Okay, I just got through doing this myself and it seemed that nowhere was this all said at once, or at all. So I thought I'd whip up a quick tutorial concerning how to Domestic Unlock the Samsung Galaxy S4 on any of the newer bootloaders/firmwares/modems. (Knox-enabled)
I did this on both a 4.4.1 galaxy and a 4.3 galaxy- one one NAE and one on MK2
First, for anything to work your modem must be an older one, like version MDL. Download the file SPH-L720_MDC_Modem.exe which is a one-click
Odin .exe that will flash ONLY your modem to MDL.
Steps- put into download mode by taking the battery out and putting it back in. Hold the volume down button, the home buttone and then press the power button. When it vibrates, let go. Press volume up.
Run the SPH-L720_MDC_Modem.exe odin one-click installer.
Connect the usb to computer from phone
when com[24] or whatever shows up, press start.
Now, for the domestic lock to work you first need to do the international unlock @ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2415587
It's real easy and explained well at the link above, but I'll run through it quickly anyways.
Download the s4unlocker installer from the post linked above.
Put your phone into diag mode by dialing ##3424#. Press Qualcom button and select the bottom selection.
connect (if it wasn't already) usb from phone to PC
You already installed the proper samsung drivers, right? If not, you'd better do that now.
Okay, now run the s4unlocker and press the scan and unlock button, then wait for the phone to reboot.
Now for the Domestic Unlock part.
Follow the directions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2530610
I'll run through it real quick, too because there were a few things I wanted to mention.
dial *#0011# (or #*0011#, I can't remember)
when it comes up "No service", press the menu key on the bottom left of your phone. This brings up a menu (wow!), on which you should press "back"
Now press the menu key again and in the menu select "key input" A box will open up asking for you to type in something- enter a "1" and then press the enter key BEFORE hitting the OK button. Mine would not work unless I did this.
Now wait, sometimes it takes a good couple of seconds to give you the menu. Follow the rest of the directions from the above link, setting all the settings to what is stated. EXCEPT where he says to set all the preferences to WCDMA ALL, GSM ALL and LTE ALL. When I selected one, however, an asterisk appeared after my selection leading me to believe that you can only select one of these and so I set mine to GSM ALL and left the others alone. This worked for me, so I thought I'd mention it.
Now that you've manually rebooted after following the directions, you still have to edit your build prop to allow you to edit the apn settings. To edit your build.prop you must be rooted so root with CF auto-root http://autoroot.chainfire.eu/ download the proper one for the galaxy s4.
It's just an odin flash, so enter download mode
load up odin 3.x
hit the pda button and select the cf auto root tar
hit start.
After rooting I found that one time I had to do some of the service mode settings again and one time I did not, so I mention it here even though I think I had to because of some other error I had made at the time.
Go to play store and download build.prop editor and APN settings Shortcut
Load the build.prop editor and add these two lines to the end of the file
ril.sales_code=LOL
ro.csc.sales_code=LOL
Now reboot manually
add the apn settings widgit to the main screen and open it
click on menu and add an apn
Enter the apn settings for your carrier here. They're all different,(the carriers) but you can find them(the apn settings) easily with google, since they (carriers) all post their apn settings on their webpages.
Don't forget to save the apn settings.
Now select it.
Now reboot, since it couldn't hurt, right?
If you've done everything right you should now have an domestic and international unlocked Sprint galaxy s4. Enjoy.
I suppose you could now reflash the new modem back onto the phone, but I don't have firsthand knowledge whether this works or not- I've only read that others have said that it works. Remember, ONLY FLASH THE MODEM, the rest isn't necessary and will probably knox you all up
All I did was list these things- credit goes to all those who were linked in the above post. Thanks for all you do.
On stock 4.3 and higher you can go into settings and change your APN, so there's no reason to root and mess around with build.prop editor.
Every time i try this i cant get my wifi back up when i flash back to the nae modem. If i could get pass that then I'll definetly be do that.
can the modem be downgraded
mine came with mk2
leoiden said:
can the modem be downgraded
mine came with mk2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, did like that on my L720 4.4.2 after unlocked with T-mobile i flashed 4.4.2 samsung s4 T-mobile odexed rom now the phone work like t-mobile s4 and full 4g signal, except the LTE data.
leoiden said:
can the modem be downgraded
mine came with mk2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tomy1986.nt said:
Yes, did like that on my L720 4.4.2 after unlocked with T-mobile i flashed 4.4.2 samsung s4 T-mobile odexed rom now the phone work like t-mobile s4 and full 4g signal, except the LTE data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read that the modem itself cannot be downgraded. You can run older android versions and such on the newer modems, but the modem itself cannot be rolled back. I believe it has been like that since MJA.
You can downgrade modem, but can not downgrade bootloader (aboot)
Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk
I completed both the international & domestic unlock. I believe I was successful in each. I have a T-Mo sim card inserted but am not getting a mobile data connection. I do have 2 bars of service though. So I have gotten past the red X on the bars.
I am on 4.4.2 with the MDC modem. I did not do the build.prop stuff, instead opted to just access the APN's from the default menu.
A few things in my menu were different than the OP (probably because of 4.4) such as:
I dont have any roaming menu options
I dont have WCDMA.. just CDMA and LTE/CDMA. I currently have it set to LTE/CDMA
In my APN edit info there was not a place to put in MMS protocol: WAP 2.0
Also under About Device "my phone number" is wrong.
Am I missing something to get this t-mo working?
goblue30093 said:
I completed both the international & domestic unlock. I believe I was successful in each. I have a T-Mo sim card inserted but am not getting a mobile data connection. I do have 2 bars of service though. So I have gotten past the red X on the bars.
I am on 4.4.2 with the MDC modem. I did not do the build.prop stuff, instead opted to just access the APN's from the default menu.
A few things in my menu were different than the OP (probably because of 4.4) such as:
I dont have any roaming menu options
I dont have WCDMA.. just CDMA and LTE/CDMA. I currently have it set to LTE/CDMA
In my APN edit info there was not a place to put in MMS protocol: WAP 2.0
Also under About Device "my phone number" is wrong.
Am I missing something to get this t-mo working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't unlock it. If you were on NAE modem while unlocking then you failed miserably because you're not able to get into the most important part of the unlock...The service menu. If you did indeed downgrade the modem then you're going to need to follow the domestic unlock guide again. If it's showing CDMA/LTE you didn't do it right. It should show WCDMA only and WCDMA only isn't an option you can just select. It gets put there by the service menu.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
ecs87 said:
You didn't unlock it. If you were on NAE modem while unlocking then you failed miserably because you're not able to get into the most important part of the unlock...The service menu. If you did indeed downgrade the modem then you're going to need to follow the domestic unlock guide again. If it's showing CDMA/LTE you didn't do it right. It should show WCDMA only and WCDMA only isn't an option you can just select. It gets put there by the service menu.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said I wasn't on NAE, I am on MDC. I did get into the service menu. I did everything in the process without issues. My service menu did NOT have a WCDMA only option. It had LTE/WCDMA and that's what i chose. I just went to the t-mobile store and they verified my APN settings were correct. I am unsure of what to do at this point other than just start all over and do it again.
Anyone else?
goblue30093 said:
I said I wasn't on NAE, I am on MDC. I did get into the service menu. I did everything in the process without issues. My service menu did NOT have a WCDMA only option. It had LTE/WCDMA and that's what i chose. I just went to the t-mobile store and they verified my APN settings were correct. I am unsure of what to do at this point other than just start all over and do it again.
Anyone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize. Long work day. Follow the guide. When it comes to where it says select LTE, GSM, and WCDMA all, ONLY select WCDMA all. At no point should you see your Sprint phone number in about phone. Also you should see IMEISV in about phone as well if you've successfully unlocked it. It'll help if you posted the steps you've gone through. Otherwise were just shooting in the dark.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
tmobile rom
jaywaka2713 said:
I have read that the modem itself cannot be downgraded. You can run older android versions and such on the newer modems, but the modem itself cannot be rolled back. I believe it has been like that since MJA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi can you tell me where I can download 4.4.2 samsung s4 T-mobile odexed rom for l720. thanks.
ecs87 said:
I apologize. Long work day. Follow the guide. When it comes to where it says select LTE, GSM, and WCDMA all, ONLY select WCDMA all. At no point should you see your Sprint phone number in about phone. Also you should see IMEISV in about phone as well if you've successfully unlocked it. It'll help if you posted the steps you've gone through. Otherwise were just shooting in the dark.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Imeisv visible, definitely unlocked as i can make calls texts and use edge data on redpocket mobile (att mvno)
But in phone number I still see my sprint number and I can't get hspa (picking the wcdma all gives me red x no bars, picking gsm all gives me full bars and edge data)
ecs87 said:
I apologize. Long work day. Follow the guide. When it comes to where it says select LTE, GSM, and WCDMA all, ONLY select WCDMA all. At no point should you see your Sprint phone number in about phone. Also you should see IMEISV in about phone as well if you've successfully unlocked it. It'll help if you posted the steps you've gone through. Otherwise were just shooting in the dark.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the S5 thread and now here we meet again in a revisit in time. Since I know you own and understand the L720 more than I do, could you please explain to me if this will work on a 4.4.2 NAE rom? I picked up an L720 (bad esn) for $100 and its in pretty great shape. Now I'm looking to unlock it but my experience with Samsung devices are very mild. It came on CM10.2 (4.3.1) and ive slowly caught up with things. So i understand that sadly there is no such thing as downgrading from KK to JB, I was trying to get it stock on JB with no cigar. Elsewhere I found out that you must flash something identical or above. So im planning on flashing an NAE 4.4.2 stock rom (custom recovery flashable) I found in order to attempt to unlock it cause I can't seem to find a 4.4.1 as mentioned in the OP. I flashed the MDC modem and it stuck, so with little knowledge I am assuming that it will stick once I flash this new rom? Correct me if I am going down the wrong path...
EDIT: Great nobody ever mentioned anywhere that the software used on the international unlock is for 64bit only...
Crossvxm said:
From the S5 thread and now here we meet again in a revisit in time. Since I know you own and understand the L720 more than I do, could you please explain to me if this will work on a 4.4.2 NAE rom? I picked up an L720 (bad esn) for $100 and its in pretty great shape. Now I'm looking to unlock it but my experience with Samsung devices are very mild. It came on CM10.2 (4.3.1) and ive slowly caught up with things. So i understand that sadly there is no such thing as downgrading from KK to JB, I was trying to get it stock on JB with no cigar. Elsewhere I found out that you must flash something identical or above. So im planning on flashing an NAE 4.4.2 stock rom (custom recovery flashable) I found in order to attempt to unlock it cause I can't seem to find a 4.4.1 as mentioned in the OP. I flashed the MDC modem and it stuck, so with little knowledge I am assuming that it will stick once I flash this new rom? Correct me if I am going down the wrong path...
EDIT: Great nobody ever mentioned anywhere that the software used on the international unlock is for 64bit only...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software works on 32 bit too. Actually you can even perform the international unlock WITHOUT the tool if you know how to use QPST or DFS. Anyway...
Flash full NAE. Flash MDC modem. International unlock. Domestic unlock. Win.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Free mobile app
ecs87 said:
The software works on 32 bit too. Actually you can even perform the international unlock WITHOUT the tool if you know how to use QPST or DFS. Anyway...
Flash full NAE. Flash MDC modem. International unlock. Domestic unlock. Win.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must be an issue with my PC, nothing new...
And I know a thing or two about QPST. I still have it on my computer from a few days ago from when I was fixing a horribly corrupted IMEI on a G2 a friend of mine bought. I'm assuming I have to use a NAE stock tar with ODIN, because I tried a ROM of it and it lags and stays on black screens for seconds and WiFi doesn't work im sure because of the fact that the modem is older than the rom. Let's see if that works cause ive been trying to flash back to any stock ROM since I got this thing yesterday.
(Almost there...)
NEVER MIND. Got the international part working perfectly by using the Windows Vista partition on my PC. Now reading on, OP mentions that next the domestic unlock must be done, a link is provided there to another thread with domestic unlock instructions. Heres the question. The OP in the other thread mentions to hop onto 4.3 via odin. How can I get to 4.3 to domestic unlock if Odin doesnt let you downgrade?
Crossvxm said:
(Almost there...)
NEVER MIND. Got the international part working perfectly by using the Windows Vista partition on my PC. Now reading on, OP mentions that next the domestic unlock must be done, a link is provided there to another thread with domestic unlock instructions. Heres the question. The OP in the other thread mentions to hop onto 4.3 via odin. How can I get to 4.3 to domestic unlock if Odin doesnt let you downgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the specifics. You cannot downgrade boot loaders but you CAN downgrade modems.
Unlock just requires MDC or MDL modem.
daniel4653 said:
Read the specifics. You cannot downgrade boot loaders but you CAN downgrade modems.
Unlock just requires MDC or MDL modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I remember that part but from what I was understanding, that's for the international. Domestic requires messing with some files and done. I already got the international part by tossing CM10.2 along with the MDC modem because stock Touch wiz would cause lag and reboots and non working wifi I'm assuming because of the mismatched combo. I DO know that obviously we need a TW rom in order to unlock domestic.
EDIT: I finally got the hint and got it to work. But I only get Edge instead of 3G. Does anyone know where I may be able to find that T-Mobile rom made for us? When I Google it I end up on the T-Mobile side.
Crossvxm said:
(Almost there...)
NEVER MIND. Got the international part working perfectly by using the Windows Vista partition on my PC. Now reading on, OP mentions that next the domestic unlock must be done, a link is provided there to another thread with domestic unlock instructions. Heres the question. The OP in the other thread mentions to hop onto 4.3 via odin. How can I get to 4.3 to domestic unlock if Odin doesnt let you downgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downgraded from latest bootloader on 4.4.2 or was it 4.4.4? Down to 4.3 which is the absolute best ROM version for service mode menu. It got me into service mode menu on first try by selecting menu back and input of 1. What I did was first install cf autoroot to root then cwm and used cwm to flash the 4.3 stock deodexed, I only used Odin for flashing modem. Odin gave me an error when flashing modem and phone got stuck in kies mode but i got it to get unstuck by just flashing cf auto root again to make the kies mode error thingy think odin flash has went well. Turns out MDC modem flashed despite odin error.
Anyways. While on 4.3 and MDC modem I noticed no WiFi but I had sound. I followed the international and domestic unlock instructions and WiFi was still broke when I got back to 4.4.2 but I had unlock and sim card working and got bars. I am on aosp 4.4.4 now and the nae modem I finally flashed works well with this ROM but soon I gotta go to touchwhiz 4.4.4. If I go to 4.4.4 touch whiz WiFi and all else will work fine just as they do on slim aosp . 4.4.2 touchwhiz is still not giving me wifi on NAE modem. Update NAE 4.4.2 stock deodexed rooted rom i got from xda android thread did the trick and all works well now. All is perfectly working after i flashed it in cwm.
For aosp lovers. aosp requires additional things to do so aosp dialer can make and receive calls fine. I can call but there are issues until I follow another guide on xda that resolves those issues on aosp ROMs using sprint s4.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2539794
If you see system slow, no wifi, no audio and lockscreen being nearly impossible to unlock, its due to you being on a higher ROM than the modem was meant for.
Ugh, I am having so many issues with this at the moment. One of those things being that I am using T-mobile as my carrier. I'm stuck on 4.4 at the moment, and need to update it. But, will that relock the phone? How do I re-unlock it if that happens? I've already read that I can't flash the phone to T-mobile ROM, but are there any custom ROMs that you would recommend [I do actually use the S-pen, not sure if any have been updated to where that can still be used.] Lastly, is there any way to get mobile hotspot and tethering to work now that I am using tmobile?
Spikemare said:
Ugh, I am having so many issues with this at the moment. One of those things being that I am using T-mobile as my carrier. I'm stuck on 4.4 at the moment, and need to update it. But, will that relock the phone? How do I re-unlock it if that happens? I've already read that I can't flash the phone to T-mobile ROM, but are there any custom ROMs that you would recommend [I do actually use the S-pen, not sure if any have been updated to where that can still be used.] Lastly, is there any way to get mobile hotspot and tethering to work now that I am using tmobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never tried this Rom.
T-Mobile Alliance Lollipop Rom on ATT Note 3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/t-mobile-alliance-rom-att-note-3-t3065127 I don't think you would have to worry about any of this as you are using T-Mobile " After the phone came up, I went to settings..general..applications...running .... and found every Tmobile app and cleared cache and disabled them. The real important one here is the Visual Voicemail. Otherwise it will keep on trying to contact Tmobile and then you will get text messages saying there is an error. Thanks @sapps
Wifi Calling is throwing a sim card error (as you would expect). Only problem is it is shown in status bar and lockscreen. I'm sure there is a way to hide it or disable it. I just haven't had a chance to figure it out."
Rooted i747 said:
I never tried this Rom.
T-Mobile Alliance Lollipop Rom on ATT Note 3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-3-att/general/t-mobile-alliance-rom-att-note-3-t3065127 I don't think you would have to worry about any of this as you are using T-Mobile " After the phone came up, I went to settings..general..applications...running .... and found every Tmobile app and cleared cache and disabled them. The real important one here is the Visual Voicemail. Otherwise it will keep on trying to contact Tmobile and then you will get text messages saying there is an error. Thanks @sapps
Wifi Calling is throwing a sim card error (as you would expect). Only problem is it is shown in status bar and lockscreen. I'm sure there is a way to hide it or disable it. I just haven't had a chance to figure it out."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it's the N900A, so it's the AT&T version. Won't that brick the phone if I put the tmobile ROM on it? That's what I've read in other threads on here anyway. [Honestly I shouldn't write when I'm tired, or I would have explained this better.]. Basically, I bought an unlocked AT&T phone. A Note 3 to be exact. It's stuck on 4.4 but can upgrade to lolipop. Nothing I try will let me upgrade the normal way. I'm not sure how to upgrade it without relocking the SIM card somehow. Or is the simcard already semi-locked and that's why it's giving me the error? I also can't even find a AT&T specific rooting guide for this phone. I saw every other carrier except AT&T, does that even make a difference? And are there any ROMs that can return S-pen programs after I install them, or should I just stop at rooting if I want that? If so, I just really want to upgrade to lollipop and root the phone. I would like my mobile hotspot and wifi calling to work, but I suppose I can make do with hangouts.
Spikemare said:
But it's the N900A, so it's the AT&T version. Won't that brick the phone if I put the tmobile ROM on it? That's what I've read in other threads on here anyway. [Honestly I shouldn't write when I'm tired, or I would have explained this better.]. Basically, I bought an unlocked AT&T phone. A Note 3 to be exact. It's stuck on 4.4 but can upgrade to lolipop. Nothing I try will let me upgrade the normal way. I'm not sure how to upgrade it without relocking the SIM card somehow. Or is the simcard already semi-locked and that's why it's giving me the error? I also can't even find a AT&T specific rooting guide for this phone. I saw every other carrier except AT&T, does that even make a difference? And are there any ROMs that can return S-pen programs after I install them, or should I just stop at rooting if I want that? If so, I just really want to upgrade to lollipop and root the phone. I would like my mobile hotspot and wifi calling to work, but I suppose I can make do with hangouts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't brick you phone. It's a T-Mobile Rom that's been ported for AT&T Note 3. After you flash the Rom, you have to Odin the N900A_OC1_ALL_Other_Stock_Partitions.tar.md5 using Odin's PDA slot. As far as rooting what you have now, just use Towel root https://towelroot.com/ (install on phone like any other app) and click "make it rain". Install Supersu, busybox and Safestrap. OR use Kingo Root http://www.kingoapp.com/ (Kingo Root will install supersu for you). The reason it won't upgrade to Lollipop is you have a T-Mobile sim card in it. It needs a AT&T sim card (I have AT&T and can't upgrade mine unless the sim card is in the phone). If you just want a rooted Lollipop Rom, but it's AT&T http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59666958&postcount=2 You know since you're on T-Mobile you have to go into settings>more networks>mobile networks>access point names and change it to T-Mobile's APN. I would just root it and put the T-Mobile Alliance Lollipop Rom on ATT Note 3 on it. I gave it a try yesterday and it does have T-Mobile apps on it, just not for me. Just remember to change the APN to T-Mobile's ( just write down the one you using now).
Hi
I have a Note 9 which was originally purchased through Sprint. It's carrier unlocked. After moving the phone to Verizon it remains stuck in Roaming. Technicians at Verizon store clam they've never seen this problem before.
The network's shown as "Preferred System." Factory reset did not help.
I think the phone has Sprint firmware since the Sprint logo shows upon restart.
What works on phone:
Incoming / Outgoing Calls
Internet [around 60MBps]
SMS messages
What's broke:
MMS messages using default "Messaging" application
My wife's pretty upset about this problem.
I am running Linux Mint and familiar with Heimdall.
Do I need to flash Verizon firmware onto this phone?
quackmaster said:
Hi
I have a Note 9 which was originally purchased through Sprint. It's carrier unlocked. After moving the phone to Verizon it remains stuck in Roaming. Technicians at Verizon store clam they've never seen this problem before.
The network's shown as "Preferred System." Factory reset did not help.
I think the phone has Sprint firmware since the Sprint logo shows upon restart.
What works on phone:
Incoming / Outgoing Calls
Internet [around 60MBps]
SMS messages
What's broke:
MMS messages using default "Messaging" application
My wife's pretty upset about this problem.
I am running Linux Mint and familiar with Heimdall.
Do I need to flash Verizon firmware onto this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you've already done a factory reset I would think the next logical step is to flash the Verizon or the unlocked firmware. What about the SIM card, did they try a new one?
They only tried one SIM.
When flashing with Heimdal do I simply need to download the Verizon firmware from SamMobile?
quackmaster said:
They only tried one SIM.
When flashing with Heimdal do I simply need to download the Verizon firmware from SamMobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a thread somewhere in the guide section I recall seeing before from daillcyruz (I think was the OP). Search it and you will find instructions on how to install the VZ firmware.
I am getting an error with Heimdall that there's no firmware.xml.
Indeed the firmware from SamFiles does not contain any xml files.
Any idea how these can be obtained? Goggle does not seem to help.
quackmaster said:
I am getting an error with Heimdall that there's no firmware.xml.
Indeed the firmware from SamFiles does not contain any xml files.
Any idea how these can be obtained? Goggle does not seem to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe try using Odin?
BladeRunner said:
Maybe try using Odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not have a Windows machine. Only Linux.
Maybe I can run a VM.
quackmaster said:
I do not have a Windows machine. Only Linux.
Maybe I can run a VM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ran across a thread where someone had posted a version of Odin that ran on Linux.
Here's one: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/utility-odin-linux-jodin3-casual-t3777030
and another: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/odin4-v1-0-linux-t3782930
None of these work. I am not able to get the PIT from device.
quackmaster said:
None of these work. I am not able to get the PIT from device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you might be able to use odin in wine.. i never tried it tho.. heimdall i havent got to work either..
what firmware are you on? pie is pretty good at switchin csc based on sim inserted.. also crk3 i think it is you can access the csc.apk and change csc easily to any csc.. i havent found any other firmware it works on tho besides crk3..
if u can manage that, theres update.zips you can adb sideload but u need to b on specific firmware versions to update to certain firmwares..
i was messin around with firmwares and changed my csc to sprint.. i have vzw.. although it says roaming i am connected to verizon network so dont think its actually roaming but im not 100% sure
OK
Thanks everyone for help!
I was able to successfully flash using a Windows 10 VM running in Oracle VirtualBox VM. I used Odin v3.13_B. I did not re-partition.
I used this firmware:
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-note9/SM-N960U/VZW/download/N960USQS1ARJ9/242777/
There were no errors though after the phone rebooted it said there was an "unauthorized attempt" to install software.
It then tells me to connect to Wifi in order to verify my identity.
I cannot skip this process.
The Sprint firmware still seems to be present as I see Sprint applications. I am still roaming on Verizon though the port request was completed at least that's what they said at the store.
Interestingly the Sprint logo does not appear upon booting phone. Only the Samsung logo.
To remove Sprint firmware do I need to flash to the non-carrier firmware first before trying Verizon?
I sounds like someone else had the same problem with the SM-N960U.
The solution in that thread seems to be using the SM-N960U1 firmware.
Can anyone confirm this would be a safe fix to try?
SamMobile is a horrible website
I paid the 8 euro fee and the download for https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-note9/SM-N960U1/VZW/download/N960U1UES1ARJ9/244757/ still takes like an hour.
It seems there's some Google phone protection targeted to deter thieves. That could be why it requires me to sign into the previous Google account after flashing.
I am removing my Google account from the phone, doing factory reset, then will try to flash Verizon firmware.
After flashing again it looks like some software called "Sprint OMDAM" still present on the phone. This loads after flashing. When I try to activate on network it comes up while the phone remains in roaming. Again Sprint unlocked the phone.
Should I re-partition?
OK
I wiped the cache partition and did factory reset.
I will yet again try another flash.
The Sprint logo is gone but Sprint apps still remain.
Should I try to re-partition the phone? I don't understand why Sprint applications are showing up when I flash Verizon firmware using Odin.
Make sure you have a Verizon SIM card in the phone.
1. Remove your accounts (Google and Samsung) under settings.
2. Factory reset under settings.
3. Download the U1 firmware using the SamFirm tool
4. Using modded ODIN 3.13.1B flash all four files (use CSC_OYN not the HOME_CSC file).
Optional, if you want WiFi calling and VoLTE:
Download the VZW N960U firmware using the SamFirm tool and flash it the same way using modded ODIN, but this time include the USERDATA file as well.
I think now on Verizon network after using U1 firmware!
I have done quite a lot of searching and it appears that what I am trying to accomplish should be possbile but I have had no luck.
I am trying to move an SM-N960U from AT&T over to Verizon using my Verizon SIM. As far as I can tell this model is compatible on both networks, but if someone could clarify why I am having issues, I would be grateful. Here is what I have going so far:
The SM-N960U is unlocked. I can confirm this on the AT&T site as well the phone as the unlocked animation plays every time.
When I insert the Verizon SIM (which is the correct SIM format, brand new even), the phone sees the number but will not connect to the Verizon network for data/calling
I have Odined the latest stock official Verizon ROM onto the phone, but this changes nothing for some reason. The AT&T software still persists after I install all of updated Verizon files through Odin (The AP, BL, CP, userdata etc). The install is always a success, and shows the loading bar etc, but nothing changes. It's as if nothing is installed.
I have used both regular Odin and the custom 3B Odin
I have factory reset the phone after the install as well, but the AT&T ROM remains.
I am out of ideas on how to get the phone to work on Verizon. Does anyone have an other ideas or see something I missed? Or is it just not possible?
thanks for any help