yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] DMax99:
You know, think about it now, it's not really a big deal to me now. I've just ordered it with one of the local store here in AUS. The price ended up cheaper since I don't have to pay postage and the expensive pound to aussie dollar conversion. Since shipping from the UK will probably take about 3 to 4 working days to get here, comparing me picking it up next Wednesday from the shop here is about the same time.

So at the end, I'm getting it a out the same time and cheaper ;)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] omeryounos:
I would urge everyone to start posting about this on all Samsung local Facebook pages. It will certainly create more noise and they have to retract their steps as did Microsoft with Xbox one always online.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] grifter9931:
Curious as to how does Samsung profit on this??

1. Bad press

2. People defecting from the brand.

3. People canceling their orders.

4. People not purchasing accessories.

5. CS getting calls from partners and regular customer.

6. Having their marketing Team asses how this will affect global sales number reporting.

So exactly how does Samsung profit from "SIM locking/ Regional Locking" any phone??

Now if you were to ask me how any major "Telecom" was going to make a profit, well that'd be a horse of a different color..
[Galaxy Note 3 General] corpzz:
Reading the original german statement it's pretty clear what it says but Google translation is horrible so Ill try to clear it up.

This is the key sentance:

This is the original:

This is my translation:

It also does not say what exactly happens if you activate it in its native region first, but it implies that the device is then unlocked for the whole world. The swiss Samsung on facebook claimed it too.

And it also does not clarify if the Samsung service partner unlock is for every region (likely) or just the region you are unlocking it in.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] non1oson:
what if you move to NZ or the UK? then what, you screwed bra?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] boshindo:
Hate facebook so I've just been commenting on news articles lol. And there are quite a few articles covering this issue. Whether or not it can be considered a debacle remains to be seen but I'm hopeful Samsung backtracks like Microsoft did.

In the meantime I'll wait and see what else is coming out. Supposedly Nexus 5 will be revealed Oct 15. HTC One Max should have some more details surface soon too. Early leaks show they don't have everything I wanted from Note 3 but as long as they don't have region locks I'll consider them.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] non1oson:
no nz stores have it, they all have it 10october or onwards. telecom is the only one that has it, and they don't sell the phone outright. only on plans. see how fcked we are in nz. we bend over for these cvnts. and ontop of all that. they want $1000USD lol dafuq

yeah I'm done. no more samsung products for me. I'm over this. as above post says, waiting on something like htc mega.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] barondebxl:
This is really going to hurt samsung. Why the hell would they do that? I honestly was thinking of selling my 5s in the next few weeks to get the Note3 but ill pass. Happy with the 5s anyways. Your loss samsung.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] mikereidis:
Allegedly the carriers or resellers are paying Samsung for this. Somehow. Maybe with "sleight of hand" to hide it.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] grifter9931:
That's what makes logical sense. And there probably is no "slight of hand" in terms of payment.

Samsung either will take a point or two off the top via distribution or will get the the points back on the quarterly incentive bonuses for each carrier/reseller.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] DMax99:
Haha, I'm not planning to move out of aus any soon and I'm not saying I'm happy with the move either.

Like I said before, if they don't change this problem, this will probably be my last Samsung phone
[Galaxy Note 3 General] p51d007:
I posted this to gnote3 on FB

Not that Samsung gives a rats ass about this, but I'm voting with my wallet.

Open Letter to Samsung.

I bought my current phone, a Galaxy Note 1, in late 2011. Why? Because I wanted the big screen & S-pen. I purchased it OFF CONTRACT, full price from Germany, for use in the United States. Why? Because I didn't want a carrier locked, feature crippled, bloated device! I use between 1200-1500 minutes just on the phone alone, with well over 100 apps. I was anticipating the Galaxy Note 3, until today I learn that the devices are now REGION LOCKED. If I want one, off contract, I will have to purchase an at&t device, which will most likely have some features removed, will be loaded with bloatware, and will not have the same user experience that the pure Samsung device will have. Therefore, I will take it upon myself to purchase a different device, from another manufacturer, and will encourage others on technology boards to do the same. People are tired of purchasing devices only from carriers (at least in the USA) that are crippled of normally included features, so you will use the carrier provided features, which of course COST MORE, than the normally included features. Perhaps if enough of us, use our money, and purchase other devices, you will eventually change your policy of region locking devices.

Perhaps a Google Nexus5, HTC 1 Max or other 5" "phablet" will suit my needs, but I can tell you now, a region locked Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is NOT in my immediate future!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] senectus:
Calm down.. all this is designed to do is screw over the Grey Market players.

The phone will work with other sim cards once you have activated it in the correct country's sim card.

This wont stop authentic buyers, only buyers that import the phone.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] natedogggg:
Dear Samsung

I am writing to let you know my disappointment in your recent decision to region lock your phones, forcing users to purchase phones native to their home region.

As some background, I have owned the Omnia HD, the SGS1, the Galaxy Nexus and the SGS3. I was going to buy the Note 3 in stores once released in the next week or so.

The decision to lock the phones to particular regions however demonstrates a contempt toward your customers, and despite the fact that I had planned to buy an Australian phone for use in the Australian market, it is the principle of the matter which has made me decide NOT to purchase a Note 3, as I cannot support a company who values the profits of telecommunication companies over their customers.

Regards
[Galaxy Note 3 General] lucfeenstra:
This hasn't exactly been confirmed yet.. All local Samsung are saying something else and I have heard fro people that they were still not able to use their non EU sim card after "registering" or using the EU sim. A press release from Samsung would be greatly appreciated right now by a lot of potential buyers, explaining exactly what this region lock means and why we were never told about this before.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] non1oson:
so what, I'm not an authentic buyer because I want to purchase the phone from EU and use it for my own personal use, not import to sell?

you need to calm down
[Galaxy Note 3 General] senectus:
Ok "authentic buyer" was bad language. How about Buyers of locally sold devices.

It seems pretty much confirmed here:

http://allaboutsamsung.de/2013/09/s...o-ab-sofort-mit-regionaler-sim-karten-sperre/

Again, this seems aimed at messing with the grey market import businesses and not the customers as much.

Yes it screws with grey market customers, but thats because the grey market businesses are bypassing Samsung's distribution channels.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Doolb:
Very stupid from Samsung to f*ck with their customers how buy there Phones because the Oppotunities like changeable batterym microsd slot and so on. Now me and many intelligent people will boykott them like they do with apple, because they´re restrict users to do what they want with the thing they are paid a lot of money for. It´s foolish to bite the hand which is feeding you.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] boshindo:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=45945510#post45945510

The rep may have been honestly confused or maliciously wrong but as it stand now I have zero confidence of getting a device that just works the way I want it to outside the purchase region.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] GHOSTIVVI:
Wow, what a shame this new turns out to be. I'll be sticking with my note 2. Can't stand carrier locked phone here in the US
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Psutfin:
It appears once you unlock it in the proper region the phone is distributed to, you can then use local sim cards in other regions to use phone freely. It's more a buy the phone that is meant for your region then a true regional lock.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] gavinfabl:
This is just Samsung working with carriers to get the most amount of money from us. Remember we are not Samsung's customers the carriers and wholesalers are!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] BarryH_GEG:
Here's the thing that I don't get. Samsung has nullified the warranty for any device any of us (myself included) bought outside its designated region because they don't allow grey market sales. Anyone in the U.S. buying from Negri, Expansys, NewEgg, Amazon, or the like get a phone without a warranty as none of them are authorized to sell non-U.S. Samsung inventory (including PCs, TVs, etc.) to U.S. customers. Samsung won't repair a grey market phone in the U.S. even if the owner's willing to pay for it. We've all been fine or at least accepting of this policy for years.

So now they've taken it a step further and require people to initialize a device with a SIM from the region it was intended to be purchased in before being able to use it outside their region.

Samsung doesn't want people for whatever reason to buy Samsung products in one region for use in another. They've been pretty clear about communicating their feelings for years. So *****ing about Samsung's policies on grey market sales based on the region lock seems a day late and a dollar short. If I went to a restaurant and the owner told me he didn't want me as a customer you know what I'd do? I wouldn't beg the owner to let me be a customer I'd find a restaurant that wanted my business. Hint.

My N3 will be from AT&T so I'll have no issues with it (I'm initializing an America's region device with a U.S. SIM). I'm getting a 3G 10.1-2014 so will have to find a UK SIM to initialize it if I buy it in the UK or my AT&T SIM should suffice if it’s from Latin America should I buy it from Negri who sources a lot of their 3G devices from there. PIA? Absolutely. End of the world? Hardly. We all lived with no warranty before so it won’t be long before we adjust to this new flaming hoop we have to jump through to buy and use grey market Samsung phones.

Here’s one thing we can all agree with – Samsung’s communication of this policy change has been deplorable.

---------- Post added at 07:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:19 PM ----------

A T-Mobile CSR as a valid source of info on an unreleased phone? Seriously? Since they picked the answer out of his or her butt there's a 50% chance it's right at best.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] TEKHD:
Will this affect the US T-Mobile variant? I am confused now... Someone posted a trillion posts behind that US carriers with the quad core will not be affected... But I keep on reading and it seems ALL are affected...
[Galaxy Note 3 General] BarryH_GEG:
All the U.S. N3's will be carrier locked to their respective networks just like all the devices that preceded them. If the carrier's change their unlock policies they'll have to be publicized before the first N3's are shipped.

The region lock is a Samsung thing and, so far, applies to the devices they sell to consumers directly (note: I haven't seen a carrier branded phone reported to be region locked yet, has anyone else?). So it remains to be seen whether the U.S. carriers will allow Samsung’s region locking on their devices or just stick with their legacy approaches. Even if they do, since you'll be initializing an America's region device with a U.S. (T-Mobile) SIM, you should be fine using it in other regions once you get T-Mobile (or a third party) to SIM unlock it.

There's still some doubt about whether region locking is a one-time event or the permanent blocking of using SIMs from a different region than a N3 was sourced from. As f-d up as this has become communication wise I'd expect a clarification from Samsung Global as early as tomorrow.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Tubgirl:
Hmm... not in such a hurry anymore to get the N3. Not that I've put foreign SIM cards in my phone before, BUT that's been MY CHOICE!!! I don't want Samsung to make that choice for me!!

What if I do go for a longer vacation or work assignment abroad... need to get a new phone or pay an extra fee to use it?

GT-N7100 via Tapatalk 2
[Galaxy Note 3 General] TEKHD:
Let's hope then carriers in the US really keep doing things the way they always do... I will get the T-Mobile variant for use on AT&T on weekdays and T-Mobile on weekends with my dual sim card adapter... I also have Vodafone and Orange Sims from Europe... I really really expect everything to work the way it always do... If not, I will honestly re-buy a Note 2 and use it... (since I already sold my AT&T Note 2 with AWS Mod...) If the Note 3 is ****ed... I will find out on Day 1... (Oct 2)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] senectus:
oh "Tubgirl" *shudder*

You will be fine.

Samsung has said that once you've activated the phone with the original countries SIM you can then stick any SIM in it..

This is purely a "screw with the grey market business model" act... people buying in country need not be concerned.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Tubgirl:
I've seen no proof that this is the case (I hope you're right though). On the contrary earlier in this thread you had this UK user that after using his UK SIM card couldn't use a Russian SIM card.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hpacura:
Samsung is certainly screwing up something big here but not sure is about the grey market because something does not add up here. Who supplies Clove, Handtec, etc .. all these sim-free phones for resell - must be directly from Samsung. If Samsung wanted to protect all the telcos then simply just locked down all the phones to carriers and stops making and selling sim-free phones directly to consumers. Let's see how Samsung going to handle this mess ...
[Galaxy Note 3 General] boshindo:
Its true frontline phone support isnt the most reliable of sources. When I asked about region lock she initially thought I was referring to sim lock. I clarified my question and asked her to confirm with someone. When she came back she said once SIM unlocked the device could be used anywhere in the US. I pressed her further and she confessed that it would be locked to the US but that I could still roam and then started talking about intl rates. I lol'd.

So hopefully she and whoever she checked with are wrong and the device won't be region locked or it will be unlockable. But if not, the world won't end.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] gailh:
This will destroy Samsung smartphone sales

This will destroy Samsung smartphone sales.

Unacceptable affront to the user community.

I bought a Note II N7105 several months ago. But my next phone will be an HTC or LG.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] krooksrocks:
Octa Core and Snapdragon cost at same price, thus region locked???

Guys I am facing a different dilemma of my own.

Traveling to Europe from India for sometime and would be back in India after that.

Was thinking of buying a snapdragon version in Europe and use in India but now with this Region Lock not sure should I go ahead with that?

In India n9000 version octa core Exynos 5 is launched at Rs50K, which perhaps would be region free and not locked which I can use around the world as I travel quite frequently.

I also have a US and UK Sim card available with me right now and can check it for lock/unlock in the N9000 version from a local retailer after activating the device using a local Indian sim but would that still guarantee Indian version would work in EU and US?

However I kind of suspect that Samsung trying to earn on both its devices as Snapdragon is priced at Euro 600 & USD 750 which with current exchange rates comes to Rs.50K in India , same as Exynos 5 version which is priced at Rs.50K

If that is the case then I would not buy this phone at all as to most of Asia which does not have 4G capabilities, Note 3 is being sold as an inferior spec phone at the same price as a Europe variant
[Galaxy Note 3 General] barondebxl:
I'm sorry but however way you look at it, I think it's just bad. One restriction after another. Locked bootloaders, unlocking phones illegal in the US and now this type of crap. It does not affect me in anyway personally cause I could buy a Note 3 from negrielectronics and it'll work just fine with my AT&T sim card, but I don't like these dumb rules .
[Galaxy Note 3 General] senectus:
The last time I bought grey market (Expansys) It was a German Telco branded phone.

This suggests it wasnt from Samsung > Expansys.

I would suggest that the normal method is for a middle man that is *meant* to be distributing to smaller stores is selling large chunks to places like Expansys... I expect that this is the practice that Samsung wants to stop.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ccampbell1:
Thank you so much for posting this, but.... this article quotes the same google-translated German quote which remains unclear. Until I see a properly worded quote in English (or a proper interpretation of the German quote by a fluent speaker) I don't believe Samsung have clarifies their position, certainly not for worldwide variants of the phone.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] senectus:
Looks like the singapore phones are not affected at all:

http://ausdroid.net/2013/09/26/galaxy-note-3-sim-restriction-asia-and-australia-stock/
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ccampbell1:
Thanks very much for providing a better translation. I agree it seems to say about activating overseas with "partners" (whomever they are...) But yeah it mentions nothing about this putting a local Sim card in first to activate and remove the region lock. I've seen too many reports that this does not work.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] non1oson:
how come people are selling note 3s on ebay saying any GSM sim card in the world can use this phone?

how is theirs any different?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] eustilou:
We should make a "I'm not buying a note 3 because of the region locking" website and a "I'm done with Samsung because of the region locking" so we can convey to Samsung how many customers they are losing due to this issue.

---------- Post added at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 AM ----------

Asia region note 3's apparently are not locked. We've had multiple confirmations on this thread.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] non1oson:
interesting. so what asia links have we got, what's the cheapest one from similiar reputation to hantec and clove?

link me to sites please?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ev0d3vil:
I'm from Singapore and i'm sure my law here says the telcos cant sell locked sets.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] lucfeenstra:
Also, a lot of people say that any will work because they bought "factory unlocked" versions from their suppliers. Have told a few (US&UK) sellers to start reading around on the internet a bit.. this is gonna cost them some business. It's the same with retailers and even Samsung service stores though, no one knows anything.

---------- Post added at 06:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 AM ----------

Yes, there has been no indication yet of the Asian handsets being locked. Think the best place to get the devices from in Asia would probably be Hong Kong, would wait on official statement from Samsung first though..
[Galaxy Note 3 General] brooon:
VERY important question in this context!

ok, it seems like it WILL be like this: The first activation has to take place in the smartphone´s "motherland" - after the first activation, you are able to use any simcard from any country.

But the question in this context (especially for us xda guys) is: What about hard resets?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] maidangisme:
it's ridiculous, when its unlocked must be globally unlocked.

-I wait and see how Tel Provider in Europe sell Note 3 this time, Samsung screwed up big time.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jlevy73:
Hong Kong is the same...illegal to lock a handet.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] utp:
Not true, it is not illegal in HK, it is just no market and interest if doing so, remember who buy everythings in HK?

thats why they mark it up extra price and less memory and sold in HK.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] coolfreebies:
Morning,

I have contact Samsung UK via email this time to see if they will unlock the Note 3 for FREE as stated in the German message from Samsung and see what they come back with.

My network will do it but they want to charge me nearly £20.00 for the privilege, I don't think we should be forking out anymore money on this phone, especially when its Samsung that have put the restrictions on it.

coolfreebies
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Huxflux:
If it's true that the lock is removed when activated with with sim from the region works. Then my question is, what happen i you have to reset the phone, do one have to activate it again? and will that work if you have to do that while outside your region... (or if you get updates OTA what will happen)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] brooon:
I asked the same - just 5 posts above yours ;) These "panic threads" always become useless after a while, ´cause nobosy is reading anymore, but everybody is crying out his/her frustration :D (don´t take it personally huxflux ;))
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Huxflux:
Sorry, I missed your post :o (And I don't take it personally :)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Avignon:
From what I've read so far (after reading all 30 pages of the xda thread + more)is this:

1) you buy a phone in EU or USA, it is locked to its native region. You activate it with a SIM from it's native region.

You can then have it unlocked to work with any carrier within its native region. You can use the phone in a non-native region, but only via roaming from a carrier in the native region (see quote below).

2)you buy a phone in EU or USA, it is locked to its native region. You do not activate it with a SIM from it's native region.

You can then have it "unlocked" in a non-native region by a "Samsung partner". This then becomes the new native region of the phone.

No matter what, nothing I have read so far indicates that I could use a N3 from my native region, Americas, in Europe with a EU SIM. I could only use it in EU via roaming from a carrier in the Americas.

Google translation of Samsung Germany statement :

"“Some current Samsung products are now provided with a local SIM card lock. This means that devices purchased in the European Union, with SIM cards of mobile operators from Germany and from the European Union and the European Economic Area (the “European region”) work as usual.

Users of these Samsung devices can continue to use these together with their SIM card of a mobile operator from the European region via roaming service to appropriate roaming charges to their wireless service provider around the world. If purchased in the European Union and not yet been put into use to be activated for the first time abroad, users can unlock their device for the region free from local Samsung service partners.” "
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Netskyliner:
As I saw in a UK video on youtube, phone asks for a pin code to unlock. Someone tried classical imei based sim unlock codes provided on internet?

---------- Post added at 09:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 AM ----------

I live in Paris France. I´ve got a overseas simcard in stock. I need a local mate who just bought unlocked Note 3 and activated it with french simcard to test. I assume unlocking fees if pin code can be bought on specialized branded phones simunlock sites. Any volonteer?

PS: I don´t have a Note 3 yet.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] coolfreebies:
Do you have a link to the video as i would be curious to watch it, tried searching for it but no Note 3's are coming up...

Cheers
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Netskyliner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hHelbp0XOk&sns=em