Can this phone be easily debranded? - G2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I usually try and buy phones SIM free as I hate carrier branding. Samsungs are incredibly easy to flash stock firmware to; HTCs aren't in comparison. I'm not familiar with LG at all, other than with the Nexus 4 (but that doesn't really count!).
The question is, if I buy this phone with Three in the UK is there an easy way to make it stock and SIM free in terms of its firmware without rooting or anything stupidly complicated?
I've seen the firmware flasher tool on here but it seems to only be able to flash the original firmware back onto the device, unless I'm missing something. I just hate having carrier splash screens etc. call me OCD if you will...
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

You can definitely SIM unlock the G2 and ROOT very easily, however I don't see a way of un-branding without rooting the device. You need root in order to change the splash boot screens and bloatware.
Also, I don't know if those G2s you talk about have the carrier logo imprinted behind the glass like T-Mobile and Verizon's models, which seem to be impossible to remove.
And yes, I too have OCD when it comes to brandings.

Related

[Q]

Ok,... a NOOB question.. (ok.. three questions) (and yes, I have looked around, and I did not see answers to my question… or i was too dim to understand it….. :/ )
Question 1)
I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. my Note 3 is is unlocked, and rooted.
This is probably a silly question, but When I look at “ROMS” and “MODS” for my phone, should I be looking for an “AT&T “ phone? or a T-MOBILE” ?? is there any actual HARDWARE difference?
I have a SM-N900A (branded AT&T) … does that mean I can not use ROMS that are for the T-Mobile note 3s? or do I have to only use ROMS that are for the AT&T note 3?
Should I just sell my AT&T note 3, and buy a T-Mobile Note 3 ??
I would like to get rid of the AT&T bloatware… especially since I am no longer on their network.
I am not trying to go over the top with my phone, and I would like to be able keep the s-pen features (but I have to admit, I still need to LEARN how to use it better!)
Question 2)
I just tried to use my hotspot on my Note3, and I am gettingan "invalad sim" error...
I am guessing that I do nto have enough of the AT&T stuff out of it?
Question 3)
Another “feature” that I would like, (maybe a second question/thread?) if about tethering.. I have unlimited data on my phone, but as I understand it, they will only allow 2gigs as a hotspot. I think I read somewhere that some ROMS combine the two…
Thank you for any advice…
Danny
Okay, I can help you with a few of your questions...
Q1. Since your phone (the service provider doesn't matter, the hardware does) is ATT, you will need to get your Roms and such from the ATT area.
ATT, in all their ridiculous glory, locked the bootloader on our phones, and thus we have to SafeStrap in order to use roms.
It's a little wonky, but it's almost as good. Our development is growing and more roms are getting ported over every day.
But if you want more control over your device and can afford it, I would personally recommend to switch to a TMo device.
As for removing bloatware, most of the roms are pre slimmed, and you can fix the rest by freezing apps with TiBu. And you can still do that without losing the TouchWiz and SPen functions.
Q2. The Invalid sim issue is likely because you have a TMo sim card in ATT software. There's a Tether Provisioning app that can be frozen to prevent that.
Q3. I'm not too sure how TMo handles it's Tethering monitoring. You'll have to ask that in the TMo note forum.
I hope I could help you at all. =D
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
Ryo Misaki said:
Okay, I can help you with a few of your questions...
Q1. Since your phone (the service provider doesn't matter, the hardware does) is ATT, you will need to get your Roms and such from the ATT area.
ATT, in all their ridiculous glory, locked the bootloader on our phones, and thus we have to SafeStrap in order to use roms.
It's a little wonky, but it's almost as good. Our development is growing and more roms are getting ported over every day.
But if you want more control over your device and can afford it, I would personally recommend to switch to a TMo device.
As for removing bloatware, most of the roms are pre slimmed, and you can fix the rest by freezing apps with TiBu. And you can still do that without losing the TouchWiz and SPen functions.
Q2. The Invalid sim issue is likely because you have a TMo sim card in ATT software. There's a Tether Provisioning app that can be frozen to prevent that.
Q3. I'm not too sure how TMo handles it's Tethering monitoring. You'll have to ask that in the TMo note forum.
I hope I could help you at all. =D
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the help!!
I have decided to buy myself a T-Mobile Note 3, and sell my AT&T version...
I had rooted my (using Kingo) about a month ago, to fix the GPS driver problem... But that was ALL I did, after rooting it... and I think this week, AT&T sent out an update (mandatory... cause I never saw it!)... which not only broke my "root" ... but broke my GPS again as well.
So now I say good bye to my brand new, with the EXTRA insuarance plan from Best Buy phone, and start looking for a used Note 3 that is not bootloader locked
AVOID AT&T
D

[Q] Installing a stock rom on a verizon UNLOCKED s5

Hi everyone!
So during my trip in the US, I decided to buy a brand new Galaxy S5. I was going to use it outside US so I wanted an unlocked version (since they don't sell international versions in us)
So I got a verizon version of the S5.
Model: SM-G900V
The problem
The problem is that i am getting notifications like. Non Verizon sim inserted. Loads of verizon bloatware. and I cant use my mobile hotspot. Similar to this
I absolutely hate this. I paid $800 for this phone and I'm bombarded with verizon's nonsense and restricted for no reason
My question
The question is, can I install a stock rom on my S5? more specifically can I flash the SM-G900f ?? So that I can get rid of this custom verizon software.
vidhu1911 said:
The question is, can I install a stock rom on my S5? more specifically can I flash the SM-G900f ?? So that I can get rid of this custom verizon software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's complicated and you have some reading to do if you really want to understand your options. But broadly speaking, the answer is yes. Since you were (or are?) planning to use the phone elsewhere, you'd have been happier had you bought a different S5 variant e.g. a TMobile S5 rather than the Verizon one because you would find it a lot less restrictive, give you more choices and options. And even access to a larger palette of frequency bands should you end up roaming somewhere that uses unusual frequency bands.
Note that there is a dedicated Verizon S5 forum here where you'll find most of what you are looking for. What you are thinking of as a stock ROM would be more accurately called a custom ROM. A stock ROM is.. well what you currently have, with all of the included carrier /Verizon applications that are annoying you. You'll probably want to root your phone and flash a custom ROM to get rid of a lot of superfluous Verizon stuff. That may have warranty implications and you should do some reading about warranty and locked bootloaders (something extra nice that Verizon and ATT do to make it harder to flash your phone).
.

New S4 Recommendations

I'm looking to buy a new phone but don't want/need the latest and greatest. I'm happy with the performance of my HTC One Mini, my work HTC One X/XL and my wife's S4 Active, all AT&T phones used in the U.S. My One Mini just suffered a horrible mountain bike crash which busted the screen up pretty bad, then too, my old eyes are tired of that tiny screen. I've also had bad luck with the built in battery and lack of SD card slot. So I was thinking S4 would be ok by me. Asking on the device forum I've gotten 50-11 answers some of which are conflicting answers. I was thinking the i9505 would be the right phone until someone piped up stating it wouldn't work on LTE here. From all I've seen it looks to me like that senior member don't know what they're talking about. Here's my criteria:
1. 4.5" to 5" screen
2. Unlocked/unlockable and can easily accept custom ROMs
3. Prefer to stick with a Kit Kat Rom as it gets along with my Do Not Disturb app better than Lollipop due to the built-in app on Lollipop
4. Removable battery
5. SD Slot
6. LTE service on AT&T/T-Mobile and Caribbean and South American Countries
7. Custom ROM must allow hotspot w/o AT&T controlling my use (I have unlimited internet on my plan and want to make use of it)
Background: I'm almost green having only installed a custom ROM on my work phone an HTC One X/XL from AT&T. Apparently it's one of the harder phones to unlock the bootloader and permanent Root is impossible I think. I 1st installed CM12.1 on the HTC ONE X and ran into conflicts and buggy operations. After a few weeks of testing I backed it up, wiped it and installed CM11 which I truly like. No experience or much understanding of KNOX, ODIN or ODEX. I only read bits and pieces on those while trying to figure out which S4 variant will fit my need. Lastly, were can I get a new phone off contract? Anybody purchased from www.Cell2Get.com? I was about to buy this phone prior to the member claiming it wouldn't work on AT&T.
http://www.cell2get.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-i9505-16gb-unlocked-gsm-android-cell-phone-p-5122.html
IRBent said:
I'm looking to buy a new phone but don't want/need the latest and greatest. I'm happy with the performance of my HTC One Mini, my work HTC One X/XL and my wife's S4 Active, all AT&T phones used in the U.S. My One Mini just suffered a horrible mountain bike crash which busted the screen up pretty bad, then too, my old eyes are tired of that tiny screen. I've also had bad luck with the built in battery and lack of SD card slot. So I was thinking S4 would be ok by me. Asking on the device forum I've gotten 50-11 answers some of which are conflicting answers. I was thinking the i9505 would be the right phone until someone piped up stating it wouldn't work on LTE here. From all I've seen it looks to me like that senior member don't know what they're talking about. Here's my criteria:
1. 4.5" to 5" screen
2. Unlocked/unlockable and can easily accept custom ROMs
3. Prefer to stick with a Kit Kat Rom as it gets along with my Do Not Disturb app better than Lollipop due to the built-in app on Lollipop
4. Removable battery
5. SD Slot
6. LTE service on AT&T/T-Mobile and Caribbean and South American Countries
7. Custom ROM must allow hotspot w/o AT&T controlling my use (I have unlimited internet on my plan and want to make use of it)
Background: I'm almost green having only installed a custom ROM on my work phone an HTC One X/XL from AT&T. Apparently it's one of the harder phones to unlock the bootloader and permanent Root is impossible I think. I 1st installed CM12.1 on the HTC ONE X and ran into conflicts and buggy operations. After a few weeks of testing I backed it up, wiped it and installed CM11 which I truly like. No experience or much understanding of KNOX, ODIN or ODEX. I only read bits and pieces on those while trying to figure out which S4 variant will fit my need. Lastly, were can I get a new phone off contract? Anybody purchased from www.Cell2Get.com? I was about to buy this phone prior to the member claiming it wouldn't work on AT&T.
http://www.cell2get.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-i9505-16gb-unlocked-gsm-android-cell-phone-p-5122.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- AT&T has it's own variant of the S4. It's called the "SGH-I337".
- The I9505 will not work with LTE on the AT&T network. It support different bands. So the member was correct. You can see it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4#Model_variants
- The "SGH-I337" has a locked bootloader and cannot be unlocked. Only some old devices will have an unlocked bootloader because they never upgraded their software. Thus you cannot use custom roms like CM.
Lennyz1988 said:
- AT&T has it's own variant of the S4. It's called the "SGH-I337".
- The I9505 will not work with LTE on the AT&T network. It support different bands. So the member was correct. You can see it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4#Model_variants
- The "SGH-I337" has a locked bootloader and cannot be unlocked. Only some old devices will have an unlocked bootloader because they never upgraded their software. Thus you cannot use custom roms like CM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is the GT-I9505G the preferred phone to have and to mod and if so, can I buy new one without getting a fake?
"Google Play Edition
At the Google I/O 2013 keynote, Samsung and Google revealed that an edition of the U.S. S4 would be released on June 26, 2013 through Google Play, initially featuring stock Android 4.2.2, later updated to 4.4.4, with Samsung provided updates; it has an unlockable bootloader (similar to Nexus devices) and supports LTE on AT&T and T-Mobile's networks. The model number is GT-I9505G."
I'm likely "that member", because I have an I9505 (not I9505G) running on Straight Talk, which is a US MVNO that rents bandwidth from all the major US carriers. The I9505 will not work on LTE here in the US because the LTE frequencies used worldwide (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20) are not the frequencies used by the carriers here in the US. The I9505G is a different story. It has the LTE frequencies needed to work here in the US, and does not have Touchwiz as it uses stock Android.
You can't purchase one new because they've been discontinued for some time now. You may want to check out Swappa (link at the top of the page) and see if they have a used one you can purchase.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
I'm likely "that member", because I have an I9505 (not I9505G) running on Straight Talk, which is a US MVNO that rents bandwidth from all the major US carriers. The I9505 will not work on LTE here in the US because the LTE frequencies used worldwide (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20) are not the frequencies used by the carriers here in the US. The I9505G is a different story. It has the LTE frequencies needed to work here in the US, and does not have Touchwiz as it uses stock Android.
You can't purchase one new because they've been discontinued for some time now. You may want to check out Swappa (link at the top of the page) and see if they have a used one you can purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really good and interesting reply. Being new to this stuff and having not kept up with cellphone technology, some of the things you guys just know, I'm having to try to understand. At first I assumed all 9505's were the same, but apparently I was wrong there. Then I also thought that since most cellphone review sites showed a plethora of Freq. and bands, with at least on or two being those that AT&T and most other North American GSM carriers use, I assume that meant I could get that model of phone. little did I know that those two lines of freqs and bands were for different versions of that same model, one for here and being a carrier locked phone and the other line being and international phone without the proper band for use here. So now after learning that difference it appears to me that there may be now way possible to purchase a new S4 and turn it into a custom ROM phone. So if I understand you and the carrier stuff correctly, you're using a plain 9505 and piggybacking off AT&T by way of StraightTalk like so many of us do. However since your phone is an international version you don't have LTE, is that right? One last thing I've yet to read or learn about but saw when I was putting CM11 and 12.1 on my HTC One X/XL (AT&T), I kept seeing stuff about "the radio". The way it read made me think they were NOT talking about an FM radio for music, but the freqs the phone itself uses. I think I recall them flashing "radios" which I assume they meant they were able to change the original freqs/bands that the model came with to one more useful here. Is that something that truly exists and can be done even on an S4 variant? My assumption is that it CANNOT be done or else you'd have done so already on your i9505.
IRBent said:
So if I understand you and the carrier stuff correctly, you're using a plain 9505 and piggybacking off AT&T by way of StraightTalk like so many of us do. However since your phone is an international version you don't have LTE, is that right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct.
IRBent said:
My assumption is that it CANNOT be done or else you'd have done so already on your i9505.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again correct. With Samsung, their firmware loading software, Odin, actually checks and makes sure the parts of the firmware match the model of the S4 connected to the PC. If they don't match, Odin will instantly fail. The only way to try and enable LTE on the I9505 is to delve into the low-level firmware for the LTE chip and attempt to rewrite it so it can see the added frequencies. However, I don't recommend it. Not only is it a very intricate process compared to something like rooting, it's also quite possible that you could render the LTE chip non-functional. I tried it, and nearly lost the ability to use my phone at all due to having my phone's SIM lock restored.
If you do decide to get an S4, an I9505G is likely your best bet. Not only does it have the AT&T frequencies, it's also got an unlocked bootloader (unlike the AT&T model) and is also carrier unlocked right out of the box. That last means you can use it on T-Mobile and carriers which use GSM SIM cards. Other choices would be the T-Mobile S4 (SGH-M919) or the North American S4 (SGH-I337M). All these phones include the AT&T frequencies and also have an unlocked bootloader so customization is easier.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
If you do decide to get an S4, an I9505G is likely your best bet. Not only does it have the AT&T frequencies, it's also got an unlocked bootloader (unlike the AT&T model) and is also carrier unlocked right out of the box. That last means you can use it on T-Mobile and carriers which use GSM SIM cards. Other choices would be the T-Mobile S4 (SGH-M919) or the North American S4 (SGH-I337M). All these phones include the AT&T frequencies and also have an unlocked bootloader so customization is easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thank you so much sir. This answer is direct and explains exactly what I wanted to know. I only wish it were possible to purchase one of those models new so I could ensure years of use void of glitches due to possible abuse by the previous owner. If I can't find one of the above models I will probably be looking for some other make/model, preferably a new phone not used. Do you know if it's possible to get a new phone that meets the criteria below?
1. Unlocked bootloader or one that can be unlocked
2. Removable battery
3. 4.7" - 5" screen
4. SD card
5. Capable of being used as a hotspot ( I have unlimited internet but need to thwart AT&T from controlling my use)
6. Rootable and custom ROM capable
7. Can be used in U.S, South America and Caribbean (I think most of those places all use the same freqs/bands as U.S.)
That is why on Swappa you search for the ones labeled Mint or New. My device was Mint off Swappa, and the main reasons were that it was always in a case, and had a tempered glass screen protector installed.
For a current flagship-level device, looking at your laundry list, I believe you need to adjust your expectations. Not because of the software, but because of the hardware. LG is perhaps the only manufacturer still offering both removable batteries and MicroSD card slots, but their flagship device has a larger screen than you want. Motorola doesn't have removable batteries. Google provides neither, just like Samsung. Sony is an unknown, but their devices are not common here in the US.
Your best option is to go with a larger screen size and get an LG G4. If you absolutely MUST have the smaller screen, then you want a used Galaxy S4 or S5, so long as they aren't AT&T devices.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
For a current flagship-level device, looking at your laundry list, I believe you need to adjust your expectations. Not because of the software, but because of the hardware. LG is perhaps the only manufacturer still offering both removable batteries and MicroSD card slots, but their flagship device has a larger screen than you want. Motorola doesn't have removable batteries. Google provides neither, just like Samsung. Sony is an unknown, but their devices are not common here in the US.
Your best option is to go with a larger screen size and get an LG G4. If you absolutely MUST have the smaller screen, then you want a used Galaxy S4 or S5, so long as they aren't AT&T devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I should have made it clear too that flagships, latest and greatest wasn't necessary. I'm happy with the speeds my older HTC ONE X and HTC ONE Mini supply. But closing in on 50 years old, my eyes and the Mini's screen don't get along so well anymore.
If you have bad eyesight, a bigger screen can be a godsend.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
If you have bad eyesight, a bigger screen can be a godsend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I need a bigger screen but a smaller phone because my hands can't reach around my HTC ONE Mini. Sometimes it sucks being 5'4". LOL
IRBent said:
Exactly. I need a bigger screen but a smaller phone because my hands can't reach around my HTC ONE Mini. Sometimes it sucks being 5'4". LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not recommend someone buying the S4 anymore. It was and still is a great phone, but newer models are just way better. The battery life is to short with the standard battery.
Based on your preferences I would recommend one of the following:
- LG Nexus 5
- Oneplus one
- Motorola X Play
But then again, maybe they are to big for you. The LG is the smallest but doesn't have a sd slot.
Lennyz1988 said:
Based on your preferences I would recommend one of the following:
- LG Nexus 5
- Oneplus one
- Motorola X Play
But then again, maybe they are to big for you. The LG is the smallest but doesn't have a sd slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing discovery by me just now. Yes, I've seen folks here talk about the brand OnePlus but I didn't know who or what OnePlus was until just now. I used to keep up with all things electronics related, reading review sites and forums like this. 10 years ago or so a DVD manufacturer named OPPO was the talk. Excellent brand but unheard of. I just learned that OnePlus is a company started by an OPPO founder. I'm so out of the loop.

Recommendations please. H990DS or US996?

Hi All,
As the title states, I'm looking for your learned opinion on which model you think I should get.
I'm still using with my Galaxy Nexus running Cyanogenmod, but it's getting a little long in the tooth.
I'm in Canada, but go to the US a lot where I've got a T-Mobile sim on the $3/day plan. I will probably be going overseas quite a bit in the not too distant future. It is a bit annoying to have to pull the phone out of the case, take off the back cover (which has started to break from the numerous on/off cycles) and swap the cards. Hence the reason I'm looking at a dual sim version. The biggest thing holding me back is the lack of root on it. There may be a chance that the H990DS might get root in the future, as the dual sim V10 got it, at least on Lollipop, but no unlocked bootloader and I will go on the assumption that root won't happen either. However, the US996 is not B&O tuned like the overseas models and I will still have to pop the back off and on everytime i want to change sims.
So, what are your thoughts?

Want to move from Sprint to T-Mobile... too much info, need short answer

I'm kind of newb at this S7 stuff, I'm more of an HTC guy. Yesterday, I bought an unlocked G930P (sprint) and am not sure, but think I learned that normally, people don't change out the ROMs to use a different carrier, they simply unlock the phone and live with the old carrier's bloatware. I started reading up, and first learned that TWRP apparently isn't available on a Snapdragon processor, so the G930A, G930P, etc, aren't candidates for TWRP. At first, I was kind of dismayed. Then, I found the G930U ROM and on a whim, I tried punting the G930U ROM to the G930P. I bought the phone off craigslist, and he said he didn't know where HE got it from, but it was unlocked. Anyhow, the phone took the rom without a hitch and now it looks like a U model...
My goal: Go with T-Mobile. Use Wi-Fi calling. Eventually have Nougat. Remove bloatware, but possibly keep some nice T-Mobile add-ons, if any, because I don't have their service yet (I hated ATT's crapload of stuff). Note this isn't specifically a "TMobile" question, substitute your carrier of choice for the questions...
Get to the damned question, you say? Ok, here goes:
1. I'm not going to ask any "do these bands work" when moving from a P model to T mobile. You guys seem to fight about that stuff until you can't type any longer. I'm going to assume what whatever bands work, that's what I get. Unless I get a T-Mobile specific phone.
2. But I will ask this: do the over the air bands it uses depend on the baseband ROM that is on the device? This is something I can't figure out.
3. I heard T-Mobile uses an updated boot kernel (3.0?) and ATT & others use an older boot kernel, and that if I move to T-Mobile boot kernel, I can't go back to any of the older ones. This process I seriously don't understand. Can I run a T-Mobile OS (or any OS) while using an older boot kernel ROM? I would think NO, right?
4. I don't like all of Carrier X's bloatware. I'd rather use a stripped down, cleaner ROM. I guess there are apps for that, but is it cleaner to do it with a stripped down generic ROM that I see floating around?
6. Speaking of ROM's - I saw a lot of Xetheros or whatever ROM's floating around, but it seems like there aren't any for the snapdragon-based ones. Is this true? The posts on this site don't really talk much about the snapdragon-based phones and why there aren't any ROMs for them, and why it won't work, and what, if anything, is being done to get around this. I guess the G930U is Samsung's answer to that, and allows fooling around with roms, but will the other phones ever be actually rom-able, or should I ditch this G930P and actually buy a G930U? Now that my phone THINKS it's a G930U, did that get me around some weird barrier and NOW I can update other funky roms intended for a G930U?
I'm considering selling the G7 I just got and going from a G930F (now that I'm a bit wiser). Any common sense why not to do that? I already HAVE an ATT G7 (not the sprint one I just bought), but it has a "bad signal". It gets only about 1 bar indoors, on a good day. I took it to a repair facility and they said, "nothing wrong with the antenna, it's your mainboard, don't bother just buy a new phone". Anybody have any advice on that?
thanks
BroncoBilli said:
I'm kind of newb at this S7 stuff, I'm more of an HTC guy. Yesterday, I bought an unlocked G930P (sprint) and am not sure, but think I learned that normally, people don't change out the ROMs to use a different carrier, they simply unlock the phone and live with the old carrier's bloatware. I started reading up, and first learned that TWRP apparently isn't available on a Snapdragon processor, so the G930A, G930P, etc, aren't candidates for TWRP. At first, I was kind of dismayed. Then, I found the G930U ROM and on a whim, I tried punting the G930U ROM to the G930P. I bought the phone off craigslist, and he said he didn't know where HE got it from, but it was unlocked. Anyhow, the phone took the rom without a hitch and now it looks like a U model...
My goal: Go with T-Mobile. Use Wi-Fi calling. Eventually have Nougat. Remove bloatware, but possibly keep some nice T-Mobile add-ons, if any, because I don't have their service yet (I hated ATT's crapload of stuff). Note this isn't specifically a "TMobile" question, substitute your carrier of choice for the questions...
Get to the damned question, you say? Ok, here goes:
1. I'm not going to ask any "do these bands work" when moving from a P model to T mobile. You guys seem to fight about that stuff until you can't type any longer. I'm going to assume what whatever bands work, that's what I get. Unless I get a T-Mobile specific phone.
2. But I will ask this: do the over the air bands it uses depend on the baseband ROM that is on the device? This is something I can't figure out.
3. I heard T-Mobile uses an updated boot kernel (3.0?) and ATT & others use an older boot kernel, and that if I move to T-Mobile boot kernel, I can't go back to any of the older ones. This process I seriously don't understand. Can I run a T-Mobile OS (or any OS) while using an older boot kernel ROM? I would think NO, right?
4. I don't like all of Carrier X's bloatware. I'd rather use a stripped down, cleaner ROM. I guess there are apps for that, but is it cleaner to do it with a stripped down generic ROM that I see floating around?
6. Speaking of ROM's - I saw a lot of Xetheros or whatever ROM's floating around, but it seems like there aren't any for the snapdragon-based ones. Is this true? The posts on this site don't really talk much about the snapdragon-based phones and why there aren't any ROMs for them, and why it won't work, and what, if anything, is being done to get around this. I guess the G930U is Samsung's answer to that, and allows fooling around with roms, but will the other phones ever be actually rom-able, or should I ditch this G930P and actually buy a G930U? Now that my phone THINKS it's a G930U, did that get me around some weird barrier and NOW I can update other funky roms intended for a G930U?
I'm considering selling the G7 I just got and going from a G930F (now that I'm a bit wiser). Any common sense why not to do that? I already HAVE an ATT G7 (not the sprint one I just bought), but it has a "bad signal". It gets only about 1 bar indoors, on a good day. I took it to a repair facility and they said, "nothing wrong with the antenna, it's your mainboard, don't bother just buy a new phone". Anybody have any advice on that?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All U.S. models are built the exact same and will all accept each others firmware if done right , so any unlocked s7 you put the U firmware will essentially be a g930u other than the number stamped on the back , I dont believe the U firmware supports wifi calling or VOLTE , There is a t-mobile nougat firmware floating around if you want to try that , your att g7 if it has a hardware issue should be under warranty but if your using it with a different carrier I would flash the appropriate firmware to it and see if that fixes you signal issue and if not put it back to stock and call Samsung , as far as switching from the international model , Well i bought a international edge as soon as they release and it took a crap on me within 4 months and I was unable to warranty it , that was my only issue with using a international model but also i dont think you can get wifi calling on those either . hope that helps
edit* and yes the bands are dictated by the rom , U firmware opens all of them otherwise carrier roms unlock specific , and T-mobile nougat dowgrade back to MM will be dictated by the baseband , I know the Sprint nougat can be downgraded but not T-mobile for sure
goonygugle said:
All U.S. models are built the exact same and will all accept each others firmware if done right , so any unlocked s7 you put the U firmware will essentially be a g930u other than the number stamped on the back , I dont believe the U firmware supports wifi calling or VOLTE , There is a t-mobile nougat firmware floating around if you want to try that , your att g7 if it has a hardware issue should be under warranty but if your using it with a different carrier I would flash the appropriate firmware to it and see if that fixes you signal issue and if not put it back to stock and call Samsung , as far as switching from the international model , Well i bought a international edge as soon as they release and it took a crap on me within 4 months and I was unable to warranty it , that was my only issue with using a international model but also i dont think you can get wifi calling on those either . hope that helps
edit* and yes the bands are dictated by the rom , U firmware opens all of them otherwise carrier roms unlock specific , and T-mobile nougat dowgrade back to MM will be dictated by the baseband , I know the Sprint nougat can be downgraded but not T-mobile for sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The U firmware does support WiFi calling and VoLTE on T-Mobile.
myphone12345 said:
The U firmware does support WiFi calling and VoLTE on T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess us AT&T users just done get them features =/ , is it enabled or do you have to do something to enable those features ?
goonygugle said:
I guess us AT&T users just done get them features =/ , is it enabled or do you have to do something to enable those features ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe those features are supported on AT&T (probably at AT&T's own request). Perhaps that might change in the Nougat version but I wouldn't bet on it.

Categories

Resources