Hi!
I am from Portugal and I'm about to buy an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S in an online store in europe.
So, my questions are:
1. Is there any trouble buying outside Portugal? Is is true that each country has its own CSC version and that buying outside Portugal can have influence oin future firmware updates?
2. Or are all Samsung Galaxy S for european market all the same, and I can buy withou any fears?
I am a little confused about thoses CSC versions and all, so if you can explain it to me like I'm a 5 year old kid, i'd apreciate it!
Thanks
RM
PS: If you could explain to me what is that CSC anyway, it ould be great!
Devices will come with a CSC relevant to where you buy them, but I don't believe you need to stick with the CSC your device came with. Mine was I9000TMUJE6 (from T-Mobile UK) but I'm now using CSC I9000OXXJM1, which came with the JM2 firmware on the samsung-firmwares site. Everything still works fine.
It's possible you might have to re-enter your APN settings without the relevant CSC (I did a Titanium Backup restore, which probably did that for me), but that's no big deal.
I don't think any European ones are different to each other either, as far as I know.
Hi !
I've bought mine online from UK and now I use it in Israel without any problem whatsoever.
You really should read the big FAQ in the Dev section, It'll make your life easier.
Don't worry about the CSC file, you can always flash a Portugal specific through Odin (if such exists or will be available in your country later on).
Good luck mate.
Avi
Related
I would have posted this under the S5 'T-Mobile' section, but I think it might be more of a generic discussion.
I am considering in purchasing the S5 Plus (G901F). From what I can see right now, this is only available in Germany, UK and just about now, Netherlands. Problem is that it's exclusive to respective providers and therefore - "branded"
I can find it cheaper from Germany - which is subject to T-Mobile / Telekom (same thing?) branding.
I have asked the shop and they confirmed that the phone is factory unlocked to any provider/country and that there is no "hardware branding" on the phone. Meaning no stickers, no logos or anything else physically on the phone.
However, there is "software branding". Meaning the firmware itself and whatever bloatware the provider has put inside that ROM.
Now, I have read that I can use ODIN and find the least crapware-loaded ROM (from any country) and flash it *without* compromissing the knox bit. So far so good.
What I would like to know is that: What happens when finally Samsung releases a pure, non-branded ROM for the G901F? I can still use ODIN to flash - no problem. But what about future releases. I mean future non-branded firmwares. Would I be able to use OTA from that point on, or would I have to keep an eye and update via ODIN? Can someone please elaborate and explain this?
I get it - that's a 'newbie' type of question, but I would be really grateful towards some help here. All I can do for someone who will spend 2mins for writing a useful/accurate answer is say 'thanks'
Didn't find an exact answer to what I ask here, hence me writing this. Hope it's not a double-post!
jstoner said:
I would have posted this under the S5 'T-Mobile' section, but I think it might be more of a generic discussion.
I am considering in purchasing the S5 Plus (G901F). From what I can see right now, this is only available in Germany, UK and just about now, Netherlands. Problem is that it's exclusive to respective providers and therefore - "branded"
I can find it cheaper from Germany - which is subject to T-Mobile / Telekom (same thing?) branding.
I have asked the shop and they confirmed that the phone is factory unlocked to any provider/country and that there is no "hardware branding" on the phone. Meaning no stickers, no logos or anything else physically on the phone.
However, there is "software branding". Meaning the firmware itself and whatever bloatware the provider has put inside that ROM.
Now, I have read that I can use ODIN and find the least crapware-loaded ROM (from any country) and flash it *without* compromissing the knox bit. So far so good.
What I would like to know is that: What happens when finally Samsung releases a pure, non-branded ROM for the G901F? I can still use ODIN to flash - no problem. But what about future releases. I mean future non-branded firmwares. Would I be able to use OTA from that point on, or would I have to keep an eye and update via ODIN? Can someone please elaborate and explain this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi jstoner,
I think that while using an unbranded ROM would probably prevent you from receiving OTA's from your provider you would still be left wih the Samsung tool for getting new updates - Kies.
It has the options to check for updates and to flash them.
The geeky option is indeed to keep your eyes out for updates and fire up Odin
Disclaimer: I never used Kies to update my phone so I might be wrong here
Sent from my Android powered Tricorder
I forgot to mention - I live in Greece (but I m thinking of buying the phone from Germany, as it's not available here yet)
Does KIES list all ROMs from ALL regions/providers for a particular phone?
vrl13 said:
I think that while using an unbranded ROM would probably prevent you from receiving OTA's from your provider you would still be left wih the Samsung tool for getting new updates - Kies.
r
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
It seems there is a firmware for Greece for you
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/40735/G901FXXU1ANK3_G901FEUR1ANL1_EUR.zip/
Oh good
Does that mean it's about to be released in Greece soon???
thierry_b said:
Hello,
It seems there is a firmware for Greece for you
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/40735/G901FXXU1ANK3_G901FEUR1ANL1_EUR.zip/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nobody knows man. But you can always flash the newest updates via odin without triggering knox. After a few month only German Vodafone is building an update. T- mobil stii stuck on h5 firmware. So if there will be an unbranded oce ever ever ever.........you have odin
Wonder if that Greek ROM is unbranded or not
As for hardware branding, it seems that all G901F units sold in Germany under Telekom/T-Mobile have that "LTE+" at the back (also on the retail box). Instead, those EE (UK) units seem to have no hardware branding at all - it just has the "Samsung" logo at the back cover (and nothing on the retail box)
teichy1 said:
No Body knows man. But you can always flash the newest updates via odin without triggering knox. After a few month only German Vodafone is building an update. T- mobil stii stuck on h5 firmware. So if there will be an unbranded oce ever ever ever.........you have odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few Providerapps inside. All Roms i tested for 901F has the normal Samsung Bootloaderscreener. No Provider startup. So nothing to worry about . Mine has also the LTE+ logo, but former T-Mobile Devices have also Coverbrands on it...Thanks God these not
Hi, I live in China but am not Chinese and have inherited a 14mth old Note3 SM-N9008 from my wife, who is Chinese. Just wanted to clarify this point as a lot of other posters with an SM-N9008 have been shot down for having one instead of getting a model relative to where they live
OK, with that out of the way, I have no issues with voiding the warranty as it's gone anyway (14 mth old).
My key question is after reading the "how-to-change-csc-in-samsung-galaxy-phones" (sorry cannot include the offsite link being new here) topic, and perhaps my understanding is wrong and so please correct me if I am, if I change the PDA, PHONE and CSC codes to match correctly to another locale NOT China (eg UK), then I am a) basically changing my 9008 to a 9005 in principle & b) my 9008 will accept ROM's for a 9005 and work fine.
Or is this 'trick' of manipulating these codes to give a new locale only for the purpose of if you have a 9005 in Chile which has not uploaded a new Stock ROM but say Spain has, I make my 9005 look like it is now from Spain and will therefore be able to get the new 9005 Stock ROM?
I have only ever rooted and applied another Stock ROM to one other mobile device before, about 2 years or more ago, which was a Chinese model of the Note 10.1 and it's worked perfectly fine in all that time on the Intl Stock ROM - except for updates online which I don't do (I do manual app updates where required) because the updates give me the Chinese version due to the CSC etc not being changed and so thinking I am Chinese.
Has anyone tried this before at all? Changing the PDA, PHONE and CSC codes from one model to anothers so as to have access to other Stock ROM's in your preferred language and without the locale's bloatware, as well as being able to have appz like Intl google play etc (which cannot be included in any 9008 Stock ROM)?
I've looked at detailed specs for both the 9008 and the 9005 models and they seem exactly the same, just the PDA, PHONE and CSC codes make each different.
If anyone has, please can they help tell me the process steps I need to follow (such as do I root 1st and then change the codes, or change the codes 1st and then root?
I do hope someone can give me some positive feedback please. Thanks in anticipation for any help you can offer me.
Long time lurker, first time poster. I want to express my thanks to everyone who is making this community so great.
I've purchased a S7 edge recently and I noticed I have the TPH (Portugal) CSC code. I'd hope to change it to a Belgian CSC. Two things come to mind:
1 - When I scoured the sammobile site for a suitable Belgian firmware, the only one I found was PRO, which seems to be linked to the Proximus carrier, which is different from my carrier. Is it safe to assume that the PRO firmware is the only Belgian firmware around and therefore not limited to be used with other carriers? Or should I opt for a Luxemburg CSC instead?
2 - I have been looking at the forums for clear instructions on how to perform this, but haven't found this specifically for the S7 (edge). Could someone explain on what I need to do? I'm assuming I just have to download the firmware and use Odin to flash the 4 files, but do i need to set some specific options on Odin before flashing?
Your input is much appreciated.
totally same question. up
This app should let you to change CSC even without root https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zigbrick.galaxyregionunlock
The only way to change the CSC on non-rooted devices is flashing the designated CSC file through ODIN. However, there are limits. In case of Belgium I did only find the version for Proximus, too. But the PRO one is a multi-csc file (VFG Germany) and if you flash this you will end up with Vodafone Germany (VD2), a branded rom. Without root that's the only option you have. If you flash LUX then you have LUX which makes me wonder why you even want to change it as TPH is unbranded and you don't gain anything...
I bought an unlocked G950FD which turns out to be CSC THR (part of OXM) so should mean it's from Iran. I have found it generic enough in almost every way to be used internationally (in English) with two noticeable exceptions that i'm trying to solve.
1) there is pre-installed Persian Calendar in the OS which appears after the Gregorian date on the AOS and lock screen. I also noticed this extra date appearing on the Samsung Calendar app under the western date, but i don't use this app at all so can easily ignore. The AOS and lock screen is seen all the time and would displays: "MON, JUNE 5 (KHOR 15)". I looked through every settings on the phone and many forums online, and there is no software way to turn this off.
I thought a potential solution would be to replace this stock ROM with another region since any of the multi-CSC OXM firmwares should be compatible with the phone. So I tried to flash another region using Odin. I tried Singapore (SIN and STH) and completely reset/wiped the phone two separate times. However, despite flashing a large (almost 6GB) file onto the phone it still remains in THR when i looked in settings. I guess I misunderstood the purpose of different firmware regions, I thought i would be changing my phone's existing firmware to another region and get a different set of default apps and localization behavior. But the Persian date is still there on all the same screens.
Am I flashing the rom incorrectly? Is there some setting that i omitted that would give me the desired result of a Singapore OS? Any other ways to change CSC and get rid of unwanted parts of a regional firmware?
2) Another problem is when i receive calls on my local sim card, the phone number shows up without the country code, but if i store my numbers (on Google contacts) in "+<country code> <phone number>" format then the contact is not linked to the incoming call.
Apparently this is fairly common with international phones being used in another market. There is a workaround where i can edit my numbers on google to not have any numerical country codes but instead use the flag drop-down menu on google to indicate country associated with the number. I'm ok with that solution but is there another way? Would flashing a regional firmware that is my location solve this? The region that i intend to use the phone is not part of the OXM multi-CSC list of countries since they only sell the snapdragon variant here.
I would like to find solutions that would avoid root and custom roms, but if that is the only option here, i am not against going down that route.
Thanks a lot in advance.
My eventual solution and what i've learned.
So as i described above, i tried to flash many different versions of G950FD or G950F firware with multi-CSC OXM, but never saw my CSC change from THR. Nothing changed on my phone despite installing large files through odin which was always confusing to me. For the record, i tried BTU (UK), STH (Singapore), and SIN (Singapore) which are all part of the OXM.
I learned from another forum that the sim-card installed matters, so i was just trying different non-middle-east regions by picking UK or Singapore but my actual home region does not support this model/cpu variant. I don't have a sim-card from any OXM regions, only Hong Kong and US ones.
Then i found an old Australian (Optus) sim card from a trip and found a G950F firmware version with CSC OPS on Updato. Not part of CSC OXM but same PDA/Phone version and was told it's safe to flash. When i flashed that firmware with the AU sim card installed, i got the AU OS and all the old regional apps were gone. I got some Australian ones but nothing i can't uninstall. My caller ID problem also seem to be fixed. So i consider the problem fixed.
In all of this, the PDA version numbers were always the same (AQDG), so i'm still a bit unclear as to what the CSC file is specifying and doing.
Am i correct to assume that multi-CSC OXM firmware contained regional apps/settings for all the various regions but without a sim card installed to tell it which one to pick, it kept selecting the factory region of THR? And when i flashed the Optus firmware, did i really need the sim-card installed? Would it have changed the firmware to OPS because it's outside the multi-CSC OXM group?
You live in Hong Kong, right ?
I do too, and have a UAE S8, and Samsung Pay doesn't work.
Does your working around things allow you to use Pay, or you get stuck on the splash screen as well ?
tarkil said:
You live in Hong Kong, right ?
I do too, and have a UAE S8, and Samsung Pay doesn't work.
Does your working around things allow you to use Pay, or you get stuck on the splash screen as well ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i live in HK, so with the AU Optus Firmware I got a AU version of Samsung Pay with all AU ads and suggested businesses. I can get past the splash and login using my normal Samsung Account, which shouldn't have a region. BUT so far i haven't had any success adding any of my HK credit cards, i assume it's a version compatibility issue. There is no way to pick which regional version of Samsung Pay on the Play Store, so i guess it looks at your phone's origin to determine that part of the app.
I am not that keen to use Samsung Pay, but of course interested to know if it is possible. It says to call the banks to get my credit cards added, so maybe there is still a chance and i will post if i do succeed.
Do you think Samsung Pay is particularly good for HK? Would using Android Pay be comparable here? I'm not that experienced with mobile payment apps in the past. Seems like the membership card storage function will still work on my Samsung Pay so at least i have that and can slim down the wallet a bit.
Hey there buddy,
Finally found a thread that represents my problem also, in my case i have a s8 G950FD that shows the same thing on my lockscreen, by me it shows (KHOR18)!
Is there any way around it, i mean a fix?? I would greatly appreciate any help
Yes that's the Iranian calendar date so the day will increment everyday. Khor is abbrev for the current month.
Yes I have a solution (read my second post in thread) but involves flashing with a sim card and 950f or 950fd firmware of the same region as the sim card. You will need to reset and erase phone data.
If you need help flashing stock firmware there is a long thread on this forum and where I found the answer about how the sim card installed might make difference.
What region/sim are you currently trying to use your s8?
derf574 said:
Yes that's the Iranian calendar date so the day will increment everyday. Khor is abbrev for the current month.
Yes I have a solution (read my second post in thread) but involves flashing with a sim card and 950f or 950fd firmware of the same region as the sim card. You will need to reset and erase phone data.
If you need help flashing stock firmware there is a long thread on this forum and where I found the answer about how the sim card installed might make difference.
What region/sim are you currently trying to use your s8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there again,
Thank you very much for the time. I am in SE Europe, to be more precise Republic of Kosovo. My SIM is from Kosovo ( we are considered i believe to be in Europe carrier wise)
I do need help flashing the phone as i have no experience whatsoever i just recently switched from Iphone to Samsung, this being said i must also mention the fact that i would definitely need help. I dont want to mess up the phone i just got it like 2 days ago
Things to consider:
- You can flash both 950F and 950FD firmware on your 950FD.
- You need to find your desired firmware. And that region needs to match your sim card, use Updato or SamMobile but the firmware package is a >3GB file and takes a while to download. Make sure you only look for versions for model 950F or FD.
- You will need to download Odin and Samsung usb drivers to flash the firmware onto your phone. Follow the thread "OFFICIAL STOCK Firmware-update (Odin) thread Samsung GALAXY S8 SM-G950F" for the guide.
Colonel_Kosova said:
Hey there again,
Thank you very much for the time. I am in SE Europe, to be more precise Republic of Kosovo. My SIM is from Kosovo ( we are considered i believe to be in Europe carrier wise)
I do need help flashing the phone as i have no experience whatsoever i just recently switched from Iphone to Samsung, this being said i must also mention the fact that i would definitely need help. I dont want to mess up the phone i just got it like 2 days ago
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you decided to go the "SIM card CSC" method then follow this step by step:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
But I personally think you should do it through flashing a firmware with odin but properly and pay attention to step 6:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37508
Hope they help you resolve your issues.
Good luck.
samteeee said:
If you decided to go the "SIM card CSC" method then follow this step by step:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
But I personally think you should do it through flashing a firmware with odin but properly and pay attention to step 6:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37508
Hope they help you resolve your issues.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again thank you very much for everything i do have one last question please. Regarding the step 6 should i do it or not i am not sure
Colonel_Kosova said:
Again thank you very much for everything i do have one last question please. Regarding the step 6 should i do it or not i am not sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, if you are changing country/code of CSC, then the system needs to recalculate the partitions.
And don't forget no short cuts! Every step should be done.
Good luck.
ooo man this things is killing me now the problem i have after i have rooted the phone is that the computer wont recognize my phone in download mode ??????????
Hey Peeps,
Small update on how things are for the time being. I have been following all steps as described with odin. Last night i had issues with my laptop not recognizing my phone in download mode, got rid of this issue by changing laptops. Once the procedure was finished i ended up with the same thing on my phone???
I have flashed a european software ( from france) but still no go on removing or changing the region!!!
To be honest dont really know what to do again help is appreciated since that date thing is really annoying
Any other way to get rid of khor on aod/aos
Went through the whole thread. Def not keen to flash or run csc. Any other way to turn off khor date from aod? Help !!!
Hey there all, again just a quick thank you for the tips and tricks. To be honest i dont really know what i did exactely but it worked for me.
What did the change by me was the first step, namely: https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
i really cant tell how but it worked ( used a sim card i have from Slovenia)
till the next one thank you again
Hello,
Yes, I've read and read again and searched as much as possible, but strangely enough changing CSC is not widely covered as root, for example, and I still have some questions.
So, as the subject says, it is a Latin America variant with dual sim and Panama (TPA) firmware. I can't specifically say why, but I feel like I want to change that. Perhaps faster updates; maybe ability to use functions that currently I can't (Samsung Pay?!), etc.
I am in the U.S. with main sim from TMO and second SIM from Israel. Current Service Provider shows
TPA/TPA,ILO/TPA
In Phone Info app I see the following:
Active CSC is TPA
Firmware's CSC is XEF.
1. What is the difference between the two (Active and Firmware)?
Note that I did not do anything out of the ordinary: activated the phone new out of the box, it downloaded some updates (before I put my SIM in, if that matters), and that's about it. So why would a Panama phone have French CSC and how come I don't see XEF anywhere in the phone info itself (only in this app)?
2. Is there a 'better' CSC to have compared to others, in terms of frequency/priority of updated, available services, etc? Phone Info shows a list of available CSC's to chose from (see below). As far as I can tell, the only two things that don't work for me are TMO Video calling and Samsung Pay. Will different CSC enables these services for me?
3. Are there any downsides to changing my TPA CSC to a different one?
I am sure I'll have more questions and I appreciate any assistance.
sbi1 said:
Hello,
Yes, I've read and read again and searched as much as possible, but strangely enough changing CSC is not widely covered as root, for example, and I still have some questions.
So, as the subject says, it is a Latin America variant with dual sim and Panama (TPA) firmware. I can't specifically say why, but I feel like I want to change that. Perhaps faster updates; maybe ability to use functions that currently I can't (Samsung Pay?!), etc.
I am in the U.S. with main sim from TMO and second SIM from Israel. Current Service Provider shows
TPA/TPA,ILO/TPA
In Phone Info app I see the following:
Active CSC is TPA
Firmware's CSC is XEF.
1. What is the difference between the two (Active and Firmware)?
Note that I did not do anything out of the ordinary: activated the phone new out of the box, it downloaded some updates (before I put my SIM in, if that matters), and that's about it. So why would a Panama phone have French CSC and how come I don't see XEF anywhere in the phone info itself (only in this app)?
2. Is there a 'better' CSC to have compared to others, in terms of frequency/priority of updated, available services, etc? Phone Info shows a list of available CSC's to chose from (see below). As far as I can tell, the only two things that don't work for me are TMO Video calling and Samsung Pay. Will different CSC enables these services for me?
3. Are there any downsides to changing my TPA CSC to a different one?
I am sure I'll have more questions and I appreciate any assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Phone INFO App doesn't always reflect the actual firmware. Try Settings, About Phone, Software Information, Service provider SW ver.
Samsung Pay can work on the Exynos European variants but I haven't seen it working on any Latin American variants.
You definitely won't be able to use T-Mobile Video Calling on your firmware. Your only hope on changing the CSC is rooting the device however you'll trip Knox and lose your Secure Folder. It's an "Iffy" option and I wouldn't recommend it. You might want to review this thread for additional info, good luck!
https://forum-xda--developers-com.c...to/change-csc-code-firmware-sim-card-t3907375
varcor said:
The Phone INFO App doesn't always reflect the actual firmware. Try Settings, About Phone, Software Information, Service provider SW ver.
Samsung Pay can work on the Exynos European variants but I haven't seen it working on any Latin American variants.
You definitely won't be able to use T-Mobile Video Calling on your firmware. Your only hope on changing the CSC is rooting the device however you'll trip Knox and lose your Secure Folder. It's an "Iffy" option and I wouldn't recommend it. You might want to review this thread for additional info, good luck!
https://forum-xda--developers-com.c...to/change-csc-code-firmware-sim-card-t3907375
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you @varcor.
Rotting is definitely out of the question, I don't have any interest in doing that.
What defines the phone as European vs. Latin, when both phones can accept (technically) any OXM multi CSC f/w? Is it the CSC itself (the last 3 characters after the sim info)?
BTW - INFO app shows the same details as About Phone (in my case).
sbi1 said:
Thank you @varcor.
Rotting is definitely out of the question, I don't have any interest in doing that.
What defines the phone as European vs. Latin, when both phones can accept (technically) any OXM multi CSC f/w? Is it the CSC itself (the last 3 characters after the sim info)?
BTW - INFO app shows the same details as About Phone (in my case).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's for software compatibility for the most part, the hardware is identical with a possible exception in cameras. The CSC's will be different as well and they do affect software configuration. If you read the last few pages of the link I've shared you'll see some members claim they're having success changing their Active, SIM 1 and SIM 2 CSC's using Samkey, which doesn't require root. Remember the 4th CSC (Sales Code) can't be changed regardless. How well Samkey works on individual devices likely depends on the device, it's associated firmware and Service Provider. Not an interest to me as I mentioned since my device aligns and incorporates calling features based on the Active SIM for the regions I've visited. I have T-Mobile as my carrier which works with Telcel (Mexico). I'm surprised I don't need Telcel SIM for calling features, T-Mobile has eliminated that need as I get Wif Calling and VoLTE on Telcel's network.