Database Users

SM-G928A Debranding Question

Hello all. I am new to the world of android and would like some assistance with a topic - flashing stock firmware.
I bought an AT&T S6 Edge+ outright and absolutely love the phone. Except that it's filled with all sorts of AT&T apps and certain functionalities of the phone is disabled. I researched the topic of flashing the firmware to another region/carrier's stock firmware and it seems that this is a possible route to "debranding" the phone. However I also learned that AT&T locks the boot loader. Will this have any impact on me flashing the ROM with another firmware for this model?
Thanks for all the advice and patience!:good:

miss_oui said:
Hello all. I am new to the world of android and would like some assistance with a topic - flashing stock firmware.
I bought an AT&T S6 Edge+ outright and absolutely love the phone. Except that it's filled with all sorts of AT&T apps and certain functionalities of the phone is disabled. I researched the topic of flashing the firmware to another region/carrier's stock firmware and it seems that this is a possible route to "debranding" the phone. However I also learned that AT&T locks the boot loader. Will this have any impact on me flashing the ROM with another firmware for this model?
Thanks for all the advice and patience!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same prob.

miss_oui said:
Hello all. I am new to the world of android and would like some assistance with a topic - flashing stock firmware.
I bought an AT&T S6 Edge+ outright and absolutely love the phone. Except that it's filled with all sorts of AT&T apps and certain functionalities of the phone is disabled. I researched the topic of flashing the firmware to another region/carrier's stock firmware and it seems that this is a possible route to "debranding" the phone. However I also learned that AT&T locks the boot loader. Will this have any impact on me flashing the ROM with another firmware for this model?
Thanks for all the advice and patience!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone who can help? Same issue here, can't stand this **** by at&t

Not possible
Device specific firmware is on carrier devices so if you try to put kor or T-Mobile or whatever on one the american s6 or edge then I believe its the bricks for you...I also believe if you have a clean imei the carrier will unlock it for you don't hurt to try ..the story is you may have to be on their network activated and also if you purchased through the payment option after its paid off it can be unlocked ..debranded whatever

miss_oui said:
Hello all. I am new to the world of android and would like some assistance with a topic - flashing stock firmware.
I bought an AT&T S6 Edge+ outright and absolutely love the phone. Except that it's filled with all sorts of AT&T apps and certain functionalities of the phone is disabled. I researched the topic of flashing the firmware to another region/carrier's stock firmware and it seems that this is a possible route to "debranding" the phone. However I also learned that AT&T locks the boot loader. Will this have any impact on me flashing the ROM with another firmware for this model?
Thanks for all the advice and patience!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way to "de-brand" the phones.......
Crossfader971 said:
same prob.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thelittleleto said:
Anyone who can help? Same issue here, can't stand this **** by at&t
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do what I done, Sell the phone on Swappa, Ebay, Amazon or Craigslist & purchase
an international version of the S6 Edge+ or any other Samsung International phone.
They all come factory unlocked and very easy to root.
The only feature the T-Mobile users will no longer have
is the wifi calling. Being rooted is an excellent trade-off
for the wifi calling feature unless you live in the middle
of no-where. LOL
All the other features work just as good in all the
international phones as with the branded phones.
Good luck and have a great evening!

[UK] Unlocked S7 Edge - Enable EE features?

Hi folks,
So as in iPhone user, i've been following the latest Galaxy very closely and decided to take the plunge on Sunday!
Suffice to say, sat in front of me at the moment is my first Samsung (I went for the Edge).
I'm on EE, so i'd like to know how I go about enabling Wi-Fi calling (and VoLTE when it launches - although i'm aware it's testing in several areas at the moment) on my device. I bought it unlocked, direct from Samsung - which probably explains why I can't see the settings for it?
I've ready that I may have to flash the firmware with the EE version to get the features - my concern with that though is tripping Knox, as i'd like to use Samsung Pay when it launches.
Is there a method of enabling the features without flashing the firmware?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

I've ready that I may have to flash the firmware with the EE version to get the features - my concern with that though is tripping Knox, as i'd like to use Samsung Pay when it launches.
Is there a method of enabling the features without flashing the firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'''
i wouldnt if i were you. i tried that with apple pay in australia and it didnt work. its region locked. wait for the official launch.
for me, my ban offers nfc payments through the phone so i can wait abit for samsung pay to arrive in australia and if im lucky, they will give out free stuff like in america.
i never tried volte calling. but you can always use whats app and stuff.

Its safe to do so,
I bought my S7 Edge from the Samsung store, and flashed the EE firmware, it doesn't trip knox, only custom changes will trip knox, So rooting/custom recoveries and such. its safe to flash the EE firmware. and WI-FI calling working for me, (How to enable WiFI calling). as we speak. But I did do a factory reset(delete everything) after flashing to make sure the CSC for EE was installing correctly.

kossiewossie said:
Its safe to do so,
I bought my S7 Edge from the Samsung store, and flashed the EE firmware, it doesn't trip knox, only custom changes will trip knox, So rooting/custom recoveries and such. its safe to flash the EE firmware. and WI-FI calling working for me as we speak. But I did do a factory reset after flashing to make sure the CSC for EE was installing correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah - just what I wanted to hear
Can you tell me if the EE firmware comes with loads of bloat? Also, will OTA updates work, or will I have to manually flash them when released (I'm sure I read that auto-updates don't work if flashing a different firmware - although I could have misconstrued that).
Thanks

Captain.Slow said:
Ah - just what I wanted to hear
Can you tell me if the EE firmware comes with loads of bloat? Also, will OTA updates work, or will I have to manually flash them when released (I'm sure I read that auto-updates don't work if flashing a different firmware - although I could have misconstrued that).
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto-update will work, but you will have to wait for EE to push the updates out. so might be a delay until they release them, Only difference from buying the phone from EE or Samsung is the firmware, So if you flash the whole phone and factory reset in recovery, its pretty much a EE phone. be warned sometimes WiFi calling will not work until you call up EE and ask them to activate it on your handset, (and that can be a funny conversation, since you didn't buy the phone from them but I managed to talk my way around it on my S6 edge+), And on my S7 Edge it seems to already be enabled after I flashed the EE firmware and enabled in the phone settings.

It's a shame that we still have to install carrier specific firmware to access these things. I thought I heard samsung had overcome this?
Some articles suggested that the S7 could install carrier specific software upon detection of SIM accordingly. This doesn't appear to be the case. I have just had to flash H3G firmware. BTW op it didn't trip KNOX

sammyelrefee said:
It's a shame that we still have to install carrier specific firmware to access these things. I thought I heard samsung had overcome this?
Some articles suggested that the S7 could install carrier specific software upon detection of SIM accordingly. This doesn't appear to be the case. I have just had to flash H3G firmware. BTW op it didn't trip KNOX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a bit rubbish really - it's one good thing Apple has over android imho. I know Google are trying to go down the same route with Carrier Updates - but they're gonna have to grow a pair if they're going to get anywhere with it.
Anyway, thanks kossiewossie - just finished flashing mine. Hoping I haven't tripped Knox (not checked yet, it's restoring my Google Account backup).

To flash the firmware is it just a case of downloading the EE firmware from sammobile and using Odin to flash it? Because I know for the S6 there was an issue where the partitions were different between the EE version and the unlocked version meaning you had to get hold of a PIT file to flash the EE firmware. Is that still the case?

I'm also considering doing the same. I'm on EE but it came through a re-seller so I've got stock Samsung firmware.
Other than the delay in updates being released, is there any other reason why not to do this? Are you able to flash back the BTU version if you grow tired of waiting for carrier updates and don't end up making the use of wifi calling?

mmotti said:
I'm also considering doing the same. I'm on EE but it came through a re-seller so I've got stock Samsung firmware.
Other than the delay in updates being released, is there any other reason why not to do this? Are you able to flash back the BTU version if you grow tired of waiting for carrier updates and don't end up making the use of wifi calling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only benefit I see with the EE firmware is Wifi calling, but as I am in a fantastic reception area, I do not need it. Therefore I see no other reason to use the EE firmware and prefer updates as soon as they are released.
Yes, if you grow tired of waiting for carrier updates, you can flash back to BTE/XEU firmware.

I can't speak for EVR firmware. I used Samfirm to download 4 file H3G firmware and I was not asked for a PIT file.
Interesting there are PIT files included in the files if you unpack them so maybe this was used?

Having downloaded the EE firmware I'm a little confused with Odin.
I have:
AP...
BL...
CP...
CSC_EVR...
Home_CSC_EVR...
Do I need to select all of these within Odin? If so, which CSC as there seems to be two? Sorry if this is a stupid question....

mmotti said:
Having downloaded the EE firmware I'm a little confused with Odin.
I have:
AP...
BL...
CP...
CSC_EVR...
Home_CSC_EVR...
Do I need to select all of these within Odin? If so, which CSC as there seems to be two? Sorry if this is a stupid question....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I did it last night, within Odin I selected files for AP, BL, CP and for CSC - CSC_EVR. I didn't use the Home_CSC_EVR file.
Knowing my luck, i've probably done it wrong - although my phone does seem to be running fine!!

I'm too cautious about flashing the wrong one lol. I'll wait until we know the difference I think!
Edit: Flashed it with the standard CSC. All seems well.

I flashed the standard csc myself and all seems well for over a day now. Would still like to know what the home csc file is for.
Edit. Just found out that home_csc doesn't contain the pit file so it doesn't wipe the phone. So would have to use the standard CSC when changing firmware.

Stock firmware

Hi everyone. I am attempting to download the stock firmware for my Edge but can't find it. My phone has SM-G935A printed on the back. It is AT&T. The search feature on SAMMOBILE does not have that model. Is it ok to use a different firmware? It won't be AT&T anymore if I do, right?
The back of my phone gets really hot at times, especially right while booting. I wanted to try to root and put one of the custom ROMS on there but I am not doing anything till I find the correct Stock Firmware.

scm37390 said:
Hi everyone. I am attempting to download the stock firmware for my Edge but can't find it. My phone has SM-G935A printed on the back. It is AT&T. The search feature on SAMMOBILE does not have that model. Is it ok to use a different firmware? It won't be AT&T anymore if I do, right?
The back of my phone gets really hot at times, especially right while booting. I wanted to try to root and put one of the custom ROMS on there but I am not doing anything till I find the correct Stock Firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out this forum, https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-s7-edge/how-to/updated-935u-935a-live-links-pi3-t3501686. I'm running my AT&T S7 Edge on this firmware, WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY better than stock AT&T. It has NO AT&T bloatware and it has the Mobile Data On/Off toggle listed in the quick toggles bar. Before you flash this on your phone check what build you're on in the "about phone" in settings. Here is the link with the latest stock AT&T Firmware, https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-s7-edge/how-to/firmware-pi2-s7-edge-sm-g935a-10-03-16-t3477246. Download to your pc in case you want to flash back to stock. Don't root, not really stable if you do and you can't install any other firmware / ROM unless you flash 935U Firmware. You can brick your phone or even trip Knox counter and that will void your warranty if you needed to return to AT&T or Samsung.

ytaida said:
Check out this forum, https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-s7-edge/how-to/updated-935u-935a-live-links-pi3-t3501686. I'm running my AT&T S7 Edge on this firmware, WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY better than stock AT&T. It has NO AT&T bloatware and it has the Mobile Data On/Off toggle listed in the quick toggles bar. Before you flash this on your phone check what build you're on in the "about phone" in settings. Here is the link with the latest stock AT&T Firmware, https://forum.xda-developers.com/att-s7-edge/how-to/firmware-pi2-s7-edge-sm-g935a-10-03-16-t3477246. Download to your pc in case you want to flash back to stock. Don't root, not really stable if you do and you can't install any other firmware / ROM unless you flash 935U Firmware. You can brick your phone or even trip Knox counter and that will void your warranty if you needed to return to AT&T or Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi and thanks. I don't care about warranty. I am thankful you explained that "ROOT" makes it unstable. How is it possible to flash custom ROMS without ROOT? Why is it so hard to find the dang firmware? I went back on that dang Sammobil to look for the stock firmware for a friends Verizon S7 Edge and I can't find THAT but NOW THE AT&T is there!!!!

It sounds to me like you are coming from an older phone that had an unlocked bootloader? Back in the day when flashing a new rom like paranoid or slimrom was the fun and cool way to differentiate your device from your friends. That was also a time when android was about as locked down as ios is now, and ios was still locking users into their own keyboard, and Samsung was scrapping with apple at every turn for the top seat in the mobile phone market. My how things have changed.
Android is much more open in some ways, there are far fewer things that most people need that require root access, and the device manufacturers have also begun locking down the devices much more. At least in the Samsung line, I don't know when the last US variant flagship bootloader was freely unlocked? The s3? I know I had a Verizon s6 that I could not even achieve root on following a certain point in the release cycle. Now we have all of these fun new terms like systemless root, magisk and engineering bootloader. It really comes down with what is your desired outcome from rooting. You can actually get a long way towards what you could do back then with a Samsung theme and the right apps.
I believe what ytaida is referring to is the ability to flash other s7 roms onto your phone. So while we may not be able to flash custom roms, anything with the correct bootloader can still be flashed. Typically with a phone that is only going to be in the same model, but Samsung kind of threw a curveball and created an incestual path for the s7. With their U firmware, (the 930U and 935U firmware shipped on the devices sold directly from Samsung as was mentioned above) you could flash an official version of that onto the tmobile, Verizon, att and a few other carriers hardware, and essentially change the model of the phone. From there changing it back was equally as easy, except changing it back could be changing a Verizon model into an att model. The radios were all the same. In this process a root exploit was achieved and some very smart (I am humbled by their knowledge and determination on these sites every day) folks started hacking together roms. So you will see some neat stuff done where you are never truly running as root, but there were modifications done as root somewhere along the line. Long story only mildly shorter. Be careful how far down the rabbithole you take this.
The next thing you know it could be 6am and you realize you've been downloading and archiving your own copies of stock Samsung firmware for the last 20 hours, for devices you don't even have lol..
Sure there are still custom roms out there, but as a US customer, if that is what you're looking for you are best off with a nexus device or One Plus.

scm37390 said:
Hi and thanks. I don't care about warranty. I am thankful you explained that "ROOT" makes it unstable. How is it possible to flash custom ROMS without ROOT? Why is it so hard to find the dang firmware? I went back on that dang Sammobil to look for the stock firmware for a friends Verizon S7 Edge and I can't find THAT but NOW THE AT&T is there!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is not hard, just need to look in correct forum. BTW what firmware you want. You can find any firmware you want for both models. Just look harder.
On Edge of Galaxy

A few things:
1) There doesn't appear to be any physical difference between the 935A, 935T, and 935U. You can, as long as you mind the bootloader version, freely switch between the three versions. I'm not sure about the Verizon and Spring versions.
2) The 935A FW link is around here. I've used it, and it worked fine, but you will be on tap for a few OTA updates.
3) The 935T FW link is actually available in several places, but there is a direct link over in the T-Mobile S7E forum. I'm not really sure what it gets you that the 935U doesn't, though. It has less bloat than AT&T, about the same amount of branding, and AT&T still refuses to let you have access to the more advanced call features. It does appear to be a lot less laggy than the 935A, though - AT&T really screwed up the Nougat upgrade compared to everyone else. It will likely get updates faster as well, and T-mobile doesn't have provisioning checks for tethering.
4) The 935U FW link is also "stock" for this phone, and works much better in many respects (it's certainly faster and less laggy) The difference between the 935A/935T and 935U firmware is that the former two have all the software needed for AT&T/T-mobile specific features, like WiFi calling, VoLTE, Visual Voicemail, etc. The latter has none of those things, but it does give you back BT tethering, disables the checks for WiFi and USB tethering, along with a few other features that were disabled.
Thus, you need to decide what is more important. Carrier specific calling features or more tethering options and overall better performance and battery life.

Please check the ORIGINAL post date!!!
I got the help I needed MONTHS ago. For those of you actually attempting to help,
"THANKS".
NORBARB, as a "SENIOR MEMBER" I would have expected much more than that and again, please look at the date I posted that question. Of course the firmware has shown up now. I don't even own that phone anymore.

How do you determine bootloader version?
jshamlet said:
A few things:
1) There doesn't appear to be any physical difference between the 935A, 935T, and 935U. You can, as long as you mind the bootloader version, freely switch between the three versions. I'm not sure about the Verizon and Spring versions.
2) The 935A FW link is around here. I've used it, and it worked fine, but you will be on tap for a few OTA updates.
3) The 935T FW link is actually available in several places, but there is a direct link over in the T-Mobile S7E forum. I'm not really sure what it gets you that the 935U doesn't, though. It has less bloat than AT&T, about the same amount of branding, and AT&T still refuses to let you have access to the more advanced call features. It does appear to be a lot less laggy than the 935A, though - AT&T really screwed up the Nougat upgrade compared to everyone else. It will likely get updates faster as well, and T-mobile doesn't have provisioning checks for tethering.
4) The 935U FW link is also "stock" for this phone, and works much better in many respects (it's certainly faster and less laggy) The difference between the 935A/935T and 935U firmware is that the former two have all the software needed for AT&T/T-mobile specific features, like WiFi calling, VoLTE, Visual Voicemail, etc. The latter has none of those things, but it does give you back BT tethering, disables the checks for WiFi and USB tethering, along with a few other features that were disabled.
Thus, you need to decide what is more important. Carrier specific calling features or more tethering options and overall better performance and battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm interested in switching my unlocked Tmobile G935T to ATT G935A to take advantage of Wi-fi Calling. I'm not sure how to make sure I select the AT&T firmware that has the same bootloader as mentioned above.

I have yet to find a simple guide on "How to load a custom ROM on your AT&T S7 Edge"

I have yet to find a simple guide on "How to load a custom ROM on your AT&T S7 Edge"
I've traveled all over the interwebs, including this website and many others but have not found a simple guide for noobs. I read about CWM, TWRP, Odin, rooting, zip files, tar files, nandroid, backup ROM, root with app, root via computer, blah, blah, blah, blah....
All I know is that before I do anything I want to backup the stock ROM but before that I'm thrown all kinds of different tools and processes that one could use. For the noob it should be as simple as:
Step 1: backup your stock ROM and to do this download/install this tool then follow these instructions.
Step 2: root your S7 Edge and to do this download/install this tool then follow these instructions.
Step 3: find a custom ROM you want to install and to do this go here, here or here for you model and download it to your PC.
Step 4: flash your custom ROM and to do this down/install this tool and follow these instructions.
Maybe I haven't done a good job of searching so shame on me but I don't feel like given the effort I've expended thus far has yielded a straight and easy answer when it probably should be. I seem to run across a lot of promising reads/threads about this only to find that there seems to be so much more knowledge and experience with the SM-935F and not so much with the SM-935A variant. On top of it, it would seem that I'm told that rooting will or will not break Samsung Pay and other apps/features or that the flag will or will not permanently trip that shows the device has been modified. Very confusing.
When I'm presented with a tar/zip download I'm not sure to where I'm supposed to be downloading. To my PC then used Odin s/w on the PC to install via USB cable to the handset?
Can someone please point me to the simple guide to get this going...or am I gonna have to write it myself? TIA.

BTW, I should note that I'm coming from a S3 on Virgin Mobile to a S7 Edge SM-G935A to be used on Cricket Wireless (AT&T). Since I'll be on Cricket and not directly a AT&T customer per se I'd like to get rid of all the bloatware that AT&T was so kind to load up on the handset. Right now it has Nougat 7.0 installed: samsung/hero2qlteuc/hero2qlteatt:7.0/NRD90M/G935AUCU4BQA6

I am not sure if you have a US version the S7 (Qualcomm G935A) or the S7 non US version. But if you have the US version, we are out of luck. Our bootloader is completely locked and all those steps you pointed out are not available.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

freeop said:
I am not sure if you have a US version the S7 (Qualcomm G935A) or the S7 non US version. But if you have the US version, we are out of luck. Our bootloader is completely locked and all those steps you pointed out are not available.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it seems that with all USA Qualcomm versions regardless of GSM carrier you have confirmed we pretty much cannot do much other than load some other versions of firmware such the U version ROM? From what I read HERE this is the Marshmallow 6.0 o/s. I currently have the stock Nougat 7.0 firmware from AT&T on my S7 Edge. Is there a debloated 7.0 version of the U ROM available?
UPDATE: Never mind...I came across THIS THREAD regarding an unbloated 7.0 U-version. I see you were active in that thread so now I need to read the entire thing before I have more questions and if so I'll ask them there. Thanks!

SyberTiger said:
So it seems that with all USA Qualcomm versions regardless of GSM carrier you have confirmed we pretty much cannot do much other than load some other versions of firmware such the U version ROM? From what I read HERE this is the Marshmallow 6.0 o/s. I currently have the stock Nougat 7.0 firmware from AT&T on my S7 Edge. Is there a debloated 7.0 version of the U ROM available?
UPDATE: Never mind...I came across THIS THREAD regarding an unbloated 7.0 U-version. I see you were active in that thread so now I need to read the entire thing before I have more questions and if so I'll ask them there. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you still want to root your phone, you can follow this link and will let you get rid of all the bloat and root your phone, install xposed and all the mods for xposed. I have used the ENG.IMG version of root for the G935A over 6 months ago and it works great, given the choices we have.
Here's the link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm...eres-how-rooted-nougat-s7-edge-g935t-t3567502
I know the thread is in the T-Mobile section but if you read the first line, it says it works for T-Mobile, ATT, Sprint, Verizon, etc. It is a very long thread but if you read mostly the later posts from @Craz Basics and you will be able to see that it works really nice.
Good luck

freeop said:
If you still want to root your phone, you can follow this link and will let you get rid of all the bloat and root your phone, install xposed and all the mods for xposed. I have used the ENG.IMG version of root for the G935A over 6 months ago and it works great, given the choices we have.
Here's the link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm...eres-how-rooted-nougat-s7-edge-g935t-t3567502
I know the thread is in the T-Mobile section but if you read the first line, it says it works for T-Mobile, ATT, Sprint, Verizon, etc. It is a very long thread but if you read mostly the later posts from @Craz Basics and you will be able to see that it works really nice.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks....but I have another question now that I'm given choices.
Which ROM is better, the U 7.0 ROM or the T-Mobile ROM you just linked? And, why is it better than the other?

SyberTiger said:
Hey thanks....but I have another question now that I'm given choices.
Which ROM is better, the U 7.0 ROM or the T-Mobile ROM you just linked? And, why is it better than the other?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok the U 7.0 ROM is still un-rooted and bootloader locked. If you go that way, you get the U ROM with-out all the Bloat. But nothing more.
And the link is not really for the T-Mobile phone only. The ENG.IMG is for all makes of the Qualcomm chip. You install that and you are still with ATT. Still have all the things ATT provides like WiFi-Calling and other ATT things. And you can get rid of the Bloatware from the ATT ROM using different apps, like Titanium Backup. With the ENG.IMG you can root your phone and use all the apps that are available for Rooted Phones. One of the best is Titanium Backup. You can only use that one Rooted phones. If you have the U 7.0 ROM, you will have to use the same ENG.IMG to Root the U 7.0 ROM to get that OS rooted. And as I mentioned before you can use Xposed with the rooted phone.
If you are just looking to get rid of Bloatware on the ATT, there is an app for that also. Check out BK Disabler in the playstore. You can get rid of all the bloatware without rooting your phone.
Anyway, hope this make some kind of sense...

freeop said:
Ok the U 7.0 ROM is still un-rooted and bootloader locked. If you go that way, you get the U ROM with-out all the Bloat. But nothing more.
And the link is not really for the T-Mobile phone only. The ENG.IMG is for all makes of the Qualcomm chip. You install that and you are still with ATT. Still have all the things ATT provides like WiFi-Calling and other ATT things. And you can get rid of the Bloatware from the ATT ROM using different apps, like Titanium Backup. With the ENG.IMG you can root your phone and use all the apps that are available for Rooted Phones. One of the best is Titanium Backup. You can only use that one Rooted phones. If you have the U 7.0 ROM, you will have to use the same ENG.IMG to Root the U 7.0 ROM to get that OS rooted. And as I mentioned before you can use Xposed with the rooted phone.
If you are just looking to get rid of Bloatware on the ATT, there is an app for that also. Check out BK Disabler in the playstore. You can get rid of all the bloatware without rooting your phone.
Anyway, hope this make some kind of sense...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, appreciate it.
I'm really not planning on spending a lot of time making changes or tweaking the handset. I'm on Cricket Wireless therefore I don't see any value in the AT&T bloatware which is why I wanted it removed. My interest is primarily having the latest/greatest android version I can have without all the stuff junking it up. I'd like it to be as fast as is reasonably possibly but at the same time have reasonably good battery life. I'm coming from a Galaxy S3 on Virgin Mobile so the change to the S7E is a huge upgrade. I haven't figured out yet if there are any apps (that require rooting) that are so slick I can't live without them.
I installed the U 7.0 and as I recall I got about 5 or 6 OTA updates which in encouraging. I think the AT&T ROM never received any of the 3 or 4 most current security updates. Anyhow, U 7.0 is up and running with no AT&T bloatware.

SyberTiger said:
Thanks, appreciate it.
I'm really not planning on spending a lot of time making changes or tweaking the handset. I'm on Cricket Wireless therefore I don't see any value in the AT&T bloatware which is why I wanted it removed. My interest is primarily having the latest/greatest android version I can have without all the stuff junking it up. I'd like it to be as fast as is reasonably possibly but at the same time have reasonably good battery life. I'm coming from a Galaxy S3 on Virgin Mobile so the change to the S7E is a huge upgrade. I haven't figured out yet if there are any apps (that require rooting) that are so slick I can't live without them.
I installed the U 7.0 and as I recall I got about 5 or 6 OTA updates which in encouraging. I think the AT&T ROM never received any of the 3 or 4 most current security updates. Anyhow, U 7.0 is up and running with no AT&T bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T's software updater only works if you have an AT&T SIM card. This is why the first thing you should do if you buy an AT&T (or other carrier) device that you don't plan to use on that network is to convert it to the unlocked version. That, and AT&T (in particular) loads the crap out of their devices with bloatware to the point that switching to U feels like an early upgrade to the next generation device.

jshamlet said:
AT&T's software updater only works if you have an AT&T SIM card. This is why the first thing you should do if you buy an AT&T (or other carrier) device that you don't plan to use on that network is to convert it to the unlocked version. That, and AT&T (in particular) loads the crap out of their devices with bloatware to the point that switching to U feels like an early upgrade to the next generation device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have a Cricket SIM which explains why this unlocked handset is stuck on 7.0 G935AUCU4BQA6 which is the February 1, 2017 update. Interestingly enough, the Network Signal Info app shows the SIM Operator as AT&T and Network Operator as Cricket/AT&T.
Going to the U got rid of all the bloatware and the handset immediately started receiving 5 or 6 OTA updates. I'll probably stick with the U version unless it becomes apparent there's a significantly better ROM available that increases performance, battery life or really adds some whizbangs that make the S7E experience a lot better.

forgive me for butting in -- I have a SM-G935A (stock) on Cricket as well.
Updates to the ROM and while keeping Samsung Pay are important to me.
In the past, I have d/led ATT updates and installed them using Odin, but that wipes my phone's apps/settings each time. Recently, I purchased an ATT sim & put the minimum $$$ on it with the intention of popping it in for OTA's. I've received BQK2, Nov 1 2017. It's a crappy work around, but the easiest I know of without having to rebuild my phone each Odin'ed update.
Would installing U or TMO firmware on the 935A remove the ability to use Samsung Pay? Would either of them be updated for frequently/easier than the 935A?

The U firmware supports Samsung pay and gets updates directly. The only downsides are no carrier features like wifi calling, etc., and if gets updates later than the carrier versions. I have run it on AT&T since I got the phone and it has worked fine.

jshamlet said:
The U firmware supports Samsung pay and gets updates directly. The only downsides are no carrier features like wifi calling, etc., and if gets updates later than the carrier versions. I have run it on AT&T since I got the phone and it has worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, jshamlet.
This is my first phone I haven't rooted & I feel a bit powerless without Xposed and Titanium Backup. I find myself using Samsung Pay so often, that I don't want to lose it & was concerned that installing the U (or TMO) firmware on the ATT version would trip Knox, too.

William Thornton said:
forgive me for butting in -- I have a SM-G935A (stock) on Cricket as well.
Updates to the ROM and while keeping Samsung Pay are important to me.
In the past, I have d/led ATT updates and installed them using Odin, but that wipes my phone's apps/settings each time. Recently, I purchased an ATT sim & put the minimum $$$ on it with the intention of popping it in for OTA's. I've received BQK2, Nov 1 2017. It's a crappy work around, but the easiest I know of without having to rebuild my phone each Odin'ed update.
Would installing U or TMO firmware on the 935A remove the ability to use Samsung Pay? Would either of them be updated for frequently/easier than the 935A?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, doesn't Samsung Smart Switch back up everything?

SyberTiger said:
Hmm, doesn't Samsung Smart Switch back up everything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never gotten it working 100%.

William Thornton said:
I've never gotten it working 100%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be talking about the PC version not the phone-to-phone setup. Back up to PC then from PC to your phone. Worked great for me.

SyberTiger said:
Hmm, doesn't Samsung Smart Switch back up everything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, no. No it doesn't. Helium (or if you are feeling oldster, ADB) does a vastly better job of backing up apps than Smart Switch. Smart Switch does a reasonably good job of putting your phone's settings back, but it doesn't appear to back up most app data.
I learned this the hard way.
---------- Post added at 01:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:47 AM ----------
William Thornton said:
Thanks, jshamlet.
This is my first phone I haven't rooted & I feel a bit powerless without Xposed and Titanium Backup. I find myself using Samsung Pay so often, that I don't want to lose it & was concerned that installing the U (or TMO) firmware on the ATT version would trip Knox, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung Pay, with the MST technology, is one of those weirdly underrated features that continually amaze people. It works nearly anywhere you can physically see the mag stripe reader, which instantly makes it vastly more useful than either Apple Pay or Android Pay. I have had more than a few people say "We don't take Apple Pay", and then drop their jaw when the transaction goes through.
The fact that Samsung doesn't make a bigger deal about it is strange, because it really is one of those technologies that sets them apart from the other two.

Flashing unlocked Samsung S10+ to T-Mobile Firmware

Hey guys, first time on this forum and I am trying to figure things out. I never flashed a firmware so im a noob to this, but I can definitely follow along. Here is my main concern:
Seems like you need a T-Mobile device to get access to features like advanced messaging, visual voicemail, wifi calling, etc. Things I use all the time, but I never knew it would be taken away if I purchased an unlocked S10 plus.
My main goal is to get these features back, which from what I understand requires flashing the firmware? If there is any other way I am more than open to listen to it!
I have Odin and downloaded the "userdata" linked into this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/how-to/g975u-g975u1-firmware-links-t3905897 specifically USERDATA_TMB_G975USQU1ASAT_CL15296297_QB21819666_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.zip
I figure I unzip to get the tar file, select Odin use data and only flash this file? Kinda clueless about all this.
In addition, if I were to flash I hope that Samsung Pay, Knox, finance apps will still work; also the warranty is still good. I know that rooting the device will/may make these unusable, but I just want to confirm.
Any guidance is greatly appreciated, thanks!

mdiddyshow said:
Hey guys, first time on this forum and I am trying to figure things out. I never flashed a firmware so im a noob to this, but I can definitely follow along. Here is my main concern:
Seems like you need a T-Mobile device to get access to features like advanced messaging, visual voicemail, wifi calling, etc. Things I use all the time, but I never knew it would be taken away if I purchased an unlocked S10 plus.
My main goal is to get these features back, which from what I understand requires flashing the firmware? If there is any other way I am more than open to listen to it!
I have Odin and downloaded the "userdata" linked into this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/how-to/g975u-g975u1-firmware-links-t3905897 specifically USERDATA_TMB_G975USQU1ASAT_CL15296297_QB21819666_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.zip
I figure I unzip to get the tar file, select Odin use data and only flash this file? Kinda clueless about all this.
In addition, if I were to flash I hope that Samsung Pay, Knox, finance apps will still work; also the warranty is still good. I know that rooting the device will/may make these unusable, but I just want to confirm.
Any guidance is greatly appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi Calling, VoLTE are working just fine, but I get what you mean... I mostly flashed 4 firmware files: BL, AP, CL and CSC and couple of times did flash USERDATA too. As userdata file was not required to be flashed unless you want all bloatware from the carrier. Don't know if S10 needs this "userdata" file. You would want to flash I mentioned and specifically flash CSC file and not the HOME CSC(as it usually retains user data on your phone) and in your case you want odin to wipe the device. I want to flash too, but waiting for firmware to become available on sammobile website

Charkatak said:
WiFi Calling, VoLTE are working just fine, but I get what you mean... I mostly flashed 4 firmware files: BL, AP, CL and CSC and couple of times did flash USERDATA too. As userdata file was not required to be flashed unless you want all bloatware from the carrier. Don't know if S10 needs this "userdata" file. You would want to flash I mentioned and specifically flash CSC file and not the HOME CSC(as it usually retains user data on your phone) and in your case you want odin to wipe the device. I want to flash too, but waiting for firmware to become available on sammobile website
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically I should wait for Sammobile to upload those 4 firmware files (BL,AP,CL,CSC) and then use Odin to flash the firmware. Seems the instructions for that are really easy.
As far as the Samsung pay / finance apps, would it mess those up like rooting the device?

mdiddyshow said:
Basically I should wait for Sammobile to upload those 4 firmware files (BL,AP,CL,CSC) and then use Odin to flash the firmware. Seems the instructions for that are really easy.
As far as the Samsung pay / finance apps, would it mess those up like rooting the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be no issue with Samsung Pay and other apps, as you would be flashing official Samsung firmware. Wait for firmware files to be available and then you would be able to see which files will be included and go from there. On my unlocked S8, I didn't flash userdata file and still had all T-Mobile features you were mentioning. If with S10 we will have the same, then skipping userdata is better as the device is pretty much clean without unneeded apps

I installed T-Mobile's Visual Voicemail app from Play Store, and it works just fine. (Unlocked S10)

I did the same. Figured if I was paying outright might as well get an unlocked device. But the Samsung's from tmobile have the multi line function and I'm trying to get rid of my iPhone. But I use that number alot as well. So that multi line function built in for DIGITS worked for me. If you flash it let me know if it has it built in
Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

bradbutter said:
I did the same. Figured if I was paying outright might as well get an unlocked device. But the Samsung's from tmobile have the multi line function and I'm trying to get rid of my iPhone. But I use that number alot as well. So that multi line function built in for DIGITS worked for me. If you flash it let me know if it has it built in
Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait. How did you get the multi line functioning on the s10? I have been scouring the internet for a solution

Curious, are there any features/capabilities that the unlocked version has, but the TMobile version does not? I ordered an unlocked S10+ (haven't received it yet) and TMobile is my carrier.
From what I've read so far, built-in caller ID, and the ability to turn mobile data off, are not on the TMobile variant, but I can't confirm that.

mosi76 said:
Wait. How did you get the multi line functioning on the s10? I have been scouring the internet for a solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't. I have the unlocked version. But I have tmobile. Didn't think about it until I received my device. So If flashing the tmobile software will give it to me i will flash it.
Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info too! I am also quite curious about this as I have an unlocked S10+ still pre-ordered. Unfortunately, it's too late for me to cancel it and re-ordering it on T-Mobile before April comes around as I would like to use the phone on my travels by then (still hanging on to my S5 at the moment... lol).
From what I've read, the two major features lost on unlocked phones are EVS and RCS messaging. While RCS messaging is something I can live without, I would really like to keep the EVS (Enhanced Voice Service) feature usable on the phone when it arrives.
One other question, are you able to get the updates via T-Mobile on the flashed firmware or does it have to be flashed again for future updates?

KunoMochi said:
Thanks for the info too! I am also quite curious about this as I have an unlocked S10+ still pre-ordered. Unfortunately, it's too late for me to cancel it and re-ordering it on T-Mobile before April comes around as I would like to use the phone on my travels by then (still hanging on to my S5 at the moment... lol).
From what I've read, the two major features lost on unlocked phones are EVS and RCS messaging. While RCS messaging is something I can live without, I would really like to keep the EVS (Enhanced Voice Service) feature usable on the phone when it arrives.
One other question, are you able to get the updates via T-Mobile on the flashed firmware or does it have to be flashed again for future updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is EVS? Is that just another term for VoLTE?
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

Kjn246 said:
What is EVS? Is that just another term for VoLTE?
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VoLTE and EVS are different. EVS is an evolution of the AMR-WB speech codec (aka HD Voice) whereas VoLTE uses said speech codecs to work. VoLTE is currently recommended to use at least AMR-WB for good voice quality. As EVS is the newer speech codec that uses similar concepts to that of AMR-WB, it is backwards compatible with technologies already using AMR-WB, which includes VoLTE.
That is what I can gather, feel free to correct me if I am wrong in any of the details.

Thanks to all for their insight. Just an update:
I flashed the T-Mo firmware on my unlocked S10+. It worked - RCS and video calling are back! However I noticed 3 things: 1st I used the CSC, but it did not delete all my apps. 2nd when the device rebooted after flashing it went into recovery mode (is this normal?), but i re-rebooted it and it went right into my phone.
3rd while RCS is working on the phone and between my Android 8.0 Note8 Tmo phone, the Note8 cannot send pictures/files to my S10+. The S10+ can send anything to me, but not the other way around. Read, Delivered, typing indicators work. I am not too concerned about this as I am getting an S10+ myself next week so this will not be an issue.
Any thoughts about that?
Other than the RCS thing, the S10+ device is working completely normally. I heard you have to change the CSC on the device but I did not do that (echo, adb, and all that jazz) - is that necessary as well?
Lots of random thoughts over here!

mdiddyshow said:
Thanks to all for their insight. Just an update:
I flashed the T-Mo firmware on my unlocked S10+. It worked - RCS and video calling are back! However I noticed 3 things: 1st I used the CSC, but it did not delete all my apps. 2nd when the device rebooted after flashing it went into recovery mode (is this normal?), but i re-rebooted it and it went right into my phone.
3rd while RCS is working on the phone and between my Android 8.0 Note8 Tmo phone, the Note8 cannot send pictures/files to my S10+. The S10+ can send anything to me, but not the other way around. Read, Delivered, typing indicators work. I am not too concerned about this as I am getting an S10+ myself next week so this will not be an issue.
Any thoughts about that?
Other than the RCS thing, the S10+ device is working completely normally. I heard you have to change the CSC on the device but I did not do that (echo, adb, and all that jazz) - is that necessary as well?
Lots of random thoughts over here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you be able to help walk me through the process to do this. I used to root and flash custom roms to phones but the carrier specific and Samsung stuff is new to me. I'm interested in getting on the TMO firmware possibly for RCS but I don't know if it's worth the hassle for it yet

mdiddyshow said:
Thanks to all for their insight. Just an update:
I flashed the T-Mo firmware on my unlocked S10+. It worked - RCS and video calling are back! However I noticed 3 things: 1st I used the CSC, but it did not delete all my apps. 2nd when the device rebooted after flashing it went into recovery mode (is this normal?), but i re-rebooted it and it went right into my phone.
3rd while RCS is working on the phone and between my Android 8.0 Note8 Tmo phone, the Note8 cannot send pictures/files to my S10+. The S10+ can send anything to me, but not the other way around. Read, Delivered, typing indicators work. I am not too concerned about this as I am getting an S10+ myself next week so this will not be an issue.
Any thoughts about that?
Other than the RCS thing, the S10+ device is working completely normally. I heard you have to change the CSC on the device but I did not do that (echo, adb, and all that jazz) - is that necessary as well?
Lots of random thoughts over here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that update.
By any chance, could you let us know if the built in VVM is working? (accessed from the dialer by tapping the 3-dot menu button ((from within Dialer)). You should see Visual Voicemail as an option, not just Voicemail.
I flashed the TMo firmware as well, but used Home_CSC. That didn't seem to matter, since Userdata wipes the phone anyways, but I'm curious as to whether that is why I am not seeing Visual Voicemail.
As for the booting into recovery, did you have the reboot option checked in Odin when you started the flash? Mine has booted to recovery before, but it has always been because I forgot to check that box.

jordanyork said:
Thanks for that update.
By any chance, could you let us know if the built in VVM is working? (accessed from the dialer by tapping the 3-dot menu button ((from within Dialer)). You should see Visual Voicemail as an option, not just Voicemail.
I flashed the TMo firmware as well, but used Home_CSC. That didn't seem to matter, since Userdata wipes the phone anyways, but I'm curious as to whether that is why I am not seeing Visual Voicemail.
As for the booting into recovery, did you have the reboot option checked in Odin when you started the flash? Mine has booted to recovery before, but it has always been because I forgot to check that box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I have another update about this. When I included the userdata in Odin it reset my device. The visual voicemail is not working still, and i can't confirm (or i dont know how to confirm) if wifi calling or VoLTE is working as there isn't any real indication on the device. But all my RCS problems have been fixed!
...Except that all my MMS contains the "Subject: No Subject" header on every single MMS. Every. Single. One. I had to change my default messages app because this was just too damn annoying.
and yeah, i did check the box.

mdiddyshow said:
So I have another update about this. When I included the userdata in Odin it reset my device. The visual voicemail is not working still, and i can't confirm (or i dont know how to confirm) if wifi calling or VoLTE is working as there isn't any real indication on the device. But all my RCS problems have been fixed!
...Except that all my MMS contains the "Subject: No Subject" header on every single MMS. Every. Single. One. I had to change my default messages app because this was just too damn annoying.
and yeah, i did check the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a voicemail icon in the dialer after flashing? Or it's still not there?
---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:47 PM ----------
WiFi calling option is within the phone app settings itself, and it would word even without flashing tmo

Anyone know if flashing tmobiles firmware onto the unlocked s10 will void warranty? if so id rather just get the locked tmobile version.

Low_Key_Slaps said:
Anyone know if flashing tmobiles firmware onto the unlocked s10 will void warranty? if so id rather just get the locked tmobile version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. This does not trip knox, nor will it void your warranty. Tampering such as flashing unofficial software will incr the Knox counter. This matters because technicians inspect the software state (among other things during checkups).
Assuming they actually verify it, the device will fail this step (not the case when using signed packages from Samsung for conversion!). .

Ace42 said:
No. This does not trip knox, nor will it void your warranty. Tampering such as flashing unofficial software will incr the Knox counter. This matters because technicians inspect the software state (among other things during checkups).
Assuming they actually verify it, the device will fail this step (not the case when using signed packages from Samsung for conversion!). .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spoke with a Samsung care rep on their website, who told me it will void the warranty. But then again, most customer care reps dont actually know what their talking about beyond the basic questions...