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Fortnite's Galaxy Skin: How to unlock the Note 9 exclusive

It may very well end up being one of the most expensive and rarest skins of all.

Jason Cipriani Contributing Writer, ZDNet
Jason Cipriani is based out of beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the last six years. His work can also be found on sister site CNET in the How To section, as well as across several more online publications.
Jason Cipriani
3 min read
Jason Cipriani/CNET

Samsung and Epic Games teamed up for the Galaxy Note 9 release to gift Samsung customers with a custom Galaxy Skin. With the Note 9 now available, along with the Galaxy Skin, those who play Fortnite surely want to up their look.

The skin itself is pretty sweet. Your character is covered in stars and various other artifacts from outer space. You can watch a video of Fortnite streamer Ninja using the Galaxy Skin a few days ago.

Requirements

What's sure to be a disappointment to some, in order to unlock the Galaxy Skin you'll need to have either Samsung's Galaxy Tab S4 or the Galaxy Note 9. Right now, those two devices are the only devices that will unlock the skin. Could Samsung open up the skin to more of its own devices down the road? Sure! But right now, that's just not the case.

On an eligible device, download and install the Fortnite Installer from Samsung's Galaxy Apps store. 

Follow the rest of the process outlined in this post to completely install the game.

Watch this: Fortnite on Android: How to download it safely

Here's a bit of bad news — Samsung is making it clear that the skin can only be unlocked once per device, so you won't be able to log into a friend's phone to unlock the skin.

Another important thing to note (forgive the pun), is that it is possible to use a demo Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4 on display in a store, like Best Buy or AT&T Wireless, but it's generally frowned upon. Just look at this post on Reddit, where a user found a sign informing those who want to unlock the Galaxy Skin that all demo units in this particular store cannot run Fortnite. 

Preorder promo

If you preordered the Note 9, be it from a carrier or from Samsung directly, you are eligible to pick between a pair of wireless AKG headphones or a Fortnite gaming bundle of 15,000 VBucks and the Galaxy Skin.

For those who picked the Fortnite bundle or didn't pick a promotional item yet, here's how to redeem the bundle and get your VBucks and the Galaxy Skin:

fornite-galaxy-skin
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
  1. On your Note 9, download and install the Shop Samsung app and log into it using your Samsung account.
  2. Tap on the menu button (the three lines in the top-left corner) followed by My Inbox.
  3. For those who have already registered for the Fortnite bundle, tap View My Status and skip down to Step 6.
  4. For those who haven't registered for the bundle yet, go through the process of checking to see if your device is eligible and submitting the Fortnite bundle as your pick.
  5. Once you're approved, you'll receive an email directing you back to the app to claim your items.
  6. Viewing the status of your promotional order, you'll see a button labeled Redeem Game Bundle; tap it.
  7. On the following screen, log into your Epic Games account and then grant the Shop Samsung app permission to access your Epic Games account.

Once that's done, exit the Shop Samsung app and launch Fortnite. If prompted, log in using the same Epic Games account you used in the last step, otherwise, you'll be greeted with a notification congratulating you for unlocking Fortnite bundle, including the Galaxy Skin.

Didn't preorder? Don't worry

The Galaxy Skin isn't just a preorder perk, it's for all Galaxy Note 9 (and Tab S4) owners. The process, however, changes quite a bit for those who purchased a phone after the preorder period.

According to Samsung, you'll need to do the following:

  1. Download and install Fortnite from the Galaxy Apps store.
  2. Once the game is installed and you're logged in, play three matches.
  3. You will need to either be eliminated or win the round and tap the Return to Lobby button for a match to count. Meaning, if you drop in, run around for a second or two, then exit back to the lobby it won't count. The same goes for getting eliminated in a match, and instead of going back to the lobby, you exit the game.
  4. Within 24-48 hours of having three matches recorded, you will receive a gift box in the lobby. Tap on the box to open it and add the skin to your account.

Originally published Aug. 24.
Update, Aug. 28: Updated with latest information.