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I've read a couple threads on this already but couldn't get concise answers to the questions I have specifically through it, so I'll list them to follow if anybody could help out. I'm new to all this business but relatively tech savvy so quick answers or references are just fine by me! Thanks guys!
1) Bought my HD2 in Singapore, as I understand the radio doesn't work on US 3G due to a difference in bands (which I didn't know when I bought it) - is it possible to flash ..for instance.. the Telstra Radio ROM to the phone and open up the capability? As I understand it theirs works on the US 3G network.
2) If I can't flash 3G radios for the US onto my phone, are their any good ways to increase data performance outside of that? Right now it's pretty awful - can't even search youtube let alone watch anything.
3) Custom ROMS.. I've seen quite a few of them, trying to open up the best performance phone and data wise for my cell, any recommendations? I understand it may be biased based on location/use/etc. But a general consensus on which work best will give me a good place to start. Don't need a ton of fancy options, just performance boosting with the standard HTC Sense works for me.
Thanks for the help everyone, sorry if I'm reposting but I've delved through several posts already and couldn't find precisely what I'm asking for answered in a direct manner.
SupaShaD said:
I've read a couple threads on this already but couldn't get concise answers to the questions I have specifically through it, so I'll list them to follow if anybody could help out. I'm new to all this business but relatively tech savvy so quick answers or references are just fine by me! Thanks guys!
1) Bought my HD2 in Singapore, as I understand the radio doesn't work on US 3G due to a difference in bands (which I didn't know when I bought it) - is it possible to flash ..for instance.. the Telstra Radio ROM to the phone and open up the capability? As I understand it theirs works on the US 3G network.
2) If I can't flash 3G radios for the US onto my phone, are their any good ways to increase data performance outside of that? Right now it's pretty awful - can't even search youtube let alone watch anything.
3) Custom ROMS.. I've seen quite a few of them, trying to open up the best performance phone and data wise for my cell, any recommendations? I understand it may be biased based on location/use/etc. But a general consensus on which work best will give me a good place to start. Don't need a ton of fancy options, just performance boosting with the standard HTC Sense works for me.
Thanks for the help everyone, sorry if I'm reposting but I've delved through several posts already and couldn't find precisely what I'm asking for answered in a direct manner.
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1) No
2) If you have AT&T try setting up the proxy server for the connection
3) Try before you buy. Hey wait their free, you can of course donate to the cook, in most cases.
Awesome, thanks for the quick answers, I appreciate it!
Aren't the HD2 Quad band phones?
US uses 1900 GSM right? I'm not from the US so i don't know....
BUt if it is Quad band, shouldn't it work in the US as well? Unless 3G is a different thing altogether. As far as I know, Singapore Phones are all unlocked and it's against the law to have it locked to any telco to begin with
peaceboy said:
Aren't the HD2 Quad band phones?
US uses 1900 GSM right? I'm not from the US so i don't know....
BUt if it is Quad band, shouldn't it work in the US as well? Unless 3G is a different thing altogether. As far as I know, Singapore Phones are all unlocked and it's against the law to have it locked to any telco to begin with
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3G is a different thing all together, he will get EDGE but no 3G, ATT uses 850/1900 UMTS I believe, while T-Mobile uses 1700/2100
It's been like 10+ months since the original S5 was released. Now I am talking about the SM-G900F. Cause there are so many of them, and I m a bit lost as far some of the specs are concerned. Could someone clarify things here a bit? I am a bit surprised this hasn't been discussed already...
I have done some research, and I found the following S5 "variants". I briefly mention the differences from the "base" model, namely "SM-G900F":
Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A SM-G901F (Europe) aka "S5 Plus"
This is one's got 805 SD, Krait 450, Adreno 420 and LTE Cat6
...vs the 801 / 400 / 330 and LTE Cat4 of the base model
Samsung Galaxy S5 Duos SM-G900FD
Same hardware as the based model but with Dual SIM support
My question here is whether the DUOS supports all the video rec modes found in the base model?
e.g. [email protected]?
Also, is the SAR measure based on both SIMS working simultaneously?
Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A G906S
This is shares the same hardware with the G901F (S5 Plus) but it has 3GB of RAM and that incredible 577 ppi from the same size 5.1in screen...right? Supposively exclusive for Korea only, but people say it works fine across Europe at all bands 2G, 3G, LTE...
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active SM-G870F
This one lacks the fingerprint sensor of the base model (which I honestly don't care about) and also hosts the same 16MP camera, but at a slightly less resolution i.e. 3456 x 4608 vs 5312 x 2988
There is an octa-core version of the S5, which I didn't include, as I am not interested in it, as it doesn't support LTE (???!!!)
Now, assuming all these are correct, I m still confused as to which should I chose. The S5 Plus (G901F) is good, but overshadowed by the G906S which has more RAM and a better screen.
I would like to go for the DUOS, but does it have the same camera features of the base model? Is it really as good as the base model in all other areas? Cause its exactly same size/weight, so what gives?
The S5 Active G870F was just released in Europe and it's still too expensive. Otherwise, is the camera as good as the one in the base model?
Or should I just toss everything else and go for the base model G900F, which will also save me some $$ as it's cheaper from the rest?
have a look at the development page see if there is any custom roms and support for each phone.
If you not bothered by that i would like the 3gig ram one please
Thanx juDGEY2k10 (love your avatar btw....)
I m not interested in a custom ROM or rooting the phone at the moment. I just try to make up my mind spec-wise. I too have a slight pref towards the G906S - seems like the best all-rounder
Can I ask - if you have Silent mode ON, does that still mute the camera sounds? (at least in 4.1.2 it did)
juDGEY2k10 said:
have a look at the development page see if there is any custom roms and support for each phone.
If you not bothered by that i would like the 3gig ram one please
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Just tested and yes it dose mate no sound at all
jstoner said:
Thanx juDGEY2k10 (love your avatar btw....)
I m not interested in a custom ROM or rooting the phone at the moment. I just try to make up my mind spec-wise. I too have a slight pref towards the G906S - seems like the best all-rounder
Can I ask - if you have Silent mode ON, does that still mute the camera sounds? (at least in 4.1.2 it did)
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Cheers mate!
Just to add up to my previous comment regarding the G906S...well it's out of my consideration. It turns out that the uprated CPU/chipset/GPU combo don't do much good to compesate for its remarkable screen, which sucks away it's juice, making it slower even compared to the original S5. OK, I d like to have that screen, but not at that cost - don't you think too?
I d rather have the 'Plus' version (G901F), which lacks the screen and that 1GB of RAM, but still has the same uprated hardware...
Is it worth the extra money ? Not looked myself but maybe the international one would be better overall if you run into any problems when and if u do want to custom it a bit.
Up to u my mate im sure other users will post their opinion
jstoner said:
Cheers mate!
Just to add up to my previous comment regarding the G906S...well it's out of my consideration. It turns out that the uprated CPU/chipset/GPU combo don't do much good to compesate for its remarkable screen, which sucks away it's juice, making it slower even compared to the original S5. OK, I d like to have that screen, but not at that cost - don't you think too?
I d rather have the 'Plus' version (G901F), which lacks the screen and that 1GB of RAM, but still has the same uprated hardware...
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Was wondering...some of those phones that come as part of a network upgrade (e.g. from T-Mobile in Germany), carry network branding in the software. Like showing "T-Mobile" at phone start up. If there any way around through this? I m not talking a custom ROM, but if it's possible to get the Samsung factory/retail ROM, so that it won't have any branding or logos. Is that possible?
juDGEY2k10 said:
Is it worth the extra money ? Not looked myself but maybe the international one would be better overall if you run into any problems when and if u do want to custom it a bit.
Up to u my mate im sure other users will post their opinion
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Click to collapse
jstoner said:
Was wondering...some of those phones that come as part of a network upgrade (e.g. from T-Mobile in Germany), carry network branding in the software. Like showing "T-Mobile" at phone start up. If there any way around through this? I m not talking a custom ROM, but if it's possible to get the Samsung factory/retail ROM, so that it won't have any branding or logos. Is that possible?
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Regarding the brading issue, I found the following:
1. Download debranded firmware for your phone.
2. Open ODIN, boot your phone into Download mode.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and select the firmware in ODIN on PDA section.
4. Click Start and wait for the firmware to install.
5. Boot your phone into Recovery mode and wipe data and factory reset.
6. Reboot your phone.
OK - branding gone for now. But what happens when a new official firmware is released? Will I be able to flash directly from Samsung? Or would I have to use ODIN again? If not, how does Samsung know that this phone is tied to a specific provider? (IMEI?)
Get a stock rom flash it with odin as long as u dont root it or use a custom recovery u should be able to do OTA updates via samsung. Dont think they track the phone in that way its just down to the phone, if its been customised at all (root bla bla not supported by samsung) But you will not be on their list of people who have messed with their phones or anything like that.
jstoner said:
Regarding the brading issue, I found the following:
1. Download debranded firmware for your phone.
2. Open ODIN, boot your phone into Download mode.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and select the firmware in ODIN on PDA section.
4. Click Start and wait for the firmware to install.
5. Boot your phone into Recovery mode and wipe data and factory reset.
6. Reboot your phone.
OK - branding gone for now. But what happens when a new official firmware is released? Will I be able to flash directly from Samsung? Or would I have to use ODIN again? If not, how does Samsung know that this phone is tied to a specific provider? (IMEI?)
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Click to collapse
Yup. I m only looking for "stock" at the moment, so having OTA update capability is vital for me.
Can anyone confirm this? Someone who tried it on an S5 variant I mean...
juDGEY2k10 said:
Get a stock rom flash it with odin as long as u dont root it or use a custom recovery u should be able to do OTA updates via samsung. Dont think they track the phone in that way its just down to the phone, if its been customised at all (root bla bla not supported by samsung) But you will not be on their list of people who have messed with their phones or anything like that.
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tl;dr: ^ See topic text. ( I guess I would not have LTE here with that, but that's not a big issue at all. Coverage is horrible in Hungary anyway. )
A few shops* sell the 910C here as well, not just the F version.
Now I know that the Exynos version is faster, more power efficient.
And I guess all official updates will also reach this variant faster or pretty much with the same speed.
On the other hand, we have the Snapdragon, which got much more custom roms and section on XDA.
(Honestly it feels so weird that the 1.9ghz A57 can beat the S805 clocked at 2.7ghz in single-thread....)
Anyway. Personally, I used the S3, S4, Note 2, S4 Mini, Motorola phones... and every time I installed Cyanogenmod or other CM/AOSP-variant roms, it was riddled with bugs.
Don't get me wrong, the Note 2 have the DN4 Rom which is basically a Note 4 rom ported, and it's great. It's stable, it's got a few quirks, but it works.
But from that, it doesn't seem to be a good deal to trade speed, and power just for more roms. (Let alone Knox which I don't want to trip.)
Sooo... I would be pretty fine with the Exynos version.
But can I use it here?
* = all gsm shops are shady in the country, that's why I'm super-cautious.
Use Exynos in Hungary
If you mean just using it as a normal phone I don't see why not.
The type of processor will have no influence on the normal use of the phone. (as in calling, texting internet and email and such)
If you would want to root it and start working with custom ROMs it might not e the best idea. Most open source development is on the Snapdragon variant.
The AOSP ROMs have come a long way over the last couple of years. I experience hardly any bugs with the bigger devellopment teams.
All the best, Willem
Thank you! Well, I know the difference is tiny, but you cannot install roms and stuff without tripping KNOX anyway. It will be a business phone so I would like to keep my warranty.
Not sure if allowed, but please, excuse my bump.
I would like to order the phone as soon as possible.
So far I'm convinced that the Exynos will be fine for me.
But the main question remains. Can I use it in this country?
I tried to look up the chipset, the phone, everything - but there is just no information on what frequencies does it support / etc.
So I had a wild idea. Screenshot the box at unboxing on Youtube, so I can check.
Then I used this:
http://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html
That says it should work. What do you guys think?
I want to pre-order the new S7 Edge but im from europe and I want the SD820 chip. Mostly because of it's easier to mod so developers will give more love to that.
Does anyone know where I can do this?
Makes no sense at all. If a phone ever cried out for non-stock to be avoided, it's this. You will lose all Samsung features like Edge and the camera features and quality will be s**t in comparison. If you're bothered about running AOSP or CM this isn't the phone for you regardless of what chip set it has in it.
Beefheart said:
Makes no sense at all. If a phone ever cried out for non-stock to be avoided, it's this. You will lose all Samsung features like Edge and the camera features and quality will be s**t in comparison. If you're bothered about running AOSP or CM this isn't the phone for you regardless of what chip set it has in it.
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Not completely true. To be fair he just said modding. Not flashing Stock (AOSP) ROMs, Kernels, etc...
An "clean" TW ROM is always welcomed and usually the best of both worlds.
Except clean stock doesn't require an open source chip set. It's just as easy to debloat stock on Exynos as it is on Snapdragon.
Beefheart said:
Except clean stock doesn't require an open source chip set. It's just as easy to debloat stock on Exynos as it is on Snapdragon.
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Eh... Got me there.
Beefheart said:
Makes no sense at all. If a phone ever cried out for non-stock to be avoided, it's this. You will lose all Samsung features like Edge and the camera features and quality will be s**t in comparison. If you're bothered about running AOSP or CM this isn't the phone for you regardless of what chip set it has in it.
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Click to collapse
I agree with you - for me I wouldn't spend a ton of money on a phone only to lose many of the special features - but at the end of the day, it's his call what he does with his phone - and if he prefers running a clean AOSP rom or even just modded touch wiz, it;s his call - regardless - it probably won't be easy for him to find an unlocked snapdragon model - at least not early on - maybe after it's been out for a while...
I believe the Verizon version would be the best one to get to support most of the spectrum around the world, but Verizon will lock that bootloader. I bought the T-Mobile version outright and will probably get mine unlocked a couple days after I get it(paid outright and meet requirements)
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
If anyone has an answer to the OP's question I am curious also
After the 810 I dont want a snapdragon ever again. Glad my country is getting the 8890.
At echoe they already said they will develop for thz exynos variant cuz most part of their theam is from europe so thats asewome! [emoji3]
Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-N920C met Tapatalk
@Beefheart Just to clarify:
With regards to the S7 Edge, its best to leave it untouched with regards to custom roms & kernels otherwise "Edge" features will be lost ?
SlyUK said:
@Beefheart Just to clarify:
With regards to the S7 Edge, its best to leave it untouched with regards to custom roms & kernels otherwise "Edge" features will be lost ?
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Yes. The edge features, as far as I'm aware, require Samsung libraries, which are closed source and can't be used outside of stock Touchwiz roms. It's for the same reason S-Pen features in non-stock roms on the Note series of devices can't be used and require third party software (SPenCommand for example).
Beefheart said:
Yes. The edge features, as far as I'm aware, require Samsung libraries, which are closed source and can't be used outside of stock Touchwiz roms. It's for the same reason S-Pen features in non-stock roms on the Note series of devices can't be used and require third party software (SPenCommand for example).
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Would that be the case also with a custom rom that was based on the Stock rom but was "debloated" ?
mocsab said:
I agree with you - for me I wouldn't spend a ton of money on a phone only to lose many of the special features - but at the end of the day, it's his call what he does with his phone - and if he prefers running a clean AOSP rom or even just modded touch wiz, it;s his call - regardless - it probably won't be easy for him to find an unlocked snapdragon model - at least not early on - maybe after it's been out for a while...
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Of course it's his money and his choice, he can buy an S7 Edge and use it as a paperweight if he wishes to. But this is a forum for discussion, and I'm simply pointing out that, in my opinion with 6 years experience of using and modifying Android devices, it wouldn't make any sense to buy an S7 Edge if he wants to use non-stock roms. It defeats the object of paying the premium on a device like this in the first place.
---------- Post added at 12:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 PM ----------
SlyUK said:
Would that be the case also with a custom rom that was based on the Stock rom but was "debloated" ?
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Click to collapse
Just to clarify, for me a "custom rom" means non-stock. Perhaps not entirely accurate but that is how I've always viewed the phrase. But to answer your question, no. That would be a debloated and minimised stock rom, and any desired features of Samsung vanilla stock could be included as the required libraries are still intact.
Beefheart said:
Of course it's his money and his choice, he can buy an S7 Edge and use it as a paperweight if he wishes to. But this is a forum for discussion, and I'm simply pointing out that, in my opinion with 6 years experience of using and modifying Android devices, it wouldn't make any sense to buy an S7 Edge if he wants to use non-stock roms. It defeats the object of paying the premium on a device like this in the first place.
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Of course you are right, but he is not alone - there are lots of people who do what he plans to do no matter what we think ..and despite the many advantages and tools that are built into one of these phones, a high end phone with the kind of quality that is built into an S7 or Note 5 or whatever - is still an amazing phone when it uses a different system - AOSP or whatever - so I don't fault yuo for making your point - but it is likely that in his and many other cases it falls on deaf ears
Beefheart said:
Of course it's his money and his choice, he can buy an S7 Edge and use it as a paperweight if he wishes to. But this is a forum for discussion, and I'm simply pointing out that, in my opinion with 6 years experience of using and modifying Android devices, it wouldn't make any sense to buy an S7 Edge if he wants to use non-stock roms. It defeats the object of paying the premium on a device like this in the first place.
---------- Post added at 12:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 PM ----------
Just to clarify, for me a "custom rom" means non-stock. Perhaps not entirely accurate but that is how I've always viewed the phrase. But to answer your question, no. That would be a debloated and minimised stock rom, and any desired features of Samsung vanilla stock could be included as the required libraries are still intact.
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I wasn't quite sure of the terminology to use for a slimmed down, debloated rom based on the official stock rom, so used the word custom to be on the safe side. Thanks for answering that, gives reassurance.
SlyUK said:
I wasn't quite sure of the terminology to use for a slimmed down, debloated rom based on the official stock rom, so used the word custom to be on the safe side. Thanks for answering that, gives reassurance.
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It's worth noting that, to install such a rom, the knox flag would have to be tripped. On Samsung Marshmallow, the only way to avoid tripping knox when installing a new build is to use Odin, which can only be used to install vanilla stock. And to use tools like FlashFire to install a build, you need to be rooted, a process which in itself trips the knox flag so you may as well install TWRP or CWM and install via a zip in recovery.
im also one of a guy waiting for S7edge with S820 from outside of US so i felt the pain and confusion of the way Sammy doing. As one of a guy responded in Reddit chat is to start ordering UNLOCKED SIM Samsung S7 from ebay would be the easiest and fastest option...
Below is the one that I am watching closely. As it said Pre-order, I am a bit afraid of the RISK of ordering a phone that cost >1000$ without seeing actual unlocked & S820 phone as they mention.
[EDIT: can't put links due to lower posts count] googled this eBay item number:281944393668
Here is some other options
to Confirm: you might have to wait for unlocked version from Samsung to released in US since all the US carriers will delay the unlocked version so that mostly can able to attract customer by offering them insensitive to stay in their network.
to Confirm: As far as I knew, US is the ONLY country which S7 variant will come with S820. The rest will ONLY get Exynos version in it with Dual SIMs supported.
to Confirm: As far as I found online is that there is no unique model number which will be the UNLOCKED version of S7 is surfaced in Internet. All the model numbers of US variant are for tied with each US Carriers. So it is possible that US will never get unlocked version of S7 with S820.
to Confirm: some people said they can ask their US carrier to unlock their locked S7 after a period of time using.
ted_O_o said:
im also one of a guy waiting for S7edge with S820 from outside of US so i felt the pain and confusion of the way Sammy doing. As one of a guy responded in Reddit chat is to start ordering UNLOCKED SIM Samsung S7 from ebay would be the easiest and fastest option...
Below is the one that I am watching closely. As it said Pre-order, I am a bit afraid of the RISK of ordering a phone that cost >1000$ without seeing actual unlocked & S820 phone as they mention.
[EDIT: can't put links due to lower posts count] googled this eBay item number:281944393668
Here is some other options
to Confirm: you might have to wait for unlocked version from Samsung to released in US since all the US carriers will delay the unlocked version so that mostly can able to attract customer by offering them insensitive to stay in their network.
to Confirm: As far as I knew, US is the ONLY country which S7 variant will come with S820. The rest will ONLY get Exynos version in it with Dual SIMs supported.
to Confirm: As far as I found online is that there is no unique model number which will be the UNLOCKED version of S7 is surfaced in Internet. All the model numbers of US variant are for tied with each US Carriers. So it is possible that US will never get unlocked version of S7 with S820.
to Confirm: some people said they can ask their US carrier to unlock their locked S7 after a period of time using.
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Click to collapse
You are referring to this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNLOCKE...393668?hash=item41a53207c4:g:NhIAAOSwFNZWzWSU
No was not really thinking about a new rom if disabling touchwiz is possible. I had my mind more into rooting and xposed.
Hi Friends,
Hope you're all having a great new year. So last time I was lurking the S7E forums, we had a leaked Engineering Bootloader that was used to acquire root on all US Snapdragon models, albeit, with a lot performance issues and etc.
I came here to glance as well as all other variant forums for the SD model and now we have Root for every model, with even ROMs being baked like the Echo ROM for Verizon, Sprint, AT&T models, usually the toughest to achieve these things on. I'm trying to read through the forums, but I fear I'm missing the details, that will help me pull the trigger for getting the device or not.
Can one of you very experienced, knowledgeable, and kind members educate me on the latest?
1. Do we have unlocked Bootloader and Root for all US carrier S7Es? How is it done? I use people using Flashfire. So no TWRP?
2. Does this process still trip Knox and render Samsung Pay to never be used again on the device?
3. If I bought the Verizon variant, for example, can I root, unlock Bootloader, and etc, and then return to stock, to return to the store in case I don't like the phone?
4. Xposed Framework working for all models?
Much appreciate your responses, any and all of them in advance! Thanks!
ProFragger said:
Hi Friends,
Hope you're all having a great new year. So last time I was lurking the S7E forums, we had a leaked Engineering Bootloader that was used to acquire root on all US Snapdragon models, albeit, with a lot performance issues and etc.
I came here to glance as well as all other variant forums for the SD model and now we have Root for every model, with even ROMs being baked like the Echo ROM for Verizon, Sprint, AT&T models, usually the toughest to achieve these things on. I'm trying to read through the forums, but I fear I'm missing the details, that will help me pull the trigger for getting the device or not.
Can one of you very experienced, knowledgeable, and kind members educate me on the latest?
1. Do we have unlocked Bootloader and Root for all US carrier S7Es? How is it done? I use people using Flashfire. So no TWRP?
2. Does this process still trip Knox and render Samsung Pay to never be used again on the device?
3. If I bought the Verizon variant, for example, can I root, unlock Bootloader, and etc, and then return to stock, to return to the store in case I don't like the phone?
4. Xposed Framework working for all models?
Much appreciate your responses, any and all of them in advance! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely nothing has changed on root (only possible due to ENG kernel) and bootloader unlock (which is not yet possible).
1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No idea about all models. For the t-mobile one, please check: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-s7-edge/how-to/guide-installing-xposed-framework-t3414718
You can use the search feature in xda for finding out
CravingMender9 said:
Absolutely nothing has changed on root (only possible due to ENG kernel) and bootloader unlock (which is not yet possible).
1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No idea about all models. For the t-mobile one, please check: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-s7-edge/how-to/guide-installing-xposed-framework-t3414718
You can use the search feature in xda for finding out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bud, thanks for getting the ball rolling on these questions. If you could add some more information, I'd appreciate it :
If we still don't have a way to Root or Unlock bootloader, how are these ROMs (Echo, Tek, and other stock ROMs) available with root? And how are these flashed? Are we somehow bypassing the BL by using FlashFire?
Can you also educate me on the U Firmware and why people install it and is it reverseable?
Lastly, if I got a T-Mobile variant for example, installed these ROMs Tek, Echo, etc, can I return to Stock completely and return to T-Mobile, by any chance for them to take it back? Thank you again!
for the t mobile variant, I was able to flash the U firmware and flash back to stock t mobile. NOTE: I did not flash the U bootloader. I kept the T mobile bootloader just be sure I could flash back to stock t mobile(APK1). I'm sure this method would work with other carriers as well. so what ever variant you have, make sure you stay on that BL and only flash the U firmware CSC and AP. As for the CP(modem) I would flash your carriers latest CP file. That's what worked best for me with the U firmware. Currently I'm using the latest nougat BETA
Thank you very much for your response, bud. One last follow up question: Since all the US variants are rooting based on the ENG Kernel, is there really a benefit of getting one variant over another, for rooting or etc purposes?
P. S. May I ask why you flashed the U Firmware? What are the advantages of it? ?
ProFragger said:
Thank you very much for your response, bud. One last follow up question: Since all the US variants are rooting based on the ENG Kernel, is there really a benefit of getting one variant over another, for rooting or etc purposes?
P. S. May I ask why you flashed the U Firmware? What are the advantages of it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The u firmware basically does not include all of the software that is usually included with the phone. For example.. Tmobile with their software on it, Verizon att etc... Makes the phone a bit snappier especially if you were to root. Even tho I hope for a more stable root still. I am rooted at the moment. Wish they didn't recall the note 7 because the root on that was better
ProFragger said:
Hi Friends,
Hope you're all having a great new year. So last time I was lurking the S7E forums, we had a leaked Engineering Bootloader that was used to acquire root on all US Snapdragon models, albeit, with a lot performance issues and etc.
I came here to glance as well as all other variant forums for the SD model and now we have Root for every model, with even ROMs being baked like the Echo ROM for Verizon, Sprint, AT&T models, usually the toughest to achieve these things on. I'm trying to read through the forums, but I fear I'm missing the details, that will help me pull the trigger for getting the device or not.
Can one of you very experienced, knowledgeable, and kind members educate me on the latest?
1. Do we have unlocked Bootloader and Root for all US carrier S7Es? How is it done? I use people using Flashfire. So no TWRP?
2. Does this process still trip Knox and render Samsung Pay to never be used again on the device?
3. If I bought the Verizon variant, for example, can I root, unlock Bootloader, and etc, and then return to stock, to return to the store in case I don't like the phone?
4. Xposed Framework working for all models?
Much appreciate your responses, any and all of them in advance! Thanks!
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You're confused. At least, you were.
We do not have an "unlocked Bootloader" and we never did. We had an engineering kernel. That engineering kernel allows certain commands that enabled us to acquire root access. But without that kernel, the system (with the original kernel or boot partition) checks for any changes in the /system partition. If any are found it triggers a bootloop. So basically, if you want root we MUST have the engineering kernel. Unless someone else finds another way that's just the way that it is.
Personally, I unrooted and went back to stock. Root was okay at first but with the lack of development, Samsung Pay and the fact that Android 7+ will probably not be seeing root... well... time to accept the fact that Samsung owns the phone even though we bought it. What else can we do?
nitroevo said:
The u firmware basically does not include all of the software that is usually included with the phone. For example.. Tmobile with their software on it, Verizon att etc... Makes the phone a bit snappier especially if you were to root. Even tho I hope for a more stable root still. I am rooted at the moment. Wish they didn't recall the note 7 because the root on that was better
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Binary100100 said:
You're confused. At least, you were.
We do not have an "unlocked Bootloader" and we never did. We had an engineering kernel. That engineering kernel allows certain commands that enabled us to acquire root access. But without that kernel, the system (with the original kernel or boot partition) checks for any changes in the /system partition. If any are found it triggers a bootloop. So basically, if you want root we MUST have the engineering kernel. Unless someone else finds another way that's just the way that it is.
Personally, I unrooted and went back to stock. Root was okay at first but with the lack of development, Samsung Pay and the fact that Android 7+ will probably not be seeing root... well... time to accept the fact that Samsung owns the phone even though we bought it. What else can we do?
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Thanks for your helpful responses fellas. I understand root is not perfect, but for some folks like me, Xposed seems to be worth the trouble. For Samsung Pay, I intend to use the Gear S3 one day ?.
Final question, since all US Snapdragon models are using the engineering kernel to root and etc... Is there a benefit of getting one carrier variant, over another? For example, Verizon is usually the cheapest. Is it wise to get that, with the U Firmware, to use on AT&T? Thanks!
ProFragger said:
For Samsung Pay, I intend to use the Gear S3 one day .
Final question, since all US Snapdragon models are using the engineering kernel to root and etc... Is there a benefit of getting one carrier variant, over another? For example, Verizon is usually the cheapest. Is it wise to get that, with the U Firmware, to use on AT&T? Thanks!
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Let me know if that works out for you then.
I just purchased the S2 Classic (on T-Mobile) and use Samsung Pay quite a bit. But I can tell you that it does open Samsung Pay on the phone and if you are rooted, Samsung Pay will not work at all. So I'm not sure if it will work at all for you even with the S3.
In regards to your other inquiry, I haven't tried the U firmware. I read something about data issues, no wifi calling (which is pretty important to me), no hotspot (which is also really important to me) but I heard that it is really fast. Not sure how much of that is still a problem but you should probably read up on it before doing anything first. But the rooting method is all the same between carriers I believe. All require the engineering kernel and breaks Samsung Pay along with a couple of other apps.
Just make back ups, have a stock firmware available to flash with ODIN just in case and remember that it's almost impossible to brick this device (because we don't have an unlocked bootloader.)
Binary100100 said:
Let me know if that works out for you then.
I just purchased the S2 Classic (on T-Mobile) and use Samsung Pay quite a bit. But I can tell you that it does open Samsung Pay on the phone and if you are rooted, Samsung Pay will not work at all. So I'm not sure if it will work at all for you even with the S3.
In regards to your other inquiry, I haven't tried the U firmware. I read something about data issues, no wifi calling (which is pretty important to me), no hotspot (which is also really important to me) but I heard that it is really fast. Not sure how much of that is still a problem but you should probably read up on it before doing anything first. But the rooting method is all the same between carriers I believe. All require the engineering kernel and breaks Samsung Pay along with a couple of other apps.
Just make back ups, have a stock firmware available to flash with ODIN just in case and remember that it's almost impossible to brick this device (because we don't have an unlocked bootloader.)
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Thank you again for a helpful post. So the S3 has a dedicated MST/NFC chip in it, that allows for Samsung Pay to work from the watch, it's done through the Gear app. That's what I have read.
About the rest of it, again, curious to see if there is one US variant, superior to another in terms of Root capabilities or bands and radios available and etc? Can anyone confirm this for me?
Thanks!
ProFragger said:
Thank you again for a helpful post. So the S3 has a dedicated MST/NFC chip in it, that allows for Samsung Pay to work from the watch, it's done through the Gear app. That's what I have read.
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So does the S2.
When I was setting up the Samsung Pay on my watch it said that it had to download an update.
Then I went through the setup process through my phone which was from the Samsung Pay app.
You go to "Add card" on your watch and it opens Samsung Pay on your phone.
You click "Next" and it displays your Samsung account information.
Then it takes you to a screen that says "Setup complete" telling you that you're ready to use it and at the bottom says "Add card"
You do that all from the Samsung Pay app on your phone which leads me to suspect that if you root your phone, you won't be able to use Samsung Pay on your watch.
People on this thread that you have to set it all up first, remove the Samsung Pay app on the phone but leave it on the watch. If it's all done correctly then it should work. Just make sure you get it all set up first.
Next thing that I'm going to try is using my watch in "Standalone" with my phone out of bluetooth or wifi range. See if that still works.
ProFragger said:
About the rest of it, again, curious to see if there is one US variant, superior to another in terms of Root capabilities or bands and radios available and etc? Can anyone confirm this for me?
Thanks!
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As far as I know, the U firmware permits use of some other bands that aren't normally used. Not sure which ones though.
Binary100100 said:
So does the S2.
When I was setting up the Samsung Pay on my watch it said that it had to download an update.
Then I went through the setup process through my phone which was from the Samsung Pay app.
You go to "Add card" on your watch and it opens Samsung Pay on your phone.
You click "Next" and it displays your Samsung account information.
Then it takes you to a screen that says "Setup complete" telling you that you're ready to use it and at the bottom says "Add card"
You do that all from the Samsung Pay app on your phone which leads me to suspect that if you root your phone, you won't be able to use Samsung Pay on your watch.
People on this thread that you have to set it all up first, remove the Samsung Pay app on the phone but leave it on the watch. If it's all done correctly then it should work. Just make sure you get it all set up first.
Next thing that I'm going to try is using my watch in "Standalone" with my phone out of bluetooth or wifi range. See if that still works.
As far as I know, the U firmware permits use of some other bands that aren't normally used. Not sure which ones though.
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Thanks for the correction/education on the S2, bud, much appreciated. I wonder if the rooted phone works with the S3, because Samsung has allowed many other non Samsung phones to know work with the S3? But I could be wrong, I thought it was open like that with the S2 as well, no? Looking forward to your testing, hope there is a breakthrough in there! ?
if you want root and customizability and roms, just don't get this phone. you will be very disappointed with the performance once you root and it gets so much worse with Xposed. not worth it at all, you will have better performance and speed from a 4 year old phone that has an unlocked bootloader and strong development. I mean my Nexus 5 (from 2012) had better performance than my rooted S7. it sounds like you do want roms, and if you want roms then AOSP/Cyanogenmod is the way to go. there will probably never be any AOSP or CM ROM on the QC S7/E so you're better off getting an older galaxy model that does have a great development community and unlocked bootloader. or just get a OnePlus or Nexus or something.
xVermicide said:
if you want root and customizability and roms, just don't get this phone. you will be very disappointed with the performance once you root and it gets so much worse with Xposed. not worth it at all, you will have better performance and speed from a 4 year old phone that has an unlocked bootloader and strong development. I mean my Nexus 5 (from 2012) had better performance than my rooted S7. it sounds like you do want roms, and if you want roms then AOSP/Cyanogenmod is the way to go. there will probably never be any AOSP or CM ROM on the QC S7/E so you're better off getting an older galaxy model that does have a great development community and unlocked bootloader. or just get a OnePlus or Nexus or something.
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Or a Exynos S7.
Binary100100 said:
Or a Exynos S7.
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exactly this. except for some reason I thought exynos variants are lacking certain bands/features on American networks. could be wrong.
xVermicide said:
if you want root and customizability and roms, just don't get this phone. you will be very disappointed with the performance once you root and it gets so much worse with Xposed. not worth it at all, you will have better performance and speed from a 4 year old phone that has an unlocked bootloader and strong development. I mean my Nexus 5 (from 2012) had better performance than my rooted S7. it sounds like you do want roms, and if you want roms then AOSP/Cyanogenmod is the way to go. there will probably never be any AOSP or CM ROM on the QC S7/E so you're better off getting an older galaxy model that does have a great development community and unlocked bootloader. or just get a OnePlus or Nexus or something.
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Binary100100 said:
Or a Exynos S7.
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xVermicide said:
exactly this. except for some reason I thought exynos variants are lacking certain bands/features on American networks. could be wrong.
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Very helpful inputs guys, thank you! If I were to be honest with myself, I don't want AOSP/CM/Lineage, especially on a Samsung phone, so unlocked bootloader is not a deal breaker for me. However, I think root is cool for me for doing some SystemUI tweaks, Xposed and etc. Exynos was an option I was exploring, but lack of warranty, no Samsung Pay, and the price are enough to keep me at bay. I think I just need to put my big boy pants on and try to use a phone without rooting it. Something I have yet to do in EVER using an Android phone since about 10 years ago, and I have never ever used or bought an iCrap... I mean... an iPhone !
ProFragger said:
Very helpful inputs guys, thank you! If I were to be honest with myself, I don't want AOSP/CM/Lineage, especially on a Samsung phone, so unlocked bootloader is not a deal breaker for me. However, I think root is cool for me for doing some SystemUI tweaks, Xposed and etc. Exynos was an option I was exploring, but lack of warranty, no Samsung Pay, and the price are enough to keep me at bay. I think I just need to put my big boy pants on and try to use a phone without rooting it. Something I have yet to do in EVER using an Android phone since about 10 years ago, and I have never ever used or bought an iCrap... I mean... an iPhone !
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Get a One+ 3T good development and really nice phone if you want root. Root is dead on Samsung phones and so are ROMs.
So by reading thru this thread, I assume having a T-mobile S7E (G935T) rooting is pointless and really not available the way I'm used to it coming from a Note 4. That's kind of a bummer... I've been using Android and have always had ROOT and all the goodies that come with it. And I recently starting really enjoying my Note 4 with all the cool development in Note 7 ported roms oh well... I wonder if the S7E is enough of an upgrade to keep my interest as stock?
I see there is a G935U firmware, but that seems a bit hit and miss? But I'm just starting to read up on all this... :good:
ShrekOpher said:
Get a One+ 3T good development and really nice phone if you want root. Root is dead on Samsung phones and so are ROMs.
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Believe me bud, if Oneplus 5 or even 3T had an SD Card, I'd already have that phone, but thanks for your wisdom !
Araltd said:
So by reading thru this thread, I assume having a T-mobile S7E (G935T) rooting is pointless and really not available the way I'm used to it coming from a Note 4. That's kind of a bummer... I've been using Android and have always had ROOT and all the goodies that come with it. And I recently starting really enjoying my Note 4 with all the cool development in Note 7 ported roms oh well... I wonder if the S7E is enough of an upgrade to keep my interest as stock?
I see there is a G935U firmware, but that seems a bit hit and miss? But I'm just starting to read up on all this... :good:
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You and I both man... The last few years, I have lived off the mercy of T-Mobile and their BLs being unlocked. But Samsung sure done them all in ! Even the International unlocked ones disable Samsung Pay (forever, mind you!) if Knox is tripped, which I believe it is, when rooted and TWRP'd.
As I understand it,
Android pay / Samsung pay is why they frown on rooting now. I can understand it, though I don't agree with it.
The first time someone's financial information is compromised, and they've ever used one of the "pay" methods, on a rooted device the pr nightmare that would ensue would make the note 7 fiasco look like child's play.
"Samsung unsecured device compromises persons credit card information today, while Apple is still secure" I can see the headline.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7E