Smartphone: European model - what's behind it As with televisions, there are sometimes "EU models" of smartphones. This is labelled on the packaging and online on the order page. You will find such a region code on the Samsung Galaxy S5, for example. At first glance, the smartphone therefore only appears to work with a European SIM card and only in European networks. However, the lock is automatically removed as soon as you have been on the phone for more than five minutes. As several users have reported, SIM cards from outside the EU also work without any problems in the S5-EU model. If you still have problems, you can contact Samsung customer service, who will unlock the smartphone free of charge.