Note 4 Factory Locked vs Region Lock?

[peter1hauns]

So what is the difference?

I want to get the Note 4 for Verizon Wireless. Will it be unlocked as other Verizon phones are?

If it is region unlocked is that the same and factory unlocked.
Example; I can use it OUT of the America's. Europe, Asia..

Thanks, this is my first Android so I'm not very educated on the subject.

 

[dpham00]

I would suspect that the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4 would come factory sim unlocked. Although it isn't out yet and Verizon doesn't advertise it, so the only way to know for sure would be to test it.

Sim unlock means that you can put a sim from another carrier in it. Region lock means that it is locked to the specific region.

Theoretically, a phone can be sim unlocked but also region locked. With that said, my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 worked in Asia, so I suspect that the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4 would as well.

Sent from my LG G Pad 8.3

 

[SpookDroid]

Hi Peter, and welcome to the Forums! You'll love Android, I'm sure, and the Note 4 will be a great phone to start!

Factory Unlocked means that the phone is ready to be used with any SIM card from any compatible carrier (if the phone supports the frequencies the carrier uses, you should be good to go as long as the carrier allows unlocked devices; some carriers in a handful of countries don't). If your phone is carrier-locked, it means it will only work with SIM cards from that carrier. These phones, however, can be unlocked by the carrier or by 3rd party (and less legal) methods.

Region Unlocked is not really a term that was common until Samsung made it popular with their newer phones. Basically, to thwart gray imports a bit, they region locked their phones, EVEN if factory unlocked. But what this does is basically require the phone to be used for the first time with a SIM card from the region the unit was supposed to be sold at. For instance, if the phone was meant for LatAm, the first call coming out of this unit should be done with a SIM card from Mexico or Argentina or any Latin American country. After this, and if the device was factory unlocked, the region restriction is off and you can now take it abroad.

Like the above post mentions, it is theoretically possible to have a factory (or SIM) unlocked phone with a region lock in place, but this wouldn't be too great for roaming and I have yet to find one that is. But then again, I haven't tried every phone out there, so the possibility is there. For these mainstream phones, however, I doubt it.

 

[peter1hauns]

Perfect thank you both very much, great details. Yeah I have had every iPhone gen since inception but have decided to move to Android and am really excited to get the Note (Even though I might wait for the Nexus release before making my final decision :-X).

Now for the "region lock", after inserting my sim and activating it in the US, are there any other actions that need to be taken to be able to use it abroad. IE.. activation codes from Verizon or such ?

 

[SpookDroid]

Well, that depends on the version you get. Most Verizon phones, as far as I know, are now unlocked, so once your phone is activated, you can swap SIM cards without issues with any carrier as long as the frequencies are supported. For instance, if you go to Europe, this phone might have no issues with 3G, but it may not work properly with 4G.

But if Verizon's phone is not unlocked, once you activate it for your region, you still need to get Verizon to unlock it if you'll be traveling and want to use this with another carrier's SIM (or unlock it using those 3rd party services that get the unlock codes...umm... well, in questionable ways).

 

[peter1hauns]

I would suspect that the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4 would come factory sim unlocked. Although it isn't out yet and Verizon doesn't advertise it, so the only way to know for sure would be to test it.

Sim unlock means that you can put a sim from another carrier in it. Region lock means that it is locked to the specific region.

Theoretically, a phone can be sim unlocked but also region locked. With that said, my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3 worked in Asia, so I suspect that the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4 would as well.

Sent from my LG G Pad 8.3

Actually just got done speaking with Verizon and they did confirm that the Note 4 will come factory sim unlocked, thanks for the heads up!

 

[SpookDroid]

Well, there you go. As long as you activate it at home when you get it, you can take this baby out for an international trip (again, just make sure the bands and frequencies are supported).

 

[peter1hauns]

Can't wait to use this iPhone 5 as a paper weight

 

[SpookDroid]

Or, you know... sell it? Haha.

 

[anon8380037]

- I got an Amazon EU Region locked, factory unlocked SM-N9005 Note 3 that works with any carrier here. Data and cell signal still varies between carriers which have differing frequency ranges, and out of sim contract I have been trying the 2 best value ones on monthly deals. -

My point to make though is Verizon can't truly be termed factory unlocked.
OK you can swap sims with a limited amount of other carriers with compatible bands.

You are still left with Verizon software (see how I avoided bloatware), Verizon white dial pad, hotspot app and other changes, and you cannot access service menus like screen testing and others.
Verizon sim unlocked phones would be a better description.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[dpham00]

- I got an Amazon EU Region locked, factory unlocked SM-N9005 Note 3 that works with any carrier here. Data and cell signal still varies between carriers which have differing frequency ranges, and out of sim contract I have been trying the 2 best value ones on monthly deals. -

My point to make though is Verizon can't truly be termed factory unlocked.
OK you can swap sims with a limited amount of other carriers with compatible bands.

You are still left with Verizon software (see how I avoided bloatware), Verizon white dial pad, hotspot app and other changes, and you cannot access service menus like screen testing and others.
Verizon sim unlocked phones would be a better description.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Pro

Well, factory sim unlocked simply means that the sim slot is unlocked from the factory, nothing more. And the Verizon version qualifies. It is quad band gsm so it should work on virtually any gsm network. It doesn't fully support all the bands of all other carriers, but neither does any other smartphone. Of course, some devices support more bands than others.

Software itself isn't directly related to a factory sim unlocked device - what you are talking about is a non carrier specific device.


The term sim unlocked is vague, it could have been unlocked by a code, or some other method. I have had pre 4GLTE phones that were unlocked by a code. By your definition, these would be considered Verizon sim unlocked but this is different from a phone being sim unlocked from the factory.

Sent from my LG G Pad 8.3