[Q] At&T S3 Mini (g730a) Root on KitKat - Galaxy S III Mini Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello, I have an AT&T S3 mini (SM-g730a model) that I bought unlocked (I am outside the US, so I need the unlock), I don't know the unlock method. I want to update my phone to KitKat (mainly to use chromecast mirroring) however I have two doubts.
1.- Since I bought the phone, a (root-requiring) app has been installed called RegionLock Away, I researched and it seems that this phone needs that to run outside of the US, so I would like to know if I can re-root the phone once I am on KitKat, if so, which method works?
2.- Is there any chance that my software is Sim-Unlocked by software or anything like that, and could get locked back to AT&T again once I update to KitKat?
Thanks!

Related

How to update to 2.3.x in a branded network locked phone

I always used Android "Google phones", so I'm not very used to the situation I am about to ask.
A friend of mine has asked me to update his branded locked Vodafone Galaxy S to 2.3.6 (for some reason Kies is not updating, maybe the carrier didn't released the update?
So, when I googled about it, in order to use Odin for a "manual" update, ok, I found a lot of tutorials, but they always refer that is required a network unlocked phone.
Anyway, is there a way to update it in this locked phone?
There are some unlocking tools in the development section, or even on the Market (Galaxy S Unlock).
Maxxd01 said:
I always used Android "Google phones", so I'm not very used to the situation I am about to ask.
A friend of mine has asked me to update his branded locked Vodafone Galaxy S to 2.3.6 (for some reason Kies is not updating, maybe the carrier didn't released the update?
So, when I googled about it, in order to use Odin for a "manual" update, ok, I found a lot of tutorials, but they always refer that is required a network unlocked phone.
Anyway, is there a way to update it in this locked phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used Galaxy_S Unlock app, available in the play store!
It worked for the vodafone branded Galaxy S international! (i9000)

[Q] Debrand & unlock vodafone S3 mini

Vodafore are selling the S3 mini much cheaper than other carriers where I live, and so I'm thinking about buying one and unlocking it to my network.
But I've seen on other people's phones that vodaphone puts their logo all over the software ect and their own apps too, is this the case with the
s3 mini too?
So would I need to root, flash an unbranded firmware, or can I just root and use something like GalaxSim Unlock from the google play store?
(I want to keep the phone on original *samsung* firmware at least for a while when I get it, custom roms can be tried later
gottac said:
Vodafore are selling the S3 mini much cheaper than other carriers where I live, and so I'm thinking about buying one and unlocking it to my network.
But I've seen on other people's phones that vodaphone puts their logo all over the software ect and their own apps too, is this the case with the
s3 mini too?
So would I need to root, flash an unbranded firmware, or can I just root and use something like GalaxSim Unlock from the google play store?
(I want to keep the phone on original *samsung* firmware at least for a while when I get it, custom roms can be tried later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GalaxSim Unlock doens't work on our phone, at least on the last build. You can buy the code from a website and put it on your phone. I don't know how is the process in fact, but I think it is that way.
Flash CM 11, it's the best right now. Better than stock

Carrier unlock a G920T permanently

Hi guys,
I need some clarification re: carrier unlocking and how it works. I recently purchased a carrier unlocked G920T, and I was going to start messing with custom roms/kernels and other goodies. My question is: Will the phone revert back to being locked if I do a factory reset or if I unlock the bootloader and flash custom roms?
I'm not a T-Mobile user, so I can't get another unlock code from them.
Thanks!!
The G920T has a carrier unlocked version, which is probably the one you have, not the T-Mobile one. Even if it is, usually a carrier unlocked device will remain unlocked forever unless it was unlocked using a different or hacky method, then there is a possibility that it will relock
Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
Yeahh go ahead, mess with it. when it is carrier unlocked, the software doesn't affect it, unless it is a hacky method like @serio22 said, but there isnt such hacky method for the GS6 so have fun.
If it is a G920T (the T means it's from T-Mobile), then carrier unlocking is not a guaranteed state. I paid T-Mobile the full price to get my GS6 and they "permanently" unlocked it. Then after a OTA software patch all of a sudden it locked itself again and I couldn't use my phone for 2 days while they tried to unlock it. T-Mobile's new device unlocking uses a new system which has the phone "phone home" to their servers to check if you're allowed to use it outside of their network. It happened again when I accepted the Android 5.1.1 OTA. So...beware of T-Mobile's not-very-permanent permanent carrier unlocking.
I am living in india..
My relatives brought me the t model ( i wanted f model instead of i sold in india for quicker updates but got t model...lol )
Anyways,
The moment i inserted my sim, it worked like a charm so its unlocked at the moment.
I dont know how they made payment their or how it was unlocked, but the way used must be legit coz its still stock at the moment without root / recovery etc. .
I read humo saying it can get locked again...
My main question, what are the odds of that happening?
Also since i live in india, i wont be able to contact t mobile via phone/walk in, are there ways i can get it unlocked again?
I dont have the bill too if it matters
i believe they have an app that unlock ur device since that is how i unlocked mine. if not u can try to contact customer service online since u r not in US.
With device unlock app , will i have to pay for unlock my s6 g920t or it'll unlock my device for free.
I have an unlocked s6 tmobile from usa, i heard the flashing stock rom will relock the device.
If the phone will relock then how can i unlock it again?
I'm not sure about flashing a stock ROM relocking the device. Mine re-locked when T-Mobile sent Android security patches. This week I did the Android 6.0 OTA update and it has remained unlocked.
Hey guys! i have a factory unlocked version of s6 tmobile, my question is if i can flash the tmobile MM firmware . My model says "country: cellular south" and the firmware country says us tmobile, so i dont know if i can flash without any problems, (Sorry for my english it sucks) thanks !
polipol15 said:
Hey guys! i have a factory unlocked version of s6 tmobile, my question is if i can flash the tmobile MM firmware . My model says "country: cellular south" and the firmware country says us tmobile, so i dont know if i can flash without any problems, (Sorry for my english it sucks) thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Polio, i have the same phone and i flashed MM without any problems. Check out the q&a section here and theres a recent thread that talks about how to that refers to a reddit post
Sent from my SM-G920T using XDA-Developers mobile app
bitbank said:
If it is a G920T (the T means it's from T-Mobile), then carrier unlocking is not a guaranteed state. I paid T-Mobile the full price to get my GS6 and they "permanently" unlocked it. Then after a OTA software patch all of a sudden it locked itself again and I couldn't use my phone for 2 days while they tried to unlock it. T-Mobile's new device unlocking uses a new system which has the phone "phone home" to their servers to check if you're allowed to use it outside of their network. It happened again when I accepted the Android 5.1.1 OTA. So...beware of T-Mobile's not-very-permanent permanent carrier unlocking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you solve this? My phone stopped working flashed newest (G920TUES5DPK1_G920TXAR5DPK1_G920TUES5DPK1_HOME.tar.rar) and i can't go to older version as that gives me ;
Code:
SW REV. CHECK FAIL DEVICE: 5 BINARY: 3
Christiaanjadieja said:
How did you solve this? My phone stopped working flashed newest (G920TUES5DPK1_G920TXAR5DPK1_G920TUES5DPK1_HOME.tar.rar) and i can't go to older version as that gives me ;
Code:
SW REV. CHECK FAIL DEVICE: 5 BINARY: 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't downgrade your bootloader so you'd have to pay to unlock it unfortunately
crixley said:
You can't downgrade your bootloader so you'd have to pay to unlock it unfortunately
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it done remotely!
I have a Galaxy S6 (SM-G920T) from T-Mobile. It was locked. But it has an "Unlock" app installed by default. I used it and phone was instantly unlocked! Fast, easy and free!
I used to live in the US for a year and bought a g920T. Since i had the requirements i Unlocked and came back to my country but because of a problem, I had to install a stock firmware and now the unlock is gone.
So i'm wondering, if someone with a unlocked phone made firmware backup, remove the IMEI, and send it online would it work? I mean, right now it works just fine, so i can backup my IMEI and ID and just restore it if needed.
Please help
danveer said:
I am living in india..
My relatives brought me the t model ( i wanted f model instead of i sold in india for quicker updates but got t model...lol )
Anyways,
The moment i inserted my sim, it worked like a charm so its unlocked at the moment.
I dont know how they made payment their or how it was unlocked, but the way used must be legit coz its still stock at the moment without root / recovery etc. .
I read humo saying it can get locked again...
My main question, what are the odds of that happening?
Also since i live in india, i wont be able to contact t mobile via phone/walk in, are there ways i can get it unlocked again?
I dont have the bill too if it matters
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in same scenario as you are/were,I am also having s6 (Tmobile) please tell me did flashing relocked your device?
So far no
I have flashed recovery - custom rom - kernel
Messed up sometimes so even went back to stock using odin then flashed everything again
Its still unkocked
Hello! I've bought my S6 (SM-G920T) as carrier unlocked but when my pcb has burned due to factory fault and sent my phone to Samsung they gave me again it was locked. I'm from Argentina and I haven't T-Mobile sim to unlock with default application. I've called to my carrier in Argentina and they said me the IMEI it's unlocked but my phone still sais it's network blocked... Can anybody help me?
vita_lp said:
Hello! I've bought my S6 (SM-G920T) as carrier unlocked but when my pcb has burned due to factory fault and sent my phone to Samsung they gave me again it was locked. I'm from Argentina and I haven't T-Mobile sim to unlock with default application. I've called to my carrier in Argentina and they said me the IMEI it's unlocked but my phone still sais it's network blocked... Can anybody help me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried with the tmobile device unloced app.? If that doesnt work then head over to this awesome guy, he can help you unlock it remotely. https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-galaxy-s6/general/sim-unlock-honestly-free-t3601740

International or T-Mobile ROM on unrooted stock unlocked ATT phone?

Hi. I am new on this forum and don't know much about rooting and the requirements of such high complex stuff. But I have an ATT unlocked phone which I use on t mobile. It's lacks WiFi calling, whxih I want, and the signal is probably 1 bar lower than it should. Not to mention I can't update my software since ATT servers for the update won't communicate with my phone since I'm no longer and ATT customer and they are generally very slow with their updates
Anyway is it possible to put a international ROM, say the new marshmallow ROM, or even a T-Mobile ROM on my phone? How would one do that? I am aware of odin as I use it to update my software from time to time. Do I just get the international or T-Mobile ROM and flash it?
Thanks.
No way , at&t have a locked bootloader, ):
international..any day..dont even think abt it
Been trying to do this forever. Still no luck.
Anyway to unlock the bootloader? Would my best bet to sell the phone and just get the unlocked one?
AT&T no way , yes get the 925f

[Q] Why doesn't exist any upgrade to android 6 or 7 for s4 active i537?

Hello community, recently I did the procedure to get the lollipop version in my S4 active i537 keeping root, but after many searches I can't find how to upgrade to marshmallow or nougat version and I wondering why.
I think it have to be because at this moment doesn't exist any way to intall a custom recovery as TWRP or CWM, if this is true, why nobody found the way to unlock the bootloader yet? in order to manage the custom recovery.
And why is so difficult to unlock it?
Which are the differences between this s4 version with the others? And how can I help to unlock the bootloader, thanks in advance.
I'm going to try to answer your questions one at a time:
m44nu33l said:
Hello community, recently I did the procedure to get the lollipop version in my S4 active i537 keeping root, but after many searches I can't find how to upgrade to marshmallow or nougat version and I wondering why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is not and never will be marshmallow or nougat for the i537. This is because it is outside the "2-year" update cycle of Samsung/AT&T. If you look at other phones from Samsung and AT&T, there are very rarely updates to phones 2 years after the initial release of the phone. There's not really a good reason for this other than Samsung and AT&T want you to buy a new phone to get the latest updates. In the past you would need to get a new phone in order to have new hardware that is able to run the latest version of Android. But we're now at a point that nearly any phone released in the last 2-3 years can run nougat with minor lag. Manufacturers and carriers are holding on to the 2-year upgrade cycle and forcing you to buy new phones in order to get updates.
m44nu33l said:
I think it have to be because at this moment doesn't exist any way to intall a custom recovery as TWRP or CWM, if this is true, why nobody found the way to unlock the bootloader yet? in order to manage the custom recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The i537 has a locked bootloader while the i9295 does not have a locked bootloader. Nobody has figured out how to unlock the bootloader on any variant of the S4.
m44nu33l said:
And why is so difficult to unlock it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a very long read, but this thread explains exactly why it is so hard to unlock the bootloader. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2500826)
m44nu33l said:
Which are the differences between this s4 version with the others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I stated above the only difference between the two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active (i537 vs i9295) is that the i537 has a locked bootloader and the i9295 does not. The i537 was sold exclusively through AT&T (US), Telcel (Mexico), and Claro (Uruguay), while the i9295 was sold internationally. Neither device will get official versions of marshmallow or nougat, but since the i9295 has an unlocked bootloader you can flash marshmallow and soon nougat custom ROMs. Other than the bootloader, the i537 and i9295 have identical hardware.
m44nu33l said:
And how can I help to unlock the bootloader, thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, unless you have a deep understanding of kernels, Linux, and cryptology, I'm not sure there's much help you can provide. The link I provided above explains all the effort that has been put into unlocking the bootloader. If you truly want to help I would read through that thread and see if there's anything meaningful you can provide.
Finally, if you don't ever want to have this problem again, always do your research and but a phone that has an unlockable bootloader. I purchased the i537 when it first came out only to find that the bootloader was locked and because of that I will never buy another phone with a locked bootloader again. Good luck.
Devo7v said:
I'm going to try to answer your questions one at a time:
There is not and never will be marshmallow or nougat for the i537. This is because it is outside the "2-year" update cycle of Samsung/AT&T. If you look at other phones from Samsung and AT&T, there are very rarely updates to phones 2 years after the initial release of the phone. There's not really a good reason for this other than Samsung and AT&T want you to buy a new phone to get the latest updates. In the past you would need to get a new phone in order to have new hardware that is able to run the latest version of Android. But we're now at a point that nearly any phone released in the last 2-3 years can run nougat with minor lag. Manufacturers and carriers are holding on to the 2-year upgrade cycle and forcing you to buy new phones in order to get updates.
The i537 has a locked bootloader while the i9295 does not have a locked bootloader. Nobody has figured out how to unlock the bootloader on any variant of the S4.
It's a very long read, but this thread explains exactly why it is so hard to unlock the bootloader. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2500826)
As I stated above the only difference between the two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active (i537 vs i9295) is that the i537 has a locked bootloader and the i9295 does not. The i537 was sold exclusively through AT&T (US), Telcel (Mexico), and Claro (Uruguay), while the i9295 was sold internationally. Neither device will get official versions of marshmallow or nougat, but since the i9295 has an unlocked bootloader you can flash marshmallow and soon nougat custom ROMs. Other than the bootloader, the i537 and i9295 have identical hardware.
Honestly, unless you have a deep understanding of kernels, Linux, and cryptology, I'm not sure there's much help you can provide. The link I provided above explains all the effort that has been put into unlocking the bootloader. If you truly want to help I would read through that thread and see if there's anything meaningful you can provide.
Finally, if you don't ever want to have this problem again, always do your research and but a phone that has an unlockable bootloader. I purchased the i537 when it first came out only to find that the bootloader was locked and because of that I will never buy another phone with a locked bootloader again. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation, what I will do is change my S4 for the international version in order to get the nougat custom rom.
m44nu33l said:
Thanks for the explanation, what I will do is change my S4 for the international version in order to get the nougat custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well my questions has really been answered , i guess we are never going to get an update , best option is to get a new phone

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