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Like the title says, what's the best place to buy unlocked international phones in US.
I also might have an option to buy while traveling to UK and looking for suggestions.
Will be using it on AT&T.
thanks!
The US has Snapdragon, the UK has Exynos
Super-Veloce said:
The US has Snapdragon, the UK has Exynos
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Click to collapse
thanks for the eye opener, now back to my question "Best place to buy Exynos version in US"
In the past, I've had the best success with well rated ebay resellers. Having ebay back your purchase is important because they are so buyer centric. If there are any issues at all, they will force paypal to refund your money. The only downside to this, is that you'll likely pay a little more - especially if you purchase right at release time.
Wonda Mobile and Expansys are also great/reputable online resellers that will surely sell the S8 and S8+. You'll pay closer to the retail price of the device (no ebay fees, price gouging, etc) and their return policies are good. That said, YOU will pay return fees back to Korea if there are issues and you're 100% at their discretion for returns/replacements/restocking fees, etc.
Hope this helps.
morbidz said:
thanks for the eye opener, now back to my question "Best place to buy Exynos version in US"
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I got my Galaxy S7 Edge (G935F) on Amazon and was going to get the NOTE 7 EXYNOS from https://www.bhphotovideo.com/
They are a good retailer - I am hoping we can get preorder from them - (they did offer a preorder for the NOTE but it never happened because batteries started exploding before the NOTE 7 Was released.
Silly question - but why would one prefer the Exynos version over the Snapdragon? Is there a noticeable difference in performance, or some other factor?
From what I hear, the performance on the Exynos variant is better than the Snapdragon variant. Also, the SnapDragon variant has been bootloader locked as of lately (Note 7, S7, and S7 Edge) while the Exynos variants have been unlocked.
So I pre-ordered a sim unlocked s8+ through samsung's UK site. not sure if they will ship to US though
Greetings from Canada,
Would anyone know which "soc" goes in the Canadian variant?
Thank you.
cguarino said:
Silly question - but why would one prefer the Exynos version over the Snapdragon? Is there a noticeable difference in performance, or some other factor?
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thats so naive from you..see the galaxy s7 exynos variant was unlock the past year where the s7 820 was not, what that means ?
basically means that you was not able to root any western device , but only exynos variant can... and root a device is crucial to open a lot of possibilitys like overclock
and responding to the question of this guy, basically in every latin country on america you can find the exynos variant, which is kind a weird cosidering that allways all america used the qualcomm variant in the past , and because a lot of mexicans carriers dont have the culture of wait until the oficial release of the smartphone i will expect some people to buyit long before
samteeee said:
Greetings from Canada,
Would anyone know which "soc" goes in the Canadian variant?
Thank you.
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Click to collapse
Canada is getting the snapdragon like the USA unfortunately.
Handtech and Clove are both reputable UK shops that many on this forum have used and recommend. Be aware if you're a first time buyer at either you may have to jump extra hoops to clear your credit card. This is normal and due to the high degree of fraud in international cell phone sales.
mocsab said:
I got my Galaxy S7 Edge (G935F) on Amazon and was going to get the NOTE 7 EXYNOS from https://www.bhphotovideo.com/
They are a good retailer - I am hoping we can get preorder from them - (they did offer a preorder for the NOTE but it never happened because batteries started exploding before the NOTE 7 Was released.
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Click to collapse
BH has it listed now, but just to notify when available. It has it listed as SM-G955. It doesn't say whether or not it is SD or exynos though.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._sm_g955_64gb_gry_galaxy_s8_sm_g955_64gb.html
I know with the international S7, Samsung Pay would not work in the US. Not too worried about that, but are there any other drawbacks? Will it work on all the LTE bands for AT&T?
I think for those that really want the international version, you'll have to find overseas sites that ship to the US or get them from a reputable seller on eBay such as never-msrp. The downside, as always, to importing is a higher price and generally, no warranty. I generally get quarterly trade where if anything happens and no one fixes the phone, they'll just give a full refund of the phone price. Anyways, just make sure it says SM 950F or SM 955F. The F are the true international unlocked models. Samsung pay may now work in the US. Check out the S7 threads to see how they got pay to work in the US
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------
PuffinNugz said:
BH has it listed now, but just to notify when available. It has it listed as SM-G955. It doesn't say whether or not it is SD or exynos though.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._sm_g955_64gb_gry_galaxy_s8_sm_g955_64gb.html
I know with the international S7, Samsung Pay would not work in the US. Not too worried about that, but are there any other drawbacks? Will it work on all the LTE bands for AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The s7 had all AT&T and tmobile bands. Volte didn't work and wifi calling also didn't work on tmobile tho even though the s7 had band 12. It just would not connect. I now have att so that's no longer a concern with me
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
Ordered from SamsungUK, they didnt reject my US address, so we will see what happens.
morbidz said:
So I pre-ordered a sim unlocked s8+ through samsung's UK site. not sure if they will ship to US though
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Click to collapse
I contacted the UK samsung web page and the sim free version still need to make a 5 minut call in the uk first to be truly unlocked, as it has region locked.
Check out clove UK. They have the cheapest pricing for the S8 and the s8+ and you get the international model. Picking mine up Soon
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
morbidz said:
So I pre-ordered a sim unlocked s8+ through samsung's UK site. not sure if they will ship to US though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't want them to ship it. The EU phones have region lock. To use a SIM from a country different from the phone's selling country you have to make a 5 minute call on a SIM native to the selling country on a network native to the selling country. That's why all the grey market phones on eBay are mostly from Asia.
Here's an article on it.
http://www.androidcentral.com/your-...8e43&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
PuffinNugz said:
BH has it listed now, but just to notify when available. It has it listed as SM-G955. It doesn't say whether or not it is SD or exynos though.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._sm_g955_64gb_gry_galaxy_s8_sm_g955_64gb.html
I know with the international S7, Samsung Pay would not work in the US. Not too worried about that, but are there any other drawbacks? Will it work on all the LTE bands for AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE on ATT works fine on the International Varients - the only thing missing is WIFI Calling and VOLTE - if those are big deals for you, yoiu need to stick with an ATT Phone. I haven't missed them - LTE speeds for me have always been great - I don't need WIFI Calling - and HD VOICE, well, I am not so sure it is everythign it is cracked up to be - call quality for me has been very good - so I personally am not missing anything.
I have wondered for a while if the snapdragon model in the US isn't something paid for by the NSA to be a the only US variant offered. Like more backdoors, etc built in to the Snapdragon variant. Unless there is some other obvious reason why the US gets only the Snapdragon variant.
It really doesn't matter for daily usable or noticeable performance however. Bet you'd never be able to tell which variant you were using if they were set up the same and you didn't check in the settings to cheat to see which variant it was.
Why wasn't there been no information about Chipset that is being used at S8 / S8+? Does anybody have any idea what is the chip that will be shipped globally? (Snapdragon 835 or Exynos). Nonetheless, the unpacked event was not so exciting as I expected. There is nothing much to say other than Screen ratio, Bixby and Dex.
Were you really as excited as you though earlier? Did Samsung fulfilled your expectation.
They said we made a new 10nm processor so it's obviously the Exynos, they didnt mention snapdragon so i guess it will be like the S6 with exynos only, maybe.
SM-G950F/FD/N, SM-G955F/FD/N aka International and Korean will be the Exynos 8895
G950U/0 and G955U/0 + US variants will be the Snapdragon 835
Most likely we're gonna get the SD835 version. At least that's what Mobilesyrup said.
Soufiansky said:
They said we made a new 10nm processor so it's obviously the Exynos, they didnt mention snapdragon so i guess it will be like the S6 with exynos only, maybe.
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Click to collapse
They also manufactured the sd835 , which is also 10nm processor
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LinS123 said:
Most likely we're gonna get the SD835 version. At least that's what Mobilesyrup said.
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Click to collapse
If the note 7 and s7 trend continues yep.bootloader probably locked again also.
Which means most of us will end up with an international Exynos model lol.
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
What should we order an international model or us. Yes im verizon and us. Only reason i ask ... i have the note 4 and the roms are mostly f and g variant which are india and europe.
happy2472 said:
What should we order an international model or us. Yes im verizon and us. Only reason i ask ... i have the note 4 and the roms are mostly f and g variant which are india and europe.
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Click to collapse
Samsung international phones don't work on Verizon.
always found it odd that the USA still hold on the less deployed cdma networks. they need to go GSM all the way!
mikey_sk said:
always found it odd that the USA still hold on the less deployed cdma networks. they need to go GSM all the way!
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Click to collapse
Actually they are. Sprint and Verizon only use CDMA for fallback and voice for now. There lte is gsm and once volte gets widespread enough CDMA will be shut down and refarmed for lte.
What should we order an international model or us. Yes im verizon and us. Only reason i ask ... i have the note 4 and the roms are mostly f and g variant which are india and europe. Anyone else getting the earbuds with the preorder promo?
The US bootloader won't be unlockable.
LoliSmith said:
The US bootloader won't be unlockable.
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Isnt that whats been said about almost every samsung phone?
You have 1 choice as always with Verizon. You get the Verizon version like always.
How do you even pre-order the international version? On the samsung site all I see are the carrier branded ones.
happy2472 said:
Isnt that whats been said about almost every samsung phone?
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Click to collapse
When was the last US Samung Galaxy device unlockable?
US because I'm sure the S8 will support the international U model firmware like the S7
kennonk said:
How do you even pre-order the international version? On the samsung site all I see are the carrier branded ones.
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Click to collapse
You can order it here, and they ship worldwide and are reputable:
https://www.unlocked-mobiles.com/sim-free-mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s8-plus-sim-free-p-87505.html
happy2472 said:
What should we order an international model or us. Yes im verizon and us.
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Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure you'll have to get the Verizon model as Verizon is a CDMA network and the international model is GSM and won't work (it'd work on AT&T and T-Mobile as they are GSM networks). Even if it did work you'd have to consider what frequencies/bands the international model supports vs what your carrier uses (and it seems that's not been specified yet, at least not on GSMArena, unless all versions supports all the same frequencies/bands).
samteeee said:
You can order it here, and they ship worldwide and are reputable:
https://www.unlocked-mobiles.com/sim-free-mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s8-plus-sim-free-p-87505.html
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Click to collapse
Interesting only black and that feminine mauve colour (grey my ass).
I wonder where the silver and gold versions are being sold?
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
samteeee said:
You can order it here, and they ship worldwide and are reputable:
https://www.unlocked-mobiles.com/sim-free-mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s8-plus-sim-free-p-87505.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NM, I tried to do a fake purchase and wasn't able to get them to ship to US, only UK.
RMXO said:
http://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphon...leMbCEOhBmuFF5g3q25kJViXEB_OCKvPx4F5TRnE4ljMO
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Do they ship to the US?
LoliSmith said:
Do they ship to the US?
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Click to collapse
nope, my bad, i should of checked before posting.
So the International model with the Exynos chip does not have CDMA radios/modems, correct?
LoliSmith said:
So the International model with the Exynos chip does not have CDMA radios/modems, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We already covered this in another thread no?
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
happy2472 said:
What should we order an international model or us. Yes im verizon and us. Only reason i ask ... i have the note 4 and the roms are mostly f and g variant which are india and europe. Anyone else getting the earbuds with the preorder promo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung pay wont work on International
johnwayne27 said:
Samsung pay wont work on International
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Yes true.
Good thing i dont use it...hell i dont even know if we have it in canada lol.
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
force70 said:
We already covered this in another thread no?
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Click to collapse
No.
Listen everyone if you cant reply with a positive response or helpful then please dont reply at all.
I'd be careful
I am still looking into comparing the US Snapdragon variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ vs the International variant with the Exynos chip. I will say the Exynos chip usually works a lot better than the snapdragon on a samsung phone. Which makes sense since it is a Samsung chip. The real world speed tests for the Exynos and benchmark tests usually outdo the snapdragon.
With that said, frequency bands need to be compared. Because obviously the international variant will not work for Sprint or Verizon. Furthermore, there are LTE bands to worry about for T-Mobile and AT&T. And I can not seem to verify the bands for the international variant. From what I remember for the S7 International variant, there was no LTE band 12 which T-Mobile uses for their new LTE band. It didn't matter much before but now this band is being used for low-band spectrum which is for inside buildings and rural long distance connections. This band is expanding.
Therefore, I want to first see the real word speed tests (because snapdragon upped their game a bit) and confirm the frequency bands which seems to be harder than I thought. Frequencycheck seems to think the INternational variant has Band 12 but are they reliable this early?
Anyway, can anyone confirm the LTE bands for the International G955F variant? Maybe I need to search in German or French.
I have a new S8 factory sealed in the box.
When I check the IMEI (on the box) on imei.info I see that the phone has the Exynos 8895 processor...
However it's a Canadian phone SM-G950W. Is it possible for a North American S8 to have the Exynos or I can not trust the info I got on this website?
Thanks!
vinsky78 said:
I have a new S8 factory sealed in the box.
When I check the IMEI (on the box) on imei.info I see that the phone has the Exynos 8895 processor...
However it's a Canadian phone SM-G950W. Is it possible for a North American S8 to have the Exynos or I can not trust the info I got on this website?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont trust the website
its very possible
i think is not north america but US only that will get SD
or if you bought it online from non US retailers ....
vinsky78 said:
I have a new S8 factory sealed in the box.
When I check the IMEI (on the box) on imei.info I see that the phone has the Exynos 8895 processor...
However it's a Canadian phone SM-G950W. Is it possible for a North American S8 to have the Exynos or I can not trust the info I got on this website?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible. I think only US is getting the Snapdragon. Here in Mexico we are getting the Exynos version.
eoga said:
It is possible. I think only US is getting the Snapdragon. Here in Mexico we are getting the Exynos version.
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Im almost positive north america got the crappy snapdragon
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S8
954wrecker said:
Im almost positive north america got the crappy snapdragon
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S8
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Click to collapse
Mexico is part of North America, in case you dont know. Like I mentioned we are getting the exynos so not all North America is getting the Snapdragon version.
eoga said:
Mexico is part of North America, in case you dont know. Like I mentioned we are getting the exynos so not all North America is getting the Snapdragon version.
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Click to collapse
Ok let us know for sure when you get it in your hands. Im a few miles from Mexico so I was just providing the link to help you see they list NORTH AMERICA as Snapdragon.
My imei number doesn't read on that website. So no idea what my Canadian s8 plus is. From bell
Unless people/sites are lieing, Canada should have the crappy SD version
s384 said:
My imei number doesn't read on that website. So no idea what my Canadian s8 plus is. From bell
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Click to collapse
Try AIDA64 app but im sure canada got screwed just like the usa and got snapdragon'd.
Ok mexico or at least the first carrier I googled is getting Exynos. You guys get the F version so wiki is worthless.
US and China got Snapdragon
Everywhere else got Exynos (Including Canada, Mexico, etc...)
jkao42 said:
US and China got Snapdragon
Everywhere else got Exynos (Including Canada, Mexico, etc...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately Canada has SD, just do a quick google search SM-G950W. For S7 we had Exynos, but not s8.
Thanks to Rogers/bell/telus
Drunkadf said:
Unfortunately Canada has SD, just do a quick google search SM-G950W. For S7 we had Exynos, but not s8.
Thanks to Rogers/bell/telus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll take your word for it, I know there was a discussion somewhere about people wanting to root their s8, and one of the comments was buy a s8 from Canada.
If you have one, you mind getting Aida64 and double checking?
954wrecker said:
Try AIDA64 app but im sure canada got screwed just like the usa and got snapdragon'd.
Ok mexico or at least the first carrier I googled is getting Exynos. You guys get the F version so wiki is worthless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently I have snapdragon yes. Why is the exonos preferred over snapdragon?
jkao42 said:
I'll take your word for it, I know there was a discussion somewhere about people wanting to root their s8, and one of the comments was buy a s8 from Canada.
If you have one, you mind getting Aida64 and double checking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that in Canada we got the SD SM-G950W
I even called the Samsung store here in Edmonton to confirm and went to look at phones in my local BB
s384 said:
Apparently I have snapdragon yes. Why is the exonos preferred over snapdragon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snapdragon has bootloader locked with no way of unlocking it, aka no rooting any time soon.
Exynos can be unlockiled making flashing via custom recoveries available
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Yep its Snapdragon, i got mine from telus and we got Qualcomm. I even went to the samsung experience store to see if they have exynos...lookslike snapdragon
it's ok guys, just got to buy it from Clove.
Too bad the exchange rate is horrible atm, still waiting for last week's rate
I want to buy SM-G9750/DS (Dual SIM). This is Chinese Version (sourced from Hong Kong).
It has Snapdragon processor.
Is this version compatible AT&T and T-Mobile?
lahcim2000 said:
I want to buy SM-G9750/DS (Dual SIM). This is Chinese Version (sourced from Hong Kong).
It has Snapdragon processor.
Is this version compatible AT&T and T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like its missing some LTE bands compared to the US version.
Usually don't have band 71 for TMobile... At least on Note 9.
galaxys said:
Usually don't have band 71 for TMobile... At least on Note 9.
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Click to collapse
Can I somehow enable those bands?
Both phones look to be running same Qualcomm chipset.
lahcim2000 said:
Can I somehow enable those bands?
Both phones look to be running same Qualcomm chipset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately No!
galaxys said:
Unfortunately No!
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Click to collapse
What about CDMATool?
I see it can enable bands, but I do not see option for band 66 or 71 in a tool.
Thoughts?
I have a note 9 from the same source, perfect expect those carrier specific feartue such as volte, wifi calling . It does work with LTE, but almost half of speed of what I can get from a us version.
lahcim2000 said:
I want to buy SM-G9750/DS (Dual SIM). This is Chinese Version (sourced from Hong Kong).
It has Snapdragon processor.
Is this version compatible AT&T and T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S9 Plus, SM-G9650 (Hong Kong) is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile, I'd be surprised to learn an SM-G9750 isn't. It should work on all CDMA Networks. In some instances sellers on Ebay and Amazon will state that particular variant isn't compatible when in fact it is, just to cover their rear ends.
my sprint sim isnt working for my 9750 out the box... i figured they couldnt do anything, but i called anyways, the sprint rep said if it were "unlocked" it would work, maybe its a network or regional lock, i dont know. Im trying everything to get it "unlocked"... if thats even the problem. Currently waiting on a paid sim unlock service to get back with me, see if they can help.
Any one get a HK s9 or s10 to work on sprint?
If it's Exynos it's not going to work on Sprint or Verizon.
My Exynos S9+ and Note9 work fine with TMO.
monroe0328 said:
my sprint sim isnt working for my 9750 out the box... i figured they couldnt do anything, but i called anyways, the sprint rep said if it were "unlocked" it would work, maybe its a network or regional lock, i dont know. Im trying everything to get it "unlocked"... if thats even the problem. Currently waiting on a paid sim unlock service to get back with me, see if they can help.
Any one get a HK s9 or s10 to work on sprint?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The s10 9750 is compatible for flashing HK roms, try flashing HK rom for your 9750 instead.
Please Help
oscarxvita said:
The s10 9750 is compatible for flashing HK roms, try flashing HK rom for your 9750 instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how to u flash a rom on the SM-G9750... i googled but getting a lot of wrong forums
Region Locket
is this hong-kong version (G9750) region locket ? if yes how to unlock ?
lahcim2000 said:
I want to buy SM-G9750/DS (Dual SIM). This is Chinese Version (sourced from Hong Kong).
It has Snapdragon processor.
Is this version compatible AT&T and T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello everyone
I have question.... please tell me Is SM-G9750/DS with snapdragon (China/Hong Kong version with TGY csc) compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile.
I want to know, it will work Wificalling & Volte on T-mobile ?
someone has this one smartphone and uses it in the USA ?
Thank you