Samsung S10 5G from Lazada, real or fake? (too good to be true question)

[notrub]

Good morning,  I have just ordered a Galaxy S10 5G from Lazada, price is 14,500 baht.  The seller has been in Lazada business for 2 years and has 60 positive feed backs (yes, I know where they can come from).  He confirmed that the product is genuine and sent a picture of the box in his hand.  It is coming COD and I will open the delivery packaging and inspect the maker's seal on the box b4 paying but if they can fake a phone they can fake a seal too.  The seller is KSHER SHOP.  I know it is an older model which could explain the price but it is still being sold on ebay at almost 2x the price.  I have purchased other phones at clearance prices in the past so I know this could be the case now.  This is a last check to see if there are any of you have a comment about this.  Thank you very much for your help.

 

 

 

[Havefunme]

Thru Lozada I bought a 10TB hard drive my passport was the make when I got it the box said 10TB but when I plugged it in was only 2TB I researched my passport hard drives and found out they don't make a 10TB so do the research. 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Havefunme

[notrub]

Thanks havefunme, Yes, that is why I have asked the forum.  I bought some Motorola Moto G7 phones at a stupid low price last year and they were just a clearout exercise.  All genuine and work fine.  Since writing the above I looked on YT about identifying a fake and tried out the secret samsung code on a phone I have.  The seller has confirmed that it is genuine via the Lazada chat so if it is a fake I think I have a good chance of a refund.  Lazada have been helpful (?) in the past about returning counterfeit goods.  There were a bunch of S10 plus phones on lazada at a similar price from established sellers last week and they went quickly.  Fingers crossed.  At less than 400 Euros it will be a great deal if OK.

[clivebaxter]

look at specifications, if it says no brand it's a fake 100%

[WorriedNoodle]

1 hour ago, Havefunme said:

Thru Lozada I bought a 10TB hard drive my passport was the make when I got it the box said 10TB but when I plugged it in was only 2TB I researched my passport hard drives and found out they don't make a 10TB so do the research. 

 

Those were prices 2 1/2 years ago! Of course the phone has lost value since. The o/p will be fine, infact probably paying a little more than the going rate for genuine product.

[aidenai]

32 minutes ago, notrub said:

The seller has confirmed that it is genuine via the Lazada chat so if it is a fake I think I have a good chance of a refund.  Lazada have been helpful (?) in the past about returning counterfeit goods. 

I don't think it's fake but what worries me is the 5G specification. Different countries use different 5G bands. AFAIK is the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G a device for the n78 network. Many countries are using this network except Thailand. AIS and Truemove are using the n41 network.

 

So you have to find out whether the S10 5G you ordered can be used on the 5G networks used in Thailand.

[Harry2]

I fear you will find the poster above has highlighted the problem. I also looked at buying one of these via Lazada. The vendor I examined (which may be different from yours) had a review that pointed out that's its 5G chip was for the n78 band, which is not used by any of the main Thai phone co's. As such its basically a 4G phone in Thailand & you may be able to use 5G overseas in places they use the n78 band.

[jackdd]

21 hours ago, notrub said:

It is coming COD and I will open the delivery packaging and inspect the maker's seal on the box b4 paying but if they can fake a phone they can fake a seal too.

The delivery person won't let you open the parcel before you pay for it.

[notrub]

Thanks Harry2 and jackdd,  The S10 5G is the model name and the 5G is only a part of the specification.  It is slightly larger, has a better battery, better processor, more camera options and a number of other features that make it desirable.  As it happens I have 5G wifi in my house so we'll see how that works out.  Regards opening the package, I have done this a few times and the delivery person lets me do it.  This is a small rural village and the delivery takes place in front of my house in the garden.  It seems to be no surprise to these drivers that packages may contain fake goods.  I will only open the outer package and look to see if the unbroken Samsung seal is on the box.

 

As it happens, yesterday I received an order that was supposed to be a Seiko watch.  It wasn't even in a box, just rolled up in bubble wrap.  I cut the end off the bag, slid the watch out and saw what they sell in the market for 100 baht.  I taped up the bag and handed it back to the driver and that was that.  It might be different if one of these drivers is a Thai boxing enthusiast but so far it has been OK.  

 

Thanks for your interest and comments.

[seajae]

8 hours ago, jackdd said:

The delivery person won't let you open the parcel before you pay for it.

I did with a seiko watch we bought, refused to pay till I made sure it was genuine, it was so I paid, the delivery person just waited for me to do it

[phetphet]

As it happens I have 5G wifi in my house so we'll see how that works out.  

 

OP. When you say  you have 5G wifi, do you actually mean wifi by 5G phone network? Or 5Ghz wifi via a router?

 

Because these are two different things.

 

 

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, notrub said:

As it happens, yesterday I received an order that was supposed to be a Seiko watch.  It wasn't even in a box, just rolled up in bubble wrap.  I cut the end off the bag, slid the watch out and saw what they sell in the market for 100 baht.  I taped up the bag and handed it back to the driver and that was that.  It might be different if one of these drivers is a Thai boxing enthusiast but so far it has been OK.  

Then you are lucky that your delivery guy didn't have a bad experience yet and still allows you to do it.

The problem is that now the seller could claim that somebody opened the parcel (which it obviously was, and is probably visible) and exchanged the watch, in which case the delivery company has to pay for it, and they like to recoup the money from their employees.

 

1 hour ago, notrub said:

5G wifi

The "5G" in the name of the phone, which relates to 5G cellular standard, has nothing to do with 5Ghz wifi. Probably every smartphone made in the last several years supports 5Ghz wifi.

[scammed]

i always compare specs with gsmarena and check if there is a mismatch in lazada and gsmarena,

if they cant be arsed to get it right there, i cant be arsed to buy either

[MJKT2014]

On 5/4/2021 at 3:44 PM, notrub said:

As it happens, yesterday I received an order that was supposed to be a Seiko watch.  It wasn't even in a box, just rolled up in bubble wrap.  I cut the end off the bag, slid the watch out and saw what they sell in the market for 100 baht. 

 So was this advertised at genuine Seiko watch prices or did you think you spotted a bargain? A 100THB fake watch is normally easy to avoid on Lazada.

[notrub]

The price was not 100 baht.  The picture was of a good watch.  What they sent was nothing like it.  I would have accepted a good fake but it was not.  Some of the YT sites about watches show some very good copies of costly watches that work well too.  Thanks.   

 

The S10 5G phone arrive and it is genuine.  So it seems that I got a bargain at 14,300 baht (about 1/2 price).  This is an older model but has a number of advanced features (esp camera) that mean it is still relevant today.  The core language is Korean and pops up occasionally even though I changed all the default language options to UK English. The 'secret' Samsung checker is *#0*# and that brings up various functions that work if the phone is genuine.  Thanks again for interest and comments.

[KannikaP]

On 5/4/2021 at 3:44 PM, notrub said:

As it happens I have 5G wifi in my house

Once again someone mistaking 5GHz WiFi for 5th Generation mobile phone system.

They are completely different things.

[Peter Denis]

On 5/3/2021 at 8:51 AM, clivebaxter said:

look at specifications, if it says no brand it's a fake 100%

Yes, if the specifications say 'No brand' you can be sure that it is not the genuine - warranted - product, which does not mean that it cannot be a good deal.

Also if the price is 20-30% of what you pay for the genuine product from the manufacturer, you can be sure that it is not genuine.  In such 'too good to be true' cases, often the name of the product is rendered slightly different, e.g. Realmi instead of Realme, or Somsung instead of Samsung, and those are not typo's...

If you want to be 100% sure that you do not get a fake/counterfeit product, you should order from LazMall on the Lazada website.  Products bought from the LazMall come with a warranty and are 100% genuine, and even better if you do get a fake product when having ordered there, Lazada will re-imburse  you 5 times what you paid for it. 

 

[guzzi850m2]

33 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Once again someone mistaking 5GHz WiFi for 5th Generation mobile phone system.

They are completely different things.

Yes but it seems like some folks are still mixing it up.

 

5GHz wifi has nothing to do with 5G network but ironically they will provide you with the fastest i-net connections, LOL.

[rockyysdt]

On 5/11/2021 at 11:45 AM, Peter Denis said:

If you want to be 100% sure that you do not get a fake/counterfeit product, you should order from LazMall on the Lazada website.  Products bought from the LazMall come with a warranty and are 100% genuine, and even better if you do get a fake product when having ordered there, Lazada will re-imburse  you 5 times what you paid for it. 

 

Hi Peter.

 

I'm currently viewing 2 x Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite phones both associated with Lazada LazMall.

One is advertised for 11,990 and the other featuring "Samsung Official Store" advertised for 15,488.

 

Both are 8/128 with 4,500 battery, the only difference is the less expensive model is black.

 

Judging by your and others comments, am I safe to buy the less expensive one, or is it possible it's a copy?

I'm out of the country but would ship to new owner who may not be able to determine authenticity.

 

Cheers

 

R

[notrub]

I bought an S10 5G and suggest you look at the reviews.  mrwhostheboss.  I bought mine from the shop attached and it is genuine. 

It is superior to the other S10 lineup in many ways, particularly the camera.  I bought it from the shop below, screenshot attached.  Defiantly genuine.    The seller responds to chat but I sent my chat translated etc...  Very happy with my phone.  The only thing is that it comes with korean language and you must change that to Thai or English or whatever.  Easy to do and does not overly complicate life.  Good Luck

[Peter Denis]

37 minutes ago, rockyysdt said:

...

I'm currently viewing 2 x Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite phones both associated with Lazada LazMall.

One is advertised for 11,990 and the other featuring "Samsung Official Store" advertised for 15,488.

 

Both are 8/128 with 4,500 battery, the only difference is the less expensive model is black.

 

Judging by your and others comments, am I safe to buy the less expensive one, or is it possible it's a copy?

I'm out of the country but would ship to new owner who may not be able to determine authenticity.

...

The only thing I can advise is:

1 - take a good look at the specs for both models as advertised,

2 - when they are indeed identical (except that the cheaper one only comes in black color), do look at the warranty.

I suspect that you would get full x-years warranty when buying from the official Samsung store, and that might not be the case when buying from the other seller, but do check if you get any guarantee from the other seller.

Also you wrote that BOTH are on LazMall, which means you would buy an absolutely genuine Samsung product (the LazMall guarantee).  

So if they are indeed identical in specifications, I would go for the one that is +20% cheaper even if it has no or reduced warranty.  When buying a genuine product - as you would be doing - the chance of you having to make use of the warranty is very very small (and a brand like Samsung will probably also provide warranty on their genuine products even when not bought in their official store).

Cheers and success!

[rockyysdt]

20 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Also you wrote that BOTH are on LazMall, which means you would buy an absolutely genuine Samsung product (the LazMall guarantee).  

So if they are indeed identical in specifications, I would go for the one that is +20% cheaper even if it has no or reduced warranty.  When buying a genuine product - as you would be doing - the chance of you having to make use of the warranty is very very small (and a brand like Samsung will probably also provide warranty on their genuine products even when not bought in their official store).

Cheers and success!

The Peter.

 

For risk of hijacking the thread (the issue of authenticity being relevant).

The Note 10 Lite has no waterproofing.

Is this an issue in Thailand?

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, rockyysdt said:

The Peter.

 

For risk of hijacking the thread (the issue of authenticity being relevant).

The Note 10 Lite has no waterproofing.

Is this an issue in Thailand?

Hi, I am not an expert on this (far from actually).

But when you buy a 'wallet' for your mobile phone (those wallets are incredibly cheap on Lazada, you would be able to get one for your Samsung for approx 100 THB) I guess your mobile phone will be well-protected , both against scratches on the screen as well as water-droplets when carrying it with you in your pocket when it rains.

Cheers!

[notrub]

Having dropped more than a few phones in the toilet, pond, ditch, bucket, river etc. I never buy a phone that cannot be immersed in water for 5 or 10 minutes.  The cases don't protect the phone unless it is a special armored one and they tend to be bulky.  It is instant death for many phones and even a brief dip is death.  Some phones are even killed by sweat when running, for example.  It is easy to find out which are and are not waterproof as there are many YT videos where phones are tested. 

[notrub]

By the way.  Any Samsung phone can be checked by tapping *#0*# on the phone keyboard.  A bunch of tests come up if it is real.  Just follow your nose and try out colour, touch etc..

[rockyysdt]

32 minutes ago, notrub said:

By the way.  Any Samsung phone can be checked by tapping *#0*# on the phone keyboard.  A bunch of tests come up if it is real.  Just follow your nose and try out colour, touch etc..

Is there a model you recommend (water proof & reasonable performance) at around 10,000 to 12,000?

[notrub]

The S10 5G is an older model and really was in the 25 or 30,000 THB price range.  Look at Ebay and see the same phone at much higher than the 14+K price asked in the screenshot I posted.  Also look at the review I posted.  It has stood the test of time and worth the price.  1000 THB is only 26 euros so why limit your budget by 100 euros or so?  All the higher end Samsung phones have some good level of IP rating.  Look up the YT water tests. The Motorola is a good phone and is cheaper than the Samsung.  I have bought several Moto G7 for the family and they all work well.  The 5G plus in a much newer model and I would have bought it had I not come across the Samsung.  It costs less than the S10 5G.  Check out Lazada and Ebay for availability.   Look up the water test on YT. All the Moto models will upgrade to android 10.  Good luck.

 

[rockyysdt]

6 hours ago, notrub said:

The S10 5G is an older model and really was in the 25 or 30,000 THB price range.  Look at Ebay and see the same phone at much higher than the 14+K price asked in the screenshot I posted.  Also look at the review I posted.  It has stood the test of time and worth the price.  1000 THB is only 26 euros so why limit your budget by 100 euros or so?  All the higher end Samsung phones have some good level of IP rating.  Look up the YT water tests. The Motorola is a good phone and is cheaper than the Samsung.  I have bought several Moto G7 for the family and they all work well.  The 5G plus in a much newer model and I would have bought it had I not come across the Samsung.  It costs less than the S10 5G.  Check out Lazada and Ebay for availability.   Look up the water test on YT. All the Moto models will upgrade to android 10.  Good luck.

 

Thanks for the references notrub.

Part of the reason for the budget is that I need two.

 

Sadly there aren't any Moto G7's for sale in Lazada.

Also I think these won't have further future software updates due to it being discontinued.

 

The Samsung S10 5G is tempting but there's only 2 sellers in Lazada at the 14,180 price, both not LazMall.

And warranty offered is a "seller warranty".

 

I was hoping to get a LazMall purchase to ensure 100% genuine.

 

 

[notrub]

There are only 2 MOTOROLA Moto G 5G Plus for sale on lazada from what appears to be a reputable dealer.  Boonchai Store. They will upgrade to android 10 if they are not delivered with it already.  I also posted the review of these phones.  You can see from the thread above that I bought my S10 5G from a shop who delivered the genuine phone.  Also the review.  It has the android 10 also.  With these warranty offers you can also look to see what the manufacturer's warranty is.  It may be that you have to send the item to the country where they honour the maker's warranty.  You can also cross check the prices on ebay.  The person selling the moto G 5G plus has a 100% chat response rating.  You can ask how a warranty could work and see what they say.  Either get a Thai friend to write in thai or send a google translated message.  Good luck but don't delay.  When these clearout sales sell the items they are gone.  I already commented on IP ratings. 

[notrub]

I just looked at Lazada and there are some new sellers of moto g 5g plus 128 GB for about 9,690 free delivery.  One is offering a 1 year warranty.  See how long they have been in business and send a chat to ask if the warranty is good and the phone genuine.  Seller is SMARTTECH.  I looked on ebay and the prices are similar but plus shipping.  Maybe motorola are having a clearout(?). 

 

B