Related
the pre-order for unlocked G955U is avaliable and I'm struggling whether to get an international version of G955F or US unlocked version G955U.
I know the CPU difference and I guess it should not be noticeable in daily use, but is there any other differences that I should bear in mind? I care about the rootability and OS updates
This is pretty obvious choice if you care about root as long as you dont use verizon or sprint the choice is international for sure
Yep, Exynos unlocked Bootloader! Party on XDA!
hexi110 said:
the pre-order for unlocked G955U is avaliable and I'm struggling whether to get an international version of G955F or US unlocked version G955U.
I know the CPU difference and I guess it should not be noticeable in daily use, but is there any other differences that I should bear in mind? I care about the rootability and OS updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
955U is a waste of money
Easy choice if your on a GSM network
Sent from my S8 plus, Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
G955U is not worth it. The General consensus is that there will be no proper root or unlocked bootloader at best it will be buggy. Which carrier are you with?
Mean while the G955F is already has TWRP, Custom Roms and Root.
Thanks for the replies, I'm using AT&T, so the carrier is not a problem, and acctually I also prefer the international version.
There's a good pre-order deal for G955U and G955U also has the warranty, that's the reason why I'm thinking about G955U
hexi110 said:
Thanks for the replies, I'm using AT&T, so the carrier is not a problem, and acctually I also prefer the international version.
There's a good pre-order deal for G955U and G955U also has the warranty, that's the reason why I'm thinking about G955U
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing you will miss is volte, wifi calling & Samsung pay , so be mentally prepared, only thing stopping me from ordering exynos is fear of receiving a phone with red tint
---------- Post added at 07:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 PM ----------
If you buy from b&h comes with one year warranty though them
Shuthefrontdoor said:
Only thing you will miss is volte, wifi calling & Samsung pay , so be mentally prepared, only thing stopping me from ordering exynos is fear of receiving a phone with red tint
---------- Post added at 07:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 PM ----------
If you buy from b&h comes with one year warranty though them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B&H is a good choice for me, although I found some cheaper options from ebay, but I feel B&H is safer.
I only use Samsung pay occasionally, but that's just because the deal they provide, and acctually it's not widely acceptable in many stores.
As for red tint, I guess it should be fixed by the OS update?
hexi110 said:
B&H is a good choice for me, although I found some cheaper options from ebay, but I feel B&H is safer.
I only use Samsung pay occasionally, but that's just because the deal they provide, and acctually it's not widely acceptable in many stores.
As for red tint, I guess it should be fixed by the OS update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm personally not ok with having to adjust screen and keeping it on adaptive mode to remove the tint, it should be good straight out the box but that's just me, my wife has an att one and her screen was fine right from the get go
Shuthefrontdoor said:
I'm personally not ok with having to adjust screen and keeping it on adaptive mode to remove the tint, it should be good straight out the box but that's just me, my wife has an att one and her screen was fine right from the get go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I have to bless for a perfect phone after I place my order
hexi110 said:
I guess I have to bless for a perfect phone after I place my order
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just checked b&h blk s8+ isn't in stock
Shuthefrontdoor said:
Just checked b&h blk s8+ isn't in stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer the gold one
hexi110 said:
I prefer the gold one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The gold one looks incredible.
Its a different type of gold than my S6 or note 7...really nice tone to it
Sent from my S8 plus, Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
force70 said:
The gold one looks incredible.
Its a different type of gold than my S6 or note 7...really nice tone to it
Sent from my S8 plus, Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great to hear that, I just placed my order
I know this thread is old, but the U variant (snapdragon) handles game emulation a lot better than the Exynos models, if that is your sort of thing.
I've just bought a galaxy s8 plus on gumtree and just realised it's an American unlocked version. I wanted to flash EE firmware to enable Wi-Fi calling but I'm not sure if it's still possible using Odin as the uk phones have different chipsets.
Can anyone confirm either way?
Thanks in advance.
sjred_uk said:
I've just bought a galaxy s8 plus on gumtree and just realised it's an American unlocked version. I wanted to flash EE firmware to enable Wi-Fi calling but I'm not sure if it's still possible using Odin as the uk phones have different chipsets.
Can anyone confirm either way?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snapdragon variant phones don't support the band's here in the UK so I don't think it will work. Vice versa an exynos variant won't work in the US
sofir786 said:
Snapdragon variant phones don't support the band's here in the UK so I don't think it will work. Vice versa an exynos variant won't work in the US
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was afraid that would be the case.
Thanks for letting me know.
sofir786 said:
Snapdragon variant phones don't support the band's here in the UK so I don't think it will work. Vice versa an exynos variant won't work in the US
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone does work ok here in the UK along with 4g. I don't expect to get. As good coverage though. Are you sure it wouldn't work?
sjred_uk said:
I've just bought a galaxy s8 plus on gumtree and just realised it's an American unlocked version. I wanted to flash EE firmware to enable Wi-Fi calling but I'm not sure if it's still possible using Odin as the uk phones have different chipsets.
Can anyone confirm either way?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
flash exynos rom on snapdragon , great idea if you want a brick. No joke, it won't work for sure. and if you flash the Exynos firmware with odin , including bootloader , it would be an hard brick, won't turn on , no more recovery or download mode, just completely bricked. So just no. and wifi calling is nothing to do with the phone but with your carrier and or your current subscription. if your carrier doesn't support wifi calling you won't have that option, so other firmware or even force to show that option changes nothing as you would have the same carrier .
and of course a csc (firmware depend of the country) works only with the right SIM card , I mean samsung block the phone if you use an American SIM card on a European phone. European phone works only with European SIM card and European carrier
sjred_uk said:
The phone does work ok here in the UK along with 4g. I don't expect to get. As good coverage though. Are you sure it wouldn't work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying to flash an EE UK firmware that's designed for exynos variant will fail, the 2 aren't compatible, so whatever you have with it you are u unfortunately stuck with
sofir786 said:
Trying to flash an EE UK firmware that's designed for exynos variant will fail, the 2 aren't compatible, so whatever you have with it you are u unfortunately stuck with
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK thanks very much for your help.
Regards
Simon
sjred_uk said:
OK thanks very much for your help.
Regards
Simon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity, what sim is in there atm?
sofir786 said:
Out of curiosity, what sim is in there atm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an unlocked phone no sim card with it. It says unlocked on the box. The model number is smg955u1
sjred_uk said:
It's an unlocked phone no sim card with it. It says unlocked on the box. The model number is smg955u1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I just realised what you meant.
It's got my EE SIM in it.
sjred_uk said:
Sorry I just realised what you meant.
It's got my EE SIM in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah okay cool, Have you checked if it's ever been rooted at all at any point?
sofir786 said:
Snapdragon variant phones don't support the band's here in the UK so I don't think it will work. Vice versa an exynos variant won't work in the US
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude what?
http://m.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=United+Kingdom
https://www.frequencycheck.com/mode...-sm-g950u1-sm-g950w-samsung-dream#frequencies
Supports all 3 lte bands used by the UK, 800 1800 and 2600.
Supports all 3 GSM bands used by the UK.
Supports all 3 utsm bands used by the UK.
So in other words you were 100% incorrect
All of the high end phones have been quad band in the us for years.
I really hope this guy didn't just blindly listen to you and dump his phone for cheap.
---------- Post added at 04:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 AM ----------
sjred_uk said:
I've just bought a galaxy s8 plus on gumtree and just realised it's an American unlocked version. I wanted to flash EE firmware to enable Wi-Fi calling but I'm not sure if it's still possible using Odin as the uk phones have different chipsets.
Can anyone confirm either way?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other person could not be more incorrect your phone works fine in the UK, along with every other high end us phone for the last like 10 years
I hope you still have it and didn't dump it for cheap because someone decided to open their big mouth without actually checking that their gut reaction has any basis in reality.
I don't know if there is full CSC support for the UK carriers, but all u1 phones are direct from Samsung and sim unlocked at the factory so you will be able to pop any uk sim in there and be able to use data/sms/voice etc no problem. What provider do you use? I can check my /system/omc directory and see if it's preinstalled by the standard is CSC package.
It's also quite likely that if not you can install the local CSC package that comes with exynos phones on yours. Not only are the other posters 100% wrong about the SD/exynos phones habing incompatible operating systems*, but even if there was a shred of truth to it the CSC package is mostly config files and images and whatnot anyway, so there little execution going on
*It has nothing to do with exynos or snapdragon they are both arm64 lol. If anything it's because Samsung kneecapped them to make sure it wasn't possible for licensing/snapdragon bootloader security or some other stupid thing.
wildermjs8 said:
Dude what?
http://m.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=United+Kingdom
https://www.frequencycheck.com/mode...-sm-g950u1-sm-g950w-samsung-dream#frequencies
Supports all 3 lte bands used by the UK, 800 1800 and 2600.
Supports all 3 GSM bands used by the UK.
Supports all 3 utsm bands used by the UK.
So in other words you were 100% incorrect
All of the high end phones have been quad band in the us for years.
I really hope this guy didn't just blindly listen to you and dump his phone for cheap.
---------- Post added at 04:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 AM ----------
The other person could not be more incorrect your phone works fine in the UK, along with every other high end us phone for the last like 10 years
I hope you still have it and didn't dump it for cheap because someone decided to open their big mouth without actually checking that their gut reaction has any basis in reality.
I don't know if there is full CSC support for the UK carriers, but all u1 phones are direct from Samsung and sim unlocked at the factory so you will be able to pop any uk sim in there and be able to use data/sms/voice etc no problem. What provider do you use? I can check my /system/omc directory and see if it's preinstalled by the standard is CSC package.
It's also quite likely that if not you can install the local CSC package that comes with exynos phones on yours. Not only are the other posters 100% wrong about the SD/exynos phones habing incompatible operating systems*, but even if there was a shred of truth to it the CSC package is mostly config files and images and whatnot anyway, so there little execution going on
*It has nothing to do with exynos or snapdragon they are both arm64 lol. If anything it's because Samsung kneecapped them to make sure it wasn't possible for licensing/snapdragon bootloader security or some other stupid thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long and in depth reply.
I did reply to the guys post earlier stating that it the phone works absolutely fine on 4g LTE. I just thought he misunderstood me. Or vise versa. I've not dumped the phone because it works fine. Even if I can't get WiFi calling sorted I will still be keeping it. As long as I can still get updates ota I will be happy..
I bought a note 5 a few months ago not realising it was an AT and T model. That was a pain because it was stuck on lollipop and wouldn't accept any ota updates without an AT AND T sim card.
So I was just a bit wary of that happening again. But with this phone being unlocked I'm sure updates will be just the same as UK phones. (hopefully).
Just for the record my phone is running on E.E. carrier.
I've not checked if it's ever been rooted before.
How would I check?
Would a root checker app do this?
Thanks again
Simon.
sofir786 said:
Ah okay cool, Have you checked if it's ever been rooted at all at any point?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
The phone is not rooted now but I'm not sure how to check if the phone has been rooted before in the past.
Thanks
sjred_uk said:
Hi
The phone is not rooted now but I'm not sure how to check if the phone has been rooted before in the past.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way to tell if the phone has been system rooted which is all that you can do to the us s8
sjred_uk said:
I've just bought a galaxy s8 plus on gumtree and just realised it's an American unlocked version. I wanted to flash EE firmware to enable Wi-Fi calling but I'm not sure if it's still possible using Odin as the uk phones have different chipsets.
Can anyone confirm either way?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my Galaxy S8 from New York, after a while I realized that my phone is US unlocked version, now I live in UK and I don't get any updates for my phone at all since last year, I tried to flash it but it didn't work.
Well, I've went and swapped out my A20 for a higher end Moto. I've essentially went back to Moto, as much as I hate Lenovo. Why?
Because Samsung is an A1 Asshole and at least Lenovo gives you the OEM unlocking.
This variant nor the T-Mobile variant have OEM Unlocking. Confirmed by T-Mobile PostPaid Tech Team as well as Samsung. Waiting 165 up hours or 7 days ain't gonna do it folks. The feature is intentionally blocked out, and any attempts to get at it will result in the phone rebooting by itself. This isn't something Tmobile asked for - many of their variants and Metro's variants are OEM Unlockable.
This is something Sammy did all by themselves with that Knox crap.
This phone is free when you switch to MetroPCS - it's not even worth that. I also had an issue where my A20 took control and did something to my computer, which resulted in me having to do a system restore and making the final decision to chuck it. Never once have I ever done that on a phone, especially Sammy - this ain't my first fistacuff fight with the software they make.
If I wanted a phone locked down without reproach, I would have went back to Verizon.
Good luck American variants holding out the torch. I'm off to play with a real device.
I'd like to buy an A20 in the US, and want to be sure I can run GSIs on it. Which versions of the A20 are available in the US, with unlockable bootloader?
GSMarena gives the following part numbers:
- SM-A205FN/DS (Global)
- SM-A205U (USA)
- SM-A205W (Canada)
- SM-A205F/DS
- SM-A205GN/DS
- SM-A205YN
- SM-A205G/DS
On Amazon, I see lots of "unlocked A205G/DS (International Version)". Best Buy has an "unlocked" A20 with Best Buy part number SM-A205UZKAXAA (probably Samsung SM-A205U =USA), and will often price-match Amazon.
This is a good question, wondering the same...
Articul8Madness said:
Well, I've went and swapped out my A20 for a higher end Moto. I've essentially went back to Moto, as much as I hate Lenovo. Why?
Because Samsung is an A1 Asshole and at least Lenovo gives you the OEM unlocking.
This variant nor the T-Mobile variant have OEM Unlocking. Confirmed by T-Mobile PostPaid Tech Team as well as Samsung. Waiting 165 up hours or 7 days ain't gonna do it folks. The feature is intentionally blocked out, and any attempts to get at it will result in the phone rebooting by itself. This isn't something Tmobile asked for - many of their variants and Metro's variants are OEM Unlockable.
This is something Sammy did all by themselves with that Knox crap.
This phone is free when you switch to MetroPCS - it's not even worth that. I also had an issue where my A20 took control and did something to my computer, which resulted in me having to do a system restore and making the final decision to chuck it. Never once have I ever done that on a phone, especially Sammy - this ain't my first fistacuff fight with the software they make.
If I wanted a phone locked down without reproach, I would have went back to Verizon.
Good luck American variants holding out the torch. I'm off to play with a real device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the A305G international version Samsung Galaxy A30 & had to figure out the CSC is Puerto Rico (DOO) to even get close to working on 4G LTE with T-mobile... still have to use 4G LTE only app to ensure dwnld speeds...
The screen just died, and having about a bill, $100 to quickly get a phone picked up this relatively new A205U from a local pawn shop. First things first, being in the telegram group for the A30, which has TWRP, can run GSI's out the wahoo, etc... it is relatively common that others around the world flash firmwares for other countries just to get the updates that will not arrive for awhile if at all in their countries. One dev even made an aroma .zip that added CSC's, removed knox....
What I'm getting at is if there is an international version of this A20, I bet the firmware could be loaded using odin & CSC's for the USA could be placed in it. Thereby giving us OEM unlock & open bootloader.
This just occurred to me 2 days after reading in here & I have posted to the dev in the A30 telegram group on this....
C'mon peeps, this is XDA!!! Let's hack the **** out of this pos samsung served up!!!!!!!!
---------- Post added at 12:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------
Chipset Exynos 7884 (14 nm)
CPU Octa-core (2x1.6 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6x1.35 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU Mali-G71 MP2
SM-A205F, SM-A205FN, SM-A205GN, SM-A205YN, SM-A205G, SM-A205W, SM-A205U
Specs above, isn't Exynos the more dev friendly SoC? Better than Snapdragon?
Those are the other models OUTSIDE the USA that W-I-L-L have 1. OEM unlocking, which means 2. UNLOCKED BOOTLOADER....
I'm going to sammobile to get the A205G firmware now... really would like some feedback cause I not only AM NOT A DEV, reallllly cannot afford another phone currently if this renders mine useless!!!!!
Why am I the only one on XDA that thinks like this? Sure not..........
PROVE IT
coolbeans2016 said:
I got the A305G international version Samsung Galaxy A30 & had to figure out the CSC is Puerto Rico (DOO) to even get close to working on 4G LTE with T-mobile... still have to use 4G LTE only app to ensure dwnld speeds...
The screen just died, and having about a bill, $100 to quickly get a phone picked up this relatively new A205U from a local pawn shop. First things first, being in the telegram group for the A30, which has TWRP, can run GSI's out the wahoo, etc... it is relatively common that others around the world flash firmwares for other countries just to get the updates that will not arrive for awhile if at all in their countries. One dev even made an aroma .zip that added CSC's, removed knox....
What I'm getting at is if there is an international version of this A20, I bet the firmware could be loaded using odin & CSC's for the USA could be placed in it. Thereby giving us OEM unlock & open bootloader.
This just occurred to me 2 days after reading in here & I have posted to the dev in the A30 telegram group on this....
C'mon peeps, this is XDA!!! Let's hack the **** out of this pos samsung served up!!!!!!!!
---------- Post added at 12:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------
Chipset Exynos 7884 (14 nm)
CPU Octa-core (2x1.6 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6x1.35 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU Mali-G71 MP2
SM-A205F, SM-A205FN, SM-A205GN, SM-A205YN, SM-A205G, SM-A205W, SM-A205U
Specs above, isn't Exynos the more dev friendly SoC? Better than Snapdragon?
Those are the other models OUTSIDE the USA that W-I-L-L have 1. OEM unlocking, which means 2. UNLOCKED BOOTLOADER....
I'm going to sammobile to get the A205G firmware now... really would like some feedback cause I not only AM NOT A DEV, reallllly cannot afford another phone currently if this renders mine useless!!!!!
Why am I the only one on XDA that thinks like this? Sure not..........
PROVE IT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was your attempt fruitful at the least bit? I'm curious what the results were...
hell no
jjohnson1985 said:
Was your attempt fruitful at the least bit? I'm curious what the results were...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hell no, complete lockdown... NOW TWRP for the A30 isn't stable due to an update.......
everyone's waiting on Samsung to release kernel info ..... ???!!!!!!
Besides after phones start shipping with Android 10 TWRP's out of the game,
go read the disclosure from TWRP themselves on the website......
[/COLOR]
coolbeans2016 said:
Hell no, complete lockdown... NOW TWRP for the A30 isn't stable due to an update.......
everyone's waiting on Samsung to release kernel info ..... ???!!!!!!
Besides after phones start shipping with Android 10 TWRP's out of the game,
go read the disclosure from TWRP themselves on the website......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Older non-Pixel devices that shipped with older versions of Android and receive upgrades to Android 10 are not affected."
But still damn...
coolbeans2016 said:
What I'm getting at is if there is an international version of this A20, I bet the firmware could be loaded using odin & CSC's for the USA could be placed in it. Thereby giving us OEM unlock & open bootloader.
This just occurred to me 2 days after reading in here & I have posted to the dev in the A30 telegram group on this....
C'mon peeps, this is XDA!!! Let's hack the **** out of this pos samsung served up!!!!!!!!
PROVE IT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that BEFORE I got rid of the POS and on the American variant NO DICE. Will Not Flash with Odin or any other tool. The USA variant is completely DEAD.
Hi Guys,
I have a possibility to buy an Unlocked version of Note 20 Ultra 5G from the US and ask a friend to bring it to the UK with them.
Apart from Snapdragon advantage, it will be even a little cheaper than buying in the UK.
I am, however, a bit worried about 5G support in the UK. I spent many hours torturing different Samsung US Live Chat Agents and BestBuy Live Chat Agents with the same questions and they all advised that the phone is fully unlocked and 5G will work in the UK. They also said there is no Region Lock so I can directly insert a UK sim card to it.
However, I am taking it with a grain of salt as the agents seem to care about sales only. Also, I couldn't find official band specifications for Note 20 Ultra on Samsung's website (correct me, if I am wrong, please).
Does anyone know if the 5G will work in the UK? Will VoLTE work? I know Samsung Pay won't work but I don't care at all - I always use Google Pay instead.
Also, will I get a Samsung firmware if I buy it from BestBuy, for firmware updates?
I really want to import it but don't want to end up getting a phone that will not have 5G or any other significant feature.
Can you please shed some light on this? Thanks.
You need to check the actual 5G bands on the device are compatible with your cellular provider.
ekerbuddyeker said:
You need to check the actual 5G bands on the device are compatible with your cellular provider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, this is what I was thinking about too but I couldn't find any band specs on Samsung's website apart from generic 5G thing.
Any idea where can I find them? Thanks.
VirtualWaver said:
Thanks, this is what I was thinking about too but I couldn't find any band specs on Samsung's website apart from generic 5G thing.
Any idea where can I find them? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.phonearena.com/phones/S...he Note 20 Ultra is,a starting price of $1300.
https://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=6280
Thanks a lot for the info.
Surprisingly, neither Samsung Chat nor their Facebook support do not know the specs, saying they are not published on the website which is strange.
According to the phonescoop site it doesn't support n78 which is the UK spec, but what is really surprising that it doesn't even list all 4G bands that are supported in the UK but I remember people were saying S20 Ultra was working fine with UK 4G... I am trying to call their e-commerce department to get a confirmation from them directly.
Man, the Samsung really messed the things up with their rubbish processor policy. To be honest I was not bothering until the point when then started to sell Snapdragon in their home country which really speaks loud on how good it is in comparison with Exynos.
This is also a dilemma I am facing as well. I can choose between a US Unlock or an International Unlock. The question I am wondering is whether I can get Samsung Pay to work. I currently live in Japan. I had a Note 8 unlocked international , connected to a US vpn, that I was able to register my US credit cards on Samsung Pay and it worked flawless here. I was able to use Samsung Pay out in town with no problems. Yet ever since the Note 9 I have not been able to get it to work again. My thinking was to instead of buying an international unlocked version, was to get a US unlocked version and try to activate/register Samsung Pay via US vpn to see if it would work. Do you guys think that is doable? Or should I just go for the international Note 20 Ultra and call it a day?
cezeff said:
This is also a dilemma I am facing as well. I can choose between a US Unlock or an International Unlock. The question I am wondering is whether I can get Samsung Pay to work. I currently live in Japan. I had a Note 8 unlocked international , connected to a US vpn, that I was able to register my US credit cards on Samsung Pay and it worked flawless here. I was able to use Samsung Pay out in town with no problems. Yet ever since the Note 9 I have not been able to get it to work again. My thinking was to instead of buying an international unlocked version, was to get a US unlocked version and try to activate/register Samsung Pay via US vpn to see if it would work. Do you guys think that is doable? Or should I just go for the international Note 20 Ultra and call it a day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was reading in many places that Samsung Pay is region locked so it won't work properly. But it might be different in case of Japan.
I personally don't use Samsung Pay at all so can't say but hopefully someone else would advise.
So I spent another 30 minutes on the phone with Samsung and am, honestly, shocked to say the least.
Not only they had not idea about 5G and 4G frequencies of their own product, they were just repeating something like "well it says it support mmwave and we googled and saw the UK also supports mmwave so it should work" which is complete nonsense (the UK doesn't even support mmwave yet, its a US thing!). The UK is using band 78 which is 3..5Ghz so all I wanted from them is to confirm if the US version has 3.5Ghz or not. Another disappointment on Samsung....
So I am currently stuck, this is, really, a gamble, not sure if the risk worth it or not. Something tells me the 5G won't work in the UK and this doesn't' worth it.
How come Samsung doesn't know what frequencies their own product supports? Is it that hard for them to get? Its rubbish!
Us Note 20 doesn't work with 5G band in UK. If you want a working snapdragon 5G note 20 or note 20 ultra you have to by N986N model from South Korea, which is one sim only but it has 256gb internal storage....
manager77 said:
Us Note 20 doesn't work with 5G band in UK. If you want a working snapdragon 5G note 20 or note 20 ultra you have to by N986N model from South Korea, which is one sim only but it has 256gb internal storage....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it seems to. I will try my luck with Wondamobile and order the HK version once available. Don't want to buy the Exynos...
Thanks for your help!
It seems like a lot of hassle just to get a snapdragon version. You may gain performance (that's probably not even noticeable in normal every day tasks) and a possible gain in battery life... but gain hassles with the UK network bands, import duty, warranty issues and resale value.
There are meant to be tweaks on the Exynos 990 in the Note20 version, so why not wait and see a reasonable handful of reviews on this subject first?
.
apprentice said:
It seems like a lot of hassle just to get a snapdragon version. You may gain performance (that's probably not even noticeable in normal every day tasks) and a possible gain in battery life... but gain hassles with the UK network bands, import duty, warranty issues and resale value.
There are meant to be tweaks on the Exynos 990 in the Note20 version, so why not wait and see a reasonable handful of reviews on this subject first?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is also true, especially the resale value part (Wondamobile covers all import duties, etc so no probs from that side).
I am also waiting for the reviews, even though Ice Universe advised the rumors about tweaked Exynos are not legit. Still, hope dies last
Decisions, decisions
apprentice said:
It seems like a lot of hassle just to get a snapdragon version. You may gain performance (that's probably not even noticeable in normal every day tasks) and a possible gain in battery life... but gain hassles with the UK network bands, import duty, warranty issues and resale value.
There are meant to be tweaks on the Exynos 990 in the Note20 version, so why not wait and see a reasonable handful of reviews on this subject first?
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Interesting...I know you said wait for the reviews, yet if you had the choice which version would you get or which version do you normally get? I'm looking at making a decision between the snapdragon or the exynos... I'm pretty sure I've always had exynos, yet this maybe the last year I'm able to afford upgrading to the latest and greatest... I want to ensure I'm getting the best bang for the buck... I'm thinking the Korean unlocked snapdragon maybe the best bet.
cezeff said:
Interesting...I know you said wait for the reviews, yet if you had the choice which version would you get or which version do you normally get? I'm looking at making a decision between the snapdragon or the exynos... I'm pretty sure I've always had exynos, yet this maybe the last year I'm able to afford upgrading to the latest and greatest... I want to ensure I'm getting the best bang for the buck... I'm thinking the Korean unlocked snapdragon maybe the best bet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depending on where you live though, if in Europe than HK would be a better choice as it has a better network compatibility with European 5g and GSM standards than Korean version. I was also reading that Koren version comes with specific Korean settings and bloatware that cannot be removed, hence, it is cheaper than HK version.
I was reading today that one guy on Twitter apparently tested Note 20 Ultra Exynos and said it is more optimised and faster than the same processor in S20 Ultra, but still not on par with Snapdragon.
I will probably try my luck with Wondamobile once they will have the HK version available.
cezeff said:
Interesting...I know you said wait for the reviews, yet if you had the choice which version would you get or which version do you normally get? I'm looking at making a decision between the snapdragon or the exynos... I'm pretty sure I've always had exynos, yet this maybe the last year I'm able to afford upgrading to the latest and greatest... I want to ensure I'm getting the best bang for the buck... I'm thinking the Korean unlocked snapdragon maybe the best bet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you are in the US, so you will automatically get the Snapdragon version. This is technically a better chipset for both performance and battery life, but the evidence seems to point to about a 6% performance boost (on the Galaxy S20) and about 1hr more battery power. But these figures are only relevant if you are pushing the phone to absolute limits. As with all benchmarking, results are clinical and most likely aren't noticeable in every day usage and the majority of people really don't care much.
However what we do care about (here in non US markets) is that we are paying the same amount (often more) for something that technically has an inferior chipset. But Samsung seemed to have addressed this with the Exynos version having a bigger (256Gb) base storage.
There are rumours banding about that the Exynos 990 has been much improved/ramped up, also addressing the overheating issues on previous devices. So it remains to be seen if this holds true. But the crux of my input here is that is it really worth the OP going to the trouble of importing a phone from the US or S.Korea to the UK, based on all the above? Especially if something goes wrong you most likely don't have a warranty. At the price of a Note 20 Ultra that's a lot of money to lose if you get a fault.
apprentice said:
I see you are in the US, so you will automatically get the Snapdragon version. This is technically a better chipset for both performance and battery life, but the evidence seems to point to about a 6% performance boost (on the Galaxy S20) and about 1hr more battery power. But these figures are only relevant if you are pushing the phone to absolute limits. As with all benchmarking, results are clinical and most likely aren't noticeable in every day usage and the majority of people really don't care much.
However what we do care about (here in non US markets) is that we are paying the same amount (often more) for something that technically has an inferior chipset. But Samsung seemed to have addressed this with the Exynos version having a bigger (256Gb) base storage.
There are rumours banding about that the Exynos 990 has been much improved/ramped up, also addressing the overheating issues on previous devices. So it remains to be seen if this holds true. But the crux of my input here is that is it really worth the OP going to the trouble of importing a phone from the US or S.Korea to the UK, based on all the above? Especially if something goes wrong you most likely don't have a warranty. At the price of a Note 20 Ultra that's a lot of money to lose if you get a fault.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I live in Japan .. Shipping and importing is not really an issue for me... Even with the improvements to exynos, it still seems the snapdragon is the better chipset (?).. I can source an unlocked 256 snapdragon from Korea, yet now am concerned about the bloatware on the phone... wouldn't the Hong Kong version also include some form of bloatware?
---------- Post added at 06:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:35 PM ----------
VirtualWaver said:
Depending on where you live though, if in Europe than HK would be a better choice as it has a better network compatibility with European 5g and GSM standards than Korean version. I was also reading that Koren version comes with specific Korean settings and bloatware that cannot be removed, hence, it is cheaper than HK version.
I was reading today that one guy on Twitter apparently tested Note 20 Ultra Exynos and said it is more optimised and faster than the same processor in S20 Ultra, but still not on par with Snapdragon.
I will probably try my luck with Wondamobile once they will have the HK version available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't the HK version include bloatware as well?
cezeff said:
Well I live in Japan .. Shipping and importing is not really an issue for me... Even with the improvements to exynos, it still seems the snapdragon is the better chipset (?).. I can source an unlocked 256 snapdragon from Korea, yet now am concerned about the bloatware on the phone... wouldn't the Hong Kong version also include some form of bloatware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah sorry, I was just going by the country flag on your profile.
I don't know if the HK version will be full of bloatware. However, I think Samsung have toned down their bloatware over the past 2-3 years anyway (certainly in the UK versions), instead opting to provide links to downloads of their apps that might interest you. I actually really like the Samsung Browser for example but it's no longer installed by default, so I had to install it from the Galaxy Store.
apprentice said:
Ah sorry, I was just going by the country flag on your profile.
I don't know if the HK version will be full of bloatware. However, I think Samsung have toned down their bloatware over the past 2-3 years anyway (certainly in the UK versions), instead opting to provide links to downloads of their apps that might interest you. I actually really like the Samsung Browser for example but it's no longer installed by default, so I had to install it from the Galaxy Store.
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Click to collapse
I will second the Samsung Browser - absolutely the best and works super fast. My to go browser, in fact.
I am not sure about bloatware content but there was a deal on HotUKDeals website where Wonda was selling S20 from Korea and it was cheaper and people was saying the comments that the reason is that it has many pre-configured Korean bloat that cannot be removed even with package managers.
It looks like (from my research on the web) that HK version doesn't have these.
apprentice said:
Ah sorry, I was just going by the country flag on your profile.
I don't know if the HK version will be full of bloatware. However, I think Samsung have toned down their bloatware over the past 2-3 years anyway (certainly in the UK versions), instead opting to provide links to downloads of their apps that might interest you. I actually really like the Samsung Browser for example but it's no longer installed by default, so I had to install it from the Galaxy Store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. I do agree that Samsung has toned it down. I think I'll go ahead and pre-order the Korean snapdragon with 256gb in mystic white... mystic bronze looks great, yet I can't do much with it, even putting on a skin the frame would stick out like a sore thumb... If anything I can disable bloatware via ADB shell without root... One of the reasons I buy unlocked phones is because the bloatware on Japanese locked phones are absolutely crazy... The system is also proprietary, losing much of the customization other regions have, along with super long delayed updates...
---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------
VirtualWaver said:
I will second the Samsung Browser - absolutely the best and works super fast. My to go browser, in fact.
I am not sure about bloatware content but there was a deal on HotUKDeals website where Wonda was selling S20 from Korea and it was cheaper and people was saying the comments that the reason is that it has many pre-configured Korean bloat that cannot be removed even with package managers.
It looks like (from my research on the web) that HK version doesn't have these.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll roll with the Korean version for now.. If there is any excessive bloated I'll ADB shell it and if anything else maybe flash a universal ROM later down the road... Thanks for you guys input
cezeff said:
No problem. I do agree that Samsung has toned it down. I think I'll go ahead and pre-order the Korean snapdragon with 256gb in mystic white... mystic bronze looks great, yet I can't do much with it, even putting on a skin the frame would stick out like a sore thumb... If anything I can disable bloatware via ADB shell without root... One of the reasons I buy unlocked phones is because the bloatware on Japanese locked phones are absolutely crazy... The system is also proprietary, losing much of the customization other regions have, along with super long delayed updates...
---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------
I'll roll with the Korean version for now.. If there is any excessive bloated I'll ADB shell it and if anything else maybe flash a universal ROM later down the road... Thanks for you guys input
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let us know how once you get it
I will also hold on and wait for Exynos review. Hope it will be available soon.
I am not a gamer at all, but am a power user and do appreciate when the phone heats less and consumes less battery. Also, apparently, Snapdragon's reception is better. So will wait for reviews before getting. For now, I cancelled my Samsung order from the UK.
Wondering how many out there plan to get the bootloader unlocked Snapdragon edition? It seems the Snapdragon will be 2 generations ahead this year, as the Snapdragon is a model above the S20's while the Exynos processor (which was already inferior) will be the same.
Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, (and South America?) are the regions so far that seem will offer Snapdragon bootloader unlocked Note 20 Ultra's.
still doing my own research on where to buy, anyone else doing this as well?
I'm going to pass and just get the US SD version from Samsung. Honestly, I haven't flashed a ROM on an Android Phone since the LG G3 days. Android is just too mature and feature full for me to worry about it at this point. I spent waaaaay too much time flashing ROM's lol. Was fun when Android was still very green, though.
Semantics said:
I'm going to pass and just get the US SD version from Samsung. Honestly, I haven't flashed a ROM on an Android Phone since the LG G3 days. Android is just too mature and feature full for me to worry about it at this point. I spent waaaaay too much time flashing ROM's lol. Was fun when Android was still very green, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely feel you. while I'm stubborn to give up root because I like to feel in control of my device, my list of root uses gets slimmer and slimmer each year.
it's basically ad blocker, screenshot Netflix so I can picture message with friends about shows we're all watching, and then 5 other root apps to hide the fact that I have root lol
soraxd said:
Wondering how many out there plan to get the bootloader unlocked Snapdragon edition? It seems the Snapdragon will be 2 generations ahead this year, as the Snapdragon is a model above the S20's while the Exynos processor (which was already inferior) will be the same.
Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, and South America are the regions so far that seem will offer Snapdragon bootloader unlocked Note 20 Ultra's.
still doing my own research on where to buy, anyone else doing this as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI the HK and Korean snapdragon versions 5g bands are not compatible with the 5g here in Canada, likely the same applies to the US (don't quote me on that).
this may not matter to some, to others it certainly will.
force70 said:
FYI the HK and Korean snapdragon versions 5g bands are not compatible with the 5g here in Canada, likely the same applies to the US (don't quote me on that).
this may not matter to some, to others it certainly will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone know of any Snapdragon versions that DO offer compatible 5G bands in the US with Tmo and also have an unlockable bootloader?
Sent from my SM-N976U 5G using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Purchased the HK version from WondaMobile after being recommended by another user. I cancelled the Korean version due to concerns with bloatware and the single sim. Not interesting rooting, yet it is nice to have the option. I would think the the HK version is the most well round one the available versions if you are looking for an unlocked device.
Eudeferrer said:
Does anyone know of any Snapdragon versions that DO offer compatible 5G bands in the US with Tmo and also have an unlockable bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if there is such a thing Im buying one, havent seen one so far though.
dont have any info on the latin america version, dont even know yet if it is still snapdragon this year.
Semantics said:
I'm going to pass and just get the US SD version from Samsung. Honestly, I haven't flashed a ROM on an Android Phone since the LG G3 days. Android is just too mature and feature full for me to worry about it at this point. I spent waaaaay too much time flashing ROM's lol. Was fun when Android was still very green, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you on that one. Last phone I actively installed and played with ROM's was the Note 4. Note 7 we know how that went and Note 8 onward in Canada had locked bootloader so I stopped since Android as you said is more mature now. I miss the ROM's too sometimes but I'm happy with the OS now for the most part that I'm not worried if I can ROM or not either anymore.
I'm just getting the Canadian Note 20 Ultra 512GB and will be happy with that.
Definitely rooting. I've rooted every single note I've owned. It's become easier and less stressful. Magisk makes it simple.
Viper4android, ad-blocking, changing system emojis, removing volume warnings, disabling or uninstalling apps, backing up and restoring apps, etc.....
I completely forgot volume warning was a thing.... gosh it's been almost a decade since I had to be subjected to one. there's also enabling call recorder, removing camera shutter sound (for non US), and some other ones I take for granted and can't think of right now
having order the us unlocked version im hoping to a way to unlock the bootloader will become available. i loved roms on my note 3, nexus and nexus 6p. was super disappointed there weren't many ROM options when i had the pixel 3xl
metalb00 said:
having order the us unlocked version im hoping to a way to unlock the bootloader will become available. i loved roms on my note 3, nexus and nexus 6p. was super disappointed there weren't many ROM options when i had the pixel 3xl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't hold your breath. Hasn't happened for the last few Notes I've had.
soraxd said:
I definitely feel you. while I'm stubborn to give up root because I like to feel in control of my device, my list of root uses gets slimmer and slimmer each year.
it's basically ad blocker, screenshot Netflix so I can picture message with friends about shows we're all watching, and then 5 other root apps to hide the fact that I have root lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel you on adblocker. Do any other versions have full USA bands though??
Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk
oneandroidnut said:
I feel you on adblocker. Do any other versions have full USA bands though??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
our only hope is latin america and I have zero information on it thus far
The bootloader has been locked down on Samsung Snapdragon devices for quite a few years now and it's very likely that unlocking them in the future will not happen. You would need to purchase a Exynos powered device for that (for now )
kangi26 said:
The bootloader has been locked down on Samsung Snapdragon devices for quite a few years now and it's very likely that unlocking them in the future will not happen. You would need to purchase a Exynos powered device for that (for now )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For USA since the S7 I think, for us in Canada it started on the S8 (our s7 was exynos).
So yeah for an unlocked its either the sub par exynos 990 or a HK, Korean or Brazilian snapdragon.
5g likely not going to be compatible with NA bands..for sure not with Canadian bands on rogers anyway .
This whole 5g thing has thrown a new variable on many of us who generally import our devices, it has definitely screwed up my plans for the Note 20 ultra at any rate
there's a bit to dig thru here, but we should be able to find answers
https://www.frequencycheck.com/search?s=galaxy+note+20+ultra
soraxd said:
Wondering how many out there plan to get the bootloader unlocked Snapdragon edition? It seems the Snapdragon will be 2 generations ahead this year, as the Snapdragon is a model above the S20's while the Exynos processor (which was already inferior) will be the same.
Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, (and South America?) are the regions so far that seem will offer Snapdragon bootloader unlocked Note 20 Ultra's.
still doing my own research on where to buy, anyone else doing this as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me - want it for canada
Is HK version best?
---------- Post added at 02:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:11 AM ----------
Brava27 said:
Definitely rooting. I've rooted every single note I've owned. It's become easier and less stressful. Magisk makes it simple.
Viper4android, ad-blocking, changing system emojis, removing volume warnings, disabling or uninstalling apps, backing up and restoring apps, etc.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me above + Dual SIM
Looking for the HK version currently have the note 10 plus HK one.
Rooted.
Rooting is a must for me.
Don't want the exynos because it's really bad with battery and doesn't seem like sammy cares for it.
But the ultra is going for 1599 now.
Too much
[
force70 said:
5g likely not going to be compatible with NA bands..for sure not with Canadian bands on rogers anyway .
This whole 5g thing has thrown a new variable on many of us who generally import our devices, it has definitely screwed up my plans for the Note 20 ultra at any rate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't be too concerned about 5G, it's mostly marketing hype.
There's 2 types of 5G, the first (millimeter) is ludicrously fast, but if a leaf falls in front of your phone the connection breaks. and you can count on 1 hand the telephone poles (not towers) that have it.
The second more realistic 5G (low band) is near the same speed as LTE.
According to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, AT&T 5G tests on Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G phones averaged 78.21Mbps down, while LTE tests on the same model of phone averaged 70.47Mbps down.