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Samsung Galaxy S5 - £279 at Vodafone from tomorrow.


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Old 28-12-2014, 09:21
Chrysalis
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I'm guessing you're referring to the difference between the standard S5 (the G900F) and the LTE-A variant (the G901F, not to be confused with the G906 LTE-A variant, which is only sold in Korea)?

Vodafone just sell the standard G900F, only EE sell the G901F in the UK, to the best of my knowledge.
Its EE who I signed up with on their double speed 4G package.

However I have done a bit of research since and I was guessing I would get the G900F before reading your above comment based on the following 3 things.

1 - On EE's double speed 4G page they state only 2 devices will work with it, the note 4 and another device (not the S5) this would suggest they not using the enhanced S5.
2 - on the Specs page on EE's site for the S5 I ordered, the cpu stated matches the 900F, the 901F has a different cpu.
3 - The 901F is apparently called S5+ not just S5, so this would suggest EE would call it also a S5+

However with all that said it is possible their website simply has out of date info.
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Old 28-12-2014, 10:39
david16
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wtf

this actually has me worried, the guy who posted that offer reveals there is 2 phones with the same name but are different phones.

I ordered my s5 with the understanding the custom rom I use will work on it, well it wont if it is this "newer" variant.
It is annoying if you bought a phone at vodafone you thought that the 4G would run at the maximum possible speed i.e. double speed with another network, EE after unlocking it, but when you come to try to use EE's double speed, you find you can actually only get about 70% of the maximum speed if that because Vodafone were only prepared to sell the phones where their 4G would run at their max.
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Old 28-12-2014, 10:59
Chrysalis
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It is annoying if you bought a phone at vodafone you thought that the 4G would run at the maximum possible speed i.e. double speed with another network, EE after unlocking it and find you actually can only get about 70% of the maximum speed if that because Vodafone were only prepared to sell the phones where their 4G would run at their max.
well even tho I will be on EE's double 4g speed network, the phone according to their website will work at standard 4g speeds which to me is fine as long as that 4g is not too congested.

I am hoping its the 900f so I can use custom roms etc. on it.

Just got a sms and the phone is coming tomorrow, so will know soon which one it is.
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Old 28-12-2014, 11:38
clewsy
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Surly if you want 4g+ you are best waiting. Early adopters tend to pay a premium and rarely get the best tech only later wishing they waited.

What is wrong with the speed for 4g out of interest?
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Old 28-12-2014, 12:01
alanwarwic
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The theoretical max data rate is 5GB per minute.

Not much use whatsoever if you have a typical 2GB allowance, is it ?
That would mean those companies charging you 5p per MB(often far far more), from one mistake/rogue app/website etc van get a windfall income of £250 per minute.

The problem with these speeds is that by the time you notice it is often too late so your allowance is gone in seconds or maybe you get that common £1000++++ bill.
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Old 28-12-2014, 12:25
Chrysalis
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Surly if you want 4g+ you are best waiting. Early adopters tend to pay a premium and rarely get the best tech only later wishing they waited.

What is wrong with the speed for 4g out of interest?
There was barely any difference on price so I ordered the enhanced package which has other perks aside from 4g+.

I never said was anything wrong with 4g speed. In fact I said the opposite.

My concern is I would get the newer s5+, I want the original s5.
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Old 28-12-2014, 12:27
Chrysalis
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The theoretical max data rate is 5GB per minute.

Not much use whatsoever if you have a typical 2GB allowance, is it ?
That would mean those companies charging you 5p per MB(often far far more), from one mistake/rogue app/website etc van get a windfall income of £250 per minute.

The problem with these speeds is that by the time you notice it is often too late so your allowance is gone in seconds or maybe you get that common £1000++++ bill.
This is why I root my phone's and firewall my apps
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Old 28-12-2014, 16:13
jchamier
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There was barely any difference on price so I ordered the enhanced package which has other perks aside from 4g+.
DoubleSpeed originally (and all that is available on SIM only) just meant no ~30Mbps speed cap.

I assume the 4G+ areas (with Cat6 hardware) are not a third tier of price, as the speeds are so variable anyway you never know what you're paying for :-/
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Old 28-12-2014, 19:11
Scrufox86
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I would have thought as you are already a customer with vodafone you did not have to take out a new contract with the samsung galaxy s5 and you just insert the sim from the old phone. Or so they assume anyway.

They would not be to know you aren't intending to stay with Vodafone and you just use your galaxy s5 with 3 after unlocking it.
I can't just put the sim in it. I have a standard sim and the S5 takes a micro sim. He said he could replace it with a micro sim but wanted me to choose a new Vodafone plan which will mean being stuck with them for one more year (sim only deal he was pestering me about). However I just want the phone unlocked and then the sim issue will not be bad because I will have to get a new one anyway switching to three so I will just order a micro sim. I also need my pac code but shouldn't be a problem.
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Old 28-12-2014, 19:36
Step666
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Its EE who I signed up with on their double speed 4G package.

However I have done a bit of research since and I was guessing I would get the G900F before reading your above comment based on the following 3 things.

1 - On EE's double speed 4G page they state only 2 devices will work with it, the note 4 and another device (not the S5) this would suggest they not using the enhanced S5.
2 - on the Specs page on EE's site for the S5 I ordered, the cpu stated matches the 900F, the 901F has a different cpu.
3 - The 901F is apparently called S5+ not just S5, so this would suggest EE would call it also a S5+

However with all that said it is possible their website simply has out of date info.
For a couple of months now, EE's stores have been selling S5s that say 'Cat. 6' on the boxes. The Snapdragon 801 SoC used in the standard G900F version of the S5 doesn't support Cat. 6 LTE, so it kinda has to be the G901F running the 805 SoC instead.
They've never bothered telling the staff that the handset is any different to the standard S5 though, so it's of no surprise that the website hasn't been updated or that they aren't pushing it as the 'S5+' (names are irrelevant, handsets are regularly marketed differently in different countries). In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Samsung may not want EE to make it public that EE have a better version of the S5 than other retailers.


I would say that if you've ordered your S5 from EE, there's a decent likelihood that it's the G901F you'll get.
I could very well be wrong though. I'm curious to see which model you receive.
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Old 29-12-2014, 00:50
david16
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I can't just put the sim in it. I have a standard sim and the S5 takes a micro sim. He said he could replace it with a micro sim but wanted me to choose a new Vodafone plan which will mean being stuck with them for one more year (sim only deal he was pestering me about). However I just want the phone unlocked and then the sim issue will not be bad because I will have to get a new one anyway switching to three so I will just order a micro sim. I also need my pac code but shouldn't be a problem.
It's an unfair condition of sale what Vodafone are trying to get you to sign up to a new year long contract.
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Old 29-12-2014, 11:53
Chrysalis
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Ok is confirmed the EE one is the 901F (newer version), after reading XDA last night I was 99% sure would be as is a fair amount of discussion on there about it.

The good news is the 901F is rootable CF-ROOT has been done for it, and is a CWM for it, and one custom rom.

Of course the bad news is that compared to the standard S5 the dev support is extremely low.

I am used to e.g. on my S3 using neatrom and stweaker to have access to dozens of kernel tweaks, I expect its just the standard samsung kernel I can use on the 901F.
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Old 11-02-2015, 17:20
victor mel
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This offer is on again this weekend. I would consider this except over on UK Hot Deals dozens of people have had lots of hassle trying to unlock the phone.
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:23
Jay-Cee
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This offer is on again this weekend. I would consider this except over on UK Hot Deals dozens of people have had lots of hassle trying to unlock the phone.
hi, how did you know? and is it on from saturday? or when?

so £280 + the sim card?
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Old 12-02-2015, 07:35
victor mel
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hi, how did you know? and is it on from saturday? or when?

so £280 + the sim card?
It is on Hot UK Deals.
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Old 12-02-2015, 08:58
Jay-Cee
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It is on Hot UK Deals.
oh ok, thanks. i may get it but it seems unlocking the phone is a big issue
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Old 12-02-2015, 14:15
shaggy_x
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why is unlocking it a big issue? Can't you pay a couple of quid to someone on ebay?
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Old 12-02-2015, 19:25
swb1964
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Even if you can't unlock this, you should be able to use a Sainsburys mobile sim in it, and their bundle prices aren't bad. The catch is you need to set up a monthly rolling bundle for the best value....
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Old 12-02-2015, 21:09
Jay-Cee
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i will check on eBay for unlock code
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Old 13-02-2015, 20:36
david16
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Saw on the vodafone website that the S4 mini PAYG smartphone by just buying a freedom freebee with the phone you get unlimited data for the first 30 days.

That should be alright for the S5 just for the one month before unlocking it if indeed it coming back on offer for £279.

How good is Vodafone's 4G?
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Old 13-02-2015, 20:37
david16
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This offer is on again this weekend. I would consider this except over on UK Hot Deals dozens of people have had lots of hassle trying to unlock the phone.
How long is the offer going to be on for?
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Old 13-02-2015, 20:49
david16
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i will check on eBay for unlock code
UnlockPhone.co is a good unlockers.
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Old 13-02-2015, 23:16
Jay-Cee
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UnlockPhone.co is a good unlockers.
thanks. so is the deal starting after midnight or tomorrow?
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Old 14-02-2015, 12:56
victor mel
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Very sorry if someone wanted to buy the phone but the deal does not exist. It
Was a false one put up by someone on Hot UK deals.
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