Database Users

Firmware question

I am about to get a GT-P6800 from the Netherlands.
I live in Portugal.
The firmwares seem to be very "country specific" and even "carrier specific".
I'll be buying a carrier free version.
What problems can be anticipated for my usage?
Thanks
XK

XDAKhan said:
I am about to get a GT-P6800 from the Netherlands.
I live in Portugal.
The firmwares seem to be very "country specific" and even "carrier specific".
I'll be buying a carrier free version.
What problems can be anticipated for my usage?
Thanks
XK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I am sure this thread will be moved to Q&A, where it belongs, I will quickly answer, my device is also carrier-free, but it is from Hong Kong, and came with ZSLA TGY firmware (Hong Kong-based). However, I was able to flash several non-Hong Kong firmwares without any problems. SOME users, mainly from the middle east, but from other places, as well, have had problems with flashing firmware not intended for their device. I have built a ROM based on XXLA4 firmware, from Switzerland, and it appears to work with most, if not all, GTP6800's, so, if you are planning on switching firmware, XXLA4 firmwares would be a good choice. If you don't switch firmware, you should be fine...
Also, one last note, the non-ODIN ROMs in this thread will not change your radio/modem, so that relieves a major concern in terms of switching firmware.
Hope this helps.
Steve

Moved To General​
Do not post questions in the development section!​

Thank you. It does help.
So, may I gather that updates via Kies do not correlate where Kies is being run from (i.e IP from Portugal) vs. the firmware version, in what relates to release country?
I am thinking mainly of the stock ICS upgrade, which is just around the corner...After that, it's no problem, as I intend to customize the device.
I am just worried that Kies just won't offer the ICS upgrade, if it detects the discrepancy.
(Sorry, for the wrong forum posting...Noobs will be noobs, I guess...)
XK

XDAKhan said:
Thank you. It does help.
So, may I gather that updates via Kies do not correlate where Kies is being run from (i.e IP from Portugal) vs. the firmware version, in what relates to release country?
I am thinking mainly of the stock ICS upgrade, which is just around the corner...After that, it's no problem, as I intend to customize the device.
I am just worried that Kies just won't offer the ICS upgrade, if it detects the discrepancy.
(Sorry, for the wrong forum posting...Noobs will be noobs, I guess...)
XK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that is correct, although I am not a Kies user. It is correct with OTA updates...

Last weekend I bought one in the Netherlands and it had out of the box thx XXLA4 version.
Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk 2

correct
P6800XXLA4_CSC_PHN
found in this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1469635

Firmware and 4g update

hi all.
i bought my note 3 from three uk in about oct. i flashed the stock samsung firmware which rid it of the three branding and should have opened it up to getting faster updates. it shows in kies as PDA:MJ7 PHONE:MJ7 CSC:MJ4 (H3G)
unless i'm mistaken, it is still showing some of the effects of being bought from Three, the (h3g) bit. will this stop me getting an update? it still says no software update available both on phone and via kies.
also, any idea when and how i should receive the 4g update as 4g is now in my area, birmingham?
thanks

marc.knuckle said:
hi all.
i bought my note 3 from three uk in about oct. i flashed the stock samsung firmware which rid it of the three branding and should have opened it up to getting faster updates. it shows in kies as PDA:MJ7 PHONE:MJ7 CSC:MJ4 (H3G)
unless i'm mistaken, it is still showing some of the effects of being bought from Three, the (h3g) bit. will this stop me getting an update? it still says no software update available both on phone and via kies.
also, any idea when and how i should receive the 4g update as 4g is now in my area, birmingham?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory data wipe and check again?

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I was trying to avoid that if possible, is there a chance that I will still get the update our will that (h3g)part stop it?

marc.knuckle said:
Hi. Thanks for the reply. I was trying to avoid that if possible, is there a chance that I will still get the update our will that (h3g)part stop it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you should wait for a bit. Although I can't get a full comprehensive reply from 3 in the UK I'm now being told a carrier update enables 4G and although it's available in some areas it's still rolling out. I'm in exactly the same position as you and updated my phone to the Polish rom in the thought that the LTE option would be available in the settings (it still isn't) and there's still an amount of confusion surrounding the whole process. I'm going to give up and wait till something concrete emerges. If you get anywhere with it I'd appreciate a pm or update and I'll return the favour if I do :good:

launton said:
I think you should wait for a bit. Although I can't get a full comprehensive reply from 3 in the UK I'm now being told a carrier update enables 4G and although it's available in some areas it's still rolling out. I'm in exactly the same position as you and updated my phone to the Polish rom in the thought that the LTE option would be available in the settings (it still isn't) and there's still an amount of confusion surrounding the whole process. I'm going to give up and wait till something concrete emerges. If you get anywhere with it I'd appreciate a pm or update and I'll return the favour if I do :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
H3G UK Kitkat firmware is available now, check it.

jdomadia said:
H3G UK Kitkat firmware is available now, check it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks jdomadia. My handset is a sim free model, CSC united emirates flashed with Polish KK rom. I doubt I would see a benefit to flashing a branded 3 KK rom on my device?

launton said:
Thanks jdomadia. My handset is a sim free model, CSC united emirates flashed with Polish KK rom. I doubt I would see a benefit to flashing a branded 3 KK rom on my device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No So far Poland firmware is problem free & stable so not advisable to unnecessarily flash another.

No problem.
Any idea on the 4.4.2 update?

Go to Settings-About phone-Software Update & check for OTA update, otherwise connect to Kies & try for H3G Kitkat is available now.

tried both those methods and neither allows update. both say latest firmware installed

launton said:
I think you should wait for a bit. Although I can't get a full comprehensive reply from 3 in the UK I'm now being told a carrier update enables 4G and although it's available in some areas it's still rolling out. I'm in exactly the same position as you and updated my phone to the Polish rom in the thought that the LTE option would be available in the settings (it still isn't) and there's still an amount of confusion surrounding the whole process. I'm going to give up and wait till something concrete emerges. If you get anywhere with it I'd appreciate a pm or update and I'll return the favour if I do :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i gave up waiting. i backed my data and factory reset to see if it helped. low and behold, the update that enabled 4g downloaded straight after the first boot and then 4.4.2 downloaded also.
good luck

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.

[UK] Unlocked S7 Edge - Enable EE features?

Hi folks,
So as in iPhone user, i've been following the latest Galaxy very closely and decided to take the plunge on Sunday!
Suffice to say, sat in front of me at the moment is my first Samsung (I went for the Edge).
I'm on EE, so i'd like to know how I go about enabling Wi-Fi calling (and VoLTE when it launches - although i'm aware it's testing in several areas at the moment) on my device. I bought it unlocked, direct from Samsung - which probably explains why I can't see the settings for it?
I've ready that I may have to flash the firmware with the EE version to get the features - my concern with that though is tripping Knox, as i'd like to use Samsung Pay when it launches.
Is there a method of enabling the features without flashing the firmware?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

I've ready that I may have to flash the firmware with the EE version to get the features - my concern with that though is tripping Knox, as i'd like to use Samsung Pay when it launches.
Is there a method of enabling the features without flashing the firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'''
i wouldnt if i were you. i tried that with apple pay in australia and it didnt work. its region locked. wait for the official launch.
for me, my ban offers nfc payments through the phone so i can wait abit for samsung pay to arrive in australia and if im lucky, they will give out free stuff like in america.
i never tried volte calling. but you can always use whats app and stuff.

Its safe to do so,
I bought my S7 Edge from the Samsung store, and flashed the EE firmware, it doesn't trip knox, only custom changes will trip knox, So rooting/custom recoveries and such. its safe to flash the EE firmware. and WI-FI calling working for me, (How to enable WiFI calling). as we speak. But I did do a factory reset(delete everything) after flashing to make sure the CSC for EE was installing correctly.

kossiewossie said:
Its safe to do so,
I bought my S7 Edge from the Samsung store, and flashed the EE firmware, it doesn't trip knox, only custom changes will trip knox, So rooting/custom recoveries and such. its safe to flash the EE firmware. and WI-FI calling working for me as we speak. But I did do a factory reset after flashing to make sure the CSC for EE was installing correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah - just what I wanted to hear
Can you tell me if the EE firmware comes with loads of bloat? Also, will OTA updates work, or will I have to manually flash them when released (I'm sure I read that auto-updates don't work if flashing a different firmware - although I could have misconstrued that).
Thanks

Captain.Slow said:
Ah - just what I wanted to hear
Can you tell me if the EE firmware comes with loads of bloat? Also, will OTA updates work, or will I have to manually flash them when released (I'm sure I read that auto-updates don't work if flashing a different firmware - although I could have misconstrued that).
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto-update will work, but you will have to wait for EE to push the updates out. so might be a delay until they release them, Only difference from buying the phone from EE or Samsung is the firmware, So if you flash the whole phone and factory reset in recovery, its pretty much a EE phone. be warned sometimes WiFi calling will not work until you call up EE and ask them to activate it on your handset, (and that can be a funny conversation, since you didn't buy the phone from them but I managed to talk my way around it on my S6 edge+), And on my S7 Edge it seems to already be enabled after I flashed the EE firmware and enabled in the phone settings.

It's a shame that we still have to install carrier specific firmware to access these things. I thought I heard samsung had overcome this?
Some articles suggested that the S7 could install carrier specific software upon detection of SIM accordingly. This doesn't appear to be the case. I have just had to flash H3G firmware. BTW op it didn't trip KNOX

sammyelrefee said:
It's a shame that we still have to install carrier specific firmware to access these things. I thought I heard samsung had overcome this?
Some articles suggested that the S7 could install carrier specific software upon detection of SIM accordingly. This doesn't appear to be the case. I have just had to flash H3G firmware. BTW op it didn't trip KNOX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a bit rubbish really - it's one good thing Apple has over android imho. I know Google are trying to go down the same route with Carrier Updates - but they're gonna have to grow a pair if they're going to get anywhere with it.
Anyway, thanks kossiewossie - just finished flashing mine. Hoping I haven't tripped Knox (not checked yet, it's restoring my Google Account backup).

To flash the firmware is it just a case of downloading the EE firmware from sammobile and using Odin to flash it? Because I know for the S6 there was an issue where the partitions were different between the EE version and the unlocked version meaning you had to get hold of a PIT file to flash the EE firmware. Is that still the case?

I'm also considering doing the same. I'm on EE but it came through a re-seller so I've got stock Samsung firmware.
Other than the delay in updates being released, is there any other reason why not to do this? Are you able to flash back the BTU version if you grow tired of waiting for carrier updates and don't end up making the use of wifi calling?

mmotti said:
I'm also considering doing the same. I'm on EE but it came through a re-seller so I've got stock Samsung firmware.
Other than the delay in updates being released, is there any other reason why not to do this? Are you able to flash back the BTU version if you grow tired of waiting for carrier updates and don't end up making the use of wifi calling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only benefit I see with the EE firmware is Wifi calling, but as I am in a fantastic reception area, I do not need it. Therefore I see no other reason to use the EE firmware and prefer updates as soon as they are released.
Yes, if you grow tired of waiting for carrier updates, you can flash back to BTE/XEU firmware.

I can't speak for EVR firmware. I used Samfirm to download 4 file H3G firmware and I was not asked for a PIT file.
Interesting there are PIT files included in the files if you unpack them so maybe this was used?

Having downloaded the EE firmware I'm a little confused with Odin.
I have:
AP...
BL...
CP...
CSC_EVR...
Home_CSC_EVR...
Do I need to select all of these within Odin? If so, which CSC as there seems to be two? Sorry if this is a stupid question....

mmotti said:
Having downloaded the EE firmware I'm a little confused with Odin.
I have:
AP...
BL...
CP...
CSC_EVR...
Home_CSC_EVR...
Do I need to select all of these within Odin? If so, which CSC as there seems to be two? Sorry if this is a stupid question....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I did it last night, within Odin I selected files for AP, BL, CP and for CSC - CSC_EVR. I didn't use the Home_CSC_EVR file.
Knowing my luck, i've probably done it wrong - although my phone does seem to be running fine!!

I'm too cautious about flashing the wrong one lol. I'll wait until we know the difference I think!
Edit: Flashed it with the standard CSC. All seems well.

I flashed the standard csc myself and all seems well for over a day now. Would still like to know what the home csc file is for.
Edit. Just found out that home_csc doesn't contain the pit file so it doesn't wipe the phone. So would have to use the standard CSC when changing firmware.

G950FD from Iran (THR) with pre-installed Persian/Iranian Calendar

I bought an unlocked G950FD which turns out to be CSC THR (part of OXM) so should mean it's from Iran. I have found it generic enough in almost every way to be used internationally (in English) with two noticeable exceptions that i'm trying to solve.
1) there is pre-installed Persian Calendar in the OS which appears after the Gregorian date on the AOS and lock screen. I also noticed this extra date appearing on the Samsung Calendar app under the western date, but i don't use this app at all so can easily ignore. The AOS and lock screen is seen all the time and would displays: "MON, JUNE 5 (KHOR 15)". I looked through every settings on the phone and many forums online, and there is no software way to turn this off.
I thought a potential solution would be to replace this stock ROM with another region since any of the multi-CSC OXM firmwares should be compatible with the phone. So I tried to flash another region using Odin. I tried Singapore (SIN and STH) and completely reset/wiped the phone two separate times. However, despite flashing a large (almost 6GB) file onto the phone it still remains in THR when i looked in settings. I guess I misunderstood the purpose of different firmware regions, I thought i would be changing my phone's existing firmware to another region and get a different set of default apps and localization behavior. But the Persian date is still there on all the same screens.
Am I flashing the rom incorrectly? Is there some setting that i omitted that would give me the desired result of a Singapore OS? Any other ways to change CSC and get rid of unwanted parts of a regional firmware?
2) Another problem is when i receive calls on my local sim card, the phone number shows up without the country code, but if i store my numbers (on Google contacts) in "+<country code> <phone number>" format then the contact is not linked to the incoming call.
Apparently this is fairly common with international phones being used in another market. There is a workaround where i can edit my numbers on google to not have any numerical country codes but instead use the flag drop-down menu on google to indicate country associated with the number. I'm ok with that solution but is there another way? Would flashing a regional firmware that is my location solve this? The region that i intend to use the phone is not part of the OXM multi-CSC list of countries since they only sell the snapdragon variant here.
I would like to find solutions that would avoid root and custom roms, but if that is the only option here, i am not against going down that route.
Thanks a lot in advance.

My eventual solution and what i've learned.
So as i described above, i tried to flash many different versions of G950FD or G950F firware with multi-CSC OXM, but never saw my CSC change from THR. Nothing changed on my phone despite installing large files through odin which was always confusing to me. For the record, i tried BTU (UK), STH (Singapore), and SIN (Singapore) which are all part of the OXM.
I learned from another forum that the sim-card installed matters, so i was just trying different non-middle-east regions by picking UK or Singapore but my actual home region does not support this model/cpu variant. I don't have a sim-card from any OXM regions, only Hong Kong and US ones.
Then i found an old Australian (Optus) sim card from a trip and found a G950F firmware version with CSC OPS on Updato. Not part of CSC OXM but same PDA/Phone version and was told it's safe to flash. When i flashed that firmware with the AU sim card installed, i got the AU OS and all the old regional apps were gone. I got some Australian ones but nothing i can't uninstall. My caller ID problem also seem to be fixed. So i consider the problem fixed.
In all of this, the PDA version numbers were always the same (AQDG), so i'm still a bit unclear as to what the CSC file is specifying and doing.
Am i correct to assume that multi-CSC OXM firmware contained regional apps/settings for all the various regions but without a sim card installed to tell it which one to pick, it kept selecting the factory region of THR? And when i flashed the Optus firmware, did i really need the sim-card installed? Would it have changed the firmware to OPS because it's outside the multi-CSC OXM group?

You live in Hong Kong, right ?
I do too, and have a UAE S8, and Samsung Pay doesn't work.
Does your working around things allow you to use Pay, or you get stuck on the splash screen as well ?

tarkil said:
You live in Hong Kong, right ?
I do too, and have a UAE S8, and Samsung Pay doesn't work.
Does your working around things allow you to use Pay, or you get stuck on the splash screen as well ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i live in HK, so with the AU Optus Firmware I got a AU version of Samsung Pay with all AU ads and suggested businesses. I can get past the splash and login using my normal Samsung Account, which shouldn't have a region. BUT so far i haven't had any success adding any of my HK credit cards, i assume it's a version compatibility issue. There is no way to pick which regional version of Samsung Pay on the Play Store, so i guess it looks at your phone's origin to determine that part of the app.
I am not that keen to use Samsung Pay, but of course interested to know if it is possible. It says to call the banks to get my credit cards added, so maybe there is still a chance and i will post if i do succeed.
Do you think Samsung Pay is particularly good for HK? Would using Android Pay be comparable here? I'm not that experienced with mobile payment apps in the past. Seems like the membership card storage function will still work on my Samsung Pay so at least i have that and can slim down the wallet a bit.

Hey there buddy,
Finally found a thread that represents my problem also, in my case i have a s8 G950FD that shows the same thing on my lockscreen, by me it shows (KHOR18)!
Is there any way around it, i mean a fix?? I would greatly appreciate any help

Yes that's the Iranian calendar date so the day will increment everyday. Khor is abbrev for the current month.
Yes I have a solution (read my second post in thread) but involves flashing with a sim card and 950f or 950fd firmware of the same region as the sim card. You will need to reset and erase phone data.
If you need help flashing stock firmware there is a long thread on this forum and where I found the answer about how the sim card installed might make difference.
What region/sim are you currently trying to use your s8?

derf574 said:
Yes that's the Iranian calendar date so the day will increment everyday. Khor is abbrev for the current month.
Yes I have a solution (read my second post in thread) but involves flashing with a sim card and 950f or 950fd firmware of the same region as the sim card. You will need to reset and erase phone data.
If you need help flashing stock firmware there is a long thread on this forum and where I found the answer about how the sim card installed might make difference.
What region/sim are you currently trying to use your s8?
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Click to collapse
Hey there again,
Thank you very much for the time. I am in SE Europe, to be more precise Republic of Kosovo. My SIM is from Kosovo ( we are considered i believe to be in Europe carrier wise)
I do need help flashing the phone as i have no experience whatsoever i just recently switched from Iphone to Samsung, this being said i must also mention the fact that i would definitely need help. I dont want to mess up the phone i just got it like 2 days ago

Things to consider:
- You can flash both 950F and 950FD firmware on your 950FD.
- You need to find your desired firmware. And that region needs to match your sim card, use Updato or SamMobile but the firmware package is a >3GB file and takes a while to download. Make sure you only look for versions for model 950F or FD.
- You will need to download Odin and Samsung usb drivers to flash the firmware onto your phone. Follow the thread "OFFICIAL STOCK Firmware-update (Odin) thread Samsung GALAXY S8 SM-G950F" for the guide.

Colonel_Kosova said:
Hey there again,
Thank you very much for the time. I am in SE Europe, to be more precise Republic of Kosovo. My SIM is from Kosovo ( we are considered i believe to be in Europe carrier wise)
I do need help flashing the phone as i have no experience whatsoever i just recently switched from Iphone to Samsung, this being said i must also mention the fact that i would definitely need help. I dont want to mess up the phone i just got it like 2 days ago
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you decided to go the "SIM card CSC" method then follow this step by step:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
But I personally think you should do it through flashing a firmware with odin but properly and pay attention to step 6:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37508
Hope they help you resolve your issues.
Good luck.

samteeee said:
If you decided to go the "SIM card CSC" method then follow this step by step:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
But I personally think you should do it through flashing a firmware with odin but properly and pay attention to step 6:
https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37508
Hope they help you resolve your issues.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again thank you very much for everything i do have one last question please. Regarding the step 6 should i do it or not i am not sure

Colonel_Kosova said:
Again thank you very much for everything i do have one last question please. Regarding the step 6 should i do it or not i am not sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, if you are changing country/code of CSC, then the system needs to recalculate the partitions.
And don't forget no short cuts! Every step should be done.
Good luck.

ooo man this things is killing me now the problem i have after i have rooted the phone is that the computer wont recognize my phone in download mode ??????????

Hey Peeps,
Small update on how things are for the time being. I have been following all steps as described with odin. Last night i had issues with my laptop not recognizing my phone in download mode, got rid of this issue by changing laptops. Once the procedure was finished i ended up with the same thing on my phone???
I have flashed a european software ( from france) but still no go on removing or changing the region!!!
To be honest dont really know what to do again help is appreciated since that date thing is really annoying

Any other way to get rid of khor on aod/aos
Went through the whole thread. Def not keen to flash or run csc. Any other way to turn off khor date from aod? Help !!!

Hey there all, again just a quick thank you for the tips and tricks. To be honest i dont really know what i did exactely but it worked for me.
What did the change by me was the first step, namely: https://www.sammobile.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37711
i really cant tell how but it worked ( used a sim card i have from Slovenia)
till the next one thank you again