Hi There
Hopefully some insight can be shed on this topic, it would be greatly appreciated.
I've read that all you need to do is use the device in the region of purchase for 5-10 mins of local calls & then the region lock is unlocked to any world wide sim.
- is this still the case with Samsung devices?
- lets say once the device is unlocked (in country of origin) but reset a few months later in another country other than it was bought in, will the region lock be back?
Thanks
antares* said:
Hi There
Hopefully some insight can be shed on this topic, it would be greatly appreciated.
I've read that all you need to do is use the device in the region of purchase for 5-10 mins of local calls & then the region lock is unlocked to any world wide sim.
- is this still the case with Samsung devices?
- lets say once the device is unlocked (in country of origin) but reset a few months later in another country other than it was bought in, will the region lock be back?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so, the question youre asking can be answered in several ways. Firstly, the locks placed on the phones are placed by the carrier, so if your phone is truly unlocked, itll never lock on to a service provider permanently. The process you describe about using it for local calls for a few min to have it grab your carrier is CSC related and more applies to whether you can use SPay and SHealth or not. There are also subsidy locks that make carrier switching impossible without an unlock. These subsidy locks can be in the firmware or even an app that was granted root permissions making it impossible to remove on snapdragon devices outside of Odin.
I guess, what issues are you trying to avoid?
Youdoofus said:
so, the question youre asking can be answered in several ways. Firstly, the locks placed on the phones are placed by the carrier, so if your phone is truly unlocked, itll never lock on to a service provider permanently. The process you describe about using it for local calls for a few min to have it grab your carrier is CSC related and more applies to whether you can use SPay and SHealth or not. There are also subsidy locks that make carrier switching impossible without an unlock. These subsidy locks can be in the firmware or even an app that was granted root permissions making it impossible to remove on snapdragon devices outside of Odin.
I guess, what issues are you trying to avoid?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly thanks for taking the time to respond. ?
So I'm not technical at these things but here's a quick background on my query.
A friend purchased a Samsung from an Asian country now while there & the box said specifically that it is made for use in that region and their sim. He's using it but won't know if it will work here till he returns. He is able to get one for me as it's much cheaper there, hence the research on the topic.
Through my search I've seen on Samsung forums people buying phones from difference regions with some able to successfully use it in their country & others not (comments vary on reasoning as to why but the use of that country local SIM seems common)
When he queried the sticker they said to just follow that calling process (I'm presuming now this is the carrier lock) However I'm not sure if there are carrier locks on the device as through my search, that country normally doesn't practice carrier locks (Service Provider) as the US or Europe does as devices are sold at any shop in Asia. So it's a bit confusing..
From your knowledge, let's say he activates & uses it for a few minutes. When he returns & I reset the device, will the lock revert back for that region or will be opened for any sim? And something that just came to mind, as the Samsung devices are regional, will this affect how updates come through or will it be based on that regional timetable for updates?
Thanks again
antares* said:
Firstly thanks for taking the time to respond.
So I'm not technical at these things but here's a quick background on my query.
A friend purchased a Samsung from an Asian country now while there & the box said specifically that it is made for use in that region and their sim. He's using it but won't know if it will work here till he returns. He is able to get one for me as it's much cheaper there, hence the research on the topic.
Through my search I've seen on Samsung forums people buying phones from difference regions with some able to successfully use it in their country & others not (comments vary on reasoning as to why but the use of that country local SIM seems common)
When he queried the sticker they said to just follow that calling process (I'm presuming now this is the carrier lock) However I'm not sure if there are carrier locks on the device as through my search, that country normally doesn't practice carrier locks (Service Provider) as the US or Europe does as devices are sold at any shop in Asia. So it's a bit confusing..
From your knowledge, let's say he activates & uses it for a few minutes. When he returns & I reset the device, will the lock revert back for that region or will be opened for any sim? And something that just came to mind, as the Samsung devices are regional, will this affect how updates come through or will it be based on that regional timetable for updates?
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
terrible questions.. i tell ya what..... TOTALLY KIDDING!!
actually very solid questions and its also great to hear people doing this kind of research prior to pulling the trigger. I commend you
Anywho, lets see.
1: What Asian country? Yes, it matters. Or if you can get the model number from the download mode screen, that would be helpful too. If you dont know how to get to the DL mode, power the phone off, hold down the volume down button along with power and itll boot to a warning screen that will say volume up to continue to download mode or volume down to reboot normally. If you cant get that kind of access to the phone (or your friend rather) then its a crap shoot as many phones being offered up like this have been found to be non-us versions or even worse, utter fakes. Buyer beware if you cant get to download mode to at least check that too. Download mode is the hardest part to fake, fwiw
2: Galaxy S devices come in 2 flavors, Snapdragon and Exynos. Well, 3 i guess, the 3rd being fake. Snapdragons are the only ones that can work on CDMA carriers such as Sprint and VZW, Exynos phones work on GSM only. SD phones can also use GSM services, but the Exynos equipped phones are GSM only. SD are not rootable, Exynos are.
3: The part about your friend using it with their SIM and having problems strictly due to that. No. So long as its a legit USA model with no financial locks on it etc etc, you will be just fine. You might have to flash a CSC file in download mode or perhaps even the entire firmware (doubt youd need to do that last part), but if its an unlocked SnapDragon model built for the US market, then youre good to go.
4: make sure it doesnt have a FRP lock enabled. As long as your friend can boot it up and get past the login screen, you should be fine.
5: The last bit about the SIM again, as long as its a legit G973U with no locks and FRP inst on, you should be good to use it on any USA carrier no matter where it was initially used.
6: updates are issues out in order of IMEI batches. Being physically in a country outside of the one that the firmware is for can and often does impede updates, but thats not a worry as updates can be easily flashed manually and once the phone is on the correct CSC and physically in the right country, then updates will go on as normal.
7: youre welcome
Youdoofus said:
terrible questions.. i tell ya what..... TOTALLY KIDDING!!
actually very solid questions and its also great to hear people doing this kind of research prior to pulling the trigger. I commend you
Anywho, lets see.
1: What Asian country? Yes, it matters. Or if you can get the model number from the download mode screen, that would be helpful too. If you dont know how to get to the DL mode, power the phone off, hold down the volume down button along with power and itll boot to a warning screen that will say volume up to continue to download mode or volume down to reboot normally. If you cant get that kind of access to the phone (or your friend rather) then its a crap shoot as many phones being offered up like this have been found to be non-us versions or even worse, utter fakes. Buyer beware if you cant get to download mode to at least check that too. Download mode is the hardest part to fake, fwiw
2: Galaxy S devices come in 2 flavors, Snapdragon and Exynos. Well, 3 i guess, the 3rd being fake. Snapdragons are the only ones that can work on CDMA carriers such as Sprint and VZW, Exynos phones work on GSM only. SD phones can also use GSM services, but the Exynos equipped phones are GSM only. SD are not rootable, Exynos are.
3: The part about your friend using it with their SIM and having problems strictly due to that. No. So long as its a legit USA model with no financial locks on it etc etc, you will be just fine. You might have to flash a CSC file in download mode or perhaps even the entire firmware (doubt youd need to do that last part), but if its an unlocked SnapDragon model built for the US market, then youre good to go.
4: make sure it doesnt have a FRP lock enabled. As long as your friend can boot it up and get past the login screen, you should be fine.
5: The last bit about the SIM again, as long as its a legit G973U with no locks and FRP inst on, you should be good to use it on any USA carrier no matter where it was initially used.
6: updates are issues out in order of IMEI batches. Being physically in a country outside of the one that the firmware is for can and often does impede updates, but thats not a worry as updates can be easily flashed manually and once the phone is on the correct CSC and physically in the right country, then updates will go on as normal.
7: youre welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly apologies for the long delay in response, just been crazily busy and was doing research on what you said soon I am up to scratch to what you said.
1. It is from India, and yes I am aware of fakes so any purchases will be from reputable seller's. I'll have to do some research on that because I'm sure the different Samsung models will have their own codes.
2. I believe for that region they get Exynos variants.
3. From looking at some of the Samsung models online I see the product code ends with "INS" which I'm pretty sure relates to India and that country only so probably I will have to follow the DL mode you explained for my region in changing the CSC
4. I never knew about this.. How does one make sure its not enabled? Is this in the process that relates to no.3 during the CSC change?
5. Not from the US but good to know lol
6. Perfect lol
7. Thanks again, appreciate it :good::good:
antares* said:
Firstly apologies for the long delay in response, just been crazily busy and was doing research on what you said soon I am up to scratch to what you said.no worries mate, life happens. I just hope all is well in your part of the universe
1. It is from India, and yes I am aware of fakes so any purchases will be from reputable seller's. I'll have to do some research on that because I'm sure the different Samsung models will have their own codes. booting to recovery will generally tell you if its fake or not. you cant fake knox
2. I believe for that region they get Exynos variants. i believe so too. Id just get pretty much any F variant of the phone model you want and youll likely be able to get it working from there
3. From looking at some of the Samsung models online I see the product code ends with "INS" which I'm pretty sure relates to India and that country only so probably I will have to follow the DL mode you explained for my region in changing the CSC. just stick with the F models, you can flash whatever carrier stuff you need after you have it in hand
4. I never knew about this.. How does one make sure its not enabled? Is this in the process that relates to no.3 during the CSC change? Itll show you this in the download mode screen. Itll say FRP: on or FRP: OFF
5. Not from the US but good to know lol
6. Perfect lol
7. Thanks again, appreciate it :good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
always glad to help bro!
Related
This is the phone: https://shop.simplemobile.com/shop/en/simplemobile/phones/sm-moto-e5
1. Is there a way to root it?
2. Where can I find the stock firmware for it?
I can not get anything on the internet about this model
I have done quite a bit of searching online and prodding at this phone in various ways and have found no way to root it unlock it or even get third party manual camera controls.
It appears to be a Tracphone remarketed E5 with a lower resolution camera and a few other locked features (mostly software things). I can only picture that a lot of our problems rooting this phone and getting support (specifically in English) have to do with the fact that "technically" the US isn't even supposed to have an E5, but the E5 play and plus. Which is why we have a Nora Baseband, 8MP camera, Android 8.1, etc. All the features (That may produce or interact with radio emissions) are mismatched to match other "authorized devices".
There is a thread here that lists all the Nora devices as Plus models but "1920" from the same master list is a play model. This model is also listed only with non-contract carriers (appears to be mostly CDMA) woth remarlably little information on it and has a small customer base since most just get the plus.
Even Motorola won't touch it with unlock codes and such like they (supposedly) will the plus model. So I don't think this specific model will get much attention anytine soon, or possibly ever. But again, this is all "from my understanding". So I could definitely be completely wrong. There are guys here who know substantially more than I do on the matter.
This of course isn't to say I havn't enjoyed the only Snapdragon 400 series phone not to be completely piled with non-removable handcuffing UI clutter.
Same question about NETWORK UNLOCK.
So, first to correct myself. This model is now being used for other non-contract carriers, too.
Second, referring to the carrier unlock. That depends on exactly who your carrier is. Some are known for unlocking the day you pay for it in full, others are known to never unlock them even when you meet the requirements by delaying giving codes, rejecting authorization, or removing the ability to submit the code in the phone's firmware. However, most carriers fall in the middle and usually require some number of months of operation of the device on their network and it be paid in full etc. etc.
So, check with your carrier and if they won't unlock it you'll have to meet the requirements or wait for someone to come up with new methods to modify the partitions on the device and/or find a way to unlock the bootloader. Some people (once boot unlocked) have had success with flashing different carrier firmware to gain GSM sim unlock and use with other networks. I did it with an old Samsung ON5 once but our devices don't have near the unlock, root, and rom support lol.
Good Luck though! I hope you figure it out if I don't.
Will it work?
I didn't tried it.
1. Flashing N960U/N960U1 With N9600 Firmware (N9600ZCU1CSB1) From here:
https://samfrew.com/download/Galaxy__Note9__/uc4p/CHC/N9600ZCU1CSB1/N9600CHC1CSB1/
2. Then putting China Sim Card (Inactivated one from eBay)
3. Then making factory reset and letting the phone boot up with Sim Card from China in it.
This supposed to automatically configure my phone CSC settings to the Chinese version "N9600CHC1CSB1" wich allow Call Recording.
Do you think it's possible?
Sharon TLV said:
Here is how in 3 steps:
1. You need to flash your N960U/N960U1 With N9600 Firmware (N9600ZCU1CSB1) From here:
https://samfrew.com/download/Galaxy__Note9__/uc4p/CHC/N9600ZCU1CSB1/N9600CHC1CSB1/
2. Then you need to put China Sim Card (buy one on eBay - It can be a used one and doesn't need to be activated)
3. Then make factory reset (YES, you need to erase your phone completely! and let the phone boot up with Sim Card from China in it.
This will automatically configure your phone dialer settings (CSC) to the Chinese version "N9600CHC1CSB1" wich allow Call Recording.
After phone boot up, you can switch Sim Card back to you US Carrier.
Everything will stay the same!
(Your phone WILL NOT be in Chinese or something like this so don't worrie!)
Have fun and report your success!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can NOT flash N9600 firmware to a N960U or U1. Even if ODIN would allow it to flash, it would just brick your phone.
Mr. Orange 645 said:
You can NOT flash N9600 firmware to a N960U or U1. Even if ODIN would allow it to flash, it would just brick your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N960U/N960U1 (USA)
N960W (CANADA)
N9600/N9608 (CHINA)
They are all Snapdragon 845.
Sharon TLV said:
N960U/N960U1 (USA)
N960W (CANADA)
N9600/N9608 (CHINA)
They are all Snapdragon 845.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N960U, N960U1, and N960W are all the same exact device hardware-wise and you can cross flash those.
While the N9600 is a Snapdragon device, it is NOT the same as the above mentioned North American models. You can NOT cross flash the firmware with it.
If you don't believe me, literally 2 minutes of research in these forums and on the internet will confirm what I have said.
Please, delete your post before someone tries this and ends up with a brick.
Thank you.
Mr. Orange 645 said:
N960U, N960U1, and N960W are all the same exact device hardware-wise and you can cross flash those.
While the N9600 is a Snapdragon device, it is NOT the same as the above mentioned North American models. You can NOT cross flash the firmware with it.
If you don't believe me, literally 2 minutes of research in these forums and on the internet will confirm what I have said.
Please, delete your post before someone tries this and ends up with a brick.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if you can Cross flash N960W on N960U, Maybe one of the CSC in N960W will allow you to Enable Call Recording.
Here are all N960W CSC's...
https://samfrew.com/model/SM-N960W/
Is there any way to check it inside the CSC file before flashing?
Sharon TLV said:
So if you can Cross flash N960W on N960U, Maybe one of the CSC in N960W will allow you to Enable Call Recording.
Here are all N960W CSC's...
https://samfrew.com/model/SM-N960W/
Is there any way to check it inside the CSC file before flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe so. And flashing a different CSC will break OTAs and cause other unknown problems.
Sharon TLV said:
So if you can Cross flash N960W on N960U, Maybe one of the CSC in N960W will allow you to Enable Call Recording.
Here are all N960W CSC's...
https://samfrew.com/model/SM-N960W/
Is there any way to check it inside the CSC file before flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What device do you have? And did you really just post instructions on how to acquire something without actually testing it first?? Please edit your post like Mr Orange asked man. You will cause folks who don't research to end up with issues.
Jammol said:
What device do you have? And did you really just post instructions on how to acquire something without actually testing it first?? Please edit your post like Mr Orange asked man. You will cause folks who don't research to end up with issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edited.
Working on Note 9
Hi there Crew,
Just a quick side note for all... I have Appliqato Call Recorder WORKING on my note 9 (READ BELOW FOR MORE)
This is only relative to the Appliqato Call Recorder and I cannot comment on any other call recording app.
The reason the phone call recording apps will not work is because Google had their backside reamed through the courts on privacy issues.
If you troll through the net you will see the many many many punters who are really peeeeeeved off with this occurring.
I have spent the last 8 days of my holidays off of work flashing my note9 back six different operating systems, even flashing it back to the note 9 post pie (oreo) and got it working - but then the issue is that you wont get any of the standard security updates. etc etc So I set it back to the current firmware and gave up until I found the answer. I have read pages after pages of details to simply find the following
It is a restriction through GOOOOOOOGARGLE and the One UI - pie update NOT the phone manufacturer.
There are some countries that this does not affect but this is done via official firmware and security updates.
Anyways this may not work for all ! But is how I got it to work without any apk side loading or the likes or flashing.
I have a Note 9 Australian, SM-N960F - One UI version 1.0 Android Version 9, Baseband Version N960FXXU2CSDC
1/. Delete your old call recorder app (appliqato) - make sure you back up your calls just in case.
Your calls are not gone, but backup to be sure. Caller ID is not a problem with the unchained version.
2/. NOW here is the catch - go to the Samsung Galaxy Store ---- NOT ----GOOOOOGARGLE store and search for call recorder
3/. Install it ! You will see now that when you go into phone, go to settings - App version - it will now be 5.58-sam and not just 5.58
4/. Set your settings and away you go. Can confirm it works now as it did not before and after many an email to appliqato themselves whom explained that it was a GOOOOGARLE restriction.
It would seem that the lads at Samsung are aware of this but all of the negativity they are getting from this has a flow on effect. It would seem that People who dont read forums or scour the net and just want a quick fix are doing damage to the company's bottom line and reputation for the sales of their phones. The negative feedback's are aimed at Samsung but it is GOOOOGARGLE that are implementing the privacy restrictions through their updates. It should be up for us to decide what we allow permissions for or not. Thanks Samsung!
Me myself - my mother recently suffered a severe brain aneurysm with 6 weeks in intensive care - she is in the 5% of people who survive. Some 6 months later she is still not all together there and will probably have a degree of brain damage for the rest of her life. I like to be able to record her in conversation and cracking jokes when I am many thousands of kilometres away at work. When that one day she may no longer be here - I can play back those precious call memories of her funny an humorous side.
Thanks for your time - hope it helps and works for you.
Cheers,
Dazz
I got the S10 recently, and when I went into developer options, the "OEM Unlock" option is missing. This confuses me since I ordered a Hong Kong model (SM-G9730) that supposedly allows for an unlockable bootloader according to people here and elsewhere. Would appreciate it if someone could help shed some light on this. If it matters, in Settings > About Phone, it definitely says SM-G9730 is the model, and under Software Information, the build number is G9730ZHU1ASBA, which is apparently the February 2019 build date.
Same issue
I'm getting the same problem. I am 100% certain without a shred of doubt that I have the exynos version but OEM unlocking does not appear in developer options immediately after developer options is turned on. From what I have noticed in my recent struggle to put this piece of ---- to good use, the OEM unlock option decides to appear after a certain amount of time after developer mode is enabled. Idk whose bright idea this was but if pissing off the customer was their goal then they did a stellar job.
I have this vague memory of reading that the oem unlock option is timed. So I went ahead and set the phone's system time to a month into the future (also checked 24 hour time but im not sure if that had an impact) to 7/9/19 while the phone was connected to wifi and now the OEM unlock option has appeared again. Hope this helps.
I have tried resetting the time trick a dozen times and OEM unlock does not appear. What is really frustrating is that it was there when I first got the phone and I had it turned on. Of course back in March, there was nothing you could do with the phone. Then bright people started to figure out how to root but by then, a firmware update had come along and OEM unlock disappeared. I tried to install Magisk but it failed badly. Now I'm stuck with the first phone/tablet I can't clean up all the unwanted crap I will never use or want. Very frustrating.
you need to wipe data, and when you set up your phone have wifi connected. Then it should appear in the options, if it does not change the time into the future
bengtc said:
you need to wipe data, and when you set up your phone have wifi connected. Then it should appear in the options, if it does not change the time into the future
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have reset the phone back to a previous firmware version, which should have wiped the data completely. I enabled Developers Options right away but OEM Unlock was not there. I tried the time thing again, but to no avail.
Of course my carrier promptly wanted to install the last update which I accepted. Strangely enough, the phone is behaving better since I did this but I still would prefer to have it rooted so I could get rid of a bunch of junk apps.
khocking said:
I have reset the phone back to a previous firmware version, which should have wiped the data completely. I enabled Developers Options right away but OEM Unlock was not there. I tried the time thing again, but to no avail.
Of course my carrier promptly wanted to install the last update which I accepted. Strangely enough, the phone is behaving better since I did this but I still would prefer to have it rooted so I could get rid of a bunch of junk apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So wait 7 days and it will be available ..
dynospectrum said:
So wait 7 days and it will be available ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
khocking...did this work for you?
I bought my device direct from Samsung, S10+, Snapdragon variant and I, too, am not seeing the OEM unlock, even after the time change and after 7 days.
Radio2006 said:
khocking...did this work for you?
I bought my device direct from Samsung, S10+, Snapdragon variant and I, too, am not seeing the OEM unlock, even after the time change and after 7 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I believe my carrier must have blocked it from appearing. I've given up all hope of rooting this phone and I'm learning to live with it the way it is. But this may very well be the last Samsung phone I have.
Why did you get the exynos verison?
Player04 said:
Why did you get the exynos verison?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the only version available in Canada
khocking said:
It's the only version available in Canada
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is unbelievably unreal. All these versions and only two are unlockable? I have always bought my phones direct from the manufacturer to prevent a carrier from telling me what I could and could not do with my phone, now the manufacturer is getting in on it. A waste of $1000. However, I refuse to accept this mode of operation. I will perform better research and find a phone that gives me the freedom I feel I am paying for.
Thanks for the information guys!
Solution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2Nxck4FtM
Note: You have Internet to be activated. But first i would do all other steps. and then restart, do time sync, deactivate set 7+ days back in time (25-7-2019 > 17-7-2019)
DONE! UNLOCK OEM appers (at least in aprils version)
||||| said:
Solution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2Nxck4FtM
Note: You have Internet to be activated. But first i would do all other steps. and then restart, do time sync, deactivate set 7+ days back in time (25-7-2019 > 17-7-2019)
DONE! UNLOCK OEM appers (at least in aprils version)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might have noticed that I have said I've tried this a number of times to no avail.
This method does not work
JewsRshady said:
This method does not work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqbu7jCmeMY
My OEM is grayed out off disabled will not let me go to download mode from recovery or by pressing the buttons phone will not register to odin at all it's not Verizon or TMobile either
khocking said:
It's the only version available in Canada
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it's not.
I just got off of the phone literally less than 5 mins ago with a Telus rep and we were discussing rooting (I'm in this forum wondering if there is a root method for the SD S10 version yet ~ I don't own one). He has the S10 and is waiting for a method to root it. We joked about how the Exynos version is inferior to the SnapDragon one. "Thank god we live in North America" he said.
So I don't know how you got the Exynos S10 from Telus. In Canada you should only be able to get the SnapDragon S10,
xunholyx said:
No it's not.
I just got off of the phone literally less than 5 mins ago with a Telus rep and we were discussing rooting (I'm in this forum wondering if there is a root method for the SD S10 version yet ~ I don't own one). He has the S10 and is waiting for a method to root it. We joked about how the Exynos version is inferior to the SnapDragon one. "Thank god we live in North America" he said.
So I don't know how you got the Exynos S10 from Telus. In Canada you should only be able to get the SnapDragon S10,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct, I was mistaken in thinking the Qualcomm processor was the Exynos version. My apologies for that. Nevertheless, the OEM unlock switch is not available and has not been since the first updated firmware I got from Telus.
When I called Telus to ask about it, I got the run-around and essentially a non-answer. I have to believe it is Telus that is blocking this function although I've not read about anybody having this trouble who is with any of the other carriers. If you are looking to buy, you might explore this theory.
khocking said:
You're correct, I was mistaken in thinking the Qualcomm processor was the Exynos version. My apologies for that. Nevertheless, the OEM unlock switch is not available and has not been since the first updated firmware I got from Telus.
When I called Telus to ask about it, I got the run-around and essentially a non-answer. I have to believe it is Telus that is blocking this function although I've not read about anybody having this trouble who is with any of the other carriers. If you are looking to buy, you might explore this theory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no root method yet for the SD S10.
It's not Telus, It's Samsung.
If you want root, don't buy a Samsung device. There will be a method eventually probably, but there has been a problem with root on the S line for quite some time now.
I would recommend a Pixel myself (monthly updates for 3yrs+), but there are other options out there.
hi, i want to get a 512GB note9 for use with spectrum mobile, they're a small mvno carrier that uses the verizon network. i think the CSC code for spectrum is "CHA" because they are owned by charter.
the carrier is stupid and can't tell me what models they will accept, or how to ensure all the features like wifi calling are supported, they keep asking for an IMEI to check it, and i don't have one because I haven't bought the damn phone yet... and buying one directly from them is overpriced.
what do you think is the best model for me to buy? i might want to root someday if it ever becomes possible, but for now i just want to use oreo, block the pieUI and bootloader updates, and prevent knox from tripping to preserve any warranty.
some extra concerns are:
#1 i see a lot of people complaining that unlocked phones from samsung.com & bestbuy don't support wifi calling, and neither do the international ones.
#2 if i buy an international version phone from amazon, supposedly I won't have any warranty???
#3 would a carrier refuse to activate a phone if it's not from my region? (usa)
thanks!
The SM-N960U1 is the US unlocked version, with the same hardware as all the other US variants, and the reason it is different than the international version is the international version is built with the Samsung/Exynos SOC which is GSM only, while the Qualcomm/Snapdragon hardware variant must be used for the USA because of Sprint/Verizon (CDMA). The USA version is what you must get to support the CDMA bands (international version will not work on the Verizon network). And You will be not only at the mercy of what Verizon only allows, but also Spectrum, which uses the Verizon network. It's very unlikely you will get wifi calling, but you may get data during calls. I bought my unlocked USA version SM-N960U1 brand new from ebay for $635 about three weeks ago. If you buy a US variant that is carrier specific AND not unlocked by that carrier, you may not be able to use it on any carrier except the one it is locked to.
https://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-9/945781-unlocked-note-9-verizon.html
also..... Pie runs BEAUTIFULLY out of the box (do all the incremental security updates then Oreo>Pie before installing any apps). Night Mode (native dark UI) is very nice too. ..... and I agree, Spectum sucks.
i have seen lots of people complaining that they didn't like the pie update because of oneUI, it breaks the camera pro-mode, removes the video taking button, removes the minimize taskbar button, makes split-screen mode harder to use, and it wastes half of the screen in the menus, lots of complaints like that.
the wasting of half the screen seems pretty stupid to me, because the whole idea of this phone is to have a big useful screen. i don't think its going to make it any easier to control with a thumb just by removing half the items from the screen it just means now you have to do a bunch of scrolling to find what you wanted. am i wrong, or what is your experience with it?
i have also heard that if you let the phone update, the bootloader version will increment and that prevents you from ever re-flashing oreo again, and like it or not you'll be stuck with pie forever. so i'm really hesitant to even try pie out to see if i like using it or not.
dumbfone said:
i have seen lots of people complaining that they didn't like the pie update because of oneUI, it breaks the camera pro-mode, removes the video taking button, removes the minimize taskbar button, makes split-screen mode harder to use, and it wastes half of the screen in the menus, lots of complaints like that.
the wasting of half the screen seems pretty stupid to me, because the whole idea of this phone is to have a big useful screen. i don't think its going to make it any easier to control with a thumb just by removing half the items from the screen it just means now you have to do a bunch of scrolling to find what you wanted. am i wrong, or what is your experience with it?
i have also heard that if you let the phone update, the bootloader version will increment and that prevents you from ever re-flashing oreo again, and like it or not you'll be stuck with pie forever. so i'm really hesitant to even try pie out to see if i like using it or not.
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I read a few issues too, and so when I got the phone, some here said people who factory reset after update, or update right after setup before installing apps have no problems. That's what I did, and I have no problems. Not one thing yet have I discovered is not working as designed.
I write and test software and I trust that Samsung releases good software. They cannot test with everyone's weird setups, but they do test with clean setups, and they wouldn't have released if it was as bad as people claim. As long as you update before installing anything or factory reset after install, you'll have a great running system like Samsung tests on.
I've installed many apps since. All good.
Also extremely impressed with battery performance. I use this phone a lot, and my S7 on Oreo would often be at 10% by the end of the day. Note 9 on Pie doesn't go below 50%
I recently bought an unlocked Galaxy S10 SM-G973U on Amazon. Got new SIM card from a Verizon MVNO and activated phone. The phone downloaded Android 12, One UI version 4.0. Firmware Build number SP1A210812.016.G973USQS6HVA1. Service provide Software version SAOMC_SM-G973U_OYN_SPR_12_0007 SPR/XAA/VZW. The problem is there is no menu option to activate/switch on VoLTE which means when I'm on a call there is no internet. I've talked to the MVNO tech support multiple times and was told they couldn't see any problems on their side, or that the SM-G973U does not support VoLTE which is not true. I found on one of AT&T's sites that the SM-G973U needs a software patch to enable VoLTE. I also found a couple of USSD codes but they either didn't work or didn't get me to the right setup screen to turn on VoLTE. I even stopped by a Samsung store and they weren't any help either. They said they could re-flash a stock firmware but it would revert to being locked to a carrier which is apparently also not true based on what I've read on this forum. Anyone know how I can turn on VoLTE or know of an apk file or software patch to enable VoLTE?? Does one of the firmware versions posted online have the patch to turn on VoLTE??
I think the issue is that your phone is showing SPR/XAA/VZW. You say you're on a verizon MVNO (who, by the way?)... but your phone isn't seeing that. It's actually saying it's active for SPRint. The second one, XAA, means it's not able to detect the SIM type... and the third was that it was originally VZW, which you can't change and isn't really relevant. (That's just what the phone was "born" as).
Bottom line, your phone isn't seeing VZW or an MVNO as the active CSC nor the SIM card. In the past, the easy thing was to change the CSC to what you need, but I haven't found a way to do that actively. What's supposed to happen is that the CSC should update based on the SIM card and cell signal you're getting... but this doesn't always happen. I bought two phones - one switched with no issues, the other I could not get it to change no matter what I tried.
That said, the easiest thing is to clean flash the phone with ODIN to a VZW or your MVNO's ROM, so that (hopefully) the CSC updates automatically. You could also consider flashing a U1 (unlocked) ROM, as yours is not technically an unlocked ROM (U means it's a carrier ROM... which may be why it's not switching over?)
Again, I tried all of these on the second phone I bought, and nothing would switch it (my carrier is Total Wireless, which is a VZ MVNO, and actually shows up as Tracfone (TFN). I had to return that second phone and get another with TFN already activated, and that worked fine... so be sure you do this before you drop out of your return period.
Bottom line, you should be able to get this all working... my VOLTE/VOWIFI works fine... just a matter of getting you there.
Thanks. My carrier is Straight Talk which is now VZ. The SIM card they sent me has the wording "Verizon Compatible" written on it. I finally found a document that explains how to interpret the CSC codes and your explanation clarifies my understanding of it. Sound like I'll have to re-flash it. Since it was originally a VZW phone I'm thinking I should flash it back to VZW to see if that works before trying U1.
Dumb question as this is my first time flashing a phone. (I've flashed quite a few other things but never had to worry about CSC codes and bootloader versions, etc.) I don't see VZW firmware on samfirms or sammobile. I see Sprint, T-Mobile, and one listed as USA without carrier info but I don't see one for VZW. Can someone point me to the correct location to download SM-g973U and U1 firmware for VZW? Greatly appreciated and thanks for putting up with my lack of knowledge!
Edited: Found the files on sammobile. Will try the U1 (VZW) first. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
schwinn8 said:
I think the issue is that your phone is showing SPR/XAA/VZW. You say you're on a verizon MVNO (who, by the way?)... but your phone isn't seeing that. It's actually saying it's active for SPRint. The second one, XAA, means it's not able to detect the SIM type... and the third was that it was originally VZW, which you can't change and isn't really relevant. (That's just what the phone was "born" as).
Bottom line, your phone isn't seeing VZW or an MVNO as the active CSC nor the SIM card. In the past, the easy thing was to change the CSC to what you need, but I haven't found a way to do that actively. What's supposed to happen is that the CSC should update based on the SIM card and cell signal you're getting... but this doesn't always happen. I bought two phones - one switched with no issues, the other I could not get it to change no matter what I tried.
That said, the easiest thing is to clean flash the phone with ODIN to a VZW or your MVNO's ROM, so that (hopefully) the CSC updates automatically. You could also consider flashing a U1 (unlocked) ROM, as yours is not technically an unlocked ROM (U means it's a carrier ROM... which may be why it's not switching over?)
Again, I tried all of these on the second phone I bought, and nothing would switch it (my carrier is Total Wireless, which is a VZ MVNO, and actually shows up as Tracfone (TFN). I had to return that second phone and get another with TFN already activated, and that worked fine... so be sure you do this before you drop out of your return period.
Bottom line, you should be able to get this all working... my VOLTE/VOWIFI works fine... just a matter of getting you there.
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Success! Was able to flash U1. VoLTE is now working. The CSC now shows TFN/TFN/VZW. Much appreciated!!!
Awesome, glad to hear that fixed it easily!
And TFN... I'm a fan there, too!
Hi! I'm having a similar issue with the same model and happy to see someone was able to enable VoLTE. However, most of what you said above is a foreign language to me. Would one of you be willing to give me a crash course in what you did?
Here's my specific situation. Last week (~1/4/23) Tracfone shutdown 3G. My Samsung Galaxy S10 (SM-G973U) says my network is set to LTE/3G/2G. I've read LTE is 4G, but still can't make or receive calls/texts, but data and 911 calls still work. Their tech support is no help.
From reading online it sounds like I may need VoLTE, not just LTE. Hence finding this thread. If one of you would be willing to spare some time to walk me through what you did I'd really appreciate it. In the mean time I'll try to figure out what "flashing" mean in a context that doesn't involve showing body parts
Thank you in advance!!
I'm on Tracfone (they were bought out by Verizon, BTW) - I was on Total Wireless before, which is now Total by Verizon. You might try contacting support again, as they are now VZ, and may have more help to offer.
My S10+ is running 975U1 now, and it works for VOLTE/VOWIFI properly. You may consider getting a U1 ROM installed, and maybe even the VZW (or TFN) version if available - that may get you working.
Did VOLTE ever work for you before on this or any other carrier? What is your CSC right now?
schwinn8 said:
I'm on Tracfone (they were bought out by Verizon, BTW) - I was on Total Wireless before, which is now Total by Verizon. You might try contacting support again, as they are now VZ, and may have more help to offer.
My S10+ is running 975U1 now, and it works for VOLTE/VOWIFI properly. You may consider getting a U1 ROM installed, and maybe even the VZW (or TFN) version if available - that may get you working.
Did VOLTE ever work for you before on this or any other carrier? What is your CSC right now?
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Thanks for replying! I'm not entirely sure if VoLTE has worked previously. I bought this phone 6/2021 and have only haver had tracfone service for it. I did find in my setting that VoLTE calling is set to on so it seems like it should work. Of note, the 4Glte in my status bar has always been grayed out (I went back and looked at some old screenshots).
My current CSC is VZW/XAA/ATT.
I spoke with tracfone customer service yesterday and they had me reset my network setting and now I don't even have data and the 4Glte in my status bar that was previously gray has now completely disappeared.
Their customer service refuses to talk to me now (literally no one answers when it transfers to an agent) or they hang up on me, and no I haven't been rude, but I have told them I'm recording the call.
I bought a mint mobile package last night because I'm beyond frustrated with Tracfone. I'm worried I'll have the same problems with Mint. I'm not sure if my settings are screwed up or if it's just Tracfone. In any case things are worse now after talking to customer service yesterday.
I also notice there was no APN setting on my phone so I updated it today and restarted but no difference.
Thanks for any input!! Much appreciated. Sorry for the novel.
Ok, so based on your CSC, the phone is not seeing the SIM's carrier - it's showing XAA which means it's using the default settings, which is probably why your not getting VOLTE. The active CSC of "VZW" may be ok... depends on which carrier you're on with Tracfone. I think they're VZW only, but I'm not completely sure.
You may want to just get a new SIM card and get that activated. HOWEVER, the problem you'll likely face is that the phone was born ATT (last CSC). This means the IMEI won't match a "compatible" phone to Verizon, and they will flat out refuse to activate it (even though WE al know it will work fine). If you still want to do that, you will have to activate the new SIM on a VZ "compatible" phone, then you can swap it to the S10. Note that VZ complains about this when you talk to them... so don't tell them you're doing this... but I've done it many times and it works fine.
If your actual behind-the-scenes carrier is ATT, then you can do the activation with your phone without issue.
If none of this works for you, you can switch carriers to an ATT MVNO and you should be good to go.
schwinn8 said:
Ok, so based on your CSC, the phone is not seeing the SIM's carrier - it's showing XAA which means it's using the default settings, which is probably why your not getting VOLTE. The active CSC of "VZW" may be ok... depends on which carrier you're on with Tracfone. I think they're VZW only, but I'm not completely sure.
You may want to just get a new SIM card and get that activated. HOWEVER, the problem you'll likely face is that the phone was born ATT (last CSC). This means the IMEI won't match a "compatible" phone to Verizon, and they will flat out refuse to activate it (even though WE al know it will work fine). If you still want to do that, you will have to activate the new SIM on a VZ "compatible" phone, then you can swap it to the S10. Note that VZ complains about this when you talk to them... so don't tell them you're doing this... but I've done it many times and it works fine.
If your actual behind-the-scenes carrier is ATT, then you can do the activation with your phone without issue.
If none of this works for you, you can switch carriers to an ATT MVNO and you should be good to go.
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OK some of that was still over my head. I'll see what happens with the Mint Sim... one f/u question now though. You said the ATT means my phone was "born" ATT. I bought my phone off backmarket and it was sold as "unlocked". Was that not true? How can I be sure in the future if I buy a used phone that's not from my carrier that it will actually be compatible?
Unlocked just means it's not locked to a carrier. That is true in your case, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to install ANY non-ATT SIM. So, you did the right thing to get an unlocked phone, and that is what you got.
The issue with compatibility is just the asshole carriers spreading lies. They do this to try to get people to buy THEIR phones, for no reason other than to make money and confuse consumers. The "born" CSC has no bearing on anything, really... neither does the carrier-specified IMEI. In your case, the XAA is good, which means it's a multi-carrier ROM, which works with all USA carriers.
Mint is a good idea - being an ATT carrier (IIRC), that should work and they should help you get it up and running even if they have to activate it. Good luck!
Awesome! Fingers crossed!! Thank you for your time and all the info❣
I'll try to remember to give an update in a few weeks for future readers
Goldie8709 said:
Awesome! Fingers crossed!! Thank you for your time and all the info❣
I'll try to remember to give an update in a few weeks for future readers
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UPDATE: Switching to Mint worked like a charm! Once my number ported and I put the new SIM card in, service was instantaneous! I've had Mint for 3 weeks now and the service is so much better than with Tracfone! My calls go through nearly as soon as I hit call, the internet is faster.
I didn't need to do a thing either. No making APN settings, etc. I'm betting it has to do with what you said about my phone being born ATT. So funny because the software(?) is Verizon - shows the Verizon when I restart/power up. I still love my bastard phone
So thankful I didn't buy a different phone!!! Again thanks for all your help @schwinn8
Thanks for reporting back and letting us all know, and I'm glad it worked out well!
Yeah, the carriers pull this nonsense all the time... it's BS. The phones are all the same, only the ROM changes. If we can change ROMs (which we can) then there should be no reason to force users to specific IMEIs. But we know why they do this - follow the money. I encourage people to write to the FTC and FCC about this (I have).