[Hack] Accessing the Tizen Store for the Samsung Z1 SM-Z130H/DS

The Tizen based Samsung Z1 has now gone on sale in India, and now has also began its rollout in Bangladesh, but there is one major problem that faces overseas linux enthusiasts / early Tizen adopters that have purchased the Z1, namely being you can only access the Tizen Store using the Samsung Z1 from the country that this product is currently being sold in.
Foreign developers / users want to explore Tizen, to have a real linux based Smartphone at their finger tips and know what all the fuss is about. Some “Companies” however might not however want foreigners snooping around a Tizen Store as some apps might not be localised for other regions or might not have relevant content, but to devs and tech savvy people I think we can accept that understanding and moreover want to be part of a new Tizen ecosystem.

Tizen Store Access Rules

So to access the store you would probably just need a proxy server and you would be in, right? Wrong. There are some Interesting dynamics used in the Samsung Z1 Smartphone logic to allow access to the Tizen Store.

Users are automatically directed to Tizen Store for their country, based on the Mobile Country Code (MCC) of their SIM card, or GeoIP if NO SIM Card is inserted.
Once Access has been granted to the Tizen Store based on the SIM card, you can still access the Tizen Store even if the SIM Card is ejected and you are using WiFi.
Once Access has been granted to the Tizen Store based on the GeoIP, you can still access the Tizen Store even if your IP address changes to a different country, but NO SIM Card has been inserted.

Tizen Store Hack

There are a couple of ways you can by-pass the Tizen Store access rules:

Access the store by having a SIM card inserted from a supported country (currently India / Bangladesh) and you can be in a different country using WiFi. I have been told this works but I have not tested currently and this article will be updated when tested.
You can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect to a local India/ Bangladesh VPN server and therefore giving yourself a local IP address, making the Tizen Store servers think you are local.

I have tried various VPN services and hardware combinations which did not work for me, but using a Mac Book and the VPN Service called Hide My Ass, it WORKED !!!! I will show how you can use my setup but there will be other combinations that should work.

Using the Hide My Ass VPN Service on a Mac

In order to use this particular setup you need a Mac machine that has WiFi as well as an Ethernet port so you can route the traffic using Hide My Ass (HMA).

Setup the VPN

Create a VPN Service

Select System preferences

Select Network

Select the “+” sign to add a new service

Change Interface to “VPN” on the new dropbox

Select VPN Type L2TP over IPSec

In Service Name – Call it what you want ie VPN (L2TP)

Select Create

Insert server address: 119.81.192.242 for India. Other servers can be found here

Account name: {your HMA username created at service sign up}

Select Authentication Settings

User Authentication, make sure Password is Selected and insert your HMA PPTP & L2TP Password. This is found on their VPN Protocols page.

Machine Authentication, make sure Shared Secret is selected and insert HideMyAssas your password (case sensitive)

Select Ok

Tick the box “Show VPN Status in menu bar”

Select Apply

Use your mac as a WiFi hotspot

System Preferences

Select Sharing

Select Internet Sharing

Change “Share your connection from” to VPN (L2TP)

Change “To computers using” – Select WiFi

Select WiFi options

Change your WiFi connection details and password as required

Click Ok

Activate Internet Sharing by Selecting On

Select start to “Are you sure you want to turn on Internet Sharing”

Access the Tizen Store

You will now have a new HMA VPN connection icon in your task menu that you can right click and connect your VPN.

Use your Samsung Z1 to connect to your Mac’s WiFi

Surf the Tizen Store

Did you successfully access the Tizen Store? Let us know in the comments. If you have any suggestions on other related posts or improvements, then please use our contact us page.