Database Users

How to unlock S5 region lock

Hi,
I have a Galaxy S5 which is region locked to the Americas. I'm trying to use it in other region, but when inserting non-USA SIM it asks me for a PIN code to unlock.
I have stumbled acrosst his site (with another one that offers the same service):
---.fastgsm.com/en/page/how-to-unlock-samsung-via-imei-s5230-star-s5620-monte-galaxy-tab-s3370
replace --- with www
Do you think it is safe? What other alternatives I have rather than going to the USA and making a five minutes call?

Sounds like SIM-Lock rather than Region Lock. - Both are different and I think you may have confused them
SIM-Lock means it is locked to a carrier, region lock would show no signal and no service etc until you had bypassed it by making that 5minute phone call

radicalisto said:
Sounds like SIM-Lock rather than Region Lock. - Both are different and I think you may have confused them
SIM-Lock means it is locked to a carrier, region lock would show no signal and no service etc until you had bypassed it by making that 5minute phone call
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's SIM unlocked. I get message saying to insert "SIM network unlock PIN" which is region-lock, according to search in google.

European Model: This product should be activated with a SIM card issued from a mobile operator within Europe. (as defined EU/EEA, Switzerland and the following Non-EEA countries Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M), Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia and Vatican City.) To use SIM cards from other regions, a cumulative call over five minutes must first be made with the SIM card from European operators.

I'm having the same problem with the SM-G900H from America. I'm in Singapore now. Is it possible to use a USA-sim to unlock the phone WITHIN Singapore?

timweri said:
I'm having the same problem with the SM-G900H from America. I'm in Singapore now. Is it possible to use a USA-sim to unlock the phone WITHIN Singapore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure, I would try this with roaming but I guess the system is smarter and will check for location.
I ended up buying an unlock code from Cellunlocker.net. They are very fast and responsive, and the code did the work for me.

etaiso said:
I'm not sure, I would try this with roaming but I guess the system is smarter and will check for location.
I ended up buying an unlock code from Cellunlocker.net. They are very fast and responsive, and the code did the work for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure. I think you're lucky...
I purchased a code from them but it doesn't work. I asked them and got this:
Hi
We do not unlock region locks. We only unlock the network.
This was written in red font on our website while placing your order:
All SAMSUNG devices manufactured after the date of JULY 2013 and Samsung devices running on Android version is Android 4.4 (KITKAT) are subject to REGION LOCKING
If your phone has been used previously with the original carrier, this will not apply to you. However, if your device is BRAND NEW, your must activate it with the original carrier.
If your Samsung device becomes Region locked, you will not be able to fully factory Unlock your Samsung devices so it can be used internationally. Even the correct code will not work anymore.
*All USA and European Carriers ARE subject to Region Locking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally ignored this as on their website, above this part says:
PLEASE READ THIS DISCLAIMER: If you have a Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2, Note 3 or your Android version is Android 4.4 (KITKAT)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any other site that can really unlock a region lock?

Try this:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1...e-at-t-t-mobile-metropcs-rogers-bell-etc_tech

Try this

timweri said:
I'm not sure. I think you're lucky...
I purchased a code from them but it doesn't work. I asked them and got this:
I totally ignored this as on their website, above this part says:
Is there any other site that can really unlock a region lock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I selected the "Phone freeze + network unlock" from their menu. They provided 4 different codes, and when first used the network unlock code it didn't work, but I then entered the freeze code and it did the job.

cellunlocker.net:
Dosn't provide codes for Region Lock only for decives that open for Region Lock & Close for network lock !
*All Canadian Carriers are NOT subject to Region Locking
*All USA and European Carriers ARE subject to Region Locking
*There will be absolutely no refunds, if your device is Region Locked and an Unlock code is provided for your Samsung Device.
*If you are not sure please contact us first before placing your order
http://www.cellunlocker.net/samsung-unlock.php
Only fastgsm.com help to unloack SIM lock + region lock ...

etaiso said:
I have a Galaxy S5 which is region locked to the Americas. I'm trying to use it in other region, but when inserting non-USA SIM it asks me for a PIN code to unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung region locks to make it difficult to do exactly what you are trying to do. Reliable information on the topic is difficult to come by as it doesn't affect most of us.. hence most of us have little direct experience with region locking. And those affected frequently make assumptions and guesses but seldom study the issue methodically.
Some very knowledgeable people say that a normal SIM unlock will likely remove the region unlock as well. So that may be the best option for many. The question of whether using an Americas SIM, e.g. a prepaid SIM for example outside of the America's will release the region lock? The question gets raised from time to time but I have yet to see an authorative answer.. so the only thing that we can say is that it would probably work.
Lastly, one can, with root, directly examine and modify the region lock blacklist. So it is easily circumvented if you root your phone. I can vouch for the later. The other suggestions should work as well, but were not tested myself.
.

what about the people who already bought the phone and came back to their own country.?
it s too late for me to use a sim based in the purchase country. my phone has no sim lock, when i put the sim and try to call someone it says "not registered on network". I wonder is this because region lock or a different problem?
i would appreciate any kind of help.

I suppose you could try flashing firmware from your region and change your CSC. Worth trying since you don't have much choice.

russ18uk said:
I suppose you could try flashing firmware from your region and change your CSC. Worth trying since you don't have much choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the advice but my phone is G900H and G900FQ is the phone available in my region
i will try to change CSC when i get my phone back. It is in samsung service now. They are trying to fix it but no luck so far

My friend use .fastgsm.com to unloack SIM lock + region lock ...
I wounder if there is a way with root to unloack it ?
for some reson no one in XDA didn't give a solution to the problem...
anyone know another web to unlock SIM lock + region lock for non-rooted?
what about root deviecs?

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? Also, can the american s5 models be bought already sim-unlocked? (meaning only the region lock is left)?
Thanks!

timweri said:
I'm having the same problem with the SM-G900H from America. I'm in Singapore now. Is it possible to use a USA-sim to unlock the phone WITHIN Singapore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are u sure that u have g900H? cauze the specific model is unlocked for all regions/countries
http://swappa.com/specs/samsung-galaxy-s-5-g900h

Galaxy Note 4 European locked
I have note 4 which is region locked, I have tried most of all the online unlock services, but they ether do not unlock region lock or they did not find my IMEI in the database.
the region lock away app will not work cause it only for not 3
I emailed Samsung support and they just say you cannot unlock
and I cannot go to Europe to make five or ten minute call to activate and come back
so the only question now which have been asked before, if using a European sim card outside Europe and make a roaming call will solve it or not?
I hope that someone can try it and let us know it will be very much helpful

Similar problem in Alpha
I face a similar problem with my Samsung Alpha....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-alpha/help/region-lock-issue-help-required-t3044934
Can someone give me a lead on how to proceed with directly examining and modifying the region lock blacklist.
I have my device rooted.
Also, I read somewhere that installing a stock ROM from different Region, will not help with Region Unlocking.
Can some members please clarify and guide a way forward.
Thanks !!

What happens if I flashed another country firmware??

Suppose in the case I bricked my phone and I don't know the baseband version of it. Now what is the option to recover? Flash stock firmware via Odin but don't know the baseband??? What will happens if I flash another country stock firmware?? Will the phone hard brick?? Or it will work fine?? Thank you

The worst case is that your sim card will not work with that software. This is only if your phone is carrier locked.
If it is unlocked, or neverlocked as others put it, then you can flash any firmware you like, as long as it is for your respective phone model.

GDReaper said:
The worst case is that your sim card will not work with that software. This is only if your phone is carrier locked.
If it is unlocked, or neverlocked as others put it, then you can flash any firmware you like, as long as it is for your respective phone model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you sir, as u r always helpful. ??

But wait. Suppose I got phone as gift from my relative who live in UK and I live in Nepal. Which country firmware should I flash?? UK or Nepal??

Athakuri700 said:
But wait. Suppose I got phone as gift from my relative who live in UK and I live in Nepal. Which country firmware should I flash?? UK or Nepal??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure that this phone isn't locked to O2 or any UK carrier.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD

Athakuri700 said:
But wait. Suppose I got phone as gift from my relative who live in UK and I live in Nepal. Which country firmware should I flash?? UK or Nepal??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should flash Nepal firmware then. It would give you better (more match) CSC code. The CSC (Consumer Software Customization) code contains the info about software packages specific to a particular region, carrier branding and also APN (Access Point Name) settings for data connection.
In my case, my S4 i9500 was made in Vietnam and when I received it, it had a Thailand firmware on it. It is a network unlocked phone. I live in USA. The first lollipop firmware came out was for Russia. So I flahsed the Russian firmware. My CSC showed that it is a russian phone. I used that phone on AT&T network that available in USA, China and Korea, and I had no problem.

Nothing will happen.

@sway8966
Are you really to suggest him to flash Nepali firmware on UK phone? I'll unlock it (the carrier-lock) first and then flash other countries' firmware if need.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD

Sorry to bump this up but im having problems with my s6 edge (Maybe because of this).
I recently acquired a phone from a relative from UK. The OS is android 7.0 and the carrier is three.co.uk (H3G), we have reset the phone to its factory settings and accidentally didnt noticed that it do auto update on the OS, then this bootloops starts to occur.
The phone isnt network-locked because the phone can receive signals, messages and phone calls on local sim.
Now upon browsing around SamMobile, There is an available Firmware for this mobile and even the firmware which is available to Philippines but only ver. 6.0.1
Is this possible to use the PH one or still i go to UK(h3g)?

help please
once i take the firmware from other countries and then i install to my phone,
does my phone will going to operate that firmware even if it come from another country
because i tried to find firmware according to my respective country unfortunately i missed it.
so please i need your assistance ..please

Flashing stock firmware on carrier locked phone

Hey everyone! I'm somewhat new to XDA (as in this is my first time creating/posting a thread) but I've decided this is the best place to get some help.
So, I have a carrier locked G935W8 Fido phone, and I was wondering if it was possible to install the stock G935W8 firmware from sammobile. I have read around that flashing the stock firmware works after the phone is unlocked, but what if it is still carrier locked? Can I still flash the stock G935W8? Or will I brick my device? My phone is not rooted btw.
Thanks to anyone that can help me out!

Welcome to XDA
yes, you can flash stock firmware as long as it is for the locked carrier.
Other firmware will work but the imei maybe effected.

Cosmic Blue said:
Welcome to XDA
yes, you can flash stock firmware as long as it is for the locked carrier.
Other firmware will work but the imei maybe effected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's the thing. I want to flash the unlocked Canadian firmware, as in the one with no carrier bloatware. Will that be possible and have the phone working 100%?

I'm afraid I don't have an answer to your question, but I just did the carrier unlock on my new G935W8 a few days ago using basically the first website to come up in a google search. $25 USD; waited about 18 hours to get the code. You don't have to rely on your carrier (with their insane fees and/or waiting periods) to unlock your phone; might as well just do it. Having an unlocked phone is very handy if you travel at all.

shadowdude123 said:
Well, that's the thing. I want to flash the unlocked Canadian firmware, as in the one with no carrier bloatware. Will that be possible and have the phone working 100%?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it will work for most things 100 %. volte may not work as it requires a carrier branded firmware.
you will probably have to enter the number for your voice mail manually and settings for internet as that is in the carrier branding.

Cosmic Blue said:
yes, it will work for most things 100 %. volte may not work as it requires a carrier branded firmware.
you will probably have to enter the number for your voice mail manually and settings for internet as that is in the carrier branding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you everyone for your help! Just a question, what do you mean by settings for internet? As in data/LTE?

is there a How to on Canadian Carrier Switching?

I've looked all over the forums and all the threads on carrier switching refer to switching US S8 variants to US carriers.
Can someone please explain or point me to a thread that explains how to carrier switch Canadian providers that would be fantastic. In particular I want to go from Rogers to Freedom Mobile (aka wind mobile) . My phone has been factory unlocked.

howellinmad said:
I've looked all over the forums and all the threads on carrier switching refer to switching US S8 variants to US carriers.
Can someone please explain or point me to a thread that explains how to carrier switch Canadian providers that would be fantastic. In particular I want to go from Rogers to Freedom Mobile (aka wind mobile) . My phone has been factory unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can tell you from experience that freedom does not have any carrier specific features, so doing a firmware switch wont benefit you in any way I dont think.
You can however go onto sammobile and download the firmware for freedom and flash it using Odin. Again probably no real benefits. You would benefit if you were going the other way tho, as Rogers, Bell and Telus have carrier specific settings in their firmwares.
But since you are carrier unlocked, you could try a factory reset then put your freedom sim in it and boot up. It might install the freedom files. My S7 worked this way when i went from a Bell locked phone to a Koodo sim...
Edit: That link has an unlocked canadian firmware as well, you could use that firmware too.

Open the dialer and type *#243203855# then select GLW, this will change your csc to wind mobile/freedom, it'll wipe your phone..

peachpuff said:
Open the dialer and type *#243203855# then select GLW, this will change your csc to wind mobile/freedom, it'll wipe your phone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Peachpuff. I have an unlocked S8 phone from a Bestbuy canada marketplace seller. I tried using your code to change to the Telus CSC so I can get VOLTE but got the invalid MMI code error message. The about phone says its an SM-G950FD, and the only code the phone appears to accept is the one displaying the EMEI.
Hope you have some guidance on that ?
Thanks

starview332 said:
Hi Peachpuff. I have an unlocked S8 phone from a Bestbuy canada marketplace seller. I tried using your code to change to the Telus CSC so I can get VOLTE but got the invalid MMI code error message. The about phone says its an SM-G950FD, and the only code the phone appears to accept is the one displaying the EMEI.
Hope you have some guidance on that ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a canadian s8, its an international one, so that code won't work and i doubt you'll get volte working at all.
Just enjoy your root friendly multi sim phone.

A205YN Carrier Unlock

I bought a carrier locked A205YN to Telstra by accident and decided to take it up as a project to try and unlock it before using it as a daily phone. So I've been playing with it for a few months learning as I go.
I have been able to change it's Firmware from TLP to XSA. Telstra to Unbranded. But the firmware is the same, so it didn't change the lock.
I rooted the phone and edited the files
/efs/imei/mps_code.dat
/efs/imei/omcnw_code.dat
contents of both files from TLP to XSA. Then I did a factory reset.
It's CSC info changed from
TLP/TLP/TLP
to
XSA/XSA/TLP
How do I change the 3rd CSC Carrier field? I'm hoping this will unlock the phone? I have an unlocked A205YN with XSA/XSA/XSA, so I can get any files from that one and copy them to this device. Does anyone know the location of these config files?
Also if I flash the modem (CP or Core Processor) from a non Australian firmware such as A205F Europe, will this work? Odin won't let me do it, probably because the model numbers don't match. But I'm pretty sure the phone is actually the same and the model number is just a region lock equivelent. Is there a modified Odin that will let me do it or do I need to change the file name or files contents?

Hello,
Did you find a way to unlock your phone? I have an A205YN region locked (although I bought it unlocked in Australia, it keeps saying its locked in BRazil).
If you did, please share your learning with me.
Thanks in advance,
Allisson
Lobsta03 said:
I bought a carrier locked A205YN to Telstra by accident and decided to take it up as a project to try and unlock it before using it as a daily phone. So I've been playing with it for a few months learning as I go.
I have been able to change it's Firmware from TLP to XSA. Telstra to Unbranded. But the firmware is the same, so it didn't change the lock.
I rooted the phone and edited the files
/efs/imei/mps_code.dat
/efs/imei/omcnw_code.dat
contents of both files from TLP to XSA. Then I did a factory reset.
It's CSC info changed from
TLP/TLP/TLP
to
XSA/XSA/TLP
How do I change the 3rd CSC Carrier field? I'm hoping this will unlock the phone? I have an unlocked A205YN with XSA/XSA/XSA, so I can get any files from that one and copy them to this device. Does anyone know the location of these config files?
Also if I flash the modem (CP or Core Processor) from a non Australian firmware such as A205F Europe, will this work? Odin won't let me do it, probably because the model numbers don't match. But I'm pretty sure the phone is actually the same and the model number is just a region lock equivelent. Is there a modified Odin that will let me do it or do I need to change the file name or files contents?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

allisson said:
Hello,
Did you find a way to unlock your phone? I have an A205YN region locked (although I bought it unlocked in Australia, it keeps saying its locked in BRazil).
If you did, please share your learning with me.
Thanks in advance,
Allisson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My a205yn is locked to Vodafone but I use Kogan

physwizz said:
My a205yn is locked to Vodafone but I use Kogan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply.
What do you mean by KOgan? Could you be more specific?
Kind regads,
Allisson

allisson said:
Thanks for the reply.
What do you mean by KOgan? Could you be more specific?
Kind regads,
Allisson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kogan uses the vodafone network
its cheaper than vodafone

Most phones have an inbuilt unlock app. Metro has a limit of 6 months for prepaid phones and a monetary limit of a $100 before it can be unlocked.

ninjasinabag said:
Most phones have an inbuilt unlock app. Metro has a limit of 6 months for prepaid phones and a monetary limit of a $100 before it can be unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stupid question but can you use one of those pay to unlock websites to unlock it? Does that work