Database Develop

WARNING: PingPong Root Users Do NOT Update to 5.1.1

I have gotten a few private messages plus some people have posted on the threads with the updates.
Do NOT update to 5.1.1 if you want to maintain root.
After days of tinkering, here are your possible outcomes (none of which are what you want):
A. Continuous soft reboot after upgrading via FlashFire updates.
B. Use ODIN to flash the system/boot partitions or properly done FlashFire update... Hoorah! You're on 5.1.1, but your fingerprint sensor and LTE are dead - plus no root.
C. You try to downgrade after B, and you no longer have signal under any circumstance.
Personally, I am now just going to flash the OI2 ODIN files in full and be done with it until a new root method is available. Sorry guys, I have tried everything that I can think of. As you can see above that something in the 5.1.1 kernel/system images require the latest bootloader which is what allows us to downgrade and get root from OE2 using PingPong.
There is a possibility of a new solution soon enough... see progress here for other models of S6: UniKernel

Yeah I ended up tripping knox in my attempts at working something out. Fortunately I was able to revert but thats only because I didn't dare try and flash the bootloader or modem. Man this is like a sick mind-game. I wish I would have had more experience with Samsung and AT&T before I bought this damn phone. This is my first phone on AT&T and my first Samsung. It was the perfect **** storm... I never anticipated this bull****, after this long... And I can't even get rid of the damn thing. Nobody wants it.

wesgarner said:
I have gotten a few private messages plus some people have posted on the threads with the updates.
Do NOT update to 5.1.1 if you want to maintain root.
After days of tinkering, here are your possible outcomes (none of which are what you want):
A. Continuous soft reboot after upgrading via FlashFire updates.
B. Use ODIN to flash the system/boot partitions or properly done FlashFire update... Hoorah! You're on 5.1.1, but your fingerprint sensor and LTE are dead - plus no root.
C. You try to downgrade after B, and you no longer have signal under any circumstance.
Personally, I am now just going to flash the OI2 ODIN files in full and be done with it until a new root method is available. Sorry guys, I have tried everything that I can think of. As you can see above that something in the 5.1.1 kernel/system images require the latest bootloader which is what allows us to downgrade and get root from OE2 using PingPong.
There is a possibility of a new solution soon enough... see progress here for other models of S6: UniKernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgive my ignorance here...I've not kept close track of the progress of unikernel. But it was my impression that without a custom recovery option, we are entirely SOL regarding custom kernels. Am I misunderstanding things, or did something change? I didn't see anything in the recent posts there that got my hopes up...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Well technically you can flash the kernel using FlashFire however a screen will stop you from booting.. Says something about at&t detecting modified software on your device please take to repair center blah blah

timde9 said:
Well technically you can flash the kernel using FlashFire however a screen will stop you from booting.. Says something about at&t detecting modified software on your device please take to repair center blah blah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. Well not bootable is not useful! ?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Gah! I don't even use custom roms. Stupid Textra App has this ****ty ghost notification that does not work on 5.0.x android. I would go to 5.1 unrooted but I just can't stand the thought of not being able to get rid of annoying notifications (wifi, etc). Plus all the custom easy hacks. So lame. Never going AT&T again. Why do they make it so difficult anyways? Tmobile doesn't.

They make the majority of their money from enterprise customers. These customers desire the locked bootloader as to avoid security risks. Since this is AT&T's main source of profit this is their main consideration. In short this phone and its software was not designed with our consumer use cases in mind. We are merely an after thought. I have waited too long I am jumping ship, just ordered a Moto X Pure and as soon as it gets here I am leaving this phone behind. Had it since launch and haven't been able to accomplish my original intention since then. Never buying from AT&T and also I am staying far away from anything with an Exynos chipset. Touch Wiz is a lag fest nightmare. For this to be pretty much the most powerful chip in the mobile space and to experience such a lag on it is truly unnerving. Samsung is all too eager to jump the Android band wagon all together and probably intend to do so as soon as they feel their tizen offerings stack up. And I sincerely hope they fail miserably. They are a good hardware company but they should just give up on software. They just don't get it at all.

timde9 said:
Yeah I ended up tripping knox in my attempts at working something out. Fortunately I was able to revert but thats only because I didn't dare try and flash the bootloader or modem. Man this is like a sick mind-game. I wish I would have had more experience with Samsung and AT&T before I bought this damn phone. This is my first phone on AT&T and my first Samsung. It was the perfect **** storm... I never anticipated this bull****, after this long... And I can't even get rid of the damn thing. Nobody wants it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen. Well said. Bravo.... I feel your pain. My first real SmartPhone was the Fire Phone with AT&T, exactly a year ago, and I took its enema for 10+ months before I finally decided to just add payments for the S6 and finally have a good phone I could root. So now I'm paying for both, and the more I search for help and answers on here, the more I feel like my kind aren't welcome. Not by the community, but by ATT and Samsung. Gee thanks.
Well, at least I have a new phone... I'm totally down to build and burn a 5.1.1 effigy with you, if you want.

Well I have already given up on this phone. See my post above. My sister has already agreed to take over the line and the phone payment and I just bought a Moto X Pure outright yesterday. Just waiting for it to arrive now.

I've been thinking of just doing an Odin back to stock (unrooted) and OTA update up to the newest 5.1.1 on my 925a for a week or so now. For anyone that is already on OI2, how is it working out for you? Is the phone still slow at times? Does the memory issues still exist?
I recall seeing an app a little while ago that is able to freeze/disable apps without root. What was that app? Has anyone tried doing something like this? How did it work out?

sirdizzle415 said:
I've been thinking of just doing an Odin back to stock (unrooted) and OTA update up to the newest 5.1.1 on my 925a for a week or so now. For anyone that is already on OI2, how is it working out for you? Is the phone still slow at times? Does the memory issues still exist?
I recall seeing an app a little while ago that is able to freeze/disable apps without root. What was that app? Has anyone tried doing something like this? How did it work out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Package disabler. Works like a charm.

anneoneamouse said:
Package disabler. Works like a charm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Is it the "for Samsung" one? or do you have another one in mind?
How is OI2 working out for you?

Don't have oi2, I have an s6 active, no update yet.

What is the benefits of Oreo?

I still haven't revived Oreo update here in Thailand. When it is released, before I install it, I'm curious what is the benefit of installing Oreo? Note 8 already does everything it's supposed do, will this update make anything better or provides any new features?

having a locked bootloader.

Sitti01 said:
I still haven't revived Oreo update here in Thailand. When it is released, before I install it, I'm curious what is the benefit of installing Oreo? Note 8 already does everything it's supposed do, will this update make anything better or provides any new features?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
significantly worse battery backup and lags and bugs here and there..and that's pretty much about it...

Surprise surprise. That's why I have stuck to 7.1.1 and rooted the device.
Every new update to any Samsung device introduces bugs and kills battery life. Personally it offers little advantage and I'm not the least bit interested in upgrading.
Why waste time changing something that works well just for the sake of it?

-New Lockscreen clocks
-AOD is now better optimised
-boots up quicker
-support for new bluetooth audio codecs like AAC
-gif support in Samsung Keyboard
-you can now restart the iris scan if ever it initally failed to scan by tapping an icon in the lower quarter of the screen instead of the status bar area
-MUCH better notification management system
Many more small tweaks that make the overall experience better!

gsser said:
having a locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean? Oreo didn't lock down the BL on Exynos, and it was already locked on most Snapdragons.
---------- Post added at 10:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 AM ----------
kradcliffe said:
Surprise surprise. That's why I have stuck to 7.1.1 and rooted the device.
Every new update to any Samsung device introduces bugs and kills battery life. Personally it offers little advantage and I'm not the least bit interested in upgrading.
Why waste time changing something that works well just for the sake of it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No lags, bugs, or noticeable battery drain here, and I'd be the first to say so. Careful about 'reports'...half the time they've done something else like dirty flash, installed mods, etc. and blame the wrong culprit.

sefrcoko said:
What do you mean? Oreo didn't lock down the BL on Exynos, and it was already locked on most Snapdragons.
---------- Post added at 10:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 AM ----------
No lags, bugs, or noticeable battery drain here, and I'd be the first to say so. Careful about 'reports'...half the time they've done something else like dirty flash, installed mods, etc. and blame the wrong culprit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before i was on 7.1, i jumped to 8.0 and it reset my rmm state, waited around 2 weeks to get oem unlock option it didnt. and i am not going back to oreo for sure.

gsser said:
before i was on 7.1, i jumped to 8.0 and it reset my rmm state, waited around 2 weeks to get oem unlock option it didnt. and i am not going back to oreo for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok but the problem is with rmm on your specific device model/region, not Oreo itself. I have a different model and OEM is unaffected by Oreo for me (oem unlock toggle is still there). People have rmm issues even on Nougat. It doesn't mean you have to upgrade to Oreo if course, but Oreo is not the reason for your issues.

I updated and have been seeing the lag. Deleting emails takes like 5 secs now after hitting delete.
Iris recognition is a lot faster.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

For me, the key reason for updating to Oreo was support for the Sony LDAC Bluetooth codec. I have the WI-1000X and the MDR-1000X headphones and can now stream audio to these via LDAC, instead of APTX.
Apart from that, as mentioned by previous posters, notifications have received a major overhaul. Also, I have not seen any performance dip after the update -- I flashed the France ROM via ODIN, without doing a factory reset or starting afresh.
I am never far away from a wireless charging pad, so don't know if the battery life has gone for a toss after Oreo.

I think that people should be more careful when posting negative or unconfirmed issues, as other poster said, some people get troubles when dirty flashing or installing firmwares other than official OTA ones

krumbs said:
For me, the key reason for updating to Oreo was support for the Sony LDAC Bluetooth codec. I have the WI-1000X and the MDR-1000X headphones and can now stream audio to these via LDAC, instead of APTX.
Apart from that, as mentioned by previous posters, notifications have received a major overhaul. Also, I have not seen any performance dip after the update -- I flashed the France ROM via ODIN, without doing a factory reset or starting afresh.
I am never far away from a wireless charging pad, so don't know if the battery life has gone for a toss after Oreo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently using my WI-1000x, and just updated to Oreo. Have you noticed any difference with LDAC?

winol said:
I think that people should be more careful when posting negative or unconfirmed issues, as other poster said, some people get troubles when dirty flashing or installing firmwares other than official OTA ones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Bone stock VZW Note 8 here, had it since pre-order. Oreo update came today and so far it's only been faster with no issues. It added some nice Bluetooth audio options in Developer Options.

I flashed the official Oreo rom so I didn't do a OTA and it works fantastic for me.
Overall performance is a lot better
Features like PIP are great
Battery is better
Waaaay better notifications
And a lot of other small improvements.
I think people that have issues with Oreo simply did a OTA

Sitti01 said:
I still haven't revived Oreo update here in Thailand. When it is released, before I install it, I'm curious what is the benefit of installing Oreo? Note 8 already does everything it's supposed do, will this update make anything better or provides any new features?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically avoid all x.0 software releases.
Goes for every software...
Samsung is already testing 8.1 on the note 9 so I will just wait for that to be ported.
It will bring new features and much better stability.

Praks93 said:
-New Lockscreen clocks
-AOD is now better optimised
-boots up quicker
-support for new bluetooth audio codecs like AAC
-gif support in Samsung Keyboard
-you can now restart the iris scan if ever it initally failed to scan by tapping an icon in the lower quarter of the screen instead of the status bar area
-MUCH better notification management system
Many more small tweaks that make the overall experience better!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And better battery performance :good:

razor6_4 said:
significantly worse battery backup and lags and bugs here and there..and that's pretty much about it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using oreo on my note 8 for weeks, I have none of those problems.

meboy said:
Basically avoid all x.0 software releases.
Goes for every software...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I've almost always had the same experience in the past. The bugs usually get worked out in x.1. Not much different with 8.0, I pretty much immediately went back to 7.1.1.

Been on Oreo for 11 days now. For the average user there is some noticeable minor visual change in the UI. Other than that the phone feels and performs about the same. Nothing has changed on my usage.

FIXED!

EDIT::
My initial issue has been solved! I did some tinkering around with the APN settings and finally got my data to work outside of being on a phone call!! I still have issues flashing different firmwares and os's but that problem will be addressed later down the line.

If you make another Question thread about the Flash issues, you can drop a link here. I might be able to help

oh! thank you! i was initially trying to flash the unlocked u1 firmware onto a t-mobile based note 8 because of mobile data & hotspot issues but i was able to fix it. i'm still interested in root & trying to get a custom os installed. reminiscing on the days of dirty unicorns on my note 2

JayeDohe said:
oh! thank you! i was initially trying to flash the unlocked u1 firmware onto a t-mobile based note 8 because of mobile data & hotspot issues but i was able to fix it. i'm still interested in root & trying to get a custom os installed. reminiscing on the days of dirty unicorns on my note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. My Note 8 isn't my main smartphone anymore, but I didn't like putting Custom ROMs on there, because I found I was missing Samsung's Camera App and all their other cool features.
Kinda weird, I like the smoothness and simplicity of pure Vanilla Android, but all the cool little features of Samsung's OneUI. When I still used my Note 8, I just sticked with OneUI but rooted it for some additional freedom. (and for Custom Fonts and Systemwide Adblocking.. and YouTube Vanced. LOL)

dreamytom said:
Cool. My Note 8 isn't my main smartphone anymore, but I didn't like putting Custom ROMs on there, because I found I was missing Samsung's Camera App and all their other cool features.
Kinda weird, I like the smoothness and simplicity of pure Vanilla Android, but all the cool little features of Samsung's OneUI. When I still used my Note 8, I just sticked with OneUI but rooted it for some additional freedom. (and for Custom Fonts and Systemwide Adblocking.. and YouTube Vanced. LOL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i recently came across all the little apps for One UI, i just haven't messed around with them fully yet. but i am still interested in at least achieving root if possible

JayeDohe said:
yeah i recently came across all the little apps for One UI, i just haven't messed around with them fully yet. but i am still interested in at least achieving root if possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just keep in mind Samsung phones have a physical security chip (Knox).
If you unlock the bootloader, that security chip will permanently show that your warranty is void (0x1). You also won't be able to use Samsung Pay, Samsung's Secure Folder anymore, and some other things which don't come into my mind right now...
Samsung Health too, for whatever reason. However for that app there's a tweak you can do in a system file called build.prop... lol
So, there are disadvantages you must be aware of.
There's also Google SafetyNet, which detects an unlocked bootloader & root. And it's been a cat & mouse game to mask/avoid this detection of an unlocked BL & Root from Google SafetyNet, and it sucks. Google and the manufacturers try their hardest to disincentivize users from using their phone in the way they like to.
I don't want to scare you away from making these adventures. It's just a bit rough at the moment for the Android Modding Community and I'm afraid it'll only get more locked up, until Android phones sorta become like iPhones (in terms of freedom).

Yeah, playing around with root and different roms would be fun but i've pretty much settled on how i have things set up with good lock and all of those features. i can't seem to get videos to work with lock+ tho, that option seems to be greyed out.

What could be blocking firmware updates?

I have the SM-781U AT&T locked model. The last OTA update it's received was June 2022. Up until that point it got them like clockwork.
Anyone know of common things that could be preventing OTA updates? I may have disabled something that is needed, though as far as I remember, I hadn't really been disabling stuff since the first month or so I had the phone, in 2021.
I tried doing a logcat when requesting an update check, but nothing jumped out at me. If anyone has anything to look for there, I will try it again!

jdock said:
I have the SM-781U AT&T locked model. The last OTA update it's received was June 2022. Up until that point it got them like clockwork.
Anyone know of common things that could be preventing OTA updates? I may have disabled something that is needed, though as far as I remember, I hadn't really been disabling stuff since the first month or so I had the phone, in 2021.
I tried doing a logcat when requesting an update check, but nothing jumped out at me. If anyone has anything to look for there, I will try it again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello colleague
we are almost the same, I have G781U Unlocked. (TMB)
but all the updates I have to do by pc odin.
I'm about to install the February patch but with the DSH system.
I already tried with USC - TMB
but the updates via ota never arrive.

I had looked into the Odin method, didn't find AT&T G781U firmware (only G78U1) and I don't want to lose anything like hotspot, wifi calling, or visual voicemail, so I haven't taken that plunge yet.

jdock said:
I had looked into the Odin method, didn't find AT&T G781U firmware (only G78U1) and I don't want to lose anything like hotspot, wifi calling, or visual voicemail, so I haven't taken that plunge yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luck
if someone can say why not, we get the update via ota.

If you can not fisn the firmware on Frija or samfirm, it does not exist for your csc and/or model. You can flash another csc using Odin without disabling Knox.

jdock said:
I had looked into the Odin method, didn't find AT&T G781U firmware (only G78U1) and I don't want to lose anything like hotspot, wifi calling, or visual voicemail, so I haven't taken that plunge yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a link with android 13 special for ATT Blocked
G781u1
Google Drive - Virus scan warning
drive.google.com

Just to say youbare not alone

jdock said:
I have the SM-781U AT&T locked model. The last OTA update it's received was June 2022. Up until that point it got them like clockwork.
Anyone know of common things that could be preventing OTA updates? I may have disabled something that is needed, though as far as I remember, I hadn't really been disabling stuff since the first month or so I had the phone, in 2021.
I tried doing a logcat when requesting an update check, but nothing jumped out at me. If anyone has anything to look for there, I will try it again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone figured this out yet? My AT&T S20 FE SM-781U hasn't received an update for 13, not to mention, my last security patch was October last year.
Is there some sort of base Android 13 that can be downloaded and manually installed? If there is and I can find out how to install it, I will do it haha.

oxmoses said:
Has anyone figured this out yet? My AT&T S20 FE SM-781U hasn't received an update for 13, not to mention, my last security patch was October last year.
Is there some sort of base Android 13 that can be downloaded and manually installed? If there is and I can find out how to install it, I will do it haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check if there is any new firmwar on Frija or Samfw

Arealhooman said:
Check if there is any new firmwar on Frija or Samfw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I could find (Also, sorry about the slow to reply thing haha) It's driving me insane because
my last update of anything, was in Oct 2022 when I got Oct security update.
Seems like everyone is getting this update around the globe. I can't afford to buy a newer phone, so
I really want this one to last as long as possible. But I am pushing it to have so much important and
sensitive information, on a phone that hasn't updated the security in 6 months haha.
I haven't installed a custom Rom in years, all the way back in something like, Galaxy 7+ (I am not 100%
certain on that) and it would destroy me to brick my phone, or lose very important information.
With that said though... Are there custom Android 13 Roms floating around now? I am not very good at
navigating these forums and finding correct info. I'm older and have Early Onset Alzheimer's, which at the
moment, isn't to big of an issue. But, it does make tasks like these much harder than they use to be.
But I am desperate and I know I have got to get this updated for my security and welfare. As I said, there's
no way I can't afford another phone, not even used or refurbished. So, at the moment, I sorta have
my hands tied. I am sure there's a thread somewhere with the answers, but after weeks, I cannot find
a thread, speaking on this situation.
If someone could at least point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks for the reply above.

oxmoses said:
Not that I could find (Also, sorry about the slow to reply thing haha) It's driving me insane because
my last update of anything, was in Oct 2022 when I got Oct security update.
Seems like everyone is getting this update around the globe. I can't afford to buy a newer phone, so
I really want this one to last as long as possible. But I am pushing it to have so much important and
sensitive information, on a phone that hasn't updated the security in 6 months haha.
I haven't installed a custom Rom in years, all the way back in something like, Galaxy 7+ (I am not 100%
certain on that) and it would destroy me to brick my phone, or lose very important information.
With that said though... Are there custom Android 13 Roms floating around now? I am not very good at
navigating these forums and finding correct info. I'm older and have Early Onset Alzheimer's, which at the
moment, isn't to big of an issue. But, it does make tasks like these much harder than they use to be.
But I am desperate and I know I have got to get this updated for my security and welfare. As I said, there's
no way I can't afford another phone, not even used or refurbished. So, at the moment, I sorta have
my hands tied. I am sure there's a thread somewhere with the answers, but after weeks, I cannot find
a thread, speaking on this situation.
If someone could at least point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks for the reply above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this device has more updates, but not in your region, just flash a different csc. Do you see any update with a different csc. I have some devices on android 9, so it’s rlly no biggie if there is no more.

Great to join the club!!

Hey guys! I have been scouting around for Note 8 help but thought it was time to join myself.
Hopefully if I am able to solve my specific problem or get my questions asked it can help someone else.
Specifically, right now, I picked up and refurbished a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 since I have one currently that is phenominal, and wanted one in the back pocket in case anything happens but it is locked to ATT, which isnt the real problem. The real problem is that it is still on Android 7.1.1 and I would like to get it to Android 9 Pie.
I am unsure of a few things like whether I need all updates between 7 and 9, or if I can jump straight to it. But things of that sort.
It sucks that its ATT locked but I feel its worse that its on old Android since I refurbed it, (fixed screen and replaced with fresh samsung battery) but its being held back in certain functional capabilities. Either way, I am a techy, not yet able to solder, but definitely able to troubleshoot my way around a Windows Blue screen of death.
Looking forward to learnin more!

MethudMann said:
Hey guys! I have been scouting around for Note 8 help but thought it was time to join myself.
Hopefully if I am able to solve my specific problem or get my questions asked it can help someone else.
Specifically, right now, I picked up and refurbished a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 since I have one currently that is phenominal, and wanted one in the back pocket in case anything happens but it is locked to ATT, which isnt the real problem. The real problem is that it is still on Android 7.1.1 and I would like to get it to Android 9 Pie.
I am unsure of a few things like whether I need all updates between 7 and 9, or if I can jump straight to it. But things of that sort.
It sucks that its ATT locked but I feel its worse that its on old Android since I refurbed it, (fixed screen and replaced with fresh samsung battery) but its being held back in certain functional capabilities. Either way, I am a techy, not yet able to solder, but definitely able to troubleshoot my way around a Windows Blue screen of death.
Looking forward to learnin more!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to XDA! As for updating your phone, could you please tell me your model number?

ethical_haquer said:
Welcome to XDA! As for updating your phone, could you please tell me your model number?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, sorry for long response time.
For the important info:
Model: SM-N950U
Android. 7.1.1
Build:NMF26X.N950USQU1AQH7
CSC: ATT

I'll monitor more closely so let me know if you need any other info

MethudMann said:
Yeah, sorry for long response time.
For the important info:
Model: SM-N950U
Android. 7.1.1
Build:NMF26X.N950USQU1AQH7
CSC: ATT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, there are two versions of firmware available for your device. One is "branded" and has carrier bloat, whereas the other does not have carrier bloat but might have issues with VoLTE (probably not, but there is a chance). What one would you prefer? Let me know if you have any questions regarding the difference.

ethical_haquer said:
Alright, there are two versions of firmware available for your device. One is "branded" and has carrier bloat, whereas the other does not have carrier bloat but might have issues with VoLTE (probably not, but there is a chance). What one would you prefer? Let me know if you have any questions regarding the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the research and yes I do have questions if its not too much of an issue:
1.) Carrier bloat is like the usual and can just be deleted anyways correct?
2.) In what scenarios (in case everything was working fine with OTA updates) would the phone have downloaded a version without bloat?
3.) Would updating to the non-bloated version cause any issues since the phone is still carrier locked?
4.) Lastly, for the firmware, would I need to download multiple updates until that point or just straight to the firmware?
If not, I can research the answers as I have been on it on and off for a month with research but other than that, you're a god send.
By the way, if #1 is true, I'll just take the bloatware no doubt just to be as safe as possible.

Thanks again for all the help @ethical_haquer
Been busy researching in the Samsung Note 8 ATT threads and I was able to find the answer to number 4 in that using Full ODIN files is a complete flash and different than just an update which requires the previous updates.
The answer to number 3 from what I have seen no. The only thing is that certain features may NOT work such as VoLTE; pretty much you already answered 3 and I was literally too dumb to see that until I started writing this message. *face palm
Question 2 is pretty much inconsequential so don't worry answering that. Its was just curiosity. But for anyone who does see this possibly, my speculation is that NO, the carrier version would never download the non-carrier version. The non-branded update is for those unlocked phones that receive over-the-air (OTA) updates that were not associated with any carrier, in other words buying a phone directly from samsung's website.
For 1, I am guessing it is "Yes" since I was able to do that in the past with all my other phones. But either way it is not a make it or break it so it doesn't matter.
I have been able to find some full ODIN files for the updates I was looking for, so will be attempting my first flash soon. Will be posting all my findings to the thread I was reading just to potentially help anyone else (though rare since this device is getting real old) who has the same questions I had and I can get them up to speed without having to search everything

Just finished flashing the ATT Note 8 to and the Answer to Number 1 is that NO, you cannot Uninstall the bloatware
Again, will post all these findings to the proper thread in after completed

Sorry for the late reply! I would try installing the firmware for the SM-N950U1 (notice the 1). It should work and won't have carrier bloat.

ethical_haquer said:
Sorry for the late reply! I would try installing the firmware for the SM-N950U1 (notice the 1). It should work and won't have carrier bloat.
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You're all good!
I may but I actually have to find one more update I am looking for (Full ODIN FILES). My daily driver note 8 is on N950USQS7DTE5 and it is a T-Mobile Version (though it bein g TMO is inconsequential at the moment. Just thought I might mention it).
That is the update I would like for ATT just so that I know there wont be any differences (or less differences) between my daily driver and this.This is me being picky at this point but isn't the point of life getting what you want? I found one update above that but different bootloader. So for whatever reason may happen, no going back.
What I currently flashed to was N950USQS3BRA8 so it's still on Android 7.1.1 but I did this just to test to the process (my first flashing). Now I am ready.
So I will look for that then flash it and update as usual

Just found, or couldnt find, that ATT has the same update so will just go with what I have. Close as I can get