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I need Note 7 N930X Help

I need help. I happen to get my hands on a note 7 sm-n930x live demo unit here in Denver, CO, USA
SM-N930X UD
S/N RF8H71JQGFD
64GB
Exynos 8890 SoC
4x Exynos M1 @ 2.3 GHz
4x Cortex A53 @ 1.6 GHz
Mali T880MP12 GPU
I had it running by flashing a sm-n930f firmware to it, which I understand is the same phone. I then attempted to flash the hydra rom and now I can only access download mode and it stays on the "Hydra Rom N7" splash screen. I dont remember the original phone info because the paper it was written got tossed out. To further my string of bad luck the SD that stored the NAND got corrupted.
I've tried to wipe everything via PIT and reinstall the 930f firmware, but it always fails. Sometimes it fails immediately and other times it actually starts installing for a moment and then fails. I've tried to install Hyrdra again and it fails. I've repartitioned in an attempt to wipe it without success. Info on the 930x version is hard to come by as I've come to find out. Today I finally found the fw listed below is the stock firmware for the international version, but the only downloads I can find are in a foreign language and want me to pay for it which I don't trust at all. At least I think these are the stock for the 930x, please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm not sure of the baseband because someone threw away the paper I had written it on or the imei # which is all zeros with a one on the end now . How can I fix the loop and get it working again? Is it failing because I can't wipe the cache through recovery and it's too much overwriting at this point? Since this is the "x" international variant, is it accepting of any of the exynos roms? Does anyone have access to the firmware versions below that they could share with me or clue me in as to where I can find the downloads myself?
My goal is to get the Note 7 working again with hydra, or any other rom. I just need it to work and be able to use it on my carrier which is currently at&t. I may have tried to flash the wrong ROM, the efs could be missing, andi know the imei is gone. It is probably safe to assume all are true.
Do I need to repair the imei before it will accept an install? If so, how would you suggest? I have QFIL, QPST, SPC but am unsure exactly how to utilize with great affect as I'm still teaching myself or if they are the correct programs that I need in order to remedy my situation. I'm no pro but I'm not a newbie either. I'm great at following detailed, precise instructions so please guide me to resurrecting my Note 7. I'm not sure what happened but I know I can fix it with a little assistance. All guidance and suggestions are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Cheers
SM-N930X
By admin | Published: September 19, 2016
N930XXXU1APG5_N930XPAP1APG6_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
AP_N930XXXU1APG5_LLK_CL8613421_QB10283666_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.rar
BL_N930XXXU1APG5_LLK_CL8613421_QB10283666_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1APG6_LLK_CL8613421_QB10300978_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
N930XXXU1APG5_N930XPAP1APH2_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1APH2_LLK_CL8613421_QB10630749_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
N930XXXU1BPH1_N930XPAP1BPH4_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
AP_N930XXXU1BPH1_LLK_CL8983140_QB10625421_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.rar
BL_N930XXXU1BPH1_LLK_CL8983140_QB10625421_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1BPH4_LLK_CL8983140_QB10749187_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
N930XXXU1BPI3_N930XPAP1BPI3_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
AP_N930XXXU1BPI3_LLK_CL9201627_QB10891616_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.rar
BL_N930XXXU1BPI3_LLK_CL9201627_QB10891616_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1BPI3_LLK_CL9201627_QB10891616_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
GRACELTE_EUR_LDU.pit

topgman80 said:
I need help. I happen to get my hands on a note 7 sm-n930x live demo unit here in Denver, CO, USA
SM-N930X UD
S/N RF8H71JQGFD
64GB
Exynos 8890 SoC
4x Exynos M1 @ 2.3 GHz
4x Cortex A53 @ 1.6 GHz
Mali T880MP12 GPU
I had it running by flashing a sm-n930f firmware to it, which I understand is the same phone. I then attempted to flash the hydra rom and now I can only access download mode and it stays on the "Hydra Rom N7" splash screen. I dont remember the original phone info because the paper it was written got tossed out. To further my string of bad luck the SD that stored the NAND got corrupted.
I've tried to wipe everything via PIT and reinstall the 930f firmware, but it always fails. Sometimes it fails immediately and other times it actually starts installing for a moment and then fails. I've tried to install Hyrdra again and it fails. I've repartitioned in an attempt to wipe it without success. Info on the 930x version is hard to come by as I've come to find out. Today I finally found the fw listed below is the stock firmware for the international version, but the only downloads I can find are in a foreign language and want me to pay for it which I don't trust at all. At least I think these are the stock for the 930x, please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm not sure of the baseband because someone threw away the paper I had written it on or the imei # which is all zeros with a one on the end now . How can I fix the loop and get it working again? Is it failing because I can't wipe the cache through recovery and it's too much overwriting at this point? Since this is the "x" international variant, is it accepting of any of the exynos roms? Does anyone have access to the firmware versions below that they could share with me or clue me in as to where I can find the downloads myself?
My goal is to get the Note 7 working again with hydra, or any other rom. I just need it to work and be able to use it on my carrier which is currently at&t. I may have tried to flash the wrong ROM, the efs could be missing, andi know the imei is gone. It is probably safe to assume all are true.
Do I need to repair the imei before it will accept an install? If so, how would you suggest? I have QFIL, QPST, SPC but am unsure exactly how to utilize with great affect as I'm still teaching myself or if they are the correct programs that I need in order to remedy my situation. I'm no pro but I'm not a newbie either. I'm great at following detailed, precise instructions so please guide me to resurrecting my Note 7. I'm not sure what happened but I know I can fix it with a little assistance. All guidance and suggestions are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Cheers
SM-N930X
By admin | Published: September 19, 2016
N930XXXU1APG5_N930XPAP1APG6_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
AP_N930XXXU1APG5_LLK_CL8613421_QB10283666_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.rar
BL_N930XXXU1APG5_LLK_CL8613421_QB10283666_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1APG6_LLK_CL8613421_QB10300978_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
N930XXXU1APG5_N930XPAP1APH2_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1APH2_LLK_CL8613421_QB10630749_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
N930XXXU1BPH1_N930XPAP1BPH4_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
AP_N930XXXU1BPH1_LLK_CL8983140_QB10625421_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.rar
BL_N930XXXU1BPH1_LLK_CL8983140_QB10625421_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1BPH4_LLK_CL8983140_QB10749187_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
N930XXXU1BPI3_N930XPAP1BPI3_All Country Android 6.0.1_3File Firmware
AP_N930XXXU1BPI3_LLK_CL9201627_QB10891616_REV00_user_low_ship_meta.tar.rar
BL_N930XXXU1BPI3_LLK_CL9201627_QB10891616_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
CSC_PAP_N930XPAP1BPI3_LLK_CL9201627_QB10891616_REV00_user_low_ship.tar.rar
GRACELTE_EUR_LDU.pit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll find very little help with an unsupported, recalled and discontinued device. Find a new toy to play with.
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk

Fix imei note 7 sm-n930x Needed for return
Can someone guide me in restoring the imei for the note 7? I called the return phone number and they need the imei. For some reason the serial number isn't sufficient.

Did u find a solution
Sent from my SM-N930X using Tapatalk

Variant n930x has no efs folder. How did you make it You just put a ROM of the version n930f?

topgman80 said:
Can someone guide me in restoring the imei for the note 7? I called the return phone number and they need the imei. For some reason the serial number isn't sufficient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have the box the device came in, the IMEI should be on the box somewhere.
If you had it activated on a network, that network should have the IMEI for that device in their system.
If all you need is the IMEI to file a claim on the device then getting the IMEI from the box or from your network support team might be enough. If so, it won't require dealing with the technical issues involved with trying to restore a corrupted IMEI.
I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE

also if he would instead have taken a device without (or at least with a lot less) planned obsolescence (aka. if he would have a device with a battery you can take out) the IMEI would iirc be on a label below it.

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:

Updating problematic device from Android 6 to 8

Hello,
I bought an S7 from eBay, it was marked as a "new" and "UK" phone. I factory reset the device on receipt and apparently worked fine to start with. However, there have been a few problems (poor signal, battery life, echoes in video calls) and I noticed the device was still on Android 6, so wondered if an update to Android 8 might help (?).
There is no menu option available to update Android so I started looking into flashing firmware. On further digging, the device seemed an official SM-G930F but "United Arab Emirates" appears in the "About Phone" section.
I downloaded some stock firmware (Android 8, UK Vodafone which is the network I expect to run it on) and tried flashing with Odin 3.13 and it failed with error "unsupport dev_type" on the phone screen. Any suggestions?
I also noticed that in "Download mode" the phone said it was a "SM-G930V". I wondered if this was why the flash had failed. For the SM-G930V I only seem to be able to get USA/Verizon stock firmware. Might this work or would I have trouble using this in the UK?
Any help would be much appreciated. I'm a newbie in this area so apologies if any of these questions are answered elsewhere.
Many thanks,
Edwin

ecc25 said:
Hello,
I bought an S7 from eBay, it was marked as a "new" and "UK" phone. I factory reset the device on receipt and apparently worked fine to start with. However, there have been a few problems (poor signal, battery life, echoes in video calls) and I noticed the device was still on Android 6, so wondered if an update to Android 8 might help (?).
There is no menu option available to update Android so I started looking into flashing firmware. On further digging, the device seemed an official SM-G930F but "United Arab Emirates" appears in the "About Phone" section.
I downloaded some stock firmware (Android 8, UK Vodafone which is the network I expect to run it on) and tried flashing with Odin 3.13 and it failed with error "unsupport dev_type" on the phone screen. Any suggestions?
I also noticed that in "Download mode" the phone said it was a "SM-G930V". I wondered if this was why the flash had failed. For the SM-G930V I only seem to be able to get USA/Verizon stock firmware. Might this work or would I have trouble using this in the UK?
Any help would be much appreciated. I'm a newbie in this area so apologies if any of these questions are answered elsewhere.
Many thanks,
Edwin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to the play store and install Sam phone info, then look at what chipset it lists, you don't want it to be Qualcomm Snapdragon, Eyxnos is what you want to see.
G930V is US Verizon firmware
Report back please.

cooltt said:
Go to the play store and install Sam phone info, then look at what chipset it lists, you don't want it to be Qualcomm Snapdragon, Eyxnos is what you want to see.
G930V is US Verizon firmware
Report back please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply! The "hardware/board" is "qcom/msm8996". Where does that leave me?
I noticed that the Bootloader & Baseband Versions begin G930VVRU but the PDA and CSC versions begin G930FXXU. Not sure if that means anything.
Thank you!

ecc25 said:
Thanks for your reply! The "hardware/board" is "qcom/msm8996". Where does that leave me?
I noticed that the Bootloader & Baseband Versions begin G930VVRU but the PDA and CSC versions begin G930FXXU. Not sure if that means anything.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the person who sold it to you is a liar for starters, it's not a "brand new UK device", it's a US S7 (G930V) Originally bought for the Verizon Network in the states. They are difficult to do anything with as the Qualcomm boot loader is locked down.
So your first option is to update the firmware to the latest Verizon Oreo, probably not worth it since that firmware is designed to work on a couple of frequencies only.
Next option is to flash unbranded US firmware with a modified version of Odin that ignores mismatch devices etc and just installs the firmware. You will need to use this version of Odin from this thread >>> here Odin 13 PatchD.zip is the one you want.
Unzip, run Odin, place phone into download mode flash firmware. You will need to download G930U from Sammobile or undato.com The 3 letter code should either be USC or XAA.
Any questions please ask.
Also before flashing please remove you google account off the phone.

cooltt said:
Well the person who sold it to you is a liar for starters, it's not a "brand new UK device", it's a US S7 (G930V) Originally bought for the Verizon Network in the states. They are difficult to do anything with as the Qualcomm boot loader is locked down.
So your first option is to update the firmware to the latest Verizon Oreo, probably not worth it since that firmware is designed to work on a couple of frequencies only.
Next option is to flash unbranded US firmware with a modified version of Odin that ignores mismatch devices etc and just installs the firmware. You will need to use this version of Odin from this thread >>> here Odin 13 PatchD.zip is the one you want.
Unzip, run Odin, place phone into download mode flash firmware. You will need to download G930U from Sammobile or undato.com The 3 letter code should either be USC or XAA.
Any questions please ask.
Also before flashing please remove you google account off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for these detailed instructions -- much appreciated!
Presumably using this version of Odin carries a high risk of bricking the phone if I get anything wrong?
Out of interest, what's the reason for removing the Google account?
Cheers,
Edwin

ecc25 said:
Thank you for these detailed instructions -- much appreciated!
Presumably using this version of Odin carries a high risk of bricking the phone if I get anything wrong?
Out of interest, what's the reason for removing the Google account?
Cheers,
Edwin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's a further complication with FRP lock you just don't need after flashing. Just add the google account after flashing and your good to go.
With regards to flashing yes there's always a risk that something can go wrong, that's why you take your time and follow the steps exactly. In your case it's pretty straight forward and remember nothing changes on the external SD card, so anything you want to keep can be moved there before flash.
I would also mention that theoretically you could flash UK unbranded (BTU) but it's for G930F Exynos devices so best at this stage just get the device on unbranded Qualcomm and working on UK networks.
let me know how it goes.

cooltt said:
Because it's a further complication with FRP lock you just don't need after flashing. Just add the google account after flashing and your good to go.
With regards to flashing yes there's always a risk that something can go wrong, that's why you take your time and follow the steps exactly. In your case it's pretty straight forward and remember nothing changes on the external SD card, so anything you want to keep can be moved there before flash.
I would also mention that theoretically you could flash UK unbranded (BTU) but it's for G930F Exynos devices so best at this stage just get the device on unbranded Qualcomm and working on UK networks.
let me know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I've just tried doing what you suggested (I think!) and I got a failure. Odin said "FAIL! (Auth)" and the phone said "Secure check fail: apnhlos". I tried rebooting and got a security error. So I tried Odin again and it passed.
However, now the phone won't boot, it alternates between "Samsung Galaxy S7" and a blank screen. In recovery I get:
"#fail to open recovery_cause(No such file or directory)#"
#Reboot Recovery Cause is [UNKNOWN]#
No Support SINGLE-SKU
File-Based OTA
Supported API: 3
dm-verity verification failed..."
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot,
Edwin

ecc25 said:
Hello,
I've just tried doing what you suggested (I think!) and I got a failure. Odin said "FAIL! (Auth)" and the phone said "Secure check fail: apnhlos". I tried rebooting and got a security error. So I tried Odin again and it passed.
However, now the phone won't boot, it alternates between "Samsung Galaxy S7" and a blank screen. In recovery I get:
"#fail to open recovery_cause(No such file or directory)#"
#Reboot Recovery Cause is [UNKNOWN]#
No Support SINGLE-SKU
File-Based OTA
Supported API: 3
dm-verity verification failed..."
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot,
Edwin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so try an earlier G930V firmware and please make sure you are placing the file in the right places with Odin. The US carriers have all updated their firmware and often closes the loophole which allows the patched Odin to work. Then it's just a question of waiting until someone develops a workaround again.
Also you can pick up an S7 from ebay for about £100 now, your always going to have problems with a qualcomm device on UK networks. Where about are you in the UK?

cooltt said:
Ok, so try an earlier G930V firmware and please make sure you are placing the file in the right places with Odin. The US carriers have all updated their firmware and often closes the loophole which allows the patched Odin to work. Then it's just a question of waiting until someone develops a workaround again.
Also you can pick up an S7 from ebay for about £100 now, your always going to have problems with a qualcomm device on UK networks. Where about are you in the UK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Actually shortly after posting I found a suggesting of using CSC not HOME_CSC, which enabled the flash to work (at the expense of phone data, as expected).
The device still does have a few issues though, as you predicted. Is the radio hardware different for Qualcomm? Might need to buy another then. Any advice to avoid being scammed on eBay again?!
Thanks so much!

ecc25 said:
Thanks! Actually shortly after posting I found a suggesting of using CSC not HOME_CSC, which enabled the flash to work (at the expense of phone data, as expected).
The device still does have a few issues though, as you predicted. Is the radio hardware different for Qualcomm? Might need to buy another then. Any advice to avoid being scammed on eBay again?!
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you could flash G930U which opens up all of the radios for the US and you may have less issues but US and European devices have different chips so your never going to be able to flash any EU generic firmware. I'm addition the US and Europe are different cellular regions with different operating frequencies. You can get by with what you have but never get full functionality.
I think you were just unlucky with this phone on ebay, there are plenty which are genuine EU region devices.

Question Change SM-F711U1 Region to Japan

Hi all,
All pay features and such are locked to local firmware and I'm wondering if I can just flash the Japanese variant firmware onto my SM-F711U1 using Frija. I'd rather not have bloatware but I want to be able to use G Pay. I can't without the Osaifu-Keitai app and that will not install on my variant.
If there is anyone that knows how to installOsaifu-Keitai on an international phone, that would solve all my problems.
It has been a very long time since I flashed anything and I'm a little rusty/lost. I couldn't even find the bloody search bar for this forum section! Forgive my ignorance.

You could side load the apk
https://m.apkpure.com/%E3%81%8A%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%95%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%97%E3%83%AA/com.felicanetworks.mfm.main/versions

Thanks, but I tried sideloading it and the application just failed to open, saying that it is incompatible with the device.
For anyone else that ever looks to solve this in the future, it seems that there is a hardware limitation and a specific chip for Japan's implementation of NFC for payments. Either the chip is disabled or missing from other variants. It could be just a software check that stops the app from running, but I cannot find the Japanese firmware to flash at the moment, and not sure I want to brick my phone if the actual hardware is different. I might try once the firmware becomes available.

If it helps (not really) but US devices dont support non US firmwares, even if they share the same hw, so you wouldnt be able to flash JP firmware anyway
Do however note you can use samfirm patched to download the JP firmware

ChipJapan said:
Thanks, but I tried sideloading it and the application just failed to open, saying that it is incompatible with the device.
For anyone else that ever looks to solve this in the future, it seems that there is a hardware limitation and a specific chip for Japan's implementation of NFC for payments. Either the chip is disabled or missing from other variants. It could be just a software check that stops the app from running, but I cannot find the Japanese firmware to flash at the moment, and not sure I want to brick my phone if the actual hardware is different. I might try once the firmware becomes available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer lies within the differences in HW between US and non-US versions of the same phone model, namely, US version is "missing" MST technology. More on this topic here:
https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/what-is/mst/
Therefore, you cannot simply flash US version phone with non-US firmware, as Odin (Frija only used to download firmware) will not allow you, even patched version. It will simply fail during the installation phase and in the worst case scenario you will get a $1000 paperweight (read brick).

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.