Recommendations regarding new firmware / csc - usa phone in the UK - N960U - Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers

Hey guys, hope everyone is well!
I've been doing alot of reading of various posts and sites and am getting myself quite confused! I was hoping some of you may be able to point me in the right direction!
I bought an unlocked new note 9 from ebay (I'm in the UK). I'm currently on three and dont think I ever really did a factory reset when I first got the phone.
The details are SM-N960U , Baseband N960USQS2CSGB , XAA/XAA/SPR
My three wifi calling is working which is good, however I am still stuck on August 2019 update. I thought I could perhaps flash this with a OXM firmware or even BTU to start getting updates again. It would be good to get security updates...!
Using Frija I can only seem to find USA firmwares though, and can't find any firmware online for UK sm-N960U (BTU/XEA/OXM). Just wanted advice on what you recommend? Should I just download the latest USA firmware from any of the carriers and flash that using ODIN? Frija doesnt seem to be able to even find any firmware with CSC XAA. I'm worried that if I install a new USA carrier firmware it'll lock the phone and I wouldnt want to lose the three voice calling either.
Any help/advice/pointers are much appreciated! Just couldn't find this particular situation on any of my searches!

The N960U is a North American only variant, with a Snapdragon SoC and non-unlockable bootloader, you won't be able to find any firmware for regions outside USA or Canada, neither will you be able to install custom ROMS.
I believe that the UK models are using the Samsung Exynos SoC.
But... You get the FM Radio on the chip, with the App NextRadio, and with a set of wired earbuds you can listen to OTA radio.
SPR was the carrier Sprint, now gobbled up by T-Mobile, (CSC; TMB)
My carrier Xfinity Mobile, CSC: CCT (Comcast) has WiFi Calling enabled, and has September update in Frija.
However, if you are getting WiFI calling on Three using the SPR firmware already on the phone, you might as well download the latest one, which is the Sept 20 update also.
FWIW, Flashing ROMS using Odin doesn't reset the SIM Lock.
I pre-ordered our phones (my wife received hers the day before the official launch, mine arrived the day after the closing date for claiming the pre-order bonus, luckily they honoured it due to overwhelming demand for the model that I ordered) and Xfinity unlocked them a month after we received mine.
I have flashed other official US ROMs before returning to the carrier's firmware and was still able to slip a Vodafone SIM in at Heathrow Airport and still enjoy glorious UK LTE during my vacation through England and Wales last April.

Related

Question about U vs U1 variant before I sell

Hello,
I am planning to sell my Sprint Note8 online soon. I have the phone unlocked (and confirmed that it works on AT&T with a friends SIM). My question is that I'd like to advertise it as just the North America Unlocked version to reach a larger audience and hopefully get more money. I am pretty sure there are no hardware differences between the N950U and N950U1 variants. So my thinking is that if I Odin flash the XAA N950U1 unbranded firmware onto the device then it would be identical to a phone straight from Samsung. That said, I'm not 100% sure and of course I don't want to falsely advertise. Can anyone conform for me whether I am right or not? Obviously I will market as "Sprint - Unlocked" if there are any differences at all.
Thanks
I think it would be safer and better for the buyer if you flash whatever Network they want before you ship it.
don't update this app!!
MattC867 said:
Hello,
I am planning to sell my Sprint Note8 online soon. I have the phone unlocked (and confirmed that it works on AT&T with a friends SIM). My question is that I'd like to advertise it as just the North America Unlocked version to reach a larger audience and hopefully get more money. I am pretty sure there are no hardware differences between the N950U and N950U1 variants. So my thinking is that if I Odin flash the XAA N950U1 unbranded firmware onto the device then it would be identical to a phone straight from Samsung. That said, I'm not 100% sure and of course I don't want to falsely advertise. Can anyone conform for me whether I am right or not? Obviously I will market as "Sprint - Unlocked" if there are any differences at all.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be sure to follow the switching carrier guide to change code to specified carrier to get rid of lingering Sprint stuff if you want them to have true stock experience...if you change carriers, that is...even if you do xaa
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74087340&postcount=1

Is the P20 Pro the same in all countries?

Hi!
So I've bought a Samsung S9 Duos recently and to be honest, although I like the phone and have been on a Samsung streak for the past few years, I'm getting seriously tired of their country dependant shenanigans. Because I live in Canada, when I buy a Global phone there's a bunch of stuff that either doesn't work or does only partially. And because the Canadian model is a SD proc, not an Exynos, it's an absolute nightmare to switch CSCs and get everything working right...
I hesitated long and hard to get a P20 pro, but the fact it wasn't available anywhere in Canada made me nervous. But my carrier (Rogers) recently announced it so, being really tired of this Samsung ****e, I'm considering returning the S9 and getting the P20 pro (even if it doesn't have a lot of stuff I like such as the headphone jack, SD card and wireless charging).
TL;DR
My question is, if I get an international (dual SIM) model of the P20 pro, is it going to be different than the Canadian one? Is there an equivalent of CSC codes with Samsung that I have to worry about, or can I assume it will be the same phone and I just need to activate it to get carrier specifics?
Thanks
I'm not an expert, but before I bought my P20 Pro, I made sure that it worked with the AT&T's network frequency bands. Each network has different bands and if the phone doesn't support the band, it won't connect.
https://www.droid-life.com/2015/02/...sm-cdma-wcdma-lte-verizon-att-sprint-tmobile/
https://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html
Here are the tech specs from Huawei:
4G FDD-LTE, TD-LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B6/B7/B8/B9/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40
3G WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B6/B8/B19
https://consumer.huawei.com/uk/phones/m/p20-pro/tech-specs/
honua said:
I'm not an expert, but before I bought my P20 Pro, I made sure that it worked with the AT&T's network frequency bands. Each network has different bands and if the phone doesn't support the band, it won't connect.]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. I checked the bands for sure, and they are covered since it will be sold on my carrier soon. I guess what I meant is more the model itself, if there are variants per country or if we (Canada) are getting the same global version.
You see I come from a Samsung user's background and they have these silly country codes that dictate what you can use and where. I'm not sure it's related, but I found that even if on paper all LTE bands are covered with my S9, it still has shoddy reception compared to a Canadian S7. I could try to flash my CSC code to the phone, but a) it's complicated and risks bricking the phone and b) since the Canadian model is NOT the same as the global one, my CSC cannot be applied to this phone no matter how hard I try...
DenisEhm said:
Thanks for the input. I checked the bands for sure, and they are covered since it will be sold on my carrier soon. I guess what I meant is more the model itself, if there are variants per country or if we (Canada) are getting the same global version.
You see I come from a Samsung user's background and they have these silly country codes that dictate what you can use and where. I'm not sure it's related, but I found that even if on paper all LTE bands are covered with my S9, it still has shoddy reception compared to a Canadian S7. I could try to flash my CSC code to the phone, but a) it's complicated and risks bricking the phone and b) since the Canadian model is NOT the same as the global one, my CSC cannot be applied to this phone no matter how hard I try...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FunkyHuawei offers a rebranding tool, which changes the region of the ROM. I used it because I bought mine from a Chinese e-commerce website. I rebranded to European region.
I couldn't find anything about International or Global versions of the phone. I know they are region locked, but the rebranding tool will fix that. You can also flash a firmware from FunkHuawei or use HuRUpdater tool from TWRP custom recovery.
I have used both tools, and had 100% success.
https://funkyhuawei.club/rebranding
https://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-9/development/tool-flash-official-firmware-recovery-t3769279/
https://forum.xda-developers.com/huawei-p20-pro/development/recovery-twrp-3-2-1-0-t3779400
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tools/general/huawei-firmware-finder-team-mt-t3469146
honua said:
FunkyHuawei offers a rebranding tool, which changes the region of the ROM. I used it because I bought mine from a Chinese e-commerce website. I rebranded to European region.
I couldn't find anything about International or Global versions of the phone. I know they are region locked, but the rebranding tool will fix that. You can also flash a firmware from FunkHuawei or use HuRUpdater tool from TWRP custom recovery.
I have used both tools, and had 100% success.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool thanks, I'll see how this could help me out. I'm giving my S9 one last chance but short of that, I'll cough up another $1000 for this phone; I just don't want to end up in the same trap!

Note 9 SM-N960FD with UK Firmware?

Hi guys. I am looking to purchase the Note 9 from eglobalcentraluk. com/samsung-galaxy-note-9-n960fd-dual-sim-6gb-128gb-with-gerenic-0.3mm-3d-curved-premium-tempered-glass-screen-protector-midnight-black.html
This is an international version, and from what I can tell, it's the 5th one down on this list, techwalls. com/samsung-galaxy-note-9-sm-n960-model-number-differences/ the SM-N960FD Duos, for Asia, India, and Singapore.
I live in the UK, and am looking to flash this with UK firmware so I can use samsung pay, and to avoid other annoyances. Can someone tell me if this would work? When finding the firmware on sammobile, when it says type 'my model number,' will the SM-N960F work? It doesn't get anymore specific in terms of SM-N960F**** etc.
I use BT mobile which uses EE networks. Would it be best to flash the EE version?
Thanks for your help!
I paid £700 for a brand new condition (charged once) N960F on Ebay. For the tiny saving, I'd just get a proper UK phone.
Just get it, you don't need to flash anything, the N960f works in the UK no different to one bought from a UK retailer, there's already several threads about this. I've been using the N960f for over a week now, flashing any firmware to it isn't going to change anything, needlessly flashing anything on any device is only opening you up to more risks.
From what I gather, the N960F IS the UK version, if you look at all the variants there's no UK spwcific one at all, so I'm pretty certain the global variant is what is on sale in the UK, all other variants are USA and Asian.
Get it from Samsung UK, if ever you need warranty you wish you had. And you can get a good trade in. Pick up a cgwap note 3 and get £200 trade in value. Join the upgrade program get 24 months interest fee credit too
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Flashing Samsung Firmware

Firstly, I hope this is appropriate to post here - I'm new to this and I'm just getting to grips with it all!
Basically, I live in England, but I'll soon be moving to America. While I was on holiday in America this year, I bought an unlocked Note9 because it was cheaper with the exchange rate, and I thought that it would be the better decision, given that I'll be living in the U.S. soon enough.
However, the firmware is different in certain ways, and I much prefer the U.K. firmware versions. There are things missing from the firmware, that my Dad's U.K. Note9 has, and that my old GS8+ had.
My question is, if I flashed the U.K. firmware to my Note9 would that change my device status? I want it to still say 'Official'. Also, would it do anything to the KNOX counter - or would it even work?
Thanks in advance!
ClassilyContagious said:
Firstly, I hope this is appropriate to post here - I'm new to this and I'm just getting to grips with it all!
Basically, I live in England, but I'll soon be moving to America. While I was on holiday in America this year, I bought an unlocked Note9 because it was cheaper with the exchange rate, and I thought that it would be the better decision, given that I'll be living in the U.S. soon enough.
However, the firmware is different in certain ways, and I much prefer the U.K. firmware versions. There are things missing from the firmware, that my Dad's U.K. Note9 has, and that my old GS8+ had.
My question is, if I flashed the U.K. firmware to my Note9 would that change my device status? I want it to still say 'Official'. Also, would it do anything to the KNOX counter - or would it even work?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uk model is a N960F
us model is a N960U
you cant flash anything from one to the other.
you should have bought the uk version. a high % of Americans buy the international versions for various reasons. one being the locked bootloader on the us version stopping them from attaining root and modifying the system to their will. this year the international F model you guys have in the UK apparently is the lesser phone performance wise. i think it is negligible since rooting is a big advantage in some cases.
anyways please dont mix up unlocked phone meaning not bound to a carrier or region and unlocked bootloader.
cpu arch:
exynos = F model =unblockable bootloader
snapdragon = U model = locked bootloader
both models are avalablabe in region unlocked models.
there are other variants like the N9600 which is special in a way that being a snapdragon, it can have its BL unlocked.
there is also a N960N which is 99% identical to a N960F model.
A N960W In canada which is 99.999% like the us U model.
and finally the F, N and n9600 are all available in DS models too( 2 x sim cards /dual sim)
ClassilyContagious said:
However, the firmware is different in certain ways, and I much prefer the U.K. firmware versions. There are things missing from the firmware, that my Dad's U.K. Note9 has, and that my old GS8+ had.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious, what stock features does the UK version have over the US version?
It's got that sexy date speed indicator in the status bar
[emoji1787]
ramiss said:
I'm curious, what stock features does the UK version have over the US version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

USA VS. HK version of s10 for use in the UK

Given that I’m probably not going to root the phone or anything which unlocked version is better for the UK- do I have to worry about region lock even if it’s carrier unlocked
krackalackel02 said:
Given that I’m probably not going to root the phone or anything which unlocked version is better for the UK- do I have to worry about region lock even if it’s carrier unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I have been using the U.S Unlocked Snapdragon s10 version in the U.K for a few months.
No issues for me so far.
The only network issue you may run in to, is the 3 Network. The phone does not work on their 2G connections, but all other networks are good to go.
I have traveled in a few EU countries (UK, Spain, Italy, Romania) with my unlocked US S10, using local SIM/carriers (mostly Vodafone, sometimes roaming from one country to another).
I didn't have any issues...

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