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Will SM-N960UZBAXAA work on AT&T?

So I've been torn on switching from iOS back to Android because the Note 9 looks amazing. I've waited too long and both AT&T models won't ship until next week (first world problems), so I'm wondering if the unlocked SM-N960UZBAXAA model will work on AT&T or what all will be missing network wise.

It will work on all major and minor carriers in the US. I'm also getting that version~

When using the unlocked/unbraded GS8/Note8/GS9 there were a few limits on the USA carriers... While calling/data/sms works, Carrier specific features like Wifi Calling, VoLTE, Visual Voicemail, etc. varied. I expect that will apply to the unlocked/unbranded Note 9 too.
For unlocked on ATT, there is a VVM app in the play store that works. But if I recall correctly, Wifi Calling and VoLTE didn't work.
For Verizon, at first there wasn't a VVM app, but there is one in the GALAXY app store now that works (and now will auto install when Verizon sim is in the phone if you open the Galaxy App Store). VoLTE (aka HD Voice) works. Wifi Calling and Verizon's Video Calling features do not work.
For T-Mobile, all features worked "out of the box"
But if its like the GS8/Note8/GS9, eventually the carrier branded Note 9 firmware/software will leak and you can flash the unlocked device with the carrier branded firmware (and remain sim unlocked). Doing this you would also get any/all "carrier bloat" apps just like the carrier branded devices have pre-installed.
EDIT: And since my unlocked/unbranded SMN960U1ZBAX (per end of box) arrived today, I can confirm that its the same as my unlocked/unbranded Note 8 and Galaxy S9 on Verizon... Wifi calling and Verizon's video calling don't work, the Visual Voice Mail app downloads from the Galaxy App store, and everything else works.

KidJoe said:
But if its like the GS8/Note8/GS9, eventually the carrier branded Note 9 firmware/software will leak and you can flash the unlocked device with the carrier branded firmware (and remain sim unlocked). Doing this you would also get any/all "carrier bloat" apps just like the carrier branded devices have pre-installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am assuming the opposite is true as well if it's the same way as before? In other words, start with an (unlocked) carrier variant, and flash the original US XAA firmware to get rid of carrier bloat and unlock any frequencies not in the carrier firmware variant?

vacaloca said:
I am assuming the opposite is true as well if it's the same way as before? In other words, start with an (unlocked) carrier variant, and flash the original US XAA firmware to get rid of carrier bloat and unlock any frequencies not in the carrier firmware variant?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming (you know what they say about that word!!) that it will be the same as it was with the GS8/Note8/GS9 when it comes to flashing... including any bloat or frequency changes depending on what/how you flash. BUT I haven't tried anything on my unlocked Note 9 yet other than initial setup and quick tests of calls/messages/VoLTE/VVM/etc. and I haven't seen any Verizon firmware/rom leak to flash it.

KidJoe said:
I'm assuming (you know what they say about that word!!) that it will be the same as it was with the GS8/Note8/GS9 when it comes to flashing... including any bloat or frequency changes depending on what/how you flash. BUT I haven't tried anything on my unlocked Note 9 yet other than initial setup and quick tests of calls/messages/VoLTE/VVM/etc. and I haven't seen any Verizon firmware/rom leak to flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, thanks. Where did you get your SMN960U1ZBAX model? What carrier is BAX? Curious

vacaloca said:
Cool, thanks. Where did you get your SMN960U1ZBAX model? What carrier is BAX? Curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blue 128gig Unlocked from Samsung USA. That is just from the label on the end of the box. Maybe the label is missing the last two letters. and should be SMN960U1ZBAXAA
About screen shows SM-N960U1 similar to how my Black Note 8 from Samsung shows SMN950U1ZKAX on the box (also missing the trailing AA) but shows SM-N950U1 on the about screen .

hello
about N960U and U1 :
SM-N960U OYN multi CSC ( ATT BST CCT CHA GCF SPR TMB USC VMU VZW XAA XAS )
by default : XAA
CROWNQLTE_USA_SINGLE.pit
SM-N960U1 OYM multi CSC ( ACG AIO ATT BST CCT GCF LRA SPR TFN TMB TMK USC VMU VZW XAA XAR XAS )
by default : XAA
CROWNQLTE_USA_SINGLE.pit
regards

KidJoe said:
When using the unlocked/unbraded GS8/Note8/GS9 there were a few limits on the USA carriers... While calling/data/sms works, Carrier specific features like Wifi Calling, VoLTE, Visual Voicemail, etc. varied. I expect that will apply to the unlocked/unbranded Note 9 too.
For unlocked on ATT, there is a VVM app in the play store that works. But if I recall correctly, Wifi Calling and VoLTE didn't work.
For Verizon, at first there wasn't a VVM app, but there is one in the GALAXY app store now that works (and now will auto install when Verizon sim is in the phone if you open the Galaxy App Store). VoLTE (aka HD Voice) works. Wifi Calling and Verizon's Video Calling features do not work.
For T-Mobile, all features worked "out of the box"
But if its like the GS8/Note8/GS9, eventually the carrier branded Note 9 firmware/software will leak and you can flash the unlocked device with the carrier branded firmware (and remain sim unlocked). Doing this you would also get any/all "carrier bloat" apps just like the carrier branded devices have pre-installed.
EDIT: And since my unlocked/unbranded SMN960U1ZBAX (per end of box) arrived today, I can confirm that its the same as my unlocked/unbranded Note 8 and Galaxy S9 on Verizon... Wifi calling and Verizon's video calling don't work, the Visual Voice Mail app downloads from the Galaxy App store, and everything else works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right on. Thanks for the info.
I don't really use any of that, so as long as everything else (voice, data, etc.) works as it should, I think it'll be a-okay.

yakapa40 said:
hello
about N960U and U1 :
SM-N960U OYN multi CSC ( ATT BST CCT CHA GCF SPR TMB USC VMU VZW XAA XAS )
by default : XAA
CROWNQLTE_USA_SINGLE.pit
SM-N960U1 OYM multi CSC ( ACG AIO ATT BST CCT GCF LRA SPR TFN TMB TMK USC VMU VZW XAA XAR XAS )
by default : XAA
CROWNQLTE_USA_SINGLE.pit
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first one can be found in the firmware for this thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...in-firmware-snapdragon-n960usqu1arg6-t3827862
What about the second one?

I have had the unlocked note 8 on AT&T for a year and it works just fine. I had to download VVM app and MyATT app from play store and they work great. I never used VoLTE or Video calling so that never bothered me. My note 9 unlocked should be here today and I plan just to switch out sim cards and go.
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs

nuclearrage said:
I have had the unlocked note 8 on AT&T for a year and it works just fine. I had to download VVM app and MyATT app from play store and they work great. I never used VoLTE or Video calling so that never bothered me. My note 9 unlocked should be here today and I plan just to switch out sim cards and go.
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! I don't care about VoLTE or Video Calling and I don't even have voicemail set up on my line, so sounds like I'm golden! :good:

N960U , about VoLTE
in : setting/about phone/software informaion/Service provider SW ver
if your CSC is ATT/ATT/... ( active/SIM/original product code )
you will have :
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
regards

KidJoe said:
...EDIT: And since my unlocked/unbranded SMN960U1ZBAX (per end of box) arrived today, I can confirm that its the same as my unlocked/unbranded Note 8 and Galaxy S9 on Verizon... Wifi calling and Verizon's video calling don't work, the Visual Voice Mail app downloads from the Galaxy App store, and everything else works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also guess that:
- Carrier aggregation doesn't work so that maximum download is around 17mbps and upload is around 6mbps instead of downloads is ~82mbps and uploads ~44mbps.
- The IMEI is not recognized with regard to pushing secondary LTE bands, which in turn also throttles bandwidth.
Other: This is one of those hostage situations like number portability that is something every consumer wants and no carrier wants. Laws passed by Congress removed cable companies anti-competitive ability to force you to lease their equipment. They need to take the next step and separate content from the cable infrastructure like they did when they deregulated the utilities and separated the lines from the selling of energy, which resulted in my paying 1/4th in today's dollars what I did before in yesterday's dollars and solving the fake energy shortage. The same needs to happen with wireless providers. They need to let you buy your own equipment with no penalty. Cable Internet gateways have a globally unique ID that identifies you as a paying customer on their network and the type of equipment it is. Cell phones have their own globally unique ID that does the same. Both receive an IP address for Internet access. We don't need any new protocols. We've been using Internet data connections for voice over data networks for more than two decades. The SIP protocol, even after packaging the data into IP packets, requires only 85 kbps per session, and is often marketed as HD Voice. Just a .5 mbps Internet connection is more than enough to handle multiple sessions. VoLTE uses SIP, which has been in widespread use for 16 years. The phone simply needs to be a hand-held PC on the Internet, running any operating system that can communicate with the Internet. The bands are simply the connection protocols for communications between the tower and your phone. For me, there is the perfect U.S. unlocked phone that can take care of my communications needs while I'm here in the U.S., and a foreign location. However, AT&T will severely hamstring that phone, even though it is the same hardware as the one they sell. This situation is akin to having to buy your PC from your cable company in order to get high-speed Internet, AND accept their apps and permissions, whatever they do.

IT_Architect said:
I would also guess that:
- Carrier aggregation doesn't work so that maximum download is around 17mbps and upload is around 6mbps instead of downloads is ~82mbps and uploads ~44mbps.
- The IMEI is not recognized with regard to pushing secondary LTE bands, which in turn also throttles bandwidth.
Other: This is one of those hostage situations like number portability that is something every consumer wants and no carrier wants. Laws passed by Congress removed cable companies anti-competitive ability to force you to lease their equipment. They need to take the next step and separate content from the cable infrastructure like they did when they deregulated the utilities and separated the lines from the selling of energy, which resulted in my paying 1/4th in today's dollars what I did before in yesterday's dollars and solving the fake energy shortage. The same needs to happen with wireless providers. They need to let you buy your own equipment with no penalty. Cable Internet gateways have a globally unique ID that identifies you as a paying customer on their network and the type of equipment it is. Cell phones have their own globally unique ID that does the same. Both receive an IP address for Internet access. We don't need any new protocols. We've been using Internet data connections for voice over data networks for more than two decades. The SIP protocol, even after packaging the data into IP packets, requires only 85 kbps per session, and is often marketed as HD Voice. Just a .5 mbps Internet connection is more than enough to handle multiple sessions. VoLTE uses SIP, which has been in widespread use for 16 years. The phone simply needs to be a hand-held PC on the Internet, running any operating system that can communicate with the Internet. The bands are simply the connection protocols for communications between the tower and your phone. For me, there is the perfect U.S. unlocked phone that can take care of my communications needs while I'm here in the U.S., and a foreign location. However, AT&T will severely hamstring that phone, even though it is the same hardware as the one they sell. This situation is akin to having to buy your PC from your cable company in order to get high-speed Internet, AND accept their apps and permissions, whatever they do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Last paragraph if it existed I agree with you.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

IT_Architect said:
I would also guess that:
- Carrier aggregation doesn't work so that maximum download is around 17mbps and upload is around 6mbps instead of downloads is ~82mbps and uploads ~44mbps.
- The IMEI is not recognized with regard to pushing secondary LTE bands, which in turn also throttles bandwidth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your wrong about the imei issue. I have a converted Sprint ls998(v30+) that is flashed with Verizon sw, and volte, wifi calling, video calling, and vvm work fine. The phone is not in vz's database. Ca is working properly too. It's all sw related.

suzook said:
Your wrong about the imei issue. I have a converted Sprint ls998(v30+) that is flashed with Verizon sw, and volte, wifi calling, video calling, and vvm work fine. The phone is not in vz's database. Ca is working properly too. It's all sw related.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe he was referring to unlocked devices working on ATT network. Whether flashed or not .
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

suzook said:
Your wrong about the imei issue. I have a converted Sprint ls998(v30+) that is flashed with Verizon sw, and volte, wifi calling, video calling, and vvm work fine. The phone is not in vz's database. Ca is working properly too. It's all sw related.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe, if you re-read the thread, you are agreeing with us.
People buy the U.S. unlocked phone version to get the additional bands so they can use the phone internationally where they spend time. When you flash the phone to a U.S. carrier's firmware, you lose the communications bands you need to do that, and you pick up all of the provider's unwanted apps. If you flash the firmware from one, and the modem of another, you are "not in Kansas anymore." For some, their only goal is to have a phone that works in both environments and do not see the following limitations as onerous:
1) Not doing carrier aggregation therefore maximum download is around 17mbps and upload is around 6mbps while with an carrier branded phone download is 82mbps and upload is 44mbps.
2) Not provisioning LTE advanced features such as VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, or advanced messaging.
3) Not setting up the IMEI to push secondary LTE bands which in turn also throttles bandwidth.
4) Forfeiting a warranty (usually)
5) Not having forced, irremovable, carrier-specific software and services, when perhaps there was one or two of which they would have wanted to use.

IT_Architect said:
I believe, if you re-read the thread, you are agreeing with us.
People buy the U.S. unlocked phone version to get the additional bands so they can use the phone internationally where they spend time. When you flash the phone to a U.S. carrier's firmware, you lose the communications bands you need to do that, and you pick up all of the provider's unwanted apps. If you flash the firmware from one, and the modem of another, you are "not in Kansas anymore." It may or may not work right or worse, and almost certainly trip KNOX, thereby making it impossible to use secure apps of any kind such as payment processing, etc. For some, their only goal is to have a phone that works in both environments and do not see the following limitations as onerous:
1) Not doing carrier aggregation therefore maximum download is around 17mbps and upload is around 6mbps while with an carrier branded phone download is 82mbps and upload is 44mbps.
2) Not provisioning LTE advanced features such as VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, or advanced messaging.
3) Not setting up the IMEI to push secondary LTE bands which in turn also throttles bandwidth.
4) Forfeiting a warranty (usually)
5) Not having forced, irremovable, carrier-specific software and services, when perhaps there was one or two of which they would have wanted to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't define speeds based on your own experience. It will vary wildly by region because of density, congestion and peak times and what is setup there. Yeah, you will probably lose CA but speeds are not written in stone no matter the path chosen.

Note 8 & 9 are what I'm looking at. I'm currently with Verizon and it has been good. I'm thinking AT&T. Are you on AT&T? If so, what is your experience with them? Do you travel outside of your local area much? Thanks!

[Q] Would Flashing US Cellular Note 9 to Verizon Firmware Add Verizon CDMA/LTE Bands?

We finally made the switch to Verizon back on Monday due to inconsistencies with US Cellular's local coverage in our area. Inconveniently, I had just upgraded to the USCC variant of the Note 9 in early September, so when the Verizon agent initially tried to change the phone over, I was informed that it was the outstanding balance that prevented him from doing so (which made sense at the time). Under the impression that this was all that would be required, I just zoomed over to the US Cellular store next door to pay off that $800 or so remaining on the line, thinking I was in the clear. Of course, it would only be after this that the agent finally realized that compatibility wasn't quite as clear-cut as they had initially thought...
So I apologize in advance for what I feel may be a stupid question, but I haven't been able to find a solid answer on this:
I (now) know that the US carrier-specific models of the Note 9 tend to only come preloaded with the CDMA/LTE frequency bands they use in their respective networks, and that while there is some overlap and crossover, just swapping out one carrier's SIM for that of another still limits you to the original spectrums that came on the phone. However — will the process of flashing the firmware to the correct corresponding carrier for the new SIM also change the frequency bands so everything matches up, or is this something that's entirely hardware related that can't be bypassed?
And to avoid anyone breaking things if this does turn out to be a feasible option, I would assume this would still only work for those in my situation, i.e. trying to flash from an already comparable CDMA capable version of the phone to another CDMA capable version with otherwise equivalent hardware specs and processor (so no GSM-only to CDMA, no Snapdragon to Exynos, etc.).

As has been discussed many times here...ALL the US Note 9s are identical. Same exact hardware. They all support the same bands. The only difference is firmware. And actually with Pie, they will all run the same firmware, just like the Note 8.
You have two options:
1. Carrier branded firmware which will keep WiFi calling and VOLTE working.
2. Unbranded U1 firmware, which is a clean bloat free firmware, but no Wifi calling or VoLTE (unless you're on T-Mobile)
To change firmware, download thr most recent firmware of your choice using the SamFirm tool. Then flash it with patched ODIN 3.13.1. This will wipe your device, so make a backup.

Expatriate cell phone international portability strategies

Purpose: I named the thread "Expatriate cell phone international portability strategies" not only to answer my questions, but generate a thread focused on general portability strategies, the lay of the land, options, considerations, and how to put together what they need without spending weeks picking up bits at a time. I will toss in what I BELIEVE I know from a couple weeks of reading and research, and request corrections and fill in gaps where needed to make this thread a resource.
Scenario: I am a US citizen, and I plan to live in Colombia and work with orphan kids. I want to maintain seamless US connections as well. I also don't want to go past Oreo until they fix the call recording they broke in Pie. The carriers in Colombia all have GSM roots and their market shares are Claro (48%), Movistar(24%), Tigo(18%) Claro is their Verizon meaning it works even in rural areas and other countries in South America, Tigo has the fastest 3G and 4G speeds, the most 4G, and lowest latencies, while Movistar has some rural areas, it made its name with HD Voice in cities before the others.
Code:
The bands in Colombia are:
GSM (2G): 850, 1900 (PCS) - Claro, Movistar, Tigo
UMTS (3G): B2 (1900 PCS) - Claro, Tigo
UMTS (3G): B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1) - Movistar (AWS uses frequencies in several segments between 1695 to 2200 MHz)
LTE (4G): B4 (1700) - Movistar, Tigo, Avantel
LTE (4G): B7 (2600) - Claro, Tigo
LTE (4G): B38 (TD 2600) - DirecTV data
LTE (4G): Future - Colombia will soon (when pigs fly) be auctioning in the 700 range 2x 15MHz blocks (Block A/B12), 2x 10MHz blocks (Block B/B12) and two 2x 5MHz blocks (Blocks C/B12&orB13, and D/B14). A supplementary 2x 2.5MHz block of 1900MHz spectrum will also be auctioned, comprising frequencies in the 1865MHz-1867.5MHz/1945MHz-1947.5MHz bands (Block E/B25).
Strategy Development:
1 The phone must be carrier unlocked. You cannot switch SIMs to another provider in the US or any other country unless the phone is unlocked from the carrier. If you buy a phone through a carrier, you pay for your phone with your monthly payments. They own the phone. You will need to request from them to unlock the phone, which they probably will. If you stop making payments on the phone, they will blacklist the MEID so that whoever has the phone cannot use it, which is how people buy a phone on eBay or Craigslist with a clean MEID and end up later with their phone and phone number being blacklisted for non-payment because the previous owner stopped paying on a phone contract or owes them for service. If you buy a phone outright from a non-carrier source such as Amazon or Walmart, it comes Factory Unlocked because you paid for it, it's yours, and at the time of purchase they don't know which network you will be using it on. *There are exceptions to this. Sometimes Walmart will sell pre-pay phones for a carrier at a deeply discounted rate at which point the phone is locked to the carrier until you spend at least so much on the carrier's network, typically a couple months of service. It will normally state that in the fine print on the box if that is the case.
2. I don't want to get updated past Oreo or some way to preserve call recording. All phones sold for the US market are SM-960U*, and are the same hardware platform thus you can change the model from U to U1 by simply flashing new firmware. The only firmware capable of maintaining Oreo 8.1 without getting forced into an upgrade is the SM-N960U1 Oreo 8.1 firmware, which makes the model of the phone SM-N960U1. You must also do other things to prevent the Play Store from ruining your phone with their malware policies and software updates. You can side-loading earlier versions for software by downloading the APKs from APKPure.com. I subsequently did a thread that spells this out in detail. Restore Call Recording to your Note 9 SM-N960U and SM-N960U1
However, there is another way to get call recording without the cooperation of Android, Play Store, and the phone manufacturer and that is to have a VOIP service host your number(s) and record and backup your calls and logs that puts this entire are outside of their ability to control and monetize your information. This opens up many possibilities such as additional telephone lines for $6.00/mo., local presence in multiple countries around the world with no long distance, your number is protected and isolated from wireless provider control, cheaper data-only SIMs, no number porting, you can pick up a phone anywhere and not be concerned with the number assigned because you won't be using that number, you needn't be concerned that your phone doesn't have the carrier specific firmware for their network to use Voice over LTE (VoLTE) or Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) because you won't be using it. You will be using VOIP, which can be used by anything that can support a VOIP client, which is PCs, phones, and tablets. One such service that fits that quite nicely is CallHippo for $15.00/mo. With VOIP, if your wireless service lapses, you do not lose your number and you simply need Internet access from anywhere, from any device capable of running a VOIP client to use it, including free hot spots. One thing you want to pay attention to when evaluating VOIP plans is what calls cost. Some have "free" incoming, but for instance with CallHippo there is a limit of 800 minutes/mo. free before they start charging $0.01/minute, and outbound calls always cost money, which in the case of CallHippo is also $0.01/minute. Thus, 1000 minutes will cost you $10.00. VOIP includes hosting your number and switching your traffic across the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) which they are paying for and not being reimbursed for by spying on you as your wireless provider does and "free" services such as Google Voice. Moreover, with regard to Video Calling (ViLTE), many countries have defacto applications people use such as WhatsApp, which is rapidly being replaced by Signal from Open Whisper Systems, for secure calling, video calling, and messaging. The reason for this is in most countries using the public switched telephone network (PSTN) costs more than the cost of the data required a call on Signal, there is never any long distance, all you need is an Internet connection where even a hot spot will do, and unlike with carrier communications where the contents of everything is being monetized, it is 100% secure between callers with no server between that can monitor the content of the communications. Unlike other services, Signal doesn't log the calls or even have the metadata to give even under court order.. Therefore, depending on your strategy, the missing network functionality of not running carrier-specific firmware may be of no consequence. 1 GB of data will do 1200 to 2000 minutes of voice calling, which means the bandwidth requirements are so low, that even when throttled after you use up your data allowance, you will still have at least twice the bandwidth needed for quality voice calls.
3. Doesn't Voice over Wi-Fi really come in handy for International travel? First we need to understand the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) It is a world-wide system that originated with copper wires to central offices near your house. This is called the "Last mile", which might be 3 miles. This also means if you move even across the street or somewhere else where and that location is wired to a different Central Office, your phone number will have to change. With mobile devices that had to change. The cellular carrier provides the "Last Mile" that integrates your telephone number into the PSTN. This costs money, and when you pop a SIM into your phone and pay to make it active, that carrier is now the one getting paid to provide the wireless connection and integrate your phone number into the PSTN and they in fact own the number even if you ported it there. Wi-Fi calling is a VOIP connection to your wireless provider that treats the Internet connection of your phone as though it were another cell tower as you drive down the road and when that signal is better than the one it has, it switches to that one. Therefore, in theory, running your carrier's firmware and Voice over Wi-Fi, you could be in a different country, and still have local cell service over the Internet, but it would have to come from Wi-Fi. HOWEVER, because your wireless provider back home is doing your connection to the PSTN, if you don't have a Wi-Fi connection, and your phone roams without an International plan, it gets very expensive very fast, or calls. If you put a local wireless provider's SIM into your phone, you get a new number local to that country, you lose your connection to your number back home, and calls and messages are stored with your carrier back home, and you are paying for a wireless service that you are not using in order to maintain your number. You can switch back to your carrier's SIM AFTER you connect to a hot spot to return your calls and messages to avoid roaming charges. With a SIM local to the country, your to and from back home would be charged long distance rates. With VOIP, changing to a SIM local to your location or using a Wi-Fi hotspot does not affect your access to your number back home, you are not paying for a service you are not using, VOIP can be used by any SIP/VOIP-client-capable device with any kind of Internet connection, either through a SIM or local Wi-Fi hotspot. Additionally, VOIP presents a stable US number, where nobody back home pays long distance to or from that number, no matter where you are in the world. With VOIP as your PSTN provider and the fact that cellular networks are all now data-based, your "Last Mile" becomes anywhere in the world you can get an Internet connection, whether that be Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, or any combination, and with any device capable of running a SIP/VOIP client, such as a phone, tablet, or computer. Moreover, a lapse of wireless or ISP service, cellular service, or change in country location, does not cause you to lose your telephone number as long as you pay the VOIP provider. So to answer the question, "Doesn't Voice over Wi-Fi really come in handy for International travel?" That depends what your expectations are. First, it requires a Wi-Fi connections, which even when free, requires you to agree to their terms before connecting. This works out well in an airport, airplane, or someplace you may be working whether in US or abroad. In the US it can help inside of a building where reception is poor and you connect to the Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is not going to work like a cell phone and ring while you are going down the highway or when you don't take the time to find a wireless network to connect to. After you find a wireless connection, you will mostly be working off voicemails, older emails, and older text messages. Popping in a local SIM would cut you off from your wireless services back home but with VOIP, you would have both local access where you are and perfect connectivity back home.
4. Why don't carriers simply use the US UNLOCKED SM-N960U1 firmware? It covers all of the bands for all of the US carriers, and a lot of the rest of the world, both current and future. I can simply change the SIM for the carrier I want, and I'm good to go. Because the U firmware is tailored to the carrier's network which often contains proprietary methods while they were innovating and before standards were established. Thus, those carriers require non-standard firmware to deliver those services in the near-term. The U1 firmware is tailored to current standards. Also, a phone manufacturer has no right to include the intellectual property that a carrier has invested time and money in and is/was used by the carrier for competitive advantage. Therefore, you may be missing some important features of the network by using the U1 firmware, but it will travel better because it is standards-based, but as mentioned above, those missing features may not matter to you. I did a thread that explains that here: US Note 9 Carrier-Specific vs. US Unlocked Firmware Observations & Theories Question: If I use Google Voice, and use a SM-960U1 US Unlocked phone with a local carrier's SIM in Colombia, will I still get VoLTE and carrier banding from the Colombia carrier without their firmware? As mentioned above, that may be of no consequence to you, but carriers are rushing to become standards-compliant both for regulatory and profitability reasons. VoLTE, VoWiFi, messaging, etc. are things they monetize and don't want to turn away people with other phones. Carrier Banding enables them to not only provide better speed, but also more capacity from the very expensive bands they've been licensed by their regulating authority. These affect price and profitability. Thus, the "U" software force you to update to their latest firmware. The "U1" firmware is standards-based already.
5. Google Voice enables me to have VOIP service any time I have a data connection, and if Internet is not available via the data plan or Wi-Fi, incoming calls and text messages are queued for later when I do. It must be a US number and it must have a backup number in the US. I can forward my Verizon number to the Google number, which in turn can forward to multiple other devices to ring, which is essentially free VOIP. (In exchange for your privacy of course.) Their number cross references to my phone book to show who is calling, and their call rings and works exactly like when I get a call to my Verizon number. To avoid spam, you can have it require them to state their name before forwarding the call plus they do a good job of killing off the spammers anyway. If you return their call, you can elect to have their caller ID show your Google number or your home number at the time you place the call. As with non-free VOIP carriers, Google Voice allows you to use the number any way you can get an Internet connection, call anywhere in the US or Canada for free, the best long distance rate if you call elsewhere, and you are not paying a VOIP provider the the month or minute. You don't lose your number for non-payment because you never pay them anyway, BUT you do need to have a US number to back it. It will do incoming call recording but not outgoing, and plays a message that the call is being recorded.
Curiosity got me checking why Samsung uses the Snapdragon processor on all of the US phones, and Samsung's own Exynos on other phones? What I've found, and seems logical is this:
The Exynos chipset, while good on CPU/GPU benchmarking, is still quite weak in radio performance compared to Qualcomm. Qualcomm is still more than one year, possibly even two years ahead, allowing Qualcomm-based devices to use the network more efficiently and make use of advanced network features which are currently relevant for US (to throw some abbreviations here: MIMO, LTE-U, LAA/LWA,etc), and will be for others in the future. Another is the US market still needs CDMA (the predecessor of LTE which is still in use by some carriers). CDMA may have been replaced by LTE-A on the Verizon network, and CDMA scheduled to be shut down EOY 2019, with Sprint EOY 2020, but they still may be using other CDMA networks they have agreements with beyond that. CDMA is not supported by the Exynos modem. The Snapdragon chipset is very power efficient, and Qualcomm develops a lot of good technology and patents. It's hard not to use their chips, and they are priced where you can't afford to compete with them in a level playing field. Intel, who was supplying Apple, threw in the towel and told Apple they were not going to compete with Qualcomm in the 5G world because they couldn't equal their performance and lost money the entire time in the 3G and 4G world. Apple bought their way back into Qualcomm's good graces by repaying a successful law suit against Qualcomm, and signed a 6-year contract. Thus, the processor that made the most sense at this time is the SnapDragon. The US Note 9s use is as well as the Chinese SM-N9600, which unlike the US SM-N960U* has an unlockable boot loader tempting me with a rootable phone and good firmware support in South America, with instances of success working on the Verizon network in the US. The US UNLOCKED SM-N960U1 supports a few more bands than the SM-N9600 and if I root, I lose Samsung Pay. I'm torn on this one.
Looking forward to your input and corrections,
Thanks!

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-9/help/n9600-samsung-pay-verizon-cdma-support-t3875582

bober10113 said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-9/help/n9600-samsung-pay-verizon-cdma-support-t3875582
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the thread, and my takeaway is with the SM-N9600 I can go places with root, but kills any pay apps. I tried to follow the link to to check out how the revisions work, but the link is broken. So it still seems like an SM-960U, if I freeze at Oreo and add PIE modem firmware, and add other software to prevent the upgrade, I can block the upgrade to Pie and beyond. Which modem firmware would be the best one to flash to the modem is what I'm after. I don't know if the PIE SM-N960U1 modem firmware would work with the Verizon Oreo Firmware to block the upgrade and allow me to use the extra bands of the U1 when using a SIM abroad, or if I need to put in the modem firmware upgrade for PIE for Verizon. EDIT: The only way to prevent an SM-N960U from being upgraded by the wireless provider to Pie and beyond is by flashing the phone to the XAA "U1" firmware.
Thanks!

How to get carrier config working?

Just got mine today, How does one enable carrier config? I got the U1 model and I assumed just like my S9 flashing the carrier U model and changing sims would result in getting the bloatware for whichever sim inserted but after flashing a regular U firmware its still XAA . Carrier bloat from flashing userdata is there, but CDMA calling doesnt work on Verizon only over VoLTE which is the reason I'm doing this. A lot of areas LTE is spotty and phones wil drop to 1X/CDMA 3G and the U1 firmware is not allowing CDMA calls. Which U1 firmware on my S9 wouldnt make calls over CDMA either until I flashed the normal U firmware.
Thanks!

Question S21 Ultra, originally T-Mobile, now Visible (Verizon), but doesn't have correct bands for 5g

I bought an unlocked S21 Ultra last fall that was originally sold by T-Mobile, and I initially used it with H2o (AT&T) and it always worked fine, though it never got 5g service, though I'm not sure that 5g has been implemented yet by AT&T in the Phoenix market, at least not the C-band
On Jan 21, it automatically updated the software so that it now shows SM-G998U_OYN_ATT_12_0018 ATT/XAA,TMB/TMB as the Service provider software version, so it seemingly has both AT&T and T-Mobile software at this time. At that time, it also switched from showing the T-Mobile logo on bootup to showing the AT&T logo, and I think it added, NR B66 as an additional radio band (in addition to NR B41, B71 and the UW bands of B260 and B261). Earlier this week I switched to Visible and while it works fine on 4g LTE, I'm not getting any 5g connectivity. In researching bands, the only one that I have that Verizon uses is the NR B66, while I probably really need NR B2, B5 and in particular B77 to get the new C-band.
The question is, will the phone at some point automatically update to VZW software, and at that point enable additional bands that I need to get 5g? Or is there a way of forcing this? Or what is the best option to enable 5g on this phone? I really don't want to switch to the U1 software as that seems to require a factory reset, and I'm not keen on going through reconfiguring everything again and getting all my icons back where I want them.
Or will this phone not support these bands unless the U1 software is first installed?
Thanks!

Anyone?

Have you tried switching to a Verizon compatible firmware?
With ODIN, you can switch firmwares without losing data.
I suggest trying that, US carrier optimization is known to be the worst

No, I have not tried that. Sorry to ask a dumb question, but what firmware should I use, and where do I find it? I ask because the "official" firmware seems to be from Jan 2021, and it seems to be the U1 option, not carrier specific firmware. I've done some searching, but I haven't been able to find the Verizon version so far. Thanks.

I'm on an European 21U, for the USA version, you need to check this guide
G998U and G998U1 Firmware Links and Flashing Discussion Here
For those who aren't already aware, G998U is the model number of all of the US carrier versions of the S21 Ultra. The G998U1 is the model number of the same device, but sold by Samsung SIM unlocked and with no carrier bloatware. Firmware is 100%...
forum.xda-developers.com

RedWave31 said:
I'm on an European 21U, for the USA version, you need to check this guide
G998U and G998U1 Firmware Links and Flashing Discussion Here
For those who aren't already aware, G998U is the model number of all of the US carrier versions of the S21 Ultra. The G998U1 is the model number of the same device, but sold by Samsung SIM unlocked and with no carrier bloatware. Firmware is 100%...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you need to go from U1 to U (VZW) to see if that solves it.
Can't help on anything else, since on Exynos (European) devices, flashing is much easier than on Snapdragon devices.

I read the link above in detail, and it says that the only difference in the 5 files is the "USERDATA", otherwise the other 4 files are identical between vendors. So USERDATA seems to be a critical file in regards to switching from T-Mobile to Verizon. My concern is that further down in the first article it says that flashing the USERDATA file will wipe the existing data.
- HOME CSC file keeps data intact; using the other CSC will wipe data. Flashing USERDATA will also wipe data.
If this is true, and the only way to manually get the VZW info that I'm looking for without flashing to U1, there doesn't seem to be any advantage to flashing this using Odin, as it'll also wipe my user data. In other words, if I go that route, I'd be better off just flashing to U1, and try that. Theoretically, this should give me everything that I need without first flashing to VZW, and if it'll work with Verizon/Visible without the VZW bloatware, then that would definitely be preferred.
My entire reason for trying all this is to try to get the additional NR radio bands, specifically N2, N5 and N77, which I don't have with the T-Mobile software.
As for backing up the phone and then restoring it, does Odin provide this capability? Or is Samsung Kies a much better option? The Kies software seems to be made for this, so if this is the case and it'll exactly restore the phone like it was before, then it wouldn't actually be a big deal to backup, flash and then restore the phone.

it's a problem with the T-Mobile S21 series, you need to flash U1 software.

Not really what I wanted to hear, but sounds like you have experience with this. I take it that the factory T-.Mobile software (or is it firmware?) essentially locks out the NR bands that they don't have, even if other software is installed on top of it. Thx

Last night I broke down and flashed it with the U1 XAA firmware, using the CSC (not Home) file. It went well, finishing the flash in <4 minutes. Then spent the next 4+ hours reconfiguring things that aren't automatically restored by using SmartSwitch to restore. I'm not sure how that works, but it seems that it doesn't actually back up the apps, rather it just backs up the name and placeholder, so when it's restored it has to redownload every single stinking app again. Plus, I had to go through and relog into every app where this is an issue, plus because it's now called SM-G998U1, I had to delete all the old G998U devices in various places, particularly Google. What a pain... Kind of wish I'd tried the Home CSC, particularly after what I see below.
What's interesting is that I know have the N2, N5, N66, plus the N77 and N78 C-bands, (as well as N260) but I lost the T-Mobile specific bands of N41 & N71, in addition, I also lost N261. I don't care about these as I'm not in an area where the Ka millimeter wave bands matter. However, I do find it interesting that the U1 firmware removed the TMB specific 5g bands. I would have thought that the Factory U1 firmware would automatically support all US carrier bands, but I guess not.
I'm using Visible (Verizon MVNO), and while it worked "decently" before, it's now orders of magnitude better than it was previously as a U device. I debated installing the VZW firmware, but decided not to, and I most definitely don't want to go through setting everything up again. However, I know have a MUCH better signal at my house, a consistent 5 bars, and a signal right around a 89-90 dB, while previously it hovered around 105-109 dB, which is pretty marginal, particularly when the antenna is only about 1/3 mile away. It also now tells me that I'm on LTE+ (rather than LTE 4g like before), so apparently this particularly tower isn't 5g yet, and I haven't left the house yet to see what I get at other locations from other towers.
However, what's really astounding is the speeds that I know get. Previously, download speeds would always start off slow at around 10 - 15 Mbs, and eventually get up to around 60 - 70 on the average, with upload speeds typically maxing out around 15 Mbs. However, now, I'm getting consistent download speeds of right at 240 Mbs (Visible limits max speed to around 250 Mbs on 5g), and upload speeds of ~70 Mbs. It's an incredible difference, so my suspicion is that I may be getting some 5g speeds, even though both Network Cell Info and LTE Discovery apps tell me that I'm generally only connected to the B2 and B5 LTE bands. Or maybe it's possible to get that kinds of speeds out of LTE with the new technology (forget what it's called) that shares bands at the same time, hence the LTE+ moniker.
Also, even though I installed the CSC file, the Service Provider Software is still ATT/TMB. To be specific, it's SAOMC_SM-G998U1_OYM_ATT_12_0026 ATT/ATT,ATT/TMB, and there isn't VZW anywhere. Maybe this will eventually update I don't know. However, it did remove the ATT startup splash screen that I had previously, so that's changed.
It also automatically downloaded and installed One UI 4.1 afterwards, so that seems to be working properly. Any thoughts on any of the above?
Thanks for the help that was provided previously.

kmdigital said:
Last night I broke down and flashed it with the U1 XAA firmware, using the CSC (not Home) file. It went well, finishing the flash in <4 minutes. Then spent the next 4+ hours reconfiguring things that aren't automatically restored by using SmartSwitch to restore. I'm not sure how that works, but it seems that it doesn't actually back up the apps, rather it just backs up the name and placeholder, so when it's restored it has to redownload every single stinking app again. Plus, I had to go through and relog into every app where this is an issue, plus because it's now called SM-G998U1, I had to delete all the old G998U devices in various places, particularly Google. What a pain... Kind of wish I'd tried the Home CSC, particularly after what I see below.
What's interesting is that I know have the N2, N5, N66, plus the N77 and N78 C-bands, (as well as N260) but I lost the T-Mobile specific bands of N41 & N71, in addition, I also lost N261. I don't care about these as I'm not in an area where the Ka millimeter wave bands matter. However, I do find it interesting that the U1 firmware removed the TMB specific 5g bands. I would have thought that the Factory U1 firmware would automatically support all US carrier bands, but I guess not.
I'm using Visible (Verizon MVNO), and while it worked "decently" before, it's now orders of magnitude better than it was previously as a U device. I debated installing the VZW firmware, but decided not to, and I most definitely don't want to go through setting everything up again. However, I know have a MUCH better signal at my house, a consistent 5 bars, and a signal right around a 89-90 dB, while previously it hovered around 105-109 dB, which is pretty marginal, particularly when the antenna is only about 1/3 mile away. It also now tells me that I'm on LTE+ (rather than LTE 4g like before), so apparently this particularly tower isn't 5g yet, and I haven't left the house yet to see what I get at other locations from other towers.
However, what's really astounding is the speeds that I know get. Previously, download speeds would always start off slow at around 10 - 15 Mbs, and eventually get up to around 60 - 70 on the average, with upload speeds typically maxing out around 15 Mbs. However, now, I'm getting consistent download speeds of right at 240 Mbs (Visible limits max speed to around 250 Mbs on 5g), and upload speeds of ~70 Mbs. It's an incredible difference, so my suspicion is that I may be getting some 5g speeds, even though both Network Cell Info and LTE Discovery apps tell me that I'm generally only connected to the B2 and B5 LTE bands. Or maybe it's possible to get that kinds of speeds out of LTE with the new technology (forget what it's called) that shares bands at the same time, hence the LTE+ moniker.
Also, even though I installed the CSC file, the Service Provider Software is still ATT/TMB. To be specific, it's SAOMC_SM-G998U1_OYM_ATT_12_0026 ATT/ATT,ATT/TMB, and there isn't VZW anywhere. Maybe this will eventually update I don't know. However, it did remove the ATT startup splash screen that I had previously, so that's changed.
It also automatically downloaded and installed One UI 4.1 afterwards, so that seems to be working properly. Any thoughts on any of the above?
Thanks for the help that was provided previously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a UK user of Snapdragon that's very interesting that you get n78 c band. I am on
the G998w version and here is my dialler code *#2263# result. As you can see it has no n78 which is important in the UK. Could I see your result just to check all the bands?

Ptuk said:
As a UK user of Snapdragon that's very interesting that you get n78 c band. I am on
the G998w version and here is my dialler code *#2263# result. As you can see it has no n78 which is important in the UK. Could I see your result just to check all the bands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go. As you can see I have both N77 and N78 bands. What I find interesting is that it says Sim 1 is ATT, which isn't what I'm using.
Ptuk said:
As a UK user of Snapdragon that's very interesting that you get n78 c band. I am on
the G998w version and here is my dialler code *#2263# result. As you can see it has no n78 which is important in the UK. Could I see your result just to check all the bands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go. What's interesting is that it says Sim 1 is ATT, which isn't what I'm using.

Thank you. Yes weird the att thing. I think I will give it a crack to move to u1. Seems that the differentiation between exynos and snapdragon has fallen and that channels are no longer an impediment to using snapdragon in Europe. I also got ota update of my w phone in UK which I wasn't sure would happen.

Ptuk said:
Thank you. Yes weird the att thing. I think I will give it a crack to move to u1. Seems that the differentiation between exynos and snapdragon has fallen and that channels are no longer an impediment to using snapdragon in Europe. I also got ota update of my w phone in UK which I wasn't sure would happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I see that you don't have any C-bands, plus you have the TMB N41 and N71 bands, which is very similar to what I had prior to the U1 flash, but lost for some reason with U1, possibly because it seems to think that it's ATT for some reason. I'd be very interested in knowing what bands you have after a U1 flash.

I'll tell you as soon as I've got the nerve to do another flash!

@Ptuk and @kmdigital , will follow your conversation as I'm needing the N78 5g band. I flashed G998W last night but no luck. Weird is that I was from U then U1 but did not have get to see the N78 band appear.
@kmdigital , can you point me out on which firmware you have installed so I can try and how you actually flashed it. Thanks. Badly needing n78.

mapl.ph said:
@Ptuk and @kmdigital , will follow your conversation as I'm needing the N78 5g band. I flashed G998W last night but no luck. Weird is that I was from U then U1 but did not have get to see the N78 band appear.
@kmdigital , can you point me out on which firmware you have installed so I can try and how you actually flashed it. Thanks. Badly needing n78.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to clarify....you flashed from G998w to u then u1? If so can you tell me which u1 you used...I'm wondering whether kmdigitals success is Verizon related or not

Ptuk said:
Sorry to clarify....you flashed from G998w to u then u1? If so can you tell me which u1 you used...I'm wondering whether kmdigitals success is Verizon related or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was originally on G998U then flashed to G998U1 and nothing was changed. Hoping using an universal U1 firmware I would get the N78 band but no luck.
Then, last night I flashed to G998W and lost 260 and 261. Same result no n78 band. I would like to know how @kmdigital was able to get the N78 which I badly need. On download mode my s21 ultra shows ATT at the upper part.
From G998U1UES5BVC1 to G998WVLS5BVAB. I cant recall which G998U I had prior to U1

mapl.ph said:
@Ptuk and @kmdigital , will follow your conversation as I'm needing the N78 5g band. I flashed G998W last night but no luck. Weird is that I was from U then U1 but did not have get to see the N78 band appear.
@kmdigital , can you point me out on which firmware you have installed so I can try and how you actually flashed it. Thanks. Badly needing n78.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I downloaded it from SamFw.com, file name Samfw.com_SM-G998U1_XAA_G998U1UES5BVC1_fac

kmdigital said:
Last night I broke down and flashed it with the U1 XAA firmware, using the CSC (not Home) file. It went well, finishing the flash in <4 minutes. Then spent the next 4+ hours reconfiguring things that aren't automatically restored by using SmartSwitch to restore. I'm not sure how that works, but it seems that it doesn't actually back up the apps, rather it just backs up the name and placeholder, so when it's restored it has to redownload every single stinking app again. Plus, I had to go through and relog into every app where this is an issue, plus because it's now called SM-G998U1, I had to delete all the old G998U devices in various places, particularly Google. What a pain... Kind of wish I'd tried the Home CSC, particularly after what I see below.
What's interesting is that I know have the N2, N5, N66, plus the N77 and N78 C-bands, (as well as N260) but I lost the T-Mobile specific bands of N41 & N71, in addition, I also lost N261. I don't care about these as I'm not in an area where the Ka millimeter wave bands matter. However, I do find it interesting that the U1 firmware removed the TMB specific 5g bands. I would have thought that the Factory U1 firmware would automatically support all US carrier bands, but I guess not.
I'm using Visible (Verizon MVNO), and while it worked "decently" before, it's now orders of magnitude better than it was previously as a U device. I debated installing the VZW firmware, but decided not to, and I most definitely don't want to go through setting everything up again. However, I know have a MUCH better signal at my house, a consistent 5 bars, and a signal right around a 89-90 dB, while previously it hovered around 105-109 dB, which is pretty marginal, particularly when the antenna is only about 1/3 mile away. It also now tells me that I'm on LTE+ (rather than LTE 4g like before), so apparently this particularly tower isn't 5g yet, and I haven't left the house yet to see what I get at other locations from other towers.
However, what's really astounding is the speeds that I know get. Previously, download speeds would always start off slow at around 10 - 15 Mbs, and eventually get up to around 60 - 70 on the average, with upload speeds typically maxing out around 15 Mbs. However, now, I'm getting consistent download speeds of right at 240 Mbs (Visible limits max speed to around 250 Mbs on 5g), and upload speeds of ~70 Mbs. It's an incredible difference, so my suspicion is that I may be getting some 5g speeds, even though both Network Cell Info and LTE Discovery apps tell me that I'm generally only connected to the B2 and B5 LTE bands. Or maybe it's possible to get that kinds of speeds out of LTE with the new technology (forget what it's called) that shares bands at the same time, hence the LTE+ moniker.
Also, even though I installed the CSC file, the Service Provider Software is still ATT/TMB. To be specific, it's SAOMC_SM-G998U1_OYM_ATT_12_0026 ATT/ATT,ATT/TMB, and there isn't VZW anywhere. Maybe this will eventually update I don't know. However, it did remove the ATT startup splash screen that I had previously, so that's changed.
It also automatically downloaded and installed One UI 4.1 afterwards, so that seems to be working properly. Any thoughts on any of the above?
Thanks for the help that was provided previously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When on U1 firmware, the device will restart upon a SIM card being inserted and load the bands needed for that provider. However, I have seen with certain MVNO's it doesn't act the same as a major Carrier when on U1, meaning that it will not register properly (why it still shows ATT for csc and not VZW). It seems that the csc is ATT because it doesn't register your SIM as VZW. Try to find a VZW SIM (doesn't need service) and allow the restart, then put back in your Visible SIM. My guess is the phone will not ask for a restart and will have the Verizon bands loaded from the restart when you inserted the VZW SIM.