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I've been lurking around the forums for about a week now and thanks to the folks who contribute, I've been able to root, carrier unlock (tested to work with AT&T and Tmo), and side load a few ROMs on my I337 without bricking or even tripping KNOX. So again, thanks to all who contributed to those tutorials!
Unfortunately, the phone I bought came with MK2 pre-installed and since I'm a noob I wasn't aware of the limitations of this version until after reading these forums. You guys have saved me from bricking my phone though!
So my question... Do any of the other US variants of the S4 (aside from the I9505G) have similarly locked down bootloaders like the I337 (assuming latest OTA has been applied)? I'm gathering from various posts that AT&T was the only carrier implementing such nonsense. I'm asking because it seems like other models (M919, I545, and L720) sell for less on eBay and I'm considering selling my pristine I337 for another model. I want to make sure I don't end up with similar restrictions if I make such a move.
Secondly, can either the L720 or the I545 be unlocked to work with Tmo and AT&T in the US? I assume they all have the same radios, maybe just a firmware lock on frequencies?
The locked down bootloader should be only AT&T and Verizon.
The I545 should work on Tmobile and AT&T. . The L720 will not work on Tmobile or AT&T due to it being CDMA.
If you're liking for something you can rom and root easily and isn't carrier locked consider the nexus 5. I love it no carrier bloat and no gimmicky stuff you'll only use once.
Sent from my Nexus 5
I strongly agree with "jd1639"
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Kaze105 said:
The locked down bootloader should be only AT&T and Verizon.
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Good to know. Thanks!
Kaze105 said:
The I545 should work on Tmobile and AT&T. . The L720 will not work on Tmobile or AT&T due to it being CDMA.
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I understand that Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, Tmo and AT&T use GSM. But phone wise, don't all four US carrier S4 variants contain the same radios? Did Samsung actually yank CDMA radios from the GSM variants and vice versa? just looking for clarification.
Let me ask another way... if you guys were to recommend an S4 for US GSM networks that could be "easily" ROM'd/root'd at will, which would you suggest?
I've considered the Nexus 5 very heavily, but I prefer the hard buttons on the S4 because they seem to leave a bit more screen real estate than the soft buttons on the N5. I'm somewhat trying for an N5 like experience on the S4. Yeah, I want to have my cake and eat it too.
Rickerdo said:
Good to know. Thanks!
I understand that Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, Tmo and AT&T use GSM. But phone wise, don't all four US carrier S4 variants contain the same radios? Did Samsung actually yank CDMA radios from the GSM variants and vice versa? just looking for clarification.
Let me ask another way... if you guys were to recommend an S4 for US GSM networks that could be "easily" ROM'd/root'd at will, which would you suggest?
I've considered the Nexus 5 very heavily, but I prefer the hard buttons on the S4 because they seem to leave a bit more screen real estate than the soft buttons on the N5. I'm somewhat trying for an N5 like experience on the S4. Yeah, I want to have my cake and eat it too.
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For a bit more cash they have the Google Play Edition S4 from the play store as well at $649.00
None Touchwiz OS
https://play.google.com/store/devic...oogle_Play_edition?id=samsung_galaxy_s4&hl=en
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
jball said:
For a bit more cash they have the Google Play Edition S4 from the play store as well at $649.00
None Touchwiz OS
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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I think I left out the most important part... I'm cheap, er um, I mean very frugal. My like new I337 from ebay only cost me $370, so I'm looking to replace it with something around the same price that's more "hackable". This is why the Nexus 5 looked so appealing directly from the Play store. but, again, the screen on the N5 gets robbed a bit by the soft keys.
So, I guess I'm looking at an M919 (Tmo variant) as the best bang for the buck in terms of hacking friendly S4's. Is that the general consensus?
Honestly the keys aren't that bad once you have your hands on the Nexus 5 .the lack of a menu/settings button is a bit odd but the phone makes up for it in stock smoothness
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
So the s6 sucks, gonna get a note 4 note instead. I've been reading all these threads but I'm not sure what variant I'll be getting. I'm on att and want to know if I'll be able to root it and if I'll be able to use custom roms, preferably without using safe strap. Any help/advise would be appreciated.
How about if you go and browse/search Note 4 forums? All this has alrdy been said
I've been, but there's too many forums for different models. The one I think is for the phone I'm gonna get has nothing but a kernel.
AT&T and Verizon variants are not rootable unless you have the Google play developer editions of the phone.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
Get the T-Mobile version to run on at&t. There is several threads about why this is your best option.
jlczl said:
Get the T-Mobile version to run on at&t. There is several threads about why this is your best option.
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That's probably not gonna happen since I'm getting it thru my upgrade on att and I'm not switching because I'm grandfather'd in for unlimited data. I can't afford to pay for one out right.
Then there is obviously no question about what Variant you will be getting, it will be the Att one which is as of now unrootable. You will need either a TMo one look in craigslist or an international version.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
ZephCr said:
That's probably not gonna happen since I'm getting it thru my upgrade on att and I'm not switching because I'm grandfather'd in for unlimited data. I can't afford to pay for one out right.
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If that's your only option and want to root I would buy it, sell it immediately brand new in box, and then turn around and buy a T-Mobile version off of CL or eBay as the previous person stated. The at&t version can't be rooted. It has a locked bootloader and it doesn't look like it'll ever be any better.
Now i know this is a GSM device, but I have wondered, it has the bands that support Verizon LTE network. So why can't this device be used with them?
It won't happen, unfortunately. Verizon has always been against unlocked international phones, (take the nexus and early xperia lines for example) and without a specific cmda edition, (like moto g did) this phone won't work on Verizon. I don't understand their policies or reasons, but if you are interested in phones like the 1+2 and nexus line, (you should be) do what I did and hop to another carrier (T-Mobile or att) with good coverage in your area. Its worth it to get the phone you want
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wtoj34 said:
It won't happen, unfortunately. Verizon has always been against unlocked international phones, (take the nexus and early xperia lines for example) and without a specific cmda edition, (like moto g did) this phone won't work on Verizon. I don't understand their policies or reasons, but if you are interested in phones like the 1+2 and nexus line, (you should be) do what I did and hop to another carrier (T-Mobile or att) with good coverage in your area. Its worth it to get the phone you want
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
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I really want to, but i use too much data. I am still on unlimited and want to keep it for now. I am thinking of finding a carrier that can support for cheap.
ihavenewnike said:
I really want to, but i use too much data. I am still on unlimited and want to keep it for now. I am thinking of finding a carrier that can support for cheap.
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I totally understand. On T-Mobile I'm on a 2 account plan for 100$ with unlimited talk text and LTE. It was a promo about a month ago so I'm not sire it still stands but its been incredible so far.
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Not trying to hijack the thread, but I figured it would be better to post in an existing than clutter the board with another.
I heard Verizon is possibly rolling out VoLTE, would the OPT work on it? I too have unlimited, so switching is sort of off the table currently.
Is there any issues when hooking up this phone with at&t or T-Mobile. I'm ditching my boost/sprint phone so I'll be going another prepaid route. I know in the past guys with the Asus Zenfone 2 which I say is a equal rival to this phone had issues on at&t where at&t said they may not get LTE even though the phone supports LTE. I will buying a new phone one way or another Friday. And still debating my options on GSM or CDMA. OnePlus 2, Zenfone 2, and a few others. I just don't want some suprises.
Does this take a nano sim or micro sim
Josh
wtoj34 said:
It won't happen, unfortunately. Verizon has always been against unlocked international phones, (take the nexus and early xperia lines for example) and without a specific cmda edition, (like moto g did) this phone won't work on Verizon. I don't understand their policies or reasons, but if you are interested in phones like the 1+2 and nexus line, (you should be) do what I did and hop to another carrier (T-Mobile or att) with good coverage in your area. Its worth it to get the phone you want
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
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The Nexus 5X works great on Verizon.
Hi there,
Soon to be first time android user(maybe?) wanting to purchase a Galaxy s6 edge plus.
But I have a couple of questions I was hoping people with experience can help me out.
1.- Since I live in the US but will be using the phone often overseas, I would like a fully unlocked phone that will work with any mobile carrier. But it is such trouble buying unlocked phones in the US I am really confused as to how should I proceed doing so? I could buy an Att phone at full retail and get it unlocked by them right? Will I be able to delete the ATT bloatware? Is there a better way to just buy an unlocked phone? I want the 64 gb gold version which seems to be very very hard to find ( ATT does have it though). Note: I am aware Verizon phones are unlocked but they do not carry the 64 gb gold variant and aren't their bands totally bad for international use?
2.- Coming from an iphone user, I've always jailbroken every iphone i've owned, it truly unlocks the full potential of a phone such as installing small modifications that make a great diff. My question is: will I be able to do the same with my galaxy s6 edge plus if I get my hands on an unlocked one? Is this called rooting? I've been reading threads from here and what I got is that rooting devices is very hard specifically for the galaxy brand? Is there a way around that?
That's all for now, just want to thank you going to the trouble of reading my post and would really appreciate your help if you happen to know any of the questions I have.
Thank you
I'm trying to decide if I'm going to own the AT&T galaxy s7 edge. This is just my observation, but it seems that there are fewer root options and less custom user development with each new model of the Samsung Galaxy S phones from AT&T. This seems to be more with with AT&T versions because they seem to be trying to do everything in their power to limit users from rooting their phones. This may go further than AT&T, but that's where my experience is limited to. I'd go with another carrier or buy an unlocked one, but I just can't justify the cost when my job pays for the phone and the bill. Worst case scenario is that I'll just stop rooting my phone rather than buy one somewhere else, but I love the flexibility and options it gives me. There are many custom functions I enjoy on my phone made possible by rooting it.
So my question to the community is this, and please share your thoughts even if you disagree:
Do you too also see a decline in the root options and custom development effort in AT&T Galaxy S phones over the years? Do you think this is going to change? And are there other phones you feel are better to own with comparable functionality to the Galaxy S series that receive much more custom user development support? Thank you all!
There is no question that development has fallen away on ATT phones - primarly because of the locked bootloader that ATT started back with the S4 - is has only gotten worse since then.
I am on ATT and I stopped buying ATT phones after the S4. The flexibility and options that are open to me using a TMobile phone on ATT are worth whatever additional cost to me so I just deal with it. I am fortunate, I have a good job and my wife doesn't bi..ch too much.
Custom Rom Developoment on the S6 and Note 5 for all carriers seemed to be less overall than I remember on the Note 4 and the S5 before that - maybe because Samsung pissed everyone off when they didn't include an External SD Card and they elminated the removal battery. The Exynos Processor probably played a big role too - I hope we see more on the S7 and S7 edge....
It's probably not a good idea if you want to use CM on ATT S7. And I would recommend you to get oneplus or nexus if you want to use CM or other custom ROMs.
Edited: I am also considering getting tmobile S7 for att use. Just don't know if that gonna work.
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I have had to stick with ATT since it is the only signal to penetrate the building I am in. My S4 was a T-Mobile model which was all unlocked with good amount of development. My s5 is w8 Canadian model also with pretty good development. I actually considered getting an ATT s7 but I'm sure I would soon be dissatisfied with stock only. Plus 30 months of $26 extra bill for device would be terrible. So I am going to wait and buy another international one when available for less than 6 or 7 hundred bucks.
I left ATT for one of these reasons, got so sick and tired of their Nazi BS crappy way of doing things the past couple of years. I used to LOL at Verizon for being the worst, well ATT has far surpassed them for the worst carrier in the U.S. ( Not talking network )
Back in the day, the ATT Note 2 was AWESOME, and tons of XDA development available for that phone, and then the Note 3 things started to change, and only got worse. The S4 was a disaster, at first it was rootable and had development, then ATT passed an update, and totally locked down that phone.
Plus their billing sucks, my monthly bill was never consistent, even though I was on a good plan. Every month my bill was a little higher, or way higher, but never exactly what it should be.
Fast forward to last Summer, My wife and I moved to T-Mobile at the launch of the Note 5, pick up the T-Mobile Note 5, and both are rooted running a great ROM. And T-Mobile's monthly bill, for seven months straight, been exactly the same, no funny business.
I'm with AT&T for the past two years. Two years ago AT&T kicked T-Mobile off all their cell towers in my area, and my signal became nonexistent. I ordered an S7 Edge through T-Mobile. Once the phone is unlocked, works fine on AT&T network. I won't buy another AT&T phone. I was lucky with my S5. I used the Towel Root exploit, and was lucky to have not updated.....
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the feedback! Since work will buy the phone, I'm thinking about getting the AT&T S7 Edge, selling it, then getting a T-Mobile version with the money I sell it for maybe make a little or lose a little, but it shouldn't be a huge difference.
It is not only ATT Samsung phones that have seen a decrease in development - pretty much all phones have seen a decrease in development. Reason? Android is much better than it used to be! I had the S6 Edge+ (928G) unlocked and liked it, but eventually sold it. After a month or two I missed it and go a good deal on the ATT version. Man, the battery and signal strength are MUCH better than the 928G I had. There was bloat, but 99% of it can be disabled or uninstalled. I have gotten quite used to Samsung Pay and Android Pay and you can not use those with root.
madgalaxy said:
It is not only ATT Samsung phones that have seen a decrease in development - pretty much all phones have seen a decrease in development. Reason? Android is much better than it used to be! I had the S6 Edge+ (928G) unlocked and liked it, but eventually sold it. After a month or two I missed it and go a good deal on the ATT version. Man, the battery and signal strength are MUCH better than the 928G I had. There was bloat, but 99% of it can be disabled or uninstalled. I have gotten quite used to Samsung Pay and Android Pay and you can not use those with root.
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I simply cannot use a phone without AdAway, so I must root it. I hate ads/spam more than people hated Hitler.
I haven't felt a desire to unlock and root my phone. I have a Moto X Pure. I did have a Note 4 ATT variant and if it just came with Samsung bloat, I would have been fine but it's that ****ty at&t bloat that made me frustrated.
We went from a Note 3 to a Note Edge... Note 3 wasn't too bad and I did have it rooted with towelroot I think.
Note Edge didn't gain enough popularirty and nobody really cared to do anything with it anyways. We skipped the Note 5 and now going with a S7 Edge. I realized I didn't need to root or load a custom ROM on my Edge and I've been fine... Might stay that way with the S7 Edge we'll see...
that being said, I have a Gear S and that is locked down with ATT too.
Thought about going to T-Mobile, but our service is real good with AT&T so we didn't wanna change... I wouldn't mind trying T-Mobile though.
razorseal said:
We went from a Note 3 to a Note Edge... Note 3 wasn't too bad and I did have it rooted with towelroot I think.
Note Edge didn't gain enough popularirty and nobody really cared to do anything with it anyways. We skipped the Note 5 and now going with a S7 Edge. I realized I didn't need to root or load a custom ROM on my Edge and I've been fine... Might stay that way with the S7 Edge we'll see...
that being said, I have a Gear S and that is locked down with ATT too.
Thought about going to T-Mobile, but our service is real good with AT&T so we didn't wanna change... I wouldn't mind trying T-Mobile though.
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I was thinking about switching to tmobile but I was wondering if there is any way to test for tmobile signal in my building?
Ublock Origin works wonders
schn1tt3r said:
I simply cannot use a phone without AdAway, so I must root it. I hate ads/spam more than people hated Hitler.
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Ublock Origin > Firefox Mobile
Just adding (maybe not for you) but there are options out there for people that want Android/Samsung Pay and won't have root.
My honest openion, avoid AT&T, get a unlocked varient, You will thank me later.
I wish unlocked variations of phones worked on Verizon because that's what i would do. Verizon has the same issue with development going down the hill and also all the bloat ware, late updates...
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How is development for Verizon galaxy devices?
Does the T-Mobile variant have the same bands as at&t? Can I get the free Samsung gear vr? Can't seem to find the answers to these anywhere.
I also agree that development across all devices has went down allot.
The way I look at it, from Samsung stand point, if u want features like Gear VR and Samsung Pay, it's best not to root anyway since most of the root breaks those features.
Without those features you might as well get a non feature packed Android such as a Nexus.
Now days before making a device purchase, it's pretty obvious which device has the better dev community. If u go dev route and get a Nexus you loose luxury features such as Samsung Pay Gear VR etc....
Android is so powerful now days, the need for root and custom Roms just ain't needed anymore.
The G1 and HTC Evo and Samsung Vibrant (old school devices) days are a different story.
Just a warning for anybody who wants to use a non AT&T phone on their network. They will not allow it to use VoLTE at all.
spankmatic22 said:
I was thinking about switching to tmobile but I was wondering if there is any way to test for tmobile signal in my building?
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You'll be sorry if you switch.... I left T-Mobile two years ago because of signal problems in the financial capital of the world. NYC... and they are still having the same problems two years later since AT&T kicked them off their cell towers.....
http://callingouttmobile.com/
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lordloki77 said:
Does the T-Mobile variant have the same bands as at&t? Can I get the free Samsung gear vr? Can't seem to find the answers to these anywhere.
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I was with T-Mobile for 15 years up until two years ago when I switched to AT&T.... I had mad signal problems in my house.... I've had no problem since I moved. I order only T-Mobile phones because they are easier to root, and I unlock them.... and use them on AT&T....
---------- Post added at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------
lordloki77 said:
Does the T-Mobile variant have the same bands as at&t? Can I get the free Samsung gear vr? Can't seem to find the answers to these anywhere.
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I was with T-Mobile for 15 years up until two years ago when I switched to AT&T.... I had mad signal problems in my house.... I've had no problem since I moved. I order only T-Mobile phones because they are easier to root, and I unlock them.... and use them on AT&T....