Database Users

New Firmware .253 on 3UK Branded Handset

Hi Guys,
I was just in the process of setting up drivers and such on my Win 8 Machine for Flashtool to install the UK Unbranded .453 onto my 3 Branded Device and what pops up in the Background... Sony Companion with .253...
Updating right now!
So 3UK Users go and have a peek!
Enjoy!

still no update here.
uk handtec unit on rogers Canada network.

I have an unbranded rom but am on O2 in the UK. No update here. Seems strange that they will update different networks at different times in the same country. Sure there is a method to their madness but frustrating!

Yes..
Couldn't wait any more for unbranded update, so flashed my 3 handset back to 3 ROM and update came in straight away, yippee..
Nice to have stock browser back, but lost "my files" file explorer? can any one post this please, downloaded a few of market but nothing compares to this.
Overall awesome update, very quick and responsive, menus and screens seem allot blacker now as well.

I'm on 3 UK and don't have any update notification either on sony companion or OTA
Edit: Oh maybe because i flashed an unbranded rom. I take it this update isn't 4.2?
Edit 2: Eh, i just manually updated to a non-branded version. Seems way smoother so far and loving the colour adjustments.

any news guys for the UK unbranded

ron3000 said:
any news guys for the UK unbranded
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As everyone everywhere on every network seems to think they're first to announce the update, keep an eye out for a new thread to tell us.

Region Firmware Question

I'm trying to update my SM-P605 Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 LTE to P605XXUBMJ9 and I am so confused by the manual process. I can't do OTA because I rooted and when I go to a ROM download site there are all these regions and carriers mentioned. I'm worried about bricking my device or carrier locking it to a company thousands of miles away. Can you help? Sorry for being so dumb but I've never bought a device outside of a store where they set everything up for you.
Current specs:
Android 4.3
P605XXUBMJ4 Baseband
3.4.0-1927787 [email protected] #1 Kernel
JSS15J.P605ZSUBMJ6 Build number
Enforcing SEPF_SM-P605_4.3_0002 SELinux status
I'm currently in the USA, using T-Mobile, and I was told by Amazon that the device is unlocked.

thatblokematti said:
I'm trying to update my SM-P605 Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 LTE to P605XXUBMJ9 and I am so confused by the manual process. I can't do OTA because I rooted and when I go to a ROM download site there are all these regions and carriers mentioned. I'm worried about bricking my device or carrier locking it to a company thousands of miles away. Can you help? Sorry for being so dumb but I've never bought a device outside of a store where they set everything up for you.
Current specs:
Android 4.3
P605XXUBMJ4 Baseband
3.4.0-1927787 [email protected] #1 Kernel
JSS15J.P605ZSUBMJ6 Build number
Enforcing SEPF_SM-P605_4.3_0002 SELinux status
I'm currently in the USA, using T-Mobile, and I was told by Amazon that the device is unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Being that its a ZS build it looks like its from China.
I would only flash P605ZS***** Builds if you are worried about locking it by mistake.
FYI: The first two digits after the model number are the region
http://www.cpkb.org/wiki/Samsung_firmware_naming_conventions#2._Region_code

scrosler said:
Being that its a ZS build it looks like its from China.
I would only flash P605ZS***** Builds if you are worried about locking it by mistake.
FYI: The first two digits after the model number are the region
http://www.cpkb.org/wiki/Samsung_firmware_naming_conventions#2._Region_code
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you a million times. I feel like such an idiot :S Do you know if there's an upgrade to MJ9 yet in the China region? Do I need to take any extra precautions to ensure it stays carrier unlocked and usable in the United States.

thatblokematti said:
Thank you a million times. I feel like such an idiot :S Do you know if there's an upgrade to MJ9 yet in the China region? Do I need to take any extra precautions to ensure it stays carrier unlocked and usable in the United States.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is the partition that holds the carrier info / locking info is not touched during a flash with Odin. HOWEVER, I never got into that unlocked device thing because I never had a need to.
Someone else may be better suited to the question than I but as long as you flash ZS based firmwares you should be fine as I did not see a carrier listed for that tablet in China so they may all be unlocked.
Actually, I only think the Verizon one is going to be the locked one but I dont know.

scrosler said:
My understanding is the partition that holds the carrier info / locking info is not touched during a flash with Odin. HOWEVER, I never got into that unlocked device thing because I never had a need to.
Someone else may be better suited to the question than I but as long as you flash ZS based firmwares you should be fine as I did not see a carrier listed for that tablet in China so they may all be unlocked.
Actually, I only think the Verizon one is going to be the locked one but I dont know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are very helpful in my quest to not ruin an expensive tablet. Do you know if there's an upgrade compatible with ZS for the MJ9 update? I honestly don't mind waiting if there's a chance I'll turn it into a paper weight. Not even a Kit Kat build just some bug fixes from what I understand.
Again, thanks for your help.

I just don't understand all the carrier builds of MJ9. Bloody heck some of em even have custom names which would be a good sign it's specific to region/carrier. So confused by this all

So maybe unroot your device and then you will have an Ota Update... Because if you'll use Odin for flash other firmware you won't be rooted yet, i think.

chabasse said:
So maybe unroot your device and then you will have an Ota Update... Because if you'll use Odin for flash other firmware you won't be rooted yet, i think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aren't OTA updates issued by providers? T-Mobile doesn't support this device so there's not going to be an MJ9 update. Ever. It's using an LTE frequency not even found in the States. I just bought it online because I didn't want to wait for somebody here to give me support. I'm simply trying to do a manual update without my device being a paperweight or waking up to expect a connection from cellular towers in Asia.

[Q] G901F - future non-branded ROMS via OTA possible?

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

Advice on flashing to official (but non-telco) ROM

About to get a phone on contract with a major telco in Australia...
In theory, it's fine* to flash to another country/regional ROM that isn't telco_branded, so long as it's an official Samsung ROM, right?
Hoping to flash to an official Sammy ROM for a country/region that usually gets major Android updates far quicker than Australia or Australian telcos.
Thank-you.
*by "fine", I mean it won't trip Knox

Anyone? TY.

jalyst said:
Anyone? TY.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you phone is not carrier branded(N910F or N910C) you are fine with flashing a ROM from Samsung...it won't trip KNOX.
Also, wrong section...

Ashatar said:
If you phone is not carrier branded(N910F or N910C) you are fine with flashing a ROM from Samsung...it won't trip KNOX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, but mine will be telco_branded (buying on contract), are you claiming it's absolutely not possible then?
Even if I'm flashing from an official Sammy ROM to another official Sammy ROM, how so?

jalyst said:
Wait, but mine will be telco_branded (buying on contract), are you claiming it's absolutely not possible then?
Even if I'm flashing from an official Sammy ROM to another official Sammy ROM, how so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on Telstra 4.4.4 then flashed to the Australian 5.0 on Sammy and knox tripped. There isn't Telstra 5.0 yet so I used the Australian one. I'm on N915G but the phone is a company phone so I'm not overly stressed on tripping knox. I think flashing a Telstra 5.0 on Sammy when available or OTA update you might be OK. Anyway went back to 4.4.4 I was missing Xposed to much among other things. Xposed for lollipop didn't play nice for me.
Sent from one of my Notes.

Damn it. Someone told me that; so long as you're flashing to an official Sammy ROM, it shouldn't trip.
What if I flashed to country/region other than Australia, & what if I went for a 4.x ROM instead of 5.x?
I don't care about root, xposed, & all that just yet, happy to be on a 4.x ROM...
Want to be on a stock one though not branded, & ideally one for a region/country that gets updates sooner & more regularly/reliably.

jalyst said:
Damn it. Someone told me that; so long as you're flashing to an official Sammy ROM, it shouldn't trip.
What if I flashed to country/region other than Australia, & what if I went for a 4.x ROM instead of 5.x?
I don't care about root, xposed, & all that just yet, happy to be on a 4.x ROM...
Want to be on a stock one though not branded, & ideally one for a region/country that gets updates sooner & more regularly/reliably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't speak to that can only speak to my experience sorry. But l suspect anything outside Telstra will trip knox. They have really locked these suckers down. I think some Devs have gotten around it but not for my devise N915G......yet.
Sent from one of my Notes.

Can anyone else help/advise on this? Thank-you.

jalyst said:
Can anyone else help/advise on this? Thank-you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure how the other poster had that happen (on their Note Edge I assume?) but anyway, you can't flash another region's Note 4 firmware like the good old days.
Samsung, for whatever reason, has made 20i-sh variants of the Note 4 and Australia has the N910G model. This G model is also used by India, Sri Lanka and Singapore (but Singapore has a different boot setup or kernel for some reason).
Your best bet is to flash XSA firmware which is Australian unbranded firmware, this will get updates quickest and it will remove any carrier bloat. Flashing this in Odin will not trip Knox, I've flashed it several times and even loaded the Indian firmware once and there were no issues but I've gone back o XSA. As soon as unbranded units start receiving the Lollipop OTA (reckon maybe another 6 monts? Sigh) you'll get it too instead of waiting for Telstra to delay it another 2-3 months.
Here's the link to it on Sammobile: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/39199/N910GDTU1ANK3_N910GXSA1ANK3_XSA/

Thanks mate,
So you reckon none of the countries in our pool*, will get it substantially -or even mildly- sooner than Oz?
If yes, what do you base that on?
Thanks again!
*You sure it's just India/SL/Sg?

jalyst said:
Thanks mate,
So you reckon none of the countries in our pool*, will get it substantially -or even mildly- sooner than Oz?
If yes, what do you base that on?
Thanks again!
*You sure it's just India/SL/Sg?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doubt it! There's only been one real update in nearly 6 months and that was just after release date...i think India got it slightly earlier? Can't really recall! If you check sammobile.com and look at firmware for N910G you can see that these are the only countries. Any updates after November 2014 are carrier specific ones, but nothing for the unbranded models so it's hard to work out a trend of which country gets the updates earliest.
Don't even bother with Singapore because of the difference in their hardware, it's either India or Australia you have to pick from. And if you flash the Indian firmware you'll get charged for a stupid international Sms message to India when you first boot that it doesn't warn you about.

I asked the same question over at Sammobile and indications are that it won't trip Knox by flashing the Indian variant on an Australian phone. I haven't tried it myself though. But quite close to taking the plunge

tryfound said:
Samsung, for whatever reason, has made 20i-sh variants of the Note 4 and Australia has the N910G model. This G model is also used by India, Sri Lanka and Singapore (but Singapore has a different boot setup or kernel for some reason). Your best bet is to flash XSA firmware which is Australian unbranded firmware, this will get updates quickest and it will remove any carrier bloat. Flashing this in Odin will not trip Knox, I've flashed it several times and even loaded the Indian firmware once and there were no issues but I've gone back o XSA. As soon as unbranded units start receiving the Lollipop OTA (reckon maybe another 6 monts? Sigh) you'll get it too instead of waiting for Telstra to delay it another 2-3 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it looks like the LP OTA came out much sooner that you were lamenting!?!
Just in time for me, as I only got my Note4 last Wednesday evening
Still debating though, whether or not to go for one of the other variants listed here:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N910G/
Love to know if any of them have a track-record of getting it several wks (or more) sooner than Oz.*
Finally....
What do I need to proceed, just Odin & then away we go? Is it available for OSX , or is it Windows only?
I have access to a Windows env, so no "biggy" either way...
*I don't care about a 1 off international SMS charge, I'll also steer clear of Singapore ofc

I've since determined that yes, Odin is all I need, I think, & it's def. Windows-only, I think.
Main thing holding me up now, is this...
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2382726&p=40#r786
Several more posts back n forth after that one.
After all that's done, I'll be good to go with installing Odin & Kies in my Win10 VM, & then proceeding with the flashing.
But only after I've decided that I def. want to go for the Aussie ROM, or one of the others (excluding Singapore).

jalyst said:
So it looks like the LP OTA came out much sooner that you were lamenting!?!
Just in time for me, as I only got my Note4 last Wednesday evening
Still debating though, whether or not to go for one of the other variants listed here:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N910G/
Love to know if any of them have a track-record of getting it several wks (or more) sooner than Oz.*
Finally....
What do I need to proceed, just Odin & then away we go? Is it available for OSX , or is it Windows only?
I have access to a Windows env, so no "biggy" either way...
*I don't care about a 1 off international SMS charge, I'll also steer clear of Singapore ofc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was still about a month earlier! But not as bad as I was predicting You'll need Windows, I've never had luck on my macbook using variants of Odin designed for Mac, it's just too much hassle IMO.
You don't have many variants to pick from, India got the only two main updates that have been released for the 910G model 2 out of 2 times quicker than AU or Singapore so if you want the quickest updates and also want your gallery pics to auto-rotate along with being able to share to an email client from an image in the gallery then you'll be happy with the Indian ROM.
Just need to download the firmware, run Odin, turn off phone then hold Vol Down + Power until it loads 'Download Mode'. Press Vol Up to continue, plug your phone into PC, Odin will detect the phone (which you can tell if you see a port number appear) then click on the 'AP' button and locate the unzipped firmware file and flash. Takes a few minutes.

What about Sri-lanka, or that "Unknown" variant?
Hmm that last paragraph, little too vague for my liking, you aware for any detailed step-by-step tutes?
Thank-you!
Other notes:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/whim/?action=read&m=4421880

jalyst said:
What about Sri-lanka, or that "Unknown" variant?
Hmm that last paragraph, little too vague for my liking, you aware for any detailed step-by-step tutes?
Thank-you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't bother with them! Actually, the steps are better explained on Sammobile under the download link. So this would be your preferred firmware along with better instructions.
They're not really detailed because it's a lot easier than it sounds, but if you're worried might be better to watch a youtube video first to get a visual i.e, https://youtu.be/Ulz-1UYzHBA
That vid shows it being done for the S4 but Odin is for most samsung phones so the steps are the same.

Lol mate I live in australia and you can flash any rom from any country as long as its samsung offical. I have got samsungs from all carriers and I flash tje australian open to all carriers immediately. You will be fine as long as its OFFICAL SAMSUNG FIRMWARE
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app

shotgun1976 said:
Lol mate I live in australia and you can flash any rom from any country as long as its samsung offical. I have got samsungs from all carriers and I flash tje australian open to all carriers immediately. You will be fine as long as its OFFICAL SAMSUNG FIRMWARE
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think tryfound has a pretty good idea of what he's talking about, no need to "LOL".
He's from Oz too, a regular at WP (Whirlpool) no less...
Read all the posts again. You've missed one of the main points being made;
Hint: it's nothing to do with not being able to flash some CV's that are official Samsung fw.

questions about my Galaxy S8 U.S unlocked version

Hello guys,
I bought my Galaxy S8 last year from BestBuy New York, and I need your help to figure out my issues:
- Is there a different between SM-G950U and SM-G950U1? My phone is SM-G950U1.
- I currently live in UK and till now I haven't received the last software update -Android Pie- that I'm supposed to get in late April! and have't received any security patches updates either!!
- Bixby voice is not working at all, it stopped working 4 months ago and I don't know why! I talked to Samsung US and Samsung UK and they have no clue, we tried many different way to fix it but we had no luck. I factory reset my device twice without any success either.
So please you're my last hope here to solve my issues. I'm ready to answer any questions that you might have in mind regarding my phone.
Thanks,
Yusuf.

Yusuf Alghamdi said:
Hello guys,
I bought my Galaxy S8 last year from BestBuy New York, and I need your help to figure out my issues:
- Is there a different between SM-G950U and SM-G950U1? My phone is SM-G950U1.
- I currently live in UK and till now I haven't received the last software update -Android Pie- that I'm supposed to get in late April! and have't received any security patches updates either!!
- Bixby voice is not working at all, it stopped working 4 months ago and I don't know why! I talked to Samsung US and Samsung UK and they have no clue, we tried many different way to fix it but we had no luck. I factory reset my device twice without any success either.
So please you're my last hope here to solve my issues. I'm ready to answer any questions that you might have in mind regarding my phone.
Thanks,
Yusuf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash either firmware but you can get there latest for your model on sammobile or updato and flash with Odin

TheMadScientist said:
You can flash either firmware but you can get there latest for your model on sammobile or updato and flash with Odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was gonna do it but it's too risky, besides I wanna know why I don't get updates?

Yusuf Alghamdi said:
I was gonna do it but it's too risky, besides I wanna know why I don't get updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's almost no chance you're going to find out why you're not getting updates. If your phone isn't updating automatically you can either download the entire latest firmware and flash it with Odin or go to firmware.science and download the individual OTA files then flash them in recovery manually one by one.

Yusuf Alghamdi said:
I was gonna do it but it's too risky, besides I wanna know why I don't get updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than likely you don't have that original carrier sim in it. My Verizon phone won't get updated on my daughter's TracFone sim. But when i pop in the Verizon sim it updates

TheMadScientist said:
More than likely you don't have that original carrier sim in it. My Verizon phone won't get updated on my daughter's TracFone sim. But when i pop in the Verizon sim it updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that if I come back to U.S and insert any SIM from any major mobile company it'll be updated immediately, however, when I was in Saudi Arabia - my home country - lat year, it updated to Oreo back then, so why I got the update while I'm in Saudi and not in UK?

Yusuf Alghamdi said:
I know that if I come back to U.S and insert any SIM from any major mobile company it'll be updated immediately, however, when I was in Saudi Arabia - my home country - lat year, it updated to Oreo back then, so why I got the update while I'm in Saudi and not in UK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That i cant explain.