Galaxy S8 Sim region lock

[rajkmohan]

Hi, 

I am staying in Switzerland. I am planning to buy S8 for my wife. But I came to know that S8 which I buy in Swiss will work only with European sim alone. but my wife will be travelling back to India in a some time so she need to use with indian Sim also. can someone sugges an option to buy S8 in switzerland that can work with any sim irrespective of region or suggest me options to overcoem this problem. 

[BandOfBrothers]

The best option is to buy a phone that’s already unlocked to all networks @rajkmohan

Which is typically phones bought direct from a Samsung Experience Store or via Samsung’s Online Shop. 

If a person purchases a phone from a Network then they are typically locked to that Network. 

Samsung won’t unlock these branded phones. 

A person usually has to meet the networks criteria which can be something like using their SIM card in the phone for a set period of time making calls, sending texts etc to be sent a unlocking code to unlock the phone and is typically achieved by filling out an online unlocking form found on the networks home page and they may / may not charge an unlocking fee. 

If for some reason a person does not meet the required networks criteria then there is only the other option of asking a stand-alone cellphone Store to unlock it but that can come with issues such as the unlock not holding etc. 

[rajkmohan]

I am not buying a network provided phone. Here we have electronic shops where I can get fully unlocked phone not linked to any network. Even after that on the box of the ohone itself it was mentioned that european sim only. I need to overcome this issue only. I see some workaround techniques mentioned in internet and the one which you also provided like making some 5 to 10 min call with european sim card. I can do this easily as my wife will be here atleast for next 3 weeks. so she will very well use local swiss sim and make calls. But what after that? after making calls, how the sim region lock will be released on the phone? do i need to enter some unlock codes or some updates need to be done? 

Please clarify here. 

[BandOfBrothers]

I'm in the UK and the box my s8 came in has the same over sticker seal tab saying the same. 

This shows the employee what market that phone is released for. 

But as it's Unlocked any countries network sim card will work in it. 

[rajkmohan]

Hi, quick update on the same problem.. i went to the shop and before I buy S8 I told the sim problem with the shop guy and told him that if the Indian sim doesnt work then i will return right there.. as expected when I put the indian sim card it says invalid sim. Then i removed and put my swiss sim card and this time it detected and working fine. Then i returned the phone right there and came..

iam reading in many places that if I use swiss sim card and make calls for some time then it will automatically unlock for all region sims. Is that correct? Has anyone done it? I am buying fully unlocked phone and even then samsung has introduced region level sim lock feature. So all I need here, whether the workaround mentioned to overcome the region sim lock is reliable and can be tried? If i go again and buy now and i cannot return the phone again. 

[MaciejTsc]

Make several calls for a total of 30 min minumum, send some text msg and connect to lte/3g ,
This will prevent the locking

[AntS · Accepted solution]

Hi all. :robothappy:

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.

Hope this helps! :robothappy:

[rajkmohan]

Hi All, 

Quick update. Today I purchased S8 in the stores and as advised I initially used local swiss sim to activate, made few calls, connected to wifi and 4G, LTE. Later I put my Indian sim and it worked. 

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. You guys made my wedding day gift for my wife. 

Thanks again. 

[AntS]

Glad that's worked for you @rajkmohan! And awww, that's lovely. :heart::heart:

[Anonymous User]

Thanks very insightful.

Do I have to

- use a SIM from the same regional origin like the phone geographically IN the region or

- can I also insert the SIM from the same regional origin like the phone geographically OUTSIDE the region for the first calls to unlock the region lock?

Thanks for your support.

[AntS]

Hi @Anonymous User. :robothappy:

It very much depends on the relevant international network coverage where you are.

[Anonymous User]

I would like to unlock a Samsung Galaxy S8 Duos of the Gulf Region in Europe. We would use a Dubai SIM card. Ideally we would like to insert the Dubai SIM the first time in Switzerland. Will this work?

[AntS]

@Anonymous User: Sorry about the delay in reply. :robotembarrassed: It's less likely to work - but it'll very much depend on that Dubai network's coverage in Switzerland.

@Toeyin: The only way to disable the regional lock is with 5 minutes of cumlaltive talktime with a SIM of the same regional origin as the phone, so if you've got an EU phone you'd need an EU SIM to begin with.

[ozanb]

but does it matter if its switzerland or germany for example

also how do you know, the regionlock is unlocked?

[HansComps]

Hi,

Bought my phone in KSA (Jarir), did the 5min call and took it back to South Africa.

This week, after months of successful use with South African SIM the phone says "no service, strikeout-circle icon" and both SIM trays say "Unknown" SIM.  This is true for 2 different providers in RSA.

As others also asked before on this thread;  how do I check if this is a region lock issue or hardware issue;  is there a *# code I can use to check the "lock status"?

Regards

Hans

[jos11]

Hi,

Did anyone found solution for this problem? I have same problem after phone was unlocked in KSA with 5 min talk, I was using it for a few months in Europe and then few days ago i get error no service and can't use my phone. Please help me with this issue if you know how to sort it out, already tried reseting everything and nothing happens, even factory reset on the end but did'nt help.  I'm in Europe and don't have SIM card from KSA.

[HansComps]

Hi,

What icon do you get where the signal strength usually is?  If it is a circle with crossout it might be your radio or stuck in airplane mode.

In my case it seems the radio broke; gave it in under warrenty in KSA (during my last visit) and the motherboard was replaced (took a week);  working fine now.

If you still see the signal strength icon (top right) and have the ability to make emercency calls the radio is still fine.  Best approach is to email Samsung KSA and ask for the region unlock code (they will ask for your IMEI code).  They will send you the unlock code and instructions on how to use it.

[PS, you can dial *#1100# and choose stack1 to check if our radio is still working - you sould see changing RSSI values]

[jos11]

Can't dial anything on the phone(says no mobile network), I have that circle with crossout. Tried resetting everything, flashing firmware, but nothing works, seems they will need to replace motherboard or whole phone. I will never buy Samsung again.

Thanks HansComps for your answer, helped a lot...

[nourdurra]

Hi,

I am facing the same problem with Samsung S9+ , got in in Norway and it says that it´s european only, I have a SIM card from Jordan and even after using the mobile using the regional origin SIM , when I put it in the mobile I get the error (network locked sim card inserted)

I used the mobile with a Norweigian sim card for calls over 30 minutes and SMSs.

How can I fix this? 

I use both SIM cards heavily (Norwegian and Jordanian) and carrying two mobiles is not practical

[Martin0227]

I am having a problem with regoin lock (maybe), i bought my s8 one year back in germany, and i travel back to malaysia twice a year. Everytime i put in a new Malaysia simcard, the phone ask for a 4 digit pin to unlock the phone. I have been staying in germany and have outgoing call for 50 min, and incoming call for 1 hour and 15 min. Why do i require a unlock code to unclok my phone? Tried with new sim card pin, puk and all. The new simcard work completely fine in other phone but my s8.

[Toeyin]

Pls, my phone was bought as a gift and delivered to me. I'm in Nigeria with no available european sim. Kindly assist