[Guide] Importing US/HK SD variant Note 20 Ultra to UK 5G.

[Nettwerk]

Hello, XDA-Developers Members. Many people want to import Note 20 Ultra from USA or HK to UK. And I'm one of them who bought from USA. And I had question will it work in UK (Most will be interested to know about 5G)? Maybe this thread is useless but I'm trying to help make a decision.
What Bands uses UK:
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Operator: EE
LTE Bands: 3(1800MHz), 7(2600MHz), 20(800MHz), 1(2100MHz), 38(2600MHz)
5G Band: N78 (3500MHz)
Virtual Operators: 1pMobile, Asda Mobile, BT Mobile, CMLink, CO-OP Mobile, CTExcel, Ecotalk, IQ Mobile, Orange, Plusnet Mobile, RWG Mobile, T-Mobile, Utility Warehouse, Vectone Mobile, Virgin Mobile (Some using 5G)
---
Operator: O2
LTE Bands: 20(800MHz), 1(2100MHz), 3(1800MHz), 8(900MHz), 40(2300MHz)
5G Band: N40, N78 (3500MHz)
Virtual Operators: CUniq, Giffgaff, Lycamobile, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile (Some using 5G)
---
Operator: Three
LTE Bands: 3(1800MHz), 20(800MHz), 1(2100MHz), 32(1500MHz)
5G Band: N78 (3500MHz) & (3700MHz)
Virtual Operators: Honest Mobile, ID Mobile, Smarty Superdrug Mobile (Some using 5G)
---
Operator: Vodafone
LTE Bands: 7(2600MHz), 20(800MHz), 1(2100MHz), 3(1800MHz), 8(900MHz), 32(1500MHz), 38(2600MHz)
5G Band: N78 (3500MHz)
Virtual Operators: Lebara, Talkmobile, TalkTalk Mobile, Virgin Mobile, VOXI (Some using 5G)

What Bands uses USA:
---
mmWave Spectrum 5G:
n260 band (based on 37GHz to 40GHz frequencies) -- used by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile
n261 (27.5GHz to 28.35GHz) -- used by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile
---
Mid-band 5G spectrum:
n41 (2500MHz) -- used by Sprint in the past, now used by new T-Mobile
---
Low-band 5G spectrum:
n71 (600MHz) used extensively by T-Mobile
n5 (850MHz) used by AT&T

What Bands uses Hong Kong:
---
Operator: CMHK
5G Band: N78(3400MHz – 3460 MHz), N79(4840MHz – 4880 MHz)
---
Operator: HKT
5G Band: N78(3460MHz – 3510 MHz), N79(4880MHz – 4920 MHz)
---
Operator: SmarTone
5G Band: N78(3510MHz – 3560 MHz)
---
Operator: HTCL
5G Band: N78(3560MHz – 3600 MHz)
---
Not verified:
n257(26.55GHz – 27.75 GHz) and n261(27.95GHz – 28.35 GHz)

 

[It_ler]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Dh279]

This is perfect. Currently looking at buying from Ultraonlineuk (Hong Kong variant) and it's good to see that N78 is used in HK; 5g isn't in my area yet it should be in the next 3 years. Have you noticed any features that don't work on your US handset? I'm not expecting Samsung pay to work, but I don't like it as much as Google pay anyway.

Also, N78 doesn't perfectly match between UK and HK, is this a problem? (I know very little about signal bands, but would assume that there is a tolerance range?)

 

[Gamric]

This is very interesting, has anybody actually done this and what where the problems.

 

[Dh279]

This is very interesting, has anybody actually done this and what where the problems.

I've ordered the n9860 model which is Snapdragon. I'll let you know how it goes once it arrives from Hong Kong. The main feature that I know won't work is Samsung Pay, but that's fine as long as android pay works.

Currently the price from HK is £700 for a new handset, so as well as faster, better battery etc, it's also cheaper.

 

[Gamric]

Thanks, will keep an eye open for any replies.

 

[Dh279]

Thanks, will keep an eye open for any replies.

A bit of further digging shows that VoLTE may not work in the UK; this seems to be a software bug, as the N10+ had this issue and was eventually patched. The discussions on this are a few months old, so it may have been solved by now.

UltraOnlineUK has just issued a refund as they don't have any stock and their supplier hasn't got an ETA on it. So far my impression of them has been good, they've responded to all my emails before and after purchase within 48h, and if you pay with paypal you get buyers protection (and pay in 3).

My review of them is that they seem legit (but worth using Paypal to be safe), and take "in stock" with a grain of salt.

Now ordering from WondaMobile, which has a very good reputation, and hopefully should arrive by next Friday. WIll update this when I receive the handset and test everything out.

 

[Gamric]

Thanks for the update mate, will see what happens with you, I'm an OAP and can't afford to be messed around, I agree hat both sites look legit, please keep us updated, the N20U is a great phone but the battery life stinks.
Cheers, Pete

 

[elmor0]

Ordered my N9860 from Bludiode UK - was smooth experience overall, delivered to Middle East reasonably quick, and I would use them again.

 

[Dh279]

Phone arrived (shipped Monday arrived Wednesday) - definitely new. So far I've not had any problems with the phone. I get better 4g signal than I did with my A71, and everything seems to work. I've not had the chance to test 5g because it's not in my area, and I don't use Samsung pay but will try setting up a card and test it at the weekend.

I was able to install "Samsung pay (Hong Kong Version)" which was in English as that was the language set up on the phone. I was able to log in, but It may be that it won't work over here.

I ran geekbench 5, and it scored higher than their benchmark for Note 20 Ultra Snapdragon, I'm sure if I ran multiple tests it would probably average out as the same, but it's good to see everything is as described.

 

[Dh279]

Just updating to say the battery life is great! My A71 had the same size battery (4500) but I'd be charging it half way through the day. Today the N20U had 7h screen on time, and still has 27% left going to bed. (14h+ since last charge)

 

[Gamric]

Thanks for keeping us updated, they are currently awaiting new stock, but I will have to wait, our car may have a terminal problem, which could cost a lot of cash.

 

[Gamric]

How has the purchase been, any problems? Is English OK on it, and did it have a factory screen protector, etc.

 

[Dh279]

How has the purchase been, any problems? Is English OK on it, and did it have a factory screen protector, etc.

You are prompted to select a language at setup, the only app that I've seen any other language was Samsung pay (which I don't use) which was still mostly English

I've not seen any language but English since the first day of use.

It didn't have a factory screen protector on it (it's a region specific thing I believe)

Purchase was so easy; I used PayPal for protection, ordered Friday night, got tracking link Sunday at midnight (8am HK time). Arrived Wednesday via FedEx.

I've had slower amazon deliveries.

Edit: it came factory sealed with the usual accessories (fast charger, earphones and clear tpu case)

 

[Dh279]

You are prompted to select a language at setup, the only app that I've seen any other language was Samsung pay (which I don't use) which was still mostly English

I've not seen any language but English since the first day of use.

It didn't have a factory screen protector on it (it's a region specific thing I believe)

Purchase was so easy; I used PayPal for protection, ordered Friday night, got tracking link Sunday at midnight (8am HK time). Arrived Wednesday via FedEx.

I've had slower amazon deliveries.

Edit: it came factory sealed with the usual accessories (fast charger, earphones)

How has the purchase been, any problems? Is English OK on it, and did it have a factory screen protector, etc.

I should probably add that I don't know if 5g works because it's not in my area.

Battery life is great, I can just about get it to the end of a day when on high refresh rate, but now mostly keep the device in battery saver because I drive a lot and end up with high (8h+) screen on time. This does not have a noticeable impact to performance either (as far as I can tell)

It definitely lasts a lot better than my old A71 which on paper had the same battery size.

If there's anything else you've been wondering let me know

 

[Gamric]

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. Just hope getting our car repaired doesn't empty the bank. Thanks again.