14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung officially confirmed that Galaxy Note 3 devices sold in Europe would feature a SIM card lock, and some more info on the matter is now available.
The lock, also confirmed to affect Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy S4 mini smartphones produced from the end of July, is actually meant to reduced grey imports.
While initially believed to have been meant to lock users on the networks of specific wireless carriers, the SIM card lock appears to be a not so bad feature in the end.
According to new info that emerged online today, users will actually be able to use any of the aforementioned devices on the network of a wireless carrier from a different region of the world.
However, this will be possible either through unlocking the device before the first use, as Samsung mentioned in its statement on the matter, or through activating the handset with a SIM card from the region it was bought from.
As soon as the phone was first used with a local SIM card, users will be able to place a SIM card from a different carrier in it without issues, SamMobile explains.
This means that retailers who use to import Galaxy Note 3 devices and sell them at higher prices will have to open the box of each handset to activate or unlock it before selling it.
Clearly, buyers would not be happy with this state of facts, and the selling of Samsung’s Galaxy handsets on the grey market should be reduced.
One thing that users should keep in mind is the fact that the lock will be put in place only in a series of European markets, and not globally.
In fact, Ausdroid reports that Galaxy models sold in Asia and Australia will not sport the lock. Apparently, one retailer in Australia has already received the first batch of Galaxy Note 3 units, and they do not feature said lock, nor do they have a region-lock warning label on them.