Question Still carrier branded? - Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

It's been a while since i have had a Samsung device so i thought i would put the message to the Samsung users, are they still branded with the carrier bootup screen like they used to be? If so is a carrier branded device limited by access to beta updates(My Huawei P30 Pro this wasn't possible)? I understand Knox is still a thing and i don't want to end up tripping it, deciding between ordering from Three UK on Contract or direct from Samsung. Any info is appreciated.
Cheers

My last Vodafone purchase (S8+) didn't have any branding on boot up.
S10 direct from Samsung was as it came from the factory.
S21 Ultra ordered from CPW today on Voda contract should be free from any branding as well i would imagine.

craftycarper1 said:
My last Vodafone purchase (S8+) didn't have any branding on boot up.
S10 direct from Samsung was as it came from the factory.
S21 Ultra ordered from CPW today on Voda contract should be free from any branding as well i would imagine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear, went with upgrading through three. Their phones are unlocked as well so i can use dual sim and they are doing a good trade in offer on top.

Related

4G/LTE Samsung tablets also region locked?

I saw a surprising note on clove.co.uk I think it was, they said all Samsungs shipped after 2013 are region locked. This was a note on the bottom of the page for a Tab S2 LTE. They went as far to say they were no longer selling sealed boxes because they are region unlocking all devices before selling to international buyers.
Can anyone confirm/deny there's a region lock on Samsung's 4G/LTE tablets? Thanks.
midnightrider said:
I saw a surprising note on clove.co.uk I think it was, they said all Samsungs shipped after 2013 are region locked. This was a note on the bottom of the page for a Tab S2 LTE. They went as far to say they were no longer selling sealed boxes because they are region unlocking all devices before selling to international buyers.
Can anyone confirm/deny there's a region lock on Samsung's 4G/LTE tablets? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think that's true. My Tab S LTE is international unlocked made in mid 2014 and sealed.
Tab A 9.7 lte I bought last year same thing.
Thanks. I didn't buy from them after I read that, I bought from another place to make sure I didn't get an open box item for the prices everybody is charging. It has not been shipped yet although it was supposed to go out Friday. I guess I will use it on wifi just to be safe until I get to the region where I bought it. Heading there for work anyway. BTW I didn't mean carrier unlocked, I meant region unlocked. Not sure if that came through ok.
midnightrider said:
Thanks. I didn't buy from them after I read that, I bought from another place to make sure I didn't get an open box item for the prices everybody is charging. It has not been shipped yet although it was supposed to go out Friday. I guess I will use it on wifi just to be safe until I get to the region where I bought it. Heading there for work anyway. BTW I didn't mean carrier unlocked, I meant region unlocked. Not sure if that came through ok.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my 715Y from Amazon in USA.
It is unlocked but I still haven't gotten MM and it is out for 715Y for more than a week.
However my local SIM card works fine.
There was a time when you had to activate the SIM in the country you bought it from (mine is built in Vietnam, impossible for me) and then it was OK anywhere.
None of that merry go round with the 715Y.
Shofar1 said:
I bought my 715Y from Amazon in USA.
It is unlocked but I still haven't gotten MM and it is out for 715Y for more than a week.
However my local SIM card works fine.
There was a time when you had to activate the SIM in the country you bought it from (mine is built in Vietnam, impossible for me) and then it was OK anywhere.
None of that merry go round with the 715Y.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much all of them are built in Vietnam.
In the end I couldn't find anyone to ship me an LTE model so I got the wifi only model which kinda sucks but is ok for now. I couldn't get the Exynos version either, the stores that would ship here only had the new one. I got a T819 with the Qualcom. I'll try to pick up an LTE version when I go to Europe for work later. Thanks guys.
ashyx said:
Pretty much all of them are built in Vietnam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it even says "designed and built in Vietnam" Kinda interesting, I had no idea Vietnam was a high tech center or that Samsung had a facility there.
Samsung UK support says LTE tablets are definitely region locked. I don't know if I believe them since they were trying to push me to buy a tablet in my country- which has no Samsung store, and no Samsung presence except for a company that is the "official importer" that has nothing in stock and doesn't import the tab s2 in lte anyway. I call B.S. and I would bet money the tablets aren't region locked like you guys seem to be saying. But I can't prove it until I see an LTE tab box with the region lock warning.
My S2 bought in Hungary died the day after i took it to the usa and put in a local sim. Specially the imei and the baseband went null. Hungary tech support says it's due to the out of region sim. Believe it or not.
The whole thing is kinda stupid. It seems to make some sick kind of sense with phones from a corporate strong-arming the customer point of view. On the phones they say you have to make an actual 5 minute voice call to unlock, they specifically say using data won't work. The whole point of an LTE tablet is not to make calls, although you can. It's supposed to keep you connected when you're away from wifi. So what are people supposed to do? Hold up a ten inch brick to their heads and make a 5 minute call to region unlock it?
The phones that are region locked are supposed to come with a warning sticker on the box. Unless your tablet packaging specifically warns of the region lock I call B.S. on Samsung support on this topic. Otherwise they've been reasonably helpful.

Where to buy 950f\fd\n

Hey all, never-msrp had the black note 8 950fd for 849.99 64gb on ebay for like 1 hour before he sold out.
I'm itching for a unlocked bootloader and pixel 2 xl 128gb after taxes is over 1k! no sense in justifying that.
So i'm returning my t-mo note 8 when i buy the unlocked exynos ones, but i don't know who are trusted sources on ebay or elsewhere for this. Since never msrp is sold out and he has no idea when he's getting more can y'all source me to where to go?
masri1987 said:
Hey all, never-msrp had the black note 8 950fd for 849.99 64gb on ebay for like 1 hour before he sold out.
I'm itching for a unlocked bootloader and pixel 2 xl 128gb after taxes is over 1k! no sense in justifying that.
So i'm returning my t-mo note 8 when i buy the unlocked exynos ones, but i don't know who are trusted sources on ebay or elsewhere for this. Since never msrp is sold out and he has no idea when he's getting more can y'all source me to where to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clove.
Bh photo if they have them yet
And lots of other sellers on ebay.
Lots of places to buy from
sent from my Note FE
force70 said:
Clove.
Bh photo if they have them yet
And lots of other sellers on ebay.
Lots of places to buy from
sent from my Note FE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with clove, conversion and shipping it's 1190 and change...
Amazon has it for 909$
BH photo has it for 979
So my ultimate question would be, any benefit from purchasing it from bh photo video vs amazon?
All other ebay sellers don't come close to amazon or never-msrp pricing as of right now..
wait it's 947 on clove , (exclusion of VAT) , so here's the thing this popped up when i began filling out order
"Samsung’s region lock stops use of this handset within your chosen country unless activated with a European SIM. I agree for Clove Technology to break the seal on the box, activate the phone and remove the region lock by completing a 5 minute call on the handset."
found that interesting-
Does clove offer warranty of some sort?
masri1987 said:
wait it's 947 on clove , (exclusion of VAT) , so here's the thing this popped up when i began filling out order
"Samsung’s region lock stops use of this handset within your chosen country unless activated with a European SIM. I agree for Clove Technology to break the seal on the box, activate the phone and remove the region lock by completing a 5 minute call on the handset."
found that interesting-
Does clove offer warranty of some sort?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the UK phones have regional lock. They'll activate it by the method listed. If you decline, you won't be able to make calls outside the countries listed for the phone.
I got mine from Clove and couldn't be happier. They break the seal & unlock it but I couldn't tell except for seeing the broken seal. They reset it so setup is exactly like with a new phone, I couldn't even fine a single fingerprint or smudge on it. I upgraded to DHL shipping, was shipped on a Friday, I received it on Monday.
With all the crap going on with OEM unlock missing/disappear, lowest price was not a concern for me. And really I didn't pay very much more than if I were to get a SD version from my carrier or Samsung.
@force70
i bought a SM-N950N for 860$ deep sea blue.
So i need to know everything, for using it on T-Mobile , including do I need to flash any other version stock rom in odin or just unlock TWRP and RoM it and go!
I'm so excited
masri1987 said:
@force70
i bought a SM-N950N for 860$ deep sea blue.
So i need to know everything, for using it on T-Mobile , including do I need to flash any other version stock rom in odin or just unlock TWRP and RoM it and go!
I'm so excited
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at Kalm_Traveler's threads:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...os-odin-flashing-fail-please-mistake-t3673231
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/themes/mod-exynos-t-mobile-csc-wifi-calling-t3678846
He has a N950N on Tmobile. He's still working on the mod for the N firmware. The second link is his TMO mod for F variants. You can however flash the F firmware on your N & install the mod if you don't want to wait. He's been working hard at it & I'm sure he'll figure it out soon. I flashed his mod on my N950F & it's working great.
masri1987 said:
@force70
i bought a SM-N950N for 860$ deep sea blue.
So i need to know everything, for using it on T-Mobile , including do I need to flash any other version stock rom in odin or just unlock TWRP and RoM it and go!
I'm so excited
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
256gb or 64gb ? either way thats a great price I have the 256gb i paid 1190 for it.
tokoam said:
256gb or 64gb ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
64gb, 256 was over 1k after currency conversion, plus i already have a 256 memory card.
https://www.wondamobile.com/mobile/...n-lte-mobile-phone-sim-free-and-unlocked.html
This is the model i purchased

Those buying/bought from never-msrp ebay. Anyone else similar price no issues?

Just wondering if people considering buying from never-msrp or those that have bought from them realize they do not offer any warranty on their devices? Literally zilch and not even the manufacturers warranty is apparently honored?
Further, contacted them 6 days ago with couple of questions and no response. Sent a follow up couple of days ago and still no response.
So apart from price wondering if I am missing something here..... They dont honor manufacturers warranty, they dont offer any warranty (unless you buy extra from 3rd party) and they apparently can't be bothered to even reply so they can take my money...Wondering what they would be like then if something goes wrong :laugh:
Is there anyone else people recommend with similar pricing but honors warranty and has good customer service?
I am after the 64gb dual sim SM-N950F/DS and they are selling it for $820 delivered.
Manufacturers typically don't give warranty for grey market devices. Or more accurately, they will only honor the warranty in the market the device was made for, so if you buy a Korean phone, Samsung USA won't honor the warranty but you can still get warranty on it if you send it back to Korea.
harveydent said:
Samsung USA won't honor the warranty but you can still get warranty on it if you send it back to Korea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. Except I read never-msrp will not do that and will have nothing further to do with the process once you have bought it unlike some other sellers that will deal with Samsung in their region to honor warranty for you and ship replacement back to you and so on. Never-msrp hasn't even bothered to respond yet...
In one case, if true, the customer had a Sony phone and Sony USA wouldnt honor the warranty and Sony HK upon being presented the device and ebay/paypal purchase receipt wouldnt honor the warranty either claiming that it was sold overseas and warranty is no longer valid (of course that isn't Samsung so not sure what Samsung might pull especially since you wouldn't have any support from never-msrp or their original purchase receipt...)
Warranty is a concern when you are spending near $1000 or more...
OP, you don't want to buy from that seller anyway. That variant has the OEM unlock time released cancer.
iunlock said:
OP, you don't want to buy from that seller anyway. That variant has the OEM unlock time released cancer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by OEM unlock time released cancer? Don't they all take 7 days past activation and usage for the OEM UNLOCK to show up?
Then who apart from Clove is good? Still clarifying with qd_us if theirs shows OEM UNLOCK or not (last response was their's are Taiwan SM-N950F/DS, region free and no one has reported any issues yet).
And one thing I do not get is why don't people flash the XSG firmware on to their SM-N950F/DS (or for that matter the EU firmware or something else)? XSG apparently is confirmed to work and shows OEM UNLOCK and allows Samsung Pay functionality.
i almost bought from that seller but i decided not to because i don't want to deal with nonnsense regarding bootloadder unlock.
I went with the n950n korean version from wondamobile for just 35 dollars more than never-msrp
masri1987 said:
i almost bought from that seller but i decided not to because i don't want to deal with nonnsense regarding bootloadder unlock.
I went with the n950n korean version from wondamobile for just 35 dollars more than never-msrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonda's 950f/ds works out to ~$950. Where is their version from? I would guess Taiwan as they are from HK.
evangelionpunk said:
Wonda's 950f/ds works out to ~$950. Where is their version from? I would guess Taiwan as they are from HK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's actually 928 and change, also they only have gold.
I don't know where they get it, or if the bootloader unlock issue is present in their f\ds versions.
So far everyone who bought a korean version has absolutely no problems with unlocking bootloaders.
masri1987 said:
it's actually 928 and change, also they only have gold.
I don't know where they get it, or if the bootloader unlock issue is present in their f\ds versions.
So far everyone who bought a korean version has absolutely no problems with unlocking bootloaders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factor in the DHL shipping and it works out to $950. This is one big mess. Korean version no issues, EU version no issues if activated in EU first and 5 min call is made, HK/CN version apparently might work, UAE version apparently ok, the U version apparently locked down junk, the SG/TW sourced versions may or may not work (at least TW from never-msrp may not work)....
evangelionpunk said:
Factor in the DHL shipping and it works out to $950. This is one big mess. Korean version no issues, EU version no issues if activated in EU first and 5 min call is made, HK/CN version apparently might work, UAE version apparently ok, the U version apparently locked down junk, the SG/TW sourced versions may or may not work (at least TW from never-msrp may not work)....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and that is precisely why i just decided to get the N and not have to worry about what ifs
evangelionpunk said:
What do you mean by OEM unlock time released cancer? Don't they all take 7 days past activation and usage for the OEM UNLOCK to show up?
Then who apart from Clove is good? Still clarifying with qd_us if theirs shows OEM UNLOCK or not (last response was their's are Taiwan SM-N950F/DS, region free and no one has reported any issues yet).
And one thing I do not get is why don't people flash the XSG firmware on to their SM-N950F/DS (or for that matter the EU firmware or something else)? XSG apparently is confirmed to work and shows OEM UNLOCK and allows Samsung Pay functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as mentioned here the EU (F model that has been activated with a 5 Min call in the region) and the Korean (N) mode are not infected.
masri1987 said:
i almost bought from that seller but i decided not to because i don't want to deal with nonnsense regarding bootloadder unlock.
I went with the n950n korean version from wondamobile for just 35 dollars more than never-msrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good choice.
As for The Korean (N) model.......
masri1987 said:
and that is precisely why i just decided to get the N and not have to worry about what ifs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..... The (N) model is best for AT&T (since N has 1900 frequency) , however not so much for T-Mobile since TM uses 1700, which the N models doesn't have.
.
::iunlock::
iunlock said:
No, as mentioned here the EU (F model that has been activated with a 5 Min call in the region) and the Korean (N) mode are not infected.
Good choice.
As for The Korean (N) model.......
..... The (N) model is best for AT&T (since N has 1900 frequency) , however not so much for T-Mobile since TM uses 1700, which the N models doesn't have.
.
::iunlock::
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT sucks in AZ anyway lol
I've purchased a Galaxy Tab Pro and a S from them before. Devices were both brand new and had no issues so I'm not certain as of the warranty service. But I do believe they offer a limited 30 day warranty or something if the product malfunctions. Like the posters above said, the manufacturer warranty is usually covered by the country the product is shipped from. They sell mostly international variants so it makes sense.
evangelionpunk said:
Just wondering if people considering buying from never-msrp or those that have bought from them realize they do not offer any warranty on their devices? Literally zilch and not even the manufacturers warranty is apparently honored?
Further, contacted them 6 days ago with couple of questions and no response. Sent a follow up couple of days ago and still no response.
So apart from price wondering if I am missing something here..... They dont honor manufacturers warranty, they dont offer any warranty (unless you buy extra from 3rd party) and they apparently can't be bothered to even reply so they can take my money...Wondering what they would be like then if something goes wrong [emoji23]
Is there anyone else people recommend with similar pricing but honors warranty and has good customer service?
I am after the 64gb dual sim SM-N950F/DS and they are selling it for $820 delivered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, they are **** heads. I remember about 7 months ago contacting them vis eBay in respect of buying a Samsung tab s2, their response was sub par at best. I ended up buying it from someone else.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
I bought a Note 8 from Never MSRP. So far it seems to be good but I was little worried since the "security seal" on the box is the old white style found on S4 or S5 plus the Ink quality on the security label looked pretty shabby. The colour of the black fades. When I turned the phone on it loaded right away to a loaded phone screen which might also indicate that it wasn't factory sealed. Normally you would have to go through all the initial settings like language and what not first, am I right here ?
So other then that, it does seem like its a legit note 8 as far as performance goes. I am slightly worried that its a really really good fake but everything works so far and I'm using a T mobile sim.
It is a mystery to me as to how this unscrupulous ebay seller never msrp has a 99% favorable rating. I purchased a galaxy s8 plus, and when it arrived I noticed the ebay listing stated there was an adapter included. This aroused my suspicion that this was an international version, with no manufacturer's warranty. Amazon sellers clearly indicate when items are international version/no u.s. warranty. Not sure why ebay does not demand this kind of transparency. I returned the phone in an unopened box, and in addition to shelling out $10 in return shipping fees, I had to wait 8 days for a refund. Stay far away from this seller, awful experience
I got mine from amazon for 700ish from my company. It comes with no warranty either but I'm not worried about it. I'd go for the pixel 2 xl instead of the note 8. It's def not worth 850 of your hard earned money. If it was 600ish sure.
Bought the Samsung SM-N950U for $649.99 at Amazon today. 300 bucks combined savings, incl. $100 amazon prime membership.
The note 8 from never MSRP is going for 539.99. I bought an S8+ from them a year ago and tempted to get the note. Is it silly to upgrade from s8+ knowing the 2 phones are almost similar?
auky said:
The note 8 from never MSRP is going for 539.99. I bought an S8+ from them a year ago and tempted to get the note. Is it silly to upgrade from s8+ knowing the 2 phones are almost similar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tough decisions:laugh:, always too many choices, they also ran promotion for LG V35 ThinQ $599.99, but I realized they slipped some amazon software into that phone and I really wanted that stylus.

Note 9 SM-N960FD with UK Firmware?

Hi guys. I am looking to purchase the Note 9 from eglobalcentraluk. com/samsung-galaxy-note-9-n960fd-dual-sim-6gb-128gb-with-gerenic-0.3mm-3d-curved-premium-tempered-glass-screen-protector-midnight-black.html
This is an international version, and from what I can tell, it's the 5th one down on this list, techwalls. com/samsung-galaxy-note-9-sm-n960-model-number-differences/ the SM-N960FD Duos, for Asia, India, and Singapore.
I live in the UK, and am looking to flash this with UK firmware so I can use samsung pay, and to avoid other annoyances. Can someone tell me if this would work? When finding the firmware on sammobile, when it says type 'my model number,' will the SM-N960F work? It doesn't get anymore specific in terms of SM-N960F**** etc.
I use BT mobile which uses EE networks. Would it be best to flash the EE version?
Thanks for your help!
I paid £700 for a brand new condition (charged once) N960F on Ebay. For the tiny saving, I'd just get a proper UK phone.
Just get it, you don't need to flash anything, the N960f works in the UK no different to one bought from a UK retailer, there's already several threads about this. I've been using the N960f for over a week now, flashing any firmware to it isn't going to change anything, needlessly flashing anything on any device is only opening you up to more risks.
From what I gather, the N960F IS the UK version, if you look at all the variants there's no UK spwcific one at all, so I'm pretty certain the global variant is what is on sale in the UK, all other variants are USA and Asian.
Get it from Samsung UK, if ever you need warranty you wish you had. And you can get a good trade in. Pick up a cgwap note 3 and get £200 trade in value. Join the upgrade program get 24 months interest fee credit too
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Ordering the Exynos for USA

There have been several conflicting statements regarding the region locking of the international version, UK. Wanted to get a confirmation that ordering the Galaxy S10 won't require a region unlock, making a 5-10 minute phone call in the purchasing country, before using it internationally. Is this the case with ordering the international version, and forwarding it to the USA?
Is there any service that lets me order from Samsung, region unlock the said device, and ship it to the USA?
I would like to purchase from Samsung to get the buds and a trade-in credit which you cannot do with Amazon or Clove. Is there anyway around it? To get the buds and trade-in credit while region unlocking the device, if I even have to worry about it.
shaaaaaaamful bump...
gullyous said:
There have been several conflicting statements regarding the region locking of the international version, UK. Wanted to get a confirmation that ordering the Galaxy S10 won't require a region unlock, making a 5-10 minute phone call in the purchasing country, before using it internationally. Is this the case with ordering the international version, and forwarding it to the USA?
Is there any service that lets me order from Samsung, region unlock the said device, and ship it to the USA?
I would like to purchase from Samsung to get the buds and a trade-in credit which you cannot do with Amazon or Clove. Is there anyway around it? To get the buds and trade-in credit while region unlocking the device, if I even have to worry about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There can be region lock issues unless where you buy the phone from sets it up properly before they ship it. When I buy from Clove UK, they turn on the phone and let it work with a local Sim Card before they pack it up and ship it. This elminates any issues with region unlock. In fact, I have never had the issue of OEM Unlock missing on an of the phones I have purchased from Clove UK unlike what many people have to deal with. So I encourage you to go to the CLOVE UK site and buy which ever one you want. Great Service - good prices - fast shipping. Good Luck.
I saw Clove there are also some people that have gotten their F variants here:
never-msrp on ebay selling for $955 USD
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192828272845?ul_noapp=true
How does he get the international versions shipped from Texas while not opening the package?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/how-to/g975f-ds-t3904991
Amazon has the international versions for under MSRP. The S10 128 was $850 last I checked.
entropism said:
Amazon has the international versions for under MSRP. The S10 128 was $850 last I checked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a link to that? Everyone I have come across it has been >1k
Went up slightly.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NZVRK97/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ogCDCbFMTSM5W

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