yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
Your

unlocked

T-mobile phone should be able to work fine with UK SIM. You have already been checking out UK carrier frequencies on another thread (and probably OT for this thread anyway). Have a great trip.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
Kansas? Tennessee? Minimum security?

So, Limeybastard, you're from Spring Hill, are you? That wouldn't happen to be in Buckinghamshire, would it?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Limeybastard:
No, Spring Hill, FL matey ;) Although I didnt live too far away from Bucks, when I lived in England.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
debuncking the rumors about MJ3...

I like your idea for an experiment, mgutt. Like you, I have a feeling this is going to be more of a 'rule out' than a 'rule in.'

Someone who still has the region lockout and has yet to install the build dated 12-Oct... would you test it with an out-of-region sim right before & right after installing the MJ3 OTA update?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] iba21:
N900 hong kong version.. no restriction, no knox in download mode
[Galaxy Note 3 General] samaliset:
Zone lock verification

Hello,

Is there anyway to verify if the phone actually locked thus without using a non EU SIM card, I don't have any yet but planning to go to North America in few months not earlier.

Thanks
[Galaxy Note 3 General] speculatrix:
you can find people selling US sims from T-Mo and AT&T on ebay.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] samaliset:
Thanks for your reply. So that means no other way than try physically with a non Eu one.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Aspirina750:
Quick and probably stupid question but I have to ask. Once it unlocks itself what would happen if I was traveling abroad and had to hard reset? My work takes me to Asia for business trips that last 1 or 2 months I'm a bit afraid of the phone relocating itself after a hard reset.

Thanks
[Galaxy Note 3 General] mgutt:
Tested today with Australia, Philippine and Thailand Sim and all of them work (J3 is installed, but I think its because of the usage time). My Note 3 is used since 30th september.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Simon_y7:
Boobs with excuses are still boobs. :D
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
3 pairs of questions for Samsung, part 1

3 pairs of questions for Samsung, part 1

1. Why did you do this?

2. Why didn't you tell anyone in advance?

Silence breeds speculation. It looks like you were hoping you could:

a) manipulate global pricing, and

b) avoid a negative response while you built pre-release consumer enthusiasm based on incomplete information.

Some will assume that your failing to address these questions means you believe it's none of our business.

Say it isn't so.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Limeybastard:
My take on this. Favoritism with their network carrier buddies on exploiting more roaming charges as well keeping a lock down on which parts of the world the phones are sold to etc.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] mathieulh:
I received my Hong Kong SIM card last night, the phone just recognized it and didn't ask for a network lock, I am guessing it got "activated" at some point since I haven't used the NCK or Unfreeze code for that phone.

Either that or it was never locked to begin with.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
I have reached an impasse with the Samsung UK technical support team (in NI) and the Samsung UK customer service and complaints team (in Gatesborough). Both teams confirm that they can say no more than is in their stock email (see http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46193928&postcount=915) which is that users can use "other region's SIM" card when travelling. They cannot simply confirm that this means a SIM from any other region can be used rather than other SIMs from the [home] region - and the customer service team now deny the existence of a call I had with their own customer service rep at 5:48pm on 16 October, in which I was told that they would take the matter up with Samsung UK HQ in Chertsey as the only people who might clarify the region lock policy, and I can therefore see no clarity coming from Samsung UK HQ either.

Obviously, Samsung UK also cannot confirm the impact of the region lock feature on existing phones which are already in use and to be upgraded in selective markets with this regional lock feature. Again, this is because all the call centre staff know is limited to what is contained in the stock announcement. Perhaps not surprising for a call centre they have no discretion or indeed knowledge to enable them to vary from the stock script although some have clearly sought to try and find out more about the issue independently in the media.

Generally high marks go to Samsung UK call centre staff for willingness to listen. Low marks go to Samsung UK HQ and global management for ducking the issue and expecting it to go away. I still would like to buy this phone, but with the current level of customer support and the studied silence from those who run Samsung, I am not rushing out to do so - and I am now not sure I will do so for any other Samsung phone with the same issues.

What is slightly bizarre is Samsung seem intent on alienating long term users of their products who often are the only ones fighting a rearguard action for Samsung/android in the corporates in which Samsung is looking to win greater market share. Speaking personally as an advocate for Samsung against the overwhelming number of Apple enthusiasts with whom I work, I will not be so keen in future to eulogise its Galaxy phones, given Samsung UK's determined unwillingness to deal clearly and transparently with what is essentially a simple point.

A question for German speakers: is the equivalent German announcement clearer in its meaning? That is, does it clearly say that all SIMs from all other regions will be able to be used once the phone has been activated for the first time? Or might this just be a poor English translation of a Korean press release?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
Eloquently put. I think Samsung has taken some kind of high level decision that the grey market must be stopped, and came up with this region-locking scheme as the way forward, without ever imagining at what cost it might come (which you describe above).

That cost is gradually dawning on the front line minions, although they probably haven't connected all the dots yet. They will be starting from the corporate perspective that the grey market is a parasite on their company, which will inure them to our indignation.

So at the top of the ivory tower the people with who must be obeyed have made their decree and gone to lunch, meanwhile the minions can see fires starting here and there but don't get the big picture. In a company the size of Samsung I don't suppose anybody stands up and questions senior decisions, and I doubt anybody senior 'fesses up to making a mistake. So I guess it could be a while. Elsewhere I read that Samsung is looking to freeze out unapproved accessories, so things are starting to take a bad colour generally.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
As one of the more, IMHO, technically informed contributors to this thread, mathieulh, would you take a look inside?

Do you think this phone was, in fact, never locked out regionally, or, alternately, what do you think caused the spontaneous disappearance of the region lockout on this phone?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] claudioita:
To make it short: next time buy another brand.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Weird Jo:
Am new here, this is my first post. I live in Germany, but work in quite a no. of countries in Asia and Africa which appear in the netlock list of my SM-N9005, which I purchased from amazon.de. I am one of many 1 star reviewers on that site. My device was received on 30 September and set up that same evening for the first time using wifi only, without a SIM, which arrived only the next day.

Had planned to purchase the device, then reconsidered after the region lock issue came up. Called Samsung Germany support for the first time of many about noon on 27 Sept., was told by a friendly lady that the phone would not work outside the specified region. Same day in the afternoon, received an e-mail from Samsung support which had attached the now infamous press statement still linked by the amazon.de product site.

That press statement, in the first sentence of the second paragraph, states: "Nach der Erstaktivierung in der vorgesehenen Region ist eine Benutzung von SIM-Karten ausländischer Provider nach wie vor uneingeschränkt möglich". This can be understood as saying that after the device has been activated first within the region specified for that purpose, the use of SIM cards of foreign providers is possible without any restriction.

After receipt of that statement, I went ahead and purchased the device. A few days later, the issue came up again. I then noted that a careful reader can interpret the statement in different ways: I had wanted to understand it as saying that after the activation with my German SIM card, I am free to use the phone even with the most obscure SIM card I can find in the world. However, by taking a second look, the statement does NOT say that the device can be used by just any microSIM from just anywhere on this globe. It just says that it can be used with SIM cards from outside the originally designated region for the activation.

In short, dxzh: the statement in German is not clear at all. It is the same newspeak you find in the English version.

To this day, I do not know if my device is now unlocked or not. I hope to receive a SIM card from Ghana early next week to test. And yes, I have installed the J3 firmware update right when it came out.

One more observation: I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S3 from amazon.de in June this year, so that device has been manufactured BEFORE the July start date Samsung has apparently published for the region lock. However, in the customer.xml of that device, I find 38 netlocks - including all of Southeast Asia. I do not know of course if any lock is active, or ever was on that device. I do however wonder how that fact fits with Samsung's statement on the July 2013 cutoff though.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
region sim lock

So, how does that solve the problem? IMSI

any real solutions? cos lots of people have real issues here!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] CyberGhos:
Simple solution

Stop buying Samsung....
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
listening but not doing vs. doing and not listening

I'm saddened to hear this, dxzh. You have, IMHO, made the most significant contributions to our understanding of the technical side of this issue... and done so in the most fair handed of ways. I can only imagine that you've engaged in your recent dealings with Samsung in the most clear and civil manner possible. If you can't get a decent response from Samsung UK's HQ, I believe it cannot be done.

It appears that Samsung UK is more afraid of Samsung Global than they are concerned about our understanding of what's going on. I shy from the cynicism of the following, but it seems unavoidable: UK management believes that losing loyalty and sales by stonewalling us is better than risking the ire of someone at Global by helping us with honesty and clarity. If crossing this person at Global wouldn't cause heads to roll in retaliation, at a minimum bonuses and promotions would be lost.

To the people at Chertsey reading this, I hope you have another Internet tab open looking for a better job, working for better masters. I have empathy for the dilemma you're in as on the one hand you look to maintain the lifestyle you, your spouse and your children have become accustomed to, while, on the other, you consider the cost to your personal values and your principles... to your beliefs in how to run a good company. I've been there myself. You're not unlike dxzh in a complementary sort of way, loyal to a vision of a firm you thought was better, an organization you know could be better, but bewildered about how to make it so.

The people put in a position supposedly to listen to us have been ordered to do nothing in response. The people capable of responding to us have no interest in listening.

And so as the veil of media promotion now gets pulled aside, we see the difference between what Samsung advertises itself to be... and the company it really is.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Limeybastard:
A bit melodramatic aren't we now fella? I almost cried reading this.:crying:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
3 pairs of questions for Samsung, part 2

3 pairs of questions for Samsung, part 2

3. why have so many units not unlocked when your official procedure was followed?

4. why have some units spontaneously unlocked while others haven't?

Silence breeds speculation. It looks like you have burdened a region-lockout design -- poorly conceived and disastrously implemented -- with overly complex variations:

a) which you don't want to reveal in a misguided attempt to control how we use our phones, and

b) which you yourselves no longer fully comprehend.

Some will assume that you are refusing to address these questions because you believe it's none of our business and that you don't value a collaboration with your consumer base.

Say it isn't so.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
Your heart's in the right place, Ahmads001!

(I think artesea's is, too. He was just trying to figure out the mechanism for the lockout... it's a big part of what we do here... and, to be fair, he posted that almost a month ago, on the first day of this debacle, 1246 posts ago.* :)* Keep reading beyond his post #15 and you'll get a fuller picture of artesea's position on the lockout.* And welcome to the forum!!)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

‹‹I've been having trouble with this site appending my posts to my last post, even with an hour or two between them... and it changes the timestamp of the original post. Anyway, I just separated this post from one earlier today.››
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

thanks for the insight.

but more seriously, can any one please supply me with credible sites where i can purchase the sim unlock code.

i emailed the Russian, but no replies till now. not even an acknowledgement of my mail.

i've also tried fastgsm.com, problem there is that youre supposed to pay usd25 via paypal, which does not operate in nigeria. i asked for an alternative modality of payment, but again, the guys at fast gsm just went mute on me!

my suppossedly "unlocked" sim-locked SM-N9005 arrived yesterday from saudi arabia. it was "activated" there with a saudi sim x1day, but still does not recognise any of my local provider sims here in nigeria- MTN, AIRTEL, GLO...!

can anyone please help

---------- Post added at 09:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 AM ----------

thanks for the insight.

but more seriously, can any one please supply me with credible sites where i can purchase the sim unlock code.

i emailed the Russian, but no replies till now. not even an acknowledgement of my mail.

i've also tried fastgsm.com, problem there is that youre supposed to pay usd25 via paypal, which does not operate in nigeria. i asked for an alternative modality of payment, but again, the guys at fast gsm just went mute on me!

my suppossedly "unlocked" sim-locked SM-N9005 arrived yesterday from saudi arabia. it was "activated" there with a saudi sim x1day, but still does not recognise any of my local provider sims here in nigeria- MTN, AIRTEL, GLO...!

can anyone please help
[Galaxy Note 3 General] flygaren:
Ok, so now I have been in Thailand for a little over three weeks and the phone is still working fine with a Thai sim.

---------- Post added at 08:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 AM ----------

Try the Russian on Skype then.

Skype name: smsmts
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
...and what do we do with the ones we just spent a fortune to purchase?

---------- Post added at 10:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 AM ----------

thanks.

tried that too, but he's still not replying!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
Thank you for pointing me in the direction of that press statement. Some equivalent sentences in the German press release seem more clear-cut than the English one - in that they are clearly referring to SIM cards from other regions as well as referring to other affected phone models. So:

"Welche Auswirkungen hat die Sperre bei der Benutzung außerhalb Deutschlands?

Mit einer SIM-Karte aus Deutschland kann der Roaming-Service des Providers genutzt werden.

Mit einer SIM-Karte aus einer anderen Region gilt:

Wenn das Gerät in Deutschland mit einer deutschen SIMKarte aktiviert und benutzt wurde, kann es ohne Einschränkung mit SIM-Karten aus anderen Regionen verwendet werden.

"

and

"Die regionale SIM-Karten-Sperre betrifft nur die folgenden Samsung Modelle, die ab Ende Juli 2013 hergestellt und mit einem entsprechenden Aufkleber versehen sind:

Samsung GALAXY S III, GALAXY Note II, GALAXY S4, GALAXY S4 mini und das GALAXY Note 3.

Geräte, die bereits von Samsung ausgeliefert wurden und sich in Lagern oder bereits bei Endkunden befinden, sind nicht betroffen."

Google translates this as:

" What impact has the lock in use outside Germany ?

With a SIM card from Germany to the roaming service provider's can be used .

With a SIM card from another region is :

If the device has been activated and used in Germany with a German SIM card , it can be used without restriction with SIM cards from other regions."

and

"The regional SIM card lock only affects the following Samsung models that are produced from the end of July 2013, and provided with a corresponding sticker :

Samsung GALAXY S III , II, GALAXY Note , GALAXY S4 , S4 GALAXY mini and the GALAXY Note 3

Devices that have been delivered by Samsung and are in camps or even at retail are not affected . "

Whether all or only some such SIM cards from outside of the region can be used, is perhaps left open to doubt. However, at least the German statement is clear in its reference to SIM cards from outside the region. Also I note that the German press statement requires the SIM card to have been both activated AND

used

('benutzt') - which tallies more closely perhaps with the delays seen in the release of the regional SIM lock.

Not sure if there is any equivalent translation in French or other European language which is out there.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
A. Did the Saudi vendor include the Saudi sim card when they sent the phone, and if so, are you able to make roaming calls with your phone in Nigeria, using that sim?

B. I'm surprised that puman.ru has been slow in getting back to you. They accepted my contact request on Skype almost immediately -- using the Skype name that flygaren suggests. And they answered my email in exactly 40 minutes. I assume you used smsmts@gmail.com when you emailed them.

C. What happens exactly when you try your local sims?

D. Would you check the build # under Settings / About phone and let us know what it is?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

:(:(

thanks.

tried that too, but he's still not replying!

is there any place else, please?

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------

thanks for the concern.

A. the phone was bought full-paid no contract. So, its commited to a particular network. A free Saudi sim, which i regularly use when i travel over there was used to power on the phone, and make a call to nigeria, which went through. the sim still worked in Nigeria, roaming, yesterday.

B. Yes i used smsmts@gmail.com. no replies. till now

C. "invalid sim card".

"ENTRE SIMLOCK CODE"

D. Build number: JSS15J.N9005XXUBMI7

there!

---------- Post added at 10:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 AM ----------

:(

thanks for the concern.

A. the phone was bought full-paid no contract. So, its NOT :(commited to a particular network. A free Saudi sim, which i regularly use when i travel over there was used to power on the phone, and make a call to nigeria, which went through. the sim still worked in Nigeria, roaming, yesterday.

B. Yes i used smsmts@gmail.com. no replies. till now

C. "invalid sim card".

"ENTRE SIMLOCK CODE"

D. Build number: JSS15J.N9005XXUBMI7

there!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] penfold:
seriously mate? ....well if after all you went through you and how you agree samsung are behaving would still like to buy this or any other samsung phone I have no sympathies ...it just boggles my mind, but go for it, and you can keep whinging through your next six samsung phones that won't work.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] sphuyal:
I purchased my Note 3 in Norway and used a Norwegian Tele Operator sim card in it for the first time. I then went away for three weeks long vacation, tried the "foreign" SIM card...Guess what! regional lock was still there!

Thanks for lying SAMSUNG! This will be the last device i purchase from you!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
:(

thanks for the concern.

A. the phone was bought full-paid no contract. So, its NOT :(commited to a particular network. A free Saudi sim, which i regularly use when i travel over there was used to power on the phone, and make a call to nigeria, which went through. the sim still worked in Nigeria, roaming, yesterday.

B. Yes i used smsmts@gmail.com. no replies. till now

C. "invalid sim card".

"ENTRE SIMLOCK CODE"

D. Build number: JSS15J.N9005XXUBMI7

there!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
did you by chance buy yours at jarir bookstore? as far as I know so far they re among the few who sell region locked phones, others are selling them unlocked
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
NO. NOT FROM JARIR.

THE PHONE WAS PURCHASED FROM EL-MUTAHIDOON COMMUNICATIONS, Palestine Road Jeddah

suggestions?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
By 'used' do you mean, for example, making a phone call using the proper sim while within the region that's identified on the sticker?

(Both fergusstrachan and RbbCHan have reported here that they've heard the same from their contacts with Samsung customer service... these Samsung reps have said you need to "register" the phone by using it first in the home region.)

I'm not clear about how you see this factor relating to 'the delays seen in the release of the regional SIM lock.' Do you mean that, if the person received their phone while they're out-of-region, activation may be delayed until the person returns to the home region to use their phone?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ahmads001:
sim restriction on galaxy note3 lte

contacted smsmts@gmail.com on skype. no help. says EU only.

Phone purchased in Saudi Arabia, and Im now in Nigeria.:(
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
The distinction I was trying to highlight is that while the UK statement requires "activation" of the phone, the German statement expressly requires its "activation" and "use" with a home region SIM card.

If the German statement is closer to the truth, then it would perhaps explain (not

excuse

) the continued blocking of the SIM-free phones by a usage test, after the user has activated the phone - activation, in this sense, meaning simply to put a home region SIM in the phone. If the German statement is correct that there is a usage test in addition to an activation requirement, then the terms of such usage test have been hidden away by Samsung to the needless disadvantage of its customers who have bought in good faith an unlocked phone, activated it with a home region SIM and then found that Samsung's regional SIM lock continues deliberately and incompetently and without explanation to block the phone's use with SIMs from other regions.

Fyi, Apple UK have a somewhat more transparent unlocked device policy than Samsung UK. Apple UK say: "Can I use my iPhone outside my home country? Yes. iPhone is enabled to work on networks using GSM around the world. Because the iPhone sold by the Apple Online Store is unlocked, you can purchase a SIM card and service from a local carrier at your destination. Or check with your home carrier regarding international roaming charges." There is an activation step it seems but no usage requirement.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] mathieulh:
I would have to look into the radio, it seems to be a black box right now.

Maybe if I have some free time.