yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] SentinelBorg:
MJ3 fixed the region lock, at least in Germany: http://www.telekom-presse.at/Samsun...y_Note_3_den_regionalen_SIM_Lock.id.27725.htm

Now it really seems to work like they said it should. Activate your device with a local SIM card and after that you can use whatever SIM you want.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
That's nice BUT,

we should really not be satisfed with this. Clearly Samsung want to interfere with the normal operation of the market by preventing imports between regions. There can be only one purpose here, to keep prices higher than they otherwise would be in a free market. You don't have to buy a grey import to benefit from the downward pressure they exert on prices. There just needs to be the possibility that you could if you chose to, which you might do if the price difference became worth it. This is what Samsung wants to prevent.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
It would be great if this is a correct conclusion but presumably someone then will confirm the NetworkLock fields have been removed from the CSC file system/csc/customer.xml? The article itself is not very helpful in that there is no such confirmation from Samsung or anyone looking into the customer.xml file, just a single anecdotal account. Also there is no official statement from Samsung that they have removed the regional lock - just a limited PR release yesterday apparently saying they intend to keep the regional lock and consider further how it works.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] selimaky:
With the new firmware I installed today, I can use my Turkish SIM card in SM-N9005 which is activated in Germany. It seems problem is solved.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jetskibill:
No blocked Network list in my customer.xml

Hi:

I have no blocked Network lists in my customer.xml

My phone is from Malaysia on the XME firmware

Settings are as below:

AP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CSC: N9005OLBBM13

I can only assume that it will work in any country and is Region Free? :D
[Galaxy Note 3 General] shadowcore:
Heh, simmilar to what google does with the playstore. You cant imagine how limited the playstore is outside the EU and now this. This phone will not even make it out of the set regions. This is especially painful for those who live in places that are not covered by their list of countries, such as Northern Cyprus for example.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bubblesmoney:
They unlock it for a £20 fee. That's the option I chose and I got an unlocked phone with this 1y contract inclusive for £570.

I feel for people who still want the phone, it's better to buy from a network provided they agree to unlock it as a condition of the purchase. I only bought this after confirming from the shop they would unlock it immediately.

For the person in Brazil you can try taking the phone to any network and ask if they will sell a unlock code generated from imei. If they do unlock it then this would be a better idea than trying some obscure Russian website.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ultramag69:
Due to the fact the MJ3 firmware update from Germany seemed to fix the region lock, this would simply be a firmware upgrade to remove the region lock from the CSC file. It wouldn't be a major recall of products, simply a push of new firmwares that rescind this crappy little thing Samsung have done...

I think the other major thing that needs changing is the disappointing lack of respect and support for the dev community. If you go back and read through the samsung forums every great "new" feature that came out on the later devices actually started here. Without support from XDA-Developers they wouldn't have such a great device.

Now they have essentially stopped developement on their devices, if you want to keep your warranty, then where are they gonna get the ideas and leg up for the software encoding they got here?

I know this is a place to share but Samsung have essentially raped this community by taking the ideas and hard work then setting fire to it afterward as it then copyrights the ideas as theirs...

The lack of respect and courtesy is disturbing as it started out as a nice relationship between devs and the company, shame some little **** with a lot of clout at the company steered them away from this course...
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
they pillaged the village...

That's pretty sad, ultramag69. Samsung definitely 'lost the plot,' as tmzbeme put it earlier this week.

Where do you think the innovative, collaborative spirit can go next?

Is Oppo a candidate? Or someone with an Ubuntu approach?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] visitor zhang:
Thanks for everybody in the forum,My phone is unlocked yesterday after seven days using.

I think there is a calculagraph in software,because I made a call to my another phone number about 20 minutes the last time .

After waiting for long time, Now it is OK.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
On 8-Oct...

Yesterday, I snapped this screenshot off the Amazon.de website (using Google Translator).

In 10 days the tally changed to 105 5-star reviews compared to 230 1-star reviews, with almost all of the low marks coming from reviewers who referenced the region-lock fiasco.

These are remarkably poor ratings, samisi. Obviously a lot of people have been disappointed in the product being regionally locked, but do you or anyone else here know why people on that Amazon website, compared to other markets, have been so outspoken about this?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] penfold:
until samsung completely remove the region lock from their devices I will continue, and I urge everyone else to continue to boycott them ....continuing to buy their products will set a precedent that other manufactureres will follow and we will end up with all the phones being region locked once they see that they can get away with it.

The only way to stop this nonsense is by showing that you will not put up with it and continue to refuse to buy any samsung products until they completely abandon any type of region lock, even one that can be disabled.

As a case example, the awful DIVX dvd rental scheme was defeated by strong consumer backlash and lack of sales resulting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX

Do not allow them to change the way we buy our phones ...this must end here! ....and it will only end if samsung are boycotted.

My two cents ...I hope enough people agree.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] betoNL:
Where's the petition?

.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hifonicy:
I own a galaxy s2 , s4 , note 2 and a nexus 4! and I can say that the nexus 4 seems to be faster than any other samsung... think because its touchwiz that fills the ram... and I will definitively never buy any samsung device if they not remove the regionlock! The way to go where a s4 google play edition to have a powerful device with no lock and up to date :)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
And Amazon UK is running at 66 reviews, of which 15 are 5*, 46 are 1* and the rest in the middle - average 2*.

The price has also dropped to about £520 (or even £499.99 in white, if you can trust a seller with no history who choses to call himself "Lost Money"). I wonder if there is a connection?

Personally I wouldn't presume to review a product I haven't used, but even just voting up the sensibly worded 1* reviews and adding solid, sourced rebuttals and comments can only help keep the pressure on.

In particular, once Samsung does sort out the region-lock release with 1st use of a home SIM (as they surely will) there will be more reviews/comments saying it is all OK now etc. Buyers need to be aware that the price they pay is a function of the way the market operates, and it is certainly not "OK" for Samsung to interfere with free trade and price competition. Maybe a few clear, succinct and appropriate comments pointing this out will help keep the pressure on for Samsung to completely remove region-locking at source, and allow the market to operate as the WTO intended.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bogdan1980:
Sammy, your dead.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
CSC N9005DBTBMJ3 still seems to have 63 NetworkLock list in it. if there is a more recent CSC for DBT sales code, please let thread know.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
Is the newly updated phone that you read this off of currently still region-locked (which would mean the build # is unrelated)?

If it's now unlocked, was it locked just prior to the MJ3 update?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] heartblasts:
Reactivation Lock

Friends, is there any way to bypass reactivation lock? my friend bought second hand phone and he did reset, after that phone is asking for Samsung Account of first owner.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
trending reviews on Amazon Germany

Here are some machine-translated excerpts from recent amazon.de reviews.

Sample of 5-star reviews

:

Now, without SIM lock update from Samsung thanks

S. Müller - 18 October 2013

Amazon verified purchase

I cannot understand all the fuss about the SIM lock, since I only 1x per year personally am on holiday abroad and so far I could always do without my cell phone. Since Samsung has today (18:10:13) released an update which unlocks the phone (Samsung seems to listen to its customers) this problem is indeed done.

Best smartphone ever

Tony K. - 18 October 2013

Amazon verified purchase

! IMPORTANT! AN UPDATE FROM 18.10.2013. REGION LOCK WAS REMOVED! ! IMPORTANT!

What to do, it creates. And perfect!

By Chris - 18 October 2013

Region Lock now works just as announced - update is out since today. Commissioning with EU Sim, then it also takes my Russian Prepaid Sim.

Sample of 1-star reviews

:

CustomersLinked asses

By Andreas Gryphius - 18 October 2013

This "safety feature" leaves me speechless... simply the production of defective equipment, dead by design.

Currently very good smartphone, but region lock is outrageous!

Of Saskno - 18 October 2013

How can Samsung presume to sell for 699 EUR and then prescribe the customer where he can use his phone? This is simply outrageous! What if I do not plan to live in Germany but to emigrate? This still begs the question of whether on holiday in some countries my smartphone will even still work. If once paid I have to call Samsung customer service to find out where I will be unlocked, I think that's totally unacceptable. Now I have to as a customer also ask that you unlock MY Smartphone? Besides that, it's about the principle.

Samsung Hello Whats wrong ....

Klaus - 18 October 2013

Hi, I am (or was) a Samsung fan. I had the S, S2, S3 and since the end of the year the Note 2. I have been really pleased with the phone and wanted to switch to the Note 3. When I heard about the Regionlock I thought, it cannot be!

This week I made a test... Samsung has also blocked by update my Note2 without me mitkriegt. Phone is resolved to that of Samsung property. Although I'm rarely abroad, I do not think this is good, and it is not acceptable to me as a buyer as it is limiting for me.

Too bad Samsung, you were dear to me, and very expensive, but not so!

By Uwe S. - 18 October 2013

Amazon verified purchase

You alienated every single user of these programs. Shame Samsung, we had a great time together. But other mothers have pretty daughters... I'm off times looking for a bride.

With region-lock no desire to buy

By V. Krasauskas - 18 October 2013

The unit itself is actually a DREAM. The newly introduced region-lock, however, is a true PROCESSING ***** G of customers! Above all, because Samsung has introduced it secretly and so far fails to explain the purpose and functionality and that such a measure is more logical. Shame on you, Samsung! And ... Good Morning, NEXUS! :)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] claudioita:
Too bad I could not wait fixes since i travelled from Europe to south America.

So I rooted and region unlocked, voiding the warranty.

My next phone will NOT be a samsang.

Will see in a year which will be the phone available of my choice.

Boycott those multinational that think we are sheeps and can do whatever they want to us
[Galaxy Note 3 General] betoNL:
Yep , there are enough " i-Sheeps" in the world....Samsung users don't have to become the same....

Spread the word....

.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bogdan1980:
S-sheeps, you still loving your locked phone? Payed as an Unlocked extremely expensive one? With locked bootloader? With ten protections that exclude assurance, like moisture sensor, triangle, etc? Without the possibility to root it, put an custom rom, put an simple kernel, because you loose the assurance? Well, you deserve the term "S-sheep". Now the sheepmen Sammy are milking you.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] sixstring:
Wow. Did someone p×% $$ in your cereal today?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] SousukeUK:
The person who sold your friend the phone should have deactivated the lock before selling it.

Samsung says to even deactivate the lock if you're sending it for repair to Samsung, as even they can't unlock it to do repair and reset.

Contact the seller immediately to get the Samsung account.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] claudioita:
I will spread it.

Now I want a back cover without that ugly logo "samsong".

I will also put a black sticker on top of "samsang" logo in the front.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
This from The Register comments is supposed to be from Samsung Curry's:

"Rest assured that this region locking is not intended to prevent you using your device when and where you would like. It is intended to make sure you get the best price and the most value from your new Samsung device without worrying about incompatibility or devices that may not work where you are. So it is placed on these devices for your interests."

What I'd like to know is:

If, sans region-lock, the devices are 'natively' incompatible between regions, and yet buyers are mistakenly buying these already incompatible devices, how is adding more incompatibility going to make buyers any wiser so to save them from their folly, as Samsung claims is their puropse here? If being incompatible didn't already stop people buying them, how does making them more incompatible stop them?

The informed user buying internationally would by definition know what to look out for. The uninformed user would still buy in ignorance, only to be guaranteed incompaibility due to the region lock regardless of any other issues (of which there are likely none).

And if region-lock really does, somehow, avoid this problem, how then does Samsung suggest that removal of the region-lock will be of any benefit to anyone, what purpose does it serve? Surely the underlying (supposed) incompatibilities will remain the problem they aways (supposedly) were, and which this policy was supposed to protect the buyer from? What purpose is there in removing the region-lock only to re-expose the native incompatibilites?

How does reducing price competition help buyers "get the best price"? (This year's Nobel for Economics has already been awarded, it didn't go to Samsung.)

"So it is placed on these devices for your interests" - Kafka would blush.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jetskibill:
Update what update?

I have received no such update

Can anyone else confirm that Samsung have released a firmware update to unlock all Note 3 units therefore putting an end to this Region lock issue?

---------- Post added at 08:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:20 PM ----------

I have received no such update ??

Can anyone else confirm that they have received this firmware update therefore putting an end to this region lock issue?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
If Kafka wrote a play about this, what would he call it?

Wasn't there a movie about someone who entered the mind of a kidnapper to solve the crime, only to get captured by his thinking?

Congratulations, wetsleet, for entering the labyrinthine logic of Curry's statement and escaping with that scathing rebuttal.

I can only imagine how much in sales revenue Curry's stands to lose if consumers don't embrace the Note 3. Their ludicrous double-speak in defense of Samsung's region-lock policy only serves to make consumers more grateful for the straightforward and user-friendly position OnTheGo Solutions and Clove have taken.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

If Kafke were here to write about this, might it go something like this?

Samsung

: Your eyelids are getting heavier & heavier. You are becoming very sleepy.

Consumer

: No, I'm not.

Samsung

: Yes, you are. Now I'm going to count down from 10 to 1 and snap my fingers. You will awaken and believe anything Curry's tells you.

Consumer

: No, I'm not.

Samsung

: Yes.. you are! Now, 10 9 8 7... 3 2 1.

Curry's

: You are a goat.

Consumer

: No, I'm not.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

What was the name of that movie? The

Cellular Device

? Oh yeah, it was

The Cell

.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] mgutt:
This is false information. The author tested the sim the first time on the 2nd october:

http://www.telekom-presse.at/Galaxy...hme_mit_regionaler_SIM_bestehen_.id.27499.htm

Then tested again after the firmware update on 18th october:

http://www.telekom-presse.at/Samsun...y_Note_3_den_regionalen_SIM_Lock.id.27725.htm

Did you get it? 16 days and the note was unlocked. Not through the firmware, it was automatically unlocked as several other people posted here. Wrong conclusion because he did not tested directly before the firmware was updated.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
just a coincidence...

Exactly. I've been wondering about this, too.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

(region-lock discrepancy = discrepancy between Samsung's official position and users' experience)

1. How many examples are there of the region-lock discrepancy going away at the exact time users installed the MJ3 build? Shouldn't these reports have been pouring in as the build rolled out? At my count we are currently at only

four

examples. We also have examples of the most recent update not affecting the region lock.

2. Upon inspection of the MJ3 code, what evidence is there of a modification to region locking in the sim-card recognition process?

3. If MJ3 eliminated the discrepancy on 12-Oct, why on 17-Oct did Samsung Germany act like they were still figuring things out and not mention this? Why so much secrecy within Samsung?

4. Do we know what build number consumers were on at the time they experienced the spontaneous unlocking?

5. If unlocking indeed occurs at some pre-programmed moment in response to user activity, could these recent occurrences of unlocking that are being attributed to MJ3 be just a coincidence?

6. If in fact MJ3 fixes the discrepancy...

a) when did Samsung identify the problem?

b) when did they begin work on MJ3?

c) why didn't they tell their customer-facing staff that there was in fact a problem that was being worked on and

d) why didn't they tell their customers?

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

It looks to me that the better guess right now is that mgutt is right... there's some other active process and not the MJ3 download that's unlocking some phones.

It's such an interesting social phenomenon: many people are eager to say, 'OK, it's fixed, let's move on' without any real evidence... first, with the issuance of Samsung's official position on 'the activation process,' and now with what is essentially a rumor started by someone whose phone suddenly unlocked when he updated his firmware and then reported it on a personal website dressed up to look like a news outlet.

The fact is that we don't know what is behind the spontaneous unlocking events that have been reported. It may even be the case that Samsung doesn't know. What a shame that they have taken such a dismissive stance toward the very people who are funding their success. Obviously their bet is that no matter how much they starve us for information, we'll still give them the cash.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] yoedba:
American Region Lock on SM-N900

Hi guys,

I have tried everything, chanfires root tool ( even though supposed to only work on SM-N9005), I have even purchased an unlock code from two different providers, ended up being the same code and it just doesn't work. I am wondering if you guys have been having luck unlocking a phone that only has the region lock with no provider luck? :confused:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
CSC N9005VIABHME seems a good CSC to have in Germany. This is because it it does

not

contain any NetworkLock fields - and in particular does not have a 63 MCC NetworkLock list in it. It does still have 02 branding included in CSC just for o2, including various bookmarks for the browser and an o2app store.

In contrast to the VIA sales code in Germany, the DBT sales code in Germany has generic settings with specific APN details for all four networks (Telekom.de, Vdafone.de, E-plus.de and o2.de), but not bookmarks and other branding it seems.

It is interesting therefore that the product channel through which the Note 3 is sold in Germany and the resulting CSC pre-loaded on the device could potentially make a big difference to the region lock status.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] mrpug:
any difference?

Hi,

Not sure If I should post this here or is it a stupid question or not, but is there any big difference in the carrier phones such as the (AT&T, Tmobile etc.) and the International N9005 LTE phone? I tried looking to see but I can't really find information beside the fact that the phone is region locked and warranty. I've been having international phones such as the galaxy s2 and etc and I was planning to buy a international one as it was easy to just switch sims and etc. but now im too scared to buy the international as it might region locked somewhere down the line.

Thanks :D
[Galaxy Note 3 General] betoNL:
Please don't say S-sheeps......use the term * sheepsungs * ...:laugh:

That's what's make the world of big companies go round : i-Sheeps and Sheepsungs

And most of them don't even know that forums like this one exists.....

.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bogdan1980:
Sheepsung sounds nice.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jonmorris:
Can I suggest simply sticking to saying Samsung? Anything else just makes you sound like a fanboys, and this is a really serious issue that should be angering everyone and not just dismissed as a bunch of geeks moaning.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] betoNL:
Huh?

Not every Samsung user is a Sheepsung

But the i-Sheeps are no longer alone :laugh:

.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
focus

Yes, there's currently a discrepancy between Samsung's version of how our phones are supposed to unlock and what's actually happening. But when the riddle's solved and the discrepancy's resolved, we'll not have seen the end of the region-lockout issue.

The bigger issues are not how it works but...

...that it exists at all, presuming control over where we can and cannot use our phones

...that they're willing to develop such things in secret and release them in pre-sold phones without announcement

...that they're perverting the OTA update process into a vehicle for significantly crippling phones we purchased months earlier, and

...that they continue to maintain corporate silence... leaving it to us to sort through their arcane mess... and failing to acknowledge the botched job they've done of implementing an already poorly conceived policy.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Limeybastard:
I would like to know the answer to this also, thanks.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
I note that T-mobile is carrier-locked in its CSC N900TTMBBMI7. It has a set of NetworkLock fields with MCC 310 and various MCN values. Besides CDMA band limitations, it would seem surprise me if the US carriers generally carrier-locked their phones preventing use by other US network providers but not those from outside US.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Limeybastard:
Thanks for your response, does that mean I can insert a UK based sim inside my phone once there and it will work? I have already had the carrier lock removed and using it on ATT.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Simon_y7:
It may take a few years until our first fellow American ventures to travel abroad. :D
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Limeybastard:
It's not my fault the vast majority of us only get 2 weeks vacation in a year. Lol.