Database Develop

Desperately Need Help - Samsung SM-N960F/DS + T-mobile PUK and other issues.....

Hi. I am a complete noob when it comes to rooting Android.
**************************UPDATE************************************************
THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN SOLVED. PLEASE SCROLL TO POST #89 ON PAGE 9 TO SEE THE SOLUTION.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=77950935&postcount=89
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I bought an *unlocked* Samsung Note 9 N960F/DS (Exynos 9810) international phone from a seller on ebay brand new and sealed. Received the phone yesterday (10/19/2018) and popped my working existing sim card from my iphone 6 with T-mobile into the new phone and it *worked*.........except no wifi calling.
Since my house has terrible reception I really do need wifi calling in order to receive calls (I use Skype for outbound). I decided to root and install Detonator (tekhd) even though I've never done this before. Somewhere along the line I messed up and installed the latest LUX ROM because I misred Tekhd's guide on Detonator (my fault).
Here's where I stand now: I found a stock ROM for this model (N960F/DS) and reinstalled it using Odin3 v3.13.1.
After a successful flash when I insert my working T-mobile sim I get "SIM network PIN blocked. Enter SIM network PUK."
Here the Service Provider SW shows XEU/XEU,XEU/MYM
I get the *same* message when I insert a spare T-mobile sim I happened to have that was confirmed as available with T-mobile customer service. If I take the working sim out and put it back into the other phone it works without a problem. I think that rules out the sim cards having issues.
Earlier when I had the phone rooted and Detonator installed (and working), I got a different message when I inserted the SIM:
Network Lock: This device can be remotely unlocked if eligible.
Please use the "Device Unlock" application to unlock the device.
Make sure the device has an internet connectivity to use the "Device Unlock application".​
Here the Service Provider SW showed TMB/TMB/MYM.
I tried looking for a T-mobile Unlock App apk to download but could not find a recent one. I would get a "Device not supported" error. It seems T-mobile has taken it off the Playstore.
Now, I can't install a stock USA ROM from T-mobile because those ROMS are only for the Snapdragon versions and I have the Exynos chip. I was given two unlock codes over the phone with T-mobile customer service to try and unlock the Pin lock but they both did not work.
Do you think an unlock service will be able to provide me with a valid "Sim Network PUK" code? I'm happy to pay for the service if I can just get the damn phone working. I've spent almost $770 on this phone and in hindsight should just have gotten the T-mobile branded phone for $100 more. I'm really at a loss as to what I can do to rectify this situation.
Also in hindsight I should have done more research before purchasing the phone and also should have backed up my partition in TWRP........You live and you learn.
The irony here is that I had an unlocked phone.....and now it has somehow gotten locked.........by the carrier whose SIM card is working perfectly fine......in a different phone. The device was paid in full btw.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

orsonwells456 said:
Hi. I am a complete noob when it comes to rooting Android.
I bought an *unlocked* Samsung Note 9 N960F/DS (Exynos 9810) international phone from a seller on ebay brand new and sealed. Received the phone yesterday (10/19/2018) and popped my working existing sim card from my iphone 6 with T-mobile into the new phone and it *worked*.........except no wifi calling.
Since my house has terrible reception I really do need wifi calling in order to receive calls (I use Skype for outbound). I decided to root and install Detonator (tekhd) even though I've never done this before. Somewhere along the line I messed up and installed the latest LUX ROM because I misred Tekhd's guide on Detonator (my fault).
Here's where I stand now: I found a stock ROM for this model (N960F/DS) and reinstalled it using Odin3 v3.13.1.
After a successful flash when I insert my working T-mobile sim I get "SIM network PIN blocked. Enter SIM network PUK."
Here the Service Provider SW shows XEU/XEU,XEU/MYM
I get the *same* message when I insert a spare T-mobile sim I happened to have that was confirmed as available with T-mobile customer service. If I take the working sim out and put it back into the other phone it works without a problem. I think that rules out the sim cards having issues.
Earlier when I had the phone rooted and Detonator installed (and working), I got a different message when I inserted the SIM:
Network Lock: This device can be remotely unlocked if eligible.
Please use the "Device Unlock" application to unlock the device.
Make sure the device has an internet connectivity to use the "Device Unlock application".
Here the Service Provider SW showed TMB/TMB/MYM.
I tried looking for a T-mobile Unlock App apk to download but could not find a recent one. I would get a "Device not supported" error. It seems T-mobile has taken it off the Playstore.
Now, I can't install a stock USA ROM from T-mobile because those ROMS are only for the Snapdragon versions and I have the Exynos chip. I was given two unlock codes over the phone with T-mobile customer service to try and unlock the Pin lock but they both did not work.
Do you think an unlock service will be able to provide me with a valid "Sim Network PUK" code? I'm happy to pay for the service if I can just get the damn phone working. I've spent almost $770 on this phone and in hindsight should just have gotten the T-mobile branded phone for $100 more. I'm really at a loss as to what I can do to rectify this situation.
Also in hindsight I should have done more research before purchasing the phone and also should have backed up my partition in TWRP........You live and you learn.
The irony here is that I had an unlocked phone.....and now it has somehow gotten locked.........by the carrier whose SIM card is working perfectly fine......in a different phone. The device was paid in full btw.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is a first. I always though once the region lock was lifted it couldn't be relocked( to me it seems to be a region lock issue, which if it is you need to make a 5 min call on region soil... good luck)
anyways check on your box there is a sticker with model and serial . find what carrier or region its from and grab that firmware and flash it. might want to factory wipe everything (including cache) in the recovery before booting it up indownlaod mode to do Odin flash.
also remove sim before wiping/ flashing, let it boot and do the initial setup then insert sim.

bober10113 said:
this is a first. I always though once the region lock was lifted it couldn't be relocked( to me it seems to be a region lock issue, which if it is you need to make a 5 min call on region soil... good luck)
anyways check on your box there is a sticker with model and serial . find what carrier or region its from and grab that firmware and flash it. might want to factory wipe everything (including cache) in the recovery before booting it up indownlaod mode to do Odin flash.
also remove sim before wiping/ flashing, let it boot and do the initial setup then insert sim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did wipe and reinstall the stock rom with the sim removed. The strange thing is..........I get the same message if I insert an old, blank, unused t-mobile sim into the device. Plus the working sim works fine in my old phone. So how could it be that the sim is locked?
There is nothing on the box that says anything about a carrier. This was advertised and sold as a factory unlocked phone which by all indications it does seem to be. The only thing on the box that says anything about country is that it was manufactured in vietnam.

orsonwells456 said:
I did wipe and reinstall the stock rom with the sim removed. The strange thing is..........I get the same message if I insert an old, blank, unused t-mobile sim into the device. Plus the working sim works fine in my old phone. So how could it be that the sim is locked?
There is nothing on the box that says anything about a carrier. This was advertised and sold as a factory unlocked phone which by all indications it does seem to be. The only thing on the box that says anything about country is that it was manufactured in vietnam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no sticker with device model or anything? not even in the back of the phone when it was new? a white sticker

bober10113 said:
no sticker with device model or anything? not even in the back of the phone when it was new? a white sticker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes there are stickers. But it is not associated with a carrier, specific region, or country. I just see IMEI info on the sticker on the back of the phone and S/N.

orsonwells456 said:
Yes there are stickers. But it is not associated with a carrier, specific region, or country. I just see IMEI info on the sticker on the back of the phone and S/N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nothing like
SM-N960FOYAU1MYM or something?

bober10113 said:
nothing like
SM-N960FOYAMYM or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok. SM-N960FZBDMYM

bober10113 said:
nothing like
SM-N960FOYAU1MYM or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
btw I think detonator zip backup efs partition. did your issues arise before it after flashing it? if after try to find the backup and refresh it

bober10113 said:
btw I think detonator zip backup efs partition. did your issues arise before it after flashing it? if after try to find the backup and refresh it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was a dumbass and did not backup. I had zero issues other than no wifi-calling before trying to root and flash detonator...... Thank you for your help.

I went to a site with all "official" downloads and I don't see anything for ZBDMYM........

orsonwells456 said:
I was a dumbass and did not backup. I had zero issues other than no wifi-calling before trying to root and flash detonator...... Thank you for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://samsung-firmware.org/model/SM-N960F/region/MYM/
did you flash one of these?
these should be the original firmware U1 and the lates U2 which if you flash wint be able to downgrade bootloader but shouldn't be causing rhe sim lock issue.
flash U1 first and see if it fixes your issue. then try the October U2 just for fun
you can also download it using samfirm tool
enter 960F and MYM in settings it should also be a faster download then the web links

bober10113 said:
https://samsung-firmware.org/model/SM-N960F/region/MYM/
did you flash one of these?
these should be the original firmware U1 and the lates U2 which if you flash wint be able to downgrade bootloader but shouldn't be causing rhe sim lock issue.
flash U1 first and see if it fixes your issue. then try the October U2 just for fun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My baseband version currently shows N960FXXU2ARH7 and Service Provider SW Ver. shows XEU/XEU, XEU/MYM. I will try loading U1 first and see what happens.

orsonwells456 said:
My baseband version currently shows N960FXXU2ARH7 and Service Provider SW Ver. shows XEU/XEU, XEU/MYM. I will try loading U1 first and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok so it's too late for U1 . ure phone is already on U2 latest bootloader. so flash the October build
but be sure to wipe all with no sim before flashing
and in Odin fill in all slots and for csc use CSC but not HOME csc file.
good luck

bober10113 said:
ok so it's too late for U1 . ure phone is already on U2 latest bootloader. so flash the October build
but be sure to wipe all with no sim before flashing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should I take out sim, use TWRP to wipe, then go into download mode, Odin3=> flash rom? Thanks.

orsonwells456 said:
Should I take out sim, use TWRP to wipe, then go into download mode, Odin3=> flash rom? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah might as well use tarp. and erase all. but before, did you sift through internal s or ext s for an efs backup that detonator might have made automatically?
check for a folder called .backup and or for a file like:
efs_backup.img.gz
efs_backup.img
or anything similar

bober10113 said:
yeah might as well use tarp. and erase all. but before, did you sift through internal s or ext s for an efs backup that detonator might have made automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, but I did download Dr. Ketan's tool to make an efs backup. But that was way later in the process....so it wasn't the original efs directory......It was after I flashed my current "stock" rom. I'm going to try and find another site to download since that one will take 2 days on slow speed......
Btw what does the ZBD mean? MYM I figured is Myanmar......

orsonwells456 said:
No, but I did download Dr. Ketan's tool to make an efs backup. But that was way later in the process....so it wasn't the original efs directory......It was after I flashed my current "stock" rom. I'm going to try and find another site to download since that one will take 2 days on slow speed......
Btw what does the ZBD mean? MYM I figured is Myanmar......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably a date code of some sort. Samsung mashes a bunch if letters to come up with country,date code. just Google it.
but try samfirm 3.6 tool to dl
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AhXVLDDj8g3AgdJZClzJmsN17YL2CQ

I am using Samfirm and found this;
Model: N960F
Region: MYM
File: N960FXXU2ARJ1/N960FOXM2ARJ1/N960FXXU2ARJ1/N960FXXU2ARJ1
Verions: N960F_1_20181001162540_w0h1lv73k8_fac.zip.enc4

If Install this ROM, does this mean my phone will be region locked to MYM again? I'm definitely confused on this......

orsonwells456 said:
I am using Samfirm and found this;
Model: N960F
Region: MYM
File: N960FXXU2ARJ1/N960FOXM2ARJ1/N960FXXU2ARJ1/N960FXXU2ARJ1
Verions: N960F_1_20181001162540_w0h1lv73k8_fac.zip.enc4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah looks good. its October 1st build
---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:44 PM ----------
orsonwells456 said:
If Install this ROM, does this mean my phone will be region locked to MYM again? I'm definitely confused on this......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well ure screwed either way. the goal is to restore everything back to stock and see if you can get a line working
btw was there a seal on the box that you had to break in order to open the box when you first got it?

Flashing SM-N960W Canadian firmware on a SM-N960FD UAE phone for samsung pay?

Hi,
I recently bought a Note 9 (SM-N960FD) from Duabi and went back to Canada. Now Samsung Pay is not working here at all. It gives me an error message that it is unable to connect to server.
I have been looking for solutions around for the past 2 days with no luck.
What I reached is that I have to change the CSC of my phone (which seems to be a much more complicated process than just flashing a firmware with ODIN). And some suggested that this will be of no use as my phone is exynos and Samsung Pass will not work in Canada unless it is a Snapdragon phone!!
Also the model is different here in Canada. It is SM-960W (with XAC as the unlocked version).
What do I do? I want samsung pay to work on my phone. Shall I change the CSC and flash the Canadian firmware? Is it Okay to do that with the Canadian firmware designed for a different model (960W and not the 960FD)
Please advice.
Thanks

sammobile firmware to change csc
hello,
I was in a similar case when i bought my note 9. It was from Taiwan and I am from Spain.
I flashed the spain firmware from sammobile
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/recent/
and now my Samsung pay and other apps work natively. I was told by Samsung Taiwan that flashing other csc can cause incompatibility, so take that in mind because although it may not seem real, the different versions of smartphones have different hardware.
Research a little bit from the forums.
I had the sm-n960f/ds and i installed the software from the sm-n960f from Spain.
Also, install cpu-z so that you know well what chip is installed inside and more info that could help you to fix this issue.
This is only informative, I don't take any responsibility of any damage.

dra3b said:
Hi,
I recently bought a Note 9 (SM-N960FD) from Duabi and went back to Canada. Now Samsung Pay is not working here at all. It gives me an error message that it is unable to connect to server.
I have been looking for solutions around for the past 2 days with no luck.
What I reached is that I have to change the CSC of my phone (which seems to be a much more complicated process than just flashing a firmware with ODIN). And some suggested that this will be of no use as my phone is exynos and Samsung Pass will not work in Canada unless it is a Snapdragon phone!!
Also the model is different here in Canada. It is SM-960W (with XAC as the unlocked version).
What do I do? I want samsung pay to work on my phone. Shall I change the CSC and flash the Canadian firmware? Is it Okay to do that with the Canadian firmware designed for a different model (960W and not the 960FD)
Please advice.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately you cannot flash different model firmware on different chip.
so ure stuck. the only way id see ure spay working again might be using a vpn and choosing one of the region phone is from. but id doubt this would be a good long term solution. but as a proof of concept, it might be nice to try.

bober10113 said:
unfortunately you cannot flash different model firmware on different chip.
so ure stuck. the only way id see ure spay working again might be using a vpn and choosing one of the region phone is from. but id doubt this would be a good long term solution. but as a proof of concept, it might be nice to try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root the phone and has alternative to flash csc for your region but for this need a rom with spay working

ebusuhejbi said:
You can root the phone and has alternative to flash csc for your region but for this need a rom with spay working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no custom rom has spay working.

See dr ketan rom has s pay working on

ebusuhejbi said:
See dr ketan rom has s pay working on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is a difference between spay for watches and spay for phones. not everyone has a watch. please read dr. ketan's rom thread title extremely very carefully. and then read the contents of the thread with just as much care.
reading is key.

Call Recording

Hi all!
I need to record calls due to professional reasons and I don't manage to acheive it.
My phone has it's original european rom and I don't want to root it.
Does any one knows any app that could allow me to record calls?
In my previous phone I used Total Recall that worked fine, but I dont managed to make it work with the A51.
Any help is appreciated.

the acr call recording app
Hello,
you can try this app: ACR (Another Call Recorder)
It´s available in the play store and the free version should do all the things you need. For more specifications you can use the paid version.
As i read in the commends you should play a bit around with the microfon settings because of the volume of the incomming voice.

arseven said:
I need to record calls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to get a record of calls from the line (high quality). you need to change the firmware region. There are three regions in which call recording and Samsung Pay work simultaneously. India, Thailand, Vietnam. If you need the Samsung Pay to work, you need to configure it before manipulating (I recommend that before these actions, configure everything that you use, for example, payment, biometrics, etc.). After setting up Samsung Pay & etc. (if you need it of course), download any of the firmware (India, Thailand, Vietnam), take only one file from the firmware - "HOME_CSC ....." Next, we need a computer with the Samsung driver installed and the program ODIN. run ODIN on the computer with administrator rights. connect the phone. insert the HOME_CSC file ... in the program one into the CSC window and flash it. !!!important. ODIN program and firmware file must be located in the root of the disk, otherwise there may be errors. SIM card should not be on the phone. !!! I also advise you to backup, just in case. but nothing should be lost. maybe after the firmware several regional applications will appear - disconnect or delete. Regional holidays may appear on the calendar - go to the phone menu - settings - applications - calendar - reset the application, clear the cache. for clarity, watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVksyLJH6U&t=1111s (start watching 8.25 minutes) video for example, there is too much that we don’t need. follow only my instructions, I repeat, there are inaccuracies in the video - it is just for a good example. good luck! Have a good mood! let it all work for you!
P.S.!!! You do not need to unlock anything. no need to put a tick anywhere and unlock the bootloader! You just need to turn off the phone, then enter boot mode and flash this file. all!
P.P.S. Your firmware should have an identical version of the bootloader. bootloader versions must match. an example is A515FXXU3ATC3 - the bootloader version is the fifth digit from the end, i.e. here in the example, the third bootloader. you can have any, you need the same firmware - download the appropriate one. If in the future you want to receive updates over the air, do the procedure in the opposite direction - flash the file back from your own firmware, update. then you can again flash a new file from India, Thailand or Vietnam. you can also flash the entire firmware of these countries, but there will be no updates by air until you return to your firmware and most importantly you will have to configure the phone. when flashing a single file, configuration is not required.
P.P.P.S. from programs that record from the microphone, the best recording is obtained from the Cube ACR program (you need to add an increase in clarity in the settings) the bad thing is that the recording quality is still worse and this is an extra application that has its own permissions.

Thank you. It works. But the issue I am facing the facial recognition not working, while registering the face it failed..

Hi YOisuPU,
Thanks for your huge help.
Let me see if I understand well: once i flash the file "HOME_CSC ....." i will no longer get the OTA updates?
Where can I download the firmware (India, Thailand, Vietnam) ?

arseven said:
Hi YOisuPU,
Thanks for your huge help.
Let me see if I understand well: once i flash the file "HOME_CSC ....." i will no longer get the OTA updates?
Where can I download the firmware (India, Thailand, Vietnam) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Until recently, it was believed that in order to receive updates by air, you need to repeat the operation in the reverse order, that is, flash your own HOME_CSC .. get updates .. and then flash HOME_CSC India, Thailand, Vietnam again. Now I get messages that updates are arriving to someone in this state, since most firmwares are inter-regional and differ only in the presence of local applications. I conclude - that everything happens on an individual basis, perhaps an update will arrive and the recording of calls will also remain in place or maybe not. but if the update doesn’t arrive for a very long time, we know what to do. we can download the firmware ourselves and update it all through odin. and then install HOME_CSC India, Thailand, Vietnam again. or we can install the full firmware of India, Thailand, Vietnam and download the updates each time independently. To save your data, make a backup or just flash HOME_CSC. In general, there are two files in the downloaded firmware, flash one of them 1) HOME_CSC - your data will remain in the phone 2) CSC - your data will be deleted - the phone will be like new from the store. firmware can be downloaded https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-a51/firmware/#SM-A515F
---------- Post added at 04:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:49 AM ----------
kavena78 said:
Thank you. It works. But the issue I am facing the facial recognition not working, while registering the face it failed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
never encountered this. I will try to find the answer on the net. I can advise on my own - for any glitches and incomprehensible situations - try reset the application. settings - applications - show system apk - choose the apk you need - cache reset + data reset.
p.s. I recommend that before these actions, configure everything that you use, for example, payment, biometrics, etc.

Changing Galaxy 3 Region

I know there are guides out there, but I seem to get stuck with all of them.
This one gave me a version of Odin for Mac, but then it turns out you need Heimdall, which only works with "Microsoft Visual C++", which only works on windows.
Download JOdin3 for macOS, Linux, and Windows [Odin for macOS]
Download JOdin3 for macOS X, Linux, and Windows OS - Latest version. JOdin is also known as Samsung Odin for Mac OS and Odin for Linux.
odinflashtool.com
So I tried using a friend's PC and finally got Odin, but that was as far as I got.
This one mentions "pull/push commands" but doesn't explain what they are or how to use them.
CSC Change - Model R845U
Hi guys, I really need some help please. I have the US model R845U LTE and I'd like to change the CSC to ITV (Italy) to get the latest updates as mine is stuck to R845USQU1BTK2. I am following the procedure of Technoproz but I need to be sure...
forum.xda-developers.com
This one starts with "Hold the Home Button until you see the rebooting popup." but that just starts Bixby for me.
How to Change your Samsung Galaxy Watch Region! – Roonby
After the updates of Samsung Galaxy Watches with the latest Firmware, there is a bit problem, where users can’t change their region. It is probably a security measure by Samsung. However, if you are interested in messing around your Samsung Galaxy Watches and wanted to change its region...
roonby.com
The watch was purchased in Italy. Apparently blood pressure and EKG are supposed to be available in the EU as of a month or two ago, but I don't see them. Samsung Pay popped up, but it only offers the option to apply for a Samsung card, which it then says "isn't available." No option to add existing cards.
When I first got it, I set the location to France. I tried wiping it and setting to Germany, but once it was set up again, it was clear it was still set to France. I'm guessing this has something to do with my phone recognizing it once connected? I'm open to changing it to any country where all features work, but ideally Germany or the US.

How did you try to choose Germany as the new region? In your case (you were able to choose a region at first use) it should be possible with a factory reset.

congusto said:
How did you try to choose Germany as the new region? In your case (you were able to choose a region at first use) it should be possible with a factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It let's you choose from a bunch of EU countries, but you can't choose just anywhere.

S20FE Not Updating since OneUi 3 and Android 11

Hello all.
My S20FE (SM-G780F) has not updated from OneUi 3 and Android 11. It always says that I'm using the latest software. I've tried factory resetting the phone and using Smart Switch to no avail.
I'm in the UK. Never lived anywhere else. I reside here permanently. It's where I bought my phone brand new.
I checked the service provider software version and it says ZT0/ZTO,ZTO/EUX . However, when I use the dialler method to check the same information it says the CSC is BTL3.
I researched and ZTO seems to refer to Brazil. I've never been to Brazil or anywhere in that vicinity so I don't know why it says ZTO as the service provider information.
Could this be why I'm having issues updating? If the phone thinks it's Brazilian then it would stop me updating if I'm in the UK? Is that correct?
Samsung suggested I send it to them to flash the drive but they require a proof of purchase and as I bought the phone over 2 years ago I can't for the life of me find the original order email.
Just for clarification the phone has never been rooted or modded and all software etc is "official." I've looked into flashing the software with Odin. Would I need ro download the update file for the CSC my phone says it is or for the CSC it should be? Do I only download the latest update or would I have to stack them and download all the previous ones my phone missed too?
Please help before I tear my hair out.

flashing the phone yourself with Odin is very easy, there are dozens of YouTube vids to get an idea from. actually downloading the firmware is more difficult.
whoever sold you the phone is who you should be angry at, it obviously wasn't intended for use here. let me know if you want help flashing!

Same thing happened to my Mom's phone (a Galaxy A series device).
Use this guide and manually flash the latest firmware.