Almost all of the services we get online are based on our geographical location. Adhering to local rules and regulations, service providers are required to filter out inappropriate content and only present us with non-conflicting ones.
If you are a frequent flyer or have purchased a Samsung device from a country where you won’t be residing, you could run into some inconveniences when trying to access some essential services. To remedy that, you must familiarize yourself with a couple of little tweaks, which would allow you the change your location on your Samsung device in a matter of minutes.
Changing the region for Samsung apps
To get the most out of Galaxy Stores, Samsung Members, and other Samsung applications, you’ll need to set your region to the one you’re currently at. For example: if you are a resident of the United States but got the phone from Germany, you should change your device’s region to the US to maximize your experience.
Sadly, there’s no software toggle to expedite the process, which means that you’d have to do it manually. To change your region, you’ll need a local SIM card, insert it, and reset your Samsung device.
After you’ve gotten hold of a local SIM card and inserted it, go to Settings, ‘General management,’ and tap on ‘Reset.’ Then hit ‘Factory data reset’ and confirm. Remember to back up your data before proceeding.
Once the phone boots up, it should give you the option of loading either the default country settings (country of origin) or the SIM card settings (country you’re in). Choose the latter and all your Samsung apps should now follow your current country’s norms.
Changing the region for Google Play Store
Almost all of us download most of our applications from the Google Play Store, which makes it essential for us to change its region whenever we move. Unlike Samsung apps, Google doesn’t need you to swap your SIM card to change regions. You only need to add a new payment method — confirming your residence — and you’d be good to go. It is to be noted that Google Play doesn’t let you change your region more than once a year.
To change your region/country, Google needs you to be in the region/country and add a payment method from the new country — your current residence.
To add a new payment method, first, go to Google Play Store, tap on the hamburger menu at the top-left corner, and open ‘Payment methods.’
Go to ‘More payments settings’ and remove the cards from your old country.
After you’ve removed the cards, scroll down to the bottom of the screen to add a new payment method.
After entering card details, hit ‘Save.’ Google is likely to change your country within 24 hours.
Related: How to reset your Samsung phone?
How to Switch between regions
If you already have multiple Google Play payment profiles, you could switch between them quite easily. Once you have changed your region, you won’t be able to change it back or switch to another region for a whole year. So, make sure you’re only changing when you desperately need to.
To change your region, first, fire up the Google Play Store app, tap on the hamburger menu at the top-left corner, and go to ‘Account.’
Under ‘Country and profiles,’ you should see the countries and profiles you’ve added thus far. Select one to set it as your default country.
Related: Is Instagram Chinese?
Will changing the region allow you to use TikTok?
TikTok, as you might already know, is a Chinese social media application that has come under heavy fire over the last couple of months. China’s neighbor, India has already banned the app in its country and the United States is expected to follow suit. With doom impending, TikTokers are doing their best to come up with alternatives — ways to keep using the addictive application.
Changing your region does unlock your Google Play Store to new applications, but you’ll have to be in a different country, physically, to change it. Additionally, you’d even need a supported credit/debit card to prove your residence.
If TikTok eventually gets banned in the United States, chances are, all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would be notified to comply with the regulations. So, even if you do manage to download the app, the chance of it running smoothly is rather small.
We have recently talked about TikTok’s Chinese counterpart and why you should consider it. Be sure to give that a look if you can’t imagine life without the popular social networking app.
