Serious question, which is the bigger POS company, Apple or Samsung?

That's basically a ransomware.

I think this is really important: People have taken the time to import the same model phone from various regions. They've backed up the firmware, physically disassembled the phones, swapped the ROMs around. You know what they found? The phones are 100% hardware identical. Literally the only difference between the phones is software enabling and disabling different bands. These companies have gone "Oh? You're in a different region than the intended market? Instead of assuming you moved after buying a phone, we're going to assume you're a CRIMINAL." These companies could have easily, **easily** gone "Oh, we've detected you're in a different region, so we'll disable these frequencies." Nope, they blame the consumer for bringing a device into a different country, and it's never the manufacturers' faults for not making international-ready-and-compliant devices.

The power the companies have on devices WE should own - is utter evil.

KZfaq's actions proving exactly why we need alternatives. Keep up the good work.

Locked bootloaders (ie cannot run custom OS) should be banned by law from existing. Locked should just mean that switching OSes will wipe your data. It should NOT block you from switching OSes.

Here's how to stop the gray market: Stop overcharging for crappy devices. Build okay phones for a fair price. $1299 for a phone is an absolute joke.

The thing that is even more insane here is the double standard for international visitors vs the native population. We live in a global economy where people are *constantly* travelling to foreign countries, using their native/domestically purchased phones in said countries. Technically this could mean they're operating in bands/frequencies that aren't ideal for the location they're visiting - yet I doubt these traveler's phones will be blocked. Identical issues, but held to two different standards... ultimately suggesting the "issues" aren't issues at all.

Samsung is 20% of South Korea’s GDP. There’s no American comparison. The entire agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting sector (many companies including Cargill and Monsanto) is 1.1% of the United States GDP.

If a company gets away with this. Everyone will follow suite . It's ridiculous

The problem in Mexico is that brands actually sell phones more expensive than in the US and other countries because of "import and legalization fees" that's why peoply buy in the "grey market" because those imported phones do not pay import fees

It wasn't the Mexican government who stepped in, in fact, the Mexican authorities are suspected to be colluding with Samsung AND Motorola with this stupidity. The regular people complained, and technology reviewers like you raised the voice to pressure the authorities to do something about it. This is an example of how companies use politics instead of marketing to protect their income, simply atrocious.

Do Motorola and Samsung think that makes people consider to buy a "legit" device from them going forwards? That's just fucked up even if there is the possibility of using custom ROMs.

Also this is why unlocked Bootloaders (or root minimum) should be the law.

I’m glad you’re talking about this, it got some coverage here in the country but I was surprised it wasn’t really covered on international tech news

this is crazy to me. what happens to travellers? a few years ago I went to NZ for 2 weeks, the first thing I did when I got off the plane, while waiting on my bags was to buy a local sim card as my carrier charges $5 a day for international roaming and I could get a months access in NZ with decent data for like $25. what would happen to people doing the same thing when traveling to Mexico?

I still refuse to buy a Kindle ebook reader because of Amazon's habit of reaching into it and deleting things you've purchased. Having that ability is a deal breaker for me. Big shout out to the Mexican government for protecting their citizens like that. I was amazed by that.

Respect to Mexico for doing what nobody else seems willing to do though, holy shit

10 years ago my dad bought a samsung tablet from South Korea and this type of message displayed on the screen too. Empty threat however as the device was fully functional down to the cell usage. It outlasted many devices bought in our domestic country (UK).

Yeah I dont buy ANY Samsung products anymore and havent for a long time. I am glad you continue to make these vidoes so we know who NOT to give our money to. 🎉 💯

The "Grey Market" does not exist. It's a term coined to make us feel we're doing something illegal. In Mexico it is legal to buy used phones and or import them from any other country. What Samsung did, on the other hand, is Illegal and unethical!

As a small note as someone from Mexico, the grey market over here is massive, absolutely massive. Shutting down the grey market for phones would be catastrophic and possibly even affect phone retailers. Rather than making people buy "Samsung authorized phones" they would switch companies instantly, but it would mark a precedent that would eventually swallow all phone companies which would lock us in the lower spectrum of phone performances and possibly set us in the mindset of "We only need a phone for some basic apps and taking pictures", effectvely destroying the high-grade phone market by making it niche. Profeco stepped in because on one side we have a blatant abuse of the consumer, and on the other side they want to prevent a market crash in the future, at least prevent one created by a reason as simple as blatant greed

They must have learned this from Amazon. They did something similar when they bought out Blink security cameras. They basically said the product would not work as intended when it was originally bought, holding video clips until a monthly subscription was paid for. So the cameras bought after a certain date are completely useless, even though they were bought without a subscription and worked with the downloaded app when purchased. This shit is enraging.

I don't see all of your videos, but when I do, I always learn something, and I'm always entertained. Thanks Louis!

Louis, one of the reasons we buy on the gray market is because the cellphones can be up to 50% cheaper, but also they don't have international features disabled. For example, if you buy a cellphone from any carrier, they will disable any second SIM for dual SIM models. They will put local bloatware which cannot be uninstalled or disabled and will consume data. It's not only about regulations or money, it's about taking control of your device in the way they see fit. Carriers want a slice of that personal data harvesting sh!t everyone is doing.

As a Mexican, living in Mexico, I can tell you that we still have usable 2G in our phones all the way to 5G with most carriers. I'm pretty sure there is many subsets of 'regulation compliant' modes to use here.

Free Louis Rossman from KZfaq jail!

Louis you are maniacal!!! The world needs you buddy, more now than ever. Keep up your good work!!!!

Funny how Samsung dunked on Apple for not including a charger and went on to do the exact thing the following release.

I used to work for one of the manufacturers you mentioned and I can tell you their reasoning is BS. If the phones are dangerous, why would the Mexican government allow their import? These phones all use the same parts, regardless of what part of the world they’re sold in. The only difference by region would be the software that’s loaded on the phone, and that’s based on what carrier the phone was built for. However, all of these companies also sell generic phones, which is probably what these gray market phones are. The only thing needed to operate them is a SIM card. If the carrier requires a specific software load to be on the phone, they should be able to flash their specific software on to it when you bring it in to get it connected. The manufacturers have zero reason to brick your phone.

KZfaq is putting nails in their own coffin and don't even realize it.

You’re the best. I’m so glad you’re so vocal about basic human rights

I love Louis. No sponsored content, no fanboy crap, calls out everyone on their bs, does actual legal work to help others, shares knowledge that he uses to earn a living, and doesn't tell me to like and subscribe as if I'm 80yrs old and don't know how KZfaq works...

so let me get this straight, if you bought a phone and traveled to the wrong place, you get hit by a ransomware? that escalated quickly

I really enjoy your rants Louis!! I hope you have a good 'blood pressure medication' or another alternate to help you cope. I've seen episodes where you are visibly upset and have to practice deep-breathing techniques to maintain composure. I feel your pain. I THANK YOU for your work, your knowledges, your passion for value and 'the customer' and your immense Balls! You Rock Louis!

just watched the quartering video on ur unfair strikes i hope u app goes well this is a wonderful idea for creators and consumers wish you the best and will be following ur progress on this app

I live in Mexico and I was wondering how to make this issue a bigger PR deal for them, for some reason I didn't think of sharing it with you but I am glad someone did. The issue was not only making unofficial retailers import them, it was also affecting individual people who travelled to the US, bought one there and imported it themselves... Samsung phones are way cheaper in the States than in Mexico so people sometimes do that...

"Voting with your wallet" is a nice thing to say and all, but the problem is the lack of awareness. Most of these kinds of things, I'd never even hear about. How am I supposed to avoid buying stuff when I don't ever hear about these problems? Louis is about the only source I hear about any of this kind of thing from.

The last time I had a mobile phone was 25 years ago. Living without a mobile phone feels like getting your life back, and getting free time as a bonus.

Lol, absolutely love how wild you got in this one, but are actually completely right in the opinion you support, we need more of you in this world Louis!

I am from Mexico and I have some things to say: - I am happy that I can see you having the same exact reaction as a I did when I read the news. - After this break to the public I decided to switch to a pixel phone, no more samsung stuff in my house for as long as possible - I think PROFECO was requiring the companies to so something about the gray market but it seems if was shoot in the foot. Then they decided that these actions were to mucho for the public and no doubt of that. - It's so frustrating that you don't own your stuff anymore. I work for a tech company that creates IoT devices and they are great but we don't want to mess with what you already bought. This is the worst things that have happened to the electronics consumer industry since IoT became a thing... - Thanks for being a voice to all of us that we can just weep when this happens...

Giving themselves the ability to do such things is in and of itself proof they cannot be trusted, whether or not it's ever used.

Oh Louis, as someone living in a "third world country" I only can say that I fear for our "all digital" future...imagine if xiaomi wanted to disable all their phones around here..no one wold be able to buy anything anymore cause we almost only use our digital bank apps....

where I live we have something similar but imo way less agressive, the government started 'region locking' devices that were not sold here because people buy their phones from international markets where they are way cheaper. if you put a sim card in a device that you bought from outside you have 3 months and after that you can't make phone calls, messages or use the mobile data so your phone will kinda be always in airplane mode (basically turns into an ipod touch). this can be avoided if you send a bunch of info like the phone's IMEI, brand, your passport number etc to the ministry of communication but you're only allowed 2 phone each time you enter the country (5 phones per year). this sounds like kind of a good solution to the "problem" but the thing is, they started this program like 5 years ago, and if you have an old phone that haven't been on for let's say 7 years, if you turn it on now and put a sim in it, it gets treated like a new phone you just brought from outside the country...

Hey Louis I'm a mexican viewer since your old repair shop in NYC, the little one. I've seen you grow as a channel and as an activist. I've always supported what you do because most of the stuff you fight for leaks to the rest of the world, so any W you get for the state you live in, or your country as a whole, is a W that leaks to the rest of the world. I try and do my part educating people around me to fight for their rights to repair thanks to you. But this was a problem in my country and I'm glad to inform that thanks to people that won't let this shit happen, we raised our voice and the government stopped these shitty companies from getting away with it. I'm just glad to see you covering this topic and giving your viewers the heads up because they won't stop here, they're already trying to do this in other latin american countries. I'm hoping all other governments stop them too. All I know is that my next phone will be a Fairphone.

Thanks Louis for covering this. Let me give you additional context: * The "official channels" can be as expensive as twice the price of what an imported one from the US can cost (after paying all required taxes and fees). You have no warranty, but you can buy it twice. * The bloatware apps from the service provider (Telcel) and the OS updates coming exclusively through it. * Telcel won't enable VoLTE if your IMEI is not in their database.

Sounds like they need money

This is my new favorite channel. Louis makes so much sense!

As a Mexican, I would like to add that one of the reasons they did this is because they were probably pressured by Telcel. Phones are crazy expensive and overpricedb through the official channels. A xiaomi mi 12 that could be bought for 700usd in AliExpress was selling for almost 1500usd in telcel. The small s23 was about 1400usd. I can almost promise you that taxes will grow for import phones. 😢

The mexican government actually holding tech companies accountable compared to, like Us?(the US). Im impressed and proud of them.

Nice work Louis! If there was a brand/product that did all the things I want my phone to do with the reliability I have today, I would switch from Samsung. They have us all by the balls and they know it, so they then act as predators on the customers. Between the lawyers and the accountants they turn what could have been good stewardship of their customer base into raging predators.

When are all these malicious companies going to face consequences? When are we going to hold them accountable for the things they do wrong...

Look, we know what this is. It's ransomware. That's how it should be framed. Therefore, they should be charged the same as other criminals (this _is_ a criminal offense after all) and be made to remove all traces from their products. And then _VERY_ heavily fined.

Well... the blockages have been stopped for now here in México, thanks for the coverage and suport.... but there is a little detail you missed from the story.... when Samsung was bricking phones they issued a message that basically said "if your device has been turn into an expensive paperweight, don't worry! we at Samsung are so good and nice that if you give us your blocked and useless phone, we are gonna give you a brand new shiny coupon for 30% off when buying your new phone from our store".

I am pretty shocked that Apple is not one of them. They should be the first company that comes to mind when thinking about something like this.

In Brazil they get fined big, apple didn’t budge but Samsung sends the charger on the box. The earphones don’t.

God dam. This is beyond belief. Mexico should sue

Scary how companies can just access your device for arbitrary reasons, let alone disable or block features.

I totally agree with you. Companies push the line of overstepping their bounds further every day

Need local legislation to sue these manufacturers!💔🤔

This is exactly why cloud services is dangerous xD Those who willingly give up control of their own bought and paid for products and data for a brief convenience will suffer greatly in the end. We are fast transitioning into a world of most everything in the market being from a subscription service, rather than outright ownership. This is true from the dreams of first home owners evaporating, to cars to the most basic consumer products. "yuu will 003n n00thin" isn't just a douchebaggy slogan - its active policy

People forget that Samsung is part of what is effectively a Corporatocracy in Korea, they're used to being able to interpret the laws as they see fit, and if they can't those laws tend to mysteriously be updated in Samsung's favor. The current Vice Chairman (the only person above him is on vacation most of the year) was not only arrested for, but actually convicted for bribery of the PRESIDENT of South Korea (who was shortly IMPEACHED for the actions involved) as well as perjury, embezzlement, and tax fraud six years ago. Some of the bribery charges were 'suspended' by officials and were dropped despite being part of a conviction, he spent a total of 18 months between jail and parole before he was pardoned (this is, at least, his THIRD pardon for such crimes since the 90's). People within the Korean justice system have, on record, stated that Samsung is above the law. Which makes a twisted kind of sense considering they control between 20% (directly) and 40% (through contracts and procurement) of Korea's ENTIRE ECONOMY. It gets even better when you realize the entire thing is controlled by a single family, and their highest levels of management have a structure uncomfortably like other family run... businesses... around the world. Source: Samsung heir pardoned due to South Korean economic needs - Ars Technica

Greedy companies and unscrupulous government, 100% that it was the owner (Tercel) which colluded with government officials to bleed consumers, used to buy unlocked phones worldwide brand new ( Samsung and Motorola), specifically NorthAmerica market for my loved ones, moving forward, I won’t buy anymore it’s products. Thank you for shedding light to your audience.

Reminds me of the time when Ring disabled a guy's home security system b/c they claimed he said something racist to an Amazon driver delivering a package. They didnt even want to hear his side of it. They just took the driver's word for it.

It does not matter where or how the phone was acquired... The manufacturer should NOT have this kind of power, period. Which is one of the reasons you should always ditch the default OS that comes with your device and install one YOU have chosen. If the device is locked and you can't change the OS, just do not use that device, there is plenty of choice out there.

This is one of many reasons why I have always been vehemently against the whole "everything is online or in the cloud" thing versus devices, software, applications, etc. being stored in ways that can function WITHOUT online connections. Sadly... my opinion doesn't matter. 😕 This is because I am not a wealthy corporation, I am a monetarily poor, individual nobody. That's just how it goes.

I live in the U.S. and would be able to buy a Samsung phone from them but honestly this just shows me that they do not care about people so although one person like me might not be a threat, I feel that the 500k people that watched this might start being a problem for them. They showed their intentions, and I will try my best to buy other brands. If we all do the same then they will have no choice but to change or stop completely.

💯🎯Love that you're not afraid to throw a little French and sign language around when giving your opinion. Definitely makes it more authentic!

Imagine being a tourist and your Samsung/Motorola phone locks you out after a week. That’s absolutely ridiculous.

this shouldn't be tolerated at all or they'll start to do the same in other regions

Thanks for the video, I hadn't been aware of this problem. I had been considering getting a smartphone to replace my elderly Nokia, but had already decided not to buy an Apple. Maybe having a phone that can't access the Internet or take pictures isn't the end of the world.

I posted about it in LTT's comments but this could get worse. If I were to purchase a factory unlocked model, in the United States, went on vacation to Japan but decide to stay there for an extended period of time; would they disable my device? •Bought in the USA •Physical SIM activated in USA •Travel to Japan and activate a "Tourist eSIM" •Stay permanently in Japan. If the device wasn't bought in Japan, does that essentially get rid of the market for "Tourist SIMs" and basically force the tourists to also have to rent the phone, on top of the SIM and service plan? How long does a "foreign" device have to be connected to a country's cellular network before it gets bricked?

Living in Latin America, I came to realize that big companies have a lot to say about this. In Mexico the larger cellphone companie is also the least interested in cellphones from the grey market. If an iPhone cost in the USA 1300, they will sell it in Mexico for a lot more. Same for Samsung and other brands. If they don't want people buying from the grey market why not open oficial stores and sell at a better price? The same applies for most countries in Latin America.

I'm angry on a daily basis at the actions of pretty much every single manufacturer out there. From the software we use to the devices we use, our privacy is invaded, we own NOTHING that we buy, and these companies abuse their power whenever they feel like it to hold consumers hostage, whether it's this kind of nonsense, or making your perfectly good phone not work anymore so that you're forced to buy another one. When literally NOTHING has changed that would make it worth buying a new one. I have one of the last phones that has a heart rate monitor and a headphone jack, and I like it that way. Removing those things did not make for a better device. Why the hell would I want to downgrade?

Thank you, Louis! I'd thought I was pretty up-to-date regarding corporate villainy, but have learned so much, just in the last two days since I "discovered" you. I was fan of Samsung and Motorola, till now. Seriously considered both and finally bought Motorola last time I needed a phone. No more!

It's about time a 3rd party market for phones, complete with an open source os, gets established. Consumers were able to avoid a lot of the bs with pcs by building their own machines. Would be great if the same could be done with mobile devices and just choose whichever provider you want.

There is no such thing as "grey market". You buy something, then you own it... if you interfere with other's property you usually violate the one or the other law. People need to vote with their wallet, as soon as this is known. Only if a company that uses these practices gets an immediate strong financial backlash, or even better wiped from the market, will things improve.🤯

Another reason why custom ROMs are a necessity. If people break the laws in certain countries, it should be up to the country, not the manufacturer, to make sure people only use appropriate frequency bands or whatever. Great video, man! You say what literally every sane person on the planet thinks (which obviously excludes politicians, lobbyists and anti-consumer manufacturers).

How can you not love this guy. He is advocating for the consumer, and making the world slightly better with just a youtube channel. He is speaking the truth. I'd love to help support this guy.. Not sure how. either way, for those youngsters on here, that haven't seen the world before the recent 20 year change, not all change is good. and the throwaway mentality is not great. it's fueled by big companies who benefit from your laziness. i.e. Wall-e movie people. Don't be that.. cause unlike the movie, there is enemies at the gate, whe will devour your fat brains. Loose some weight.

TheQuartering sent me, youtube kills creators but criminal Sssniperwolf is favorited. Grayjay is now downloaded, I cannot stand Yt and they know competition is here

Yet Samsung manufactured those phones expecting to sell them ? Region lock, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. All this tells me is that you should never make a cell phone the center of your life.

I stopped buying Samsung a few years ago now when they refused to fix my TV with dead pixels, they said the dead pixels weren't in the "viewing area." I assumed, wrongly it seems, that the whole of the screen is viewing area or did I buy a 55" TV to only view 43" of it. I eventually took the supplier to court where they were ordered to repair the TV and compensate me. This process took 18 months and cost me about GB£500 up front (I got my costs back)......

this is why laws need to hold big companies more accountable we nedds more laws to protect customers

I completely agree with your statement about locked bootloaders. North American Samsung has completely removed the option of OEM unlocking on any North American Samsung device past the S7.

The most recent product type that had me tearing my hair out (what's left of it) was a label printer. The most popular brands have embedded an RFID chip in the core of the roll to force you to buy OEM labels. It took me a while to find a brand committed to allowing you to print on any label of the correct type. (The brand is Rollo in case you're looking for a label printer)

They should go after them for submitting false statements to the court.

the reason why they had to do that is because most government officials purchased those phones, not because they protect the consumer corruption is the keyword

Imagine being denied use of property you paid for. Couldnt be Democracy

Honestly, the fact that the phone was able to work in the first place, would tell me that the phone had a way to obtain the needed radio information to operate in Mexico. This information usually comes from the carrier, SIM Card, or the CSC within the Android OS. Every phone I know of today is designed to be used as a "World" phone so it should operate in all countries safely. Granted, when it comes to radio regulations, I know there are a whole bunch of restrictions, such as "FCC Certified Wi-Fi Base Stations" like Access Points being required to have hard-coded country information that cannot be overridden, and those devices likewise can't be exported. Those regulations are more for carrier and vendor grade devices rather than consumer devices which tend to move around. Maybe their concern was with extended usage in a country and the device not being tested with the local authorities (for example, they didn't get KCC or FCC certification on specific SKUs), but shutting down the whole device rather than disabling the high power radio communications and maybe throttling the processor as a precaution is quite a scummy move. I know for sure, companies are not manufacturing "Mexico Only" SKUs of the actual hardware. Good on the Mexican government for putting Samsung and Motorola in their place.

I've had Samsung phones and other devices for years. I stopped buying Samsung TV's 5 years ago when you couldn't use them without signing up to be shown ads. I'd already decided that I will *NEVER* buy another Samsung phone when this one eventually croaks. I'm actually celebrating the fact that Samsung cellphone income is down 80%, hurrah.

Loved this. You are amazing, Louis. ❤

Its not about poverty, most manufacturers don't have an "official store" in MX so the only way to get one is importing them or buying from a 3rd party, there's no such thing as a "grey market", that's the spin the companies gave it to be this anti-consumer.

Samsung is also a company that believes that after you've purchased their smart TV, they still own a part of the screen to display ads - can't turn that off. They also collect ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data, and send it to themselves over your internet connection, so that they can monetize and sell to 3rd parties. I've purchased my last Samsung product about 6 years ago, once I learned how horrible they are.

Thank you Louis! I'm delighted that Mexico's consumer protection agency stood up for their citizens. My fear is that other products such an new vehicles and appliances will be similarly remotely altered. With all the craziness, it will happen. The technology is in place already with cars having always-on cellular connectivity not controlled by the owner.

Like your videos (thanks for your efforts to have no ads interruptions 🙂)

I have been saying for a while now that Apple, not including the charger brick with your phone is the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard the fact that they claim is to help you environment is even more bullshit that is fucking insane to hear these companies. Need to face consequences for their actions. Subbed for sure

We live in a crazy time where we dont even have full access to even our phones

YOU WILL OWN NOTHING, AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY

How these companies think they can do this is baffling to me

Crazy the world is like this. Greed will be the downfall of humanity. Nothing is actually owned yet mankind will fight not to have something but to have something that no one else can have.