So, the thing is my parents live in Canada and they bought me a Galaxy s8 from the Samsung Store for me, and I live in Europe. My question is, can I use the phone here? The model number is SM-G950W and I just found out the global model is SM-G950F. Is there any reason for me to worry? From what I can see the 4G LTE cellular bands are different.
Cheers!
iirc if they unlock it in Canada you'll be fine.
Rithari said:
iirc if they unlock it in Canada you'll be fine.
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what do you mean unlock it in canada?
Activate it with Canadian SIM and make a call, that should activate it but don't take my word for it, not sure if it applies to your model.
On the european one I have (and I live in europe, so that's a good thing) it says 'for eu sim cards only' or something like that on the box. Would have to check the exact text this evening (not at home now). But from what I understand you can't simply use another regions S8 just like that.
Not sure how exactly it works though
Related
Hello I recently purchased a galaxy s5 on Craigslist and thought it was an unlocked version but when I got home and looked closer the model number of the phone is SM-G900 ... Does anyone know what carrier the phone originated on?i can't seem to find anything online about this version as all other carriers have a letter after the 900 telling you what carrier it's to. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Also with the version will I get lte on att network?
Nobody can read anything in that tiny screenshot man
Jleech330 said:
Hello I recently purchased a galaxy s5 on Craigslist and thought it was an unlocked version but when I got home and looked closer the model number of the phone is SM-G900 ... Does anyone know what carrier the phone originated on?i can't seem to find anything online about this version as all other carriers have a letter after the 900 telling you what carrier it's to. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Also with the version will I get lte on att network?
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dynospectrum said:
Nobody can read anything in that tiny screenshot man
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Yeah, the screenshot is just a thumbnail. As far as I know, there's a few unlocked versions out there, where the G900W8 and G900F support 4G, and the G900H does not. The G900T is Tmobile's phone, but it is unlocked, supports 4G, and works on AT&T's networks. It looks like whoever sold this to you tried to get one over on you by hiding the letter, because if the actual model of the phone turns out to be G900H, then you won't be able to use 4G on AT&T, because, hardware-wise, the G900H doesn't have the bands necessary to use 4G.
If you can't find it in system info, see what happens when you plug it into your computer. Sometimes (in my case for one), Will say something like: "What would you like to do with this device?"
And then give you the model number of the phone.
If it still turns out to be G900 with no letter, then who knows? Maybe it's some model manufactured straight from Samsung designed to be a developer device. I'm not sure if this is possible, but it's the only other explanation I can come up with.
Jleech330 said:
Hello I recently purchased a galaxy s5 on Craigslist and thought it was an unlocked version but when I got home and looked closer the model number of the phone is SM-G900 ... Does anyone know what carrier the phone originated on?i can't seem to find anything online about this version as all other carriers have a letter after the 900 telling you what carrier it's to. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Also with the version will I get lte on att network?
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Get this app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2737283
There you can see the CSC code. You will know if it is a international version or branded version.
Last month I bougth one Galaxy S5 in San Francisco's BestBuy, I ask for the Unlocked version for Brazil and Ask for the seller this mobile work in Brazil ? The seller say: Yes.
When I arive in my country I tested my sim card and this SIM card doens't work.
I call for the Samsung in Brazil and the USA Samsung.
I Call for my carrier in Brazil(VIVO)
After I found my guide and discovered that it was a North Africa and Middle East Version.
The model is SM-G900H.
I don't know about the my mobile carrier.
I don't know what to do.
Thank you.
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fffft said:
Best Buy in San Francisco sold you a 900H phone? That is rather strange as there are no US carriers that use the 900H. I can only presume that they resold a used trade in phone that originated in some other country. You should look under the battery and confirm that you really have a 900H model. AFAIK, Brazil carriers use the 900M variant. Which means that if you really have a 900H it will probably have gaps in it's coverage with your carrier in Brazil.
Confirm that you really have a 900H model.
Ask your Carrier (Vivo) what frequency bands they use in their network
Go to the Samsung website and look up the specs for the 900H phone and see what bands the model supports.
If the phone is missing any Vivo bands, then you will be subject to more congestion and dropped calls than you would with the correct model. And if you are in a smaller town where less frequencies are in use, you may find no coverage at all.
As to the "pin lock", you didn't really describe what you mean.. but it's probably a SIM (carrier) or region lock, rather than lock screen pin. If so then you need to purchase an unlock code from a third party vendor on Ebay or other online site to unlock it for use with Vivo.
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This model is right, I checked in my phone. SM-900H. But the VIVO Can't help me. I don't know what I do can I buy one pin code on cellunlocker or another website ?
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fffft said:
You should first ask Vivo what frequency bands their system uses. If the 900H phone won't work well on the Vivo system, everything else is moot.
As to unlocking, you would have to get a SIM unlock code AKA IMEI unlock code (PIN) from Ebay or another online unlocking site. Not Vivo. Also consider if you want to make a claim against Best Buy or not? Do you want to try returning the phone because they sold you the wrong model or not?
Good luck.
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Vivo: GSM 850 MHz , Work ?
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fffft said:
A cursory Google search finds
You should confirm that information with Vivo. Then go to the Samsung web page and see if the 900H supports all of those Vivo frequencies or not.
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I found this on internet.
Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900H have Yes Card Slots,Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900H support all GSM Based network providers. Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900H mobile device support 2G Band Frequency at GSM 850,GSM 900,GSM 1800,GSM 1900 and Hight Speed 3G Network Band at HSDPA 850,HSDPA 900,HSDPA 1900,HSDPA 2100,Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900H also support LTE based 4G Networks Support at Frequency level LTE 2100,LTE 800,LTE 1800,LTE 2600,LTE 850,LTE 900,comes with network handling support with Network settings and work offline with flight Mode.
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fffft said:
VIVO (unverified)
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS 850/2100
LTE FDD B7
900H (unverified /unknown variant)
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS 850/1900/2100
LTE N/A
Did you actually talk to Vivo to confirm their information?
A full model number would clarify the latter i.e. what region your phone originates from may determine which bands are accessible.
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What should I ask for a VIVO ?
Leib said:
What should I ask for a VIVO ?
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Did you see any notice about 'region lock' on the box?
vndnguyen said:
Did you see any notice about 'region lock' on the box?
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I didn't see any notice in the box.
Can I buy one unlock code for my mobile ? Can you give me a reliable website ?
Leib said:
I didn't see any notice in the box.
Can I buy one unlock code for my mobile ? Can you give me a reliable website ?
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Sorry I don't know.
However you can try to get it for free, ask the OP in this thread for the details.
Today I recive this e-mail
Gabriel,
It seems you may still not be receiving our responses.
Often, the unlocked phones require a 5 minute phone call be made with a North American SIM card before they're fully functional throughout the world.
Is there someone in San Francisco you can send the phone to? They could then bring it in to us and we could attempt to unlock it for you. If we cannot, I will refund the item.
Thanks,
Dustin
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I need the North American SIM card for active my phone.
Can I buy Unlock code anyway ?
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I’m coming from a Nexus 5 and trying to figure out which model of Note 4 to get. I've read a lot on this and am still finding it all very confusing with so many Note 4 models and rumors of region/continent-locking.
I'm in Canada and need something penta-band 3G support and support for LTE on at least Bell in Canada. I regularly use a T-Mobile SIM in the US and other SIMs in Asia-Pacific and Europe when I travel. I have read that the Note 4 models are region-locked by continent.
Fortunately it does look like CanadaGSM is selling a bunch of different unlocked models including the W8 and the T. From their site it seems that the W8 model would give me the most frequency support but isn't this the model that Bell, Rogers, and other Canadian carriers are selling? If that's the case, why do the sites of those carriers list fewer bands (e.g. no 1700 support except from Wind).
Is it true that the Note 4 is continent-locked? For example if I get a W8 can I use it with SIMs in Asia-Pacific and Europe when I travel as I do with my Nexus 5?
If I'm going to spend $800 on an unlocked Note 4 it had be truly unlocked.
Thanks in advance for any helpful answers.
I think the N910W8 is the model for you. http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=6798&c=samsung_sm-n910w8_galaxy_note_4_lte-a_samsung_muscat
The carriers not listing 1700 support probably don't use 1700 to begin with. The W8 definitely supports 1700.
Not entirely sure about the continent locking issue. I've heard about it but I think it only applies to carrier models.
910u.
So in theory if I get a W8 and unlock it I should be fine. That would actually be helpful as I could get it on contract from Bell a lot cheaper.
2xbass said:
Is it true that the Note 4 is continent-locked? For example if I get a W8 can I use it with SIMs in Asia-Pacific and Europe when I travel as I do with my Nexus 5?
If I'm going to spend $800 on an unlocked Note 4 it had be truly unlocked.
Thanks in advance for any helpful answers.
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Yes, your Note 4 is region locked.
BUT the lock works this way: you buy your phone in the US and it's locked to any other SIM other than a US one. Once you insert a US sim into it and make a 5-minute call, it will be unlocked for all SIM cards and you can use it anywhere in the world.
What a lot of people don't know -and it's not their fault, so much misinformation on the internet- is that the lock is not supposed to prohibit users from using their phones while travelling or anything crazy like that. It's Samsung's attempt against grey imports. So that, for example, a device meant to be sold in Europe would not be sold in the US and vice versa. Once you get your phone and activate it with a SIM from your region, you can freely use it anywhere you go.
Thanks for the clarification.
iridaki said:
Yes, your Note 4 is region locked.
BUT the lock works this way: you buy your phone in the US and it's locked to any other SIM other than a US one. Once you insert a US sim into it and make a 5-minute call, it will be unlocked for all SIM cards and you can use it anywhere in the world.
What a lot of people don't know -and it's not their fault, so much misinformation on the internet- is that the lock is not supposed to prohibit users from using their phones while travelling or anything crazy like that. It's Samsung's attempt against grey imports. So that, for example, a device meant to be sold in Europe would not be sold in the US and vice versa. Once you get your phone and activate it with a SIM from your region, you can freely use it anywhere you go.
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Just want to confirm that this does all work as expected. I got a Note from Bell yesterday and it's an SM-910W8. As expected it would not take a SIM from another carrier. I made a call on it and then unlocked it with a code from cellunlocker.net and after that it was able to take a SIM from Vodafone in Australia as well as one from T-Mobile.
Loving this phone so far!
My brother bought an s8 from Uk, he pre ordered it and got it from the samsung outlet and brought it home to Bangladesh. It isnt carrier branded or anything, when I tried using local sims (we have 3g sims and carrier bands shouldnt be an issue) it asked for a sim unlock code. Could anyone help me out?
One week with this sexy but useless paperweight.
That mean you didn't buy a unlock phone from first time? Never hear other people have this kind issue
I figured it out. My brother didnt make 5 mins worth of voice calls to disable the region lock that samsung uses. Now the problem is that i dint have a UK sim at hand
the s8 as far as iknow well the international variant is not sim locked in fact is unlock the problem is that is region locked on the s7 international variant i used an app called region lockaway but i dont think tgat work for the s8.
I have a chance to nab a US cellular S8 from someone on the cheap and i was wondering if it could work with verizon?
Just looking to make sure it uses the same voice bands and same lte bands
All US s8 are the same internally.
Thor2j said:
All US s8 are the same internally.
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Hello
Is it true that all new 4G LTE from US Cellular are factory unlocked? I'm asking this because I was thinking about buying one Galaxy S8 from a seller and the picture of the device box says "US Cellular" but he doesn't know if it will work on other carriers or not.
My intention is to use it on South America where I reside, using a GSM carrier named "CLARO".
Any thoughts if this is a risky purchase? I can see printed on the box a code SMG950UKAU if that helps. Thanks in advance for any help.
peculia said:
Hello
Is it true that all new 4G LTE from US Cellular are factory unlocked? I'm asking this because I was thinking about buying one Galaxy S8 from a seller and the picture of the device box says "US Cellular" but he doesn't know if it will work on other carriers or not.
My intention is to use it on South America where I reside, using a GSM carrier named "CLARO".
Any thoughts if this is a risky purchase? I can see printed on the box a code SMG950UKAU if that helps. Thanks in advance for any help.
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I will work over sea well, as far as internet you need to check the carrier you intend use it on.
cncrim said:
I will work over sea well, as far as internet you need to check the carrier you intend use it on.
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Thanks for your reply, my biggest doubt is if it will ask for unlock code when I pop in a CLARO sim card.
Can you check the device before actually buying it?
If it's unboxed and you can use and test the device, then you can check its lock leve with a GSM card, regardless if is att, tmobile or claro (with which you intend to use your device).
You can check the lock level by following these steps:
https://www.unlockunit.com/help/knowledgebase/how-to-check-if-your-samsung-is-network-locked/
RossTeagan said:
Can you check the device before actually buying it?
If it's unboxed and you can use and test the device, then you can check its lock leve with a GSM card, regardless if is att, tmobile or claro (with which you intend to use your device).
You can check the lock level by following these steps:
https://www.unlockunit.com/help/knowledgebase/how-to-check-if-your-samsung-is-network-locked/
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Hi, unfortunatelly no, I can't check the device before buying, specially because the seller says it is sealed in box.
peculia said:
Hi, unfortunatelly no, I can't check the device before buying, specially because the seller says it is sealed in box.
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I would proceed with care if I were you and try always to test a phone before buying it. Especially if you get from a 3rd party.