Will an amazon (india or germany) phone work in UK?

squarehead94 · 8 Oct 2020 at 13:26

Hi all.

Looking to purchase a Samsung for my grandad. He prefers the brand more than anything else so I've looked around and internationally they release some pretty good spec mid rangers. I'm currently looking at the Samsung galaxy m31, or the m21. The m31 is available from amazon germany for around £200 (£45 cheaper than the UK amazon) or it is even cheaper from amazon India. I've not checked shipping yet however. I assume as it is a gift purchase I should avoid any taxes (will see if gift wrap is an option)

The m21 which also seems a competent device is around 160 from amazon India, couldnt see it in the German amazon.

My main concern is will they work in the UK? I've checked 4g frequencies and they all seem to work based on that, however some online suggest the phone has to be activated in the country of origin before I can just pop my UK EE sim card in. Does that sound right?

Thanks in advance.

Terminal_Boy · 8 Oct 2020 at 13:35

If the phone is fully unlocked, it should activate with any valid U.K. SIM in the U.K.

Last time I was paid to know such things, Indian network operators were using the common 2G/3G/4G technologies and frequency bands as Europe.

US and Chinese market phones can be tricky as both regions use unique formats and bands.

squarehead94 · 8 Oct 2020 at 13:48

Terminal_Boy said:
If the phone is fully unlocked, it should activate with any valid U.K. SIM in the U.K.

Last time I was paid to know such things, Indian network operators were using the common 2G/3G/4G technologies and frequency bands as Europe.

US and Chinese market phones can be tricky as both regions use unique formats and bands.

Ah so none of this you have to activate it in the home country first stuff some people say then?
Seems amazon India won't ship to the UK, but have been recommended to use buyandship.in, around £10 to send it to them and they forward it on apparantly. Just theres a £60 price difference between the UK and Indian samsung m31, and they don't even sell the m21 in the UK so.

What about android updates though? Will I need to install any updates via USB download or will it still pick up software updates itself?

Terminal_Boy · 8 Oct 2020 at 13:52

In my experience, that’s just for locked phones.

Not an Android user, so I can’t comment on how they work.

iPhones read the country code and operator of the SIM card inserted at power up and load pre-agreed settings for how the phone should operate on network X in country Y.

Orcvader · 8 Oct 2020 at 14:20

I'm not sure if it's still the case, but there was a moment with Samsung region locking their phones: https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/mobile-phone/how-remove-samsung-region-locking-3590401/

To make it fully unlocked you had to put in a SIM from the same region the phone is targeted at, and then do a 5 minute call. After that you can use a UK SIM.

As for Android updates it will be all OTA (Over-The-Air) so the phone will download and install it by itself. No PC needed, although you can force an update with Samsung Kies.

hughtrimble · 8 Oct 2020 at 14:21

The problem may be with software and security updates - I have to do these manually, and it's not without its challenges, as the phone isn't supported by my network provider given it was never available here.

@Orcvader Mine's a US phone (Samsung Galaxy S8 Active) - I've never received any OTA updates. Am I missing something? I hate doing it manually!

squarehead94 · 8 Oct 2020 at 14:30

Orcvader said:
I'm not sure if it's still the case, but there was a moment with Samsung region locking their phones: https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/mobile-phone/how-remove-samsung-region-locking-3590401/

To make it fully unlocked you had to put in a SIM from the same region the phone is targeted at, and then do a 5 minute call. After that you can use a UK SIM.

As for Android updates it will be all OTA (Over-The-Air) so the phone will download and install it by itself. No PC needed, although you can force an update with Samsung Kies.

This was my worry. Especially with india. However a lot of people buy them from amazon germany and hadn't reported issues (seen it on hotukdeals at £220 last month) just its a fair bit cheaper from India, but if its going to be a proper faff, then I may have to give it a miss.

Orcvader · 8 Oct 2020 at 14:37

squarehead94 said:
This was my worry. Especially with india. However a lot of people buy them from amazon germany and hadn't reported issues (seen it on hotukdeals at £220 last month) just its a fair bit cheaper from India, but if its going to be a proper faff, then I may have to give it a miss.

Well Germany and UK are in the same EU region after all, so a UK SIM will work straight away. I would honestly be more tempted to go with Amazon Germany anyway especially for warranty reasons in case something goes wrong with the phone.

squarehead94 · 9 Oct 2020 at 01:59

Sorted now. Seen EE had a sale on the A21S (wasn't my first pick but saw sense when I realised its for a 72 year old and not me, so top spec isn't a priority). £109 brand new and will do him for a few years. Thanks for the help anyway!