Hello forum,
Like many of you I received my Galaxy S6 yesterday. After turning it on I naturally check the XDA forum to see if anyone had obtained root. I didn't realize that root may not even be possible, not to even mention custom ROMs. I wanted to know if it would be advisable to go and buy the T-Mobile version, should I buy an internationally version, or should I wait and hope the boot loader can be unlocked? I really miss Cyanogenmod on Samsung device for a true super Nexus experience like how my GS3 was. Unfortunately, I bought the GS4 and had my boot-loader locked down so the best I could do was Safestrap and the Google Play Edition Rom by Joe-Tech, but I still long for the feeling of the device truly being mine. Another concern is that anytime I had a real issue with the phone, like if I bricked it, or if the charging port stop working I could take it to the AT&T device store and just get a new (Samsung refurbished) phone. My 14 days are ticking away and I don't know what to do, I would really appreciate if some forum members could point me in the right direction. I signed up for the Next program with AT&T at Best Buy when I got it, so how would that be effected if I returned the device. Also, how do I use the menu key, if I hold the Recent key (the menu key) it just the multitasking window?
Thanks,
N7spaceuser
Bump.
Buy the unlocked version. SM-G920I. You can find it on eBay, thepowersellers.com, and a couple other places. Works perfect on AT&T, LTE and all. Unlocked bootloader, no bloat, faster updates, no AT&T bs. What are you people doing buying from AT&T?
I've been doing research for the past couple of days and I have seen that when the Nexus 6 came out that there were basically just 2 different models out. The International and the North American models. I'm coming from a Galaxy S4 from Verizon and I honestly can say that I just find TouchWiz ugly. I have rooted it but it was too late, the damage Verizon has done already left a huge enough impact that I am too afraid to put a rom on it in fear of the consequences. It was my first smartphone and I was happy with it when I first got it and now I am not to fond of it any longer. With the way Verizon's new plans are, I'm hoping of buying the Nexus 6 from them and slowly paying it off.
I apologize for long intro so i'll get to the point. I am curious about the differences of the Nexus 6 straight from Google and the Nexus 6 straight from the Verizon store if I buy it from them. I would prefer to buy straight from Verizon since I'm a college student and money is very tight and the slow payments seem to work out better in the long run even though I will be paying more if I buy it straight from Verizon. , but if getting the "clean" Nexus 6 is worth the better investment then i'll save up more money and pay for it all right then and there.
I've also read that there have been issues in the past where people have bought a Nexus 6 elsewhere and when they came to Verizon to activate it, that Verizon turned them away and that it wasn't possible. Is this still happening ?
Lastly, if any of you have a Nexus 6 straight from Verizon:
- How has it held up to this point ?
- What are the different things Verizon has done to the phone that weren't there in the past ?
and any other advice you can give to me to make a good purchase decision.
I just want a smartphone that I can root, put roms on, experiment with on XDA, has near-vanilla android but also works with Verizon.
I apologize for such a long post and this is my first ever thread on XDA and i'm new so I hope you may bear with me. I just want to make sure I am giving enough information to where some of you guys can help get my questions answered so I won't resent purchasing a Nexus 6 straight from Verizon if I do.
Thank you very much for reading and helping if you choose to.
P.S. I'm unsure whether to post this in the General Forum for the Nexus 6 or the Help and Troubleshooting forum of the Nexus 6 . I apologize if I posted this in the wrong forum.
Iandrew124 said:
I've been doing research for the past couple of days and I have seen that when the Nexus 6 came out that there were basically just 2 different models out. The International and the North American models. I'm coming from a Galaxy S4 from Verizon and I honestly can say that I just find TouchWiz ugly. I have rooted it but it was too late, the damage Verizon has done already left a huge enough impact that I am too afraid to put a rom on it in fear of the consequences. It was my first smartphone and I was happy with it when I first got it and now I am not to fond of it any longer. With the way Verizon's new plans are, I'm hoping of buying the Nexus 6 from them and slowly paying it off.
I apologize for long intro so i'll get to the point. I am curious about the differences of the Nexus 6 straight from Google and the Nexus 6 straight from the Verizon store if I buy it from them. I would prefer to buy straight from Verizon since I'm a college student and money is very tight and the slow payments seem to work out better in the long run even though I will be paying more if I buy it straight from Verizon. , but if getting the "clean" Nexus 6 is worth the better investment then i'll save up more money and pay for it all right then and there.
I've also read that there have been issues in the past where people have bought a Nexus 6 elsewhere and when they came to Verizon to activate it, that Verizon turned them away and that it wasn't possible. Is this still happening ?
Lastly, if any of you have a Nexus 6 straight from Verizon:
- How has it held up to this point ?
- What are the different things Verizon has done to the phone that weren't there in the past ?
and any other advice you can give to me to make a good purchase decision.
I just want a smartphone that I can root, put roms on, experiment with on XDA, has near-vanilla android but also works with Verizon.
I apologize for such a long post and this is my first ever thread on XDA and i'm new so I hope you may bear with me. I just want to make sure I am giving enough information to where some of you guys can help get my questions answered so I won't resent purchasing a Nexus 6 straight from Verizon if I do.
Thank you very much for reading and helping if you choose to.
P.S. I'm unsure whether to post this in the General Forum for the Nexus 6 or the Help and Troubleshooting forum of the Nexus 6 . I apologize if I posted this in the wrong forum.
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Click to collapse
I have a N6 I bought in March from Verizon and I love it. Other than the small Verizon branding on the back, and two Verizon apps pre-installed (My Verizon Mobile and Verizon Visual Voicemail), I don't believe there is anything different between it and a Google bought Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
The preinstalled apps can likely be uninstalled as they were probably pulled in automatically based on your SIM card. From what I've read, the shipping firmware is the same as the Play Store/Motorola model.
Sent from my Nexus 6
Othoric said:
I have a N6 I bought in March from Verizon and I love it. Other than the small Verizon branding on the back, and two Verizon apps pre-installed (My Verizon Mobile and Verizon Visual Voicemail), I don't believe there is anything different between it and a Google bought Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
That's great to hear honestly. If there is no difference other than two Verizon apps then this is officially my first choice for when I get a new device with Verizon. I'm hoping I am smart enough to root it, flash Pure Nexus and make it my own.
Thank you for the response.
imnuts said:
The preinstalled apps can likely be uninstalled as they were probably pulled in automatically based on your SIM card. From what I've read, the shipping firmware is the same as the Play Store/Motorola model.
Sent from my Nexus 6
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That's also great to hear. Definitely going to get the Nexus 6 soon then once I can get a new phone. Getting really tired of my Galaxy S4.
I just bought a new 32gb unlocked blue nexus 6 at best buy today for $350 + tax
It was the best deal I could find. I traded in some games and got the total down to $317. The phone is amazing, I came from a verizon S5 and it was well worth the purchase not to see that TouchWiz **** all over my phone
Thanks for starting this discussion. I have a GS5, and I'm fed up with the Verizon crap but it's the best network around where I live.
My question, can you root the N6 purchased from Verizon?
oneseeker said:
Thanks for starting this discussion. I have a GS5, and I'm fed up with the Verizon crap but it's the best network around where I live.
My question, can you root the N6 purchased from Verizon?
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Yup. One of the few on Verizon you can have your way with. Can get device from anywhere. They all the same. Get whichever the cheapest and best warranty.
oneseeker said:
Thanks for starting this discussion. I have a GS5, and I'm fed up with the Verizon crap but it's the best network around where I live.
My question, can you root the N6 purchased from Verizon?
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Yep. 100% bootloader unlockable. I use wugs toolkit to unlock and flash custom recovery. Plus it's relockable if you need service.
Sent from my Nexus 6
ffchampmt said:
Yep. 100% bootloader unlockable. I use wugs toolkit to unlock and flash custom recovery. Plus it's relockable if you need service.
Sent from my Nexus 6
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What do you mean re-lockable if I need service?
Does anyone know if I can buy the Nexus 6 (unlocked) from Best Buy with the special they are having right now and use it on Verizon ? I was going to wait for 2 months to get an early upgrade by turning my phone in and getting the Nexus 6 but if I can buy it for 350 right now then I definitely want to jump on it. I am just curious if I can buy it from Best Buy and use it on Verizon without any issues. If I do buy it then what do I need to do in order to make it work with Verizon ?
I really want a phone I can root easily, flash roms and experiment with. The Nexus 6 seems like the perfect device and with it at $350 right now, its a steal !
Does anyone know if this is just a special and for how long ? Or is it indefinitely?
Iandrew124 said:
What do you mean re-lockable if I need service?
Does anyone know if I can buy the Nexus 6 (unlocked) from Best Buy with the special they are having right now and use it on Verizon ? I was going to wait for 2 months to get an early upgrade by turning my phone in and getting the Nexus 6 but if I can buy it for 350 right now then I definitely want to jump on it. I am just curious if I can buy it from Best Buy and use it on Verizon without any issues. If I do buy it then what do I need to do in order to make it work with Verizon ?
I really want a phone I can root easily, flash roms and experiment with. The Nexus 6 seems like the perfect device and with it at $350 right now, its a steal !
Does anyone know if this is just a special and for how long ? Or is it indefinitely?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Service meaning repairs in case you have to send the phone in for some reason. It will work fine on Verizon. You can either activate it through Verizon and get a new SIM card or just switch an existing (already activated) nano SIM from an existing Verizon device into your new Nexus 6. Either method works fine.
patmw123 said:
Service meaning repairs in case you have to send the phone in for some reason. It will work fine on Verizon. You can either activate it through Verizon and get a new SIM card or just switch an existing (already activated) nano SIM from an existing Verizon device into your new Nexus 6. Either method works fine.
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Oh ! Okay, I see. Thank you.
On the best buy website it says its doesnt support CDMA but thanks for telling me otherwise. It gives me hope that I can get a decent phone for cheap and love it.
Iandrew124 said:
What do you mean re-lockable if I need service?
Does anyone know if I can buy the Nexus 6 (unlocked) from Best Buy with the special they are having right now and use it on Verizon ? I was going to wait for 2 months to get an early upgrade by turning my phone in and getting the Nexus 6 but if I can buy it for 350 right now then I definitely want to jump on it. I am just curious if I can buy it from Best Buy and use it on Verizon without any issues. If I do buy it then what do I need to do in order to make it work with Verizon ?
I really want a phone I can root easily, flash roms and experiment with. The Nexus 6 seems like the perfect device and with it at $350 right now, its a steal !
Does anyone know if this is just a special and for how long ? Or is it indefinitely?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
$350-399 the going rate now. They on clearance for the new ones probably in November. Best Buy will match Internet price. So as long as Amazon and others have that price can just tell them and they will look it up on their PC. If you have a Verizon nano sim can just pop it in. They have the IEMIs now so they can activate for you. Shouldn't have a problem. I cut down my micro sim to fit before they would activate them.
---------- Post added at 12:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:13 AM ----------
Forgot to address your first question. There are 2 unlocks. Carrier and bootloader. Previous poster was referring to bootloader unlock. They are all carrier unlocked except for ATT. ATT requires to pay for the device in full and be active on their service for 30 days before can use another sim. Bootloader unlock is for modding. We unlock the bootloader and if need to send for warranty we put back to stock and locked.
prdog1 said:
Best Buy will match Internet price. So as long as Amazon and others have that price can just tell them and they will look it up on their PC. If you have a Verizon nano sim can just pop it in. They have the IEMIs now so they can activate for you. Shouldn't have a problem. I cut down my micro sim to fit before they would activate them.
---------- Post added at 12:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:13 AM ----------
Forgot to address your first question. There are 2 unlocks. Carrier and bootloader. Previous poster was referring to bootloader unlock. They are all carrier unlocked except for ATT. ATT requires to pay for the device in full and be active on their service for 30 days before can use another sim. Bootloader unlock is for modding. We unlock the bootloader and if need to send for warranty we put back to stock and locked.
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This answers similar question I've had since I have Verizon as my carrier. I found some good deals on swappa, and wondered if I got one from there, if I'd be able use it on Verizon.
Sent from my SCH-I545 with stang5litre Edition 5.0 on stock OC1
Beej1970 said:
This answers similar question I've had since I have Verizon as my carrier. I found some good deals on swappa, and wondered if I got one from there, if I'd be able use it on Verizon.
Sent from my SCH-I545 with stang5litre Edition 5.0 on stock OC1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use any on any carrier unless it is the ATT carrier locked. Also has to be NA version. Not International. I got Google version on Verizon. Everything works including tether on my Unlimited Data Plan.
prdog1 said:
You can use any on any carrier unless it is the ATT carrier locked. Also has to be NA version. Not International. I got Google version on Verizon. Everything works including tether on my Unlimited Data Plan.
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Click to collapse
I'm sorry but what is "NA version"?
Sent from my SCH-I545 with stang5litre Edition 5.0 on stock OC1
Beej1970 said:
I'm sorry but what is "NA version"?
Sent from my SCH-I545 with stang5litre Edition 5.0 on stock OC1
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Click to collapse
North American. US and Canada. I looked on Swappa. They need to adjust their prices as the Market price decreases. They too high if can get new in box with full warranty for $350.
prdog1 said:
You can use any on any carrier unless it is the ATT carrier locked. Also has to be NA version. Not International. I got Google version on Verizon. Everything works including tether on my Unlimited Data Plan.
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Click to collapse
Wait, so the International one's won't work with Verizon? The one Best Buy is selling on clearance is the GSM International model. So even though its an amazing deal, It won't work with Verizon because its the International model ?
Iandrew124 said:
Wait, so the International one's won't work with Verizon? The one Best Buy is selling on clearance is the GSM International model. So even though its an amazing deal, It won't work with Verizon because its the International model ?
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Click to collapse
The US model is XT1103, which is what Best Buy should stock, and it will work on any US carrier. The XT1100 is the International model and would only work on AT&T/T-Mobile in the US (or any carrier that uses their network) as it doesn't have all the necessary bands for other carriers. Most places don't even carry the International model for sale in the US.
imnuts said:
The US model is XT1103, which is what Best Buy should stock, and it will work on any US carrier. The XT1100 is the International model and would only work on AT&T/T-Mobile in the US (or any carrier that uses their network) as it doesn't have all the necessary bands for other carriers. Most places don't even carry the International model for sale in the US.
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Okay, that helped clear up some questions I was having. Thank you. I guess its time to go buy that sweet Nexus 6 once I get my check. Ugh, i can't wait.
If you had to recommend a phone for a beginner who wants to root, put roms on his device and experiment with it, what would you recommend to them ?
I'm ashamed to even ask.....
Former TMO S3 owner here who switched to Nexus and never looked back. Things are just so much easier now with firmware updates and rooting.
We currently pay cell bills for one of our workers and his wife on our TMO family account. His wife was using my old S3, and without talking to me first, he bought her a SIM locked ATT S6 online recently.
I'm working on a SIM unlock code, that won't be a problem.
I'm right in thinking that there's no (current) way to load a TMO S6 ROM onto the ATT S6, right?
Bootloader still locked up tight on ATT?
I know that in the past some of the Galaxy S phones had hardware differences......are the ATT and TMO S6 variants now the exact same hardware (other than exterior logos)?
Sorry for what seems to be an obvious and already asked question. I know someone asked the same question back in August.....wondering if anything has changed since then.
Thanks for all replies.
Yup, bootloader locked tight, can't even get a root working besides the people who are selling it
https://www.ebay.com/itm/164057105750
Just bought this today but now i see there ain't much for this model here, all i see is for the SM-G973F model but can the SM-G973U be rooted and use the roms for the G973F?
Replicatorz said:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/164057105750
Just bought this today but now i see there ain't much for this model here, all i see is for the SM-G973F model but can the SM-G973U be rooted and use the roms for the G973F?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you cannot cross firmwares. Your phone is also bootloader locked with no way to unlock it. There's no root method yet either and probably won't be. I have the G975U (U.S. Galaxy S10+), so I am in the same boat as far as root and bootloader goes.
StoneyJSG said:
Nope, you cannot cross firmwares. Your phone is also bootloader locked with no way to unlock it. There's no root method yet either and probably won't be. I have the G975U (U.S. Galaxy S10+), so I am in the same boat as far as root and bootloader goes.
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I should of checked the model number to see what was available for it before i bought it but i guess i will have to deal unless by chance something is done about it which won't happen as everybody is gonna work on the s20 now. I wish phones were more like computers in which you can use whatever the hell you want on them, idk why carriers have such a issue with it since people will still pay for their services all the same.
Replicatorz said:
I should of checked the model number to see what was available for it before i bought it but i guess i will have to deal unless by chance something is done about it which won't happen as everybody is gonna work on the s20 now. I wish phones were more like computers in which you can use whatever the hell you want on them, idk why carriers have such a issue with it since people will still pay for their services all the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S9 just got root like a month or 2 ago. The S10 and up have greater security measures to overcome, which has been a dead end to people trying to find a root method.
Carriers argue that root "takes away from the user experience." What that means to me is they don't want people who know nothing about how these phones work poking around and messing crap up and then returning the phone or claiming insurance or warranty or whatever. Some phones can be bootloader unlocked via the manufacturer like HTC (they used to offer OEM bootloader unlocks, they may have stopped I don't know). I think the One Plus phones come rooted (not sure though) and I believe the Pixel phone line are easily rooted (again not sure, so don't quote me).
StoneyJSG said:
The S9 just got root like a month or 2 ago. The S10 and up have greater security measures to overcome, which has been a dead end to people trying to find a root method.
Carriers argue that root "takes away from the user experience." What that means to me is they don't want people who know nothing about how these phones work poking around and messing crap up and then returning the phone or claiming insurance or warranty or whatever. Some phones can be bootloader unlocked via the manufacturer like HTC (they used to offer OEM bootloader unlocks, they may have stopped I don't know). I think the One Plus phones come rooted (not sure though) and I believe the Pixel phone line are easily rooted (again not sure, so don't quote me).
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My first smartphone was a HTC One Vx i do believe and that was where i learned to root phones on, then i had a galaxy s6 which i rooted aswell, then a LG Stylo 3 but LG doesn't seem to be friendly to rooting either. I was thinking of getting a HTC u12 instead of the s10 but went with the s10 cause of price, now i wish i would of just got the htc u12, i think htc's are comparable to galaxy's myself, but galaxies are more mainstram choice cause of high quality materials.
Edit: This is most likely bs? https://www.recovery-mode.com/andro...amsung-galaxy-s10-sm-g973u-android-9-pie.html
Replicatorz said:
My first smartphone was a HTC One Vx i do believe and that was where i learned to root phones on, then i had a galaxy s6 which i rooted aswell, then a LG Stylo 3 but LG doesn't seem to be friendly to rooting either. I was thinking of getting a HTC u12 instead of the s10 but went with the s10 cause of price, now i wish i would of just got the htc u12, i think htc's are comparable to galaxy's myself, but galaxies are more mainstram choice cause of high quality materials.
Edit: This is most likely bs? https://www.recovery-mode.com/andro...amsung-galaxy-s10-sm-g973u-android-9-pie.html
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Click to collapse
Yeah only the exynos variants can be rooted with the exception of the Hong Kong variant which has a snapdragon and can be rooted. The Sprint 5G version can also be rooted. That link you posted is probably BS given nobody here in the forums in talking about it. It could be real though, but as far as I know the OEM unlock option is either not present on the G973U or is present and just does nothing when activated. Someone else with more knowledge of it might chime in, hopefully they do because now I am curious.
Replicatorz said:
I should of checked the model number to see what was available for it before i bought it but i guess i will have to deal unless by chance something is done about it which won't happen as everybody is gonna work on the s20 now. I wish phones were more like computers in which you can use whatever the hell you want on them, idk why carriers have such a issue with it since people will still pay for their services all the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, or just Googled it. It's pretty old news that's been out since the phone was released.
Hi, long term xda lurker, first time poster. I've used the search function to try and find my answer, but I keep getting a lot of conflicting answers so I wanted to see what you guys can tell me.
I was considering getting a pixel 4 xl but I want to know if its bootloader is locked. From what I can gather, the us carrier version are in fact locked however a few people have said that if you buy it outright from Google it is unlockable. Can anyone please confirm this? I've always used custom recoveries and rooms like cyanogen and now lineage from my HTC incredible, gs2, gs3, gs4. When I bought my gs7 edge I was highly disappointed to find no way to unlock it and don't want to go through that again. Any help here is mich appreciated.
From the forums, USA carriers will lock the bootloader initially and after you pay off the device (or a certain amount of time has lapsed) you can request they unlock the bootloader. For example, AT&T has a different policy from Verizon, etc.
I am in Canada and my carrier, Telus, did not lock the bootloader. Definitely no hassles if you buy the phone from Google, the bootloader is unlockable.
You may want to look into Google-Fi as well, sometimes they offer phones at a discount. Not sure what has happened post pandemic crisis though.
Fi and Goog phones are unlocked in all respects. All the carrier phones are sim locked and bootloader locked. Tmo for sure can be bootloader unlocked after it's paid for upon request, some have mentioned a 30 day wait also but I did not have to wait. I haven't read up on the other carriers.
Thanks guys from the quick replies! Looks like I'll order a pix4 from google then. I appreciate your input. After dealing with this gs7 (I was such a Samsung nerd for a long time) I'm tired of all the lockouts.
Def Fi or Goog then. Exact same phone but sometimes the deal is better with one or the other so it can pay to have a quick look at both to see if one cuts you a break. The phones have frequently been on sale so some patience might be rewarded if you're of a mind to try and hold out for a better deal.
Verizon will NOT unlock the bootloader. Even if you pay it off.
I purchased mine directly from the Google store and unlocked it on day one