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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.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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....
hi
I am originally from Switzerland and always bought all the galaxy's there in a regular electronic store with no branding or carrier on it. I was always able to use my phones internationally with every possible carrier. a year ago I moved to the states and currently using my s6 edge from Switzerland on cricket (at&t) network. Though i don't get great data speed and connection cause of some frequencies differences between the european and us network. I want to get the s7 edge in the US so i can enjoy perfect connection and speed, but cant find any reliable information regrading the global version SM-G930F, i need one that will also funtion worldwide and especially in switzerland as i travel alot. Unfortunatly in the US people are forced to suscribe to the major cariers to get a the s7 now. i would love to pre-order to get the VR for free. Can anyone pls help me ? what are my possiblities?
Thank u
I don't think you can preorder unless it's through a carrier. You would have to wait until amazon and Samsung begin selling them directly. Which means no VR. Also I can't guarantee that the USA version will be able to fully function abroad. Sorry buddy.
European retailers have been taking pre orders for the unlocked sm-g930F and sm-g-935F international versions since February 23. Unlike US, where carriers dominate the market with their own variants.
The problem is the EU retailers I came across don't ship internationally. But if you have someone in Switzerland, you can order it with their (or your own address in Switzerland) and have them send it to you. You can go to (Google Samsung Switzerland) and on their site you'll see a dozen retailers, such as Steg Electronics, simply offering the unlocked SM-G935F for 818 CHF. Nice and simple!
I preordered mine today without a carrier. The only ****ty thing is that here in Norway a carrier has got the rights to silver color. So i could just make the preorder with other colors
Thank u so much for the info, will I get a free VR ? And also can I use the global version in the US and still enjoy the same data speed and connectivity on att network as I would with a US version? Cause my Swiss Galaxy s6 edge is slower here than an American one, something because of different frequency usage
Cricket is part of at&t, but the way at&t differentiates its plans with its prepaid business (aka cricket wireless) is that Cricket's 4G LTE data speed is limited to 8 mega bits per second, while a native at&t LTE plan speeds go much higher. Cricket clearly states this in the fine prints under their plan as a link "Important data usage ..." As "High-speed data access allows download speeds of a maximum of 8 Mbps for compatible LTE devices and 4 Mbps for compatible HSPA+ devices.".
So if your Galaxy s6 is the international version (SM-G925F), then it has all the right bands to operate on any GSM carrier in the States. All you need to verify is that if your phone has the correct APN. Every US carrier has instructions and FAQs on their APN. For example here is the cricket page:
https://www.cricketwireless.com/sup...ice-byod/customer/bring-your-own-android.html
Thank u very much but I called them many times and they weren't able to fix the issue. What do u suggest I should do with getting the S7 edge?
I would suggest waiting for the galaxy s7 "unlocked" international version to be available in the States.
Places like bhphotovideo.com have the page set up and ready for it. It should be a matter of short while for us to be able to purchase it free of any carrier related restrictions or bloatware. Hang in there.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1225377-REG/samsung_sm_g930_32gb_blk_galaxy_s7_g930_32gb.html
Lol thank u buddy... It's just that I really want to get that VR for free
s7edge said:
Lol thank u buddy... It's just that I really want to get that VR for free
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I also want to buy the international varient of the S7 Edge as I do not want to get stuck with one career and get updates on time. Unlucky us, no free Gear VR :crying:
I just bought one on ebay. It's a SM-935F. The seller has 100% feedback and 35,000 sales. It's the Exynos version. It has full manufacturer warranty It's says it won't ship till mid to late month but I can wait for an carrier free model!
For those that are curious:
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=281946599883&alt=web
Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
verks said:
I just bought one on ebay. It's a SM-935F. The seller has 100% feedback and 35,000 sales. It's the Exynos version. It has full manufacturer warranty It's says it won't ship till mid to late month but I can wait for an carrier free model!
For those that are curious:
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=281946599883&alt=web
Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
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i hope he is legit, last year i did the same for galaxy s6 edge, he had perfect review and everything and it came out he was a fraud, i got my money back trough ebay protection but a lot of headace
I use Cricket and would like to get an S7 edge and be able to use Samsung pay. But i'd like to still retain having the frequency bands to allow me to switch to another service if i end up disliking cricket later on.
But there's a few questions i cant seem to nail down answers for through searching...
It seems like the G935F is a great choice (exynos and no bloat) but Sammy pay is still somewhat questionable on working? It seems like people are getting it to work, but would i be able to purchase an EU model from amazon and it would just work?
Are the G935A and G935T models the same phone but locket to each carrier, or do they legitimately lack the bands the others support?
re: Samsung Pay
FoxTheTrot said:
I use Cricket and would like to get an S7 edge and be able to use Samsung pay. But i'd like to still retain having the frequency bands to allow me to switch to another service if i end up disliking cricket later on.
But there's a few questions i cant seem to nail down answers for through searching...
It seems like the G935F is a great choice (exynos and no bloat) but Sammy pay is still somewhat questionable on working? It seems like people are getting it to work, but would i be able to purchase an EU model from amazon and it would just work?
Are the G935A and G935T models the same phone but locket to each carrier, or do they legitimately lack the bands the others support?
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Click to collapse
The AT&T G935A, T-Mobile G935T and Verizon phones can be unlocked to work with any sim card,
however they can never be rooted. The Samsung pay feature will work fine in any of these 3 phones.
The international S7 Edge G935F comes unlocked and is very easy to root but Samsung pay is not
compatible with it even if it's not rooted.
The only Samsung phones which are fully compatible with Samsung Pay are those which come with
the Samsung Pay app in the phone's app drawer and are not rooted.
Good luck,
Have a great day,
Hello everyone, I'm trying to switch from Verizon to Sprint and I outright own my Verizon S7 Edge. Sprint is saying my device will not work on their network, and that I must sell my phone to them (for $400) and purchase a new Sprint S7 Edge. Verizon has confirmed the phone is fully unlocked. Has anyone else had this issue? Sprint is saying the reason they can't do it is because they cannot add the device to their inventory, and it sounds like they don't accept any Verizon phone. Is there any recourse here, or would I really have to sell my phone?
Skrip037 said:
Hello everyone, I'm trying to switch from Verizon to Sprint and I outright own my Verizon S7 Edge. Sprint is saying my device will not work on their network, and that I must sell my phone to them (for $400) and purchase a new Sprint S7 Edge. Verizon has confirmed the phone is fully unlocked. Has anyone else had this issue? Sprint is saying the reason they can't do it is because they cannot add the device to their inventory, and it sounds like they don't accept any Verizon phone. Is there any recourse here, or would I really have to sell my phone?
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Best bet is to trade a sprint s7 edge for yours.
I was wondering the same thing recently. I can potentially get a very inexpensive S7 edge, but it's verizon. I want to stick with Sprint, but I don't know if there's a way to completely unlock/convert the phone over to the sprint network.
I don't know if it's as easy as unlocking and swapping the SIM, or if theres some underlying Verizon software that needs to get flashed over, or if it's a hardware issue.
I am wondering of you flashed the unlocked firmware if then it would work. I have read people using that ROM with ATT and theoreticallly the unlocked Firmware/Phone should work with all American providers
Just give them yours, why not? I mean, you're already leaving a better company both call and data wise all around so what else can you lose lol.
Sent from my SM-G935P using XDA-Developers mobile app
Skrip037 said:
Hello everyone, I'm trying to switch from Verizon to Sprint and I outright own my Verizon S7 Edge. Sprint is saying my device will not work on their network, and that I must sell my phone to them (for $400) and purchase a new Sprint S7 Edge. Verizon has confirmed the phone is fully unlocked. Has anyone else had this issue? Sprint is saying the reason they can't do it is because they cannot add the device to their inventory, and it sounds like they don't accept any Verizon phone. Is there any recourse here, or would I really have to sell my phone?
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Click to collapse
I was with T-Mobile for 11 years and I thought I had bad coverage. Until I switched to Sprint. Sprint is horrible! When they say they will buy your contract out up to $650, most of it is BS and you end up getting stuck with a huge bill from your former provider. I would highly and I mean highly recommend that you don't go to Sprint. Now after looking back I think T-Mobile is the best because you can scream all you want to at no extra cost. And you can also tether your phone to your computer or other products so you can use that internet and they give you 7 gigs at no extra charge. At Sprint, you have to pay for tethering and there is no free streaming. I'm so pissed at myself I could scream! I want to go back to T-Mobile so bad but they screwed things up with the money they gave me for the phone and the buyback it didn't even cover half of the $1,100 equipment installment plan from T-Mobile. Don't do it! Also comma when you call T-Mobile you get to speak with somebody in the US every single time but when you call Sprint they can even transfer you to the US you end up speaking to somebody in the Philippines that has no clue what they're doing
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kennypow3rs said:
Just give them yours, why not? I mean, you're already leaving a better company both call and data wise all around so what else can you lose lol.
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Don't do it. They do not give you even close enough to pay off your other phone with the other provider. My note that I had a old 5:50 on and they gave me 215 trade in and now I'm stuck for 2 years with incredibly bad service
I worked for sprint for 5 years as a Lead Tech. Sprint will absolutely not activate a verizon, or any other device on their network. Every Phone Sprint buys goes into a master MEID/ESN list. Only phones on that list can be activated. I have never seen them make an exception, not once.
94tbird said:
I worked for sprint for 5 years as a Lead Tech. Sprint will absolutely not activate a verizon, or any other device on their network. Every Phone Sprint buys goes into a master MEID/ESN list. Only phones on that list can be activated. I have never seen them make an exception, not once.
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he is right. sprint will not activate any phone other than a sprint phone unless it is a nexus. its not that they can't its just them making money. they can add a nexus to the list they should be able to add a verizon, but they won't. they have total control of what phones run on the network just like verizon does. its the cdma technology that makes it possible
kennypow3rs said:
Just give them yours, why not? I mean, you're already leaving a better company both call and data wise all around so what else can you lose lol.
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A hundred bucks a month from his phone bill?
Hi guys... i'm actually brand new to the forums. I read threads on here a lot since I will google a phone question & this website usually comes up in some of the 1st results. I never made an account though.. I have now because I haven't been able to find a clear answer on this one..
Just a little back story ; I had StraightTalk with an AT&T simcard from like 2013-2016 on straight talk with an iPhone 5, 5S, and 6 but they were all either AT&T models, or, for example, the iPhone 6 I had was an unlocked model. They worked regardless. & I never had any issues with coverage. I got signal practically everywhere, and had LTE coverage always. It was literally a clone of the coverage you'd get if you actually had AT&T, the coverage maps matched and data speeds weren't even capped, I was getting about 20 or so megs around here in the area, which would have been the same even if I was actually with AT&T.
I went to Verizon postpaid when I turned 18, and wanted to get a new phone, so I was on postpaid from May of 2016 with Verizon until about 2 days ago because they were just getting too expensive to afford. I assumed my experience with straight talk was gonna be exactly the same as it always was when I had them with all my iPhone's. & just to let you guys know, I did much research beforehand & I knew that all of Verizon's smartphone being released these days are already carrier unlocked, & are world/global phone's right out of the box. Not only this, but the model of my Verizon S8 is SM-G950U, which is the same model number as the unlocked galaxy S8 that's not sold from any carrier.
So with all of that in mind, for some reason, my coverage is terrible on StraightTalk. I am only getting HSPA+ ( faux 4g, i'm acting as if you guys don't know what i'm talking about :laugh: ) & when I leave my house, very RARELY LTE. Signal strength is not as good either. I've searched google for hours..... & i've tried multiple different APN's on the phone... but I can't seem to do anything. & I couldn't find many threads on here about it either. I'm just so confused and lost because it is a known fact that the Verizon S8 is a world phone. & the bands that AT&T runs it's LTE on is also the exact same bands that the G950U supports. So is there something i'm doing wrong here? Or something you guys might be able to help me with? I know that with all my iPhone's on ST I was getting LTE no matter what and signal strength was much better. It's just very dissapointing that I spent $60+ on an activation kit, and get absolutely ****ty coverage, and I have no clue what to do at this point. I've given up. For anyone who took the time to read all of this, thank you. Lol.
Flash the unlocked firmware and all will be good
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
bricky23 said:
Flash the unlocked firmware and all will be good
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
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OP, any updates?
AgentH22 said:
OP, any updates?
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wondering the same thing myself:silly: