the phones sold and the buyer wants to use another SIM.
There are a tonne of services on the high street and online, eBay etc who can do this.
Should be quite cheap.
EE will provide it for £20 so long as the phones over 6 months old. Least that's what it used to be.
They can do it for free but you'd have to sweet talk them.
It's your right to have it unlocked, mobile networks shouldn't be able to lock them down, certain shops like carphone warehouse offer unlocked phones so I'd recommend buying from them in the future.
OEM's also offer the device unlocked.

Struggling to Carrier Unlock - L09 Vodafone UK

Hey guys,
Looking for some advice on unlocking my device. I bought it of marketplace and it seems to be locked to Vodafone UK.
I'm having no issues at all when using a Vodafone sim and adding a new SIM prompts for the network unlock code (Expected behaviour) but I've tried 4 different companies now to try unlock the phone and each have said they can't find the code on their database?
I thought the IMEI might have been altered but it's aligned with what's on the box and legit.
Can anyone offer any advice on what to do next!? Cheers

dbailey said:
Hey guys,
Looking for some advice on unlocking my device. I bought it of marketplace and it seems to be locked to Vodafone UK.
I'm having no issues at all when using a Vodafone sim and adding a new SIM prompts for the network unlock code (Expected behaviour) but I've tried 4 different companies now to try unlock the phone and each have said they can't find the code on their database?
I thought the IMEI might have been altered but it's aligned with what's on the box and legit.
Can anyone offer any advice on what to do next!? Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You tried contacting Vodafone? Just a wild guess that they might help.
Sent from my EVR-L29 using Tapatalk

Yeah I've spoken to them, they said they can only help once I put a sim in the phone for over 30 days (I'm now 2/30).
Id just hate to wait 30 days for them to not be able to do it!

cop out but check ebay for vodafone unlocking codes usual takes alot less time. if you bought the phone second hand and as long as its older than 3 months it can be done. all comapies will say it can take upto 28 days to get the code but thats just to cover them.
just a quick look but this one says huawei
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vodafone...243338?hash=item5d8f022e4a:g:heoAAOSwy-ddQEfl

dbailey said:
Yeah I've spoken to them, they said they can only help once I put a sim in the phone for over 30 days (I'm now 2/30).
Id just hate to wait 30 days for them to not be able to do it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should be fine. Either that or pay third party , your choice.
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/vodafone-uk/forms/unlock-code-request/
Sent from my EVR-L29 using Tapatalk

Yeah tried 2 of those eBay guys and no luck. Is there some sort of time restrictions on them getting the code if it's too new?