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Buying a phone in the US/using it in UK?

G

GalaxyS2Kent

Well-Known Member
Can anyone tell me if a phone (Samsung Galaxy S9) I buy in the US will work here in the UK? I'm thinking of buying an unlocked phone in the US, then when I return to the UK, using my existing SIM (from Galaxy S6) or else getting a new sim-only contract with a UK company. I wouldn't want to spend the money then find out it won't work here in the UK. Thanks.
 
If GSMArena's information is correct the only band that the US model (960U) doesn't support that the European one (960F) does is LTE band 32 (1500 MHz), which I'm pretty sure is not used by any UK network.

You should know about Samsung's "region lock" policy. It might be that you need to put a US SIM in it an make 5-10 mins of calls before it will accept your UK SIM. With any luck it will say on the box, but it would be awkward if you returned from the States without discovering this and then found that it applied.

I don't know what warranty support you'll have with a US phone imported to the UK. US warranties are shorter anyway, but since it's not a model that Samsung sell in this region there may be other issues. Not saying there are, just that I don't know and it's something you might want to check.

And of course legally you are bound to pay customs duty on it when you bring it into the UK (I believe the rate would be equivalent to UK VAT). The cost of an S9 is well above the personal allowance, and there is no exception for personal items (a common myth). Of course there's a very good chance that you'd be able to carry it in in your pocket with nobody noticing, but that would be illegal, and hence could get awkward if you were caught.
 
The fact that Samsung don't sell it in this region sounds alarm bells to me. I personally wouldn't buy that phone and try to use it in the UK. It's a lot of money to throw away.
 
They don't sell it in the UK because they really want to use their own SoCs wherever possible. In the USA they have CDMA networks, and it's cheaper for Samsung to use Qualcomm SoCs than to license the IP for that technology to use in their own, so the US models get Snapdragon SoCs. But everywhere else you get the Exynos processor, and hence a different motherboard and different firmware. Sometimes there are other differences, e.g. last year the Snapdragon and Exynos variants had different camera modules (something very few reviews realised). I've not heard of other differences this year, but haven't been watching closely.

So I don't think it's a matter of compatibility. It's just that I don't know what the repair and warranty support for that model would be here (i.e. do they keep parts for repairs, will they order them if not, will they handle warranty repairs in the UK or expect you to send it back to the States?). I imagine it's possible to find out by asking Samsung UK.
 
I'm pretty sure Samsung UK won't honour warranty for North American Snapdragon variant S9s, and very unlikely to stock spares and have the service information for them either. I know Samsung UK won't touch China or Asia variant phones. And if you do get caught for import duty and 20% VAT, the thing might cost you even more than just buying the UK Exynos unlocked one.
 
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Thanks for the responses.....I'm a bit confused, however, by the comments that the phone is not available in the UK. It certainly IS available, sold by Amazon UK, Samsung UK, and all the various mobile phone providers: Carphone Warehouse, etc. I currently have a S6 and it's under contract with 02. Actually I did a 24 month contract in 2015 and I assumed it would just roll over to a month-by-month. Instead, they've got me for ANOTHER 24 months so I'm stuck. I would have to pay £338 to get out of it. So I was trying to do the math and see if I bought a phone, paid the cancellation charge, etc. if it would be cheaper than getting another contract with a different provider that included the phone in the deal. I forgot about the import tax.... so guess it wouldn't. I don't want to take a chance on getting caught. Thanks again for the information and advice.
 
No... It's a different model of s9 that is sold by carphone warehouse, Samsung uk etc in the UK...

... Similar but with some different components inside.

As others have mentioned, the warranty will be different if the honour it in the UK...


Still one to look at if you have a spreadsheet open etc...
 
psionandy said:
No... It's a different model of s9 that is sold by carphone warehouse, Samsung uk etc in the UK...

... Similar but with some different components inside.

As others have mentioned, the warranty will be different if the honour it in the UK...

Still one to look at if you have a spreadsheet open etc...
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Hmmmm...who knew??? I just learned that the S10 will be out in January, so I think I'll just wait. The S9 will be cheaper then and I may even go for the newer one if it offers something more.
 
Amongst phone fans (i.e. anyone who reads the phone websites) it's common knowledge that the Galaxy models sold in the US are different from those in most of the world. At the level of different radio bands that is common, of course, but Samsung are the only ones I know who use different processors in different regions (but also the only ones apart from Apple who make their own processors).

But as for your O2 contract, WTF? I thought it was absolutely standard that these things went to monthly at the end of the minimum contract period, and don't think they can lock you in again unless you signed a new one (which could of course happen if you changed your tarrif, whether you bought a new phone or not). Admittedly I've been SIM-only for 20 years now, but I know for a fact that's what my provider (EE) do, and really wouldn't have thought it legal to do anything else. I suppose you could write into the contract that if after 2 years you don't cancel/change we'll lock you in again, but that's the sort of thing that would not stand up to media or court scrutiny, so I'd be surprised if they were so stupid.
 
Hadron said:
Amongst phone fans (i.e. anyone who reads the phone websites) it's common knowledge that the Galaxy models sold in the US are different from those in most of the world. At the level of different radio bands that is common, of course, but Samsung are the only ones I know who use different processors in different regions (but also the only ones apart from Apple who make their own processors).

But as for your O2 contract, WTF? I thought it was absolutely standard that these things went to monthly at the end of the minimum contract period, and don't think they can lock you in again unless you signed a new one (which could of course happen if you changed your tarrif, whether you bought a new phone or not). Admittedly I've been SIM-only for 20 years now, but I know for a fact that's what my provider (EE) do, and really wouldn't have thought it legal to do anything else. I suppose you could write into the contract that if after 2 years you don't cancel/change we'll lock you in again, but that's the sort of thing that would not stand up to media or court scrutiny, so I'd be surprised if they were so stupid.
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They said that I had agreed..... what happened was that someone called me from either O2 or Carphone Warehouse and said my contract period was up and did I want to upgrade. I said no. They then asked if I wanted to continue with my same number, etc. and I thought they meant continue with the service (and I do think I even said that but no proof - they never sent a new contract), but on a month-to-month basis. Evidently the conversation was enough to renew my contract for another 24 months. The phone is now paid for, so on this contract it's unlimited texts and calls but only 2GB data and they charge me £28 per month. I really want OUT of this thing but I guess I'm stuck because of my own stupid naiveté. I now have £338 to go to get out of it. Live and learn. You can bet that when this contract ends, I won't make the same mistake!
 
If they didn't say that "continue" meant "for another 2 years" then I'd be tempted to challenge them - after all, continuing with the same number on a rolling basis is the norm in this industry. And if they stick to their guns, pass the details to the consumer affairs correspondent of a national newspaper - you'd be amazed how often "mistakes" are discovered when the media ask about these things (i.e. where bad publicity could cost a lot more than one customer), and it's a lot less cost and hassle than a legal challenge.

£28/month for 2GB is absurd - that's absolutely the cost of a contract that's paying off a phone subsidy rather than just a phone/data service. And while it's standard to let people continue paying that amount after the end of the minimum contract period if they don't pay attention, to lock people into it for another 2 years without even upgrading the phone certainly is not.
 
A verbal agreement over the phone is not a binding legal contract anyway, not without your written signature on a printed copy to go with it.
 
mikedt said:
A verbal agreement over the phone is not a binding legal contract anyway, not without your written signature on a printed copy to go with it.
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Well, there's definitely no signature. I did tell the rep (we were on one of those online chat things) that I don't think I ever agreed to a new 24-month contract but he never even commented on it except to say "you must have" -- I think I'll give it one more try tomorrow. I do feel the £28 for 2GB data is absurd, when the phone is paid for in the first 24-month contract.

Thanks for the comments.
 
LV426 said:
That is a total rip off!
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Yes, it is! Today I called O2, prepared to argue my case. They said it was re-contracted through Carphone Warehouse and I should go to the nearest one and talk to them there. Fat chance of anything getting done .... but I'm going to give it a try. It would be worth the £338 they say I owe on this contract.
 
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