yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
saudi arabia is interesting one major seller has stickers on them but most of the smaller shops in malls sell the unlocked ones. so maybe we should put an asterisk near saudi arabia lol
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Doofusfire:
~Sim lock

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding was that the phone is region locked only until it has registered with a Sim from the region it is locked too.

Once you have registered the device the lock is removed.

I was under the impression that it is not to stop you from using you device with a sim from another region but rather to just stop cheap imports from appearing in certain markets.

I am picking mine up tomorrow from Three UK will post back what I find.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] tech0815:
You are wrong.

It still blocks the black-listet countries. Current amount 63 e.g. in EU-N9005.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] TheBlackMini:
Confirmed, Australian Telstra phones are not region locked. Got mine yesterday. :D
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jdomadia:
Can you post current ROM screen shot after installing app *phone Info* from Google play store.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] N1NJATH3ORY:
Can someone define region lock ? Are you talking about SIM LOCK ? What do you mean region lock ?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] manushyan:
UAE to India

Is is safe to assume that if my friend brings N9005 from UAE it can be "activated" in India?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jdomadia:
No guarantee for online purchase from U.A.E , but from authorize dealer yes it will work without any problem.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] posedatull:
N9005 from Denmark, one mine, bought from the phone company Telenor, and a friend's identical phone, but from Telia. Mine rooted, modded, etc, his is completely vanilla, not even rooted. We went last summer on vacation through germany and greece, and bougjt sim cards from those countries. No problem whatsoever, they worked exactly as they should have. I think you can add Denmark to the no region lock list ;)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ali_haghparast:
I think it will help you

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=55536429&postcount=753
[Galaxy Note 3 General] aguiamaster:
Portugal here 9005 does not have any lock at all
[Galaxy Note 3 General] gaylonalfano:
China N9006

Hi there - just bought the N9006 in Shanghai last night. No sticker on the box but does anyone know if this is region locked? I travel to US ofte.

Also, I believe this model does not have LTE which is a bummer. May have to return it. :(

New Droid user so wasn't aware that the models would have such different specs!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
hmm if it has no sticker it shouldnt be unlocked i asked the shops the same question and they said yes they work outside the middle east... but i swear i read somewhere here they bought theirs in china but wouldnt work with a sim from another country. take note i am not aware if the region thing affects the china notes.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] gamerwiz360:
Im glad mine is coming from Malaysia
[Galaxy Note 3 General] CZroe:
You guys are missing a big one:

USA

U.S.A.

United States of America

Repeated for those using search/find in page. ;)

Sure, they aren't SIM-free unlocked here out of the box here but that's easy enough to rectify (unlock request in 7 days with T-Mobile for an account older than 40 days).
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Chalao:
Did anyone buy a N9000 in Afghanistan and can confirm that it is unlocked?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] AndreDaAzn:
Austalian Vodafone SM-N9005 is not locked!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Apo11on:
this thread is about Samsung's new region lock, not about carrier network lock...it even says it in CAPS in the subject line...your post indicates you dont understand the difference. T-Mobile is not going to be able to remove region lock, as it's not carrier specific feature, but Samsung's decision, affecting all Americas. Region lock is not carrier specific firmware modification, and if you trigger it - it can only be removed at Samsung service center from the region, the phone belongs to.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] wetsleet:
I detect crossed wires here. I think CZroe was assuming that USA phones were carrier locked and hence not region locked. i.e. the carrier lock ousts the region lock.That assumption needs testing, but if true then his post does indeed belong in a thread about countries' phones with no region lock, especially if it is so simple to remove the carrier lock leaving you with a truly unlocked phone.

Incidentally, I'm dimly aware that the situation in the USA with carrier lock being removable was the result of some legislative action? Carrier locks were deemed anti-competitive and just plain wrong, is that true? If so, whatever forces of gave that happy outcome will surely come to bear on Samsung's region lock, since exactly the same logic about foreign use wil apply.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Apo11on:
If he had assumed that he's wrong and this is not an assumption, but an established fact, which doesnt require any testing. The fact, that Note 3 phones are carrier locked in certain countries, such as USA, has no impact on Samsung's decision whether or not to also region lock them. See the OP here
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
So US note 3's are region locked or not? :confused:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bkkcnxsi:
Is Note 3 in Thailand region locked

Could someone tell me, if I buy a Note 3 in Thailand, (I will be in southeast Asia for 6 weeks), will I be able to come back to the USA and use it with T Mobile. It seemed confusing in the past because T Mobile had somewhat different frequencies than ATT. I would buy the phone from T Mobile but they will not unlock it for at least 60 days and by then I will be back. Thanks.

Bill
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Apo11on:
No. T-mobile uses band 4 @ 1700Mhz for LTE, and Thai carriers use bands 1 and 3, according to this

If the Thai Note you buy has unlocked bootloader then later you'll be able to flash T-Mobile radio to it via Odin, but in your case I wouldnt go through that hassle, just for 6 weeks abroad
[Galaxy Note 3 General] kutbinahar:
Kuwait 4g version unlocked
[Galaxy Note 3 General] pterry30:
i just bought the Canadian model N900W8, it is not region locked, no sticker on box and unlocked bootloader
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Riimez:
Bought mine locally in Australia. No region lock :) 9005
[Galaxy Note 3 General] CZroe:
I do understand the difference and must have read the original thread on the matter more thoroughly than you, since that is where I got the information. NO US MODELS ARE REGION LOCKED. They don't even have the sticker. This is because ALL are carrier-locked. The unlocked octa-core 3G model isn't even sold here.

I only mentioned T-Mobile because I know their terms for removing the SIM/carrier lock but AT&T will as well. That said, AT&T has removed several for me in the last three years (every one I've requested), even though I don't know what their limitations are. My point was that it's not impossible to legitimately obtain a SIM/carrier unlocked USA model and, should you decide to do so, it would not be region-locked. I myself was about to buy one at T-Mobile yesterday until I realized that it would be 7 days before I could get it legally unlocked.

That said, it's been demonstrated time and time again that an IMEI unlock will also free the region lock for region-locked devices, so it's irrelevant even if the US models are region locked because removing the carrier lock to use it in another region will also remove the region lock. I'm not making this up: Read the original thread. Carriers use IMEI unlock codes just like the Russian site that is proven to work.

Finally, I was pretty specific when I said that USA models were not region-locked, so don't think I was talking about all phones sold in either continent. "The Americas" is not a country. See? I did read the thread title. ;)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bkkcnxsi:
Note 3 from Southeast Asia on T mobile

Thanks for the info on buying a phone in Thailand and then using it in USA on T Mobile. If I buy a T Mobile branded Note 3 and take it to Asia I presume I could use the wifi features?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] muhammad zakir:
There is no region locking in Pakistan..
[Galaxy Note 3 General] note3or2:
Did you buy it from Telus, Bell, Rogers or from Wind?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hagba:
Excuse me but the version we receive here in Lebanon is not the LTE version it's N9000 confirmed by Samsung dealer themselves, will you care explaining a bit more in detail where did you get yours from?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Denim Guy:
I read from sammobile.com that all SM-N900 from Asian countries are not Region-Locked supposedly, including mine bought in Indonesia for sure

source:

http://www.sammobile.com/2013/09/30...free-from-samsungs-controversial-region-lock/
[Galaxy Note 3 General] tarekkkkk:
I got it from private cell its the lte version n9005 last week.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Apo11on:
Region lock no more

I think in a day or two we will be able to add all the countries in the world to the region unlocked list. Chainfire does it again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE7wrCBUs_Y
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hagba:
That's a grey import without warranty I guess,thanks anyway, will call them for a price enquiry.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Apo11on:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2470551
[Galaxy Note 3 General] sabesh:
Yes, I can second this too.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hayat55:
Updated the list again! :D
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jedro072:
Hi, I bought mine in cambodia thailand border. SM N900 octa core version 32gb white I made in vietnam for Thailand no region lock. Tried cambodian sim all Ok,tried thai sim all Ok, tried philippine sim all Ok. Paid up front 696$ with 1 year warranty. Hope it helps.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Matt180:
No lock on Optus - Australia.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] maidangisme:
all proper Australian Stock are unlocked, except Grey Imported.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] smeddy:
+1 on Australia. I bought mine direct from the Samsung store and they said all are unlocked. Very important to me as I may move back to UK. I cant confirm for contract models as I didnt specifically ask. No sticker on the box and model is n0005 (snapdragon)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hiepgia:
Viet Nam - N900
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
Checking inside the CSC file

It would help make sure no reporting bias if one or two of those from each country who received a phone without a regional lock sticker would confirm the name of their CSC file and double-check inside system/csc/customer.xml file (the CSC file) that

no

MCC block list (eg: references to "NetworkLock") is hidden away.

There are one or two European region examples of people buying a phone (SGS 4) and then finding that it is upgraded subsequently to contain a regional lock (for example, http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46207134&postcount=8). So it may be useful to have a baseline, even for those now currently buying sticker free, given OTA updates (pushed out with no change logs) could change the CSC without anyone realising.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] muhtesem insan:
No network locks in N9000Q(Turkey) system/csc/customer.xml.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dxzh:
Thanks - the full CSC file name can be shown by dialling *#1234# into stock dialler.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] aero8:
Carrier free Australian version. CSC N9005XSABMI1
[Galaxy Note 3 General] koreezzz:
N900S,K,L

South Korean operator branded models SM-N900S, SM-N900K, SM-N900L (Snapdragon 800, DMB tuner) are region free and unlocked.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ricbollozos05@gmail.com:
Network unlocking code for samsung galaxy note 3 bought in the philippines

Hi Guys,

I've seen a lot of good conversations about the galaxy note 3 posted here, i need help in sim unlocking my phone for me to be able to use other local sim cards for it. please help... thank you
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Mwinggg:
canadian note 3 from rogers, no sticker on box
[Galaxy Note 3 General] muhtesem insan:
CSC for N9000Q : N9000QTURBMI3
[Galaxy Note 3 General] £ddie:
Contacted Samsung about my UK Note 3 ("sim free"). This is the response I received. Seems like they are sticking to the home country activation will unlock the phone story.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] hayat55:
Updated again :)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] 1sagain:
Telus Canada SM-N900W8 Here

I am from Canada, TELUS SM-N900W8 user and I can confirm that my box I bought directly from Samsung store did NOT have the region lock sticker

My CSC is N900W8OYABMI5
[Galaxy Note 3 General] millionsuns:
Indonesia N-900 ?

seems it's not locked
[Galaxy Note 3 General] desiregeek:
I bought mine from Fortress in Hong Kong. It came unlocked. Used it with a local sim card in China and Taiwan after with no issues.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] erlandobs:
Indonesia is unlocked too
[Galaxy Note 3 General] TKokab:
Pakistan SM-N900

I received mine SM-N900 in Pakistan from Samsung distribution and it is unlocked.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] 1sagain:
Unlocked note 3 here

Hey I got my Note 3 unlocked for 25$ from cellunlocker.net

I am pretty sure there are other unlocking sites out there but just letting you know I am a customer from them who is pretty satisfied!

My note 3 is fully unlocked and I am trusting it is Region unlocked too cuz I got it from Telus

woooot!!
[Galaxy Note 3 General] dr.m0x:
I'm about 99% sure New Zealand phones are region free since we are part of Asia Pacific which isn't a locking region. Need to confirm though.

Sent from my SM-N9005 now Free
[Galaxy Note 3 General] abhishek13feb:
how did you confirmed this list?by testing each phone or just they did not had sticker for regional lock paced on their phone?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] iznee:
I can confirm my device bought in Qatar without any sticker on the box...using it with malaysian and thai sim cards work well. No issues

Sent from B@d Ass Note III SM-N9005
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
so it seems only saudi and iraq in the ME are having stores with region locked note 3's, but i should point out that there are tons of stores here in saudi selling unlocked ones as well as both versions of the note 3
[Galaxy Note 3 General] WinePress:
I can confirm that the Note 3's being sold in Laos Samsung stores have no region lock. No stickers on the box indicating that and my Note 3 says made in Vietnam.

(N9000)

I actually wanted the N9005 but the Samsung rep told me all Thailand, Laos and Vietnam wont get n9005 for at least 2 months.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] vegetaleb:
Hey bro where did you buy your 9005 in Lebanon?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jackdao:
Australia Optus (OPS) - Region unlocked

CSC: N9005OPSBMI1

All mobile phones made in Vietnam that are selling to APAC
[Galaxy Note 3 General] simon_mx5:
Vodafone - Australia - No Region Lock

Vodafone - Australia - No Region Lock :)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Simon_y7:
Is it correct to assume that all N3s sold in the US don't have an MCC block list at all?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Skander1998:
Qatar - N9005
[Galaxy Note 3 General] aZooZa:
Thailand
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Pika007:
small bump- anyone knows what about US Verizon?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] markad1:
O2 Ireland No region lock sticker but it is sim locked to O2.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] SHATTAH:
There is no region locking in israel..
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Tordp:
I can confirm, no region lock for SM-900 here in Thailand.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] LOSTLOGIC89:
Morocco n900 also
[Galaxy Note 3 General] blackj30:
hi, 2 questions:

- the note 3 LTE N9005 from SFR (France telecom) is regional locked?

- can note 3 N900 (from Thailand) be used with the US, europe sim cards?

Thanks.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
Since pozters are claiming thai note 3s are not locked then yes u should be able to use them.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] atalebagha:
Does anyone know if the Bestbuy N9000 Unlocked version in USA is regionally locked?

Does anyone know why it's so expensive ($900) ? But they have an attractive 18 Month no Interest/no financing option.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] pnrb:
Seems we are getting diffrent patches here in Kuwait.

The first patches were region locked but now we are getting unlcked ones.

However, as Kuwait ( 419 ) is not included in any of the lists of any CSC till now, you can use any Note 3 from the world in Kuwait :)
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
saudi too but only one major seller so far is selling locked phone, others are selling unlocked.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jetskibill:
Region Free

Hi Guys

I have an N-9005 from Malaysia and I have no reference to Network Locks in the system/csc/customer.xml

I am going to the USA in the next few months and then down to the Hawaiian Islands so I expect it to be of use there given no references to Network restrictions

AP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CSC: N9005OLBBM13

The interesting thing here is if the phone is actually hardware unlocked and it matters not which region firmware you have installed i.e.: BTU which is the UK of XME which is Malaysia or if the region / Network lock is governed by the CSC file from which country you download the firmware from (all have English language as an option to install as default)

If its governed by the firmware then it would make sense to download and install a firmware with no region lock attached to the CSC file e.g.: Malaysia (XME) as then our phones would be free of the region lock references in the system/csc/customer.xml like mine is

If its hardware based then the unlock codes from puman rar is the way to go or the chain fire method of root
[Galaxy Note 3 General] jetskibill:
Region Free Note 3 from Malaysia

Hi Guys

I have an N-9005 from Malaysia and I have no reference to Network Locks in the system/csc/customer.xml

I am going to the USA in the next few months and then down to the Hawaiian Islands so I expect it to be of use there given no references to Network restrictions

AP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CSC: N9005OLBBM13

The interesting thing here is if the phone is actually hardware unlocked and it matters not which region firmware you have installed i.e.: BTU which is the UK of XME which is Malaysia or if the region / Network lock is governed by the CSC file from which country you download the firmware from (all have English language as an option to install as default)

If its governed by the firmware then it would make sense to download and install a firmware with no region lock attached to the CSC file e.g.: Malaysia (XME) as then our phones would be free of the region lock references in the system/csc/customer.xml like mine is

If its hardware based then the unlock codes from puman rar is the way to go or the chain fire method of root
[Galaxy Note 3 General] ultramag69:
Unless you bought a phone from outside your region then this thread is moot... How many people are seriously gonna buy a phone and not put a sim card in it straight away?

According to the german Samsung guys this region lock is de-activated after 5 mins of phone conversation...

I know people who have a solid hour of phone conversation about their new phone started before they leave the store so how do you know it has a region lock if after 5 mins of call you are released from it?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] misd:
Oman ?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Rawand Kurdy:
Also the Hungary sm-n9005 dosnt have region lock , i am using it in Middle East
[Galaxy Note 3 General] AhmadLight:
If I buy the Note 3 (The snapdragon version N9005) from the UAE

can I just use it in Egypt??

Or it should be first unlocked in the UAE?

Or it's just simply can be unlocked by someway?

I'm new to this :o
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bubblesmoney:
looks like all those who buy phone unlocked can get subsequently locked while travelling abroad with a samsung phone!

so buyer beware! see example posted on another thread.

this is getting worse by the day as now they have started region locking phones that get software updates when you travel abroad even if you bought the unlocked phone in another country and used it there for a while! see a buyer who bought unlocked phone in india and used it there for a while and later travels for a short while in the netherlands and gets software update while using netherland sim and now he finds phone locked to EU and no longer able to use India sim even though unlocked phone bought and used in India and only travelling to netherlands! getting more and more atrocious by the day http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=47607737&postcount=1377 Any person that intends to use their samsung phone abroad with local sim or indeed any business traveller that uses multiple sims will find unwanted shocks if they use samsung phones now even if they bought unlocked phones!

so every one of you who bought unlocked can get screwed subsequently when you travel abroad in a region where they sell locked phones like UK USA EU etc and your phone will get locked if you get software update while travelling abroad.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] louiscar:
AP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CP: N9005XXUBMJ1

CSC:N9005OLBBMI3

I bought my phone from Amazon uk - have just found out that this appears to be a Philippines phone according to the CSC.

It had no sticker but how does anyone know that the lack of a sticker means it is unlocked. This whole thread appears to be about whether a sticker exists or not. It should really be about whether phones from those countries are truely unlocked or not.

How are you confirming your phones are locked or unlocked? Is anyone putting trying it with a foreign sim?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] abrarfsd:
Any one from Pakistan can verify if SM-900 is region lock?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] bure82:
guys i got my phone from hong kong which should be region unlocked but it doesnt work in canada

I get "not registered on the network" message
[Galaxy Note 3 General] avenging:
isnt that a different message from the usual one for region lock?

UAE phones should work in egypt as egypt i think is included in the middle east region. and arent UAE selling them unlocked anyways?

---------- Post added at 10:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 AM ----------

unless your phone is locked by globe or smart, it should be region unlocked
[Galaxy Note 3 General] tmj12:
Please can you advise how do I actually check on the phone the list of countries that may or may not have region lock.

Apologies if this has been asked and answered before.
[Galaxy Note 3 General] midnite_blue:
process of elimination list...

Here's a list of the countries -- and their Mobile Country Codes -- that aren't listed in any of Samsung's 3 Regions:

Plus an attached spreadsheet if that's helpful:
[Galaxy Note 3 General] h2s:
I can confirm the exynos version for Saudi Arabia is also region locked. By the way what could be a better alternative to the Note 3 taking into consideration the Note 3 is not suitable for frequent travellers?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] Ranjithpr:
Minneapolis - United States- what does it mean?

Minneapolis - United States- what does it mean? does it mean any note 3 bought from minneapolis is region unlocked? Will N9000(Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000 32GB GSM Unlocked ) work in India?
[Galaxy Note 3 General] elvinu:
Mine doesn't come with region lock. Or at least doesn't come with a sticker on it.