Help regarding Samsung A10 and wearable app

[bluezelos]

Hi all, I'm new here and I've exhausted all avenues on this one, so this is my last hope. I live in the UK.

I recently bought a new Samsung Galaxy A10 mobile phone from a seller on eBay. When I received the phone it was clearly evident by the stickers etc. on the box it was geared for the asian market. It was not a uk/eu model. I didn't think anything of this as I put my sim card in transferred everything over from my old phone, everything working fine.

I then bought a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds to use with the phone.  I charged the buds and opened the case and the phone picked up the buds, ok great so far.

Then comes the problem..I downloaded the wearable app from the Play store (and later again from the galaxy store),  tapped the 'get started' button,  tapped 'galaxy buds'...allowed all the permissions....lets pair up screen appears, followed by 'devices spotted nearby' where my galaxy buds show on the screen, but the when I tap on them I get the following error message...

Check whether your system software is compatible or or needs to be updated then try again

The app then closes, I can go no further. I have tried loads of times but get the same result. I have contacted Samsung online help chat and after giving them the serial number of the phone they confirmed that it was an asian phone so was therefore is not compatible with the wearable app.

Now I'm not disputing this as they are the experts, but is there no work around this? it seems strange an app cannot work on a certain phone I would have thought they were all compatible. I have looked all over the internet to try and find any similar problems but can't find anything, surely i'm not the only person to have experienced this.

I have contacted the seller about the phone as it wasn't advertised as an asian model and he said a uk/eu version would be £30 to £40 more, this isn't the issue, I was unaware of how much the phone should be anyway. I would expect it to work in the Uk as I bought it here.

Anyone have any experience of this, or maybe there is another version of a wearable app about that will work on my device? asian version perhaps?

Would appreciate any comments and thanks for reading.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @bluezelos 

Probably not the issue but is your phone preference settings  location showing as UK and is your Playstore the Uk version ?

Do the Galaxy Buds pair up ok with another Samsung phone that's not an import ?

I understand your thinking about the phone but unfortunately I have come across situations where certain apps won't work on imported phones.

Such as Samsung Pay and Samsung Goodlock App etc.

That's said I'd be surprised if the Samsung Wearable App was like this as it's needed to pair up Samsung Watches and Bluetooth headphones  / Earphones.

I'd be thinking it's the other countries firmware on it causing the conflict.

I'd be lost without it as I pair up my Gear s3 Frontier watch, Samsung Buds and Bose Headphones  !

What I would do in order is....

Delete the pairing.

Go into Settings》Apps》Galaxy Wearable》Storage》 Delete Data and Cache.

Uninstall the Samsung Wearables App.

Then.....

Go into the Galaxy Store.

Download the Samsung Wearable App.

Then try to pair up with the Samsung Galaxy Buds and see how you go.

If this fails then perhaps ask at a Samsung Experience Store or Samsung Service Centre for help.

They may concur with Samsung Suppprt however that the issue is the phone is an imported model with that countries firmware on it.

One extreme route would be a Custom Rom to replace the existing firmware.

Xdadevelopers website has tutorials and members who are happy to answer questions.

Disclaimer.

Custom Rom's.

Do some research on how to properly do this as issues can arise such as an unstable phone or worse a phone that does no longer work.

I wish you all the best with this situation. 

[bluezelos]

Thanks BandOfBrothers for your informative reply.

Unfortunately went through all the processes you suggested but to no avail. Still same result and error message.

Pretty infuriating really that one app can cause all this grief. I should have sent the phone back before I opened it when I received it with all the asian stickers all over the box. Didn't realise at the time thought there wouldn't be an issue. You live and learn I suppose. It also didn't have a NFC connection which comes in handy when you forget your cards. All in all a pretty duff buy. Sort of in dialogue with the seller as regards a refund (sort of as in there is only me involved in the dialogue), so not holding out much hope. Annoyed that it wasn't stated in the listing it wasn't an eu/uk model.

Looking to probably buy another phone and sell this on. This time will avoid eBay sellers and buy from a shop.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

[BandOfBrothers]

I'm sorry to learn your still at the same stage with this @bluezelos 

If the seller didn't list it properly then you have a dispute.

I was going to buy the Samsung Note Fe when Samsung recalled the Note 7 but it was only available from abroad so when I looked into importing I became aware of potential problems such as Samsung Pay not working etc.

I wish you all the best with this situation. 

[Gamer82783]

This new update made my phone better but when i play ,it crashed and lagging. You should down grade it to 9 please