[Gardenian]

I`m currently living in China and I`m interested in buying a Nokia Lumia 820 phone, but I`m worried if I will be able to use the phone normally back home (when I return to  Slovenia)? Can I delete the chinese preinstalled apps and download apps that I need (like Facebook?) without problems? What about Nokia maps? When I tested the phone in the store, maps were only in chinese, not english...

What should I be carefull about when buying a Nokia Lumia in China?

I would really appreciate your help. Thanks.

[yeuemmaimai]

As long as the phone has support for the GSM frequencies in use, it will work just fine. You can change the installed language on the phone under settings  and change the

Keyboard to English

Language + region to English

Language + region

Box 1 = Phone Language -Change to English or English (United States)

Box 2 = Country Region- Change to Slovenia

Box 3 = Regional format = Choose one that will display the date and time in the proper format for you.

Box 4 = Browsewr and Search language = English or English (United States)

Also you will need to set the Date + Time to the approperiate location so that the phone shows the proper time.

[paulheu]

afaik chinese firmware phones do not support social media apps

[Gardenian]

So if I understand correctly - the phone itself should work without problems, but the social media apps (like Facebook, Youtube, etc) will not work on a china-bought lumia?

Thanks for the help!

[AnatolySan]

I think you are wrong, you will not be able to use it normally in Europe.

I've had a Lumia 620 bought in China for a couple of weeks -- and it's a MAJOR disappointment. The phone hardware is great, but the firmware is special to China, as mentioned above. This means you will NOT be able to change to a different App Store. Phones sold in China are hard-locked to China App Store. This means -- no Skype, no Facebooks, no 4th&Mayor. Basically half of the apps I was looking forward to are not available. It's not that they don't work, they are just not available to install at all. And after you move to Europe, they will remain unavailable. Until you root/jailbreak the phone.

Perhaps you would not be as majorly disappointed as I was, but be forewarned.

[Gardenian]

This was just the answer I was looking for. I was just about to go and buy the Lumia, but now I will definitely wait and buy it back home.

Thanks!

[AnatolySan]

Ye,I wish I had done the research myself, now I am stuck with a phone that has only half of apps available compared to US( which was not a lot to begin with .

After the WP7 phone I bought last year that turned out to be non-upgradable, forcing me to buy this one, this just might be the last straw for me. Seems that iPhones turn out much cheaper, one every two years. I wanted to give this MS / Nokia thing a chance, but they managed to screw me twice in two years.

And finally -- no VPN -- I cannot recommend a WP8 phone for any foreigner in China, even if all apps were available. I am going back to 4s, myself.

[paulheu]

SO you blame Nokia for having to comply with CHinese regulations which restrict access to social media channels? Really??

Knowing full well where you are you go for the (probable) cheap option and then start complaining when you get hit by the results of your choices? It is quite well documented and general knowledge that phones have region/country specific firmware which may have to enforce restrictions specific to those regions.

I'd suggest you have a look around the internet for your options in this. Keyword her being the firmware..

[AnatolySan]

Woah, Mr Paul, let us not be so frivolous with the b-word

I thought I was not blaming, but rather pointing out the unfortunate side-effects of Nokia/MS decisions for people like me and OP.

And yes, in comparison to what's happening with iOS (also official in China, with local firmware, fully compliant with regulations, btw) Nokia devices are clearly inferior. To the point where they are only useful at 50% of potential , due to business decisions made at the top of the companies.

As far as choosing cheap options -- all Lumias in China are 20% more expensive than in US, but I specifically wanted a local version to be fully legal and supported by warranty. Having had a positive experience with two iPhones bought in China, I expected a similar situation from WP8 / Lumia. Unfortunately, two phones later now, I've been majorly disappointed twice by a small yet vital problem, different each time. All this for more money and using official Nokia channels, this does not feel great, I have to say. Once again -- compared to iOS-- huge difference in satisfaction.

Regardless of blame location, I suspect all foreigners in China would be similarly disappointed, so official Lumias are a strong NO vote from me.

PS, just tried unlocking phone for developer mode, thought side-loading apps via SD card might work -- it's a no go. Still no Skype for my Lumia

[zimm]

Is there really no way for a unit that was bought from China to have it's firmware changed?

I'm currently living in China and got the 920. The phone is great but with the app store being limited to only China and all blocked social media related apps, it's seems I've made a serious error in judgement.