yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

hi all!

anyone still helping me out on this issue?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
The "Activated normally" post on the Samsung website Q&A for the Note 3 ( http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/...tphones/SM-N9005ZWEBTU-reviews/ask-and-answer ) is visible again with the official answer by Samsung E-Support clarifying that following activation, you can expect to use your Note 3 with a SIM from the '

constituency

' region:

""Activated normally"

Martin UK on Galaxy Note 3

1 week, 6 days ago

In the context of Samsung Support's answers relating to regional SIM lock, could you explain exactly the full meaning of the term "activated normally"?"

Samsung E-Support

1 week, 3 days ago

Answer:

Hi Martin,

Activated normally is by entering a sim card into the phone from the country it was manufactured for. Once this sim card has activated this phone you can insert a sim from any other country

within the constituency region

EG: EU and the phone will work.

Thanks."

This is surely not what Samsung UK are intending to say? Will Samsung UK clarify this answer further?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
have you tried contacting the local samsung store there? they might unlock it for you
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
EU competition issues?

The fact that this official Samsung UK answer suggests that a consumer has to activate the phone within the particular EU country for which it is manufactured and then, only following activation, may use the phone with SIMs from within the EU region is remarkable. It could imply that Samsung is intending to use its new activation process to prevent a free trade in Samsung phones

within

the EU. Surely this is something which Ms Kroes at the European Commission should be investigating given Samsung's dominant market share in order to see whether this is an abuse of its position - particularly when coupled with other consumer-unfriendly matters, such as: Samsung's stonewalling of questions; the opacity of its regional lock policy; its hidden NetworkLock lists and regional lock; and, the potentially misleading labelling of its products at the point of sale?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ChrisArden:
I was in the flagship Samsung store in Paris today and asked them what they knew about the Note 3's regional locking. They said they have some customers whose phones had unlocked themselves and were now working with out of region SIMs and other customers whose phoned remain region locked. They said that :

They have no idea what the cause is or how the unlocking system is supposed to work.

They have no means of supplying unlock codes and no idea of how these can be obtained apart from on the Russian site discussed here.

They have a lot of angry customers and don't know what to tell them.

They have had no communication from Samsung whatsoever on the issue

They have lost a number of sales due to this.

Clearly they're as frustrated as many of their customers.

It really is extraordinary what a mess Samsung has made of this and how they still haven't done anything to communicate properly with their subsidiaries and reseller networks around the world on what is, after all, their flagship phone at the moment.

The message to customers that I come away is:

I can no longer trust Samsung products

If I travel abroad I'm better off with an iPhone because I can count on it working

Even if my phone does work with an out of region SIM I can't be sure it will continue to work if for some reason I have to do a reset.

There's a constant threat that Samsung may push out an update that will add a regional lock to previously unlocked phones (this is what they have said they will be doing to Galaxy S4 users apparently).

Unless Samsung get their act together soon this may be the last Samsung product I will buy. I will certainly advise all my work colleagues and friends not to buy a Samsung phone if they ever plan to travel abroad, which means jut about everyone.

I can't believe that any business will want to buy Samsung phones for their employees unless Samsung change their policy and start communicating honestly and clearly.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
The region you are locked to is not the EUR region but the Middle Eastern one. Did the box in which the phone came have the compatibility sticker (see post 1 of this thread) on the side? Even if it did, you bought it unlocked and activated it in the relevant country in the region for which it was manufactured, so Samsung should agree to release the lock.

If possible before approaching Samsung get something in writing from your retailer in Jeddah confirming that you bought it unlocked and then go and put that confirmation, and the facts about your proper activation of the Note 3 with a Saudi SIM, in front of every Samsung engineer you can find. It is Samsung alone (if there is no unofficial unlocking service capable of doing it for you in Russia or elsewhere) who will be able to sort this for you and assuming that you are not minded to root your phone at this stage. Frankly if you bought it unlocked, activated it in its home region and still have a Samsung regional lock on it, you would hope that Samsung would be falling over themselves to switch OFF the regional lock which they switched ON in the first place - especially as it ought to be incredibly embarrassing for Samsung that there is yet another example of how flawed their regional locks are that they do NOT even release themselves automatically.

By the way, if you had purchased this in Europe my advice would be for you to immediately return the phone to the retailer for a full refund. I am assuming that you have no consumer rights in Jeddah and therefore the option of returning the phone to the retailer for a full refund is not an option for you. In any event, keep a record of what the Samsung representatives say - good or bad - and hopefuly you will be able to report back what approach Samsung take.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
now you see it... now you don't!

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/...tphones/SM-N9005ZWEBTU-reviews/ask-and-answer

I just tried following the link you provided and this is what I got:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
A helpful chap called Derek has weighed in to the Samsung Q&A ("Activated normally?") suggesting that Samsung probably got this answer twisted around their neck and probably intended to say differently.

I originally asked the question not to ask about the end result of "activation" (which was at least fairly clear, until Samsung answered the question!), but to discover what was the process of activation. So I have tried adding to the question as follows (they seem to be a little less paranoid about actually posting questions now, so here's hoping...):

"Derek, that would be my understanding also. However my purpose in asking the question was to get a more detailed answer not about the end result of 'activation' but about the process of 'activation'.

Some reports suggest that you simply pop your home-region sim into the phone and - tada! - the phone is unlocked. But Clove (a reliable UK retailer) did try exactly that with some new Note 3s before posting them abroad, only to discover that they did NOT then work with a foreign SIM.

Later reports trickeld in on various forums (eg XDA-developers) which suggest some element of time and/or usage was also necessary. So pop in the home-region SIM, wait a number of days (nobody seems sure how long, about 10 days seems favourite) and/or make a given number of calls/texts (again, how many?) and only then does the phone unlock.

Not that you would know, because the phone does not reveal its lock status. The first you would know is when you travel abroad and find that your phone either does or does not work on a local sim.

So back to my original question - what exactly does it mean to "activate normally" - i.e. HOW do you do it, exactly, please Samsung?"
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

[MENTION=5460463]avenging[/MENTION].

yes, I have contacted the local, national, regional (down to South Africa) Samsung, all but Saudi Arabia and Global - Same passive-hostile incoherent replies. Samsung Nigeria said I should go back to Saudi Arabia's Samsung to have them unlock it. The others do not even seem to have any logical ideas. I guess part of this policy of Samsung is to put to test the 'stupidity quotient' of their agents, from regional level downwards!

At a point I thought one Samsung Nigerian agent was going to have me arrested for possessing an N9005 lte version, which, for 'technological apartheid' Samsung had decided that Nigerians had no right to own!

I personally feel that there is a lot more to this apparent apoptotic policy than just the concern about 'grey importers'. Somebody, may be Apple, probably saw a vision for Samsung to start a quest for a global Korean Empire:)

Summary of my request: PLEASE FIND ME A SIMLOCK CODE SELLER so at least I can save this LAST Samsung mis-adventure of mine:(
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
Your reference, Ahmads001, to 'technological apartheid' really strikes home! ...especially with that image of the Samsung rep angered by you owning a phone Samsung doesn't want you to have.

(I hope this thread stays away from demonizing any ethnic group for the actions of misbehaving corporations.)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] patrick92260:
I imported a note 3 to the US that turned out to be from Malaysia. There was no region lock sticker on the box, the phone is unbranded, and it worked fine with my att sim
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
3 pairs of questions for Samsung, part 3

3 pairs of questions for Samsung, part 3

5. why have you not tried to get ahead of this by investigating user experience, informing your national divisions and training your personnel?

6. why don't you say something?

Silence breeds speculation. You're acting a lot like the Emperor with no clothes:

a) pretending, at first, that everything's okay... but now you're just...

b) wearing a whole lot of nothing except your regal silence... and hiding.

Some will assume that you are refusing to address these questions because you think that you're right because you're rich... that we don't really believe what we say... that if you ignore us we'll just go away.

You might be hoping that the first will prove to be true. But you're getting an uncomfortable feeling inside because you know... we're not going away. We're just picking up steam.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
No dice, censored.

So toned down and reposted:

"Derek, that would be my understanding also. However my purpose in asking the question was to get a more detailed answer not about the end result of 'activation' but about the process of 'activation'.

Some reports suggest that you insert your home-region sim into the phone and immediately the phone is unlocked.

Later reports on various forums (eg XDA-developers) suggest some element of time and/or usage is also necessary. So insert a home-region SIM, wait a number of days and/or make a given number of calls/texts and only then does the phone unlock.

So to my original question - what does it mean to "activate normally" - i.e. HOW do you do it?"
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
OK, so that was still too salacious for publication, but I am told by the standard rejection email that my "answers are very important to us and the Samsung community" ... "We encourage you to review our guidelines and resubmit your answer about Galaxy Note 3."

The only possible infraction I can discern from those guidelines is a reference (not even a link) to a website - this one!

So fingers crossed for 3rd time lucky:

"Derek, that would be my understanding also. However my purpose in asking the question was to get a more detailed answer not about the end result of 'activation' but about the process of 'activation'.

Some reports suggest that, when you insert your home-region sim into the phone, immediately the phone is unlocked.

Other reports suggest the process is not immediate, and some period of time and/or usage is also necessary, possibly about 10 days to two weeks.

So to my original question - what does it mean to "activate normally", what is the process which must be followed?"
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

So, people, anyone has a new brain wave to help out of this 'KWAGMAYA'?:fingers-crossed::(

I believe one of the ways we can prove wrong Sammy's sudden cylindrical policy of IMMOBILE mobile retrogression is to break these tentacles of bellicosity - remind them quickly that NO HUMAN (GROUP OF) INDIVIDUAL HAS THE RIGHT TO HOLD ANOTHER TO RANSOM - First you collect my money by selling me bread, and next you insist I must eat it ONLY in your shop! Haba Samsung!

Anyone with information on genuine merchants from whom to purchase sim lock code (Credit card, please, no PayPal - doesnt work in my country) PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH LINKS.

Thanks
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
I take it that the above is the part you decided to tone down... pretty mild stuff. Not knowing what to expect when traveling is, after all, the crux of the problem.

It makes sense that you're doing everything you can to focus your question about unlocking on...

Among the scattered sources working for Samsung who have addressed unlocking, some have used the word 'automatic.' I'm pretty sure that by 'automatic' they not only meant 'without requiring further steps,' they also meant 'right away.' If they knew about some sort of timer or counter inside the phone that caused a delay, it makes no sense that they'd want to conceal that, unless they're told to. Just more hassle for them.

I'm imagining UK's 'Samsung E Support' will continue to misunderstand your question. "What do you mean, 'How do you do it?'" they might think. "Well, we told you, you put in the proper sim and turn on the phone." Where they're coming from is a belief that this should work. Where you're coming from is the knowledge that it doesn't always. Your evidence of that was your reference to this thread, which you've had to delete.

If I may, it sounds like your question is, what's the process between A. inserting the sim and turning on the phone and C. getting the functional results. Does B involve a timer, a call counter, a network link with a Samsung server... some combination of the three? (IDK, you might be asking, as well, 'does the official position include having to be in the home country or home region when you perform the activation?' Anyway, that remains one of the outstanding questions of Samsung.)

Some customer-facing Samsung staff seem to be informed -- or misinformed -- of a need for the phone to be in the home region and to make a network link of some kind at the time of activation, that is, to complete a 'registration' process. Others seem to have not heard of this. Some have even said that if you use the wrong sim when you first turn on the phone, it will be locked for all use until you take it to a service center. (I don't think we have any evidence of that.)

Of course, asking them why the official version of the activation process doesn't always work involves an admission that Samsung is currently unprepared to make.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

Thanks folks, for all the exposition!

Ok, so now we have a phone that does not work, waiting for a code to unlock it. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bubblesmoney:
on another xda thread i found this link and the statement from that xda poster that it worked for him for £6 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161120336570?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 but I now see that it has increased to above £8

Hope the link helps someone out or they can try the costlier puman.ru website

or like me they cant try their network for a sim unlock code generated from IMEI. I paid vodafone UK directly when i purchased it from their shop, it was more expensive at £20 but thought it would be better from network as i can chase them for refund if later have issues.

---------- Post added at 12:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ----------

just use a call recorder app like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.globaleffect.callrecord the app works great on my N3. Use the app for any customer service calls or nuisance calls to have proof of what was said to be used if needed with regulators.

Anyone contacting samsung, use that app and it will automatically record all conversations incoming and outgoing. This will be useful for refunds if needed if phone was mis sold by samsung or the carriers or shops.

Ofcourse you can use the app for any other customer service issue too.

Its free for 2 weeks then in app purchase. I am presently using free version but will be buying the in app license as the app works great on the N3.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
...and of course check the applicable laws to make sure what you're doing is legal before recording conversations. Many places require the other party to be made aware that the conversation is being recorded. Often, recording your announcement to the other party that you're recording will be enough to make it legal.

In the US, if the other parties on the call are in another state or country, the FCC requires you not only to inform them about the recording, but also to gain their consent. (There are other regulations, like using the beeping thingy.)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bubblesmoney:
vodafone uk network locked phone CSC and MCC, now unlocked after £20 fee to vodafone

my phone purchased with 1y contract from vodafome (total price £550 inclusive of contract for 1y :) plus £20 unlocking fee to vodafone total was £570).

the CSC got by dialling on phone dialler *#1234# was

AP: N9005XXUBMI7

CP: N9005XXUBMI6

CSC: N9005VFGBMI1

just posting the info here to add to the data here

---------- Post added at 01:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 PM ----------

In the UK it is legal and you don't need consent if it's for your personal use including for legal action but for third party release you might need consent but in my opinion consumer protection issues might give an excuse for releasing it public. But please not its just my personal opinion regarding the last comment. But using disclosure to your legal representative obviously would be legal for small claims court action etc. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/consumer/advice/faqs/prvfaq3.htm my extract is from the link above and other countries can check in the following wiki link http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws

Recording and monitoring telephone calls or e-mails

A general overview of interception, recording and monitoring of communications

The interception, recording and monitoring of telephone calls is governed by a number of different pieces of UK legislation. The requirements of all relevant legislation must be complied with. The main ones are:

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ("RIPA")

Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice)(Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 ("LBP Regulations")

Data Protection Act 1998

Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999

Human Rights Act 1998

It is not possible to provide comprehensive detail of that legislation here. Any person considering interception, recording or monitoring of telephone calls or e-mails is strongly advised to seek his/her own independent legal advice and should not seek to rely on the general information provided below. It should be borne in mind that criminal offences and civil actions may occur when the relevant legislation is not complied with. Accordingly, Oftel accepts no liability for reliance by any person on the following information.

Can I record telephone conversations on my home phone?

Yes. The relevant law, RIPA, does not prohibit individuals from recording their own communications provided that the recording is for their own use. Recording or monitoring are only prohibited where some of the contents of the communication - which can be a phone conversation or an e-mail - are made available to a third party, ie someone who was neither the caller or sender nor the intended recipient of the original communication. For further information see the Home Office website where RIPA is posted.

Do I have to let people know that I intend to record their telephone conversations with me?

No, provided you are not intending to make the contents of the communication available to a third party. If you are you will need the consent of the person you are recording."
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dajumper:
a question i live in belgium but want to buy one in germany! but when i have it and put the 1e time a belgium sim it it, it must work right? because on the box say european model so the 1e time it don't must be a geman sim?

is that correct?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
why are some unlocks delayed?

dxzh has shown several differences between sales codes in the Note 3, creating a surprising variation among the phones sold within a single country. He's also given us a start at understanding the relationship between this sales-code variation and the NetworkLock process.

Phones with the German sales code VIA and the French sales code BOG, for example, appear to have neither the carrier lock nor the region lock in their Consumer Software Customization files.

Thank you, dxzh, for pointing out a) that the phones available within a single country have such different sales codes, b) that those differences impact the region lock, c) that if a phone is whitelisted to a specific carrier, it doesn't blacklist any countries and d) vice versa, if a phone is region-locked it won't be carrier-specific.

Perhaps the reason some properly activated phones fail to immediately release the region lock is not strictly local to the wedding of the sim card to the phone and/or to some internal timer or counter... it may also be related to the complexity of the verification process by which Samsung releases the lock.

Some Samsung customer-service reps have suggested that after 'activation,' a phone must be connected to the Internet to complete a 'registration' process with a Samsung server.

Perhaps after 'activation' there's a breakdown in the 'registration' process where: the phone fails to reach out to the server... or the phone/sim combination fails to be recognized by the server... or the server fails for some reason to send back the necessary code for unlocking... or the phone fails to recognize the signal when it's sent... or the message sent by the server is faulty.

This two-step verification process increases the opportunity for failure and might help explain the irregularity we're seeing in the delays between 'activation' and unlocking. These delays remain surprising, however, since simply sharing some network info and an IMEI with a third party gives them all they need to access the code and provide it.

An email from Russia and manual entry of the code is proving to be more reliable than whatever system Samsung has contrived.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
Anyone care to speculate/explain how this Russian gets the codes? Why is it apparently so easy for one person to get these codes, whilst even Samsung seems to struggle (eg the poor chap stuck between France and Brazil who seemed unable to get any satisfaction out of either end of Samsung).
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

Unfortunately, he has only codes for the uk - not Middle-east/Asia/Pacific, where my own phone came from:(

Im still requesting anyone with links, contacts ...anything that can help to unlock this 'JAMB QUESION' samsung has given to us all