Database Info

Kaiser (ATT Tilt 1) ROM/Radio question

I was reading the Wiki/FAQ and found this thread and still have some questions on the ROM Radio configuration.
I have a tilt I got from work and the reception is attrocious, so I am under the impression that the ATT ROM and Radio have more affinity for the ATT network than Tmobile (which is my guess because my old Wing had much better signal). What I notice from the list of Kaiser ROMs (on the Wiki) is the only official Tmobile ROMs are for the Netherlands and the UK. My guess is that I wouldn't want to load those since I live in the US, plus the official OS build is 19124 in the ATT tilt instead of 19212 in the other builds.
My question is: Can I mix other Radios to better work on the Tmobile network? Do I need to clear my ROM from the official ATT to another HTC ROM? Does the ROM clear the Windows build so there wouldn't be a compatibility issue, or does it only work for the cell phone service (device communication portion sort of like a DOS on windows 98) and therefore the OS build is independant of the ROM and Radio? Do ROMs and Radios need to be properly paired or can I trial and error it?
I've been looking for some of the answers but the weren't overly appearant from the FAQ and Wikis. Hopefully I didn't gloss over the easy answers somewhere on the site.

Any thoughts? I can start doing the trial and error method, but if I can get some confirmation that I won't brick my phone that would be awesome. Also, if there is any general "method to the madness" in terms of trying the Radios out, I would appreciate it.

This is where you should start:
Flashing Your First Kaiser Rom
The most important consideration for flashing any phone: MAKE SURE YOU HARD SPL (if you are using a Tilt, I recommend 3.56 as that is what AT&T officially used in their last ROM). That way, if you screw up a flash, you can just flash to another radio/ROM without worrying about bricking your phone. Press the Camera+Power button+use your stylus to reset the phone to bootloader to see if your phone is already Hard SPL'd. You should see a 3.28, 3.29, 3.34, or 3.56 at the top left of the screen when the tricolor screen pops up; you can just reset your phone after looking to get back to your OS). If, and only if, your phone is Hard SPL'd, read on...
>Can I mix other Radios to better work on the Tmobile network?
Of course. For example, I am using the emobile radio (1.71.09.01) on my Tilt. See: The Ultimate Radio Thread for more.
>Do I need to clear my ROM from the official ATT to another HTC ROM?
No, you can flash the radio only if you want.
>Does the ROM clear the Windows build
Not if you're flashing just the radio.
>...and therefore the OS build is independant of the ROM and Radio?
The OS build is independent of the radio. Best to think of the ROM as the OS, and the radio as how your OS communicates with your phone...
>or can I trial and error it?
That's the whole point of flashing just the radio--finding which one works best for you.

Thank you for the information. I verified the Hard SPL (3.56) so it looks like I am good on that front.
I just want to verify something you said before I actually do this (since the RUU tutorial told me ROMs can brick my phone and you mentioned Radios are similar in that fashion). The radios listed from the Ultimate ROM/Radio Thread are listed by WMx.x version, not by the associated ROMs. Since I am using the officially released ROM from ATT my version of WM is 6.1, therefore any of the Radios under the 6.1 header are available for flashing to my phone.
Is that correct?
Thanks again and in advance.

Anyone know of a new link for the latest Hard SPL 3.56? I keep on trying to download on rapidshare and I am denied (cause I am a non-subscriber). If there is a mirror that anyone knows of I would appreciate it. I keep searching around and cannot find one.

blackie_chan said:
Anyone know of a new link for the latest Hard SPL 3.56? I keep on trying to download on rapidshare and I am denied (cause I am a non-subscriber). If there is a mirror that anyone knows of I would appreciate it. I keep searching around and cannot find one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just DL this and uploaded it for you 3.56

Zelendel you are awesome. Thank you very much.

The Resurrection of the RegionLock Away - The Galaxy Region Unlock app!!

So you all know Samsung has been busy for a couple of years now region locking their phones -correction: our phones!- for their sales and marketing strategy or whatever and has been hurting us, the individual users, along the way. This is considered ridiculous by those of us who love buying the phone from wherever they want, using it wherever they want, and using whichever firmware they want. Buying a Galaxy S7 phone on a trip to Europe and failing to make the 5 minutes local activation call (as per the hidden fine print under the box seal) should never force you to send the phone back to where you bought it (that's Samsung's official response!!) And so, the challenge was accepted.. we fight back!
Latest information on the region lock:
The region lock is not as simple as it first seamed and will not be affected by sales code changes, product code changes, stock firmware flashing, rooting, hard resets, or upgrades.
The lock information is stored in an encrypted lock info vector stored in an encrypted block in the nv_data.bin file.
It's not clear how similar the region lock is to the SIM locks, or carrier network locks. But from the feedback of other owners, most services that offer network unlock codes mention that they don't support unlocking the new region lock by Samsung.
More recently a few independent service providers explicitly announced they support removing Samsung regional lock for anywhere from $20 to $45 depending on the region and the service provider. But unfortunately the service could be go down for some regions at any time for an extended duration. Again Samsung is responsible here because these services seem to rely on accessing a database if IMEIs and unlock codes managed by Samsung itself.
On a different front, a couple of the service providers seem to use a direct cable unlock method to remove all sorts of locks of various phones through communication with the phone's modem through AT commands. This method does not depend on any databases and so has leveled the play field, returning the control back to us.
Taking it from there, we had a look at the android RILJ, the native RILD, and even gave the firmware of modem a shot. The Ril.java class in the com.android.internal.telephony package showed a very solid hope: nvReadItem and nvWriteItem methods. However, working around the security measures involved in protecting the interprocess communication with the service stub implementation earned us nothing but disappointment when the 2 methods returned "not supported" error when executed through the RILD. The RILD analysis gave some similar false positives.
Finally, we found what we wanted after inspecting the modem.bin. The following 2 strings were found surrounded by AT commands and looked exceptionally interesting: +NVVALUEREAD and +NVVALUEWRITE. From there, we followed through and managed to use those to create the Galaxy Region Unlock app which allowed us to instantly remove the Samsung region lock on a Galaxy S7 G930F that had been locked to the European region (and who knows what other phones of the Galaxy family and what other sorts of locks it could be removing along the way!! any adventurers? ). In addition, the app allowed changing the product code without resetting or even restarting the phone!!
One catch though. The region unlock method hooks seems to have been killed from the modem in builds BPH1 and above (meaning new firmware released starting August 2016). It was working on APEQ modem build. But still, not a big deal, we have the old working modem firmware lying around and can flash it temporarily if needed.
Compatible Phones:
Samsung Galaxy S7 G930F (Exynos)
Compatible Modem Firmware:
G930FXXU1APEQ
G930FXXU1APB6
Enjoy the victory!
P.S. I'm trying to attach the apk here but I can't figure out how! Will make an edit afterwards once I figure out.
Update: Still can't figure out how to add an attachment. Can't add a link to the app on Google Play either for now, but you can easily find it on Google Play by searching using "com.ZigBrick.GalaxyRegionUnlock".

It's just for rooted phone?
Sent from my SM-G930F using XDA-Developers mobile app

Hi,
But I got that error: Operation failed: Failed to get lock level
Have you a solution?
Thank you in advance
ZigBrick said:
So you all know Samsung has been busy for a couple of years now region locking their phones -correction: our phones!- for their sales and marketing strategy or whatever and has been hurting us, the individual users, along the way. This is considered ridiculous by those of us who love buying the phone from wherever they want, using it wherever they want, and using whichever firmware they want. Buying a Galaxy S7 phone on a trip to Europe and failing to make the 5 minutes local activation call (as per the hidden fine print under the box seal) should never force you to send the phone back to where you bought it (that's Samsung's official response!!) And so, the challenge was accepted.. we fight back!
Latest information on the region lock:
The region lock is not as simple as it first seamed and will not be affected by sales code changes, product code changes, stock firmware flashing, rooting, hard resets, or upgrades.
The lock information is stored in an encrypted lock info vector stored in an encrypted block in the nv_data.bin file.
It's not clear how similar the region lock is to the SIM locks, or carrier network locks. But from the feedback of other owners, most services that offer network unlock codes mention that they don't support unlocking the new region lock by Samsung.
More recently a few independent service providers explicitly announced they support removing Samsung regional lock for anywhere from $20 to $45 depending on the region and the service provider. But unfortunately the service could be go down for some regions at any time for an extended duration. Again Samsung is responsible here because these services seem to rely on accessing a database if IMEIs and unlock codes managed by Samsung itself.
On a different front, a couple of the service providers seem to use a direct cable unlock method to remove all sorts of locks of various phones through communication with the phone's modem through AT commands. This method does not depend on any databases and so has leveled the play field, returning the control back to us.
Taking it from there, we had a look at the android RILJ, the native RILD, and even gave the firmware of modem a shot. The Ril.java class in the com.android.internal.telephony package showed a very solid hope: nvReadItem and nvWriteItem methods. However, working around the security measures involved in protecting the interprocess communication with the service stub implementation earned us nothing but disappointment when the 2 methods returned "not supported" error when executed through the RILD. The RILD analysis gave some similar false positives.
Finally, we found what we wanted after inspecting the modem.bin. The following 2 strings were found surrounded by AT commands and looked exceptionally interesting: +NVVALUEREAD and +NVVALUEWRITE. From there, we followed through and managed to use those to create the Galaxy Region Unlock app which allowed us to instantly remove the Samsung region lock on a Galaxy S7 G930F that had been locked to the European region (and who knows what other phones of the Galaxy family and what other sorts of locks it could be removing along the way!! any adventurers? ). In addition, the app allowed changing the product code without resetting or even restarting the phone!!
One catch though. The region unlock method hooks seems to have been killed from the modem in builds BPH1 and above (meaning new firmware released starting August 2016). It was working on APEQ modem build. But still, not a big deal, we have the old working modem firmware lying around and can flash it temporarily if needed.
Compatible Phones:
Samsung Galaxy S7 G930F (Exynos)
Compatible Modem Firmware:
G930FXXU1APEQ
G930FXXU1APB6
Enjoy the victory!
P.S. I'm trying to attach the apk here but I can't figure out how! Will make an edit afterwards once I figure out.
Update: Still can't figure out how to add an attachment. Can't add a link to the app on Google Play either for now, but you can easily find it on Google Play by searching using "com.ZigBrick.GalaxyRegionUnlock".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Are you with the correct (old) modem version?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

ZigBrick said:
So you all know Samsung has been busy for a couple of years now region locking their phones -correction: our phones!- for their sales and marketing strategy or whatever and has been hurting us, the individual users, along the way. This is considered ridiculous by those of us who love buying the phone from wherever they want, using it wherever they want, and using whichever firmware they want. Buying a Galaxy S7 phone on a trip to Europe and failing to make the 5 minutes local activation call (as per the hidden fine print under the box seal) should never force you to send the phone back to where you bought it (that's Samsung's official response!!) And so, the challenge was accepted.. we fight back!
Latest information on the region lock:
The region lock is not as simple as it first seamed and will not be affected by sales code changes, product code changes, stock firmware flashing, rooting, hard resets, or upgrades.
The lock information is stored in an encrypted lock info vector stored in an encrypted block in the nv_data.bin file.
It's not clear how similar the region lock is to the SIM locks, or carrier network locks. But from the feedback of other owners, most services that offer network unlock codes mention that they don't support unlocking the new region lock by Samsung.
More recently a few independent service providers explicitly announced they support removing Samsung regional lock for anywhere from $20 to $45 depending on the region and the service provider. But unfortunately the service could be go down for some regions at any time for an extended duration. Again Samsung is responsible here because these services seem to rely on accessing a database if IMEIs and unlock codes managed by Samsung itself.
On a different front, a couple of the service providers seem to use a direct cable unlock method to remove all sorts of locks of various phones through communication with the phone's modem through AT commands. This method does not depend on any databases and so has leveled the play field, returning the control back to us.
Taking it from there, we had a look at the android RILJ, the native RILD, and even gave the firmware of modem a shot. The Ril.java class in the com.android.internal.telephony package showed a very solid hope: nvReadItem and nvWriteItem methods. However, working around the security measures involved in protecting the interprocess communication with the service stub implementation earned us nothing but disappointment when the 2 methods returned "not supported" error when executed through the RILD. The RILD analysis gave some similar false positives.
Finally, we found what we wanted after inspecting the modem.bin. The following 2 strings were found surrounded by AT commands and looked exceptionally interesting: +NVVALUEREAD and +NVVALUEWRITE. From there, we followed through and managed to use those to create the Galaxy Region Unlock app which allowed us to instantly remove the Samsung region lock on a Galaxy S7 G930F that had been locked to the European region (and who knows what other phones of the Galaxy family and what other sorts of locks it could be removing along the way!! any adventurers? ). In addition, the app allowed changing the product code without resetting or even restarting the phone!!
One catch though. The region unlock method hooks seems to have been killed from the modem in builds BPH1 and above (meaning new firmware released starting August 2016). It was working on APEQ modem build. But still, not a big deal, we have the old working modem firmware lying around and can flash it temporarily if needed.
Compatible Phones:
Samsung Galaxy S7 G930F (Exynos)
Compatible Modem Firmware:
G930FXXU1APEQ
G930FXXU1APB6
Enjoy the victory!
P.S. I'm trying to attach the apk here but I can't figure out how! Will make an edit afterwards once I figure out.
Update: Still can't figure out how to add an attachment. Can't add a link to the app on Google Play either for now, but you can easily find it on Google Play by searching using "com.ZigBrick.GalaxyRegionUnlock".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the beautiful explantion but unfortunally my modem version is BPH1 so the app is not working. what other options i have got? just finished rooting my phone.
---------- Post added at 04:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 AM ----------
omrij said:
Are you with the correct (old) modem version?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. my modem version is G930FXXU1BPH1

So flash old modem
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_KNNXfgovrMNXcxNlZuMmtwaGs
After that, you can return to the new one
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_KNNXfgovrMUVhPTHdQSV81Z2M
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Thanks Brother for this great apps!!
Hi good day, I want to try this but i don't want to Trip my Knox yet, i'm not ready for that.
I hope the Non-Rooted support come soon
thanks for this great development.
Thumbs up for you Bro.
if the non-rooted is released i want to donate for a coffee for your nice work.
thanks a lot
waiting

cyke0213 said:
Hi good day, I want to try this but i don't want to Trip my Knox yet, i'm not ready for that.
I hope the Non-Rooted support come soon
thanks for this great development.
Thumbs up for you Bro.
if the non-rooted is released i want to donate for a coffee for your nice work.
thanks a lot
waiting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
misulik79 said:
It's just for rooted phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I was away for the past few days. Actually we have tested a version that doesn't require rooting the phone. The only thing you'd miss with the non-root version would be the ability to backup your EFS info. We only have to do the final testing and release it, but we decided to postpone that for a while since we didn't find huge demand for such feature to justify the effort to put towards that.
I've created a poll to see if more people would like to have a non-root version of this app. If we find high demand for the non-rooted version, then we would bring releasing it back to the top of our priorities.

Changing csc without root would be great!
Thanks for the effort.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Samsung S6 Region lock
So I bought my Samsung S6 from the UK in June, now I live in South Africa and it seems the region lock has kicked in after about a month in the country. I have tried just about everything to try and unlock the phone (except flying back to the UK to make my 5 minute call and paying for unlock codes over the internet). I've tried your app on my model SM-G920F (Software Version G920FXXS4DPH7, Modem Version G920FXXS4DPG3) but it says "Operation failed: Failed to get lock info". How do I get around this? Is there an older modem version for my S6 that will allow this?
Just to explain why I've never paid for an unlock code over the internet, I have never gotten an unlock screen request on the device so that's why I'm unsure if that will work. My device simply says "No SIM | Emergency Calls only", but Samsung UK has confirmed that the device contains a regional SIM lock.
Thanks in advance!
Pieter

vmostransistor said:
So I bought my Samsung S6 from the UK in June, now I live in South Africa and it seems the region lock has kicked in after about a month in the country. I have tried just about everything to try and unlock the phone (except flying back to the UK to make my 5 minute call and paying for unlock codes over the internet). I've tried your app on my model SM-G920F (Software Version G920FXXS4DPH7, Modem Version G920FXXS4DPG3) but it says "Operation failed: Failed to get lock info". How do I get around this? Is there an older modem version for my S6 that will allow this?
Just to explain why I've never paid for an unlock code over the internet, I have never gotten an unlock screen request on the device so that's why I'm unsure if that will work. My device simply says "No SIM | Emergency Calls only", but Samsung UK has confirmed that the device contains a regional SIM lock.
Thanks in advance!
Pieter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's very annoying and inconvenient indeed.
You can find old stock firmware images for your device at sammobile. You can try the following steps:
Download the desired firmware from here: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G920F/
Extract the zip file.
Put the phone in download mode and flash the extracted file "CP_..." only. Make sure to use the latest version of Odin (3.12 or later) as they've changed the way you provide the files. Fill the CP field only in Odin.

@ZigBrick Sir
First up, Thank you very much for resurrecting this kind of app really! It's a life saver for unfortunate souls like me who have been robbed by Samsung by region locking our phones.
As a noob I have a few questions though
I have a region-locked (European, unlocked Single SIM, SM-G935F) Galaxy S7 Edge, should I try this app in my phone?
Is removal of Region lock is a one-time phenomenon? I mean will updating the phone bring the lock again or not?
Thanks in advance
---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------
omrij said:
So flash old modem
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_KNNXfgovrMNXcxNlZuMmtwaGs
After that, you can return to the new one
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_KNNXfgovrMUVhPTHdQSV81Z2M
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please can you share old modem download link for Galaxy S7 Edge (SM-G935F Exynos variant)?

technomedico said:
@ZigBrick Sir
First up, Thank you very much for resurrecting this kind of app really! It's a life saver for unfortunate souls like me who have been robbed by Samsung by region locking our phones.
As a noob I have a few questions though
I have a region-locked (European, unlocked Single SIM, SM-G935F) Galaxy S7 Edge, should I try this app in my phone?
Is removal of Region lock is a one-time phenomenon? I mean will updating the phone bring the lock again or not?
Thanks in advance
---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------
Please can you share old modem download link for Galaxy S7 Edge (SM-G935F Exynos variant)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the encouragement.
The app has already been successfully used to unlock SM-G935F.
The app modifies the nv-data.bin file, which contains specific settings for your phone (including IMEI, serial number, etc.) This file is not included with any firmware and doesn't get changed as part of updating/flashing. Therefore, updating "should" normally not cause your device to get locked again. This had been verified with several firmware updates.
I'm saying "should" because we don't know the future and whether samsung could be able to implement something specific in future firmwares that would detect this unlock method and undo it.
You can find old stock firmware images for your device at sammobile. You can try the following steps:
Download the desired firmware from here:
1- http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G935F/
2- Extract the zip file.
3- Put the phone in download mode and flash the extracted file "CP_..." only. Make sure to use the latest version of Odin (3.12 or later) as they've changed the way you provide the files. Fill the CP field only in Odin.

ZigBrick said:
Thank you for the encouragement.
The app has already been successfully used to unlock SM-G935F.
The app modifies the nv-data.bin file, which contains specific settings for your phone (including IMEI, serial number, etc.) This file is not included with any firmware and doesn't get changed as part of updating/flashing. Therefore, updating "should" normally not cause your device to get locked again. This had been verified with several firmware updates.
I'm saying "should" because we don't know the future and whether samsung could be able to implement something specific in future firmwares that would detect this unlock method and undo it.
You can find old stock firmware images for your device at sammobile. You can try the following steps:
Download the desired firmware from here:
1- http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G935F/
2- Extract the zip file.
3- Put the phone in download mode and flash the extracted file "CP_..." only. Make sure to use the latest version of Odin (3.12 or later) as they've changed the way you provide the files. Fill the CP field only in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply!
I will update here whatever happens to my S7 Edge (hopefully the lock is removed).

This is very helpful, I had been looking for such an app to remove the region lock on my device. RegionLock Away wasn't working, and now I know why (thanks to the OP), however, even though this app worked and removed the region lock (in theory), I still have no access to my network. I can't make calls, and have no mobile data.
My device is an SIM-unlocked Galaxy S7 edge (SM-G935F), bought from the UK. It was set up for use in Tanzania, and worked fine there. However, it's now with me in the US, with a Verizon sim card, and seems to still be region-locked despite me using this app to remove that lock.
This is probably a long shot, but does anybody know what more I can do? Thanks for your help!

KaiserCola said:
This is very helpful, I had been looking for such an app to remove the region lock on my device. RegionLock Away wasn't working, and now I know why (thanks to the OP), however, even though this app worked and removed the region lock (in theory), I still have no access to my network. I can't make calls, and have no mobile data.
My device is an SIM-unlocked Galaxy S7 edge (SM-G935F), bought from the UK. It was set up for use in Tanzania, and worked fine there. However, it's now with me in the US, with a Verizon sim card, and seems to still be region-locked despite me using this app to remove that lock.
This is probably a long shot, but does anybody know what more I can do? Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not an expert in the CDMA networks phone compatibility, but according to this (http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/help/sm-g935f-verizon-t3346926), SM-G935F seems to have frequency compatibility problems with Verizon.
I suggest you investigate more along the CDMA compatibility route and possibly pop in a SIM from another US compatible network to verify.

flashing with older modem.bin crashes app
ZigBrick said:
It's very annoying and inconvenient indeed.
You can find old stock firmware images for your device at sammobile. You can try the following steps:
...
Put the phone in download mode and flash the extracted file "CP_..." only. Make sure to use the latest version of Odin (3.12 or later) as they've changed the way you provide the files. Fill the CP field only in Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[Galaxy S6 SM-G920F]
I do not know how to generate a CP_ file like you ask above or where to find it. SamMobile only has tar.md5 files from which I can extract the bin file. I assume a CP_ only contains the modem.bin?
So I used Odin3 v3.10 to flash the modem.bin file from G920FXXU3DPER_G920FOJV3DPE3_G920FXXU3DPF2_HOME.tar.md5 which is dated 2016/06/10. Anyways the flashing was successful but when I execute your app it crashes. I have sent a feedback report via the phone which I think includes logs. I also tried flashing the whole ROM but that doesn't work, it fails at boot.bin so I suspect the bootloader version is different.
It could also be that there is some difference with the S7 modem and the S6 modem comms and that may be why your app crashes. Anyways I hope you can investigate and revert back. Let me know if there is any info I can supply! It would be great if your app can also be used to remove the region lock from S6 devices!

vmostransistor said:
[Galaxy S6 SM-G920F]
I do not know how to generate a CP_ file like you ask above or where to find it. SamMobile only has tar.md5 files from which I can extract the bin file. I assume a CP_ only contains the modem.bin?
So I used Odin3 v3.10 to flash the modem.bin file from G920FXXU3DPER_G920FOJV3DPE3_G920FXXU3DPF2_HOME.tar.md5 which is dated 2016/06/10. Anyways the flashing was successful but when I execute your app it crashes. I have sent a feedback report via the phone which I think includes logs. I also tried flashing the whole ROM but that doesn't work, it fails at boot.bin so I suspect the bootloader version is different.
It could also be that there is some difference with the S7 modem and the S6 modem comms and that may be why your app crashes. Anyways I hope you can investigate and revert back. Let me know if there is any info I can supply! It would be great if your app can also be used to remove the region lock from S6 devices!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S7 firmware on SamMobile is packaged differently (a single ZIP file containing several tar.md5 files, with one tar containing the modem only.) The S6 seems to be using the old packaging structure. Anyway, flashing the old modem.bin is the goal and should work.
As for the crash, we can see the source of the problem (reading the RIL product code). But we need you to run the following and send back the results to see why the app is unable to read the RIL product code.
Code:
getprop | grep -i ril
getprop | grep -i product

ZigBrick said:
The S7 firmware on SamMobile is packaged differently (a single ZIP file containing several tar.md5 files, with one tar containing the modem only.) The S6 seems to be using the old packaging structure. Anyway, flashing the old modem.bin is the goal and should work.
As for the crash, we can see the source of the problem (reading the RIL product code). But we need you to run the following and send back the results to see why the app is unable to read the RIL product code.
Code:
getprop | grep -i ril
getprop | grep -i product
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a getprop and I assume the product info you want is the ro.product because I don't see any other product info. seems there are some missing ril info on the old modem.
But I also see now that the G920FXXS4DPG3 modem date is before 1 August so shouldn't that have worked then? Maybe that's why the app said that it possibly supports region unlocking but when I ran it it said failed to get lock info.
Baseband G920FXXS4DPG3 2016-07-05
This works but cannot unlock
[ril.CompleteMsg]: [OK]
[ril.ICC_TYPE]: [0]
[ril.RildInit]: [1]
[ril.approved_codever]: [none]
[ril.approved_cscver]: [none]
[ril.approved_modemver]: [none]
[ril.atd_status]: [1_1_0]
[ril.backoffstate]: [33792]
[ril.cbd.boot_done]: [1]
[ril.cbd.rfs_check_done]: [1]
[ril.cs_svc]: [1]
[ril.ecclist00]: [112,911,999,000,08,110,118,119]
[ril.hasisim]: [0]
[ril.hw_ver]: [MP 1.000]
[ril.ims.ecsupport]: [2]
[ril.ims.ltevoicesupport]: [2]
[ril.model_id]: [UNKNOWN]
[ril.modem.board]: [SHANNON333]
[ril.official_cscver]: [G920FOJV3DPF3]
[ril.product_code]: [SM-G920FZKAXSG]
[ril.radiostate]: [10]
[ril.rfcal_date]: [20160414]
[ril.serialnumber]: [RF8H41GPKRJ]
[ril.servicestate]: [2]
[ril.ss.routing]: [0]
[ril.subinfo]: [0:2147483643]
[ril.sw_ver]: [G920FXXS4DPG3]
[ril.timezoneID]: [Africa/Johannesburg]
[ril.voice.rat]: [3]
Baseband G920FXXU3DPF2 2016-06-09
This crashes
[ril.ICC_TYPE]: [0]
[ril.approved_codever]: [none]
[ril.approved_cscver]: [none]
[ril.approved_modemver]: [none]
[ril.cbd.rfs_check_done]: [1]
[ril.ecclist00]: [112,911,999,000,08,110,118,119]
[ril.hasisim]: [0]
[ril.official_cscver]: [G920FOJV3DPF3]
[ril.serialnumber]: [RF8H41GPKRJ]
[ril.servicestate]: [1]
[ril.ss.routing]: [0]
[ril.subinfo]: [0:2147483643]
[ro.product.board]: [universal7420]
[ro.product.brand]: [samsung]
[ro.product.cpu.abi]: [arm64-v8a]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist]: [arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist32]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist64]: [arm64-v8a]
[ro.product.device]: [zeroflte]
[ro.product.locale]: [en-GB]
[ro.product.manufacturer]: [samsung]
[ro.product.model]: [SM-G920F]
[ro.product.name]: [zerofltexx]
[ro.product_ship]: [true]

vmostransistor said:
I did a getprop and I assume the product info you want is the ro.product because I don't see any other product info. seems there are some missing ril info on the old modem.
But I also see now that the G920FXXS4DPG3 modem date is before 1 August so shouldn't that have worked then? Maybe that's why the app said that it possibly supports region unlocking but when I ran it it said failed to get lock info.
Baseband G920FXXS4DPG3 2016-07-05
This works but cannot unlock
[ril.CompleteMsg]: [OK]
[ril.ICC_TYPE]: [0]
[ril.RildInit]: [1]
[ril.approved_codever]: [none]
[ril.approved_cscver]: [none]
[ril.approved_modemver]: [none]
[ril.atd_status]: [1_1_0]
[ril.backoffstate]: [33792]
[ril.cbd.boot_done]: [1]
[ril.cbd.rfs_check_done]: [1]
[ril.cs_svc]: [1]
[ril.ecclist00]: [112,911,999,000,08,110,118,119]
[ril.hasisim]: [0]
[ril.hw_ver]: [MP 1.000]
[ril.ims.ecsupport]: [2]
[ril.ims.ltevoicesupport]: [2]
[ril.model_id]: [UNKNOWN]
[ril.modem.board]: [SHANNON333]
[ril.official_cscver]: [G920FOJV3DPF3]
[ril.product_code]: [SM-G920FZKAXSG]
[ril.radiostate]: [10]
[ril.rfcal_date]: [20160414]
[ril.serialnumber]: [RF8H41GPKRJ]
[ril.servicestate]: [2]
[ril.ss.routing]: [0]
[ril.subinfo]: [0:2147483643]
[ril.sw_ver]: [G920FXXS4DPG3]
[ril.timezoneID]: [Africa/Johannesburg]
[ril.voice.rat]: [3]
Baseband G920FXXU3DPF2 2016-06-09
This crashes
[ril.ICC_TYPE]: [0]
[ril.approved_codever]: [none]
[ril.approved_cscver]: [none]
[ril.approved_modemver]: [none]
[ril.cbd.rfs_check_done]: [1]
[ril.ecclist00]: [112,911,999,000,08,110,118,119]
[ril.hasisim]: [0]
[ril.official_cscver]: [G920FOJV3DPF3]
[ril.serialnumber]: [RF8H41GPKRJ]
[ril.servicestate]: [1]
[ril.ss.routing]: [0]
[ril.subinfo]: [0:2147483643]
[ro.product.board]: [universal7420]
[ro.product.brand]: [samsung]
[ro.product.cpu.abi]: [arm64-v8a]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist]: [arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist32]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist64]: [arm64-v8a]
[ro.product.device]: [zeroflte]
[ro.product.locale]: [en-GB]
[ro.product.manufacturer]: [samsung]
[ro.product.model]: [SM-G920F]
[ro.product.name]: [zerofltexx]
[ro.product_ship]: [true]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app was looking for "ril.product_code" setting value and crashed when it couldn't find it. This entry is not critical and we could easily bypass it. However, there are many other missing RIL properties from your device after flashing the old modem. This suggests that the RILD probably failed to initialize, either due to some incompatibility introduced by Samsung between the old and new firmwares you are mixing or due to incorrect modem bin flashing.
The date 1 August is used as a quick inaccurate check for now; i.e. just a best guess based on a few tested ROMs for S7. The exact modem version where Samsung killed the unlock backdoor used by this app is still not identified exactly. Also, whether the same change was rollout to modem firmwares releases of other devices in the Galaxy family around the same time is just a wild guess and is yet to be verified.
Perhaps you could flash the full old firmware to avoid any incompatibility the RILD might be having? (You mentioned that flashing the old ROM fails at boot.bin. I guess that is probably due to downgrade protection. I'm not very familiar with this area but I believe you might find better directions towards downgrading S6 images in this forum.)

MHA-L29C605B111 to MHA-L29BC605B111

Hello forum, sorry if the question i am going to ask is a bit noob. I have a mate 9 (MHA-L29C605B111 CUSTC605D111). The thing is i am getting annoyed by the notifications in numners not the icon. The thing is via FF i only find the MHA-L29BC605B111 CUSTC605D162. That cust is the same as a friend of mine which has the icons. My questions are:
1) Is there a command to enable the icons?
2) Is there any risk via FF to change from C605 to BC605 as is only OTA-MF?
3) Is this the correct way to change the CUSTID?
Thank you for every help you may give me as i am new in the huawei world!!:good::good:

The_Pacifier said:
Hello forum, sorry if the question i am going to ask is a bit noob. I have a mate 9 (MHA-L29C605B111 CUSTC605D111). The thing is i am getting annoyed by the notifications in numners not the icon. The thing is via FF i only find the MHA-L29BC605B111 CUSTC605D162. That cust is the same as a friend of mine which has the icons. My questions are:
1) Is there a command to enable the icons?
2) Is there any risk via FF to change from C605 to BC605 as is only OTA-MF?
3) Is this the correct way to change the CUSTID?
Thank you for every help you may give me as i am new in the huawei world!!:good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. No. Huawei uses numbers in old ROMs. But in new ROMs you can select numbers or icons.
2. You can not change ROM via OTA-MF in this case. This type of ROM contains difference between previous version and current only. If you will flash it over other ROM (non-native) - ROM will not be flashed. I don't know what difference between cust D111 and D165.
Symbol 'B' in MHA-L29BC605 means beta or test.
Maybe, you can flash but ROM version is same B111, so very little chances to flash by OTA type.
If you're not planning to sell phone or not using special functional from your mobile operator, it is better to rebrand on world or china ROM. The most popular are C636 (Asia Pacific), C432 (Europe), C00 (China). But you will lost ability to return on your customization, cause there is no full version of your current ROM.

Hey man, check out this thread...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-9/help/huawei-mate-9-mha-l29c605b111-help-t3638341/page2

5[Strogino] said:
1. No. Huawei uses numbers in old ROMs. But in new ROMs you can select numbers or icons.
2. You can not change ROM via OTA-MF in this case. This type of ROM contains difference between previous version and current only. If you will flash it over other ROM (non-native) - ROM will not be flashed. I don't know what difference between cust D111 and D165.
Symbol 'B' in MHA-L29BC605 means beta or test.
Maybe, you can flash but ROM version is same B111, so very little chances to flash by OTA type.
If you're not planning to sell phone or not using special functional from your mobile operator, it is better to rebrand on world or china ROM. The most popular are C636 (Asia Pacific), C432 (Europe), C00 (China). But you will lost ability to return on your customization, cause there is no full version of your current ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks. I am a little afraid of rebranding at the moment. I do not understand de process correctly and I do not want to mess up my phone. I do not understand what is important about my operator, as this phone is not from an operator or the man who sell it to me said that, as i live in argentina this phone is not available here and i do not know from which country is from. Is there a posibility that i get otas or i will be stuck in this?

The_Pacifier said:
Many thanks. I am a little afraid of rebranding at the moment. I do not understand de process correctly and I do not want to mess up my phone. I do not understand what is important about my operator, as this phone is not from an operator or the man who sell it to me said that, as i live in argentina this phone is not available here and i do not know from which country is from. Is there a posibility that i get otas or i will be stuck in this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is your phone from? How you bought it?
Unfortunately, phones with extra customization are not updated often. I reviewed many stock ROMs, and ROMs with cust are hosted without FullOTA type even! So it is very hard to restore original state back.
Imho, if anyone wants buy Mate 9 and don't want problems with ROM or flashing process, he/she must buy phone with popular region.
I don't wander what Huawei included in addition to region when named cust. Maybe, it is special settings for domestic mobile operators, maybe some bloatware, maybe something else.
About existing OTAs.
Need to download them all and check what is inside. Changelogs are different, so it is chance that files are incremental. But I will travel for 2 weeks and without ability to get internet. Sorry.

I bought my phone to a guy who import them here in argentina. But i do not have any carrier branding in the ROM and i put my chip and it is not branded. Does my carrier affect in the time of the updates or no? As is not branded. I just reading reddit that the chip you put in the phone affects otas as mine c605 is destinated to colombia and mine is from argentina. Is really true that? In addition that since i bought the phone (1st May 2017) never received an OTA and still on october 2016 security patch.

5[Strogino] said:
Symbol 'B' in MHA-L29BC605 means beta or test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clarification. I was wondering why they changed C to BC for some firmwares.

5[Strogino] said:
Where is your phone from? How you bought it?
Unfortunately, phones with extra customization are not updated often. I reviewed many stock ROMs, and ROMs with cust are hosted without FullOTA type even! So it is very hard to restore original state back.
Imho, if anyone wants buy Mate 9 and don't want problems with ROM or flashing process, he/she must buy phone with popular region.
I don't wander what Huawei included in addition to region when named cust. Maybe, it is special settings for domestic mobile operators, maybe some bloatware, maybe something else.
About existing OTAs.
Need to download them all and check what is inside. Changelogs are different, so it is chance that files are incremental. But I will travel for 2 weeks and without ability to get internet. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well man. Thnxs for all your info. I got the guts to rebrand this thing. Everything went OK in the first try. The only weird thing that make me crap my pants was that after the rebranding process (When i has finished intalling in the EMUI recovery) the phone start rebooting as crazy :crying: :crying: . It posted huawei logo, then black screen and start rebooting not allowing to enter either fastboot or ADB, after some time doing that the phone booted OK :victory: . Then flashed again the same model option and it was all a huge success :highfive:. Was the rebooting normal o not? Because in the guide that was translated to spanish that was a bit more accurate did not mention anything neither here. Any way, my phone is OK now i have the icons that was the thing that bothered me a lot and i am happy with that, THANKS TO EVERYONE :highfive::highfive:

Att oreo on my tmobile s7

https://www.xda-developers.com/how-...-att-samsung-galaxy-s7-s7-edge/#disqus_thread
Can I flash this with flasfire if so how

SIGMAxB said:
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-...-att-samsung-galaxy-s7-s7-edge/#disqus_thread
Can I flash this with flasfire if so how
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't flash on T-Mobile - it expects AT&T firmware (SM-G930A) - not anything else. I tried it (SM-G930T) and got error 7 in second stage with that exact reference (expected SM-G930A; got SM-G930T). This would have to be edited to take that second-stage reference out to work.)

You can flash if you flash the latest att firmware but the fluidity of the u firmware and battery have me staying put till the official release

Death Cookie Firmware in Non-DeathStar Phones - Yes; However
SIGMAxB said:
You can flash if you flash the latest att firmware but the fluidity of the u firmware and battery have me staying put till the official release
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then use A firmware (not U). You can even stick your T-Mobile nano-SIM back in the phone once the firmware is installed (just not DURING the install). I've just finished the install, have my UnCarrier nano-SIM back in the phone, and am currently charging it while restoring all my apps (yes - including the T-Mobile apps). The only loss (which isn't one in my situation) is VoLTE/VoWifi (two features I never use). The rather cute part is that I have more access to e-mail accounts with the AT&T firmware than I did with either UnCarrier firmware or VZW firmware (and with fewer apps, no less). Still, if you DO use VoLTE or VoWifi, this firmware is not an option. You have to reboot a second time (apparently the first reboot post-install doesn't completely flush - which is why the Wi-fi doesn't work; the second boot fixes that). The same should be true with any other carrier (VZW, Sprint, Cricket Wireless, Virgin Mobile, etc.); your only loss will be carrier-specific features.

PGHammer said:
Then use A firmware (not U). You can even stick your T-Mobile nano-SIM back in the phone once the firmware is installed (just not DURING the install). I've just finished the install, have my UnCarrier nano-SIM back in the phone, and am currently charging it while restoring all my apps (yes - including the T-Mobile apps). The only loss (which isn't one in my situation) is VoLTE/VoWifi (two features I never use). The rather cute part is that I have more access to e-mail accounts with the AT&T firmware than I did with either UnCarrier firmware or VZW firmware (and with fewer apps, no less). Still, if you DO use VoLTE or VoWifi, this firmware is not an option. You have to reboot a second time (apparently the first reboot post-install doesn't completely flush - which is why the Wi-fi doesn't work; the second boot fixes that). The same should be true with any other carrier (VZW, Sprint, Cricket Wireless, Virgin Mobile, etc.); your only loss will be carrier-specific features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of att firmware did you flash ? Is it worth flashing the Oreo update

SIGMAxB said:
Which version of att firmware did you flash ? Is it worth flashing the Oreo update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same version in the AT&T Mobility thread (same subject) - the hard part (for me) was that I had to update by dong the updates manually to get to the right version to apply the beta (from an earlier version) - seven updates I had to apply via SDcard - THAT was the real pain, not the application of the beta firmware itself, which was rather painless. I'm still there and have absolutely zero interest in going back to any version of Nougat (stock or L, for that matter), and I came from Project L V.4. In other words, I'm using this as my daily driver.
I DO have one warning (and it's one that makes sense when using firmware from another carrier); take your T-Mobile SIM out before you start the firmware changeover, and don't put in your proper SIM until you start the new-customer steps, as some firmware doesn't take kindly to using a carrier other than the one intended (in the case of what I call "Darth Cookie", AT&T Mobility); remember, we're on T-Mobile - not exactly the "proper" carrier for this firmware. (I was wary on the move to T-Mobile firmware, because the handset itself is VZW-branded - and I was worried about gotchas merely there; amazingly - or more amusingly - because it IS locked firmware - changing carriers is depressingly easy despite the firmware locks.)

Beginning of Round Two - CRB6
PGHammer said:
The same version in the AT&T Mobility thread (same subject) - the hard part (for me) was that I had to update by dong the updates manually to get to the right version to apply the beta (from an earlier version) - seven updates I had to apply via SDcard - THAT was the real pain, not the application of the beta firmware itself, which was rather painless. I'm still there and have absolutely zero interest in going back to any version of Nougat (stock or L, for that matter), and I came from Project L V.4. In other words, I'm using this as my daily driver.
I DO have one warning (and it's one that makes sense when using firmware from another carrier); take your T-Mobile SIM out before you start the firmware changeover, and don't put in your proper SIM until you start the new-customer steps, as some firmware doesn't take kindly to using a carrier other than the one intended (in the case of what I call "Darth Cookie", AT&T Mobility); remember, we're on T-Mobile - not exactly the "proper" carrier for this firmware. (I was wary on the move to T-Mobile firmware, because the handset itself is VZW-branded - and I was worried about gotchas merely there; amazingly - or more amusingly - because it IS locked firmware - changing carriers is depressingly easy despite the firmware locks.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reset the phone, and kicked off testing of CRB6, and I did one thing differently; I left the SIM in the phone. I had a purpose for that - I was looking for bugbears that apply to non-AT&T carriers (T-Mobile, VZW, Sprint, et. al.) Amusingly, there aren't any. I did the flush (U Firmware version of BRA1) then applied the AT&T version of BQL1 (back-to-back via ODIN). Then came the ADB via SD card single-file updates (recovery mode for these) and there are only two - BQL1 to BRA1 (from Round One) and the new CRB6 update (courtesy of Samsung Firmware Science) labeled update_2.zip. It replaces update.zip, and is not opened or extracted - apply it as-is. After this update applies, follow the new-customer steps as you did for Round One - no changes here.

If anyone needs the newest G930A firmware before this Oreo leak, I have a Google drive Link. PM me.
And that's an Odin friendly

bkup said:
If anyone needs the newest G930A firmware before this Oreo leak, I have a Google drive Link. PM me.
And that's an Odin friendly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I get a copy please

Why I Did It The Way I Did
SIGMAxB said:
Can I get a copy please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When someone gets a proper copy, link it to the thread - the very reason I did NOT do it that way was because a proper copy of AT&T BRA1 didn't exist. (You can't get it from SamMobile or UPDATO either - much to my frustration; the latest ODINable AT&T firmware was BQL1.)

Question Which version of the March update should I patch and update with?

I bought my now rooted 6A via Aliexpress, and I live in Canada.
Current version is TQ1A.230205.002.
Looking through past updates, this is the first time they've singled out "Canada" for a specific update... Which version should I be patching/flashing, given that my phone came from overseas (but has the NA bands)?
13.0.0 (TQ2A.230305.008.E1, Mar 2023)
OR
13.0.0 (TQ2A.230305.008.F1, Mar 2023, WINDTRE/Canada)

From what I can see, Windtre is a specific carrier. I would go with The standard version for unlocked phones. If that's wrong then the process should abort itself before making any changes

The specific versions seem to be based on carriers. Wind Tre looks like an Italian carrier, so I'd guess the "Canada" applies for use with all Canadian carriers. Or, it may be based on some regulatory difference. Google sucks at transparency. But, the specific versions come and go, so I'd guess they're all about something which didn't get integrated into the mainline code in time, so they had to create a special version.
I would go with the WINDTRE/Canada version. You're rooted, so you could always switch if you have trouble.

azthemansays said:
I bought my now rooted 6A via Aliexpress, and I live in Canada.
Current version is TQ1A.230205.002.
Looking through past updates, this is the first time they've singled out "Canada" for a specific update... Which version should I be patching/flashing, given that my phone came from overseas (but has the NA bands)?
13.0.0 (TQ2A.230305.008.E1, Mar 2023)
OR
13.0.0 (TQ2A.230305.008.F1, Mar 2023, WINDTRE/Canada)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or if it is the wrong one you can just flash right over it with the Canadian one. But I really think that is for a French or Italian Canadian carrier that you don't subscribe to.

motolio said:
From what I can see, Windtre is a specific French Canadian carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really, where'd you find that? I just found links to an Italian carrier. Windtre isn't listed in Wikipedia's list.
motolio said:
Italian Canadian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a new one.

mike.s said:
The specific versions seem to be based on carriers. Wind Tre looks like an Italian carrier, so I'd guess the "Canada" applies for use with all Canadian carriers. Or, it may be based on some regulatory difference. Google sucks at transparency. But, the specific versions come and go, so I'd guess they're all about something which didn't get integrated into the mainline code in time, so they had to create a special version.
I would go with the WINDTRE/Canada version. You're rooted, so you could always switch if you have trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
motolio said:
Or if it is the wrong one you can just flash right over it with the Canadian one. But I really think that is for a French or Italian Canadian carrier that you don't subscribe to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay I'll patch both of them first, then I'll see what sticks, thanks!
Follow up question: how do you do a nandroid backup?
I went to find TWRP and apparently boot.img is now part of the recovery partition so it won't work?
Can I just boot to TWRP using adb/fastboot from my computer to make the backup?
Just got this phone recently, so I haven't had the need to backup + update until now... Plus the whole "patching the security exploit" thing.

Dude, I would not start with the Windtre one. Sounds like it could just be a striped down/limited version. It looks like that rom might specifically limit access to specific bands that Windtre doesn't allow their customers to access.
I found this on Reddit about the pixel 7:
Google "even limited the band bandwidth on NR, like 20mhz for N3
It isn't a huge problem, unless some operator add/remove bandwidth on a certain NR band
This is the case with WINDTRE (Italy, 222-88): they recently added 20mhz to their N78 spectrum (before it was max 40mhz on some regions, others 20mhz, now every region is 60mhz) and now you can't use their N78 at all
Why?
Because on their carrier policy, WindTre SIMs can use only 40mhz, 20mhz and 40+20mhz on N78 (last case is NR CA, not 60mhz)
It's really great to have a 900€ phone (Pixel 7 Pro) that can't connect to N78 thanks to Google "
Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

mike.s said:
Really, where'd you find that? I just found links to an Italian carrier. Windtre isn't listed in Wikipedia's list.
That's a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. Word

azthemansays said:
Okay I'll patch both of them first, then I'll see what sticks, thanks!
Follow up question: how do you do a nandroid backup?
I went to find TWRP and apparently boot.img is now part of the recovery partition so it won't work?
Can I just boot to TWRP using adb/fastboot from my computer to make the backup?
Just got this phone recently, so I haven't had the need to backup + update until now... Plus the whole "patching the security exploit" thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you find a good back up process, lemme know. I need a good recovery option, too.
I did find this elaborate process on Reddit: I HAVE NEVER TRIED IT.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/ovlnbj/_/h7akg6l

motolio said:
Good luck. Let us know how it goes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys had me worried, and couldn't even get the phone to get the update notification (to check the version of the update).
But when I was looking at downloading the two versions on Google's ROM depository I noticed that you can directly update the phone through Chrome on my desktop???
Man, has tech changed since my last phone (Mi A1 on Oreo)...
It ended up flashing the Global ROM, so the Italian/Canadian one wouldn't have worked.
Gave up on backing up my phone, so I just exported/uploaded the settings for my launcher + AOSP mods + a couple of others then just went for it.
Thanks again for the assistance!

azthemansays said:
I noticed that you can directly update the phone through Chrome on my desktop???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope does this work? I've never encountered that option

motolio said:
Hope does this work? I've never encountered that option
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android flash tool: https://developers.google.com/android/images
Just scroll down to the image you want and click "flash" next to it
It'll give you instructions, as well as help you with the drivers if Chrome can't detect the phone, then will reboot it into bootloader, then recovery, then back to normal boot into an updated phone.
Make sure to check that the drivers for recovery/bootloader modes are already installed by booting into them beforehand... Otherwise you'll have a small panic as I did and have to boot your phone again manually by holding the power + volume down keys for 30ish seconds (until it reboots) due to Chrome not detecting your phone.
I'd also suggest using a back USB port on your mobo rather than plugging it into any of the front USB headers.
*screen shots below are from my phone

azthemansays said:
Android flash tool: https://developers.google.com/android/images
Just scroll down to the image you want and click "flash" next to it
It'll give you instructions, as well as help you with the drivers if Chrome can't detect the phone, then will reboot it into bootloader, then recovery, then back to normal boot into an updated phone.
Make sure to check that the drivers for recovery/bootloader modes are already installed by booting into them beforehand... Otherwise you'll have a small panic as I did and have to boot your phone again manually by holding the power + volume down keys for 30ish seconds (until it reboots) due to Chrome not detecting your phone.
I'd also suggest using a back USB port on your mobo rather than plugging it into any of the front USB headers.
*screen shots below are from my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow. Thanks! I had no idea about this. I'll give it a try next time I have time to phone out!
Thanks again

azthemansays said:
It ended up flashing the Global ROM, so the Italian/Canadian one wouldn't have worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
??? The flash tool should install whichever image you choose. I've never tried picking a completely wrong one, but I suspect it does have a simple check that at least you're flashing for the correct platform (e.g. Pixel 6a).
The carrier versions are what gets sent as an OTA update via the particular carrier(s). It's not clear how you determined that the carrier specific one "wouldn't have worked." I suspect either would boot and "work", although the incorrect one may not take full advantage of the carrier's capabilities or may experience minor issues. Google has never provided guidance on exactly what types of differences there are.

mike.s said:
??? The flash tool should install whichever image you choose. I've never tried picking a completely wrong one, but I suspect it does have a simple check that at least you're flashing for the correct platform (e.g. Pixel 6a).
The carrier versions are what gets sent as an OTA update via the particular carrier(s). It's not clear how you determined that the carrier specific one "wouldn't have worked." I suspect either would boot and "work", although the incorrect one may not take full advantage of the carrier's capabilities or may experience minor issues. Google has never provided guidance on exactly what types of differences there are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I know is that I didn't get a warning, the global ROM's bands are working with my carrier's (Public Mobile - a subsidiary of Telus) after being flashed, and as you've stated Google hasn't been open with the differences... so I'm going to err on the side of caution (and international compatibility) and stick with what works.
I may revisit it if I travel inter-provincially and discover issues with coverage, but the US bands are what are compatible with what's used in Ontario.