My biggest frustration with Samsung.

[This is Anfield]

Hi folks. First time poster. Was an iphone user for 10 years and last September (2019) made the jump to the Note 10+. I love this phone. Honestly, I love it. A game changer for me in so many ways. Never say never but I'm never going back to Apple.

My one gripe with Samsung is, however, that it doesn't always make available all the features across all units of the same device.

For instance, watch a tips and tricks video about the N10+ on Youtube and invariably half the comments end up being about not having the xyz feature, which was the subject of a tip or trick. Now I can understand if it is hardware related, but surely not if it's software related. Why would an N10+ user in the USA not have a certain toggle imbedded deep in a setting yet that toggle exists on an N10+ belonging to someone in Germany? Is it a carrier thing? Why would a carrier care if it is not 'telephone' related? I live in Australia and for some reason Samsung has not made available the Samsung Labs app. Yet it is available in other countries. Why? It annoys me no end. Like I said, I have no intention of going back to Apple but at least Apple's motto, on the whole, is one for all and all for one. Yet inexplucably, Samsung discriminates with its software features. I just don't get it.

 

[j_hansen]

Features removed is not a Samsung thing, it is the carriers, just buy unlocked

 

[Mooncatt]

Features removed is not a Samsung thing, it is the carriers, just buy unlocked

But then the problem with that is whether or not the unlocked version is fully compatible with the carrier. Two of the most common concerns I've seen are not having the correct frequency bands for the network and losing Wi-Fi calling (at least not without jumping through a lot of hoops). It's a catch 22.

 

[j_hansen]

But then the problem with that is whether or not the unlocked version is fully compatible with the carrier. Two of the most common concerns I've seen are not having the correct frequency bands for the network and losing Wi-Fi calling (at least not without jumping through a lot of hoops). It's a catch 22.

That's true.
Here in Europe it doesn't seem to be a problem the same way it is in the US though

 

[Mooncatt]

That's true.
Here in Europe it doesn't seem to be a problem the same way it is in the US though

Yeah, we have to be different... XD

 

[This is Anfield]

But why be different?

 

[Morty2264]

But then the problem with that is whether or not the unlocked version is fully compatible with the carrier. Two of the most common concerns I've seen are not having the correct frequency bands for the network and losing Wi-Fi calling (at least not without jumping through a lot of hoops). It's a catch 22.

Yes, absolutely. I love buying my phones unlocked but then I have to make doubly sure that my potential phone will work with my carrier's frequency bands. There were at least two or three phones in the past that I'd wanted and couldn't get because they wouldn't work with my carrier's bands. Very saddening but it's better you find out before you shell out the cash!

One advantage to buying from your carrier is that you know you will be likely to buy a product with good to strong connectivity.

 

[joeldf]

But why be different?

Ask AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

The quick answer - it's all about getting more fees out of customers. Withhold certain features that any modern smartphone can do to just the ones sold by said carrier, so if a customer wants that feature, it must be bought from that carrier.

Not all of them do it the same way. T-Mobile does tend to be more BYOD friendly, but they may tighten things up now that they have Sprint and they are planning their own 3G shutdown soon.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

It's a carrier thing, and as a former Verizon employee I can provide some insight from my experience.

Back in the day Apple was an AT&T exclusive and Verizon had a line of Droid phones they heavily pushed and if an OEM wanted Verizon to brand their device with the Droid marketing they has guidelines to follow. There was also stiff competition and Samsung didn't have the pull or market share to tell the carriers not to mess with their software.

Eventually Apple decided to ditch the AT&T exclusivity and became available on other networks. Verizon to carry the iPhone had to bend over backward, but they wanted the phone to prevent customers from leaving Verizon. Apple forced Verizon to sell on 2 year contracts, prior to that Verizon had different contract lengths. Apple also required any store selling the iPhone to have live demo units(at the stores expense), and stores had to stick to Apples pricing. If a store put the iPhone on sale without Apples approval(say to sell old stock) it would violate the contract and the store would be banned from selling iPhones. Back in 2012 we couldn't even offer a return or refund on the iPhone or iPad because Apple didn't allow it.

Meanwhile to gain market share Samsung began sending their employees to Verizon stores to train us on their products. They provided stores with free demo units, they set up a Samsung advocacy program. Samsung advocates got free Samsung merchandise, including the S and Note phone every year, the smart watches, and even tablets in exchange for promoting and pushing Samsung products.

Verizon continued to modify Samsungs software, throw preinstalled apps on their phones, and remove features. Verizon removed the task manager from Samsung devices because they were fed up with tech support calls related to RAM usage. They block Samsung cloud because they already offered their customers cloud service at a cost, can't let Samsung do it for free. Verizon Message + has allowed calls and texts to a tablet or PC since 2015, so when Samsung added that to their new phones Verizon blocked it as well.

Long story short. Verizon bent over backwards and did what Apple wanted so they could carry the iPhone. Meanwhile Samsung bent over backwards and did what Verizon wanted so Verizon would push and promote their phones.

I can only assume the story is similar with other carriers and network providers.

 

[B. Diddy]

That's fascinating, @L0n3N1nja, thanks for that behind-the-scenes info!

 

[L0n3N1nja]

That's fascinating, @L0n3N1nja, thanks for that behind-the-scenes info!

Samsung basically bought the US market too, their products are great, but that wasn't why they dominated. While Samsung did everything I mentioned above at one point we even got paid higher commission rates to sell Samsung. Someone came into the store asking about the latest Moto Droid, HTC, or LG we would do our best to talk them into a Samsung because we made more money.

Samsung was the only OEM to do anything like this, the others just expected us to sell their products while providing very little training material and no incentive. Educating myself on non Samsung products so I could answer customer questions is how I came across Android Central years ago.

 

[Mike Dee]

Ask AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

The quick answer - it's all about getting more fees out of customers. Withhold certain features that any modern smartphone can do to just the ones sold by said carrier, so if a customer wants that feature, it must be bought from that carrier.

Not all of them do it the same way. T-Mobile does tend to be more BYOD friendly, but they may tighten things up now that they have Sprint and they are planning their own 3G shutdown soon.

You don't miss anything vital on Verizon with
Samsung unlocked.

 

[This is Anfield]

Features removed is not a Samsung thing, it is the carriers, just buy unlocked

But what about a software update after the event? My carrier is Optus. Why would Optus care if Samsung added a toggle to blend a sticker onto an object you have take a photo of and why would Samsung allow the carrier to dictate? It makes no sense.

 

[This is Anfield]

It's a carrier thing, and as a former Verizon employee I can provide some insight from my experience.

Back in the day Apple was an AT&T exclusive and Verizon had a line of Droid phones they heavily pushed and if an OEM wanted Verizon to brand their device with the Droid marketing they has guidelines to follow. There was also stiff competition and Samsung didn't have the pull or market share to tell the carriers not to mess with their software.

Eventually Apple decided to ditch the AT&T exclusivity and became available on other networks. Verizon to carry the iPhone had to bend over backward, but they wanted the phone to prevent customers from leaving Verizon. Apple forced Verizon to sell on 2 year contracts, prior to that Verizon had different contract lengths. Apple also required any store selling the iPhone to have live demo units(at the stores expense), and stores had to stick to Apples pricing. If a store put the iPhone on sale without Apples approval(say to sell old stock) it would violate the contract and the store would be banned from selling iPhones. Back in 2012 we couldn't even offer a return or refund on the iPhone or iPad because Apple didn't allow it.

Meanwhile to gain market share Samsung began sending their employees to Verizon stores to train us on their products. They provided stores with free demo units, they set up a Samsung advocacy program. Samsung advocates got free Samsung merchandise, including the S and Note phone every year, the smart watches, and even tablets in exchange for promoting and pushing Samsung products.

Verizon continued to modify Samsungs software, throw preinstalled apps on their phones, and remove features. Verizon removed the task manager from Samsung devices because they were fed up with tech support calls related to RAM usage. They block Samsung cloud because they already offered their customers cloud service at a cost, can't let Samsung do it for free. Verizon Message + has allowed calls and texts to a tablet or PC since 2015, so when Samsung added that to their new phones Verizon blocked it as well.

Long story short. Verizon bent over backwards and did what Apple wanted so they could carry the iPhone. Meanwhile Samsung bent over backwards and did what Verizon wanted so Verizon would push and promote their phones.

I can only assume the story is similar with other carriers and network providers.

Ok. That makes sense. It sucks, but now I know. Thanks.

 

[This is Anfield]

Ask AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

The quick answer - it's all about getting more fees out of customers. Withhold certain features that any modern smartphone can do to just the ones sold by said carrier, so if a customer wants that feature, it must be bought from that carrier.

Not all of them do it the same way. T-Mobile does tend to be more BYOD friendly, but they may tighten things up now that they have Sprint and they are planning their own 3G shutdown soon.

Thanks. It's annoying though.

 

[Beachboy63]

I was wondering if that was the case. I have a Note 10 plus through Verizon and am considering getting the unlocked Note 20. But I didn't know whether it would be completely compatible or if it might lose some functionality over the network version.

You don't miss anything vital on Verizon with
Samsung unlocked.

 

[recDNA]

Features removed is not a Samsung thing, it is the carriers, just buy unlocked

But Apple doesn't let carriers get away with that so why should Samsung?

 

[j_hansen]

But Apple doesn't let carriers get away with that so why should Samsung?

The Appletologi belief probably doesn't allow it...

 

[recDNA]

Just saying Samsung is a giant and could put its foot down with carriers. "We promise these features to our customers so you may not use our product if you disable them".

 

[Mike Dee]

Just saying Samsung is a giant and could put its foot down with carriers. "We promise these features to our customers so you may not use our product if you disable them".

I'm sure its about profitable deals they make