Samsung Galaxy S6: International Version vs. US Version

[AC Question]

What is the difference between the international and US Samsung Galazy S6. I'm looking for an S6 to buy on Amazon and the international one seems to be cheaper but I live in the US so I'm not sure if I should get it or not.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Hi and welcome to AndroidCentral.

What carrier do you have?

 

[adil2000]

T-Mobile (I'm the person who asked the question, just created an account)

 

[adil2000]

So... Any answers?

 

[Kelly Kearns]

You have to make sure it will work on the TMO network. Also there will be no warranty coverage in the US and even paying Samsung US to repair it, won't happen.

Also some people that get international versions of Pines and use them here, will not get good service even though it is compatible. Sometimes the international phone won't use the best bands here.

You will get updates directly from Samsung, but that is something I don't worry about, even though I get timely updates from TMO. I never keep a phone long enough to worry about getting the update from Samsung or the carrier, I generally just buy the newer phone into the newer OS.

 

[adil2000]

Sub Question: Does anyone know of a good place to buy an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge that is compatible with T-Mobile and is a US Version at a good price without tying me down to a contract.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

That will probably be from an individual.

Have you checked with TMO to see if they are still doing the promo on the S6? It is 0 money down and $0 for 18 months because you get a bill credit each month for the payment amount.

 

[Rukbat]

And they'll provide the unlock code - but it may not work on the carrier you want it to - if it's the TMO version it only has data radios for the bands that TMO uses. With the international versions (there are usually several) you can choose the ones that covers the most bands you need. (You may not be able to find a single phone that cover all of them - it depends on where you're taking it. If it's just the US, you just need AT&T's and TMO's bands.)