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Hi All,
It's been a long while since I have posted something, but I have been using and reading up on XDA with much gratitude since I joined in 2010. The community represented here is just awesome in every way, and I would like you all to know that. I wanted to ask you guys for advice on the following matter:
I currently own a galaxy note 5 in the Netherlands, which I have purchased in Dubai. I decided on the dual sim model, since I find the dual sim capability for my work and private sim very important. The phone has done me well in the last 18 months (worked without any trouble in NL, and is rooted), but now I think it's time to replace it. My new phone of choice would be the Galaxy S8 plus, preferably the 6GB model. Of course this would also need to be the dual sim version, otherwise I could just buy the normal version here in the Netherlands. I have some friends living over in Hong Kong, which would allow me to buy the phone there.
Now for the hard part. Not only does the phone need to be dual sim, it also needs to support all dutch bands (including volte if possible) and it must be able to be rooted (adblock on its own is enough reason to justify that, let alone all other possibilities). I am used to flashing kernels and roms on my phones, as per the consice instructions found on this forum.
The phone that meets my criteria seems to be the SM-G9550 (6GB) that can be bought in Hong Kong. Would you guys please advise me on whether you think that would function here in the Netherlands and whether I can root it? And if not, what would you advise me to do given the above?
Thanks a ton in advance
@kimi4life
The G9550 is the Chinese/HK variant of the GS8+, and while it does support LTE Bands 3, 7 and 20 (those used by Vodafone NL), the combination of bands, known as Carrier Aggregation (or 4G+), may or may not work. Moreover, VoLTE and WiFi calling (if applicable) will NOT work with this variant.
The reason behind this, is the CSC. Since the G9550 is only sold in China and Hong Kong, it does not have a Netherlands CSC (Carrier Specific Customization), so you'll have all Chinese and possibly even carrier bloatware for China.
There is a way to get a G955FD CSC (EU variant) on your G9550 (CN/HK variant) phone by rooting it and flashing a custom ROM and CSC switcher, you can check Nicholaschum's thread in the Discussion section on how to do that. Do keep in mind that doing all that voids KNOX and there is no way to reset the KNOX counter.
However, the Chinese variant has no custom ROMs, and you'd be better off with the Exynos G955FD variant.
I wouldn't recommend going through all the trouble though, the 64GB/4GB S8+ is pretty good on its own. If you pick up a G955FD, and pop in a Netherlands SIM card, it'll automatically switch to the right CSC based on your country and what carrier you're on. This variant can be rooted, has a few decent stock based custom ROMs, and gets software updates more often than the Chinese variant. You will also have no issues about LTE band compatibility since the 955FD fully supports all networks in Netherlands.
murtaza02 said:
@kimi4life
The G9550 is the Chinese/HK variant of the GS8+, and while it does support LTE Bands 3, 7 and 20 (those used by Vodafone NL), the combination of bands, known as Carrier Aggregation (or 4G+), may or may not work. Moreover, VoLTE and WiFi calling (if applicable) will NOT work with this variant.
The reason behind this, is the CSC. Since the G9550 is only sold in China and Hong Kong, it does not have a Netherlands CSC (Carrier Specific Customization), so you'll have all Chinese and possibly even carrier bloatware for China.
There is a way to get a G955FD CSC (EU variant) on your G9550 (CN/HK variant) phone by rooting it and flashing a custom ROM and CSC switcher, you can check Nicholaschum's thread in the Discussion section on how to do that. Do keep in mind that doing all that voids KNOX and there is no way to reset the KNOX counter.
However, the Chinese variant has no custom ROMs, and you'd be better off with the Exynos G955FD variant.
I wouldn't recommend going through all the trouble though, the 64GB/4GB S8+ is pretty good on its own. If you pick up a G955FD, and pop in a Netherlands SIM card, it'll automatically switch to the right CSC based on your country and what carrier you're on. This variant can be rooted, has a few decent stock based custom ROMs, and gets software updates more often than the Chinese variant. You will also have no issues about LTE band compatibility since the 955FD fully supports all networks in Netherlands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a ton for the clear explanation! It would seem the G955FD would be the best choice then. I'm not sure if these are also sold in HK, i'll just check online if they are. Small bummer on the storage space, since I've heard it is not expendable when using the second sim. Then again, if I go abroad I might as well switch out one of the sims and place an SD card.
kimi4life said:
Thanks a ton for the clear explanation! It would seem the G955FD would be the best choice then. I'm not sure if these are also sold in HK, i'll just check online if they are. Small bummer on the storage space, since I've heard it is not expendable when using the second sim. Then again, if I go abroad I might as well switch out one of the sims and place an SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
955FDs aren't available in HK, but the dual SIM S8+ has been launched in the UK and is available in Dubai as well.
In fact, I bought my 955FD in Dubai as well.
murtaza02 said:
955FDs aren't available in HK, but the dual SIM S8+ has been launched in the UK and is available in Dubai as well.
In fact, I bought my 955FD in Dubai as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has just launched in the Netherlands I heard. Ordered it at the Samsung shop just now - looking forward to it!
kimi4life said:
It has just launched in the Netherlands I heard. Ordered it at the Samsung shop just now - looking forward to it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, congratulations!
You'll really enjoy it.
murtaza02 said:
Well, congratulations!
You'll really enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for the advice! I'll get back to you on the best way to root when I received it
my friend is brining me over a G9550 from HK over the weekend. o2 in the UK have not cleared the s8/s8+ for wifi calling and volte yet, but when they do, where is the link to root and install custom rom and csc on it so i can hopefully get it to work with these services?
im getting the phone for free, so i can't complain with free!
mikey_sk said:
my friend is brining me over a G9550 from HK over the weekend. o2 in the UK have not cleared the s8/s8+ for wifi calling and volte yet, but when they do, where is the link to root and install custom rom and csc on it so i can hopefully get it to work with these services?
im getting the phone for free, so i can't complain with free!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check Nicholaschum's thread in the S8+ Forums for the Korean variant.
murtaza02 said:
Check Nicholaschum's thread in the S8+ Forums for the Korean variant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will the korean exynos firmware or custom rom built for that device even work for the snapdragon G9550?!
No need to root for adblocker, you can get adblocker through "Adhell" or "Disconnect for samsung browser" in play store. I don't think rooting is worth it on such a new device with many functions out of the box. Substratum also got samsung support without root.
mikey_sk said:
will the korean exynos firmware or custom rom built for that device even work for the snapdragon G9550?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it won't.
I have a G9550 (6GB/128GB) from Hong Kong and can confirm Vodafone 4G does not work on it, only 3G
nugget123 said:
I have a G9550 (6GB/128GB) from Hong Kong and can confirm Vodafone 4G does not work on it, only 3G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd considering it supports the necessary bands.
Have you set it to LTE mode?
murtaza02 said:
That's odd considering it supports the necessary bands.
Have you set it to LTE mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it would support it straight out the box too but it only connects to 3G:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsz6fqvop0ke7z3/2017-07-03 08.50.30.png?dl=0
nugget123 said:
I thought it would support it straight out the box too but it only connects to 3G:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsz6fqvop0ke7z3/2017-07-03 08.50.30.png?dl=0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sure you have the APNs right?
Dial *#2683662# and tell me if a Service Mode menu pops up.
Erm I did get some OTA configurations when I put my Vodafone sim card in but I didn't accept them settings as it was browser changes and I didn't think they affected my data connection, could they be it?
It said:
service mode
menu not exist
press back to continue
current command is 1000
Edited to add:
I just looked in my access point list in settings and it does come up with Vodafones access point settings
Edited again to add:
I spoke to Vodafone who checked my APN settings and assured me they were correct
Edited again again to add:
Added the APN settings manually, restarted my phone and now it works with 4G ?
nugget123 said:
I have a G9550 (6GB/128GB) from Hong Kong and can confirm Vodafone 4G does not work on it, only 3G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i put a vodafone uk sim in it and and it works perfectly on 4G
both slots gve me 4g, o2 in slot 1 and voda in slot 2
only thing i dont get anymore is 4G+ - any help on this?
mikey_sk said:
i put a vodafone uk sim in it and and it works perfectly on 4G
both slots gve me 4g, o2 in slot 1 and voda in slot 2
only thing i dont get anymore is 4G+ - any help on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because the Chinese variants don't support carrier aggregation on the same bands used by networks in the UK.
I have 4g+ in china and Hong Kong but not here on voda uk
Hello guys,
in my country (france) if i import a N20U with the snapdragon processor, i know for example samsung pay and volte doesn't work and updates software maybe not in same time (and different?), my question is, can i flash a qualcomm version with a global rom intended for the model with exynos processor? and if it's possible samsung pay volte etc work like the europe version after that?
Maybe it's a stupid question but the last time i used odin for flash a phone it's in 2012 so .. ?
alex47310 said:
Hello guys,
in my country (france) if i import a N20U with the snapdragon processor, i know for example samsung pay and volte doesn't work and updates software maybe not in same time (and different?), my question is, can i flash a qualcomm version with a global rom intended for the model with exynos processor? and if it's possible samsung pay volte etc work like the europe version after that?
Maybe it's a stupid question but the last time i used odin for flash a phone it's in 2012 so ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I wouldn't assume that Samsung pay and VoLTE wouldn't work - it's actually likely they would, as Samsung Pay appears to work if the phone's CSC is for a country/region with Samsung Pay, and VoLTE appears to work if the phone has your carrier's frequencies and your carrier supports it;
2) Short answer is no, you can't flash an Exynos ROM on a Snapdragon model;
3) if your goal is to get a Note 20 with the Snapdragon processor, I would suggest you also check out the thread on the HK SM-N9860.
jtOttawa said:
1) I wouldn't assume that Samsung pay and VoLTE wouldn't work - it's actually likely they would, as Samsung Pay appears to work if the phone's CSC is for a country/region with Samsung Pay, and VoLTE appears to work if the phone has your carrier's frequencies and your carrier supports it;
2) Short answer is no, you can't flash an Exynos ROM on a Snapdragon model;
3) if your goal is to get a Note 20 with the Snapdragon processor, I would suggest you also check out the thread on the HK SM-N9860.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your answer
alex47310 said:
Thanks for your answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope it is helpful. I would add that while Samsung Pay likely would work in France using a U.S. N20U, it would be the U.S. version of Samsung Pay, and therefore not all cards from France would necessarily work with it, as again, Samsung Pay appears to be inextricably linked to the phone's CSC (country-specific code).
That said, as you will see in the thread on the HK SM-N9860, users are reporting good success with Samsung Pay outside of HK, for example.
Would welcome others weighing in on the compatibility and pros/cons of different ROMs with the various models of Note, as my knowledge is very limited in that regard.
alex47310 said:
Hello guys,
in my country (france) if i import a N20U with the snapdragon processor, i know for example samsung pay and volte doesn't work and updates software maybe not in same time (and different?), my question is, can i flash a qualcomm version with a global rom intended for the model with exynos processor? and if it's possible samsung pay volte etc work like the europe version after that?
Maybe it's a stupid question but the last time i used odin for flash a phone it's in 2012 so ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in the UK and volte works perfectly. I tried with 2 different mobile operators. The same with wifi calling. Samsung Pay also works perfectly, it just displays Chinese promos.
jtOttawa said:
Hope it is helpful. I would add that while Samsung Pay likely would work in France using a U.S. N20U, it would be the U.S. version of Samsung Pay, and therefore not all cards from France would necessarily work with it, as again, Samsung Pay appears to be inextricably linked to the phone's CSC (country-specific code).
That said, as you will see in the thread on the HK SM-N9860, users are reporting good success with Samsung Pay outside of HK, for example.
Would welcome others weighing in on the compatibility and pros/cons of different ROMs with the various models of Note, as my knowledge is very limited in that regard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for all precisions, i will check the threads about this model
VirtualWaver said:
I live in the UK and volte works perfectly. I tried with 2 different mobile operators. The same with wifi calling. Samsung Pay also works perfectly, it just displays Chinese promos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chinese promos ? on samsung pay you mean ? you have the SM-9860 ?
alex47310 said:
chinese promos ? on samsung pay you mean ? you have the SM-9860 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just until VirtualWaver replies, that's right - because it is the HK version of Samsung Pay on that model. His point was that he was using it successfully outside of HK, in the UK.
The key differences between the HK model and the N20U you are considering (apart from US vs HK Samsung Pay) is the HK model is dual-SIM, and comes with 256 GB of storage (versus the US base model's 128 GB).
Note as well the discussions in the threads about getting 5G on the HK model, which may be problematic.
alex47310 said:
chinese promos ? on samsung pay you mean ? you have the SM-9860 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, promos related to country of CSC (Hong Kong in my case) - see the attached screenshot.
I have SM-9860 imported from Hong Kong (via Wondamobile).
All works great, only Hong Kong related ads in the app instead of your local ads and it doesn't allow to use UK transport card, only Smart Octopus (HK travel card) but this is only to touch in in transport without turning on the phone - you can still touch in and pay in public transport by swapping to Samsung Pay in lock screen and authorising the payment via biometrics.
I added my UK bank card and a few store cards and they all work flawlessly.
Confirmed Samsung Pay worked in Canada too ( SM-N9860 ), however not anymore since I rooted
inningsdefeat500 said:
Confirmed Samsung Pay worked in Canada too ( SM-N9860 ), however not anymore since I rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is 5G working for you?
jtOttawa said:
Is 5G working for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't tested but cannot right? but due to bands
jtOttawa said:
Hope it is helpful. I would add that while Samsung Pay likely would work in France using a U.S. N20U, it would be the U.S. version of Samsung Pay, and therefore not all cards from France would necessarily work with it, as again, Samsung Pay appears to be inextricably linked to the phone's CSC (country-specific code).
That said, as you will see in the thread on the HK SM-N9860, users are reporting good success with Samsung Pay outside of HK, for example.
Would welcome others weighing in on the compatibility and pros/cons of different ROMs with the various models of Note, as my knowledge is very limited in that regard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's helpful
This csc is annoying because the phone will have updates at the same time as China and I read that the updates are really later than in France
VirtualWaver said:
Yes, promos related to country of CSC (Hong Kong in my case) - see the attached screenshot.
I have SM-9860 imported from Hong Kong (via Wondamobile).
All works great, only Hong Kong related ads in the app instead of your local ads and it doesn't allow to use UK transport card, only Smart Octopus (HK travel card) but this is only to touch in in transport without turning on the phone - you can still touch in and pay in public transport by swapping to Samsung Pay in lock screen and authorising the payment via biometrics.
I added my UK bank card and a few store cards and they all work flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok i see it's not a big problem for adds if it's just in samsung pay , i saw a lot that website ( wondamobile ) on forums, it's seems more serious than sellers on rakuten, i'm just a little bit scare about warranty
Hello guys,
I hope everyone is doing fine out there regarding this worldwide pandemic!
I am here asking for help regarding my Note 20 Ultra.
I have a SM-N9860 model (i think this is China, Hong Kong variant) with Snapdragon CPU.
I live in Europe, Romania and because my phone was build for an other region, I can't use some of the mandatory apps(samsung pay), I dont't have access to updates from europe, I have a different layout for my keyboard, etc.
Now, here is the question: is it possible to flash the Romania's stock ROM version on my phone? Keep in mind that in europe there are no official Snapdragon variants and that means that I will flash an Exinos ROM on a Snapdragon phone.
I hope I found the right topic to post my question.
Have a nice day, everybody!
no you cant flash an exynos rom on snapdragon. I have the n9860 in israel im waiting for android 11 still.
never used samsung pay or google pay, cash is king.
That's not really what I wanted to hear
But, thanks God I did not atempted to flash a new ROM before asking!
Thank you for your answer!
Have a good night!
Same still waiting for Snapdragon Android 11 .... best phone
but last inline for 11 update with UI3.0
Either it's Hong Kong or Taiwan. Why did you buy Chinese version?
It was advertised as Snapdragon version and that's it. Nobody said anything about region, neither US nor China...
RISHI RAJ said:
Either it's Hong Kong or Taiwan. Why did you buy Chinese version?
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Click to collapse
Its the best on paper... snapdragon, got all the accessories ( case & earphone ) + dual sim
and 256gb base instead of 128gb of the us version..
---
They schedule it at January 2021, so it's not that this model are late, it's just the other model get it earlY
I know this is contrary to what everyone says, but a few years ago I did successfully flash Exynos ROM on to a Snapdragon Samsung phone and everything worked fine, this might be anecdotal and I am not responsible if you try this yourself and brick your phone.
It was the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 which I ordered and received from eGlobalCentralUK (ceased trading), they sold Chinese variant phones.
Global variant had the Exynos 9810 chip (SM-N960F/DS)
China variant had the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip (SM-N9600/DS)
I remember doing so because Samsung Pay didn't support any UK banks and only had Chinese banks. I have used Odin plenty before, so without checking on Google if it's possible to do this I just did it. I downloaded the official UK firmware from Sammobile and flashed the SM-N960F/DS (BTU) firmware on to the SM-N9600/DS Note 9. Everything worked to my knowledge, but I didn't do any specific tests like 2G/3G/4G on the phone.
Later when I got the Note 10+ and tried to sell my phone to MusicMagpie, they offered me £300 revised £0 for it because it wasn't UK variant and they can tell because it was Snapdragon.
Edit: grammar
Hello friends, I bought a Samsung S22 Ultra device on eBay and I didn't pay attention to its version, now I'm having problems using some apps like Samsung Plu and my chip 2 which is an E-sim. he is not enabled
Does anyone know any way I can change this Firmewere via Odin or any other way? I would like to install the Brazilian version, but if I enter the global version, at least it will be Excellent! I just want to make all the applications work and the E-sim, checking the software, I see that it has the same settings as the other version's devices: the 908B and 908E.
Were you able to do something to your s22 ultra? I have the same problems haha
It is not possible to change the CSC on the Korean version because it has the Snap dragon CPU and the other global versions are Exynos. I also have the KR version of the phone in Europe and so far I have concluded that all issues are possible to overcome by alternative apps. Except for e-sim, don't know about it as I do not care for e-sims.
However upon checking something, I noticed that Dr Ketans s22 rom info, lower in the area of CSC features you can find e-sim. https://drketanrom.com/samsung-s22-1
It might be worth asking about it to see if it would be possible to turn on after rooting and installing his ROM.
Hello,
I'm having some doubts about either changing the rom of my S10 or not, currently I have a phone which is unlocked from a carrier in Japan belonging to the AU company MODEL number : SCV41, the problem is that I'm not in Japan anymore I'm in Chile, the issue comes when I try to use the phone in Chile ,it works generally but many times I don't receive the calls or sometimes I receive them but the person on the other side doesn't hear me. I assume this is an issue with the cell phone bands networks being different in each country since the phone works perfectly aside from that, so my question is would this change if I change to the International version ROM? I read that the international version of the Samsung S10 came with the Snapdragon variant same as the Japanese version of the same phone, the Chilean S10 came with the exynos variant so in Theory it wouldn't be compatible with my phone? Do anyone knows if the International ROM would fix my issue? I have never flashed any phone so I don't want to mess up my phone. If anyone could guide me I would be really tankful.
Kind regards