Database Users

Rooting not possible on Sprint Hero?

I was reading the review of the Sprint version on Crunchgear (HERE), and I saw this odd sentence:
The phone runs on Sprint’s high-speed network; browsing was pleasant and email a breeze. A certain subset of users will also notice that the traditional rooting and tethering systems are disabled on this phone.
Can anyone clear this up? Is he saying that it's not possible or simply that it hasn't been done yet?
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/09/17/review-htc-hero-from-sprint/

I think it's a case of not having been done yet on that ROM build.

Given enough time (and that probably won't take long), people will find a way to do it.

Yeah, that was my thought too. It's just strange that they would even add this little tidbit if there's not more too it.

Street view navigation

Hi everybody,
I've been thinking about developing an app that would allow you to use street view navigation for some time now. The only thing I'm hung up on is that the images for street view only appear to be referenced by coordinates. I'm new to development in the android scene so I'm not sure if this will be difficult to work with or if it would be as easy as requesting the data from the GPS. If anyone has any insights, recommendations, or feature requests, please let me know. The app would be paid on the market but I would of course make it available here for you guys on xda, because I think plenty of people on here deserve to have free access to innovative apps.
Sent from my HTC Incredible

I have not worked with the GPS so no advice from me, how ever I will say that I have wanted this for a very long time If you pull this off, I will most likely purchase it to donate even if it is provided to us XDA guys for free. I hope you can get this going and I wish you the best of luck!

the ideas good but the image rendering will hammer any data connection and unless you have 3g minimum the user experience wouldnt be good the memory cache would have to be big as well to storge the streetview images ahead of where your position

Thanks
alix776, thanks for the valuable input, upon reading it, I would have to say that it's probably not a good idea to continue developing it, because, as you said, users would suffer from a poor user experience, and it wouldn't be available in areas with poor 3g. Perhaps it will be something that's in our future with verizon soon rolling out their LTE 4G, but for now, I think it's best to let it die. I think I got beat to the punch anyway, because there is a project that is scheduled for release in the very near future. It's called "Wikitude Drive," and is an AR (augmented reality) gps navigation app, which uses the camera to produce the image you see. This idea is a major improvement on mine (well, I bet other people thought of it too, so I can't really take credit for it) in many ways:
- Live imagery ensures that the image is consistent with what the user sees from the driver's seat
- Instead of showing the angle that the camera that took the street view images, the user sees exactly what they're doing, no matter what, which is great, because if you stare at the screen, you are less likely to lose sight of where you're going than if you were looking at a nonvolatile resource
- The image is produced locally on the phone, rather than using the 3g connection, which means a much happier carrier, and also a better user experience than with street view.
- It looks way cooler than anything I could design with street view, as the AR features make for a very nicely rendered UI.
I encourage anyone who runs across this thread to check out Wikitude Drive at the developer's website http://www.wikitude.org/drive
It seems that the app was (is?) in beta this summer, and was scheduled for full release this August, but it has been pushed back many times. I'm sure it will be out and in our pockets soon enough, but until then, I'll be patiently waiting. It looks quite worth the wait, and I bet they must be working very hard to encounter and fix bugs that they find.
Anyway, I wish you all well, and thanks for the interest.

Why i think noCIQ is bullsh*t

I don't care about Carrier IQ or who did remove it, Carrier IQ is suppose to help sprint and sprint already has a network to track people and they own the network, they can look at your browsing history and text messages.
Hell they might keep log on calls but they might have limited access to your phone to check on the signal strengths and CIQ is suppose to help sprint get better coverage.
So please stop giving people false hope

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm interesting very interesting
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
.... Did you guys see who was first ?

Removing it makes the device run faster with no ill side effects, so I'm in.

bigray327 said:
Removing it makes the device run faster with no ill side effects, so I'm in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That because of the Ext4, tweaks and Overclocking

bigray327 said:
Removing it makes the device run faster with no ill side effects, so I'm in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a comparison somewhere, or are we just assuming?
Serious question, not being sarcastic.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

BWFBezerk said:
Is there a comparison somewhere, or are we just assuming?
Serious question, not being sarcastic.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Systems and Frameworks with no CIQ scored higher in benchmarks back when we first started removing it, but it's been so long that I can't remember by how much.

Do we even know who is responsible maybe it was samsung and they do not have access to all that data like sprint does other than by using a program like CIQ. Not sure if its in other samsung phones but maybe sprint is the only one that let them include it?

Before people start jumping on the "Keep it" or "Remove it" bandwagons, they should probably educate themselves on the product. People can simply go to their website and inform themselves before making said decision (the company is pretty open about what their products do). I personally don't care if it is there or not. I don't believe Sprint is even taking advantage of the full capability of Carrier IQ ( Some of the logging and such is off by default).
On another note, Carrier IQ has the potential to collect metrics about much more the signal strength; this isn't the only purpose of the software. And depending on what it collects, how it collects, and how often, it can certainly lead to performance and battery degradation.
Finally, I think it would be smarter if Sprint was upfront about the benefits of such metric collecting software on their devices, AND gave the customer the ability to opt in or out. I actually opted into something similar back in my Windows Mobile days (albeit the company payed me each month for opting in. It was a few bucks each month, and basically covered the cost of my data plan). Software like this CAN BE BENEFICIAL!! My 2 cents...
Ryan

Benchmarks only help show improvements in tweaks imo. Real world my phone feels the same whether im hittin 2000 or 2500 on quadrant. Not to mention I saw 2600+ well before ciq removal goin back to one of the leaked froyo builds.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

Ciq was not being used at all really.. but the service was running. Killing extra running services that are useless is always a good thing an noone can really argue that. The paranoia behind CIQ was propaganda for the most part. It has/had potential to be infringing, but sprint doesn't need it to track us or infringe on our privacy. I am certain that battery life, smoothness, and stability have all increased since removal. It's my opinion, and that's all that matters... my latest rom is by far the smoothest and most stable I've ever used. Is it noCIQ? Not entirely, but I will continue to remove it because I feel like its part of the equation.
So yea bull**** sorta, but it makes people feel good and it makes my phone feel good..

I'm with the noobnl about this CIQ paranoia. If you have an android phone, Google and Sprint already have your entire contact list, emails, all your locations, your list of apps, visited web sites, etc, WITHOUT using any spyware. As I understand it CIQ gives them lots of data about network parameters that help Sprint tune their network. I'm all for that.
I haven't seen a direct performance and battery life comparison between an identical rom with and without CIQ. I also don't care about benchmarks, I just want a phone that doesn't lag and has a battery that lasts all day.
Seems to me that if you are concerned about CIQ spying on you, you probably shouldn't use a smartphone in the first place.....maybe you shouldn't even carry a cell phone.

CIQ = Unproven threat
Built-in FM Radio = Vapor
Built-in TV-OUT = Vapor
EXT4 OFF over EXT4 ON/RFS = sacrifice stability for e-peen scores (lack of best practices mentality).

It probably does collect information that could benefit us, sprint, service, support, products ect. BUT, since it's off by default, it's not doing much, so its better in my opinion to have it removed.
Sent from my SPH-D700

As long as I've had ****ty 3g speeds and having to resend text multiple times because they failed to go through 2 or 3 times before I'm pretty convinced Sprint don't give 2 ****s about how good my service is. I'll go without CIQ anyday.

noobnl said:
I don't care about Carrier IQ or who did remove it, Carrier IQ is suppose to help sprint and sprint already has a network to track people and they own the network, they can look at your browsing history and text messages.
Hell they might keep log on calls but they might have limited access to your phone to check on the signal strengths and CIQ is suppose to help sprint get better coverage.
So please stop giving people false hope
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol thanks noobni I like your style just read the request bout you helping with cm7 an the discussion about ciq then I saw this thread had too laugh.

I honestly don't think it's as malicious as the ACS team put it, but it does slow things down (even if by a little). And the less services running in the background for myself, the better.

I'm not sure where I stand I see no performance improvement with no ciq. How ever sprint hasn't stolen my identity either so mabye its not such a big deal

Just thought I would throw in my 2cents on this topic.
Facts we publicly know:
CarrierIQ has access to every aspect of interaction between the device and the user.
CarrierIQ has the ability to log all data it has access to.
CarrierIQ has the ability to transmit all data it has access to.
Removal of CarrierIQ, as stated by both Sprint & Samsung, will void your warranty.
What Software packages of this type are capable of:
Logging and transmission of data may be enabled without notification of the user at any time via alpha-numeric string sent via SMS or MMS, via the CDMA Network, WiFi or Bluetooth.
The ability to disable geo-tagging in the latest FROYO release. Now CarrierIQ has the ability to know where you take your pictures. It may even have the ability to transmit said pictures along with its embedded GPS information.
It has the ability to monitor call information, tower location, signal strength, did the call drop, etc., to improve the Sprint network. But CarrierIQ is so invasive that it has the ability to also know, what number you were talking to, what name if any it is associated with in your contacts, how often and how long you talk to that number, are they also your friend on social networking sites if you sync with those sites. Why does Sprint need this level of "metrics"?
Does it know whats on your calendar? How many alarms you set and what for? Why does Sprint need to know this?
Every application you use, the type, how often and for how long. Why?
Every key stroke via hardware or software based keyboards. Every every text message you send or receive, every user name, every password can now be logged.
The possibilities are almost endless.
As we all know, Sprint is not the most "secure" wireless carrier. Sprint's past is riddled with employee's "stealing" customer information and fraud. Can you actually tell me with a straight face that you trust them with this type of invasive capability? Or look at it another way, can you trust the source code, the or those who hack for malicious purposes? Think identity theft, think personal and family safety.

I'm not worried about Sprint gathering info. Anyone with a smart/cell phone, internet, cable tv, or walks outside is already having their activities monitored. But I put custom ROMs on my phones because I want a streamlined experience that I like. Take out what I don't need and give me only what I want. If CIQ were that beneficial to Sprint, they would tell us why we should keep it in our ROMs. They know it's been taken out in a lot of ROMs, they're not blind. As far as I can see it is one less running service and that means better performance and battery. I consider it bloatware. If you're gonna argue that CIQ removal is unnecessary, then so are the Sprint apps noone uses..
Also, the EVO has CIQ, so it's not just a Samsung thing. And the noCIQ ROM I have on my wife's EVO runs smooth as butter and has excellent battery life. Of course it's more than just the noCIQ, but every little bit helps.
Seems to me the only people that would argue against CIQ removal are Sprint advocates and those jealous they didn't figure out how to do it.

So hypothetically is there any way to enable only the basic 'metrics' collecting as it pertains only to signal strength, etc, and remove the more specific data mining? My disgust with all surveillance aside, I think this is an issue because this is created by a third party, therefore I am guessing they have access to anything it could access, even if they dont use it already, who are THEY selling this to? I really dont think this has a lot to do with sprint and homeland insecurity breaking your door down for whatever it is you do, but more for the typical corporate data mining for marketing, and other BS... kind of like how FB's ads are predictive based on your friends, likes, etc. This is what I would like to lose. I also really doubt they cannot collect this information using servers on their side, instead of making our phones do all the work (if they were polled), we all know all carriers, isp's , etc can track and record pretty much everything we do, google does it, but thats part of the reason for having an android. As far as law enforcement goes, they can already get anything that would be relevant in a real court on their side, now analyzing your personality and behavior and schedule is the crap that 'law enforcement' has taken too far... think 1984.
Anyways, so I guess it boils down to this, is there a way to keep only the signal strength features, IF they cause us little to nothing as far as battery or performance? I dont mind that stuff, but the more invasive aspects, I dont like making it any easier for a pig or marketing douche to figure out how to better sell to me until they decide to lock me up I have seen CIQ removed in parts (Chris41g?), but it would be nice to have a breakdown of what is kept and what is removed (Chris if you already have, sorry haven't looked at your thread lateley, but might today ).
oh, and final bit, the reason I am so skeptical about the third party aspect is that that enables corporations, and the government, to point the finger at someone else, and in Govts case, access info they would need a warrant for otherwise (even if they only had to get it after the fact)... this is how FBI and CIA share information, the 'patriot' acts and the others that went with it pretty much set this up, we dont really have privicy anymore, unless you wanna join Ice-T and the lo-Teks.

Windows 10. Solution for the privacy problem.

Windows 10 is known to collect private data of the users and collect them on to their servers. They are getting huge profits just by selling these data.
There is a github project that is aimed to block this data collection. But it is not always working. Microsoft still manages to collect data even after the user actively trying to block it.
Maybe we have to tackle this problem using a different approach. If we succeeded in blocking the data collection to an extent, the few data that is collected is still valuable to the company. The novel way would be to "Contaminate the data". Figure out a way to generate random private data so that it would be rendered useless.
The software should generate random browser history, and other data. This data cannot be used by telemarketers to target us or used by any other corporations.
I ask the great minds here to start a project using this idea and help put an end to the privacy intrusion. Thanks.

This is why they give us these OS' for free. There not really free as our information is profitable.
Nothing is free when it involves corporate companys.
So what's it worth?....I dont click on them stupid ads!!
The individual resale of a persons information is pointless and worthless, however they sell it all the same as they do their souls and this is where the pennys come from, relatively small companys will buy list for certain areas or places and try to target those people specifically.
Mass collection of data and information is different. This enables companys to do high profiling at a mass level....predicting future rises and falls in technology and every other market known to us. This is where the pounds come in, targeting people on a mass scale....this is where it becomes dangerous and the real soul selling begins.
They not only profile our latest footwear, clothing, and our latest use of technology, etc. Which we already know.
They profile our likes, dislikes, anger, happiness, even fear! They basically profile us as machines and thwn these corporate companies sell it too the "big people"....Governments...Charities and anyone with enough power, money and influence.
This is where it gets bad. Profiling on mass scale enables them to control our enviornment and social interaction.
Even wondered why facebbok gives free internet to poor countries...they dont buy the latest trainers...they dont buy the latest technology.....so why profile them?????
Simply because they want to profile the mind....fear, feelings and everything inbetween the best they can this enables governments and corporate companys to manage different societies differently.
You may think things just "happen", but if they did then the chances of there being a coincidence would be astronomical.
We could go into this in a little more depth, however is there much point...its never been admitted and it will never be. People even find it.
hard to believe. Well...believe this..if they wanted to sell you the latest technology they would...without profiling.
Nike trainers which we buy for over 100£ cost as little as a £ or two to produce...an iphone 6 cost £5.61 to produce [if i remember correctly _ bbc panorama covered this]...so they could just put it on the shelf to see if we buy it and if we dont...so what...lets make another one for a couple of quid and see if they like that!!! you get what I'm getting at!
Only way to stop this is to stop our data leaking out of our laps.
They profile us as robots and create a certain amount of our perception and understanding of our surroundings based on our profiling. We are free thinkers however studies prove that we flock with the crowd thus makes us predictable.
Back to the point...

Why is the Samsung ecosystem such garbage?!?!

Mini-rant
OK, so I have to rant (just briefly) about the whole state of Samsung phones at the moment. Basically, we spend gobs of money on expensive devices and get locked down pre-loaded junk in return. Oh, they are physically impressive, have good specs, and are aesthetically nice gadgets. But would you spend $1600 bucks on a new laptop that came with software you couldn’t remove and could only be upgraded for the next 4 years?!?!
I have wanted to experiment with LineageOS for years. I bought a used Samsung S8+ in 2018 and quickly found out that LineageOS was a no go because Samsung locks the bootloaders on all US and Canadian models. So, that was never going to happen unless some guru found a hack.
Now, five years later, I went out of my way to find a Global/European S10+ (an SM-G975F) specifically so that I could install LineageOS. Now, I managed to do that easily enough. But now I am stuck with a phone that has poor reception and slow LTE speeds because it is missing LTE bands used in Canada (i.e. the SM-G975F uses different bands than the SM-G975W).
So here we are… making tradeoffs again.
And while I like fiddling with things like this, I have to wonder... why are we here in the first place? I just want a phone that doesn’t come preloaded with junk that I don’t want. I don’t want Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok or even Office 365 pre-installed and non-removable. It is like moving into a new house and finding out that the builder picked out furniture for the living room and, while you can push it off to the side and cover it with a blanket, you can never actually remove it. Why is the builder picking out furniture for me in the first place?
Some will say they like the furniture the builder picked. Most will say they don’t hate it or that they found a way to cover it up sufficiently that they don’t really notice it anymore. That isn’t really the point though, is it?
LineageOS on the other hand comes with nothing that it shouldn’t. Oh, and you can have LineageOS if you like (if you stand on your head and find a way to order a phone from another market) but then you have crummy reception forever. Oh, and when you are done you are a 2nd class citizen who can't use the NFC chip on his/her phone to pay for things because you were a "bad person" who found a way to remove the builder's sofa from your living room.
Oh, there are tricks… download this tool or that… but some don’t work anymore because of update XYZ…
Why can’t I just turn on the LTE bands I need??!?! Like, seriously, why not?!?!
Or better yet, why doesn’t my phone do it for me when it sees the Bell SIM card?!?!
Whose phone is this anyway?!?!
The state of Samsung phones in North America is garbage. Full stop. Pure garbage. No, I am not being too harsh.
1) All phones should come with basic firmware that makes the phone work and nothing else. The phone should not be used as an on-ramp into whichever ecosystem is paying the manufacturer more. OEM apps (i.e. Samung Calculator, Samsung DeX, etc.) are fine but no 3rd party junk like Facebook and Instagram. That is what the store is for.
2) All bootloaders should be unlockable and re-lockable once custom firmware is loaded if that firmware is itself signed. No "tripping Knox" or this nonsense.
3) All radio/LTE/carrier settings should be accessible and customizable with easily selectable presets for major carriers worldwide.
Anything else is a closed ecosystem that doesn't respect your basic property rights.
OK, done ranting... Maybe someone from Samsung will notice and maybe it will make a difference.
Best regards,
The Fish

I run two stock N10+'s, a N975U and a N975U1.
Running on Android 9* and 10 respectively. Neither have had their firmware upgraded. I use Package Disabler to block about 70-80 apks and settings are heavily optimized. Both run fast, stable and fullfill their mission with almost no issues and little maintenance. Excellent SOT and standby time.
Both are compatible with AT&T and as such there are no reception issues. You check and verify this before you purchase. Slam the sim card in and they're good to go. Once optimized and running well, don't upgrade firmware or update apps and it will run fine for years. Don't do the above and you will need to find work arounds... if they exist.
Current load on this N10+ will be 3yo this June. No malware during that time. Still looks, feels and runs like new. Only repair has been a battery. After a steep learning curve I'm very pleased with these devices. They are still a joy to use. However I can't say the same for the proceeding Samsung flagships and will never own one of them for a litany of reasons*.
Samsung phones with/in this SOC/generation can run well in capable hands, stock, if used as described.
*has last Android 9 firmware update
**lol, don't get me started

blackhawk said:
Neither have had their firmware upgraded. I use Package Disabler to block about 70-80 apks and settings are heavily optimized. Both run fast, stable and fullfill their mission with almost no issues and little maintenance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This kind of proves my point. I am not saying there isn't a way to get your Samsung phone running the way you want it. I am saying that the hoops we have to jump through and the tradeoffs we have to make are unacceptable.
Why do you have to use Package Disabler to block about 70-80 apks?!?! Why should you have to block *any* APKs at all?
Why do you have to stick with old, outdated firmware? Why do you have to make this tradeoff? Why do we have to have a hostile relationship with Samsung?
Why can't we have a nice phone, no bloatware, no junk, no apps we don't want. Get updates for a reasonable amount of time (i.e. till the hardware no longer supports it)?
blackhawk said:
Both are compatible with AT&T and as such there are no reception issues. You check and verify this before you purchase. Slam the sim card in and they're good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. And I knew ahead of time when I purchased the Global S10+ (the SM-G975F) that it didn't support all the same LTE bands as the Canadian model (the SM-G975W). But again, I had to make tradeoffs because I wanted to run LineageOS. Again, why do we have to choose between two crummy options?!?! Where are the good options?!?
I am daring to imagine a world where this is better. Really, we used to have phones locked to service providers and 5-year contracts. Those were the bad old days. But these days right now (with the bloatware, etc.) are also not great. It reminds me of the Windows XP era of PCs where you would buy a new PC and be prompted to sign up for 100 different services upon initial bootup. Only difference then was you could re-install the operating system on your PC and free yourself from the OEM bloatware. But now, with phones, they make even that impossible with locked bootloaders.
Basically, if I could unlock the bootloader of a Canadian SM-G975W that would be ideal. Any why isn't it like that anyway?!?! Isn't that the way it should be to begin with?
Locked bootloaders with no option to unlock should be illegal.
The Fish

thefish123 said:
This kind of proves my point. I am not saying there isn't a way to get your Samsung phone running the way you want it. I am saying that the hoops we have to jump through and the tradeoffs we have to make are unacceptable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a pragmatist, I use what works.
thefish123 said:
Why do you have to use Package Disabler to block about 70-80 apks?!?! Why should you have to block *any* APKs at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only blocking what I consider bloatware. 10 or 15 of those apks are apps I installed but chose to kept disabled 99% of the time.
thefish123 said:
Why do you have to stick with old, outdated firmware? Why do you have to make this tradeoff? Why do we have to have a hostile relationship with Samsung?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's your choice to upgrade and there's no reason to upgrade if the firmware is fulfilling its mission if you're running Android 9 or higher. If you lack wherewithal you pay a price...
thefish123 said:
Why can't we have a nice phone, no bloatware, no junk, no apps we don't want. Get updates for a reasonable amount of time (i.e. till the hardware no longer supports it)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updates and upgrades aren't needed on an optimized device that's running well. New phones with the newest firmware are running like crap in case you didn't notice. Very little speed increase in most routine activities and horrible SOT on most.
thefish123 said:
Sure. And I knew ahead of time when I purchased the Global S10+ (the SM-G975F) that it didn't support all the same LTE bands as the Canadian model (the SM-G975W). But again, I had to make tradeoffs because I wanted to run LineageOS. Again, why do we have to choose between two crummy options?!?! Where are the good options?!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you knew there be connectivity issues and that should have flagged it. Custom roms have custom problems with a limited user/support base.
thefish123 said:
I am daring to imagine a world where this is better. Really, we used to have phones locked to service providers and 5-year contracts. Those were the bad old days. But these days right now (with the bloatware, etc.) are also not great. It reminds me of the Windows XP era of PCs where you would buy a new PC and be prompted to sign up for 100 different services upon initial bootup. Only difference then was you could re-install the operating system on your PC and free yourself from the OEM bloatware. But now, with phones, they make even that impossible with locked bootloaders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that bad if you shop smart. I bought out my AT&T N10+ at 2 years. It's almost identical to my carrier unlocked variant. I want the boot loader locked for security. No way I'm touching the firmware as these are premium flagships that run extremely well as is. I have very little to gain and lots to lose... including time.
thefish123 said:
Basically, if I could unlock the bootloader of a Canadian SM-G975W that would be ideal. Any why isn't it like that anyway?!?! Isn't that the way it should be to begin with?
Locked bootloaders with no option to unlock should be illegal.
The Fish
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You buy Samsung flagships for the premium hardware and then work within the framework that's available and what works best for you. You can root the Exynos variants but their hardware is almost always inferior to the Snaps. Consequences.
At this point both Samsung and Android newest products are so out of line that they are unusable to me. I don't care what they do, screw them. I'm in a holding pattern for 3+ more years happily using my N10+'s... I don't care. All my issues are worked out because I threw time at them to do so and I'm very satisfied with the outcome.
In 3+ years I will reevaluate the situation and decide what to do. Right now as things stand I don't reccomend any new Samsung's or anything Android version above Android 10. Unfortunately I have no easy solutions for you other than what I did. Even that isn't simple fix but it's a zero risk fix. I refuse to risk damaging these N10+'s by mucking with their firmware unless its needed for repair.

blackhawk said:
Well you knew there be connectivity issues and that should have flagged it. Custom roms have custom problems with a limited user/support base.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I purchased this specific model was so that I could run a custom ROM. But the connectivity issues are not caused by the custom rom. They are caused by the fact that I am using a phone designed for a different market where different LTE bands are used.
And yes, I knew that ahead of time. And I am not regretting that. But you are missing the point. The radio in my phone is perfectly capable of using the LTE bands that my carrier uses. So why shouldn't there be a straightforward way to enable them?
What if I used to live in Europe and moved to Canada? Should I be forced to buy a new phone just because Samsung doesn't let me change LTE bands? Or if I travel between Europe and Canada on business then I just have to suffer with crummy reception?
My point is one of ownership, property rights.

thefish123 said:
The reason I purchased this specific model was so that I could run a custom ROM. But the connectivity issues are not caused by the custom rom. They are caused by the fact that I am using a phone designed for a different market where different LTE bands are used.
And yes, I knew that ahead of time. And I am not regretting that. But you are missing the point. The radio in my phone is perfectly capable of using the LTE bands that my carrier uses. So why shouldn't there be a straightforward way to enable them?
What if I used to live in Europe and moved to Canada? Should I be forced to buy a new phone just because Samsung doesn't let me change LTE bands? Or if I travel between Europe and Canada on business then I just have to suffer with crummy reception?
My point is one of ownership, property rights.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Connectivity is paramount. Regardless of what your user rights should be, you need to work within the limits of the options available. The square peg round hole thing...
You may be able to enable those bands and that's probably where you should be directing your energy. I purposely try to avoid having to do that as much as possible and never had to. You dove down the rabbit hole, hopefully it's not too deep. Try looking at the hidden phone user settings first... I guess.

blackhawk said:
Connectivity is paramount. Regardless of what your user rights should be, you need to work within the limits of the options available. The square peg round hole thing...
You may be able to enable those bands and that's probably where you should be directing your energy. I purposely try to avoid having to do that as much as possible and never had to. You dove down the rabbit hole, hopefully it's not too deep. Try looking at the hidden phone user settings first... I guess.
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Yes, I agree. Being a phone is the most important thing that a phone does. And I am directing my energies in that direction as well. But in the process, it occures to me that a messed-up antagonistic anti-customer ecosystem this whole thing is. We would *never* accept this from a computer company, a car manufacturer, or a home builder. Yet, for some reason, we accept it from phone makers like Samsung and that we need to work within these [artificially imposed] limits.
Anyway, yes, there used to be a hidden phone menu (why hidden?) that would have let me enable the bands that I need. But Samsung removed it sometime last year with an update. Again, why?!?!
I'll keep looking. I'm sure I will figure out something in time inspite of Samsung, not because of them.
The Fish

What OS version are you on?
The band selections are probably still there although means of access may have changed.
My knowledge in this area is very limited. The sim card always configured it perfectly for me.
Best to check with your carrier to be sure that phone model is on their white list.
You could try seeing if someone help you from your carrier tech support...sometimes you get lucky if you try enough.

blackhawk said:
What OS version are you on?
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I am running LineageOS 19.1.
blackhawk said:
The band selections are probably still there although means of access may have changed.
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The band selection app is categorically *not* there anymore because it A) it was part of the Samsung firmware and B) even if I was on Samsung firmware it wouldn't be there anymore either because Samsung removed it.
There used to be a tool you could download that would allow you to access the "hidden" band selection app. But it stopped working because Samsung removed the hidden app altogeather. Like I said in my original post on this thread "Oh, there are tricks… download this tool or that… but some don’t work anymore because of update XYZ…"
My point is that the whole nonsense of disabled bands and locked bootloaders is infuriating. I is like buying a computer that can only access the internet at full speed in Europe and if you fly to Canada and use it there you get penalized with 1/2 speed. Oh, and even through you could change it with the flip of a switch that switch is buried, disabled, hidden behind locked doors.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro has all the bands turned on (i.e. there is one phone for the whole world) and the boot loader is unlocked. Just saying...
At some point I will probably prevail in getting the bands I need turned on. And then I will likely be very happy with this phone for the next 5+ years. But none of that changes the fact that this anti-consumer predatory behavior on the part of Samsung is unacceptable.
The Fish