Database Users

M on AT&T/StraightTalk, GSM Frequencies, Verizon blocks?

I've heard that Verizon phones, though "global" are locked from the US GSM frequencies.
I'm considering getting a Razr M and using it on StraightTalk AT&T or T-Mobile prepaid.
It appears the frequencies should be fine. 850/1900 UMTS/HSPA + GSM.
Anyone have any thoughts on that?
I'll need to trim the SIM down to MicroSIM size, and get the phone unlocked, but besides that...?

rancur3p1c said:
I've heard that Verizon phones, though "global" are locked from the US GSM frequencies.
I'm considering getting a Razr M and using it on StraightTalk AT&T or T-Mobile prepaid.
It appears the frequencies should be fine. 850/1900 UMTS/HSPA + GSM.
Anyone have any thoughts on that?
I'll need to trim the SIM down to MicroSIM size, and get the phone unlocked, but besides that...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just get the RAZR i.
-Sent from my Razr i on AT&T.-

phositadc said:
Just get the RAZR i.
-Sent from my Razr i on AT&T.-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's an atom processor not A15, lower graphics performance by far, less apps in the market and can't get it in White.

See my post on your question in the Q&A board, and posts 18 and 19 in this thread.

freak4dell said:
See my post on your question in the Q&A board, and posts 18 and 19 in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Righto-,thanks. I read somewhere else (maybe it was you?) that the NV settings in the radio block MNC 230 (tmo) and 150 (at&t). There was a guy who had looked all through them and couldn't find where it was happening.
Is this MNC blocking something that would be remedied by buying the Austrailian version? I want an A15 CPU + GPU not the Atom one, simply because I like sticking it to Intel, and because I like the white phone not the black one.
Does the developer edition work with AT&T/T-mobile? Maybe I'll just buy that. This phone certainly is slick. I hope whatever fix we get will let us keep the stock ROM, always a bit more exciting (and stable it seems, usually) to me than CM(X)

rancur3p1c said:
Righto-,thanks. I read somewhere else (maybe it was you?) that the NV settings in the radio block MNC 230 (tmo) and 150 (at&t). There was a guy who had looked all through them and couldn't find where it was happening.
Is this MNC blocking something that would be remedied by buying the Austrailian version? I want an A15 CPU + GPU not the Atom one, simply because I like sticking it to Intel, and because I like the white phone not the black one.
Does the developer edition work with AT&T/T-mobile? Maybe I'll just buy that. This phone certainly is slick. I hope whatever fix we get will let us keep the stock ROM, always a bit more exciting (and stable it seems, usually) to me than CM(X)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, the Australian one will work just fine with AT&T or T-Mobile (no 3G on T-Mobile unless you're in a refarmed area, though). Worst case, it's locked to Australian bands, and you need to get an unlock code to make it work internationally. The reason the Verizon ones are locked for US bands is because Verizon doesn't want you buying their phone and then switching to their competition. Telstra obviously doesn't have the same problem, since they're not competing with AT&T or T-Mobile. Of course, what I'm saying isn't guaranteed to be true, since I don't have an Australian M myself (but I'm trying to decide whether to import that one or the RAZR i). I'm like 99% confident you wouldn't have any issues, though.
The developer edition does not work on AT&T or T-Mobile, either. We should be able to keep the stock ROM. That's how it worked on my Droid Pro and other Verizon Motorola world phones. We just flashed a file that modified the baseband. There was even a file to flash that would return the baseband to stock. ROM flashes didn't affect the baseband once it was modified.
What I'm wondering is if it may just be possible to take the Australian radio and flash it to the Verizon M to make it work on our GSM networks. That would pretty much disable the CDMA radios, but we wouldn't need them anyway. I think some of the previous phones have gotten around the band lock by flashing a Chinese radio, so it seems like the same concept could be used here. I'm nowhere near smart enough to know how to do any of this, though. All we can do at this point (well, me anyway) is just let Team Black Hat and other Motorola developers know that we are patiently waiting for a solution.

Looks like I wasn't far off with my hypothesis. If the community can provide the radio image, we should know pretty soon whether it would work on the M or not.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33850862&postcount=11

And it's been done:
https://twitter.com/P3Droid/status/266727420718108674
https://twitter.com/P3Droid/status/266732294000242689
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVmmx5Kh7pw&feature=youtu.be
This is on the Dev Edition.

freak4dell said:
And it's been done:
https://twitter.com/P3Droid/status/266727420718108674
https://twitter.com/P3Droid/status/266732294000242689
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVmmx5Kh7pw&feature=youtu.be
This is on the Dev Edition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It also works on the stock unrooted and unlocked Dev device so it should work fine on the stock locked bootloader devices.
Right now it appears to break eHRPD authentication when using a VZW LTE SIM with AU radio image. GSM service is fully functional with no modifications except the AU radio.

cellzealot said:
It also works on the stock unrooted and unlocked Dev device so it should work fine on the stock locked bootloader devices.
Right now it appears to break eHRPD authentication when using a VZW LTE SIM with AU radio image. GSM service is fully functional with no modifications except the AU radio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well then...that pretty much settles it. I will be buying a Verizon RAZR M...Dev Edition if I can find one for a good price, or if not, a regular one. I hate that Verizon logo, but I'll save a couple hundred dollars by just dealing with it.

freak4dell said:
Well then...that pretty much settles it. I will be buying a Verizon RAZR M...Dev Edition if I can find one for a good price, or if not, a regular one. I hate that Verizon logo, but I'll save a couple hundred dollars by just dealing with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been searching for a way to buy this awesome phone in a *truly unlocked* state (bootloader + carrier), and it seemed to be, before now, that my best option was to get the australian one (it also doesn't have the ugly verizon logo on the front But, it's very hard to get it from here in the US, so getting the verizon dev edition and reflash the radio may be better. I'm currently with T-mobile, yes I know about the refarm ... I'll deal with that.
So, does anybody have a link for said radio image? freak4dell, have you gotten yours and tried to flash the radio?
Thanks, you guys are awesome!
(noob alert: I am an experience desktop/embedded developer, but I have never messed with cellphones before, although it's been a while that I want to start...)

aslomagic said:
I've been searching for a way to buy this awesome phone in a *truly unlocked* state (bootloader + carrier), and it seemed to be, before now, that my best option was to get the australian one (it also doesn't have the ugly verizon logo on the front But, it's very hard to get it from here in the US, so getting the verizon dev edition and reflash the radio may be better. I'm currently with T-mobile, yes I know about the refarm ... I'll deal with that.
So, does anybody have a link for said radio image? freak4dell, have you gotten yours and tried to flash the radio?
Thanks, you guys are awesome!
(noob alert: I am an experience desktop/embedded developer, but I have never messed with cellphones before, although it's been a while that I want to start...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, haven't gotten mine. I'm out of the country until mid-December, so I won't be able to get my hands on one until then anyway. I am keeping an eye out for deals, though, so that if I see a good price, I can buy it and have it waiting for me.

freak4dell said:
Nope, haven't gotten mine. I'm out of the country until mid-December, so I won't be able to get my hands on one until then anyway. I am keeping an eye out for deals, though, so that if I see a good price, I can buy it and have it waiting for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know if you find a good deal (actually, any deal at all) for non-verizon razr m! I've also been looking on australian ebay, there are a few auctions for the telstra razr m, but they don't ship overseas...
But back to topic: are the image files in these two following posts any good to flash the radio, or do I need anything else, like a complete telstra fastboot image, or something like that (re-noob-alert: I'm a dev, but I've never messed with phones before):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33867978&postcount=30
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33871175&postcount=33
Also, these being "official" and probably signed radios (at least I hope they are), do I need to unlock the bootloader to flash them?
Note: I haven't gotten any phone yet, just gathering all the pieces together before dropping the cash
Thanks anyone!

aslomagic said:
Let me know if you find a good deal (actually, any deal at all) for non-verizon razr m! I've also been looking on australian ebay, there are a few auctions for the telstra razr m, but they don't ship overseas...
But back to topic: are the image files in these two following posts any good to flash the radio, or do I need anything else, like a complete telstra fastboot image, or something like that (re-noob-alert: I'm a dev, but I've never messed with phones before):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33867978&postcount=30
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33871175&postcount=33
Also, these being "official" and probably signed radios (at least I hope they are), do I need to unlock the bootloader to flash them?
Note: I haven't gotten any phone yet, just gathering all the pieces together before dropping the cash
Thanks anyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will let you know if I see anything, but if I find a one-time deal, I'm grabbing it for myself. I wish I knew someone in Australia that could ship to me.

freak4dell said:
I will let you know if I see anything, but if I find a one-time deal, I'm grabbing it for myself. I wish I knew someone in Australia that could ship to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need, I just ordered my razr m developer edition from motorola.com We'll see how fast I can void my warranty
Speaking of which: do I need to unlock the bootloader (and void the warranty) to flash the radio? My understanding is that, since it's signed by the manufacturer, it should work without unlocking the bootloader. That way I can use the phone for a while and return it if it has any problems. Does anybody know?

[Q] AT&T (G900A) - Did I screw up by buying this one?

I can't seem to find any legitimate way to root my G900A from AT&T.
I was with Sprint with my S4, and never had an issue. I made the switch to AT&T before buying the S5.. Was that mistake?
In all the threads I've combed through here there is one common, glaring, issue.. The G900A is not included in the supported devices.
Am I missing something obvious or am I screwed? Or am I just looking too soon?
Already gave the S4 to my daughter.
Thanks for any information or insight.

ACiD0N said:
I can't seem to find any legitimate way to root my G900A from AT&T.
I was with Sprint with my S4, and never had an issue. I made the switch to AT&T before buying the S5.. Was that mistake?
In all the threads I've combed through here there is one common, glaring, issue.. The G900A is not included in the supported devices.
Am I missing something obvious or am I screwed? Or am I just looking too soon?
Already gave the S4 to my daughter.
Thanks for any information or insight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a universal root method.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2717061
Try to talk with a recovery developer to check your partition table.
(Other variant may have matching partition table with your variant)
I guess, @PlayfulGod can help you with it.

ACiD0N said:
I can't seem to find any legitimate way to root my G900A from AT&T.
I was with Sprint with my S4, and never had an issue. I made the switch to AT&T before buying the S5.. Was that mistake?
In all the threads I've combed through here there is one common, glaring, issue.. The G900A is not included in the supported devices.
Am I missing something obvious or am I screwed? Or am I just looking too soon?
Already gave the S4 to my daughter.
Thanks for any information or insight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SandeepEmekar said:
Here is a universal root method.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2717061
Try to talk with a recovery developer to check your partition table.
(Other variant may have matching partition table with your variant)
I guess, @PlayfulGod can help you with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure eventually a root method will come about for that model. Unfortunately tho, the vzw & att models have a locked bootloader and most likely locked down with knox as well and currently no way to boot custom recoveries or kernels.

PlayfulGod said:
I'm sure eventually a root method will come about for that model. Unfortunately tho, the vzw & att models have a locked bootloader and most likely locked down with knox as well and currently no way to boot custom recoveries or kernels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@PlayfulGod is absolutely right. Even if an exploit is found for the AT&T or Verizon models, it is unlikely that you'll ever have full root access - thanks to the combination of locked bootloaders, KNOX, and SELinux.
Check your contract - most carriers have a 14-day "buyer's remorse" period in which you can return your handset. You might be faced with a $35-$50 "restocking fee", but depending on how desperate you are for custom ROMs and/or Recovery, it may be worth it to you. Please note that your carrier may try everything they can to stop you from leaving (in terms of talking you out of it). Your contact with AT&T should also have a "back-out" period of 30 days (unless that's changed recently).
Couple other notes:
1) That's the primary reason I switched from AT&T to TMO when I jumped from the S4 to the S5 - I was sick of locked bootloaders. Otherwise, I really just like TMO a lot more as a company, including some of their political standpoints.
2) I've heard of several people now buying TMO S5's and taking them over to AT&T. It's a lot of money up front, but might be worth it to you.
Good luck.

Thanks guys
Thank you for the informative replies. They confirmed what I had already gathered, piece by piece, in a decent comprehensive manner so I appreciate it.
Unfortunately, this time around we gamed the system a bit and went in on this as a 'group' for the services and phones. As far as I can tell, as an individual, I don't have any options of returning the unit in favor of moving to another provider.
Besides that, I finally have good service where I live. I am in the middle of a city but my actual home was in a crap spot with Sprint. After doing research we found that we'd all have great service with AT&T. If the trade-off is no root, so be it I suppose. (Though I have heard that T-Mo has the same service in the same areas due to using the same connectivity)
The knox deal doesn't concern me so much.. This may be a bit cocky (and a little stupid), but I have yet to have to replace a galaxy since they started putting them out *knock on wood*. But it sounds like that's only one issue in a sea of others.
Long-winded story short, Thanks guys. I am much more informed on my situation than before. :good:

ACiD0N said:
I can't seem to find any legitimate way to root my G900A from AT&T.
I was with Sprint with my S4, and never had an issue. I made the switch to AT&T before buying the S5.. Was that mistake?
In all the threads I've combed through here there is one common, glaring, issue.. The G900A is not included in the supported devices.
Am I missing something obvious or am I screwed? Or am I just looking too soon?
Already gave the S4 to my daughter.
Thanks for any information or insight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I expressly bought a G900W8 model because of the locked bootloader issue with AT&T. I've come from Verizon on the S4, and I wasn't doing the whole locked thing again - it was annoying and I just wasn't going to have it. What I did was buy an S5 from AT&T on a $25/month installment plan, turn around and sold it on Swappa for full price, and bought an unlocked W8 model the same day. I payed virtually nothing except shipping, I get a nice unlocked phone ready for AOSP when it comes out, and I didn't have to pay the ridiculous $650 price for what would be essentially a developer unlocked phone.
If your phone is still new and you think you could sell it and get mint condition pricing on it, do your research on the G900T model. That's TMobile's phone, but it has an unlocked bootloader, can be rooted/flashed/whatever you like, and if I remember correctly (please someone correct me if I'm wrong), it works on all the bands that AT&T does and will be virtually the same as far as mobile data goes. If you already have your service activated on your current AT&T phone, you can literally just swap the SIM card out and you shouldn't have any issues after that. There might be a little caveat as far as having an AT&T SIM in a Tmo phone, but as far as I've read on the forum, this is very easy to get past; you may very well not have any problems whatsoever.
You could look for the W8 model, which wouldn't have any carrier branding on it, but those were hard to come by for me on Swappa, and the unlocked listing the main page gives you is for a phone that doesn't support 4G.
So like I said, if you think you could sell it, and you find a good listing on Swappa for an unlocked phone, I say go for it. Having an unlocked bootloader is going to put your device in a good place as far as updates go, and once developers start pushing out polished custom ROMs, you'll be happy to use your device for longer than the year's use that is generally expected.

S7 or something else?

Sad story finding out that the S7 is locked down harder than anything before. I'm still running a Note 3 that I purchased on release day, so needless to say, I've been holding out for the S7 since the S6 series didn't have SD card support.
Having had quite a few Samsung flagships over the years, I've really liked them, their speed and battery life, but having no root is a dealbreaker for me.
Things like TWRP (or MultiSystem), Cerberus, Greenify, TiBu and Xposed are essential to me. Seriously, without the ability to simply back up your current ROM or even just your apps and their data, what does everyone do when they get a new phone or some stupid update ruins what they had??
So that being said, I'm asking here if any of you are waiting it out for root before getting an S7 or if you're considering moving to another phone?
If you are thinking or have already moved to another phone, what's the best rootable phone of 2016 that has an SD card slot that is comparable to the S7?
I'm not hard to please, I just require root and an SD card slot - well, and a community of devs!

I heard there is an unlocked variant with CDMA, if not that then maybe wait it out until a root method is found.
Other options are the 5X, maybe the new G5 or the V10 if you want just root.

cadcamaro said:
I heard there is an unlocked variant with CDMA, if not that then maybe wait it out until a root method is found.
Other options are the 5X, maybe the new G5 or the V10 if you want just root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocked variant with CDMA? Where did you hear this? This also doesn't guarantee Verizon will allow it on their network.

JAYNO20 said:
Unlocked variant with CDMA? Where did you hear this? This also doesn't guarantee Verizon will allow it on their network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read it here
http://www.droid-life.com/2016/03/18/unlocked-lg-g5-gsm-cdma/

cadcamaro said:
I read it here
http://www.droid-life.com/2016/03/18/unlocked-lg-g5-gsm-cdma/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That link is all about the G5....

JAYNO20 said:
That link is all about the G5....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for some reason I thought that was the one you were interested in.

JAYNO20 said:
Unlocked variant with CDMA? Where did you hear this? This also doesn't guarantee Verizon will allow it on their network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm so tired of people making this comment... The law passed last year clearly stated that no phone can be block from any U.S. Network if it's not stolen, not on an agreement, and has the proper radios to support the network... That's why they can't stop nexus devices, unlocked Motorola etc. Your phone will simply show up on Verizon site as "non Verizon device" and your stupid voicemail won't work. That's what google voice is for. That's why as soon as you pay for your phone, carriers have to unlock it if you request them to do so

2swizzle said:
I'm so tired of people making this comment... The law passed last year clearly stated that no phone can be block from any U.S. Network if it's not stolen, not on an agreement, and has the proper radios to support the network... That's why they can't stop nexus devices, unlocked Motorola etc. Your phone will simply show up on Verizon site as "non Verizon device" and your stupid voicemail won't work. That's what google voice is for. That's why as soon as you pay for your phone, carriers have to unlock it if you request them to do so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you are saying a Sprint phone will work on Verizon's network then? I think not.

JAYNO20 said:
So you are saying a Sprint phone will work on Verizon's network then? I think not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you miss the piece where I said the phone has to have the proper radios? Most sprint phones do not have the appropriate radios which support Verizon CDMA channels, therefore the phone wouldn't work. Phones like Nexus, Motorola, and other unlocked phones typically have the hardware to support all U.S carriers.

2swizzle said:
Did you miss the piece where I said the phone has to have the proper radios? Most sprint phones do not have the appropriate radios which support Verizon CDMA channels, therefore the phone wouldn't work. Phones like Nexus, Motorola, and other unlocked phones typically have the hardware to support all U.S carriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so this post is completely useless in this section then. There isn't an unlocked variant of the s7 that will work with Verizon nor has there ever been a galaxy phone from another carrier that would work. So stop being a know it all and take you condescending attitude somewhere else. What is your deal?

JAYNO20 said:
Ok so this post is completely useless in this section then. There isn't an unlocked variant of the s7 that will work with Verizon nor has there ever been a galaxy phone from another carrier that would work. So stop being a know it all and take you condescending attitude somewhere else. What is your deal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again you are diverting from my original comment, which verizon has nothing to do with if a phone can be used on verzion, or "white listed" as you put it. For your information there's been Samsung models that would work on Verizon from Sprint but they wouldn't get the correct lte signals...

2swizzle said:
Once again you are diverting from my original comment, which verizon has nothing to do with if a phone can be used on verzion, or "white listed" as you put it. For your information there's been Samsung models that would work on Verizon from Sprint but they wouldn't get the correct lte signals...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First: I never used the words "white listed" anywhere in my posts.
Second: if they don't get the correct LTE signals then they basically don't work, lets not beat around the bush with here. Ultimately, I get what you are saying but it doesn't really matter. Other than to create an argument where there definitely doesn't need to be one your response really has no meaning in this particular thread. There are NO unlocked CDMA versions of this phone that will work on ANY other carrier and Verizon at the same time. /thread.

Can anyone tell me what an equivalent HTC, Motorola or LG phone would be that is rootable?
*Must be rootable
*Must have an SD card slot
*Hopefully has dev support for custom ROMs but isn't totally necessary since with root I can use Xposed to make it look like I want
I mean seriously, Samsung isn't the only top-tier manufacturer, why are we all addicted to this anyway? It's a great phone, I'm sure - but isn't there ANY good alternative in you guy's opinion?
I might just bite the bullet and get the S7 and hope for root, but the loss of Viper4Android would be a killer.

As a former flashaholic I have decided as long as I am on Verizon I will have to live without root especially when I got my sony z3v. I am glad I did. Flashing and setting everything up took up so much time atleast once a day at most once a week. And heaven forbid there was an issue and I would have to restore or start over. I then got a Verizon z2 tablet again without root on lollipop. This is a great phone and a worthy upgrade from my z3v. I think the line between needing and wanting features or gimmicks is getting blured.

JediDru said:
As a former flashaholic I have decided as long as I am on Verizon I will have to live without root especially when I got my sony z3v. I am glad I did. Flashing and setting everything up took up so much time atleast once a day at most once a week. And heaven forbid there was an issue and I would have to restore or start over. I then got a Verizon z2 tablet again without root on lollipop. This is a great phone and a worthy upgrade from my z3v. I think the line between needing and wanting features or gimmicks is getting blured.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damnit, you're right and I know it, I'm just fighting it.
As a complete crackflasher since 2004, I've been around the block a few times - I suppose it's just habit to "require" root.
I think the hardest things about moving to a phone that has no root is no TiBU and no Viper. Seriously, how to people back up their data without TiBU? Of course I could manually back up all my apk's that didn't come from the Google Play Store, and I could manually back up all their \Android\Data folders, but that sucks. How is it in 2016 we have apps that require root and fewer and fewer phones that allow it?
Anyway, thank you for your perspective. I think I'll end up getting an S7 anyway and if it gains root someday it's a bonus!

ATT V20 to T-Mobile Question.

So I have searched the internet and found no good/complete answers for this, I apologize if it's been discussed.
I purchased an ATT V20 while I still had ATT. I've since switched T-MOBILE. My device is carrier unlocked but plenty of T-MOBILE features seem to look for certain software (i.e. mobile hotspot) that is ATT branded and nonfunctioning. Since o am operating fully on T-MOBILEs bands and what not, is there any way to flash my OS/kernel/etc to essentially make this phone T-Mobile branded. I am aware I will probably need to root if possible during the process, but im not looking for a relationship phone (right meow). Just a better functioning T-Mobile V20.
Thanks!
(Also I know all of this comes with risks, but I am out of the country and unable to get to a store should I brick it, so a good recovery option would be nice, but I think we are still stuck for ATT variant.)

What's a relationship phone? And are you a cat?
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

It would probably be cheaper to see if you can trade the device in to T-Mobile, get the credit for it, and just get a V20 from them.

Possibly sell on Swappa and find a us996 or h918 for around $400 or cheaper on sale.

Was really hoping you all were gonna tell me I could just flash TMobile to it... It seems that's not happening

ConstantineEX said:
Was really hoping you all were gonna tell me I could just flash TMobile to it... It seems that's not happening
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it would let you, and if you managed it, you'd be probably dealing with an irreversible brick.

You could TRY to use a Tmo rom but if you flash a Tmo KDZ(somehow) then you will 100% brick with no way to recover.

I did not want to make a whole new post, so I'm asking my question in this thread because it seem to be close to my question. I am getting a AT&T LG-V20 and I want to root it. is there a good reliable root out for this phone?

marknderm said:
I did not want to make a whole new post, so I'm asking my question in this thread because it seem to be close to my question. I am getting a AT&T LG-V20 and I want to root it. is there a good reliable root out for this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/development/ls997vs995h910-dirtysanta-bootloader-t3519410
This only works if your Rom version is under ZV6 and security patch before December 2016 I believe.

kamekaz3 said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/development/ls997vs995h910-dirtysanta-bootloader-t3519410
This only works if your Rom version is under ZV6 and security patch before December 2016 I believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ZV6 is Sprint. I think ATT is on 10N.

Zacharee1 said:
ZV6 is Sprint. I think ATT is on 10N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What? My sprint phone came with zv3. Never heard of 10N either because atnt uses the same version format.

kamekaz3 said:
What? My sprint phone came with zv3. Never heard of 10N either because atnt uses the same version format.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT doesn't use the same version format. Look at opensource.lge.com: http://opensource.lge.com/osSch/list?types=ALL&search=H910

Replacement for V20 - No VoLTE Outside of Stock

Hi guys,
I realize that the main carriers in the US will be dropping the old network protocols in 2022, which means my current V20 will no longer work for voice calls. From what I gather, I'd need to run a stock/stock-based ROM to get VoLTE working, which is a deal breaker for me. I need recent security updates and modern Android releases on my phones.
With that being said, any thoughts on a replacement device this coming year? I will certainly miss the replaceable battery the most. Is there a device you recommend that has a relatively easy battery to replace? Honestly, the phone is used for light browsing, email, etc. Pictures and movies are frequently taken from it, so a good camera is a must. The memory card is paramount today, but unsure how long this can last. A device with an active development history with root access, should it be needed, is required for this replacement.
I've been spoiled with the V20 for years now. I just don't know where to start replacing it. Your opinions are greatly appreciated!

The options in the U.S. for a proper replacement are slim to none, depending on your priorities. I don't know much about how easy it is to replace batteries for newer phones, but I can give you an overview for most of the other stuff:
- Phones with hand-removable batteries: Probably not worth going for at this point. Most have specs that are barely better than the V20 with lower screen resolutions, and spare batteries are much less common to find for them. And half of them are from Europe and therefore have almost zero usable LTE bands in the U.S.
- Phones with non-stock custom ROMs that have VoLTE working in the U.S.: Probably limited to the Google Pixels, Motorola, and OnePlus models. Forget about all LG and Samsung phones here since they both use closed-source proprietary files that makes it pretty much impossible for anyone to figure out how to get VoLTE and other stock features to work on AOSP or LineageOS-type ROMs. And unfortunately, Pixels and the higher end OnePlus phones have no microSD card slots, and Motorola phones haven't been known for top quality cameras in a long time.
- Others: There are also Sony phones, but their higher end models are so expensive that I never bothered looking far into any of them.
So, it looks like you'll have to decide which features are must-haves for you and which are OK to let go in order to widen your options a bit.

C D said:
The options in the U.S. for a proper replacement are slim to none, depending on your priorities. I don't know much about how easy it is to replace batteries for newer phones, but I can give you an overview for most of the other stuff:
- Phones with hand-removable batteries: Probably not worth going for at this point. Most have specs that are barely better than the V20 with lower screen resolutions, and spare batteries are much less common to find for them. And half of them are from Europe and therefore have almost zero usable LTE bands in the U.S.
- Phones with non-stock custom ROMs that have VoLTE working in the U.S.: Probably limited to the Google Pixels, Motorola, and OnePlus models. Forget about all LG and Samsung phones here since they both use closed-source proprietary files that makes it pretty much impossible for anyone to figure out how to get VoLTE and other stock features to work on AOSP or LineageOS-type ROMs. And unfortunately, Pixels and the higher end OnePlus phones have no microSD card slots, and Motorola phones haven't been known for top quality cameras in a long time.
- Others: There are also Sony phones, but their higher end models are so expensive that I never bothered looking far into any of them.
So, it looks like you'll have to decide which features are must-haves for you and which are OK to let go in order to widen your options a bit.
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Thanks for taking the time. I really appreciate the input. Yeah, this is pretty much what I expected. The reason I am leaving the V20, and also a Samsung Note 4 isn't because they no longer work for me, but because of the VoLTE push. It makes me sad. ;(
I have looked at the removable battery options, and to your point, the specs are horrible. I don't think a truly removable battery will work. However, if there's a phone with a non-removable battery that doesn't take an act of God to change, that would be an option.
I do not want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every couple of years for a new device. Custom ROMs have made these devices last years and years. It's also better for the environment. I don't need 20 cores and a TB of RAM in a phone based on my use cases unlike everyone seems to think they do. Without the ability to custom ROM, once the manufacturer ditches the device, it forces one to spend again even though it could last many more years. It seems many aren't really too worried or informed about running a computer in your pocket missing critical security updates. These truths irk the **** out of me!
I wonder if a Pixel would suffice despite the lack of external storage... I know they get updates pretty quickly, are being supported for like 5 years by Google, etc. I think development is pretty active for them too, but I'll have to investigate. The Sony suggestion was a good one to mention, but yeah, ridiculous in price.
I guess I'll start there. If anyone else has other suggestions or advice, I greatly appreciate it. I haven't had to stay up with things because of these wonderful devices and the plethora of options over the years. All good things must come to an end...

I, too, would like to find a more current phone with an easily replaceable battery (pref. without using a heat gun). But it needs to be rootable.
The Galaxy Xcover Pro looked promising (replaceable battery), but isn't rooted.
Wish the Fairphone would come to the states.

Anyone else care to share?

From what I have read, any device that has 3g, phones or other devices - are screwed. All forced upgrade.

Mysticblaze347 said:
From what I have read, any device that has 3g, phones or other devices - are screwed. All forced upgrade.
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Yup, exactly. So, coming from a V20, and based on my loose requirements above, have you any suggestions for a new device?

DaCHeF36 said:
Yup, exactly. So, coming from a V20, and based on my loose requirements above, have you any suggestions for a new device?
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I wish I did. Removable battery and specs is key. Then features. All phones in the US are non removable battery that are 5G able which is required at most if not all carriers. I personally am with Sprint - well now Tmobile. I still have my V20 (out of service). Free downgrade was Samsung A71 5G. It sucks. Decent specs with no OEM Unlock. No current support anywhere to root.
I have been looking but no luck so far.

Mysticblaze347 said:
I wish I did. Removable battery and specs is key. Then features. All phones in the US are non removable battery that are 5G able which is required at most if not all carriers. I personally am with Sprint - well now Tmobile. I still have my V20 (out of service). Free downgrade was Samsung A71 5G. It sucks. Decent specs with no OEM Unlock. No current support anywhere to root.
I have been looking but no luck so far.
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Yeah, North American Samsung phones have locked bootloaders. The only current way to get some of them rooted is if they haven't been updated past a certain date due to anti-rollback (Sounds awfully familiar to us LS997 owners, doesn't it?) and then go through a paid service like this one (you can see the supported devices and required software versions – bootloader version numbers are the 5th digit from the right in the baseband version – in the 2nd post).

My understanding is that our phones (V20) will continue to work for now since they have 4g. Yes, we can also access the 3g band, but my phone rarely switches to it. We should be fine for a while on the V20 on 4g.
PS - That's presuming our phones are stock or near-stock and still have functioning VoLTE / HD calls. Stock Android and A_O (Alpha Omega) ROM has this. I believe these phones are safe to use in 2022 and beyond when 3g drops.

baldybill said:
My understanding is that our phones (V20) will continue to work for now since they have 4g. Yes, we can also access the 3g band, but my phone rarely switches to it. We should be fine for a while on the V20 on 4g.
PS - That's presuming our phones are stock or near-stock and still have functioning VoLTE / HD calls. Stock Android and A_O (Alpha Omega) ROM has this. I believe these phones are safe to use in 2022 and beyond when 3g drops.
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Click to collapse
Right, but it also depends on what the carrier supports as AT&T and Verizon use whitelists.
In the U.S., VoLTE support on the American V20 models goes something like this (and of course stock-based ROMs are a must for this):
- H910 gets VoLTE on AT&T and its MVNOs
- H918 gets VoLTE on T-Mobile and its MVNOs
- VS995 gets VoLTE on Verizon and its MVNOs
- US996 may get VoLTE on some of the above. I've gotten it to work on T-Mobile, 1 out of 2 T-Mobile MVNOs (worked on Tracfone's T-Mobile card but not Liberty Wireless), and an AT&T MVNO (Red Pocket's GSMA).
- LS997 is not configured to have VoLTE out of the box, so any LS997 that has been updated past May 2017 will for sure soon be useless in the U.S. for making and receiving phone calls. For the few of us who still have the older rooted LS997 models, I will soon look into installing Alpha Omega ROMs from the US996 to see if VoLTE can get enabled through there since the hardware is likely present, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

baldybill said:
My understanding is that our phones (V20) will continue to work for now since they have 4g. Yes, we can also access the 3g band, but my phone rarely switches to it. We should be fine for a while on the V20 on 4g.
PS - That's presuming our phones are stock or near-stock and still have functioning VoLTE / HD calls. Stock Android and A_O (Alpha Omega) ROM has this. I believe these phones are safe to use in 2022 and beyond when 3g drops.
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I'm not 100% sure about the V20, but I know the Note 4 has 4G, but for data only. It requires calls over 3G on non-stock ROMs. I don't run stock LG ROMs because they are way behind on security updates. Just upgraded to LOS 18.1 giving me security updates from 12/2021. It's much safer.
If you mean that VoLTE will work on a stock-base ROM, you are probably correct. However, that's not an option for me, and in reality, it really shouldn't be for others too! Many, many people are either ignorant to or just don't care about security. There are so many vulnerabilities, including RCE ones, addressed constantly. This is a handheld computer, so it's just like leaving unpatched systems on your network. If you're running Windows 7 still, for example, you're asking to get owned. Bad idea.
Thanks for your feedback though. It is appreciated! If you have any replacement recommendations, I am all ears!

I'll be watching this thread to see where others land, as far as their next device.
Both my wife and I have US996's on Verizon. I'm on A-O Oreo with HD calling enabled. Hers is not on A-O Oreo, hd calling is enabled in the account, but I can't get the toggle in the settings to be "un-greyed". Tried the trick to turn it on and off online, but the page errors out everytime. Guess I'll have to make the time to get her phone flashed to see if that fixes it.
All that aside, I too have been facing the same dilemma as the OP. SD card, root, and straight forward disassembly would be my main needs. IR blaster would be nice. I don't mind replacing a non-removable battery, have disassembled many devices requiring heat.

pistacios said:
I'll be watching this thread to see where others land, as far as their next device.
Both my wife and I have US996's on Verizon. I'm on A-O Oreo with HD calling enabled. Hers is not on A-O Oreo, hd calling is enabled in the account, but I can't get the toggle in the settings to be "un-greyed". Tried the trick to turn it on and off online, but the page errors out everytime. Guess I'll have to make the time to get her phone flashed to see if that fixes it.
All that aside, I too have been facing the same dilemma as the OP. SD card, root, and straight forward disassembly would be my main needs. IR blaster would be nice. I don't mind replacing a non-removable battery, have disassembled many devices requiring heat.
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Sorry to hear you're in the same predicament...
I'm trying to justify my SD requirement these days. Why is it one for you exactly?

DaCHeF36 said:
Sorry to hear you're in the same predicament...
I'm trying to justify my SD requirement these days. Why is it one for you exactly?
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Mainly because if anything happens where I can't access internal phone storage due to hardware failure, at least I know I can salvage data from the SD card externally.

C D said:
Right, but it also depends on what the carrier supports as AT&T and Verizon use whitelists.
In the U.S., VoLTE support on the American V20 models goes something like this (and of course stock-based ROMs are a must for this):
- H910 gets VoLTE on AT&T and its MVNOs
- H918 gets VoLTE on T-Mobile and its MVNOs
- VS995 gets VoLTE on Verizon and its MVNOs
- US996 may get VoLTE on some of the above. I've gotten it to work on T-Mobile, 1 out of 2 T-Mobile MVNOs (worked on Tracfone's T-Mobile card but not Liberty Wireless), and an AT&T MVNO (Red Pocket's GSMA).
- LS997 is not configured to have VoLTE out of the box, so any LS997 that has been updated past May 2017 will for sure soon be useless in the U.S. for making and receiving phone calls. For the few of us who still have the older rooted LS997 models, I will soon look into installing Alpha Omega ROMs from the US996 to see if VoLTE can get enabled through there since the hardware is likely present, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
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Crossing my fingers that my US996 (w/AO Rom) will work with Verizon. So far, I can toggle the "HD Calls" switch in the settings, so I'm hopeful.
If not, I'll prob. use the VS995.

pistacios said:
Mainly because if anything happens where I can't access internal phone storage due to hardware failure, at least I know I can salvage data from the SD card externally.
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That makes perfect sense. BTW, pistachios rock! lol..

baldybill said:
Crossing my fingers that my US996 (w/AO Rom) will work with Verizon. So far, I can toggle the "HD Calls" switch in the settings, so I'm hopeful.
If not, I'll prob. use the VS995.
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My US996 w/A-O on Verizon has made calls over 4gLTE. The only way I'm able to confirm that is if the recipient of the call is also "HD calling", it will show an "HD" icon in green during the call.
Really wish I could figure out WIFI calling. That would probably take flashing a VS995 ROM, and that still is a gamble.
Another wish would be if LG would have just released the propietary files to make it all work with a Lineage based ROM, since they are no longer in the mobile game and have closed the bootloader unlock service as of late November.

Does anyone share concerns over running stock-based software that hasn't been updated for years to continue using these devices? Are you aware of the critical vulnerabilities released monthly for Android OSes? I just want to make sure everyone understands the risks of such an approach.

pistacios said:
Really wish I could figure out WIFI calling. That would probably take flashing a VS995 ROM, and that still is a gamble.
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Wi-Fi calling is heavily carrier-based, and since there never was a universal all-carrier USA V20 model, you almost certainly have to be on VS995 firmware to get it. Another lesser-known thing to try would be changing your US996's IMEI number to another one that still passes Verizon's IMEI check if you happen to have a phone like that around. I cannot openly discuss the method here since it's illegal in some countries (but not the U.S. – more info here) but it's quite simple to do, and you can message me if you need some pointers. This can be done on my LS997 and US996 but not the H918.
DaCHeF36 said:
Does anyone share concerns over running stock-based software that hasn't been updated for years to continue using these devices? Are you aware of the critical vulnerabilities released monthly for Android OSes? I just want to make sure everyone understands the risks of such an approach.
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To me, it mainly depends on what you do on your phone. My usage is likely quite different from yours. You can see my view on this and what my post-V20 daily driver phone has been since September in a similar topic thread on the V20 Subreddit from a few months ago.
And if you want to have a deeper look, you can see most of the stuff of what I've been running on my V20s over here.