Samsung started offering an option to install third-party themes for its recently released smartphones. A theme has an ability to customize wallpapers, backgrounds, icons, ringtones, and many other parts of the UI, which completely transforms the look and feel of the UI. There are plenty of gorgeous themes in the Theme Store. Some of them are free while others are paid.
Free themes are available worldwide, but the company is currently offering paid themes only in five countries: China, Japan, India, Korea, and the US. Many of you who live outside these countries have been wanting to download paid themes that are showcased in our Themes Thursday section every week. Now, there's a way everyone can download paid Galaxy Themes from the Theme Store.
Before you go ahead with the procedure, you need to have an active PayPal account so that you can pay for premium themes.
Step 1: Download and install a VPN app.
A VPN connection hides your real physical location and lets you browse the Theme Store from a country where paid themes are available. You can download and install any VPN app that lets you channel your Internet through a location in the US. TunnelBear is our favorite VPN app for Android, and it provides 500MB of free data every month.
Step 2: Remove the SIM card and restart your compatible Galaxy smartphone.
Step 3: Open the VPN app and create an account or sign-in to an existing account.
Step 4: Choose United States and wait till the location change is completed
Step 5: Clear Themes and Theme Store data and cache
You need to clear data and cache from two apps: Themes and Theme Store. You can find these apps from Settings > Applications > Application Manager > More > Show System Apps. Select each app and clear their app data and cache from its storage menu.
Step 6: Open the Theme Store to find paid themes via PayPal
After opening the Theme Store, you can find paid themes. When you click to purchase any free theme, you can see a pop-up menu that gives you an option to pay using a PayPal account.
Step 7: Disconnect the VPN and re-insert the SIM card.
After installing required paid themes, you can disconnect the VPN and re-insert the SIM card. It's also better to clear data and cache from the Galaxy App, Theme Store, Google Play, and Google Play Services.
Note: If you want to update themes (yes, themes get updates too!), you will have to go through the entire process once again.
