Database Users

[Q]Network PIN

Hello everybody I'm really frustrated, and I don't know what to do anymore.
My dad bought me a Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 and the seller assured him It's SIM Free.
After he brought it back to Israel there was no Hebrew so I rooted the device and installed a custom firmware.
Now I find out that it wants's an Network PIN, After some thought I decided to pay the 25$ to Cellunlocker I received the code, And unfortunately it didn't work.
Oh and I saw a guide that you can unlock it through the Service Menu, but I couldn't reach it after the Back and Input 1.
At this moment I'm hopeless and want to threw away the phone, Any suggestions?
P.S I tried to put different SIM from other carrier but all the same.
Thanks,

[Q] Help Unlocking i9500: KitKat 4.4

Dear all,
I've been trying to solve the following problem for three weeks on my own and have made no progress, and have probably made things worse. So, I figured it was time to get some help at long last.
I bought my S4 I9500 in Bangkok, and I was not aware that Samsung was region locking their phones now, as I had an S2 that I used in Thailand, China and Cambodia without any problems.
So, I bought the S4 and loved it. However, I moved back to China last month, and upon arrival I bought a SIM card. It didn't work... At this point, my firmware was 4.3, as it had auto-updated from 4.2 while I was in Thailand.
The folks at China mobile couldn't figure out the problem, so I did some research and found out that my phone was region locked. I went to 3 Samsung stores here, and none of them knew what to do, nor would bother to figure it out.
So, I had to try to fix it on my own. I read about entering service mode and tried it, but it didn't work. From what I read, it would have worked in 4.2.2, but not 4.3. I tried finding a place to download 4.2.2 to flash it back, but Hotfile is dead, so I got 4.4. I figured it couldn't hurt, right?
Well, it didn't help.
So, basically, my I9500 is at firmware version 4.4, and my phone is still locked. I am in desperate need of some help. I do not care about the warranty, as I am pretty sure I screwed that up already.
BTW: I did try some sites for the unlock codes, but either they didn't have what I needed, the IMEI code was not accepted, only accepted Paypal, or would not accept a UnionPay credit card. -_-
Thanks for your time.

In order to fully understand your case, you said " I bought the S4 and loved it" and "it had auto-updated from 4.2 while I was in Thailand.".
do you say you were using it there and you connected thai phone network with a local sim card for some time?
if yes the phone was to be normaly unlocked for any other region network....

lolo9393 said:
In order to fully understand your case, you said " I bought the S4 and loved it" and "it had auto-updated from 4.2 while I was in Thailand.".
do you say you were using it there and you connected thai phone network with a local sim card for some time?
if yes the phone was to be normaly unlocked for any other region network....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. I used a Thai SIM card for about 4 months. When I inserted a Chinese SIM card, it once asked me for an unlock key.

Amarach said:
Yep. I used a Thai SIM card for about 4 months. When I inserted a Chinese SIM card, it once asked me for an unlock key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sim lock is different from region lock,
since you have used your s4 in thai your phone probably is region unlocked by now. (as far as i know)
it seems like your phone is locked to mobile provider in Thailand,
try to use any website that provides sim-unlock code using imei of your phone.

[Q] Note 4 (UK) Bebrand a carrier device to BTU

Apologies in advance if this has been covered already, but I did quite a bit of reading up and the information seems to be quite spread out and slightly different over the years for different Samsung devices so I wanted to just double check my understanding for the Note 4 before I proceed.
I have a Note 4 purchased from O2. I have had it unlocked to all networks via a code requested from O2. Now I'd like to install the stock UK BTU firmware.
My understanding is that I can flash the BTU firmware using Odin without having to root my phone.
The part that I'm unsure of is what the situation will be with regards to OTA updates, will I definitely not get any notifications of OTA updates after flashing BTU? Or is there a chance flashing the BTU firmware will update the CSC without me having to root my device?
If I definitely won't get OTA updates, will flashing future BTU updates via Odin require me to lose any data and/or need to do a full reset of my phone? i.e needing to reinstall apps and restore SMS/etc. from backups?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

OdieS said:
Apologies in advance if this has been covered already, but I did quite a bit of reading up and the information seems to be quite spread out and slightly different over the years for different Samsung devices so I wanted to just double check my understanding for the Note 4 before I proceed.
I have a Note 4 purchased from O2. I have had it unlocked to all networks via a code requested from O2. Now I'd like to install the stock UK BTU firmware.
My understanding is that I can flash the BTU firmware using Odin without having to root my phone.
The part that I'm unsure of is what the situation will be with regards to OTA updates, will I definitely not get any notifications of OTA updates after flashing BTU? Or is there a chance flashing the BTU firmware will update the CSC without me having to root my device?
If I definitely won't get OTA updates, will flashing future BTU updates via Odin require me to lose any data and/or need to do a full reset of my phone? i.e needing to reinstall apps and restore SMS/etc. from backups?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When Flashing Stock BTU you will not lose any data, you will only lose data if you choose to perform a factory reset, if you have sd card that data will also remain safe. As you are wanting to debrand it will require a factory reset
In regards to OTA updates you will still get them if you have debranded correctly and removed the o2 csc code.
So you say you have it unlocked, next step is to flash btu firmware, once flashed you then need to perform a factory reset (removes o2 csc code and adds generic code so the updates come from samsung)
If you have followed the above you will have a debranded phone that will get ota updates when they are released by samsung.
If you ever decide to root then you would lose ota updates (however there are mods to overcome this) this would mean you need to flash the new updated rom, when flashing new stock rom you would also lose root meaning you would then need to re-root your device.

Perfect, thanks! I don't mind having to do a full wipe just now after flashing BTU because I haven't started setting up the phone/installing apps/transferring my data yet. It was more to check that for future OTA updates I won't need to lose data in order to install them.
So from what you've said, if I do a factory reset after flashing, the CSC will update to BTU and I can then get OTA updates for BTU as normal? That would be ideal as I don't want to root at the moment (due to Sky Go, banking apps and my corporate email client)

Do you need to unlock before debranding?

matw01 said:
Do you need to unlock before debranding?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen some posts that suggest that you do, but I'm not sure.
In my case O2 provided the unlock code within a few hours so I made sure to unlock my device first, will flash the BTU firmware onto it tonight as the download from SamMobile was going pretty slowly for the 1.5GB file.

I debranded my note 3 without unlocking, not tried debranding my note 4 yet although I'm tempted as I would like the battery update and any others a little more promptly.

Yes you can flash btu without unlocking which would debrand your phone however I dont think you will get ota updates as your sales code (csc) will remain linked to your carrier, you would need to do a factory reset to change the csc to generic BTU but this might conflict with the fact the phone is not unlocked, I got my unlock code from o2 the same day I purchased my note 4.
Unlock phone
Flash btu
Factory reset
Done

Thanks again martytarty for the info. I managed to flash BTU last night.
In case it helps anyone else, after the factory reset I had to boot to recovery a few times before the message at the bottom of the screen confirmed that the multi-csc of BTU had been applied (the first couple of times it kept saying it had applied O2U)
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Oh yeah, and today I did an OTA update check on the phone and got the 1.23MB second update for BTU and it downloaded and installed without any issues.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

OdieS said:
Oh yeah, and today I did an OTA update check on the phone and got the 1.23MB second update for BTU and it downloaded and installed without any issues.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem, mine went to btu first time after flashing/factory reset, glad it's all working for you :good:

Yup, all seems to be fine now.
O2 tried to be cheeky when I called up to pay off the device plan and cancel the airtime, saying I must pay for one month of service. I made the device payment over the phone and then went onto the online chat to speak to someone about the airtime cancellation. They confirmed that I could cancel immediately and only pay for the days used so I did that and have saved a copy of the chat log in case O2 conveniently try to charge me the full amount anyway.

So you took out a contract with o2 to just get the phone? then just pay off the device so your out of contract?
I'm been with o2 for nearly 5 years now, I'm happy with my overall service with them so have no reason to leave, refresh is a good idea also, I take it you could of purchased a sim-free version outright but didn't want to wait?

Yeah, pretty much. I wanted the handset on Friday and everywhere else was either sold out (Samsung Store, Three) or refused to sell me one on their pay-as-you-go rates (EE). So I walked into O2, got a contract (£70 up-front and 24x £20 handset plan, plus £28 airtime plan). So given that I've cancelled the airtime within the cooling off period and O2 gave me the unlock code for free, the handset cost £550, which is cheaper than anywhere else at the moment. Plus I have it right now rather than hanging on for a pre-order from Clove.

OdieS, could you point me to the SamMobile dowload you used for BTU please? I bought an Note 4 from O2 today and I want to flash this to BTU. Just want to make sure I use the same one you did as yours was successfull.
Also did O2 charge you anything to unlock? Did you just phone O2 customer support? I've had problems unlocking my S3 in the past with O2 and them never sending an unlock code.
Cheers,
Richard.

This is the one I used: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/36857/N910FXXU1ANJ4_N910FBTU1ANJ1_BTU.zip/
But this is appears to be a slightly newer one now: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/37226/N910FXXU1ANJ4_N910FBTU1ANJ2_BTU.zip/
I think you can use the older one and see if you get the very small update via OTA once the CSC has updated to BTU on your phone after the factory reset.
I requested the unlock code via the form on the O2 website the same day I got the handset (Friday) and received the unlock code by email the following day (Saturday). But bear in mind that it does say up to 72 hours (or sometimes even longer), so they do cover themselves for delays.
I have read that some people have managed to get the unlock code from the Customer Services phone line but I didn't try this. The link to the O2 unlock form is on this page: http://www.o2.co.uk/help/phones-and-devices/unlocking-your-iphone-and-using-it-on-another-network
There was no charge for the unlock code.

OdieS said:
This is the one I used: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/36857/N910FXXU1ANJ4_N910FBTU1ANJ1_BTU.zip/
But this is appears to be a slightly newer one now: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/37226/N910FXXU1ANJ4_N910FBTU1ANJ2_BTU.zip/
I think you can use the older one and see if you get the very small update via OTA once the CSC has updated to BTU on your phone after the factory reset.
I requested the unlock code via the form on the O2 website the same day I got the handset (Friday) and received the unlock code by email the following day (Saturday). But bear in mind that it does say up to 72 hours (or sometimes even longer), so they do cover themselves for delays.
I have read that some people have managed to get the unlock code from the Customer Services phone line but I didn't try this. The link to the O2 unlock form is on this page: http://www.o2.co.uk/help/phones-and-devices/unlocking-your-iphone-and-using-it-on-another-network
There was no charge for the unlock code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great thanks for the info and the links. Reading the site it looks like I might have to pay £15 to unlock as I bought my phone outright (which required me to buy a £10 pay as you go sim). I am on O2 already but wanted to keep my O2 contract as it has unlimited data for £20 a month. I suspect they won't accept my contract phone number as it was bought with the pay as you go sim. I'll give it a try with my contract number though and see what happens

Not to go too off-topic, but what did they charge you for the handset?

OdieS said:
Not to go too off-topic, but what did they charge you for the handset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was £609.

Ouch! It was £69.99 + 24x £20 (£480) on the 20GB Refresh contract = £549.99

Change AT&T To BTU
Hi guys, i know this is probably a stupid question, but i'm trying to debrand my AT&T Note 4 - N910A to stock BTU firmware. Is this possible as i keep getting a FAIL in ODIN.

[Q] What can prevent S4 (I9505) from OTA/Kies update?

Hi
My friend has got S4 (I9505). He wasn't flashing his phone with anything - it is original like it was bought. He has got now I9505XXUBMGA firmware (Android 4.2.2) with BTU CSC, which is outdated. System status says that phone is not modified, but despite this, he is unable to do OTA/Kies update. In both cases (when using OTA or when connecting to PC with Kies) he got message "This is the latest firmware". This is not true, latest for BTU CSC is I9505XXUGNG8 (Android 4.4.2).
Questions:
1) What can prevent OTA/Kies from update of unmodified phone?
2) Can software say, that phone is unmodified when it is not true? For example when flashing count is not "0"? Maybe someone flashed my friends phone before he had bought it? Changed kernel or recovery can lead to such problems?
3) Freezing of some Samsung bloatware can lead to locking both OTA and Kies on PC?
4) Are we able to diagnose this phone (how?) and fix OTA to avoid Odin flashing? (I know that there is hard to brick Samsung phone completely, but there are always some small chances that something will go wrong, my friend is not keen on flashing and I'm not so rich to buy him another one S4 when something will fail )
Thanks for answers

From what I recall, the S4 firmware will report a status of Official if all the pieces match, regardless of whether the firmware actually is for the S4 in question. So it is possible, and in fact likely, that your friend's phone was carrier branded at one point, but was then subsequently unlocked and the firmware flashed with an unbranded firmware.
You can find out if the device was flashed by entering the IMEI here. One item it will tell you is who the original carrier is. From there you can put two and two together.

Thank You very much for reply, that's important clue. I don't know how phone was bought, but CSC reports UK (BTU) and I'm not in UK - Poland. So it could be sold by some UK carrier and then unlocked to unbranded firmware.
IMEI gives no results, but I will try to get more informations about how phone was bought, that can explain a lot... Looks like in this case Odin will be only way to push Android further...
Thanks for answer, now I know for what I should look :good:
If anybody else will run into other idea - also feel free to answer, I will check anything as I want to help my friend Thanks everybody, XDA is great

Just a follow up. When you entered the IMEI at the link I gave, did it come up with the device's model number, e.g. GT-I9505ZKAXXX? If so, did yours read "GT-I9505ZKABTU" or some other model?

No, unfortunately not, I see no data after entering IMEI, only information about API, however if I enter IMEI on main page of this website I see some basic data. This lead me to information that Reporting Body Identifier is BABT (IMEI starts with 35) and BABT means United Kingdom.
Website didn't show model number, but my friend has installed Phone INFO ★Samsung★ and inside it there is model number (Product Code):
GT2I9505ZKABTU
This is very similar to Yours suggestion, but I see something weird - shouldn't be "-" after "GT" instead of "2"? Product Code with "GT2" instead of "GT-" is OK?
Thanks for answer

Then I sent you to the wrong page. You want the Samsung warranty page: https://imeidata.net/warranty/samsung
That page is the one that is supposed to tell you everything about your phone. Post that information here, minus the IMEI of course.

You had send correct link On Warranty page when I enter IMEI I got no data, only some data on mainpage of this website - looks like they don't have any information about this IMEI

I think they want you to register with the site, which is something new. Regardless, the reason we can't go by the Phone Info information your friend provided is that when a new firmware is installed the product code changes. For example, my I9505 was originally a GT-I9505ZKAO2U, which means my S4 was originally tied to the carrier O2 in the UK. Before I purchased the phone, the product code changed to GT-I9505ZKASIM, which is Slovenian firmware, specifically SI Mobil. About a month after I purchased the phone I installed a Black Edition firmware, which changed the product code to GT-I9505ZKAAUT, an unbranded Swiss firmware.
Currently on his phone is an unbranded UK firmware. If the site doesn't reveal the original carrier, the box may, depending on how long he has owned his S4. Some boxes have the product code on a label attached to the box.

Looks like website is down - after registering I got still no data, just message "The TAC info not found on database, we will update in 1-2 days."
Thanks for help - I will try to get details from my friend and I will go back to this when I will have some new infos

bought a stolen phone

hey guys i bought a brand new sealed box s7 edge 3 months ago and it suddenly got locked i called telus about the phone and they said it has been reported stolen because the owner did not pay the billsand voided the contract phone. the seller changed his number and i cant use my phone to make calls text or use data. is there anyway to unlock my phne to work? telus denied me any help. and im running 7.0
thanks

Go to the police/phone company with proof of purchase and there's a limited chance they will help you, besides that your out of luck I'm afraid
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Rizrs said:
hey guys i bought a brand new sealed box s7 edge 3 months ago and it suddenly got locked i called telus about the phone and they said it has been reported stolen because the owner did not pay the billsand voided the contract phone. the seller changed his number and i cant use my phone to make calls text or use data. is there anyway to unlock my phne to work? telus denied me any help. and im running 7.0
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately this is a common scam and why you should never buy contract phones from anyone anyone who cant prove to you that it isn't a contract phone don't even bother with them. You could try police but i doubt it would get anywhere...
this almost happened to me when i bought my s7e the buyer told me it wasnt on contract so i bought it and when it arrived it was a branded network phone i asked if he could prove it wasnt and he just strung me along until he got angry calling me a scammer. ha i sent it back straight away while i still had money back guarentee via eBay.
i am surprised they even told you any information about it, that information should be confidential unless you can prove you are the original contract holder.
Your options are either use it without a mobile connection or re sell the device overseas.
it will not be blocked overseas.
there is no way to unblock a blocked phone in your country. with good reason too.
the only way to fix it is to replace the motherboard that has a different IMEI.
sorry bro

Officially... you're SOL the IMEI is blocked by the carrier. However, via root methods you can change your IMEI, unfortunately I dont think were allowed to talk about that here ;P

Just root and change your IMEI, just google it

went to cell phone repair shop they did the root and imei fix. but now i am on andriod 6.0.1 and the vibrate doesnt work my phone just emits a faint beep noise instead of vibration. also LTE doesnt work stuck on 4g?. Can i upgrade to 7.0 and fix these issues?
Thanks

LTE is the same as 4G, so no need to worry. As far as the vibrating is concerned, you're on a Nougat bootloader. You have 2 options:
1. Flash a Marshmallow bootloader via Odin. (no need to wipe data and you won't lose anything): LINK
2. Flash a Nougat firmware via Odin. (there's a reset involved, so you will lose all data and root).

Lao Mayer said:
LTE is the same as 4G, so no need to worry. As far as the vibrating is concerned, you're on a Nougat bootloader. You have 2 options:
1. Flash a Marshmallow bootloader via Odin. (no need to wipe data and you won't lose anything): LINK
2. Flash a Nougat firmware via Odin. (there's a reset involved, so you will lose all data and root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the right answer OP

sorry im still kind of new to andriod so if i flash to a nougat firmware i will be back on andriod 7 and lose my root but will i get to keep my altered imei? the phone store did all the software stuff not myself.
thankyou

Best way would be to get back to the guy that worked on your phone to make the update.

Lao Mayer said:
Best way would be to get back to the guy that worked on your phone to make the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he cant get my vibration to work and he said u can only stay on 6.0.1 ?

You can follow the steps below to update thread bootloader yourself. The guide is for the S7 flat, but the steps are identical. Just download the bootloader provided by me in the previous post and follow the steps:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/how-to/modem-samsung-galaxy-s7-sm-g930f-t3379596
You can use only the BL file.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Just sell it in another country ? I'm french and one day an ******* sold me a S5 blacklisted by himself for having a full refund with his insurance. So after that i sold the phone in switzerland and obviously informed the guy for the status of the phone. He told me that it wasn't an issue for him and phones are blacklisted by country so no problem

so if i flash nougat firmware via odin will i be able to make calls text data etc as in will my imei stay modified?
going to attempt it this weekend hopefully and get back on nougat