How-to: SIM unlock a Galaxy Note GT-N7000

If you got yourself a SIM-locked Galaxy Note (just like I did) and decide to use a different SIM from another telco other than what it came with, here’s a guide on how to SIM unlock your Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-N7000).

Before we begin, let be reminded that we don’t suggest hacking your phone because it will void your phone’s warranty and there’s a big risk of getting it “Bricked” (especially with the Galaxy Phone) if the steps provided are not done correctly. Use this guide at your own expense. We will not be responsible for any damage that this guide will cause to you or your phone.

The guide is pretty straightforward and we’ve done it several times without any issues. All you need to do is read each step carefully before attempting it. Good Luck!

Here are the things you need to do/have before doing the hack.
1. Back-up your important files. You can use any backup options you want.
2. Fully charge your phone.
3. Turn off any antivirus or firewall on your PC.
4. Close Samsung Kies.

Once everything is all set, you can proceed with the hack.

1. Insert the SIM card from another telco that you wanted to use on your device and reboot your device. You’ll be greeted with this message when your phone reboots. Just select “Dismiss”.

2. Download this official ICS ROM from Germany. We chose this ROM because it’s not tied with any telco.
3. Download ODIN here. This is going to be your tool to apply the files you’ve downloaded.
4. Open ODIN, click on PDA and navigate to the folder where you saved the ICS ROM that you downloaded.
5. Make sure that the Re-partition, pit, CSC and Phone is unchecked before you proceed.

6. Put your Note to download mode by simultaneously long-pressing on Volume Down, Home and Power Buttons. The device will automatically reboot and release these buttons only when you saw this screen.

7. Connect your device to your PC and click on start on ODIN. Let it take its course. Once everything is done, your device will reboot and you’ll see the box the upper left most box in ODIN turn green with a word PASS!

8. Next, download NoteCore Kernel V13.4 here. That’s the Kernel we used when we did our hack, but there’s a newer version of the Kernel (V14.1) which can be found here. You can use either of the two Kernels. It’s also worth mentioning that these kernels will automatically overclock your device to 1.6GHz and would bring a handful of performance improvements to your device including better battery life.

Note: These next steps will root your phone which will void your device’s warranty.

9. Repeat Steps #3 to 6, only this time select the NoteCore Kernel in ODIN. When your device reboots, you’ll see an exclamation point on the splash screen, but pay no attention to it. Now that you have a new ROM and you’re device is rooted, you’re through with the hard part. The next steps only require you to download and install apps from Google Play Store.

10. Search for BusyBox Free on Play Store and install it. Once installed on your device, open the app and let it run its course. Afterwards select “Install” and Choose “Smart Install” within the app and let it do its thing.

11. After that, do a search for Galaxy_S Unlock on Play Store and install it. Once installed on your device, navigate to the second tab at the top and follow the in-app instructions on how to SIM unlock your device. Your device’s screen will turn blank for a few seconds (or a full minute) when you’re doing the second step. Just let it run its course and your screen will return to normal eventually.

If everything went well, you should now have a SIM-unlocked and pumped-up Samsung Galaxy Note. We’ve had our GT-N7000 SIM unlocked for the past two weeks and we haven’t notice any issues with the phone’s performance and usability.

We did however notice that the SIM-lock reoccurs when the phone is rebooted or in some random situations. Fortunately though, you don’t have to go through all these steps again to SIM-unlock your phone, just open the Galaxy_S Unlock app and redo the second step and you’re all set again.