Database Info

Samsung Galaxy S7 Sim Unlock Code

(mod edit)

If the phone is IMEI blocked, which is likely is if reported lost or stolen, then you won't be able to use it on any network in that country afaik

you can't unlock your phone only by rooting and changing apn.
but you can try to contact the person who sold this phone and ask him to fix this issue, I think it may work

felipeoguyar said:
Hi I'm new to posting on forums so if I break protocol or etiquette apologize in advance. two weeks ago I bought a t-mobile samsung galaxy s7 from craigslist only to find it was reported lost. the phone is not catching signal anymore and I can't use it. friend of mine told me that I can unlock the network via unlock code so I could use my cricket mobile sim with this phone. I made online research and found few sim unlocking services so my question is- can use one of them to unlock my phone or I can unlock it by rooting, changing apn settings etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good rule of thumb I have learned and used is to check google locks before seller leaves, And make them sign a bill of sale Printed name date and address, in most states in the U.S. most of these phones are valued over 500$ which With no profe You are technically in possession of stolen property which if valued over 500$ is a felony charge.
I have had a few close calls in the past but I do not now. It sucks cause you can get burned 2 ways.....
orig owner still prob owed on it figured they could sell it and then claim insurance. seen it done many times over to people.

mattzaher said:
why seller reported this phone lost after selling or it was earlier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately some people do do this. Its crooked Always get a bill of sale and check for google locks if seller is in hurry, Pass it on as much as you may want a certain device and your getting a deal.

I think people get these phones on contract for no other reason than to sell them, then they either report lost or stolen, or don't pay the contract and it gets IMEI blocked
That, or they are stolen phones

*Detection* said:
I think people get these phones on contract for no other reason than to sell them, then they either report lost or stolen, or don't pay the contract and it gets IMEI blocked
That, or they are stolen phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen it a million times over happen

sammyalexandro said:
it's very risky to buy a used phone in hurry without making sure that 'history' of this phone was good. I think better to add couple hundreds bucks and buy a new phone directly from carrier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sometimes the difference not only "couple hundreds" and used phone is much cheaper then new one. so better to buy a locked phone and then unlock it using sim network unlock puk code

what is the difference between Samsung Galaxy S7 G930A; G930P; G930V; G930T; G930R; G930U for sim unlocking? which one is easier to unlock? thanks

serhiopinkoli said:
what is the difference between Samsung Galaxy S7 G930A; G930P; G930V; G930T; G930R; G930U for sim unlocking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SM-G930A (AT&T, Cricket)
SM-G930P (Sprint, Boost, Virgin Mobile)
SM-G930V (Verizon);
SM-G930T (T-Mobile, Metro PCS)
SM-G930R (US Cellular)
also they have:
SM-G930F (Global)
SM-G930FD (Global; Southeast Asia)
SM-G930W8 (Canada)
which one is easier to unlock? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all US, Canadian and European models

As a general rule, whenever you will buy another device from a person or third party, check the IMEI both http://imeipro.info/
At least this is one extra filter through which you make sure you buy a phone with a clean IMEI.

alfonsocoralles said:
which one is dual sim 128GB which support all t-mobile lte bands? SM-G9350, SM-G935W8, SM-G930U, SM-G930VL, SM-G930V, SM-G930R4, SM-G930T, SM-G930P, SM-G930R7, SM-G930R6, SM-G930T1, SM-G930A, SM-G930AZ, SM-G930FD, SM-G930S, SM-G930L, SM-G930K, SM-G930F, SM-G9300, SM-G9308, SM-G930W8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SM-G930FD is dual sim variant

alfonsocoralles said:
thanks.
is this model DSDA (dual sim dual active) or DSDS (dual sim dual standby) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's DSDS (dual sim dual standby), but you can activate some sort of imitation of "active" mode in settings. if sim1 is busy and someone calling on sim2 (which is offline because the phone has only one baseband) all income calls on sim2 will be redirected on sim1

quick question
eldar4uk said:
SM-G930A (AT&T, Cricket)
SM-G930P (Sprint, Boost, Virgin Mobile)
SM-G930V (Verizon);
SM-G930T (T-Mobile, Metro PCS)
SM-G930R (US Cellular)
also they have:
SM-G930F (Global)
SM-G930FD (Global; Southeast Asia)
SM-G930W8 (Canada)
all US, Canadian and European models
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you say they are the easiest but im having trouble. i have s7 tmobile i flashed to att then rooted it then i checked and esn check it passes but i cant get back to tmobile to try the device unlock app is there a root app i can use to unlock the network? or updated thread that will help? would you mind?

felipeoguyar said:
Hi I'm new to posting on forums so if I break protocol or etiquette apologize in advance. two weeks ago I bought a t-mobile samsung galaxy s7 from craigslist only to find it was reported lost. the phone is not catching signal anymore and I can't use it. friend of mine told me that I can unlock the network via unlock code so I could use my cricket mobile sim with this phone. I made online research and found few sim unlocking services so my question is- can use one of them to unlock my phone or I can unlock it by rooting, changing apn settings etc?
[UPDATE] unlocked successfully with www.samsungsimunlock.com
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what about 4g/LTE connection after unlocking? it working well or you have only 3g connection?

ok so just wondering
adammelody said:
you should flash t-mobile stock rom, clean cache/dalvik cache and unlock it using Network Unlock app. after that you will be able to flash any custom ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im now back to g930t do i need to agree to the device data collection from tmobile pink screen in initial setup process for this to work?. and to clear dalvik cache dont i need to be rooted for that? i thought flashing back to stock does that automatically. thank you for your patience im still learning,( but totally dedicated in this art. ask my wife.) one more question since tmobile has terms for unlock policy one being on network for min of 40 days, does that mean i need to request unlock using a tmo sim inserted or can this be done using wifi? reason i ask is becasue im a att user and another policy for unlock is 2 requests per 90 days. and ive already attempted a temp and perm unlock. both said inelegiable. so im trying to narrow it down to see if i needed to have tmo sim inserted at the time to connect to there remote servers. if so since i didnt at thetime of request im hoping that the 2 unlock requests didnt count. and on the other hand that would be a pain because i dont have a tmo sim. or could this be achieved using wifi.?
---------- Post added at 03:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 AM ----------
felipeoguyar said:
Hi I'm new to posting on forums so if I break protocol or etiquette apologize in advance. two weeks ago I bought a t-mobile samsung galaxy s7 from craigslist only to find it was reported lost. the phone is not catching signal anymore and I can't use it. friend of mine told me that I can unlock the network via unlock code so I could use my cricket mobile sim with this phone. I made online research and found few sim unlocking services so my question is- can use one of them to unlock my phone or I can unlock it by rooting, changing apn settings etc?
[UPDATE] unlocked successfully with www.samsungsimunlock.com
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
was that site effective because i was thinking about goin the same route and did a few reviews and found that people were saying that it didnt work. heard that it was using a dummy app to say that it was unlocked but truely was not. can u confirm this unlock method is still workin for you?
---------- Post added at 03:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 AM ----------
does it always stack quotes like that? i posted replys seperately but some reason it stacked them.

julianalaqrua said:
what about 4g/LTE connection after unlocking? it working well or you have only 3g connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as I know, this phone support all LTE bands so 4g will work correctly after unlocking I think

ronnycopsetta said:
dalvik cache cleaning is only custom recovery feature or I can do it using stock recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, you can do it using stock recovery as well

pierremaximiliano said:
yes, you can do it using stock recovery as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think TWRP recovery will work better in this case

uzbekputh said:
what iа the phone is not rooted? is it possible to install TWRP recovery on stock phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, you can use stock recovery too

Which Note 8 Should I Buy? ATT? TMobile? Verizon?

I want to buy a Note 8... I don't want to get locked into any Carrier, but I want Wifi calling and other options to work... I know that ATT needs a ATT Rom to get Wifi Calling... I may switch to T Mobile later this year...
Can I Buy a ATT Note 8 and flash TMobile Rom? Or Vice Versa?
If so, is there any reason to buy one Carrier's Note 8 over another?
THANKS!!!

Shanghai.Knight said:
I want to buy a Note 8... I don't want to get locked into any Carrier, but I want Wifi calling and other options to work... I know that ATT needs a ATT Rom to get Wifi Calling... I may switch to T Mobile later this year...
Can I Buy a ATT Note 8 and flash TMobile Rom? Or Vice Versa?
If so, is there any reason to buy one Carrier's Note 8 over another?
THANKS!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All usa models are the same now, since the S7. Buy the carrier you want to use it on or buy the unlocked.

ShrekOpher said:
All usa models are the same now, since the S7. Buy the carrier you want to use it on or buy the unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Att WiFi calling only works on ATT Rom... So although hardware is the same, not all software is the same. Att also turns off some LTE bands so you cannot use theirs on other networks...
Also, If I take a att phone to t mobile or Verizon, will WiFi calling work?
So, same question, can I simply Odin any rom onto any note 8?

Shanghai.Knight said:
Att WiFi calling only works on ATT Rom... So although hardware is the same, not all software is the same. Att also turns off some LTE bands so you cannot use theirs on other networks...
Also, If I take a att phone to t mobile or Verizon, will WiFi calling work?
So, same question, can I simply Odin any rom onto any note 8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From past experience you can just Odin to whatever carrier software you want. At least you could on the S8 and the S7. I've seen a few people say they went from the best buy note 8 unlocked firmware to the AT&T firmware to enable LTE-A and wifi calling.
I still recommend just buying the model for the carrier you are going to use though. I've had the best experience doing that myself.

ShrekOpher said:
From past experience you can just Odin to whatever carrier software you want. At least you could on the S8 and the S7. I've seen a few people say they went from the best buy note 8 unlocked firmware to the AT&T firmware to enable LTE-A and wifi calling.
I still recommend just buying the model for the carrier you are going to use though. I've had the best experience doing that myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an unlocked Note 8 currently that I flashed via odin to AT&T firmware and still couldn't get Wifi Calling to work... I got VoLTE to work but Wifi Calling wouldn't activate and didn't bother with Video Calling...
I think AT&T has to whitelist your IMEI for their carrier features to work unlike T-Mobile...

Best to just buy carrier version and then flash to unlocked later if you want. They are all the same phone.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Since att is the most difficult to work with, it sounds like I should buy att then if I switch, I can flash t mobile... That gives me the freedom to move back...
Do we have confirmation I can flash t mobile over att firmware?

Best to buy the one you can unlock easier an cheaper then flash which ever firmware you want, which is what I did. Works great?

How do I unlock my phone to switch carriers
I'm trying to switch carriers , please help

I almost started a thread of my own, buy my question fits here so here goes.
Witch modle would you buy?, I am leaning towards the Exynos, Note 8, but I dont know where to buy it, can anyone drop me a link?
Exynos vs Snapdragon
I think exynos, purely because it's already rooted, Your thoughts?

Lady red said:
I'm trying to switch carriers , please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Carrier switching guide on its way...

I'm wondering the same. Thinking about switching from att to tmobile. Would wifi calling and other features work on the tmobile variant if I flashed the unlocked FW? Also, do you know if there are any specific features att or tmobile has removed from the stock phone?

U12+ Variants - Stupid Question

There are 5 different versions of this device on HTC's site:
64GB: AT&T, T-Mobile & VZW
Unlocked: 64GB & 128GB
I plan on using it solely on Verizon, but I also plan on unlocking the bootloader and rooting it. Is there any reason I should buy the VZW-specific version instead of the unlocked one? Are they all the same? How dumb is this question?

Icculus760 said:
There are 5 different versions of this device on HTC's site:
64GB: AT&T, T-Mobile & VZW
Unlocked: 64GB & 128GB
I plan on using it solely on Verizon, but I also plan on unlocking the bootloader and rooting it. Is there any reason I should buy the VZW-specific version instead of the unlocked one? Are they all the same? How dumb is this question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a dumb question. I haven't been in the HTC game for some time, but if the different carrier softwares are anything like Samsung with the S9. The Verizon one will have VOLTE, while if you use the unlocked model on Verizon you may not have VOLTE, WiFi calling etc.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

There are no carrier variants with the U12+. The unlocked model will work on all carriers except Sprint and they only sell the unlocked version.

mrlugo88 said:
There are no carrier variants with the U12+. The unlocked model will work on all carriers except Sprint and they only sell the unlocked version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought too until I saw 3 carrier specific versions on their site in addition to the two unlocked versions

Icculus760 said:
That's what I thought too until I saw 3 carrier specific versions on their site in addition to the two unlocked versions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they're still unlocked versions even though they are separated. I agree though it's confusing and not best way to do it.

They are all the same phones. They are just trying to save time for those who want to make sure their phone is specific provider-certified ie VoLTE/Wi-fi Calling works - with these variants listed there's no need for explanation.

szlevi said:
They are all the same phones. They are just trying to save time for those who want to make sure their phone is specific provider-certified ie VoLTE/Wi-fi Calling works - with these variants listed there's no need for explanation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can anyone verify that WiFi calling VoLTE works with AT&T

sam2c said:
Can anyone verify that WiFi calling VoLTE works with AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, it will not. I've chatted with them on their website twice to make sure, and they told me both Wi-Fi calling and VoLTE will not work on AT&T no matter if you choose the one marked AT&T on their website or unlocked. They also told me it's all the same phone. I think they did it that way, so people who usually don't buy phones outside of the carrier store will feel better about it.
---
You: If the U12+ isn't being sold by the US carriers, why do you list 3 different models for the 3 carriers? is there any difference between those and the unlocked version?
Nathalie C.: No problem. To answer your question, the phone only comes with the unlocked version. The list of carriers that you see over it's only so people can know which ones are the main carriers the phone supports.
You: Ok thanks. So when you select one of the 4 models, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Unlocked... It's all the same phone?
Nathalie C.: Yes. That is correct! If you choose any of those, you'll select either way the unlocked version.
You: What about using carrier specific features like VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling? Will the unlocked be able to do that or just the AT&T version?
Santiago G.: The U12+ sadly does not support wi-fi calling trough AT&T's network, same goes for VoLTE.
---

^^ that's a shame. Would have been nice if it did. Thanks for clearing that up ??

So, is this going to be similar to the process with the HTC 10? All variants were the same phone, just different firmware and software per carrier.
I'm also getting the unlocked version as I did with the HTC 10 and wanting to use it on Verizon.
Does anyone know if it is as simple as putting in your SIM and activating the unlocked U12+ and it works, or will we have to RUU to Verizon's software for the U12+ and proceed that was as we did with the HTC 10?

sam2c said:
Can anyone verify that WiFi calling VoLTE works with AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JWhetstone02 said:
So, is this going to be similar to the process with the HTC 10? All variants were the same phone, just different firmware and software per carrier.
I'm also getting the unlocked version as I did with the HTC 10 and wanting to use it on Verizon.
Does anyone know if it is as simple as putting in your SIM and activating the unlocked U12+ and it works, or will we have to RUU to Verizon's software for the U12+ and proceed that was as we did with the HTC 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... From my understanding, it's all the same unlocked phone, so no matter what carrier you have, the phone will work with whatever SIM card you put in it.

holz75 said:
No... From my understanding, it's all the same unlocked phone, so no matter what carrier you have, the phone will work with whatever SIM card you put in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand that much, but our HTC 10 phones were all the same as well...hardware wise. But you HAD to flash the carrier software inorder to get the phone activated AND all the features offered by said carrier. That included the advanced calling features. VoLTE ViLTE and WiFi Calling for Verizon.
I guess it's just the waiting game until we start getting the U12+ in the US and everyone starts trying to activate them on Verizon (unlocked variant in particular)

JWhetstone02 said:
I understand that much, but our HTC 10 phones were all the same as well...hardware wise. But you HAD to flash the carrier software inorder to get the phone activated AND all the features offered by said carrier. That included the advanced calling features. VoLTE ViLTE and WiFi Calling for Verizon.
I guess it's just the waiting game until we start getting the U12+ in the US and everyone starts trying to activate them on Verizon (unlocked variant in particular)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have to flash anything. I got my unlocked HTC 10 direct from HTC and inserted my previous AT&T SIM card from my M9. Everything worked including VoLTE.

holz75 said:
I didn't have to flash anything. I got my unlocked HTC 10 direct from HTC and inserted my previous AT&T SIM card from my M9. Everything worked including VoLTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly only the Sprint Variant for the HTC11 was different. I just switched to T-Mobile and only had to flash the Unlocked firmware and insert new SIM. I have VoLTE and WiFi calling. Im pretty sure the same will be for the U12+. Except it will already be US Unlocked, new SIM and it will be ready to go.

JWhetstone02 said:
I understand that much, but our HTC 10 phones were all the same as well...hardware wise. But you HAD to flash the carrier software inorder to get the phone activated AND all the features offered by said carrier. That included the advanced calling features. VoLTE ViLTE and WiFi Calling for Verizon.
I guess it's just the waiting game until we start getting the U12+ in the US and everyone starts trying to activate them on Verizon (unlocked variant in particular)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the HTC 10 had a Verizon specific ROM, the U11 & U12+ do not. The U12+ only has a Unlocked model with only 1 ROM (x.xx.617.x), wifi calling wont work on Verizon. Like others stated, it doesn't matter which button you click on when ordering, you get the Unlocked model. They only do that so people know their carrier is supported.

OMJ said:
the HTC 10 had a Verizon specific ROM, the U11 & U12+ do not. The U12+ only has a Unlocked model with only 1 ROM (x.xx.617.x), wifi calling wont work on Verizon. Like others stated, it doesn't matter which button you click on when ordering, you get the Unlocked model. They only do that so people know their carrier is supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You get yours, yet, @OMJ?

tetrabyt said:
You get yours, yet, @OMJ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, skipping this one, time to move on. I'm kind of bitter about the state of HTC...
Sent from my HTC U11 using XDA Labs

OMJ said:
Nope, skipping this one, time to move on. I'm kind of bitter about the state of HTC...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that sucks. What are you moving on to?

tetrabyt said:
Well, that sucks. What are you moving on to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure yet, gonna wait & see what releases in the next few months.... ie, pixel 3
Sent from my HTC U11 using XDA Labs

OMJ said:
Not sure yet, gonna wait & see what releases in the next few months.... ie, pixel 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far, I like the 12+. It's a a shame that you will not be around.

tweak to enable supprot for 4g calling and wifi calling in Norway

Hello freinds
i have a pixel 3 device and i live in Norway, the device is not offically launced here and that means that carriers dont enable 4g calling and wifi calling on my device,
since this is an imporant feature for me, i wonder if there is any software tweak or a roam i can flash to fix this problem,
maybe i can flash a oxygen OS that is from the oneplus devices and then the device to will be compatible as of it was a oneplus 7 pro or something ?
thanks and i hope this question aint too dum

Don't flash radios, images etc from other devices unless you want an expensive paperweight. Get your hands on a vzw sim, activate it online and then use to with your carrier. To my knowledge, vzw is the ****tiest carrier to buy from as all their devices are locked to their Network and you have to activate them there first before hey can be used elsewhere .
Other option is to talk to your carrier and make sure they've pushed the voLTE and other such setttings to your sim card
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

No, you can't flash a OnePlus ROM for getting the WiFi calling or something. It's a carrier thing. Even in France, where Pixel 3 launched officially here, those carriers are not all supporting WiFi calling.

Alpert3 said:
No, you can't flash a OnePlus ROM for getting the WiFi calling or something. It's a carrier thing. Even in France, where Pixel 3 launched officially here, those carriers are not all supporting WiFi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately true. Not sure why France is so adamant about only supporting Huawei, Samsung and iPhone for vowifi
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Even if the carrier supports non-whitelisted models for VoLTE, you will have to get the correct mbn loaded with a VoLTE profile inside of it. This could also unlock the usage of 3 carrier aggregation and so on.... (yes, you are only limited to ~300mbit with a Wildcard profile)
Talking about mbn swaps, anyone done this already?
Xdevillived666 said:
Unfortunately true. Not sure why France is so adamant about only supporting Huawei, Samsung and iPhone for vowifi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It actually depends on how much effort the handset manufacturers put into geographical specifics. Huawei, Samsung and Apple add VoLTE support for most EU carriers, while the likes of Google mostly tend to suppor tthe American carriers including some of the bigger european ones such as Deutsche Telekom.

@seif394
You have to root and change the vendor partition. I put a thread out about doing this for China, I am pretty sure it is the same situation you are having.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3/help/china-telecom-t3891520
You need to make sure you have the right mbn file for your carrier.

wangdaning said:
@seif394
You have to root and change the vendor partition. I put a thread out about doing this for China, I am pretty sure it is the same situation you are having.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3/help/china-telecom-t3891520
You need to make sure you have the right mbn file for your carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot for the help, but i found out i havea verizon model that is bootloader locked...

seif394 said:
thanks a lot for the help, but i found out i havea verizon model that is bootloader locked...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is unfortunate. Only real thing you can do is sell it and get a new device. Either the same device or a different one, but make sure it is unlockable just in case.

wangdaning said:
That is unfortunate. Only real thing you can do is sell it and get a new device. Either the same device or a different one, but make sure it is unlockable just in case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im in the market for a oneplus now, chinese one have good prices, but ill see what i can get

Seriously what is the advantage of T-mobile vs Unlocked?

I have an S20U now that is unlocked. What I love is that I get the updates faster it seems (although, the S20 has had way more updates than normal). I am thinking of getting the branded Tmobile one, I have never had any issues using their software and it seems to work better on the network. I do not honestly care about "bloatware" as I will at least be getting a 256GB model.
Anyone have any experiences either way?

I don't have any experience with TMO specifically, but what I do know is that typically the carrier branded devices get their updates WAY fast and more often than the Unlocked ones. I'm in the same boat, I don't really care much one way or another about the bloat. If I don't like it I uninstall it if I can or at the very least disable it

kangi26 said:
I don't have any experience with TMO specifically, but what I do know is that typically the carrier branded devices get their updates WAY fast and more often than the Unlocked ones. I'm in the same boat, I don't really care much one way or another about the bloat. If I don't like it I uninstall it if I can or at the very least disable it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is my understanding that the unlocked one can be used in any country and any network. Just switch sim card and you are done. The TMobile one, may be locked until you pay off the device. You also don't get the bloatware with unlocked (one less thing to Uninstall if you don't care for it).
Sent from my SM-N976U 5G using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Eudeferrer said:
It is my understanding that the unlocked one can be used in any country and any network. Just switch sim card and you are done. The TMobile one, may be locked until you pay off the device. You also don't get the bloatware with unlocked (one less thing to Uninstall if you don't care for it).
Sent from my SM-N976U 5G using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 2 "Kinds" of Unlocked, you're referring to SIM unlocked, the other is the U1 devices sold by Samsung. Which I suspect what the OP is referring to

kangi26 said:
typically the carrier branded devices get their updates WAY fast and more often than the Unlocked onest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That used to be true, but not for the last couple of years. The unlocked US Note10+ (N975U1), for example, has gone through 18 software releases in the 12 months it's been out. Many of its updates came out within the first few days of the month, and included that month's Android security patch.
T-Mobile has been lagging for the past few months in its updates for both the N975U and the N975U1, but you can manually download and flash the latest unlocked software immediately.

Also, it is my understanding that Tmobile tweaks it's cellular radio's to perform slightly better than the unlocked version of any phone used on it's network.

From my experience, AT&T, the branded phones have the extras like wifi calling and VoLTE enabled and the unlocked ones don't. Some of the video call features are missing. I wouldn't have a problem with the bloatware but AT&T seems to force it back on and there is no way to remove it without root (which i don't do anymore). This has been my experience from Note 5 , 2 of the 7's ,note 8 and the note 9 I currently use, all have been unlocked.
Sent from my Samsung SM-N960U1 using XDA Labs

Unlock has free caller ID builtin, Tmobile you have to pay for it. Unlock has no Tmobile branding or bloatware. Unlock version is easier to bypass tmobile hotspot apn, and usage limits
T-Mobile version has video calling on the phone app, unlock use to, but not anymore. There might be a few more things but I can't remember right now.
Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk

I'm on sprint/tmo but I got the unlocked for the first time because I paid outright for the phone this time

*Omnipresent* said:
Also, it is my understanding that Tmobile tweaks [its] cellular [radios] to perform slightly better than the unlocked version of any phone used on [its] network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you referring to the APN settings, or to something else?
https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/not-sold-by-t-mobile/byod-t-mobile-data-and-apn-settings

*Omnipresent* said:
Also, it is my understanding that Tmobile tweaks it's cellular radio's to perform slightly better than the unlocked version of any phone used on it's network.
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This simply isn't true with the Samsung phones. I have had both and there definitely is no difference in connectivity in either data or calls between unlocked and carrier version.
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agree - that was a bunch of talk on this forum last year when the note 10+ was shipping . lots of cats on here were trying to say this and it was just not true. i had 3 unlocked phones on tmo and service was consistent.

Gary02468 said:
Are you referring to the APN settings, or to something else?
https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/not-sold-by-t-mobile/byod-t-mobile-data-and-apn-settings
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I think he's referring to carrier aggregation. I don't know if it's a thing licked phones have that unlocked don't. I always go unlocked (so the phone feels like it's mine, lol) and can't say I've noticed a difference.

d_ganggreen said:
I have an S20U now that is unlocked. What I love is that I get the updates faster it seems (although, the S20 has had way more updates than normal). I am thinking of getting the branded Tmobile one, I have never had any issues using their software and it seems to work better on the network. I do not honestly care about "bloatware" as I will at least be getting a 256GB model.
Anyone have any experiences either way?
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Thank you for your post. Does the Wifi Calling on Tmobile work on the Unlocked phone? I am looking at buying the unlocked 512gb model but have to have wifi calling when I am traveling internationally.

Does anyone know if the stock firmware can be flashed on any device if it's factory unlocked? I think the answer is yes, but just want to make sure before I purchase one used. I know your can flash the carrier firmware so I assume you can do the reverse.

ccommcomm said:
Thank you for your post. Does the Wifi Calling on Tmobile work on the Unlocked phone? I am looking at buying the unlocked 512gb model but have to have wifi calling when I am traveling internationally.
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Yes. and if you follow a few of the guides here you can "unlock" video calling and RCS in Samsung messages as well. And if you are really creative, there is another guide to expanding bands and tweaking receiving antennas
And the last question, if you buy the U1 unlocked, you can flash carrier firmware or unlocked firmware either way all you want, but keep in mind going from u to u1 firmware requires a wipe.
The old "unlocked" was slower to get updates is only true if you wait for Tmobile to release it. If you use Frija and Odin, you can pretty much get it the same day Samsung releases it. I'm too impatient to wait for Tmobile to "get around to" reviewing it and re-releasing what Samsung released weeks before.
Most of the "negatives" of having unlocked are long gone at this point and it tilts more into the positives.

Compusmurf said:
Yes. and if you follow a few of the guides here you can "unlock" video calling and RCS in Samsung messages as well. And if you are really creative, there is another guide to expanding bands and tweaking receiving antennas
And the last question, if you buy the U1 unlocked, you can flash carrier firmware or unlocked firmware either way all you want, but keep in mind going from u to u1 firmware requires a wipe.
The old "unlocked" was slower to get updates is only true if you wait for Tmobile to release it. If you use Frija and Odin, you can pretty much get it the same day Samsung releases it. I'm too impatient to wait for Tmobile to "get around to" reviewing it and re-releasing what Samsung released weeks before.
Most of the "negatives" of having unlocked are long gone at this point and it tilts more into the positives.
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U and U1 have the same radios in them, they are made specifically for the USA market. Depending on what carrier sim card you insert those bands for said USA carrier will be made available for the user. No need to expand bands. The technical specifications of the U1 and U models are listed on samsung USA website for cross referencing.

Anyone successfully using call recording feature on either version? Still looking for my U.S t-mobile variant..

T-Mo non-unlocked Samsung phones (maybe just the Note 20 Ultra though since I haven't been with Samsung since the Note 3 lol) have a bunch of issues. They're about one month behind on updates when compared to all of the other companies. Additionally, I saw someone mention that they have better mobile data quality. That is also true... I found that out once I manually switched to the Android 11 beta as my 5G speeds went from a constant 130mb/s down to 0.5 - 2mb/s without the firmware being specifically from T-Mo. In my settings, all of the mobile connection stuff is exactly the same as it was before...
Also, I don't have voicemail support. Yet another T-Mo problem (but you can easily add Samsung as a possible cause of that problem too)... Had to switch back to the Google Phone app just so that I could get old-school style voicemail (where you have to call your own phone number to get in).
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dj24 said:
Anyone successfully using call recording feature on either version? Still looking for my U.S t-mobile variant..
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This hasn't worked for me either. It's starting to seem like Samsung pushed some of their development onto the phone carriers now lol.
Hey Samsung, why not just leave Android alone when you get it from Google so you don't have to cause so many problems with your own, customized (ad filled, feature removing) version moving forward? Heck, I've already had some problems with a bunch of your apps and have gotten zero help or answers from you guys. That's the reason I've switched back to a bunch of Google apps, however, half of those didn't even work on this phone!!! But I messaged Google about these problems as well, and you know what? They fixed ALL OF THEM within two weeks.
I'll definitely be buying from a different manufacturer moving forward. Even more so since there's rumours spreading around online right now that the Note 20 was the last Note phone to be released since the upcoming S21 is going to have stylus support...

The difference between unlocked and t-mobile is that unlocked gets its updates directly from Samsung and is not branded.
While t-mobile version is branded and you receive the updates from t-mobile and not from Samsung. So delay or longer waiting time on updates would happen and maybe even won't get few of the updates.
Since t-mobile has to release them, which take longer time.
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