Chinese fakes samsung galaxy s4. How to tell an original Galaxy S4 from a fake

It still clings to its place at the top among smartphone manufacturers, which is causing a huge flow of counterfeit devices that copy the most popular smartphone models. And too often this consumer goods are produced in China. The most popular are now for cloning Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. Only how to distinguish them, if a few years ago the fakes only outwardly copied the original, and today they may even surpass in capabilities?

Another important point is the placement of the hardware buttons, like the ones directly below the screen. The original Galaxy S4 has a chrome-plated piece of plastic in the shape of the Home button, and it sits right in the middle of the space below the display. Clones often have a Home button just slightly below the screen, and sometimes the button even has a different look.

Additionally, clones often lack capacitive touch buttons on the sides of the Home button. They are either replaced with on-screen buttons, or they must be pressed in the same way as the physical buttons. For the rest, you should pay attention to appearance logo, size and color of the built-in LED flash, smoothness and general feel of the surface of the smartphone, as well as the weight of the smartphone.

Once you've checked all of the above, you can turn your attention to learning software smartphone.

Accuracy of the software

In case you still cannot identify a fake by examining the hardware data of the device, you still have a chance when checking the pre-installed software. If you allegedly have a Galaxy S4 in your hands, then the pre-loaded version of the firmware should be 4.2.2 and the TouchWiz interface, since nothing else can be on the smartphone. But how can you determine the version of the installed software? Of course, in the Parameter Settings menu.

However, this is not always reliable. Above you can see a screenshot of a smartphone running 4.2.2. But the software doesn't really look like Jelly Bean. It actually has 2.3 Gingerbread installed, as evidenced by the build number on the same settings screen.

Of course, this should make you think, since a smartphone cannot run on one version of the operating system and present it as more new version... You can easily find screenshots of the original firmware 4.2.2 on the Internet and check if the firmware on the purchased smartphone matches what it should be.

When it comes to software that must be preinstalled, the Galaxy S4 is bound to have exclusive software features. No other smartphone will have this. It's unrealistic for any clone to get the same pack of options found on the Galaxy S4. So if just such a fake falls into your hands, then you will not find functions that are exclusive from.

Conclusion

Buying an Android smartphone such as Samsung Galaxy S4 should be very simple in reality. You are looking for a smartphone, you see a smartphone, you pay for a smartphone and you will receive a smartphone. But this will constantly be hampered by the fakes that have filled the market everywhere.

Will we ever be able to get rid of the so-called clones and fakes? Hard to say. Difference between original devices and fakes become more and more invisible with each new generation. But it should always be possible to avoid buying a fake if you want to find an original smartphone.

Finally, we remind you that you should always be wary of buying a smartphone that is selling at a noticeably lower price than its current market value. But some of the most unscrupulous sellers can even sell a fake for the price of the original, which is absolute evil.

Do you have any tips for identifying fake samsung(or any other brand of) Android smartphones? Share your secrets in the comments.

Published on July 6, 2013. Tags:
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The following problem could not be avoided. The fact is that a huge stream of fake devices comes to the market, which pretend to be Samsung devices and copy the most popular models of smartphones from the manufacturer. Not surprisingly, most of the counterfeits come from China, and the most frequently cloned models are the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. If you think that you can tell the difference between the devices, if not externally, then by the filling - you are mistaken. Many of the fake phones today are capable of even surpassing the capabilities of the original.

This is why many buyers are afraid that a clone or just a fake one might fall into their hands. Android smartphone? What can you do to avoid falling into the ranks of the victims of this scam involving advanced smartphones, for example, the Galaxy S4, or rather with its cheap copy? How to distinguish a fake s4? Per last years purchase complaints are not original smartphone Samsung, and its exact counterfeits, have become more frequent.

The most susceptible to unsuccessful smartphone purchases are fans of Internet purchases, where eBay has become the leading site in the sale of counterfeits. The buyer sees in the photo an easily recognizable original smartphone, but as soon as he gets his hands on it and examines it closer, he discovers a clone. By and large, no one says that Chinese-made phones are so bad, but deception is deception, and the user wants to get what he paid for.

But do not despair, this article will acquaint you with some details, checking which before buying, you can buy an original smartphone, and not a fake. Specifically, the article will discuss the Galaxy S4, but the following signs can be used for many smartphones of another brand. Let's start with the most obvious.

How to spot a fake Samsung s4

Physical differences

It is likely that the Galaxy S4 clone will look like real Galaxy S4, but the similarities are still not preserved in everything. Therefore, if there is an opportunity physically, or at least to consider it in a photo, then study the physical parameters.

The genuine Galaxy S4 features a 5-inch touchscreen display without a large bezel around it. Clones, however, very often have significant space between the display and the actual edge of the device. This is a clear sign that the screen is either smaller than the expected size, or does not correspond to the compactness of the original, created by Samsung engineers.

Another significant point is the location of the hardware buttons. This is especially true for the buttons directly below the screen. In the original Galaxy S4, the Home button looks like a chromed piece of plastic and sits right in the center of the space below the display. In clones, this button may, firstly, have a different look, and secondly, be located just slightly below the screen.

How else to distinguish fake Galaxy s4? In fakes, you can often not see capacitive touch buttons located on the sides of the "Home" button. They are sometimes replaced with on-screen buttons, and sometimes with regular physical keys that require pressing. In addition, pay attention to how the logo looks like, the LED flash (color and size), how smooth the surface of the smartphone is, and its weight.

After the above physical parameters studied, you can pay attention to the software of the device.

Software

If, after examining the hardware data of the device, you are still unsure of your choice and cannot say with certainty that you are not holding a fake, you should resort to checking the compliance of the preinstalled software. For Galaxy smartphone S4 features a pre-loaded version Android firmware 4.2.2 with TouchWiz interface. All other options, or additions to the mentioned components on smartphone Samsung shouldn't be. How is the version of the installed software determined, you ask? This can be done in the Parameter settings menu.

But this method is not 100% reliable. Looking at the screenshot of a smartphone running Android 4.2.2, you can see that the software doesn't actually look like Jelly Bean. In reality, it has Android 2.3 Gingerbread installed, which is confirmed by the build number on the same settings screen.

Of course, the user can think about it, because a smartphone cannot work on one version. operating system, but present it as a newer version. On the Internet, you can easily download screenshots of the original Android 4.2.2 firmware by checking the firmware on the smartphone you are buying with it.

When it comes to default pre-installed software, the Galaxy S4 is bound to have exclusive software features. They are fully exclusive - you will not find anything like this in any other smartphone. It is simply unrealistic to get the same package of options as the Galaxy S4, whatever the clone. Therefore, if you are holding a fake in your hands, then there cannot be any exclusive functions from Samsung.

Finally

How I wish that buying an Android smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4 or otherwise) was simple and honest. You just choose a smartphone to your liking, go to a store, pay money for a mobile device and get what you want. But the huge number of counterfeits that have flooded the market everywhere are blocking the path to easy and safe shopping.

Will there ever be a day when the market is completely cleared of clones and fakes? Unanswered question. So far, we can only observe that the original devices and fakes are becoming more and more similar and difficult to distinguish with each new generation. But the opportunity to avoid acquiring a fake is not lost if the buyer is determined to buy an original smartphone.

In the end, I would like to remind you that you should not bite into smartphones with an obviously low price (several times lower than the declared market value). But an expensive device is not a guarantee of authenticity, since even fakes are sold at the price of the original. Needless to say about the impudence of such sellers.
If you find any more differences between the original and the fake, then share your findings in the comments to this post. We wish you only successful and safe shopping!

This post almost cost me $ 700. It is for this price that you can now buy a Chinese fake samsung Galaxy S4, which sellers of gray goods pass off as Eurotest and which looks eerily similar to the original smartphone.

Under the back cover, almost all connectors, technical grooves and holes were located exactly where they are located in the original.

It's no secret that there are a lot of fakes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 on the market and scammers are happy to use it. But I never thought that I could fall for the bait of unscrupulous sellers. Knowing that Samsung smartphones have a convenient test mode in which you can check all the main nodes of a smartphone, I pre-recorded the appropriate commands to enter this mode.

The smartphone that was issued by the seller for the Samsung Galaxy S4 white, was in a packaging made of recycled materials with high-quality printing and other things. Everything is as it should be. On the box itself there were no stickers with IMEI, serial numbers and other things. But I did not pay attention to this, because who knows these animals, popularly referred to as "Eurotests". In the box itself there was a microUSB cable, a headset, a charger - everything was black and as expected. Then again, it might be perfectly okay for Samsung to put black accessories with a white smartphone. A person migrating from the Apple ecosystem does not have to know such information at all.

My future S4 passed all engineering tests successfully. Sound, camera, network, wi-fi, sensors and sensors - everything worked. With peace of mind, I gave the money to the seller and, satisfied with the purchase, went home.

Here I was confused by the display, on which, just looking closely, I saw pixels and "stepped" fonts, which should not be, since on my old iPhone 4 all this is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, and on the S4 it should be even more difficult.

All reviews and tests are full of praise that the Galaxy S4 shoots the best mobile devices on the market, so later on the street, I decided to take a couple of test shots, so that later at home I personally verify the fame attributed to the smartphone camera. After I dropped the photos onto my computer and opened them for viewing, I found that the quality of the photos is about the level of the ancient Sony Ericcson K750, if not worse. There was no option for "image quality" in the camera settings, but the resolution of 8 Mpixels was set as maximum value... But the S4 has a 13MP camera module! This fact upset me, but did not bother me, since in the section "About the phone", judging by the information from the network, there was an old firmware. Perhaps this is some old test firmware. I decided to update the phone, for which I downloaded the Kies program from the official website, which refused to detect the phone under Mac OS X. “Anything can happen, considering the relationship between Apple and Samsung,” I thought, and connected my smartphone to Windows 7. Microsoft's OS did not understand what kind of device decided to connect to the system and did not find the appropriate driver. As a result, I turned out to have an unidentified device "MT67xx", which already seriously alarmed me, since many Chinese crafts were built on the MT67xx platforms and similar ones.

I began to closely examine the appearance of the smartphone I had bought. Under the back cover, almost all connectors, technical grooves and holes were located exactly where they are located in the original.

The battery looked a little different, but very similar to Samsung's brainchild. Here I was confused by the display, on which, just looking closely, I saw pixels and "stepped" fonts, which should not be, since on my old iPhone 4 it is all difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, and on the S4 it should be even more difficult.

I was finally convinced that there was a fake in front of me when I installed a third-party utility for system tests of the smartphone, which showed that the maximum processor frequency is 1000 MHz.

As a result, in front of me lay a wonderful copy of Samsung Galaxy S4, bought for almost $ 700 (the current price for the same "Eurotest"). The copy is really amazing, because hardly noticeable pixels, camera flaws and other nuances are simply impossible to notice when buying, so to speak, “on the go”. But in the store you buy equipment not with a magnifying glass in one hand and with test system programs in the other.

What do you need to be prepared for? In the section "About the phone" all the information is absolutely consistent with what should be in the original smartphone. All proprietary programs from the manufacturer are already preinstalled in the system, including Samsung App and ChatON, which start and work! All connectors, joints and body parts are made in full accordance with the original.

Considering the above, I strongly advise you to take a test memory card with you to the store, from which it will be possible to install system programs to obtain detailed information about the hardware of the device. In case you have a netbook, MacBook Air or a similar computer, it is better to take it with you to a meeting with the seller in order to try to connect your smartphone before buying and see if Kies recognizes the device as the coveted S4. If this is not done, then it will be extremely difficult to distinguish a fake from the original by eye.

Samsung is still clinging to its place at the top of smartphone makers, causing a huge flow of counterfeit devices that mimic the most popular smartphone models. And too often this consumer goods are produced in China. The most popular are now for cloning Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. Only how to distinguish them, if a few years ago the fakes only outwardly copied the original, and today they may even surpass in capabilities?

Therefore, we are faced with a problem - how not to purchase a clone or just a fake Android smartphone during the purchase of a smartphone? What steps can you take to make sure you don't fall victim to a fake smartphone scam like the Galaxy S4? V Lately just became frequent complaints that it was not the original Samsung smartphone that got into the hands, but an exact fake.

Smartphones like this are commonly sold over the Internet and most commonly on eBay. The photographs can easily indicate the original smartphone, but upon closer inspection it turns out to be a clone. Buying so-called china phones is actually not a bad idea, if it's not cheating.

Therefore, it is worth initially preparing and knowing a number of certain details that need to be checked before finally making sure that you are ready to buy an original smartphone, and not a fake. We'll use the Galaxy S4 as an example in this article, however, all of the features can be used with almost any other smartphone from another brand. We'll start with the most obvious.

Physical differences

A Galaxy S4 clone may look like a real Galaxy S4, but it is unlikely to look identical in every way. So if you have the opportunity to physically examine it (or even just see it in a photograph), then you should study its physical parameters.

The original Galaxy S4 has a 5-inch touchscreen display that doesn't have a large bezel around it. Clones (as shown in the photo) often have a large space between the display and the actual edge of the smartphone, which is a sure sign that the display is either smaller than intended or not as compact as the original Samsung designed.

Additionally, clones often lack capacitive touch buttons on the sides of the Home button. They are either replaced with on-screen buttons, or they must be pressed in the same way as the physical buttons. Otherwise, you should pay attention to the appearance of the logo, the size and color of the built-in LED flash, the smoothness and general feel of the surface of the smartphone, as well as the weight of the smartphone.

Once you've checked all of the above, you can turn your attention to learning about smartphone software.

Accuracy of the software

In case you still cannot identify a fake by examining the hardware data of the device, you still have a chance when checking the pre-installed software. If you are supposedly holding a Galaxy S4, then the pre-loaded version of the firmware must be Android 4.2.2 and the TouchWiz interface, since nothing else can be on a Samsung smartphone. But how can you determine the version of the installed software? Of course, in the Parameter Settings menu.

However, this is not always reliable. Above, you see a screenshot of a smartphone that runs Android 4.2.2. But the software doesn't really look like Jelly Bean. It actually has Android 2.3 Gingerbread installed, as evidenced by the build number on the same settings screen.

Of course, this should get you thinking, since a smartphone cannot run on one version of the operating system and present it as a newer version. You can easily find screenshots of the original Android 4.2.2 firmware on the Internet and check if the firmware on the purchased smartphone matches what it should be.

When it comes to software that must be preinstalled, the Galaxy S4 is bound to have exclusive software features. No other smartphone will have this. It's unrealistic for any clone to get the same pack of options found on the Galaxy S4. So if you get your hands on such a fake, then you will not find features that are exclusive from Samsung.

Final thoughts

Buying an Android smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S4 should be really easy. You are looking for a smartphone, you see a smartphone, you pay for a smartphone and you will receive a smartphone. But this will constantly be hampered by the fakes that have filled the market everywhere.

Will we ever be able to get rid of the so-called clones and fakes? Hard to say. The differences between original devices and fakes are becoming more and more imperceptible with each new generation. But it should always be possible to avoid buying a fake if you want to find an original smartphone.

Do you have any tips for identifying fake Samsung (or any other brand) Android smartphones? Share your secrets in the comments.