Region block, S8

[Greenonly]

Hi all, 

I bought a Galaxy S 8 phone in UK as a present for my dad, who lives in Asia. 
Now with the benefit of the hindsight I know that I should have made a 5 minute call in the country of the purchase. But it’s too late for that, I didn’t know that I should have unblocked it first,  I have already left UK. 
How can I unblock it to be used in Asia when I am already outside of the allowed region? 
I still have my UK SIM card with me, if it helps, but the phone doesn’t seem to accept any sim cards now.

Please help, I will be forever indebted! 

[Greenonly]

Hi all, 

I bought a Galaxy S 8 phone in UK as a present for my dad, who lives in Asia. 
Now with the benefit of the hindsight I know that I should have made a 5 minute call in the country of the purchase. But it’s too late for that, I didn’t know that I should have unblocked it first,  I have already left UK. 
How can I unblock it to be used in Asia when I am already outside of the allowed region? 
I still have my UK SIM card with me, if it helps, but the phone doesn’t seem to accept any sim cards now.

Please help, I will be forever indebted! 

[pjsw]

sounds likes its network locked you need to contact the company you have the sim with and ask them to unlock it

[Regnarts]

Oops.
Yes, the seller, or a Samsung store can unlock it for you, but I am not sure if being outside of the UK (where you purchased it) might not present an issue.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @Greenonly 

Yes the Region Lock won't allow another sim card but even having the Uk card won't help unfortunately as you need to be in the Uk to make a call to a local number.

"All current Samsung phones come with an active regional lock when first bought. Assuming it's not also locked to a specific network, using a SIM from the same regional origin as the phone for at least 5 minutes of total talktime will disable the regional lock and allow you to use a SIM from any other region from then on."

I have seen posts where a person has contacted the Samsung Support Department for the country / region of origin and they have managed to remove the region lock remotely so it would be worth contacting them.

I wish you all the best with this situation. 

[Greenonly]

I have contacted Samsung support by phone, video chat option, email, and so far nothing has been resolved, just being passed from one person to another. They told me the technical support would call be back in 72 hours, but a week has passed, no response. 

[Regnarts]

Hello @Greenonly, did you manage to get the region lock removed?.
If you are still having issues, assuming you do not have an influential acquaintance at the nearest local Samsung Centre, (where you may otherwise also be required to pay an unlocking fee) I think you will have a far less stressful experience if you are able to bring the phone back to the UK at your next visit. Doing this will greatly reduce the loops you may need to jump through. A UK Samsung Experience Centre can definitely take the region lock off when you produce necessary evidence of purchase, ownership etc...
If you are not already aware, the region lock is part of a deterrent measure against black marketeers. The lock ensures that the phone in question can only be sold outside its intended region as a "used item". It is therefore understable that you will encounter some difficulties in getting the lock removed outside the specified/intended region.