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 He has got now I9505XXUBMGA firmware (Android 4.2.2) with BTU CSC, which is outdated.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
Related
Hi all,
I've noticed something unacceptable and as a newbie I wanted your insight.
I hold a Samsung galaxy s4 I9500 that seems to come from Bangladesh or Vietnam, I;m not pretty sure. Anyway, I noticed that many many devices from these Asian regions do not get any updates since 2013 ! They were lasted updated to 4.3 Jelly bean and that is.
How do you explain the fact that the same devices take lollilop and others stay on Jelly bean?
How can I upgrade at least to Kitkat?
(I checked the Kies application and it says that I have the last updated firmware)
Thanks a lot!
Sammobile has 5.0.1 for Bangladesh and 4.4.2 for Vietnam. As to the discrepancy regarding firmware releases, carriers are the ones to decide whether to upgrade or not. So either you'll get it or not. Bangladesh chose to upgrade while Vietnam is holding back.
Yes, but there are other models which did not take any update.
For example this code: I9500XXUEMJ9 exists in 7 countries (Israel,Bangladesh,India etc.) and since 2013 hasn't done any updates. Still the firmware is 4.3.
Should the owners of these models wait for even more?
If their carriers choose not to provide an update, then yes, the owners of those devices will have to wait. Case in point: Straight Talk. Here in the US Straight Talk offers a S4 locked to Android 4.2.2 and refuses to provide updates for it. Worse for Straight Talk S4 owners, unlike the I9500 owners, they can't simply flash a ROM from a different region because their S4 is an exclusive model specifically made for Straight Talk. So they have to wait for an update that will never come. At least the tech-savvy I9500 owners have avenues available to them to get a more up-to-date stock ROM. Straight Talk S4 owners have to use custom ROMs, and risk losing their service doing so, as Straight Talk prohibits both rooting and custom ROMs in its terms and conditions.
First of all thanks for your info.
I've got two problems facing me right now.
First of all I can't figure out which specific country the phone comes from. This code appears in many countries.
Secondly I don't know which flash ROM I should use with this program called Odin. Should I choose randomly a version? Should I upgrade to lollilop or it is a must I pass from Kitkat first?
I value your help.
Please post the following information:
1. Model Number
2. Android Version, found by going to Settings > More > About device.
3. Firmware Version (AP, CP, CSC), found by dialing *#1234# in the dialer or by installing Phone Info from the Play Store and running it.
4. Service Provider
5. Country
6. Is the phone rooted? (Yes/No)
7. Is a custom ROM installed? (Yes/No, and the name of the ROM)
Some of this may seem redundant, but putting it all in one post makes it easier to help you.
1. GT-I9500
2. 4.3
3. Original csc code: TGY/TMB
Firmwares csc code: TMB
Csc country: Hong kong
country of origin: China
csc version: I9500XXUEMJ9
4. I dont get this
5. Country see above
6. No rooted
7. No
Number 4 is asking whom you use as a carrier. Also, your AP, CP, and CSC should have been posted as you had seen it on screen rather than "interpreting" it. Nevertheless, based upon the info you provided, the correct ROM for your device is here. Flash this ROM through Odin and you should be good to go.
Dear all,
I lost my S5 recently, and since I was very much happy with this model I went to buy another one.
There was a chain of unfortunate events which I will skip here, but shortly - I fund the phone running android 5.0. Tried to downgrade - it didn't work. Starting from this point I became very curious, because I've downgraded that lost phone after automatic OTE update.
So, if I go to the Settings - About the phone I can see next thing:
Model Name: SM-G900F
Baseband version G900FXXU1BOC7
AP:G900FXXU1BOC7
CP:G900FXXU1BOC7
CSC:G900FITV1BOC1
So first I thought it's an Italian version of S5 somehow came to Malaysia (we live in Malaysia, yes) and they sold it to me.
Well, I went and downloaded appropriate (as I thought) firmware from sam-mobile and tried to downgrade. No success, Odin failed.
Then I was trying different versions of Odin, different firmwares - all without success until , at some point,I noticed that in Odin mode , right at the top of the screen was MODEL VERSION is SM-G900V (V, not F!!!)
Things became really ugly at this point, I realized that it's probably Verizon phone. I went to googleplay and Downloaded Z-CPU to check some more info, and this is what I found:
Model Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F)
Brand Verizon
Bootloader G900VVRU2BOG5
At this point I'm almost gave up. This phone was absolutely new, I opened the box by myself, and all stickers and protecting films were on place.
How is it possible that it was refurbish?
But it's not that important.
what is important - in view of aforementioned things, - can I downgrade it to 4.4.2 or 4.4.4? Lolipop 5.0 drains battery in about 4 hours from 100 to 10%, it's not possible to use the phone in this conditions.
If yes (I really hope) , then would you kindly provide me with step by step instructions?
Thank you
PS I don't need any root access, just bringing back old good kikat
Check which model it says in download mode, that's the info you can trust, anything else can be changed with firmware / edits / stickers
Agreed.....download mode is what counts......
If it is the V variant, it'll have a locked bootloader.......
Verizon and AT&T are the two main culprits for this behaviour, and it's certainly the case for the AT&T variants that the locked bootloader will prevent downgrading.....I can only assume that Verizon's locked bootloader will cause similar problems......
http://i.imgur.com/rVnFwJM.jpg
Guys, thanks for reply.
So, no chance, right?
If the bootloader is locked to the same extent as with AT&T, then downgrading won't be possible.....sorry fella...
http://i.imgur.com/rVnFwJM.jpg
I am very confused, Item is a refurb, has been rooted and therefore i want to put a clean stock rom on it, however i am getting mixed signals. phone is labelled g900f on the sticker and about phone, however i think this is fake, so the seller could sell it as a British model, I went in to recovery, the boot-loader stated it was a g900t. Also in the settings / about / there is a section referring to The united Emirates, which i have not ever seen before. I do believe it is a real s5 though as it has a snapdragon processor. Also the Imei number and serial number match the sticker, however i have a feeling this was somehow done by the seller, or who ever is supplying the seller who sold it to me. Other than that phone is working fine, but does not receive OTA updates. Also for some reason in the Ringtone section there are some built in AT&T ones.
can someone try to make sense of this, and tell me which exact Official ROM i would need to use.
Thanks.
G900T is American T-Mobile version
tigger69 said:
G900T is American T-Mobile version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does anyone know why there is a UAE section if this is supposed to be a American phone? also is this a At&t or tmobile original?
Whichever model is says in download mode is the correct model
A lot of models are modded to look like G900Fs as they are one of the most popular models, firmware, stickers etc etc can all be changed, Download mode can't be changed
thanks for the reply. if i reflash to a clean g900t marshmallow, what is the likelyhood it will corrupt the imei , network unlock status or anything like that, also will a g900t rom work fine in the Uk, i read on xda the g900t rom contains alot of branding and junk, can anyone confirm this?
thankyou
kuljit55 said:
thanks for the reply. if i reflash to a clean g900t marshmallow, what is the likelyhood it will corrupt the imei , network unlock status or anything like that, also will a g900t rom work fine in the Uk, i read on xda the g900t rom contains alot of branding and junk, can anyone confirm this?
thankyou
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try it, as it seems to be a 900T, i would have to assume it will be ok.
I bought an unlocked G950FD which turns out to be CSC THR (part of OXM) so should mean it's from Iran. I have found it generic enough in almost every way to be used internationally (in English) with two noticeable exceptions that i'm trying to solve.
1) there is pre-installed Persian Calendar in the OS which appears after the Gregorian date on the AOS and lock screen. I also noticed this extra date appearing on the Samsung Calendar app under the western date, but i don't use this app at all so can easily ignore. The AOS and lock screen is seen all the time and would displays: "MON, JUNE 5 (KHOR 15)". I looked through every settings on the phone and many forums online, and there is no software way to turn this off.
I thought a potential solution would be to replace this stock ROM with another region since any of the multi-CSC OXM firmwares should be compatible with the phone. So I tried to flash another region using Odin. I tried Singapore (SIN and STH) and completely reset/wiped the phone two separate times. However, despite flashing a large (almost 6GB) file onto the phone it still remains in THR when i looked in settings. I guess I misunderstood the purpose of different firmware regions, I thought i would be changing my phone's existing firmware to another region and get a different set of default apps and localization behavior. But the Persian date is still there on all the same screens.
Am I flashing the rom incorrectly? Is there some setting that i omitted that would give me the desired result of a Singapore OS? Any other ways to change CSC and get rid of unwanted parts of a regional firmware?
2) Another problem is when i receive calls on my local sim card, the phone number shows up without the country code, but if i store my numbers (on Google contacts) in "+<country code> <phone number>" format then the contact is not linked to the incoming call.
Apparently this is fairly common with international phones being used in another market. There is a workaround where i can edit my numbers on google to not have any numerical country codes but instead use the flag drop-down menu on google to indicate country associated with the number. I'm ok with that solution but is there another way? Would flashing a regional firmware that is my location solve this? The region that i intend to use the phone is not part of the OXM multi-CSC list of countries since they only sell the snapdragon variant here.
I would like to find solutions that would avoid root and custom roms, but if that is the only option here, i am not against going down that route.
Thanks a lot in advance.
My eventual solution and what i've learned.
So as i described above, i tried to flash many different versions of G950FD or G950F firware with multi-CSC OXM, but never saw my CSC change from THR. Nothing changed on my phone despite installing large files through odin which was always confusing to me. For the record, i tried BTU (UK), STH (Singapore), and SIN (Singapore) which are all part of the OXM.
I learned from another forum that the sim-card installed matters, so i was just trying different non-middle-east regions by picking UK or Singapore but my actual home region does not support this model/cpu variant. I don't have a sim-card from any OXM regions, only Hong Kong and US ones.
Then i found an old Australian (Optus) sim card from a trip and found a G950F firmware version with CSC OPS on Updato. Not part of CSC OXM but same PDA/Phone version and was told it's safe to flash. When i flashed that firmware with the AU sim card installed, i got the AU OS and all the old regional apps were gone. I got some Australian ones but nothing i can't uninstall. My caller ID problem also seem to be fixed. So i consider the problem fixed.
In all of this, the PDA version numbers were always the same (AQDG), so i'm still a bit unclear as to what the CSC file is specifying and doing.
Am i correct to assume that multi-CSC OXM firmware contained regional apps/settings for all the various regions but without a sim card installed to tell it which one to pick, it kept selecting the factory region of THR? And when i flashed the Optus firmware, did i really need the sim-card installed? Would it have changed the firmware to OPS because it's outside the multi-CSC OXM group?
You live in Hong Kong, right ?
I do too, and have a UAE S8, and Samsung Pay doesn't work.
Does your working around things allow you to use Pay, or you get stuck on the splash screen as well ?
tarkil said:
You live in Hong Kong, right ?
I do too, and have a UAE S8, and Samsung Pay doesn't work.
Does your working around things allow you to use Pay, or you get stuck on the splash screen as well ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i live in HK, so with the AU Optus Firmware I got a AU version of Samsung Pay with all AU ads and suggested businesses. I can get past the splash and login using my normal Samsung Account, which shouldn't have a region. BUT so far i haven't had any success adding any of my HK credit cards, i assume it's a version compatibility issue. There is no way to pick which regional version of Samsung Pay on the Play Store, so i guess it looks at your phone's origin to determine that part of the app.
I am not that keen to use Samsung Pay, but of course interested to know if it is possible. It says to call the banks to get my credit cards added, so maybe there is still a chance and i will post if i do succeed.
Do you think Samsung Pay is particularly good for HK? Would using Android Pay be comparable here? I'm not that experienced with mobile payment apps in the past. Seems like the membership card storage function will still work on my Samsung Pay so at least i have that and can slim down the wallet a bit.
Hey there buddy,
Finally found a thread that represents my problem also, in my case i have a s8 G950FD that shows the same thing on my lockscreen, by me it shows (KHOR18)!
Is there any way around it, i mean a fix?? I would greatly appreciate any help
Yes that's the Iranian calendar date so the day will increment everyday. Khor is abbrev for the current month.
Yes I have a solution (read my second post in thread) but involves flashing with a sim card and 950f or 950fd firmware of the same region as the sim card. You will need to reset and erase phone data.
If you need help flashing stock firmware there is a long thread on this forum and where I found the answer about how the sim card installed might make difference.
What region/sim are you currently trying to use your s8?
derf574 said:
Yes that's the Iranian calendar date so the day will increment everyday. Khor is abbrev for the current month.
Yes I have a solution (read my second post in thread) but involves flashing with a sim card and 950f or 950fd firmware of the same region as the sim card. You will need to reset and erase phone data.
If you need help flashing stock firmware there is a long thread on this forum and where I found the answer about how the sim card installed might make difference.
What region/sim are you currently trying to use your s8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there again,
Thank you very much for the time. I am in SE Europe, to be more precise Republic of Kosovo. My SIM is from Kosovo ( we are considered i believe to be in Europe carrier wise)
I do need help flashing the phone as i have no experience whatsoever i just recently switched from Iphone to Samsung, this being said i must also mention the fact that i would definitely need help. I dont want to mess up the phone i just got it like 2 days ago
Things to consider:
- You can flash both 950F and 950FD firmware on your 950FD.
- You need to find your desired firmware. And that region needs to match your sim card, use Updato or SamMobile but the firmware package is a >3GB file and takes a while to download. Make sure you only look for versions for model 950F or FD.
- You will need to download Odin and Samsung usb drivers to flash the firmware onto your phone. Follow the thread "OFFICIAL STOCK Firmware-update (Odin) thread Samsung GALAXY S8 SM-G950F" for the guide.
Colonel_Kosova said:
Hey there again,
Thank you very much for the time. I am in SE Europe, to be more precise Republic of Kosovo. My SIM is from Kosovo ( we are considered i believe to be in Europe carrier wise)
I do need help flashing the phone as i have no experience whatsoever i just recently switched from Iphone to Samsung, this being said i must also mention the fact that i would definitely need help. I dont want to mess up the phone i just got it like 2 days ago
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you decided to go the "SIM card CSC" method then follow this step by step:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
But I personally think you should do it through flashing a firmware with odin but properly and pay attention to step 6:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37508
Hope they help you resolve your issues.
Good luck.
samteeee said:
If you decided to go the "SIM card CSC" method then follow this step by step:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
But I personally think you should do it through flashing a firmware with odin but properly and pay attention to step 6:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37508
Hope they help you resolve your issues.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again thank you very much for everything i do have one last question please. Regarding the step 6 should i do it or not i am not sure
Colonel_Kosova said:
Again thank you very much for everything i do have one last question please. Regarding the step 6 should i do it or not i am not sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, if you are changing country/code of CSC, then the system needs to recalculate the partitions.
And don't forget no short cuts! Every step should be done.
Good luck.
ooo man this things is killing me now the problem i have after i have rooted the phone is that the computer wont recognize my phone in download mode ??????????
Hey Peeps,
Small update on how things are for the time being. I have been following all steps as described with odin. Last night i had issues with my laptop not recognizing my phone in download mode, got rid of this issue by changing laptops. Once the procedure was finished i ended up with the same thing on my phone???
I have flashed a european software ( from france) but still no go on removing or changing the region!!!
To be honest dont really know what to do again help is appreciated since that date thing is really annoying
Any other way to get rid of khor on aod/aos
Went through the whole thread. Def not keen to flash or run csc. Any other way to turn off khor date from aod? Help !!!
Hey there all, again just a quick thank you for the tips and tricks. To be honest i dont really know what i did exactely but it worked for me.
What did the change by me was the first step, namely: https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
i really cant tell how but it worked ( used a sim card i have from Slovenia)
till the next one thank you again
Hi all, (I previously asked this here.)
I have a carrier unlocked SM-G950U that was previously on T Mobile that I now have on Verizon, (long story, see below.) However, my device isn't updating, as seems to be the case for a lot of migrated SM-G950U(s). Of course, I want Android 9, and I also wouldn't mind getting rid of some of Verizon's bloatware. I was also fortunate enough to have received a research grant for some work in Italy, and I'd like to bring my phone along, (I'm a student.) So really, 3 reasons:
I want Android 9.
I don't want Verizon's bloatware.
I want to be able to switch carriers without the painful process of a carrier unlocked phone. (Ie., with the unlocked firmware my understanding is that I only need to restart my phone, as opposed to resetting my device, to switch carriers/SIMs in the carrier unlocked (ie., non-U1) device, (I think.))
I want to flash an SM-G950U1 ROM, but I'm not sure if this is still possible, (though according to here and here it was possible about 2 years ago, on different firmware/bootloaders.)
My plan is to do this:
Download this G950U1UEU5DSC1_XAA from updato. (I believe XAA is the unlocked region code. My device is already carrier unlocked.)
Flash with ODIN (3.12.3, as far as I know only making sure repartitioning is UNchecked.)
I have a Snapdragon device.
Will this brick my phone?
Alternatively, here says I can download any carrier version of G950USQU5DSC1 (except Verizon and Sprint,) flash it, and it will work. I think this only accomplishes my getting Android 9, however, as it is still a carrier branded ROM. (So I'd still have to deal with bloatware and (possibly) resetting my device to switch networks.)
Phone INFO (the app) lists:
Original CSC Code: [blank]
Firmware's CSC Code: XAA
Active CSC Code: VZW
Avaialble CSC Codes: [a bunch]
Bootloader Version: G950USQU5CRG3
CSC Version: G950UOTN5CRG3
Baseband Version: G950USQU5CRG3
Build Number: R16NW.G950USQU5CRG3
Long story of how I got a carrier unlocked (SM-G950U) and not unlocked (SM-G950U1) device:
I purchased my "new" device on Amazon through a third party about 3 months ago. I checked the model number and found SM-G950U, but a couple places online said that this was indeed a regular, unlocked S8. However, my device wouldn't update, and I could see that I was stuck on a mid July/August build of Android 8, (CRG3.) Now that the summer's getting closer, I need(ed) to make sure my device is going to work while in Italy, so I called Samsung to update it/make sure it would work. They told me my device was previously activated on T Mobile, unlocked, apparently refurbished and sold to me. I rechecked the Amazon listing and it was in fact listed as new. (It was alongside Amazon's own listing for the S8.) Unfortunately, after spending the second half of my day on support calls, I won't be able to return my device because it's been just over 3 months. Looks like my next best option is to update/maintain it myself.
staMerrill said:
Hi all, (I previously asked this here.)
I have a carrier unlocked SM-G950U that was previously on T Mobile that I now have on Verizon, (long story, see below.) However, my device isn't updating, as seems to be the case for a lot of migrated SM-G950U(s). Of course, I want Android 9, and I also wouldn't mind getting rid of some of Verizon's bloatware. I was also fortunate enough to have received a research grant for some work in Italy, and I'd like to bring my phone along, (I'm a student.) So really, 3 reasons:
I want Android 9.
I don't want Verizon's bloatware.
I want to be able to switch carriers without the painful process of a carrier unlocked phone. (Ie., with the unlocked firmware my understanding is that I only need to restart my phone, as opposed to resetting my device, to switch carriers/SIMs in the carrier unlocked (ie., non-U1) device, (I think.))
I want to flash an SM-G950U1 ROM, but I'm not sure if this is still possible, (though according to here and here it was possible about 2 years ago, on different firmware/bootloaders.)
My plan is to do this:
Download this G950U1UEU5DSC1_XAA from updato. (I believe XAA is the unlocked region code. My device is already carrier unlocked.)
Flash with ODIN (3.12.3, as far as I know only making sure repartitioning is UNchecked.)
I have a Snapdragon device.
Will this brick my phone?
Alternatively, here says I can download any carrier version of G950USQU5DSC1 (except Verizon and Sprint,) flash it, and it will work. I think this only accomplishes my getting Android 9, however, as it is still a carrier branded ROM. (So I'd still have to deal with bloatware and (possibly) resetting my device to switch networks.)
Phone INFO (the app) lists:
Original CSC Code: [blank]
Firmware's CSC Code: XAA
Active CSC Code: VZW
Avaialble CSC Codes: [a bunch]
Bootloader Version: G950USQU5CRG3
CSC Version: G950UOTN5CRG3
Baseband Version: G950USQU5CRG3
Build Number: R16NW.G950USQU5CRG3
Long story of how I got a carrier unlocked (SM-G950U) and not unlocked (SM-G950U1) device:
I purchased my "new" device on Amazon through a third party about 3 months ago. I checked the model number and found SM-G950U, but a couple places online said that this was indeed a regular, unlocked S8. However, my device wouldn't update, and I could see that I was stuck on a mid July/August build of Android 8, (CRG3.) Now that the summer's getting closer, I need(ed) to make sure my device is going to work while in Italy, so I called Samsung to update it/make sure it would work. They told me my device was previously activated on T Mobile, unlocked, apparently refurbished and sold to me. I rechecked the Amazon listing and it was in fact listed as new. (It was alongside Amazon's own listing for the S8.) Unfortunately, after spending the second half of my day on support calls, I won't be able to return my device because it's been just over 3 months. Looks like my next best option is to update/maintain it myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lss yes you can. I don't know the exact. But it is nearly impossible to truly brick a u model. But everything you show looks good. I think you need the modded odin for unbranded but you can Google carrier switching s8 and it should lead you right back to xda
TheMadScientist said:
Lss yes you can. I don't know the exact. But it is nearly impossible to truly brick a u model. But everything you show looks good. I think you need the modded odin for unbranded but you can Google carrier switching s8 and it should lead you right back to xda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply!
I'll try later today with the G950U1 firmware. I've finished downloading the T Mobile firmware recommended by the second thread, (G950USQU5DSC1,) in case anything goes wrong, (in which case it looks like this firmware will positively work.)
staMerrill said:
Thanks for the quick reply!
I'll try later today with the G950U1 firmware. I've finished downloading the T Mobile firmware recommended by the second thread, (G950USQU5DSC1,) in case anything goes wrong, (in which case it looks like this firmware will positively work.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8/how-to/rd-carrier-switch-root-snapdragon-t3597473
Just download the G950U1 firmware from Updato (or using SamFirm or Frija) and use that instead of the firmware referenced in the linked instructions.
Hai Karate said:
See here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8/how-to/rd-carrier-switch-root-snapdragon-t3597473
Just download the G950U1 firmware from Updato (or using SamFirm or Frija) and use that instead of the firmware referenced in the linked instructions.
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So as a surprise to no one, this worked successfully.
Thanks for all the help!
Ultimately, I did have to deviate from the guide here, (the same one you linked and that I had above.) I needed to download a new patched version of ODIN, which I got here.
The process was:
Download PatcheD Odin
Launch PatcheD Odin
Put phone in Download Mode
Connect Phone to PC
Extract the G950U1UEU5DSC1_XAA firmware from updato. (The same link/URL as I have above.)
Browse to/find files in Odin and put them in the right places.
Start...
Wait a reasonable amount of time for the files to be downloaded to the device, and forever for it to actually update.
Profit, (and finish setting up the device, wondering how you're going to signin without your 2FA codes...)
So again, thank you everyone. If anyone comes across this thread in the future you have my steps.