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U.S. Unlocked vs International Unlocked phone

Hello
I'm looking at replacing my S4 with an S7. My carrier in the US is AT&T and that won't be changing. I've been looking at different unlocked versions and can't find a solid representation of what the real world differences are. I know they have different processors. Some say a band is missing, but does that matter. I don't use android or samsung pay, but i know there is a difference here too. I found one comment about some kind of samsung 'coverage' plan, but what is that?
Best Buy has US unlocked phones for about $700. B&H Photo has an International phone for about $640. Its a lot of money either way. Is one phone really better or different than that other?
I am planning a trip through Canada and maybe to Europe. I assume either would take a SIM from those areas and I could avoid getting raped by international fees.
Here is a summary of question I can think of:
Does the US unlocked phone from BestBuy have a warranty or insurance or anything like that?
Can the US phone be rooted. I only do this to remove apps I don't use.
Is the hardware one vs the other really better or just different?
Does a dual SIM do anything useful?
Does a band being missing make a real world difference?
Is there a good comparison somewhere to that can decide on a phone to purchase?

It comes with a limited warranty as stated on their site:
"This device is not warrantied through the manufacturer. This device has a limited 1 year warranty provided by CCR Warranty. To obtain technical or warranty assistance, please contact CCR Warranty at 866-579-8436."
What I don't know is how useful/limited that warranty is. I'd like the HTC 10 but the unlocked S7 is my runner up, and the warranty issue is one of the major factors in my hesitation.
I do believe it can be rooted.
As far as I know, through research, the only major difference between the two is battery life.

Hello, I'll just go straight to the answers.
1. I'm going to assume that if you go through a carrier (att, t-mobile etc etc.) they will offer an insurance plan. You will have to go to third party insurance for the international version
2. As far I know, the US version does not have a root option yet. Because of the locked bootloader.
3. Hardware will depend on which version you choose. Both are very good.
4. Dual sim is as the name implies, you'll be able to use 2 separate sim cards with their respective #s. that's the only benefit really.
5. Missing radio bands is something you may have to do some research on depending your location.
6. I'm sure YouTube or some online site will have some reviews/comparison of both.

I just looked at the best buy website again and something is different. The S7 listed for $690 is definitely the international version and not the US version. When I looked last month I was positive that the phone was listed as a US phone ... huh

A little late
a little late to the thread but just wanted to share what I learned while researching the matter.
There is an US unlocked version of the S7 (g930u) and available through a few places (Best Buy, B&H, Ebay). It goes for $679.99 retail and I have not been able to find one that goes for less. Probably because it just came out end of June. The biggest benefit of it is that it has a bunch of bands and CDMA-compatible. Thus, you can get full connection with AT&T and TMobile. Downside is no wifi calling or VOLTE (as those seem to be locked by the carriers to their own phones).
The international versions (930f/930fd) are both available on Ebay/Swappa for about $500. Upside are that they have the Exnyos chip and no bloatware. You can also root and flash them with new ROM. Another thing is that you get updates earlier. I got Marshmallow on my s6 a month or so before AT&T released its update. Downsides are no Samsung Pay or WiFi Calling/VOLTE and the biggie...missing bands. I had a g920i and it was missing support for bands 29 and 30 on AT&T...this led to poor LTE and indoor reception at times. I would have to turn on/off the mobile data switch sometimes to get good connection.
Finally, we have carrier based versions, which loads you down with bloatware and has the Snapdragon chip. But, it does support all features of your carrier. Slower updates also an issue and lack of support of all bands internationally are additional drawbacks. Cost is also about $500.
Personally, I am going with an unlocked 930a. Bloatware sucks but I can delete or disable almost all of them. Snapdragon seems pretty powerful to me. Samsung Pay, Wifi Calling, and Band support are just too important for me. Note, make sure you ask the seller on Ebay/Swappa about whether the phone is unlocked.
Hope that helps.

I did a lot of research into this before buying my S7 but was kind of screwed since I'm on Verizon (CDMA)...
Since you're on AT&T you have more options.
There are two different processors in the two different models, Snapdragon 820 in the US CDMA capable and an Eyxnos in the International GSM ONLY phone.
After doing my research, I personally recommend the Eyxnos, which I couldn't get :/
If for nothing else, better battery life, by far. Do some research into the comparison between the two.
However! When buying from Best Buy be careful!
Last I checked, on their website, the black/onyx S7 was an unlocked US Snapdragon 820 phone.... while strangely enough the other two, gold and silver? were both unlocked US (actually international) Eyxnos phones.
Also, last I checked Samsung themselves only sell the CDMA snapdragon processor model to the US.
Unless Best Buy made a mistake listing the Eyxnos processor, it is the only way to get that model without buying an "internationally sourced" phone on ebay.

Just a few notes:
1) The G930u is fully compatible with all the US Carriers
2) VoLTE works on both T-Mobile and Verizon
3) Wi-Fi Calling works on T-Mobile and potentially Verizon (but I am not positive about Verizon).
The big downside to the G930u is that for whatever reason it is not receiving updates from Samsung when its branded siblings are.

International Unlocked S8 & S8+ In the US

Where are all the people that will be using the exynos variant in the US? I have been using international unlocked (F models) sammy phones since the s6 and I plan on sticking to this model. Where you guys ordering from? I usually get it from ebay (usually never-msrp) but it seems I might have to hold on a little longer as $970 for an 8+ is a little high.

I ordered from SamsungUK.. lets see if they honor the order.

i am checking into this place.
https://www.clove.co.uk/samsung-galaxy-s8-plus

It's that site correct that the F must first be activated in the E E A?

I'll wait for the Duos version a month later from start shipping, I'm using exynos galaxy/notes from the note 2 .

biship said:
It's that site correct that the F must first be activated in the E E A?
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Click to collapse
I'm not sure. i've never bought intl phone.

I have written to the samsung UK web page and they told me the sim free phone is "locked" to unnlocked you muts make a 5 minut call to a number but from the place the phone was intended to sell, the UK

When you do the checkout on Clove store, you can choose this option: "Samsung’s region lock stops use of this handset within your chosen country unless activated with a European SIM. I agree for Clove Technology to break the seal on the box, activate the phone and remove the region lock by completing a 5 minute call on the handset."

biship said:
It's that site correct that the F must first be activated in the E E A?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clove is great and I ordered a S8+ from them too. I've ordered previous phones and accessories from them. They ship DHL overnight. Yes, EU phones are equipped with region lock to prevent them from being used outside their assigned selling region. You have to make a 5 minute phone call using a SIM from the phone's home region to unlock it. That's what Clove's doing for their international customers.
There are pros to buying from authorized resellers like Clove. EU phones have a two year warranty and Clove will act as a middleman on your behalf to get warranty work done if your phone ever needs it. You send it to them and they manage it through getting repaired and sent back to you. Having a "real" BTU phone is great for those that don't want to screw around with ODIN and multi-CSC to get updates. BTU is typically one of the first EU regions to get updates. We in the U.S. are lucky to get two for the life of the phone.
Only possible downside is getting Samsung Pay working since the framework isn't pre-installed as the UK doesn't currently support Samsung Pay. I've read the forums and some have gotten some of the features of Samsung Pay working on the S7-series but it's not a guarantee. I have a pre-order with AT&T and an order with Clove. I'm still debating which to go with primarily because I'm a heavy Samsung Pay user.

biship said:
It's that site correct that the F must first be activated in the E E A?
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Click to collapse
Doubt it. Every year on release there is this region lock, but when I get my phones, they're never region locked.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

BarryH_GEG said:
Clove is great and I ordered a S8+ from them too. I've ordered previous phones and accessories from them. They ship DHL overnight. Yes, EU phones are equipped with region lock to prevent them from being used outside their assigned selling region. You have to make a 5 minute phone call using a SIM from the phone's home region to unlock it. That's what Clove's doing for their international customers.
There are pros to buying from authorized resellers like Clove. EU phones have a two year warranty and Clove will act as a middleman on your behalf to get warranty work done if your phone ever needs it. You send it to them and they manage it through getting repaired and sent back to you. Having a "real" BTU phone is great for those that don't want to screw around with ODIN and multi-CSC to get updates. BTU is typically one of the first EU regions to get updates. We in the U.S. are lucky to get two for the life of the phone.
Only possible downside is getting Samsung Pay working since the framework isn't pre-installed as the UK doesn't currently support Samsung Pay. I've read the forums and some have gotten some of the features of Samsung Pay working on the S7-series but it's not a guarantee. I have a pre-order with AT&T and an order with Clove. I'm still debating which to go with primarily because I'm a heavy Samsung Pay user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh this sounds more like it. I've never had to deal with region lock..
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

osmosizzz said:
Where are all the people that will be using the exynos variant in the US? I have been using international unlocked (F models) sammy phones since the s6 and I plan on sticking to this model. Where you guys ordering from? I usually get it from ebay (usually never-msrp) but it seems I might have to hold on a little longer as $970 for an 8+ is a little high.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question. Do you ever get samsung pay to work on those models ?. or samsung pay is something you never really use or cared for ?

BarryH_GEG said:
Clove is great and I ordered a S8+ from them too. I've ordered previous phones and accessories from them. They ship DHL overnight. Yes, EU phones are equipped with region lock to prevent them from being used outside their assigned selling region. You have to make a 5 minute phone call using a SIM from the phone's home region to unlock it. That's what Clove's doing for their international customers.
There are pros to buying from authorized resellers like Clove. EU phones have a two year warranty and Clove will act as a middleman on your behalf to get warranty work done if your phone ever needs it. You send it to them and they manage it through getting repaired and sent back to you. Having a "real" BTU phone is great for those that don't want to screw around with ODIN and multi-CSC to get updates. BTU is typically one of the first EU regions to get updates. We in the U.S. are lucky to get two for the life of the phone.
Only possible downside is getting Samsung Pay working since the framework isn't pre-installed as the UK doesn't currently support Samsung Pay. I've read the forums and some have gotten some of the features of Samsung Pay working on the S7-series but it's not a guarantee. I have a pre-order with AT&T and an order with Clove. I'm still debating which to go with primarily because I'm a heavy Samsung Pay user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a samsung watch and use samsung pay through it with a Nexus 6P. Think I would be able to do the same with the S8? I use android pay also, so not being able to use samsung pay would not be a deal breaker.
The thing has has me confused about clove is that the device seems to be good bit less expensive than anywhere else. Cost for the S8+ with shipping is only 665 GBP ($829) as opposed to 779 GBP ($971) from Samsung UK site. Is that correct?

luch4galaxy said:
Question. Do you ever get samsung pay to work on those models ?. or samsung pay is something you never really use or cared for ?
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Click to collapse
No I never got Samsung pay to work on the international model. But recently I think they got it to work on the s7 edge somehow.
luch4galaxy said:
Question. Do you ever get samsung pay to work on those models ?. or samsung pay is something you never really use or cared for ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

PuffinNugz said:
I've got a samsung watch and use samsung pay through it with a Nexus 6P. Think I would be able to do the same with the S8? I use android pay also, so not being able to use samsung pay would not be a deal breaker.
The thing has has me confused about clove is that the device seems to be good bit less expensive than anywhere else. Cost for the S8+ with shipping is only 665 GBP ($829) as opposed to 779 GBP ($971) from Samsung UK site. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just checked clover and the price they showed me was 970 usd once I converted it (771 British pounds). That includes vat and shipping.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

osmosizzz said:
I just checked clover and the price they showed me was 970 usd once I converted it (771 British pounds). That includes vat and shipping.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I selected US for shipping, it automatically deleted the VAT option and lowered to 665 pounds. What exactly is VAT and why would I want it?
Nevermind, I see it's a tax, but it removed itself when I selected the US.

PuffinNugz said:
When I selected US for shipping, it automatically deleted the VAT option and lowered to 665 pounds. What exactly is VAT and why would I want it?
Nevermind, I see it's a tax, but it removed itself when I selected the US.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did it on my Computer and you're right..its cheaper than anywhere else. I may just pick it up now
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

Just a Newbee question here in regards to using the international models in the US. I am guessing that these international phone can only support GSM here in the US - no LTE on any US carrier.
I get that the international boot loader might be unlocked, and the international phones seem to come carrier unlocked. But if you don't travel international all the time and just live in the US - don't you guy miss the LTE speeds? Or is there any international models that support say ATT LTE bands?
The phone says it supports: LTE Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700)
And ATT Uses 2, 4, 5, 17 1900, 1700 abcde, 700 bc
So would the internation phone support ATT LTE?

Flame Red said:
Just a Newbee question here in regards to using the international models in the US. I am guessing that these international phone can only support GSM here in the US - no LTE on any US carrier.
I get that the international boot loader might be unlocked, and the international phones seem to come carrier unlocked. But if you don't travel international all the time and just live in the US - don't you guy miss the LTE speeds? Or is there any international models that support say ATT LTE bands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE works.

PuffinNugz said:
LTE works.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the education! I usually buy TMOB as in the past they have unlocked bootloaders and LTE works on ATT. But if I read the tea leaves correctly, TMOB might be changing that for the S8. I guess no one knows for sure yet for the S8, but generally speaking, have the boot loaders on past Sammy international models usually unlocked?

My Samsung Galaxy S8+ is showing Korean content on an Australian version

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.
Click to expand...
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.

Would this work?

Ok i'm sick of paying 1k for a Samsung exynos phone that's inferior to the SD855 and listening to the SD owners gloating they have a better phone on youtube etc.. I have even heard the Exynos S10 9820 is slower than the S9 SD 845 FFS!
I live in Ireland and we get the Exynos version. So if i went on Samsung USA website and preorder an UNLOCKED Note 10+ by Paypal ( they give that option). Have it sent to my cousins house in the USA ( I'll be visiting in the next couple of months). Put her sim card inside and get her to make that 10 minute call. Bring back to Ireland and good to go?

Micky 22 said:
Ok i'm sick of paying 1k for a Samsung exynos phone that's inferior to the SD855 and listening to the SD owners gloating they have a better phone on youtube etc.. I have even heard the Exynos S10 9820 is slower than the S9 SD 845 FFS!
I live in Ireland and we get the Exynos version. So if i went on Samsung USA website and preorder an UNLOCKED Note 10+ by Paypal ( they give that option). Have it sent to my cousins house in the USA ( I'll be visiting in the next couple of months). Put her sim card inside and get her to make that 10 minute call. Bring back to Ireland and good to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see why not... It's an unlocked phone. Just make sure the bands match up with your carrier

Samzebian said:
I don't see why not... It's an unlocked phone. Just make sure the bands match up with your carrier
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Yeah i have found ( with the S10 phones anyway) that the unlocked versions directly from Samsung USA have the most bands and the ones i need. The carrier branded ATAT and T MOBILE phones have less bands.

Micky 22 said:
Ok i'm sick of paying 1k for a Samsung exynos phone that's inferior to the SD855 and listening to the SD owners gloating they have a better phone on youtube etc.. I have even heard the Exynos S10 9820 is slower than the S9 SD 845 FFS!
I live in Ireland and we get the Exynos version. So if i went on Samsung USA website and preorder an UNLOCKED Note 10+ by Paypal ( they give that option). Have it sent to my cousins house in the USA ( I'll be visiting in the next couple of months). Put her sim card inside and get her to make that 10 minute call. Bring back to Ireland and good to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol the note doesnt even use the 9820 its running the new 9825 exynos anyway so your complaint makes no sense.
Also hope you realize the the US snapdragons are all BL locked and the exynos is not.

force70 said:
Lol the note doesnt even use the 9820 its running the new 9825 exynos anyway so your complaint makes no sense.
Also hope you realize the the US snapdragons are all BL locked and the exynos is not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it uses the 9825 but it's still not up to the 855 and it uses the crap Mali GPU so my " complaint " is a valid one. BL locked? You mean regarding rooting? I have no interest in rooting to be honest.

But do they notice the differences in a real world testing instead of how many it can perform floating point calculus which is totally irrelevant?
If social media subjective opinions matter to you, do the Exynos version also tend to be more battery friendly which is quite more important than the few seconds that it will take to unzip a archive.
(Yes I'm a bit sarcastic.)

Nastrahl said:
But do they notice the differences in a real world testing instead of how many it can perform floating point calculus which is totally irrelevant?
If social media subjective opinions matter to you, do the Exynos version also tend to be more battery friendly which is quite more important than the few seconds that it will take to unzip a archive.
(Yes I'm a bit sarcastic.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the S10+ SD the battery will still have 20% when the exynos version runs out, according to Supersaf on youtube. Anyway the phone will work out cheaper for me from the USA.

Sort of seems like you already know what you want to do. Yeah, long as the bands match up with your carrier, you're good.

Nastrahl said:
But do they notice the differences in a real world testing instead of how many it can perform floating point calculus which is totally irrelevant?
If social media subjective opinions matter to you, do the Exynos version also tend to be more battery friendly which is quite more important than the few seconds that it will take to unzip a archive.
(Yes I'm a bit sarcastic.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you have that a little bit backwards because the Snapdragon version has better battery life than the Exynos. I have the S10+ Snapdragon version just check the forms over there.

force70 said:
Lol the note doesnt even use the 9820 its running the new 9825 exynos anyway so your complaint makes no sense.
Also hope you realize the the US snapdragons are all BL locked and the exynos is not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People still root phones? Man it's like 2011 all over again. Android is pretty mature, I personally haven't had the need for root in like 4 years lol.

The answer to the thread start is quite simply, YES. Simple ask and answer.

Micky 22 said:
Ok i'm sick of paying 1k for a Samsung exynos phone that's inferior to the SD855 and listening to the SD owners gloating they have a better phone on youtube etc.. I have even heard the Exynos S10 9820 is slower than the S9 SD 845 FFS!
I live in Ireland and we get the Exynos version. So if i went on Samsung USA website and preorder an UNLOCKED Note 10+ by Paypal ( they give that option). Have it sent to my cousins house in the USA ( I'll be visiting in the next couple of months). Put her sim card inside and get her to make that 10 minute call. Bring back to Ireland and good to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Why would you need to make 10 min call in the USA?
2) The unlocked model has mostly USA CSC codes in the firmware. Which carrier do you use in Ireland?

Semantics said:
People still root phones? Man it's like 2011 all over again. Android is pretty mature, I personally haven't had the need for root in like 4 years lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is still XDA and yes there is still lots of development ongoing.

Charkatak said:
1) Why would you need to make 10 min call in the USA?
2) The unlocked model has mostly USA CSC codes in the firmware. Which carrier do you use in Ireland?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Phones from different regions are usually region locked. By using a sim from the country a phone is bought and making a call for approx 10 mins usually unlocks it.
2. Vodafone Ireland.

Micky 22 said:
1. Phones from different regions are usually region locked. By using a sim from the country a phone is bought and making a call for approx 10 mins usually unlocks it.
2. Vodafone Ireland.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, could it be that the "region lock" is mainly for EU countries, as I have not seen this on US unlocked phone, then just were unlocked
The US unlocked models have the following CSC codes in the firmware: ATT, SPR, TMB, TMK, USC, VZW, XAA and a few others. I wounder if the phone's firmware doesn't have sim card's CSC in it, how will the phone properly configure the carrier's features/settings.
I couldn't post the website address, so I am including an image

Charkatak said:
Hmm, could it be that the "region lock" is mainly for EU countries, as I have not seen this on US unlocked phone, then just were unlocked
The US unlocked models have the following CSC codes in the firmware: ATT, SPR, TMB, TMK, USC, VZW, XAA and a few others. I wounder if the phone's firmware doesn't have sim card's CSC in it, how will the phone properly configure the carrier's features/settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the better if no region lock..
Vodafone Irelands CSC is VDI. However my S10+ is on BTU ( unlocked UK/IRL). The phone works perfectly on BTU ( even VoLTE/VoWiFi works). I had a Note 9 from Asia somewhere and it worked perfectly too (not sure about VoLTE because my network didn't support it at the time...)
I know i may have problems with wifi calling on the USA model but i can live without it. What would the USA unlocked CSC be anyone know?

Micky 22 said:
All the better if no region lock..
Vodafone Irelands CSC is VDI. However my S10+ is on BTU ( unlocked UK/IRL). The phone works perfectly on BTU ( even VoLTE/VoWiFi works). I had a Note 9 from Asia somewhere and it worked perfectly too (not sure about VoLTE because my network didn't support it at the time...)
I know i may have problems with wifi calling on the USA model but i can live without it. What would the USA unlocked CSC be anyone know?
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It is XAA, but once you put in the sim card that is included in the firmware, then it will refresh sim data and activate CSC from the sim. So in my case, I use TMB(T-Mobile) and from XAA, the phone switches to TMB after I put in the sim

Interestingly my carriers network isn't listed in "available CSC codes" on the UK/IRL unlocked model on Phone Info. My girlfriend who is on the same network as me bought a phone through the carrier and it's on the unlocked BTU csc.

force70 said:
Well this is still XDA and yes there is still lots of development ongoing.
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I totally understand that. I also realize that the improvements are not nearly as necessary as they used to be when Android was a gross mess and needed Devs to really make it run. It's a mature phone OS and most of the development going on is really minor stuff. I do appreciate that people are still interested in flashing ROM's and things like that, the community stays alive, although not nearly as robust as it used to be.

Micky 22 said:
On the S10+ SD the battery will still have 20% when the exynos version runs out, according to Supersaf on youtube. Anyway the phone will work out cheaper for me from the USA.
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bp328i said:
I think you have that a little bit backwards because the Snapdragon version has better battery life than the Exynos. I have the S10+ Snapdragon version just check the forms over there.
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Sorry I'm certainly wrong indeed because I only compared with what it is said about the Note 9.
I'm still unsure about if it's really relevant to compare the S with the Notes series. ?

Importing Note 20 Ultra 5G from USA to UK

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.
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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.
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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?
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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....
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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?
.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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?
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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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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.
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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...
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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.
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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
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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.