Root ? - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S8 Questions & Answers

Has anyone tried this im too afraid to jack up my device lol
http://www.androidinfotech.com/2017/07/s8-verizon-sm-g950u-nougat-install-twrp.html

wont work.

U.S. version of S8 has a CPU that requires a signed bootloader - no key, no luck! Non-U.S. version has different processor that allows non-signed bootloaders.

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Engineering bootloader update version compatibility

Hi everyone. I'm new to the S6, so sorry if this is considered to be common knowledge over here
I'm currently on software version COF6, and I'm considering doing the engineering bootloader root method. I don't mind not having my fingerprint scanner, so it should be ok.
My dilemma is this: Samsung is offering $50 for registering a card on Samsung Pay, and I'm assuming Samsung Pay doesn't work when the device is rooted. (or am I wrong?) I know tripping knox makes Samsung pay stop working.
Is there a software version I can update to in order to have Samsung pay, register my card to get the $50, and then root the device? I don't know if the engineering bootloader is incompatible with the newer software releases, so could someone point me in the right direction?
Thanks so much-- I appreciate it!
Unfortunately not. Samsung pay I believe makes you update to the latest firmware for it to work.
Anyways DOH6 is the newest firmware that can accept the eng boot loader and still be flashed back to stock w/out tripping Knox.

CrossFlashing

Is Cross flashing the s10e possible?
I don't know. What is Cross Flashing?
As I understand, crossflashing is using firmwares between variants of product (eq S10, S10+ and S10e).
So I don't think its possible (snap vs. exy).
5ta1da said:
As I understand, crossflashing is using firmwares between variants of product (eq S10, S10+ and S10e).
So I don't think its possible (snap vs. exy).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about cross flashing the HK variant of the snap dragon?
For Samsung's official Firmware isn't possible.
It's only possible for bricking the device xD
The last time I tried such a thing was with my Korean S7 (exynos), flashed the F/international model firmware to get dual sim support to work for me.
1st, you can't use Odin for this you'll need a jtag (I used z3x).
2nd, Samsung made this way harder since Android 8 and there is a higher chance you'll break the device.
3rd, you can't flash a firmware for a different SoC, Snapdragon to Exynos or the other way around is a no go.
4th, Usually you can flash everything but the bootloader so even if you boot the phone an it says SM-GXXXF odin will still show SM-GXXX0/S/K/etc.., sometimes the modem as well.
5th, There is also a chance you might lose network access completely.
Tho, if what you're after is like flashing an S10+ firmware on a S10e, even tho its technically possible as its the same hardware (almost) you still can't do that as again, Samsung is making it harder and harder to tamper with the phone with each new release, we're lucky the S10 can actually be unlocked and rooted, Exynos variant that is (and the chinese snapdragon variant).
But I don't see why you'd need to do so anyways, usually if there is a specific feature in a popular device there is a high chance someone already ported it over so nothing is worth breaking your device for.

All CPUs can unlock?

Like with the S9 only Exynos CPU can BL unlock but not Snapdragon, is this the same for S10? When looking at diff phones here on XDA is there somewhere to first look for this info?
Yes. S10 Snapdragon is locked down (at least in the USA). For older BLs, there was an exploit, but once unlocked on the older BL you cannot upgrade to a newer OS or BL, otherwise it relocks. So, you'd be stuck on the older OS to maintain unlock/root. The process also costs money to have it done.
I tried finding an S10+ with the older BL, but I was not successful, so I gave up. Honestly, for my needs, I don't seem to need root, so I'm working fine without it.

Bootloader enforcement mechanism

Can anyone explain the mechanism that is used in these devices that keeps us from downgrading the bootloader and/or booting unsigned images?
Speaking of the usa snapdragon devices specifically but I'm sure that all the snapdragon devices probably have the same setup.
I'm just wondering why it's not possible to bypass this via a hardware mod if we are never going to be able to soft mod them to accept our modified firmware
Also. I'm sure this has been covered as well. But is there not any way to flash the snapdragon bootloader and rom from the devices outside the USA? Feom what I understand those snapdragon devices are bootloader unlockable. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
What would stop us from flashing those firmwares?

Any difference between g8441 and docomo japanese version?

Heya, after switching out yesterday from my first xz1 compact after 3 years to my 2nd one, i'd like to buy spare one, and i'd like to buy a cheap docomo one but will it work in france for the 4g/3g bands please?
is there anything i should be aware of please compared to the g8441 please?
There is a difference in coverage of frequency bands between them. According to Frequency Check docomo does work with existing carriers in France, albeit g8441 has more extensive coverage and might work better in certain cases/areas.
Almost certainly, in case of docomo you'll have to pay to get your bootloader unlocked if you want root or custom ROM on board (23GBP is the price last I checked). There are also small possibilities of either docomo with a freely unlockable bootloader, g8441 with a bootloader which has to be paid to unlock, or docomo advertised as g8441.
No matter the version, I would buy from a place that accepts (free) returns just to be on the safe side. Some ebay sellers offer them.
4qx said:
There is a difference in coverage of frequency bands between them. According to Frequency Check docomo does work with existing carriers in France, albeit g8441 has more extensive coverage and might work better in certain cases/areas.
Almost certainly, in case of docomo you'll have to pay to get your bootloader unlocked if you want root or custom ROM on board (23GBP is the price last I checked). There are also small possibilities of either docomo with a freely unlockable bootloader, g8441 with a bootloader which has to be paid to unlock, or docomo advertised as g8441.
No matter the version, I would buy from a place that accepts (free) returns just to be on the safe side. Some ebay sellers offer them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot dude!! it's sad that there are some missing bands , it's hard to find a G8441 with decent price after having mine for 3 years, i check ebay quite often
4qx said:
There is a difference in coverage of frequency bands between them. According to Frequency Check docomo does work with existing carriers in France, albeit g8441 has more extensive coverage and might work better in certain cases/areas.
Almost certainly, in case of docomo you'll have to pay to get your bootloader unlocked if you want root or custom ROM on board (23GBP is the price last I checked). There are also small possibilities of either docomo with a freely unlockable bootloader, g8441 with a bootloader which has to be paid to unlock, or docomo advertised as g8441.
No matter the version, I would buy from a place that accepts (free) returns just to be on the safe side. Some ebay sellers offer them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very interesting info. Thank you.
I am wondering if it could be possible to unlock the LTE band 20 on "docomo advertised as G8441" board?
I just happen to be the unlucky one to get Japanese version of xz1c motherboard unfortunately.
I'm probably late, but if you want bl unlocking the docomo version i think it's impossible even if with the mentioned software tool 23gbp, they have some dark magick locking on this version, even if you unlock it, you will run into problems flashing custom firmware i think this is all true I've owned a docomo xz1c as my main phone for more than one year, tried everything there is
Purplearyes said:
I'm probably late, but if you want bl unlocking the docomo version i think it's impossible even if with the mentioned software tool 23gbp, they have some dark magick locking on this version, even if you unlock it, you will run into problems flashing custom firmware i think this is all true I've owned a docomo xz1c as my main phone for more than one year, tried everything there is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be only with stock rom using temp root from J4nn, but since unlock 4g band b20 is impossible, I will need to learn to repair my broken one or spending 300€+ for a new one :/
asseforlife said:
It will be only with stock rom using temp root from J4nn, but since unlock 4g band b20 is impossible, I will need to learn to repair my broken one or spending 300€+ for a new one :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried the temp root for SO-02K and it sucks, after you disconnect the cable, root is gone, also its a root that doesn't allow you to do anything really. Useless
The purpose of J4nn's root is not to maintain it or end up with a fully open phone. You'd need to unlock the bootloader and install magisk for that.
The point of it is to be able to back up the various partitions and things (eg TA and DRM keys) that unlocking would normally erase -so that they can be restored...
tonsofquestions said:
The purpose of J4nn's root is not to maintain it or end up with a fully open phone. You'd need to unlock the bootloader and install magisk for that.
The point of it is to be able to back up the various partitions and things (eg TA and DRM keys) that unlocking would normally erase -so that they can be restored...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still pretty useless for our docomo
@Purplearyes , no offense, but the fact that you do not know how to use a temp root exploit does not mean it is useless - it is very useful for others as you can see with other posts in this thread.
Particularly interesting seems to be the post #41 (linked from the OP too), that allows to prepare a setup for root after reboot without need for a PC with adb access.
And it is even more useful particularly for docomo, where you have no other (free) option, as official sony bootloader unlock method is not allowed.
Without the temp root you would not have any way to even try to experiment with diag interface to see if unlock of missing LTE bands could be possible or not.
Unfortunately the exploit is useful not only to us, but also to aliexpress sellers, who use it to cheat us by selling Japan SO-02K model with patched firmware to show itself as G8441 as documented here :-(
j4nn said:
@Purplearyes , no offense, but the fact that you do not know how to use a temp root exploit does not mean it is useless - it is very useful for others as you can see with other posts in this thread.
Particularly interesting seems to be the post #41 (linked from the OP too), that allows to prepare a setup for root after reboot without need for a PC with adb access.
And it is even more useful particularly for docomo, where you have no other (free) option, as official sony bootloader unlock method is not allowed.
Without the temp root you would not have any way to even try to experiment with diag interface to see if unlock of missing LTE bands could be possible or not.
Unfortunately the exploit is useful not only to us, but also to aliexpress sellers, who use it to cheat us by selling Japan SO-02K model with patched firmware to show itself as G8441 as documented here :-(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad. Your explanation was extremely helpful. I'm sorry
j4nn said:
@Purplearyes , no offense, but the fact that you do not know how to use a temp root exploit does not mean it is useless - it is very useful for others as you can see with other posts in this thread.
Particularly interesting seems to be the post #41 (linked from the OP too), that allows to prepare a setup for root after reboot without need for a PC with adb access.
And it is even more useful particularly for docomo, where you have no other (free) option, as official sony bootloader unlock method is not allowed.
Without the temp root you would not have any way to even try to experiment with diag interface to see if unlock of missing LTE bands could be possible or not.
Unfortunately the exploit is useful not only to us, but also to aliexpress sellers, who use it to cheat us by selling Japan SO-02K model with patched firmware to show itself as G8441 as documented here :-(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These fake g8441, wouldn't they return back the Japanese version if a factory reset was done? Or do they somehow truly modify oem partitions and are able to integrate them on Japanese firmware? If so, how come we can't do this ourselves, like patch the Japanese boot img with magisk and get root??
j4nn said:
@Purplearyes , no offense, but the fact that you do not know how to use a temp root exploit does not mean it is useless - it is very useful for others as you can see with other posts in this thread.
Particularly interesting seems to be the post #41 (linked from the OP too), that allows to prepare a setup for root after reboot without need for a PC with adb access.
And it is even more useful particularly for docomo, where you have no other (free) option, as official sony bootloader unlock method is not allowed.
Without the temp root you would not have any way to even try to experiment with diag interface to see if unlock of missing LTE bands could be possible or not.
Unfortunately the exploit is useful not only to us, but also to aliexpress sellers, who use it to cheat us by selling Japan SO-02K model with patched firmware to show itself as G8441 as documented here :-(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fascinating. I hadn't been following that thread, so hadn't realized folks were doing that.
Unless I missed something, your root still isn't for Pie, right? Only Oreo?
So these folks are downgrading, rooting, flashing a wrong partition, then upgrading again? That's a lot of effort! Or I guess maybe they've found some other non-root method.
tonsofquestions said:
Fascinating. I hadn't been following that thread, so hadn't realized folks were doing that.
Unless I missed something, your root still isn't for Pie, right? Only Oreo?
So these folks are downgrading, rooting, flashing a wrong partition, then upgrading again? That's a lot of effort! Or I guess maybe they've found some other non-root method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Utterly fascinating indeed
tonsofquestions said:
Fascinating. I hadn't been following that thread, so hadn't realized folks were doing that.
Unless I missed something, your root still isn't for Pie, right? Only Oreo?
So these folks are downgrading, rooting, flashing a wrong partition, then upgrading again? That's a lot of effort! Or I guess maybe they've found some other non-root method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, the temp root is only for oreo
unfortunately yes, checkout my post with firmware version history - you can see there they downgraded to oreo from pie then went back to latest pie - they crafted oem overlays just to make SO-02K appear as G8441 - not nice at all :-(
Purplearyes said:
These fake g8441, wouldn't they return back the Japanese version if a factory reset was done? Or do they somehow truly modify oem partitions and are able to integrate them on Japanese firmware? If so, how come we can't do this ourselves, like patch the Japanese boot img with magisk and get root??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is quite clever - it is actually very well done de-bloat of Japanese firmware, plus property overrides to force model to appear as G8441, also switched in TA so that it looks that way even in flash mode. Still not accepting other .sin files than those for SO-02K.
It survives also factory reset.
You can do similar modifications in oem, but that does not allow to get root in pie - they do not patch boot img, only oem. Boot (and system and vendor) partition is checked by verified boot with locked bootloader.
j4nn said:
It is quite clever - it is actually very well done de-bloat of Japanese firmware, plus property overrides to force model to appear as G8441, also switched in TA so that it looks that way even in flash mode. Still not accepting other .sin files than those for SO-02K.
It survives also factory reset.
You can do similar modifications in oem, but that does not allow to get root in pie - they do not patch boot img, only oem. Boot (and system and vendor) partition is checked by verified boot with locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your explanations and Knowledge were an amazing gift. I appreciate it so much. Boosted my knowledge a lot.
Do you know other amazing tools we can use on a non rootable phone like this xz1c beauty. I use obvs utube vanced, i use button remapper for that extra key funcionality without root, i use grenify and naptime with adb. I de bloated with adb ofc.
Do you know more cool stuff? I wanna squeeze this docomo to its max.
Thanks brother
(on another note thinking about buying a g8441 motherboard but they go over 100 euro and can easily be a fake as you mentioned )
I purchased a G8441 new from ebay and had no idea it was a fake till 6 months later when it no longer worked on the Australian 3g 2100 band. (it worked on 4g for data and still did, but the phone would not work) I had a XZ2C Docomo SO-05K and an XZ2C G8314 that was also a SO-05K that had been flashed and sold as a G8314. I tried multiple things to get the VoLTE working but failed. I loved these phones but purchased a Samsung S10e and moved on.
@Purplearyes , @the baz or anybody else - can you please share me TA partition of your SO-02K (or the fake G8441 which is in fact SO-02K)?
I am on the verge of enabling LTE band 20 on my SO-02K, but I need to compare several TA partitions of that model in order to identify ta units that are device specific vs that are identical within the SO-02K model range.
Forgive my ignorance , but what is the TA partition?

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