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- Dubai 04:24 05:43 12:19 15:46 18:51 20:09
Next time, beware of buying a Samsung phone from another country. Samsung has introduced a new feature called ‘SIM Lock’ that makes it mandatory for the phone to be unlocked using a local SIM card before it can work in any other country.
Many have been complaining about how the phone (Galaxy Note 3), purchased from either US or Europe had stopped working after they were shipped to the UAE. “That is because the phone was shipped out without being unlocked there,” an official told Emirates 24/7.
Samsung says it has introduced the new lock facility on Note 3 and will soon spread them across to its other models.
Local consumers who purchased their device in the UAE obviously don’t need to worry, unless they want to ship the phone to another country.
“This is an important feature that we have introduced in many other markets to help improve customer experiences and services. We wanted to highlight the importance of buying local devices from authorised retailers to avoid issues with international network configurations. It applies to people who might buy a device in other country and bring it back here,” said Hayssam Yassine, Head of Telecommunications Group, Samsung Gulf Electronics.
Anyone who purchases the handset will have to activate the phone in that market by unlocking it with the help of a local SIM card. “Once that is done the phone can be taken to other countries without any issues.”
The SIM Lock feature will also be rolled out to other Samsung devices including the Galaxy Note 2; Galaxy S3; Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 Mini, through software updates.
“For example, if the smartphone was intended for the UK market but was brought back and registered in the UAE, the smartphone will lock and will not allow for any other SIM cards to be used. If users register their device in the country it was intended for, then the feature will be universally unlocked and the consumer can travel to any country and use any network SIM Card,” Yassine added.
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