Sep 27, 2013

As Samsung Galaxy Note 3 devices have started to land in the hand of consumers, those buyers are finding their boxes adorned with a new sticker bearing some potentially bad news. The stickers inform buyers that the device will only work with a SIM card from the region in which they were sold. At this point, images of the stickers for the “American” model and the “European” model have surfaced, though it is suspected there are versions for Africa and Asia and possibly others. It has been noted that the “American” model appears to cover all regions in North, South, Central America, and the Caribbean. Likewise, the European model covers the countries of the European Union and close to a dozen non-EU countries in that region of the globe.

According to a statement from Samsung Germany, this new policy will apply to Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S 4 Mini, and Galaxy Note 3 devices manufactured after July 31, 2013. It will still be possible to “unlock” a device for use in a different region if the smartphone was never activated with a SIM in the home region, but this will involve a visit to a “Samsung service partner.”

According to several users on XDA, the locking mechanism that Samsung has implemented uses an MCC-based (Mobile Country Code) lock that resides inside the CSC (Consumer Software Customization) package. Early indications are that unlocking, especially in a manner that does not void a warranty, will be tricky and will require some method other than the usual network-based SIM unlock codes.

Other than the statement from Samsung Germany, the company has been silent regarding the reason for this change. The suspicion is that this is a step to counter the efforts of phone importer/exporters who make their coin by capitalizing on things like phased global releases of a device, currency exchange rates when buying/selling across regions, and even local supply shortages. By locking phones to regions, Samsung gains some additional control over their pipeline. Meanwhile, carriers probably won’t mind the change too much as this will likely result in higher roaming bills by customers. For consumers though, the hassle will almost certainly outweigh any benefits.