S21 5G Snapdragon Variant

[LiquidSnake]

Does anyone know any good websites/places/countries to buy the S21 5G Snapdragon, one that will work in the UK and receive updates? I know snapdragon variants from Hong Kong can work in the UK and get all the updates as an Exynos brought here 😎. I know if I buy the S21 off of Amazon.co.uk, I'm gonna get an Exynos; Is there a way to buy the Snapdragon one on Amazon that will work in the UK (possibly using different country link/VPN)?

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @LiquidSnake 

I trust you are well 😎

To purchase my N20 Ultra 5G Snapdragon SoC version I purchased it via WondaMobile who are a trusted seller. They imported the phone to me with no import fee's. All you Pay is the price for the phone.

The phone was in a sealed box and came fully unlocked to all Network's and had no Region Lock on it.

I did have to change the internal language to English but that was easy to do.

Take a look at TrustPilot for mine and other people's reviews.

My phone receives software and security updates as normal. The only difference is my phone's csc is TGY and not BTU !

My phone is on Android 11.

Samsung One Ui 3.1.

Security Patch 1 July 2021.

All my app's work fine as does the Playstore.

Apart from knowing my phone is imported there isn't anything that pops up to show it is.

My Samsung Keyboard is a little different to the UK version, however if that does not suit your palate then there are alternatives you can use once downloaded.

The important thing to consider is that Samsung UK may not offer warranty support via the warranty as it's an imported phone.

I'm not sure why as the phone is direct from Samsung,  just from Hong Kong instead !

I'm sure you know I'm pro Samsung but it's time this is changed in their Limited 2 Year Manufacturing Warranty Terms and Conditions  🤞

Or Samsung start to offer more phones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon soc in them to people in the UK,  or offer a choice at the purchase stage of an Exynos or Snapdragon version. 👍

However WondaMobile offer their own 12 month warranty. That does mean having to send the phone back to them but they cover this cost.

And I have my phone's covered under my Home Contents Insurance Policy too.

Here are the other aspects you would need to consider.

• Check the phone has the correct frequency and bands that your Network uses including 5G if that particular connection is important to you. I'm on o2 who do not provide 5G to Payg accounts yet, however as 5G really provides faster large file downloads it's not a deal breaker for me. I also use Vodafone UK which works fine. My phone is dual sim.
• esim option on mine is not included but I prefer to use physical sim's. 
• Check that Samsung Pay will work if that's your preference. I use Google Pay as my preference which works fine. In some of the support information WondaMobile say Samsung Pay may not work. I've seen posts from people who say it does actually work fine.

The WondaMobile site provides all the support information needed and has an Ask and Answer question section where people have enquired about different things about the phone.

I hope that helps and I'm more than happy to share any screen shots, more information etc if you need them.  👍

[LiquidSnake]

Nice, thanks for the info @BandOfBrothers! Just a couple of more questions;
- If the phone was region locked and network locked, yet it had Snapdragon in it; Can't you bypass the region lock and network lock using reliable websites/youtube tutorials/laptop software like SigmaBox, Dr.Fone, etc.?
- You said the csc was TGY and not BTU. What's the difference and isn't XEU the best? How is csc significant - Do they determine, where a phone can be used (region-lock + Updates affected) and if it is network locked or not (I understand some csc's are network unlocked, whilst others are locked to a network - Is this true)? Would this affect the Samsung Keyboard layout?
- You said the Samsung Keyboard is different; Could you elaborate on that and possibly get screenshots of a Hong Kong Samsung Keyboard and a UK Samsung Keyboard?
- Isn't esim trash? I looked into this and I thought it would be so hard changing SIMs and the difference between an esim phone and nano-sim is no improvement in terms of extra battery life, etc.! So what's the point of getting esims and why did you reject it?
- You said that 'check the phone has correct frequency and bands your network uses'. So, I was thinking; Do these Hong Kong imports support carrier aggregation (increased mobile data speed)? How can I check if these phones support this?
- Do you recommend buying phones from Dubai? My uncle bought a Snapdragon dual sim S8 there for £500 ages ago and it works in the UK. Would they give warranties and can you get bargains there with a phone in full working order?
- What are the ups and downs of getting your phone covered by your home contents insurance policy?

Right now, I'm gonna check more info about carrier aggregation and get back to you with specifics. But yeah, that's all the questions I've got so far lol.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @LiquidSnake 

I have never had to use any sites to unlock my phone's or region unlock as they've always come unlocked ready to use. I'd suggest to check out any sites thoroughly before parting with payment.

TGY is the Hong Kong variant.

BTU is the unlocked version supplied directly by Samsung.

XEU is the unlocked version of the phone typically supplied by a reseller. These versions in my past experience receive updates occasionally slower.

The button layout on the Samsung Keyboard on mine is slightly different and currently you can't change the layout even by using Samsung Goodlock and one of it's plug it's.

However the difference is very minimal.

This is mine with the arrows showing the slight difference.

 

 

eSim options are fine for someone who isn't concerned with wanting to swap sims etc. You can find Pro's and Con's for using esims in few tech pages via Google Search. 

Using an esim wouldn't have an impact on battery life as far as I'm aware. Its just the difference to wanting to use an esim or physical sim card. 

As far as I'm aware yes Carrier Aggregation isn't an issue on an imported phone. Its always best practice to check what bands and frequencies your network uses to that if what the phone supports so your getting the best connection available.

I have not purchased a phone anywhere apart from Samsung UK and via Samsung Hong Kong. When I performed some home work and where to purchase all the advice pointed towards Hong Kong variants as these support more bands and frequencies.

It seems the variants from the States may not support UK Network's as well.

I can't comment in regards to phone's from Dubai as I haven't gone down that route.

Some standalone mobile phone insurance policies only replace like for like. So for example if the phone is 6 month's old they'll replace it with a 6 month old phone. Not all policies are the same so checking the Terms and Conditions is a must. Also some have quite high excess policies.

My Home Contents Insurance would cover a new phone purchase with my excess being £100 , however one mist take into account premiums could rise when renewing. 

Hope that help.

[BandOfBrothers]

This isn't too bad for 4G.

 

This is 4G+

 

[LiquidSnake]

Beautiful nice speeds. I just wanted to say that yeah, it looks like the difference on the Samsung Keyboard won't impact my main typing, so it looks alright. Just one more question;

- In terms of advantages and disadvantages for the phone and the way it operates, what is the difference between a TGY and BTU csc? Then, if BTU is substantially better, why not just change TGY to BTU firmware?

[BandOfBrothers]

It isn't better as far as I can see in regards to csc. 

The csc denotes where the phone has come from.

The main difference is if a phone has been supplied by a network , then it has It's own flavour of software installed which includes the csc.

It's a way of knowing where a phone originates from.

People do install custom roms and change the csc for a few reasons.

Including to be able to use some specific network features that are meant only for branded phone's i.e network supplied.

One has to be very careful if attempting these types of core file changes.

[LiquidSnake]

Nice, thank you so much for the help @BandOfBrothers! I'm thinking when my uncle comes, I'm gonna ask him more about buying the phone from Dubai and tell him about WondaMobile and then I will see where to get it from 😁.

[BandOfBrothers]

I always advocate performing ample investigation before purchasing a phone especially if a person is contemplating importing one.

Don't hesitate to ask any further questions if you need to.

Enjoy the journey  😎

[LiquidSnake]

Okay, so I have my eyes on the S21 from WondaMobile. Such a bargain price! But, what is VolTe? In addition, are the only things that do not work are Samsung Pay and VolTe? I've read this about VolTe on android central:
'VoLTE, is the ability to use more bandwidth to make phone calls with higher quality audio traveling both ways. When you are on a call with someone else who is using VoLTE, you immediately notice the difference in call quality on both ends. You'll also notice calls connect faster if you are calling someone near you, and while that's not a feature worth bragging about, it's a cool thing to test for yourself'.
Android Central link: https://www.androidcentral.com/volte

It sounds quite serious that the HK version doesn't have this, so is this a major loss?

Also, just want to make sure: No import taxes and customs duties have to be paid right?

Also, if I buy the S21 elsewhere, what incentives (free stuff)/cashback offers out there? Just curious to see if what's being offered out there, even if it is Exynos with these cashback/+free items offers.

Here is the link for S21 HK Version:
https://www.wondamobile.com/samsung-galaxy-s21-5g-dual-sim-g9910-8gb-ram-256gb-unlocked.html