Hello all,
I've just bought a Samsung Omnia i900 in the UK and have discovered that it's probably a gray import - as far as I know, a 'real' UK handset should have a version of something like i900XXHH3, but I have i900DXHH3. From what I've read elsewhere this tells me that this is a Far-Eastern phone from Singapore.
I really like the phone, but have the option to return it, pay a bit more at another supplier, and get a UK version.
What's the real deal on gray imports?
The chances of it failing during warranty should be fairly small, but if it does break is it likely that I'd have to ship it back to Samsung Singapore to get it fixed, or do you find that Samsung will fix it in your local country?
Does anyone have experience of getting a non-UK handset fixed by Samsung UK?
I'd also read that ROM updates can be a problem if the phone doesn't match the expected country from which it's supposed to come, but there seem to be plenty of posts here where people are downloading ROM updates from Singapore without worrying about what region-type their phone is.
In short, are there any problems with owning a gray import?
Thanks,
Mike
No opinions on this?
We all know that the Sensation has suffered from its fair share of bugs and glitches (every new device does) but what I didn't know prior to buying this phone is that models sold in HK (Unbranded or Branded) are not supported in the same manner as the rest of the world. I hope this post can prevent someone else form making the same mistake as me.
After reading forums and talking to people, it became clear that devices in HK were either missing software updates entirely, or getting them months later than the rest of Asia (or the world for that matter).
I contacted HTC about this and spoke with Mike at the HK Customer Service center. He confirmed that HTC Hong Kong has a different policy regarding updates and has no plans to EVER release small incremental updates. He even referred to previous handsets (HTC Desire HD models in HK didn't receive the updates that the rest of the world did) saying that the only time exceptions have been made to this policy is when a major OS update 2.1->2.2 has been issued. Apparently unlike other regions, it is standard policy not to release small updates in Hong Kong. He also doubted that the bootloader update (expected in August) would be available for Hong Kong branded phones stating the models sold in HK are treated separately from other global models. Although I tried to get him to give me an explanation for this bizarre policy, the only answer I could get is that most HK customers are happy with the current release.
As it stands now, HK Sensations are stuck on software version number 1.28.708.2 and HTC HK is categorically stating that they will remain here indefinitely.
Lesson learned for me is to never buy an HTC device in HK ever again.
Does anyone know if there is a way to flash a standard Asia rom (region 707) to a HK phone (region 708)?
i have 1.28.720.2...i thought mine was sourced from HK...have any idea what the 720 region is?
I bought mine in HK, it came with the Asian rom on it
I would expect come the unlock you can then put what ever you like on it but not until then.
and no idea where 720 is, hopefully someone else can tell you.
I spoke with HTC UK about my Sensation (bought on EBay) and it seems that 720 is India!
cupcake said:
I spoke with HTC UK about my Sensation (bought on EBay) and it seems that 720 is India!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sweeeet (i don't know why i think that's good, but whatever...)
I bought this phone from **** Smith which is an online shop that has been bought out by Kogan a year ago and although the store is in Australia, the phone seems to be imported from Korea. When I turn on the phone I get a Korean Telecom logo on boot along with the Samsung logo. I knew that wasnt normal for a phone that was bought from an Australian store but I let it slide, however, when I go into Bixby, I get Korean content from the Korean YouTube and I also get other Korean information. I hate having Korean content showing on my phone, is there any way to change it? Also, whenever I click on the weather app and just tap on the weather for the week, it takes me to a website which is a Korean weather website.
notsteven said:
I bought this phone from **** Smith which is an online shop that has been bought out by Kogan a year ago and although the store is in Australia, the phone seems to be imported from Korea. When I turn on the phone I get a Korean Telecom logo on boot along with the Samsung logo. I knew that wasnt normal for a phone that was bought from an Australian store but I let it slide, however, when I go into Bixby, I get Korean content from the Korean YouTube and I also get other Korean information. I hate having Korean content showing on my phone, is there any way to change it? Also, whenever I click on the weather app and just tap on the weather for the week, it takes me to a website which is a Korean weather website.
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Click to collapse
You should have bought a genuine AUSTRALIAN S8+
henklbr said:
You should have bought a genuine AUSTRALIAN S8+
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Click to collapse
No ****, wanna tell me anything else I dont know? ""
Install australian android via odin.
+1 for NeedleGames' reply - just download the Australian version of the sm-g955f software and flash via odin. The hardware is exactly the same.
Just remember though, you'll need to go back to **** Smith/Kogan if you ever need to use your warranty...
Samsung don't honor warranty repairs for grey imports....
notsteven said:
No ****, wanna tell me anything else I dont know? ""
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Click to collapse
No need to get aggressive with him, he had a point. You should've known what you were getting into when you bought it.
If you say it has a Korean Telecom logo when you boot it up, it's the SM-G955N variant, only launched in South Korea, specifically for their carriers. No way to remove the bloat without rooting the phone.
There's a separate discussion thread for the Korean S8+: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8+/how-to/sm-g955n-samsung-galaxy-s8-korean-128gb-t3612058
NeedleGames said:
Install australian android via odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that simple.
lwid said:
+1 for NeedleGames' reply - just download the Australian version of the sm-g955f software and flash via odin. The hardware is exactly the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same hardware doesn't mean Odin or the phone is gonna accept the file for a G955F.
People really need to read up before they give out suggestions.
Is anyone able to help me out with using Odin to change my phone? Obviously Im a beginner with very little knowledge on this kind of stuff
notsteven said:
Is anyone able to help me out with using Odin to change my phone? Obviously Im a beginner with very little knowledge on this kind of stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't change anything.
Read the thread I linked, you'll have to root your phone and get rid of all the carrier bloatware.
**** Smith aka Kogan
notsteven said:
I bought this phone from **** Smith which is an online shop that has been bought out by Kogan a year ago and although the store is in Australia, the phone seems to be imported from Korea. When I turn on the phone I get a Korean Telecom logo on boot along with the Samsung logo. I knew that wasnt normal for a phone that was bought from an Australian store but I let it slide, however, when I go into Bixby, I get Korean content from the Korean YouTube and I also get other Korean information. I hate having Korean content showing on my phone,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar experience to you, whilst comparison shopping on line I was given no cause to believe that the phone on offer by **** Smith Electronics was any different to that on offer by the other Iconic Australian suppliers such as JB HiFi, Harvey Norman or The Good Guys. My assumption was that the product was cheaper simply because **** Smith Electronics no longer has stores or staff to maintain. I never even heard of "grey imports".
So whilst I take the point made by Murtaza02 that we "should have known what we were getting into", its not unless you scroll down past the "also bought with this product" section and into the product description that you are alerted to the fact that this is a "direct import international version" (whatever that means to the non-suspecting consumer). And even if you do investigate further, the website states:-
"You may notice minor differences when compared with models purchased locally, however, all international models are supplied with an Australian compliant generic charger and are suited for use in Australia."
"Minor differences" ? The differences are significant enough to prompt savvy shoppers who deliberately purchase grey imports for the substantial savings that they can offer to turn around and go to a lot of trouble "flashing" the phone so that it "works like the Australian versions of the phone"
I regret my purchase with **** Smith Electronics AKA Kogan. And whilst I assume some responsibility for not having investigated the origin of the phone further before my purchase, even in retrospect, I feel I was never given any cause to do so.
In fact it seems to me that the whole DSE website is nothing more than a front for the Hong Kong based drop shipping company and the purchase procedure deliberately engineered so as to not raise suspicion in the mind of the consumer that the phone is anything other than a genuine Australian version.
On my further research, the $999 price point avoids alerting the consumer that this is an imported model by not attracting GST, and the "limit 1 per customer" in retrospect is a further prevention of the consumer being alerted to GST obligations and therefore the fact that the phone is a "grey import". DSE advertise "Don't pay $1345" (for the same phone is implied here). And they say shipping is "ex stock" and "1-2 days".
I really feel in the case where an Australian Iconic Business such as **** Smith Electronics is offering a phone for purchase within Australia that they need to make it clear to consumers from the onset and within the front matter that this is a "grey import" and differs from the "Australian" version so that consumers can make an informed decision and are not duped or fooled or led to believe otherwise.
Hi guys,
I want to get the HK version of this phone (because general consensus seems to be the Snapdragon is better than Samsung's processor that comes in all the EU models) and I want to have a solid idea of what potential ramifications there are from doing this.
From what I gather, the HK model is SM-S9080.
I'm pretty clear on the ramifications from the actual importing of the device, such as loss of Samsung's warranty and things like that. What I'm struggling with is the technical aspects of it.
I've done some Google-fu to the best of my ability, but I must admit I'm a little overwhelmed by all the technical jargon, numbers, codes, etc that seem to be involved. Hopefully you can help me understand better...
I know that both Samsung Pay and Samsung Member Benefits will not work in the UK, however this does not bother me as I have no intentions of using those anyway.
The network provider I use in the UK is EE and, from what I can tell, the HK model supports all the necessary bands including 5G (source here: https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/GB/samsung-galaxy-s22-ultra ). However, I have heard that 5G could be arbitrarily deactivated in the UK by the software or hardware in the phone or something like that due to the model differences. Is this true?
Will there be any weird branding issues that can't be easily removed? By this I mean is it going to have weird chinese branding that can't be removed without flashing/rooting/etc (I'd personally prefer not to do any of that stuff). Could I just change the language to English and have it be visually indistinguishable from a 'native' UK model?
Will Google Play be affected? I don't know if there are any china-related politics that would impact my ability to use Google's services. Sorry if that is a stupid question.
What is a CsC and will it matter regarding the function of the phone? I've seen this term being used a lot while googling but I have no idea what it means or how exactly it affects the use of the phone.
How would updates work? Would there be any issues on that front?
Is there anything else I need to consider from a technical point of view that I have missed?
Hopefully these aren't stupid questions. Thank you in advance.
arstulex said:
Hi guys,
I want to get the HK version of this phone (because general consensus seems to be the Snapdragon is better than Samsung's processor that comes in all the EU models) and I want to have a solid idea of what potential ramifications there are from doing this.
From what I gather, the HK model is SM-S9080.
I'm pretty clear on the ramifications from the actual importing of the device, such as loss of Samsung's warranty and things like that. What I'm struggling with is the technical aspects of it.
I've done some Google-fu to the best of my ability, but I must admit I'm a little overwhelmed by all the technical jargon, numbers, codes, etc that seem to be involved. Hopefully you can help me understand better...
I know that both Samsung Pay and Samsung Member Benefits will not work in the UK, however this does not bother me as I have no intentions of using those anyway.
The network provider I use in the UK is EE and, from what I can tell, the HK model supports all the necessary bands including 5G (source here: https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/GB/samsung-galaxy-s22-ultra ). However, I have heard that 5G could be arbitrarily deactivated in the UK by the software or hardware in the phone or something like that due to the model differences. Is this true?
Will there be any weird branding issues that can't be easily removed? By this I mean is it going to have weird chinese branding that can't be removed without flashing/rooting/etc (I'd personally prefer not to do any of that stuff). Could I just change the language to English and have it be visually indistinguishable from a 'native' UK model?
Will Google Play be affected? I don't know if there are any china-related politics that would impact my ability to use Google's services. Sorry if that is a stupid question.
What is a CsC and will it matter regarding the function of the phone? I've seen this term being used a lot while googling but I have no idea what it means or how exactly it affects the use of the phone.
How would updates work? Would there be any issues on that front?
Is there anything else I need to consider from a technical point of view that I have missed?
Hopefully these aren't stupid questions. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the csc is the carrier aspect of the phone , ie what bands of each type of network connections are used,and country specific bloatware , the csc is also what carrires the software restrictions based on the laws of the country it is coded for. you would get hongkong specific updates with a csc from that region as far as i can sumise, you may even need to use a hongkong routed vpn to receive them, but again thats a guess
Hi, I've got a 12GB/512GB S9080 on the TGY CSC here in the UK. I'm on O2UK but my 5G works fine. I have no weird carrier branding and I don't get any Chinese characters anywhere. I use Google Pay just fine (never used Samsung Pay on any of my devices)
No issues on updates, in fact I got the latest May update on the 28th of April.
I got this phone through techinthebasket and paid over £300 less than the equivalent Exynos version direct from Samsung.
If you have any questions regarding the device just ask
p.dixon0 said:
Hi, I've got a 12GB/512GB S9080 on the TGY CSC here in the UK. I'm on O2UK but my 5G works fine. I have no weird carrier branding and I don't get any Chinese characters anywhere. I use Google Pay just fine (never used Samsung Pay on any of my devices)
No issues on updates, in fact I got the latest May update on the 28th of April.
I got this phone through techinthebasket and paid over £300 less than the equivalent Exynos version direct from Samsung.
If you have any questions regarding the device just ask
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Click to collapse
This is exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks mate.
Funnily enough that's the website I was looking at getting mine from too. I did email them to ask where they source their models from because I've read elsewhere that TGY is ideal for UK use but they haven't got back to me yet (weekend of course). Glad to hear they are selling TGY.
Only question I have would be about techinthebasket themselves. Roughly how long did it take to arrive and did it arrive sealed?
Hi mate, yeah I've used techinthebasket a few times now (I've bought a Note8 and a Surface Pro 4 from them previously) and it does take a little while for the items to arrive, even paying for expedited it still took 5 working days. All items were factory sealed too.
If it helps, I traded the Note8 for the Note9 directly to Samsung when the Note9 came out and I got the full £400 at the time. The SP4 developed the prolific screen shake fault after about a year and Microsoft replaced it free of charge.
p.dixon0 said:
All items were factory sealed too.
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Click to collapse
Is this possible? I thought Samsung region-locks their phones until a call is made with a SIM from the 'home' region.
Don't these importers have to open up the box to do this so that you can actually use a UK SIM in it when it gets to you?
p.dixon0 said:
Hi, I've got a 12GB/512GB S9080 on the TGY CSC here in the UK. I'm on O2UK but my 5G works fine. I have no weird carrier branding and I don't get any Chinese characters anywhere. I use Google Pay just fine (never used Samsung Pay on any of my devices)
No issues on updates, in fact I got the latest May update on the 28th of April.
I got this phone through techinthebasket and paid over £300 less than the equivalent Exynos version direct from Samsung.
If you have any questions regarding the device just ask
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're my savior. Thank you a lot!
Buying it today
arstulex said:
Is this possible? I thought Samsung region-locks their phones until a call is made with a SIM from the 'home' region.
Don't these importers have to open up the box to do this so that you can actually use a UK SIM in it when it gets to you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure to be totally honest. Both my Note8 and S22U came sealed with what looked like the same seals my Note9 came with directly from Samsung. Maybe techinthebasket open and reseal? Whatever they do or don't do the phone works as expected and didn't show any signs of being opened.
When I first started both phones (without a SIM) they were both in Chinese. When I put my UK SIM in they behave as expected.
The good thing with techinthebasket is that you can only pay with PayPal - as such, if you have any issues you're covered.
p.dixon0 said:
I'm not sure to be totally honest. Both my Note8 and S22U came sealed with what looked like the same seals my Note9 came with directly from Samsung. Maybe techinthebasket open and reseal? Whatever they do or don't do the phone works as expected and didn't show any signs of being opened.
When I first started both phones (without a SIM) they were both in Chinese. When I put my UK SIM in they behave as expected.
The good thing with techinthebasket is that you can only pay with PayPal - as such, if you have any issues you're covered.
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Click to collapse
They gotta do what they gotta do, and if that means I get a Snapdragon phone for significantly less than a local Exynos then who am I to complain? Lol.
I just didn't know if they had found some way to circumvent region-locking without opening the box.
Exactly, as I say it's over £300 less for what is technically a better device
p.dixon0 said:
Exactly, as I say it's over £300 less for what is technically a better device
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Too bad that they deliver only in France,UK, Germany and not the rest of Europe...I would instantly sell my S22 Ultra if I have the occasion to buy a Snap S22 Ultra. Also, a big minus: you can't use eSIM which it's a really nice feature.
robi101012981 said:
Too bad that they deliver only in France,UK, Germany and not the rest of Europe...I would instantly sell my S22 Ultra if I have the occasion to buy a Snap S22 Ultra. Also, a big minus: you can't use eSIM which it's a really nice feature.
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Click to collapse
There are plenty of websites out there that deal in grey imports. Unless I'm missing something there are probably sites that do deliver to your country.
I don't know if I'd call lack of eSIM a big minus though. Once I put my SIM card in a phone I pretty much just forget it exists until I buy a new phone. Do people really swap out their SIMs that often that an eSIM really matters?
arstulex said:
There are plenty of websites out there that deal in grey imports. Unless I'm missing something there are probably sites that do deliver to your country.
I don't know if I'd call lack of eSIM a big minus though. Once I put my SIM card in a phone I pretty much just forget it exists until I buy a new phone. Do people really swap out their SIMs that often that an eSIM really matters?
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Click to collapse
If you're travelling in a country that doesn't support Roaming, then yeah, it's a good feature
The S9080 is dual SIM so you can still use a local SIM as well if you're traveling...
p.dixon0 said:
The S9080 is dual SIM so you can still use a local SIM as well if you're traveling...
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Click to collapse
It's easy to say this, but I do prefer esims since I can purchase them online and I don't need to lose time in stores to purchase it.
I'm sure a saving of over £300 would offset the minor inconvenience. Personally, I have a tariff that gives me free roaming in Europe and the USA amongst others so it's a non-issue for me
p.dixon0 said:
Hi, I've got a 12GB/512GB S9080 on the TGY CSC here in the UK. I'm on O2UK but my 5G works fine. I have no weird carrier branding and I don't get any Chinese characters anywhere. I use Google Pay just fine (never used Samsung Pay on any of my devices)
No issues on updates, in fact I got the latest May update on the 28th of April.
I got this phone through techinthebasket and paid over £300 less than the equivalent Exynos version direct from Samsung.
If you have any questions regarding the device just ask
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First time reading 5G working on the SM-9080 outside of Hong Kong. What speeds are you registering?
p.dixon0 said:
I'm sure a saving of over £300 would offset the minor inconvenience. Personally, I have a tariff that gives me free roaming in Europe and the USA amongst others so it's a non-issue for me
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I would save, but I would also throw money since no warranty it's provided to me
Also Widevine L3, so yeah, a big trade-in for some of us...I'll wait for the Honor Magic 4 Pro and get that device since it's superior.
About the same download speed as 4G+ for me, the upload speed is double though.
As a side note. This it's on O2UK in the North East of England in my house, where O2UK say there is poor 5G coverage.
robi101012981 said:
Yeah, I would save, but I would also throw money since no warranty it's provided to me
Also Widevine L3, so yeah, a big trade-in for some of us...I'll wait for the Honor Magic 4 Pro and get that device since it's superior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a year warranty provided by techinthebasket.
All my streaming services work as expected so not bothered about Widevine.
I'll continue to enjoy my phone while you think of another put down and wait for your superior device.