Recent reports suggest Samsung has begun region locking its phones, such as the new Samsung Galaxy 3 Notes and the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4. What does mean and how will it affect you? Our guide has the answers and will keep updating it as new information arrives.
Last Update on 27/09 14:43
Samsung has now responded officially to the reports. The short version of the story is the lock only applies before the first activation. Once activated in the home region you can use SIMs from any region when travelling.
Samsung Statement
In order to provide customers with the optimal mobile experience in each region including customer care services, Samsung has incorporated the ' regional SIM lock ' feature into Galaxy Note 3 devices.
The product is only compatible with a SIM-card issued from a mobile operator within the region identified on the sticker of the product package. When the device is activated with a SIM card issued from the other region, the device may be automatically locked until it is released at the dedicated service center.
Once a device is activated normally, the regional SIM lock is automatically released. Users can enjoy the roaming service as usual and can use other region's SIM card when travelling.
The regional SIM lock has been applied to the Galaxy Notes (II) and Galaxy S4 devices through a software update in selective markets.
The regional SIM lock does not affect the device's features and performance. Users can continue to enjoy all the advanced features of our products.
In this case, the Galaxy 3 Notes region lock means you cannot import phones from other countries. That's because you have to activate phones using a SIM from the country in which the phone was orginally sold. No, you can use your phone abroad and you can even use a local SIM CARD when travelling, but only if you've already activated the phone in your home region. So far as we are aware, no. It's normal for phones to be locked to a specific network when bought on a contract from a network provider. It's not typical for phones to be specifically region locked in this way. It is automatically removed provided you activate the phone first in the region it was bought. If, however, you import a phone and activate with a SIM not from the phone's region, it will be locked and must be unlocked by a dedicated service centre. Samsung makes no guarantees about doing this, however. It might also be possible to remove the lock by loading a custom ROM, but there's no confirmation of this at present. At first it was perceived by some as a way of protecting network providers. With Samsung's statement, however, it's clear Samsung is only interested in the ' grey market ' at http://support.Microsoft.com/?kbid=143474 ' of imports.
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