Purchase of unlocked Samsung phone in UK

[gbsmiley]

Whilst the replies are strictly correct there is one issue no one has addressed.

Samsung sells phones at different prices in different countries & got pissed off with people importing cheaper priced phones from abroad; as a result all new phones have a 'Region Lock' & must be used with a sim from that country for a specific period before the lock automatically disappears.

Additionally, all Samsung phones can be reflashed to another country as long as the Exact model is the same.I do it all the time.

Check out sammobile forum for more info.

[Esso49]

44 minutes ago, gbsmiley said:

Whilst the replies are strictly correct there is one issue no one has addressed.

Samsung sells phones at different prices in different countries & got pissed off with people importing cheaper priced phones from abroad; as a result all new phones have a 'Region Lock' & must be used with a sim from that country for a specific period before the lock automatically disappears.

Additionally, all Samsung phones can be reflashed to another country as long as the Exact model is the same.I do it all the time.

Check out sammobile forum for more info.

Indeed that is true in some countries such as the UK but that practice is banned in some other European countries.  It is a simple process to insert a local sim and make an outgoing call of no less than a combined 5 minutes of outgoing or incoming calls for the region lock to be de-activated.  Of course you could also download the code to unlock it from the internet if you wish irrespective of where you are and what sim you have.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Esso49

[DJ54]

Is the same model available here at same of better cost? Maybe an older model with functions you want. 

 

I read that iphone sold in China have one or more functions disabled per 

govt instructions..... maybe maybe not.

[Peter Denis]

Hi, I don't have a Samsung but bought a cheap (95,- Euro) Motorola Moto E4 in Europe, it's probably even cheaper in Thailand.

It is double-SIM and I use a European SIM while in Europe and a Thai SIM while over here.

The phone works perfectly and updates both in Europe and in Thailand.

Also, I am amazed of how CHEAP operator-costs are in Thailand compared to Europe.

Total cost for 1 month of unlimited 4G data and calls is only 550 THB.

And I use the phone as Wifi-hub for my laptop, so I have always free Internet at quite good speed.

[KittenKong]

In spite of what many posters have said, checking the band compatibility is very important as otherwise you may end up with a phone that wont connect to all the bands used by your Thai operator. It's a simple thing to check, so do it.

 

Samsung phones will update anywhere in the world, and the SIM being used has no effect on this.

 

One more potential issue with Samsung phones bought outside of Thailand: the international warranty may not be fully valid here. When my locally-bought Samsung phone went wrong the local Samsung service centre provided free warranty cover but the first thing they checked was to see whether the specific model of phone was officially sold in Thailand and that the sale had been registered by the vendor. They did not want to see the receipt at all. Mine had been registered, and I had no problems, but they implied that grey imports or personal imports might not be covered to the same extent, if at all.

[uksmdh]

On 8/19/2018 at 1:36 PM, Scouse123 said:

 

 

Hi,

 

In Thailand, I use an unlocked Thai phone purchased here and I have a postpaid SIM with my own number. You have surprised me by saying that if I buy one in the UK it will not update over here. If that is the case and I am spending 11 months out of the year here, then maybe better I buy one here.

 

I have a UK banking app on it for mobile UK banking and was a bit worried I may not be able to get it up and running out here on a local phone. When I took my phone to the UK I got Barclays to install it on my mobile 

Edited August 20, 2018 by uksmdh
Already answered

[anfh]

On 8/19/2018 at 8:19 AM, Jonmarleesco said:

It's the SIM that dictates its working, not the phone.

That comment is comletely and utterly wrong ! An unlocked phone works anywhere with any sim. 

[Chivas]

S7 Edge works fine with true sim

originally provided by sky mobile but was unlocked from outset

[RocketDog]

On 8/19/2018 at 12:27 AM, HHTel said:

With Samsung, the one drawback, if you are going to live here, is that a phone bought in Europe will not be updated here, and vice-versa.

Quite true. The recent update to my Samsung galaxy S7 didn't occur until I returned to the USA last month. All the updates were queued up and took hours to download and install.