Galaxy S7 Carrier Locks To First Inserted SIM

If a leaked presentation slide is to be believed then it appears that Samsung is going to enable automatic carrier locking for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The slide points out that the new flagships will automatically lock to the carrier of the first SIM card that’s inserted into the device. Previously most Galaxy handsets sold through carriers were unlocked so this is a big change on Samsung’s part.

What this means is that Samsung has come up with a unified solution for carrier locked devices which will eliminate the need for carriers to order custom batches of its smartphones.

It also makes the process much easier for carriers who want to lock handsets to their networks since the new Galaxy smartphones do that automatically now.

The slide appears to be a guide for carrier employees as it details the out of the box setup instructions for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Carrier employees are told to insert the SIM card in the device before setting it up for the first time as the handset “locks to the carrier of the first SIM that is inserted.”

If this is true then bear in mind that it will only apply to carrier-branded versions of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Those who will purchase SIM-free and carrier-unlocked models need not worry as this won’t apply to them.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Galaxy S7, galaxy s7 edge, Samsung