Samsung Galaxy S 5 unlocked but region locked and triple sim adapter is blocked

bubblesmoney · Apr 24, 2014

Just a word of warning for potential buyers that the region locking on the Samsung galaxy S5 is different to that on my Note 3. My note 3 is unlocked and can use different sims and software update without issues.

But had a Samsung Galaxy S5 for more than a week, got it before UK official launch as it was a Korean model 32GB LTE snapdragon version, it was unlocked and was able to use several different sims from various UK networks but couldnt software update as phone would keep asking for SKT (south korea telecom) sim for software update even though would work with other UK sims for calls data and text for more than a week of me using phone. worked fine for streaming thousands of songs via google music and deezer and calls and texts but no luck with software update. see alert shown by phone on attempting to do software update https://plus.google.com/108877366358490804054/posts/X38mPrxYHmf

wireless charging worked fine though with Qi insert as shown on my youtueb uploads for the S5 which can be seen from my tagline below

Just a heads up to people wanting to import a Samsung galaxy S5 from abroad that their region locking is getting worse with every new phone.

Dont have the S5 anymore and wont be buying a samsung phone again..... due to region locking blocking features... like fingerprint scanner use in ebay app in the UK even though unlocked phone and also samsung has blocked use of triple sim adapters as it has blocked the loading of sim app need for triple sim adapters to work. The same adapters work fine on my s4 and note 3. The adapter was inserted correctly as my main sim works through the adapter but cant access the extra sims as samsung has blocked the sim app from launching on the S5 but works fine on S4 and note 3 and other phones.

risestar2 · Apr 24, 2014

Not sure about internationally, however North America region lock seems to be disabled if you first activate with the carrier that the phone was built for and then unlock. If you just buy a phone from a carrier that has it region locked and you never activate it with them, you will have issues.

bubblesmoney said:
Just a word of warning for potential buyers that the region locking on the Samsung galaxy S5 is different to that on my Note 3. My note 3 is unlocked and can use different sims and software update without issues.

But had a Samsung Galaxy S5 for more than a week, got it before UK official launch as it was a Korean model 32GB LTE snapdragon version, it was unlocked and was able to use several different sims from various UK networks but couldnt software update as phone would keep asking for SKT (south korea telecom) sim for software update even though would work with other UK sims for calls data and text for more than a week of me using phone. worked fine for streaming thousands of songs via google music and deezer and calls and texts but no luck with software update. see alert shown by phone on attempting to do software update https://plus.google.com/108877366358490804054/posts/X38mPrxYHmf

wireless charging worked fine though with Qi insert as shown on my youtueb uploads for the S5 which can be seen from my tagline below

Just a heads up to people wanting to import a Samsung galaxy S5 from abroad that their region locking is getting worse with every new phone.

Dont have the S5 anymore and wont be buying a samsung phone again..... due to region locking blocking features... like fingerprint scanner use in ebay app in the UK even though unlocked phone and also samsung has blocked use of triple sim adapters as it has blocked the loading of sim app need for triple sim adapters to work. The same adapters work fine on my s4 and note 3. The adapter was inserted correctly as my main sim works through the adapter but cant access the extra sims as samsung has blocked the sim app from launching on the S5 but works fine on S4 and note 3 and other phones.

hemander · Apr 25, 2014

risestar2 said:
Not sure about internationally, however North America region lock seems to be disabled if you first activate with the carrier that the phone was built for and then unlock. If you just buy a phone from a carrier that has it region locked and you never activate it with them, you will have issues.

You have any way to unlock it with no issue in the future?

bubblesmoney · Apr 25, 2014

risestar2 said:
Not sure about internationally, however North America region lock seems to be disabled if you first activate with the carrier that the phone was built for and then unlock. If you just buy a phone from a carrier that has it region locked and you never activate it with them, you will have issues.

The phone is already unlocked as I used different UK sims For more than a week. The region locking only becomes apparent when trying to software update the phone. The phone was on Kitkat but there was an update available but couldn't update due to the issue mentioned.

electric0ant · Apr 27, 2014

If it is the international model (G900F) just flash it with the stock UK S5 rom.

jorge_moran_jams · May 5, 2014

electric0ant said:
If it is the international model (G900F) just flash it with the stock UK S5 rom.

Do you know if it's possible to root and flash something else without having removed the region lock?

bubblesmoney · May 5, 2014

Dont have the phone anymore with me and think the person having it now is flashing cyanogen mod rom for this phone.

Dont think will be getting a samsung phone again as tired of the pr1ck5 at samsung p1ssing off paying customers with some locking cr4p or the other. Presently still have 3 other samsung phones (S4 note 3 and note 1) and many of my playlists on youtube have loads of samsung phone related. But really fed up with samsungs locking idiocy and will look to sony or LG from now on.

Hellscythe · May 6, 2014

electric0ant said:
If it is the international model (G900F) just flash it with the stock UK S5 rom.

I don't think the SK Telecom model is the same as the G900F.
I think Korea uses some different network brands.

---------- Post added at 09:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 AM ----------

bubblesmoney said:
Dont have the phone anymore with me and think the person having it now is flashing cyanogen mod rom for this phone.

Dont think will be getting a samsung phone again as tired of the pr1ck5 at samsung p1ssing off paying customers with some locking cr4p or the other. Presently still have 3 other samsung phones (S4 note 3 and note 1) and many of my playlists on youtube have loads of samsung phone related. But really fed up with samsungs locking idiocy and will look to sony or LG from now on.

Don't look at Sony.
You will receive software updates like 7 months after the release of that android version.
My Xperia Z still doesn't have kitkat.

eezeh · Oct 31, 2014

Region lock on the 900A

I am looking to buy the galaxy s5 for use in several Sub-saharan African countries. I already have an old ATT sim with me and I will probably be ordering the 900A in/from the US and i want to make sure that the region-lock is not an issue. Will i be able to region unlock with an ATT sim card while in Africa or do i need to have someone make the 5min call for me while the phone is in the US? and is this call meant to be to or from the s5?

Thanks!

fffft · Nov 1, 2014

No one likes self serving restrictions by manufacturers or carriers. But Samsung is far from the only manufacturer doing things like this. And region locking is one of the easiest obstacles to overcome.

On single SIM phones at least removing the subsidy lock nullifies the region lock as well. In any event if you couldn't make a few calls in the area that the phone originated, you could simply have edited the region lock blacklist to circumvent the region lock.

.

-PiLoT- · Nov 2, 2014

bubblesmoney said:
Dont think will be getting a samsung phone again as tired of the pr1ck5 at samsung p1ssing off paying customers with some locking cr4p or the other. Presently still have 3 other samsung phones (S4 note 3 and note 1) and many of my playlists on youtube have loads of samsung phone related. But really fed up with samsungs locking idiocy and will look to sony or LG from now on.

yes that completely legal regioin lock this discourages grey market selling and scams

does this mean you arent buying blu rays or DVDs??

bubblesmoney · Nov 2, 2014

-PiLoT- said:
yes that completely legal regioin lock this discourages grey market selling and scams

does this mean you arent buying blu rays or DVDs??

I had the S5 but no longer have it. Bought the one plus one which is half the price but 64gb and miles better with no region locking crap and call recording apps work on it unlike on my several samsung phones. Call recording apps did work earlier on samsung phones and after software upgrades by samsung they no longer work on them. But they work on other android phones. So samsung is deliberately gimping android with their "updates". Sane way triple sim adapters don't work on the S5 but they do on my s4 and note 3 and other phones.

Coming to your reference to dvd and bluray. .. i don't but them anymore as have several paid digital subscription packages and don't buy dvd and bluray anymore as realised i haven't bothered to open the packs of several of my earlier purchases.

Several other android manufacturers don't region lock or block call recording apps or triple sim adapters so there are better and cheaper options.

-PiLoT- · Nov 2, 2014

bubblesmoney said:
I had the S5 but no longer have it. Bought the one plus one which is half the price but 64gb and miles better with no region locking crap and call recording apps work on it unlike on my several samsung phones. Call recording apps did work earlier on samsung phones and after software upgrades by samsung they no longer work on them. But they work on other android phones. So samsung is deliberately gimping android with their "updates". Sane way triple sim adapters don't work on the S5 but they do on my s4 and note 3 and other phones.

Coming to your reference to dvd and bluray. .. i don't but them anymore as have several paid digital subscription packages and don't buy dvd and bluray anymore as realised i haven't bothered to open the packs of several of my earlier purchases.

Several other android manufacturers don't region lock or block call recording apps or triple sim adapters so there are better and cheaper options.

did you research if the s5 was region locked, or had issues with call recording apps or sim adapater issues before you bought it. or did you buy it assuming they would work?

bubblesmoney · Nov 2, 2014

-PiLoT- said:
did you research if the s5 was region locked, or had issues with call recording apps or sim adapater issues before you bought it. or did you buy it assuming they would work?

I did research like i do all my purchases. My opinions are just that. ... my opinions!

Are you a Samsung employee or funded by samsung in any manner!

edit: If you see my youtube videos for the S5 you might notice that i had uploaded my video BEFORE the UK release date as it was imported from korea.

-PiLoT- · Nov 2, 2014

bubblesmoney said:
I did research like i do all my purchases. My opinions are just that. ... my opinions!

Are you a Samsung employee or funded by samsung in any manner!

edit: If you see my youtube videos for the S5 you might notice that i had uploaded my video BEFORE the UK release date as it was imported from korea.

region locking isnt an opinion. its an actual thing

heres my point

you want to buy a phone, you want it to have multi sim adapters support, no region locking and ability to record in calls.

you do your research like you do "all your purchases"

then you buy a device knowing these things wont work. then you ***** about samsung doing it anyway?

bubblesmoney · Nov 2, 2014

Dude pull that bee out of your bonnet. Dint you have anything better to do than dig up a few months old thread of mine!

Triple sim adapters work on the S4 and note 3.

Call recording apps do work on android phones and even older samsung phones and other new android phones and don't work on new or software updated older samsung phones.

Yes i know what region locking is.

I now choose to spend my money on other companies android products which i think are better. If that bothers you then that is not my problem. I have better things to do today than argue on the Internet with someone i don't know.

Good night.

-PiLoT- · Nov 2, 2014

bubblesmoney said:
Dude pull that bee out of your bonnet. Dint you have anything better to do than dig up a few months old thread of mine! .

I didnt actually dig it up, read back a page

bubblesmoney said:
Triple sim adapters work on the S4 and note 3.

But research you said you did said it wouldnt on the s5

bubblesmoney said:
Call recording apps do work on android phones and even older samsung phones and other new android phones and don't work on new or software updated older samsung phones.

But you said you did research so you knew this

bubblesmoney said:
Yes i know what region locking is.

No one said you didn't. ever

bubblesmoney said:
I now choose to spend my money on other companies android products which i think are better. If that bothers you then that is not my problem. I have better things to do today than argue on the Internet with someone i don't know.

My issue isnt with you buying anything. my issue is with you being such a vocal detester of certain features or lack thereof, when you bought them knowing full well they had these things wrong with them because you did the proper research.

why would you even buy a phone that you know wont work the way you want, better yet why moan about samsung doing this. even though you knew they did it before you bought it

bubblesmoney said:
Good night.

bubblesmoney · Nov 3, 2014

One last time. .. my trile sim adapters did work then on my note 3 and S4 but they didn't on the s5. That was my experience as I hadn't come across posts regarding that it didn't work on the S5. The adapter actually 'works' on the s5 too in the sense that the sim number 1 works via the connector but the other sims can't be used as samsung blocks the launch of the sim app but it doesn't get blocked on older samsung phones. Ps. they work on iPhones and other android phones.

Getting to call recording apps. . They did work on s4 and note 3 and stopped working on note 3 after software updates. Sometimes software have glitches so I gave them the benefit of the doubt but since on the newer s5 it didn't work either and works on other new android phones like my one plus one it is my understanding that samsung is blocking some features which you can gather if you read up more on the topic.

As explained AGAIN above and
in my personal experience the triple sim adapters worked in s4 and note 3 (but not after software update indicating it is samsung doing the blocking) and didn't work on the s5.

Call recording still works on loads of android phones including my one plus one. It used to work on my older samsung phones till later software updates and didn't Work on the S5.

If you need more of my reasons why I think the are better ones out there than the S5....
water proofing is **** as shown in my videos. Sony is better.
Internal memory is loads better on cheaper phones like the one plus one.
Camera is worse than much cheaper one plus one.
Speaker is much louder on the one plus one.
Battery life "without cutting back any features" is better on the one plus one. But would be better on s5 using that black and white ultra power saving mode which stops many features working.

Edit. I still have my note 3 and note 1 and s4 but I do like my gadgets and have other 6 android phones, 5 android tablets and 2 android mini pc's and ipad air. So after owning the and using many other android devices which I no longer have my personal impression of the S5 is that there are better ones out there.

If the above bothers you then not much I can do but say agree to disagree. Cheers.

bubblesmoney · Nov 3, 2014

eezeh said:
I am looking to buy the galaxy s5 for use in several Sub-saharan African countries. I already have an old ATT sim with me and I will probably be ordering the 900A in/from the US and i want to make sure that the region-lock is not an issue. Will i be able to region unlock with an ATT sim card while in Africa or do i need to have someone make the 5min call for me while the phone is in the US? and is this call meant to be to or from the s5?

Thanks!

Ignore some of the apologists for Samsung on this thread trying to pester people who purchase their own android devices unlike the usual reviewers on many websites who get their free review phones and do your own research before spending your money.

Word of warning even when buying an unlocked or no region lock samsung phone in a country with no region lock, it can subsequently get region lock if you do any software updates while traveling or moving to another country with region lock as shown long time ago in the Note 3 thread (thread with hundreds of posts) http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=47664261&postcount=1380 As you can see paying customers who bought unlocked (no region lock phones) samsung phone later got region lock with software update while travelling and working in the Eu and their phone would no longer work with their home country sim. Please note phone was bought from official samsung store and not so called grey market what ever that term grey market may mean! So any person who travels and works across countries or even travelling abroad and wants to use roaming or local sims would be at risk of region lock unless they never want to update their phone or need to resort to hacking the software which most wont be able to do.

ronnie498 · Nov 3, 2014

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