I'm currently living in Japan, but will be moving back to the US in a couple months, so I recently bought a refurbished Galaxy S20 FE 5g that claimed to be unlocked from the US and had it shipped to Japan.
It works fine with my Japanese sim, but came with AT&T bloatware installed and the model number is still SM-G781U. To my understanding, an unlocked phone should have a '1' after this, signifying that it's unlocked. Because of this, I don't get OTA updated and am still stick on Android 10 and One UI 2.5. So I figured I'd learn how to flash it and do that. It says the CSC is G781UOYN1ATIG, but then when I go to Service Provider it says ATT/ATT/ATT.
Could I just flash the firmware for the SM-G781U1, CSC: XAA onto it and be able to have a fully unlocked and updated phone? Sorry I'm a bit new to this and don't want to brick my phone. Thanks!
I did the opposite (from SM-G781U1 to SM-G781U) and worked with no problems. I needed ATT Wi-Fi calling that worked only with the ATT firmware when I was on Android 10. I suggest to do a factory reset when switching between branded and unbranded but (in theory) you should keep your phone data if you flash the HOME_CSC file.
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Please excuse any mistakes I make as this was my first time flashing firmware. So anyway, I have a Verizon S10. I got tired of Verizon’s bloat and all the missing stock features so I flashed the Unlocked Firmware from Sammobile. As I had no prior experience, I did research and came to download the latest U1 firmware with the XAA CSC. I know there’s a U1 version with the Verizon CSC, but I decided to use the XAA version because I knew it was universal. Now I could be totally wrong on this, but isn’t at least one of the three CSCs supposed to be XAA? All mine are still VZW, just like it was on the original carrier fw. I even tried taking the Sim out and reflashing, but no luck. The phone is still locked to Verizon, could that be why? The problem is, can I still get OTA updates? How can I stay on unlocked firmware and get them? Did I mess up and should’ve flashed the VZW U1 fw? Is this fw all vzw cscs too and I just messed up somewhere else? I have the pda of the xaa version with the csc of the vzw version. I don’t know what to do. I would’ve loved to install the one ui beta now that I’m in unlocked fw, but I can’t because my active csc is version, who blocked it
cggamer1 said:
Please excuse any mistakes I make as this was my first time flashing firmware. So anyway, I have a Verizon S10. I got tired of Verizon’s bloat and all the missing stock features so I flashed the Unlocked Firmware from Sammobile. As I had no prior experience, I did research and came to download the latest U1 firmware with the XAA CSC. I know there’s a U1 version with the Verizon CSC, but I decided to use the XAA version because I knew it was universal. Now I could be totally wrong on this, but isn’t at least one of the three CSCs supposed to be XAA? All mine are still VZW, just like it was on the original carrier fw. I even tried taking the Sim out and reflashing, but no luck. The phone is still locked to Verizon, could that be why? The problem is, can I still get OTA updates? How can I stay on unlocked firmware and get them? Did I mess up and should’ve flashed the VZW U1 fw? Is this fw all vzw cscs too and I just messed up somewhere else? I have the pda of the xaa version with the csc of the vzw version. I don’t know what to do. I would’ve loved to install the one ui beta now that I’m in unlocked fw, but I can’t because my active csc is version, who blocked it
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Some answers to your questions:
1. I don't know, it should flash a data partition that's for the unlocked firmware. I remember reading that somewhere here in the forums.
2. I think Verizon phones are more locked than the others, but I could be wrong.
3. You can get the OTA updates on the unlocked firmware, you just have to have a SIM inserted.
4. You may have, do a factory reset in recovery and try flashing this with that special version of ODIN:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1899786940962609128
5. U and U1 firmware are different, sort of. U is carrier and U1 is unlocked.
Verizon is my carrier and I am upgrading to an S10 from an S7. I bought a new S10 loaded with the first Verizon version of Android 10, G973USQS2CSL1. I want to get rid of the bloatware and go back to Android 9. My plan is to flash the U1 firmware, G973U1UES2BSIV, using all 4 of the U1 files. Then flash the Verizon CSC file from this firmware, G973USQS2BSIV, so I can get the "Advanced Calling" for Verizon. I was going to try to do that on my S7 but never got around to it. Here's a thread I created on the S7 forum that said that's what I would need to do to run the unbranded firmware on the S7 but also have Verizon's Advanced Calling (wifi calling, video call, hd calling). https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/help/install-verizon-advanced-calling-g930u-t3997525
I noticed the S10 Verizon firmware now has a 5th file, a USERDATA file. Will I need to also flash that?
I wanted to point out, my new phone is currently locked, but Verizon automatically unlocks it after 60 days. https://www.verizon.com/about/consumer-safety/device-unlocking-policy Will it be a problem if I flash the unbranded firmware on a phone that is still locked? Since Verizon is my carrier, I will obviously be using a Verizon SIM card.
Thank for the help.
You can flash any firmware to your phone as long as it's for the U or U1 models as the "U" means Universal. Bought a phone from AT&T? Flash the Sprint or T-mobile firmware without issues. Same for Verizon and other U.S. carriers firmware.
Flashing the unbranded firmware will get rid of the bloatware, but will also get rid of other features like wifi calling, advanced calling, etc. The user data file is just all of Verizon's bloatware and info crap.
As for going back to Android 9, you can do that as long as you're still on the v2 bootloader. If you've upgraded to the v3 bootloader via OTA, you won't be able to return to Android 9.
StoneyJSG said:
You can flash any firmware to your phone as long as it's for the U or U1 models as the "U" means Universal. Bought a phone from AT&T? Flash the Sprint or T-mobile firmware without issues. Same for Verizon and other U.S. carriers firmware.
Flashing the unbranded firmware will get rid of the bloatware, but will also get rid of other features like wifi calling, advanced calling, etc. The user data file is just all of Verizon's bloatware and info crap.
As for going back to Android 9, you can do that as long as you're still on the v2 bootloader. If you've upgraded to the v3 bootloader via OTA, you won't be able to return to Android 9.
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I'm on v2 bootloader. Have you heard of flashing the VZW CSC file on top of the U1 unbranded firmware? Apparently people have done it on older devices, like the S7, that only took the 4 files when flashing. I'm trying to run unbranded firmware but still have the Verizon Advanced Calling (wifi calling, HD calling, video call).
Okay if you're on bootloader v2 then you can go back to Android 9. I haven't heard of flashing the carrier CSC file with the unbranded U1 firmware. It might work or might also brick your phone.
It's an unlocked Galaxy S10 AT&T G973U..
I am using it internationally and not with an AT&T sim, so I don't try to upgrade it OTA anymore..
I tried Smart Switch, it says it's up to date. But last security patch was April 2019 and it's running Android 9.
Build and Baseband: G973USQU1ASD7 (According to SamMobile) there's no Android 10 for this baseband.
But my question is, can I flash let's say USA (Android 10) G973USQU3CTB1 or would I need to wait for the baseband for my model?
If I missed something, feel free to correct me.
Thanks!
Having a "U" model means Universal. You can flash any U.S. carrier stock firmware to it. If you have AT&T firmware and want to use T-mobile firmware instead, you can do it by flashing it with Odin.
You can get most firmwares off Sam mobile (Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile). AT&T firmware is hard to come by and you will usually have to pay to get it from a pay site like www.gsm2file.com
Just download an Android 10 firmware and flash it. No matter what it is as long as it's for the U model line.
StoneyJSG said:
Having a "U" model means Universal. You can flash any U.S. carrier stock firmware to it. If you have AT&T firmware and want to use T-mobile firmware instead, you can do it by flashing it with Odin.
You can get most firmwares off Sam mobile (Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile). AT&T firmware is hard to come by and you will usually have to pay to get it from a pay site
Just download an Android 10 firmware and flash it. No matter what it is as long as it's for the U model line.
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Ok, thank you very much.
And is "USA" only unbranded? I don't want any bloatware since I am international and I don't benefit from anything they offer.
The G973U phone will only accept U.S. firmware (Verizon, Sprint, At&t, T-mobile, Spectrum, Xfinity, and unlocked U1 Samsung firmware). So if you flash the U1 unbranded firmware you will get rid of carrier bloatware.
StoneyJSG said:
The G973U phone will only accept U.S. firmware (Verizon, Sprint, At&t, T-mobile, Spectrum, Xfinity, and unlocked U1 Samsung firmware). So if you flash the U1 unbranded firmware you will get rid of carrier bloatware.
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Say I wanna get rid of the bloatware, what firmware do I select from the U1 variants? Because I see all of them have carrier names.
If you get it from sam mobile it's XAA from Unknown. The latest is the CTB5 bootloader. I think there's also a thread in the forums here that contains Odin firmware.
jannamain1 said:
It's an unlocked Galaxy S10 AT&T G973U..
I am using it internationally and not with an AT&T sim, so I don't try to upgrade it OTA anymore..
I tried Smart Switch, it says it's up to date. But last security patch was April 2019 and it's running Android 9.
Build and Baseband: G973USQU1ASD7 (According to SamMobile) there's no Android 10 for this baseband.
But my question is, can I flash let's say USA (Android 10) G973USQU3CTB1 or would I need to wait for the baseband for my model?
If I missed something, feel free to correct me.
Thanks!
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Here is the latest SM-G973U Android 10 firmware. It was just released yesterday morning. https://samfrew.com/download/Galaxy__S10__/f6o3/VZW/G973USQS3CTB5/G973UOYN3CTB5/
I have a verizon branded s21 ultra. Switched to tmobile and flashed the u1 firmware. Flash went fine, rebooted, put in tmobile sim, but still shows VZW/VZW/VZW. Cannot receive tmobile ota's. Model number says U1. Any help is appreciated.
It should show TMB/TMB/VZW correct?
I remember going through a similar issue on A20. The steps are probably the same https://www.droidwin.com/change-csc-codes-samsung/
Even if you can't change the CSC, you can always flash the Tmobile rom (zip) using SamFirm and install them manually https://www.xda-developers.com/download-samsung-updates-free-tools/
Tried flashing tmobile software using Odin. Booted up to verizon splash screen and still showing VZW/VZW/ VZW
Mindripper72 said:
Tried flashing tmobile software using Odin. Booted up to verizon splash screen and still showing VZW/VZW/ VZW
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SM-G998U1 isn't the model number for the TMobile Branded device, it's the Unlocked variant. You can download the TMobile firmware here. You may not receive TMobile's OTA's even after you flash TMO Firmware since your Primary CSC will always be VZW.
Download Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra SM-G998U TMB USA (T-Mobile) firmware
All Samsung firmwares for Galaxy S21 Ultra in USA (T-Mobile) with model code SM-G998U. We offer free and fast download options. Check them out now.
www.sammobile.com
When I flashed the TMB firmware, it still boots to Verizon splash screen and still shows VZW/VZW/VZW even though there is a tmobile sim installed
Try changing the CSC to TMO by entering the following code on the Dialer TouchPad. *#272*YOURIMEINUMBER# In the string replace YOURIMEINUMBER with your actual IMEI Number. You may see a list of regional CSC's. Select TMO then select install. I'm not sure this method still works on the Verizon device or after the latest updates but it's worth a try.
Hello, is it possible to change the Spectrum firmware (CHA) on my S23 SM-911U to T-mobile (TMB)? I have unlocked the phone with Spectrum but if I use with T-mobile SIM, then I don't think I'll get the OTA updates through T-mobile? On a recent unlocked AT&T Fold 3, it seemed to convert automatically from AT&T to T-mobile when I put in the T-mobile SIM...
Edit: maybe I found the answer with a little research. Use patched odin here and then latest T-mobile firmware here S911USQU1AWC8? My current firmware version is S911USQS1AWBL. Anyone have experience/tips?
Solved: I tried to flashing the multi-csc firmware with Odin hoping the t-mobile SIM would stick and force the change but the software version/branding kept coming back to spectrum no matter what. Ultimately what worked was changing the CSC with SamFW Tool by putting phone into Developer mode and enabling USB debugging and then connecting and changing CSC under ADB menu in SamFW Tool and then factory resetting the phone. Probably would've worked with no flashing needed!
You have to flash the unlocked software first (U1) then the TMB version. personally I'd keep it on the unlocked.
entropism said:
You have to flash the unlocked software first (U1) then the TMB version. personally I'd keep it on the unlocked.
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Ok good to know, thanks. Would it get OTA updates on the unlocked?
techie333 said:
Ok good to know, thanks. Would it get OTA updates on the unlocked?
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To my knowledge I think it gets OTA updates faster. (U1)
U1 doesn't get updates faster. In the US it generally gets updated randomly. Could be first, could be last, could be halfway through the 3 major carriers.
You will, however, get OTA updates from whichever version you flash.
entropism said:
U1 doesn't get updates faster. In the US it generally gets updated randomly. Could be first, could be last, could be halfway through the 3 major carriers.
You will, however, get OTA updates from whichever version you flash.
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That's what I thought, which is why I wanted to flash TMB especially since I was thinking about giving it to a relative later.
Well this is bizarre or is it. Don't have too much experience with this stuff. I got the software update and now the spectrum (CHA) firmware version matches the T-mobile (TMB) which is S911USQU1AWC8 but when I stick my T-mobile SIM in, the bootup logo and branding doesn't change to T-mobile and is still all Spectrum. Tried a reset with the T-mobile SIM still in and it still doesn't change. Is there a way to force this change?
You need to flash the unlocked U1 firmware FIRST, then flash the T-Mobile version.