Hello forum,
Like many of you I received my Galaxy S6 yesterday. After turning it on I naturally check the XDA forum to see if anyone had obtained root. I didn't realize that root may not even be possible, not to even mention custom ROMs. I wanted to know if it would be advisable to go and buy the T-Mobile version, should I buy an internationally version, or should I wait and hope the boot loader can be unlocked? I really miss Cyanogenmod on Samsung device for a true super Nexus experience like how my GS3 was. Unfortunately, I bought the GS4 and had my boot-loader locked down so the best I could do was Safestrap and the Google Play Edition Rom by Joe-Tech, but I still long for the feeling of the device truly being mine. Another concern is that anytime I had a real issue with the phone, like if I bricked it, or if the charging port stop working I could take it to the AT&T device store and just get a new (Samsung refurbished) phone. My 14 days are ticking away and I don't know what to do, I would really appreciate if some forum members could point me in the right direction. I signed up for the Next program with AT&T at Best Buy when I got it, so how would that be effected if I returned the device. Also, how do I use the menu key, if I hold the Recent key (the menu key) it just the multitasking window?
Thanks,
N7spaceuser
Bump.
Buy the unlocked version. SM-G920I. You can find it on eBay, thepowersellers.com, and a couple other places. Works perfect on AT&T, LTE and all. Unlocked bootloader, no bloat, faster updates, no AT&T bs. What are you people doing buying from AT&T?
Related
I hear the S5 has a locked bootloader on AT&T. Is this rumor valid or a ton of baloney? I dont really want to go through all the safestrap crap again as I did with the S4
XxSHaDoWxSLaYeRxX said:
I hear the S5 has a locked bootloader on AT&T. Is this rumor valid or a ton of baloney? I dont really want to go through all the safestrap crap again as I did with the S4
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I dont believe anyone has the AT&T variant in hand, but if history has taught us anything its that AT&T will have it locked down.
AT&T will 99.99% lock the bootloader on the S5. They stated they will lock the bootloaders: "To ensure a safe and consistent experience on your wireless device, we do not support unlocked bootloaders."
I just wish T-Mobile would improve in my area because they are doings things right. Like selling the 32GB S5.
MattMJB0188 said:
AT&T will 99.99% lock the bootloader on the S5. They stated they will lock the bootloaders: "To ensure a safe and consistent experience on your wireless device, we do not support unlocked bootloaders."
I just wish T-Mobile would improve in my area because they are doings things right. Like selling the 32GB S5.
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This time around it looks like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile will have S5 with locked bootloader
AT&T started with S4 and continued the tradition there after (G2, N3 etc.)
T-Mobile started with LG G Flex and looks like it will continue the tradition with S5. (Source: https://twitter.com/Anthony_J_Fox/status/446759896017420288)
Verizon started who knows when ?
Doubt we will have anything like lokidoki this time around also. Which is why I sold my s4 and got a nexus 5
Might pick up a HTC one m8 unlocked variant though if it supports LTE.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Jonnyredcorn said:
Doubt we will have anything like lokidoki this time around also. Which is why I sold my s4 and got a nexus 5
Might pick up a HTC one m8 unlocked variant though if it supports LTE.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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LokiDoki was bad ass lol. I had kept it on my s4 all the way to the end. Everyone kept saying there would be another exploit, but there never was. The AT&T S4 doesn't see much development nowadays. Safestrap is good, but not the same. Maybe there will be a developer who can actually UNLOCK the bootloader instead of finding a way around it. These devices have become so hard to root, flash, and restore to stock with these locked bootloaders. Glad T-Mobile is getting in for the fun. It's almost sickening how much they publicly hate AT&T and Verizon, then they go and lock the S5 bootloader just like them.
Walter.White said:
This time around it looks like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile will have S5 with locked bootloader
AT&T started with S4 and continued the tradition there after (G2, N3 etc.)
T-Mobile started with LG G Flex and looks like it will continue the tradition with S5. (Source: https://twitter.com/Anthony_J_Fox/status/446759896017420288)
Verizon started who knows when ?
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Im guessing T-mobile started because people were buying their devices for use on AT&T because of the unlocked bootloader. They dont make money on the devices they make it on the service and locked bootloaders will discourage this practice. My theory, not fact.
Walter.White said:
This time around it looks like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile will have S5 with locked bootloader
AT&T started with S4 and continued the tradition there after (G2, N3 etc.)
T-Mobile started with LG G Flex and looks like it will continue the tradition with S5. (Source: https://twitter.com/Anthony_J_Fox/status/446759896017420288)
Verizon started who knows when ?
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Click to collapse
I am sorry but I put 0 credibility behind the "SOURCE" for this statement that TMOBILE will have a locked bootloader - I have not even been able to confirm that the LG is locked - it may be that I am looking at the world thru rose colored glasses but I need to see something more than converstationwith an unknown person who may or may not know what they are talking about. The odds are that the S5 will be unlocked on TMOBILE - as an ATT customer using a TMOBILE NOTE 3 - I sure hope that is the case as I plan to buy the S5 when it comes out - if it is locked, I guess I will return it - but until I see more definitive proof - I don't believe it will be
mocsab said:
I am sorry but I put 0 credibility behind the "SOURCE" for this statement that TMOBILE will have a locked bootloader - I have not even been able to confirm that the LG is locked - it may be that I am looking at the world thru rose colored glasses but I need to see something more than converstationwith an unknown person who may or may not know what they are talking about. The odds are that the S5 will be unlocked on TMOBILE - as an ATT customer using a TMOBILE NOTE 3 - I sure hope that is the case as I plan to buy the S5 when it comes out - if it is locked, I guess I will return it - but until I see more definitive proof - I don't believe it will be
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So the actual tmobile response clearly stating the lg bootloader is locked isnt enough to convince you that the lg bootloader is locked?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using XDA Premium HD app
cloudraker said:
So the actual tmobile response clearly stating the lg bootloader is locked isnt enough to convince you that the lg bootloader is locked?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using XDA Premium HD app
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If you are talking about the excerpt of the chat session the insurance guy posted online - then no, that is not enough to convince me. Do you have something more official from TMOBILE that says it is locked? I would love to see it if you do - I don't know who that person was at TOMOBILE - if it was a customer care person from the web site - I give them no credibility at all - you wouldn't believe the number of things they have said that have turned out to be totally untrue -
or are you talking about some sort of official notice that I have not seen?
mocsab said:
If you are talking about the excerpt of the chat session the insurance guy posted online - then no, that is not enough to convince me. Do you have something more official from TMOBILE that says it is locked? I would love to see it if you do - I don't know who that person was at TOMOBILE - if it was a customer care person from the web site - I give them no credibility at all - you wouldn't believe the number of things they have said that have turned out to be totally untrue -
or are you talking about some sort of official notice that I have not seen?
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Wasn't that T-Mobile's official twitter account? Anyway, I hope it is unlocked because everyone has the right to do what they want with their phone, as they own it. As an AT&T customer who used the T-Mobile Note 3, I can tell you that I will not be doing that again in the future. T-Mobile's Note 3 fully supported all of AT&T's bands, but I found LTE reception to be very bad. It was awful in places with low signal, and often would sit on HSPA+.
But my flashing days are over with. I pay for my devices at full price, and I won't risk bricking it with these very hard rooting/flashing procedures. Its just too risky nowadays. Maybe I got spoiled with the easy rooting/flashing methods we had before.
Back to the bootloader... I can see them locking it for the reason that many bought their device for use on AT&T. If the S5 bootloader is locked on T-Mobile then that's a shame. Looks like the "uncarrier" just made a selfish "carrier" move.
MattMJB0188 said:
Wasn't that T-Mobile's official twitter account? Anyway, I hope it is unlocked because everyone has the right to do what they want with their phone, as they own it. As an AT&T customer who used the T-Mobile Note 3, I can tell you that I will not be doing that again in the future. T-Mobile's Note 3 fully supported all of AT&T's bands, but I found LTE reception to be very bad. It was awful in places with low signal, and often would sit on HSPA+.
But my flashing days are over with. I pay for my devices at full price, and I won't risk bricking it with these very hard rooting/flashing procedures. Its just too risky nowadays. Maybe I got spoiled with the easy rooting/flashing methods we had before.
Back to the bootloader... I can see them locking it for the reason that many bought their device for use on AT&T. If the S5 bootloader is locked on T-Mobile then that's a shame. Looks like the "uncarrier" just made a selfish "carrier" move.
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I honestly don't know if that was an Official Tmobile Tweet or not - I guess I do wear rose colored glasses - always half full and all of that. I purchased a preorder of the S 5 so I will find out soon enough - if it is locked I will probably return it.
One reason I can think of that t mobile has decided to lock bootloader (if they have) is to cut down on the amount of returns they get from people who brick their device and then return it for a new replacement, hiding the fact that they were rooted or whatever. We may have become o our own worst enemy. I don't knnow how many hundreds - maybe thouhsands of phones have been returned at one time or another from someone claiming the phone was broken when in reality it was bricked because they tried something they shoulnd't have - or flashed a bad file or whatever. If you consider their side of things - you can understand why they might want to plug that hole....
regardless - I am a flashaholic - it is a disease - I need help desperately - lol - but seriously - I do hope we find that these are just rumours and that Tmobile has taken the high road and kept our phones open and "flashable"
mocsab said:
I honestly don't know if that was an Official Tmobile Tweet or not - I guess I do wear rose colored glasses - always half full and all of that. I purchased a preorder of the S 5 so I will find out soon enough - if it is locked I will probably return it.
One reason I can think of that t mobile has decided to lock bootloader (if they have) is to cut down on the amount of returns they get from people who brick their device and then return it for a new replacement, hiding the fact that they were rooted or whatever. We may have become o our own worst enemy. I don't knnow how many hundreds - maybe thouhsands of phones have been returned at one time or another from someone claiming the phone was broken when in reality it was bricked because they tried something they shoulnd't have - or flashed a bad file or whatever. If you consider their side of things - you can understand why they might want to plug that hole....
regardless - I am a flashaholic - it is a disease - I need help desperately - lol - but seriously - I do hope we find that these are just rumours and that Tmobile has taken the high road and kept our phones open and "flashable"
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It was official and VERIFIED TMobile's twitter account. Click on their twitter handle and you will see what I happen.
Will they sell develper editions of the S5? Like the S4? I havent seen any for sale yet. I really dont want to shell out $600 for a phone just so i can customize it.. Might as well wait on the Nexus 6:crying: or maybe i will jump ship to the New one m8 google edition (even tho imo its ugly and still costs alot of $$)
XxSHaDoWxSLaYeRxX said:
Will they sell develper editions of the S5? Like the S4? I havent seen any for sale yet. I really dont want to shell out $600 for a phone just so i can customize it.. Might as well wait on the Nexus 6:crying: or maybe i will jump ship to the New one m8 google edition (even tho imo its ugly and still costs alot of $$)
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The standard AT&T HTC m8 version has been confirmed to have an unlockable bootloader via the htc dev tool if you are concerned about having to buy off contract.
This is why I'm only buying Google edition phones now.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Enough said
Sent from my Nexus 5
Walter.White said:
It was official and VERIFIED TMobile's twitter account. Click on their twitter handle and you will see what I happen.
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Can't stop laughing at your sig
XxSHaDoWxSLaYeRxX said:
Can't stop laughing at your sig
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And that dude wasn't even drunk.
mircury said:
The standard AT&T HTC m8 version has been confirmed to have an unlockable bootloader via the htc dev tool if you are concerned about having to buy off contract.
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And an S-OFF tool has been released...the phone can now be fully and completely unlocked.
Combine that with a microSD slot and I'm hitting AT&T tomorrow like a fat kid through a cookie store.
Get em while you can!
I'll have to admit, I'm sort of a Samsung fanboy. Ever since I had my first Galaxy S that replaced my iPhone I've never looked back. All of them have been rooted, custom recoveries, and custom OS's. I like being able to do what i want with my own phone.....
Then I got a 920A.... I own this phone out right and I should be able to do that I want with it. Locked bootloader. Thanks AT&T.
I'm rooted and on AOE2, but I really want to go for 5.1, but since there's no root for it yet I'm stuck like everyone else. I go to this section of the forum everyday hoping for a root method. I notice posts are so few and far between in this section I'm loosing hope.
So this rant brings me to my question..
I want to get an S6 that works on all AT&T bands, but has an unlocked bootloader, and can install TWRP if I want to. What should I get?
Thanks in advance!
g920f or g920i would be good ones. even the g920t would be alright. Heck as long as it is not at&t or verizon and works within the LTE frequency range in your country your good to go. Its only Big Red and Big Blue that love to lock us out of our own phone. Good luck getting rid of the g920a its not very desireable because of the locked bootloader and will sell for a quarter of what you paid if your lucky
AT&T will unlock your phone for free if it meets their requirements:
(as of 2015.11.13) Devices may qualify for unlocking if they meet the following requirements:
The device must be designed for use on, and locked to, the AT&T wireless network. For help see Device Unlock Support.
It must not be reported lost or stolen.
It's not associated with fraudulent activity.
All the device's service commitments and installment plans are completed, and all early termination fees are paid in full.
The device is not currently active on a different AT&T customer's account.
If you performed an early upgrade, you must wait the 14-day buyer's remorse period before you can request to unlock your previous device.
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I'd post a direct link to the ATT page if I could, but google "unlock ATT phone" and the first result should get you there.
I've unlocked a few ATT phones this way. FYI: it does require a "non-att" sim card to complete the unlock service.
demidude said:
AT&T will unlock your phone for free if it meets their requirements:
I'd post a direct link to the ATT page if I could, but google "unlock ATT phone" and the first result should get you there.
I've unlocked a few ATT phones this way. FYI: it does require a "non-att" sim card to complete the unlock service.
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Thanks for the info, but the sim lock is not really what I was referring to, I was referring to the bootloader lock.
custommx3 said:
Thanks for the info, but the sim lock is not really what I was referring to, I was referring to the bootloader lock.
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D'oh...thanks for the clarification.
Just admit we got the short end of the stick this time. Look at the galaxy s5 and how they are doing on bootloader bypassing, which is nothing. The best they have is what we have safe starp and a selection of sub par roms, not putting any developer down because I know its a limited environment when you can't touch the kernel for all that juicy goodness. I was in your same position a week ago and eventually took the 5.1.1 update for the Samsung pay which awesome if your bank or credit provider supports. It friggen emulates a card so dope but besides the point, the security on its kernel is supposedly heavy which makes sense because you are storing card info on your phone now. I even went above and beyond and whole disc encrypted it just in case it gets stolen, glhf getting into it. So yeah you can wait around on 5.02 and not enjoy the performance enhancements and cool card features or realize AT&T finally found a good enough encryption scheme to shore things up . Your next purchase may have to be a different phone, admittedly I rarely stray far from Samsung. I leave you with a bit of hope you honestly don't need root as it is. I was just once a flashaholic on s3 and s4 but that was all to tether and have better control of my cpu stepping. Now I have a tether app, you have to pay but its five bucks. I don't remember the subs rule on ads but it its reads like Firefox but is spelled foxify or something like that . Also, I rum a VPN on the phone so that ATT dosent know I'm tethering, gets me through any of their packet snorting and threatening texts of we will take your grandfather data away if you don't stop. So in the end it's all up to you kind XDA'er best of luck on your decision process.
My FoxiFi isn't working
I really thought this would be an easy search and answer. I hope someone has a simple answer for me. Let me say I have purchased only unlocked phones for years now. I am in the USA. I Can't stand bloat, can't stand carrier labeling. The last Samsung I owned was the S3. Without going into a ton of detail I have recently become interested in the Note 5 and a bit tired of my 6P if I'm being honest. I don't want a Note 7. During my research on this, I remember why I got away from these phones (Carrier and bootloader locked) in the first place , such a pain to mess around with. I want root and maybe a ROM or two. I've learned to live without Xposed. I would gladly pay more for an international 64GB Note 5 that isn't GOLD. None on Swappa, none on Ebay. It just seems crazy to me. Anyway, I'm stuck buying either a T-mobile or Sprint version. Correct me if I'm wrong but all other US carrier versions seem to be more or less locked down, right? So should I find a Sprint or T-Mobile variant.....that's my question, unless I'm missing something obvious here. Thank you very much. $400+ seems like a steal for one of these phones in 64GB as long as I can debloat.
I recently purchased 4 brand new sprint note 8's from Ebay (for a small company). In hindsight I think I should of opted for the unlocked version but I'm here now. My question is what would it take to unlock the phones and flash with unlocked software? I ask because I'm a little PO'ed that sprint takes away a few features native to Samsung (looking at you Hyia caller id). There's apps that can take care of all that, but that's besides the point.
I'm looking for pro's and cons to what that would do. Coming from a rooted S6 and having played with the note 8 I didn't see any reason to root until now. But I think if I root it locks me out of other features? Samsung Pay? And sprint won't fix if I make any insurance claim?
Is there any way to go through all that and then turn root back off? Again, coming from the S6 as my last bit of rooting experience (couldn't turn knox counter off, so Samsung pay never worked....).
Any suggestions?
tl;dr, should probably go with unlocked phones next time to avoid the bs
rob.mwpropane said:
should probably go with unlocked phones next time to avoid the bs
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Search function in the forum. Look for carrier switching. Are you using them for sprint?
If you go to unlocked XXA you will get the other features but loose wifi-calling and sprint calling plus.
You can download the new sprint zone form play store now so thats a non issue.
If you understand how to put together your own flash-able rom you could pull the stuff for sprint and add to xxa and get both parts but its not something ive seen floating around here.
Ultimately sprint has a paid version of Samsung feature for the caller id part, if thats the only thing you want there are a ton of other free alternative. (soft fix) Sprint isn't going to fix a personal issue you have with their device setup lol, they charge for premium caller id and Samsung/sprint wont change that part, most carriers charge for it as its "premium"
I have a optimized rom for the note 8 (sprint users) but you will be limited to 80% battery charge, spay and secure folder are broken. With the new safestrap recovery you can atleast un-root and re-root from the device to get around apps that scan for root and be able to use them, with my custom rom having edits in /system you will never achieve spay etc , this is reversible by just odin to stock software again and back to stock, the current root methods do not effect knox or warranty.
If i unlocked it can i use gsm sim form Bangladesh?
Hi, long term xda lurker, first time poster. I've used the search function to try and find my answer, but I keep getting a lot of conflicting answers so I wanted to see what you guys can tell me.
I was considering getting a pixel 4 xl but I want to know if its bootloader is locked. From what I can gather, the us carrier version are in fact locked however a few people have said that if you buy it outright from Google it is unlockable. Can anyone please confirm this? I've always used custom recoveries and rooms like cyanogen and now lineage from my HTC incredible, gs2, gs3, gs4. When I bought my gs7 edge I was highly disappointed to find no way to unlock it and don't want to go through that again. Any help here is mich appreciated.
From the forums, USA carriers will lock the bootloader initially and after you pay off the device (or a certain amount of time has lapsed) you can request they unlock the bootloader. For example, AT&T has a different policy from Verizon, etc.
I am in Canada and my carrier, Telus, did not lock the bootloader. Definitely no hassles if you buy the phone from Google, the bootloader is unlockable.
You may want to look into Google-Fi as well, sometimes they offer phones at a discount. Not sure what has happened post pandemic crisis though.
Fi and Goog phones are unlocked in all respects. All the carrier phones are sim locked and bootloader locked. Tmo for sure can be bootloader unlocked after it's paid for upon request, some have mentioned a 30 day wait also but I did not have to wait. I haven't read up on the other carriers.
Thanks guys from the quick replies! Looks like I'll order a pix4 from google then. I appreciate your input. After dealing with this gs7 (I was such a Samsung nerd for a long time) I'm tired of all the lockouts.
Def Fi or Goog then. Exact same phone but sometimes the deal is better with one or the other so it can pay to have a quick look at both to see if one cuts you a break. The phones have frequently been on sale so some patience might be rewarded if you're of a mind to try and hold out for a better deal.
Verizon will NOT unlock the bootloader. Even if you pay it off.
I purchased mine directly from the Google store and unlocked it on day one