Russians unable to activate some Samsung smartphones

Some Samsung smartphones supplied as part of parallel imports cannot be activated in the Russian Federation.

It is impossible to turn on a new smartphone with a SIM card of a Russian operator if the device is not intended for sale in the EAEU countries, Russia's Izvestia newspaper reports with reference to a source close to one of the retailers.

Thus, the problem concerns all Samsung smartphones that are imported into Russia by parallel import.

So, to activate a new smartphone, you need to insert a SIM card of an operator working in the geographical area where Samsung officially shipped the gadget, talk on it for a few minutes, and only then insert a Russian card. It is noted that there were no such problems with Apple gadgets.

You can unlock a new smartphone in the absence of foreign SIM cards in Samsung service centres by paying 5,000 roubles and waiting two weeks until the South Korean company considers the issue and provides the service staff with a regional unlock code.