HOW TO KNOW ORIGINAL SAMSUNG

Spot a fake Galaxy device through physical checks

Most of the cloned phones available today are built so cheaply that their materials and their craftsmanship reflect the amount of money invested on them. When compared to the original, these fake devices can be spotted easily by checking the following physical features. Note that if you are not familiar with the genuine item's physical appearance, you may need to borrow one from a friend and put the two devices side by side.

1)  The screen is made of cheap glass material

2)  The screen is too far from the edge. 

3)  The screen is not as bright and vibrant as the original device's. 

4)  Some of the sensors are not available. 

5)  The Home button is not on the exact same spot as that of the genuine item. 

6)  The Samsung logos are not smoothed out and can be felt; rubbing it will also remove the logo. 

7)  The device's proportions differ than that of the genuine product.  

8)  Gaps between parts like the home, power, and volume buttons are obvious.

9)  When the battery cover is opened, some of the small components do not match with the original one.  

10) The phone does not have the a seal from the National Communications Agency or an equivalent agency on your country. 

11) The battery specifications are not the same.

Know a cloned Galaxy phone by checking performance

Some Galaxy knock-offs are detailed enough to look like the legitimate product. Here are some of the things that you need to check to discern the real one from the fakes.

1)  Take some pictures using the device's camera; knock-offs generally take pictures at a lower resolution and quality. 

2)  Run graphics-intensive games like D-Day and Contract Killer:

Zombie. Open multiple applications at once; the fake device will give into the load and will either run very slow or hang up

3)  Quickly flip through pages on the application menu, perform gestures at a fast rate and observe how the device reacts.

Knock-offs are not designed to be super-responsive, so stutters and other freezes are commonplace.  

5)  Turn the device on and off.

Fake devices tend to start very slowly compared to real Galaxy phones. 

Identify if your Galaxy device is an imitation through Samsung codes

Aside from the physical aspects of the phone and the way it performs, you can also identify if it is a legit Samsung device by using Samsung codes. Samsung codes are a combination of numbers and symbols that, when entered, will allow you to do some tests on your phone, perform device checks, and other developer tasks and options. Below are the most common Samsung codes; to enter them, go to your dialer application and dial these codes then press the "Call" button. If the device responds to the command, then it is the real one. If it does not, then it is a fake version.

1)  Knowing SW Version, PDA, CSC and Modem - *#1234# 

2)  Samsung SW & HW Info - *#12580369#

3)  Samsung Test mode - *#0*# 

4)  Samsung Service Mode - *#197328640# 

5)  Samsung ADC Reading - *#0228#

6)  Samsung Bluetooth Test Mode - *#232331# 

7)  Samsung Bluetooth Address - *#232337#

8)  Samsung Ciphering Information - *#32489#      




Guide to know a Fake phone through the phone specifications

You can determine a fake Samsung Galaxy device by looking into its phone specifications. To check your device's specifications, follow this step-by-step guide:

1)  Go to your Home Menu and tap on the Apps icon. 

2)  From the Application menu, locate Settings and tap on it to open. 

3)  On Settings tap on the "More" tab to view additional settings.  

4)  Tap on "Storage" to see your device's available storage.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with three tiers of device storage: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB; less the pre-installed applications, a Samsung Galaxy S4 will have about 9GB, 25GB and 57GB of usable space, respectively. If your device has a very low amount of usable space when compared to the original specs, then it may be a fake device. 

5)  Tap on "About device" to see your device's details.

Check the model number, baseband and kernel version and the build number. Do a quick Google search for those values; results should show if the device is genuine or not.  

Note: If you are not familiar with the Galaxy Device's specs, you may learn more by viewing this list of a Samsung Galaxy Smartphones from Samsung's official site. You can also check on GSMArena's list of all Samsung phone which you can individually click to see each phone's specs.

Galaxy phone authenticity check using Samsung Kies

You can use Samsung Kies to detect the authenticity of your device. If you are having a hard time recognizing a fake one through the physical signs and overall performance, then Kies will do the job for you. Simply plug the Galaxy device into a computer with Kies and see how the software recognizes the device. Follow these steps for detailed instructions

1)  If you do not have the Kies software on your computer yet, then download Samsung Kies from Samsung's official site.

When you are done with download, install Kies to your computer. 

 When you are done with download, install Kies to your computer.

2)  Connect your alleged Galaxy device to the computer using a USB cable.

Kies will try to read the device and will show that it's communicating with the device.

3)  Samsung Kies will show your device's name and firmware version after the connection is complete.

4)  If Samsung Kies fail to recognize the device, restart both your computer and your phone and do the process again.