g970u - can i just update to the latest? - Samsung Galaxy S10e Questions & Answers

I've got a g970U that is living out it's life in NZ. It was bought as an import from one of our many grey import sites here.
It doesn't get OTA updates and my googling has led me here.
The current baseband is G970USQU2BSIP. It doesn't seem to match the numbers on the ATT website but i'm told this was an ATT phone?
I've tried connecting it using SmartSwitch and it says it's up to date SIP(XAA).
So it looks like my option is now to use Odin and update it. Can I update it to just the latest firmware? Or do i have to do each one in order (i hope not cos that will take a long time!) It also sounds like I need to make my U into a U1? that gets rid of any bloatware?

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[Q] moving phone carrier question?

I bought an Australian (Telstar) HTC Mozart to use in New Zealand as the hardware specs match the NZ Telecom network. Now I an really worried that as Telecom dont sell this phone they will never "release" an update and I'll eventually be stuck with a very old version of WP7.
Anyone got an ideas if this will be a problem or if my phone will see the Telstra update and grab that?
I have a dev account so if anyone knows how a dev can load the update directly then that would be great to hear...
Thanks
they will Telstra aren't really ones to stop it though i know that they haven't released the update yet. my sister has a mozart from telstra and hasn't gotten an update yet. just be patient. i'm pretty sure they just rolled it all into one.
I also bought a phone from germany and I'm using it in Portugal with diferent carrier and I got the update! So I think you shouldn't worry
The Gate Keeper said:
they will Telstra aren't really ones to stop it though i know that they haven't released the update yet. my sister has a mozart from telstra and hasn't gotten an update yet. just be patient. i'm pretty sure they just rolled it all into one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But do you think it will update a phone running in NZ on a different network? Mt worry is that if teh carrier can block an update then that seems to suggest its tied to the phone + carrier combination. If i take a phone sold for an Australian carrier and use it in NZ then will it update?
In theory it should work as Telecom NZ provide the internet access and the phone is still branded Telstra. It still shows their NextG branding at start up etc but what if it doesn't?
I also cant think why developers are not allowed to run the update using dev only tools. How are we supposed to test our applications?
Seems a little up in the air. As for teh update I am patient and happy to wait but I really think MS need to explain stuff way more. Lots of people are complaining and that is bad for the image as a whole. A few more blog post from MS could really diffuse that.
Thanks for the feedback.
vbgeezer said:
But do you think it will update a phone running in NZ on a different network? Mt worry is that if teh carrier can block an update then that seems to suggest its tied to the phone + carrier combination. If i take a phone sold for an Australian carrier and use it in NZ then will it update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. It's tied to the device+branding, so as long as Telstra releases the update you will get it.
The alternative is to unbrand your phone by flashing a non-branded (i.e. generic) ROM and you'll get the update as soon as MS seems fit rather than being dependant on any carriers.

How to get cricket updates with ATT phone?

Hey Guys,
I have a Samsung S6 ATT phone which i unlocked then took over to Cricket. I have not gotten any updates since then and the system update via Settings says i am up to date but i see updates on the ATT website.
I know they are different networks and Cricket is awful about the monthly updates. Is it possible to patch the phone with the monthly updates from ATT using ODIN or is ODIN only used for full ROM flashes? Some of the updates are only 20 MB each but they do have security stuff and i like to stay current.
Any thoughts or advice on how to proceed?
shane.kelly55 said:
Hey Guys,
I have a Samsung S6 ATT phone which i unlocked then took over to Cricket. I have not gotten any updates since then and the system update via Settings says i am up to date but i see updates on the ATT website.
I know they are different networks and Cricket is awful about the monthly updates. Is it possible to patch the phone with the monthly updates from ATT using ODIN or is ODIN only used for full ROM flashes? Some of the updates are only 20 MB each but they do have security stuff and i like to stay current.
Any thoughts or advice on how to proceed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin only allows full firmware updates and no ota updates for little things. The only thing I can advise to try is to flash an AT&T firmware via odin and see if updates kick in, I'm not too familiar with the American variants as I have a global one where things are admittedly much simpler.
shane.kelly55 said:
Hey Guys,
I have a Samsung S6 ATT phone which i unlocked then took over to Cricket. I have not gotten any updates since then and the system update via Settings says i am up to date but i see updates on the ATT website.
I know they are different networks and Cricket is awful about the monthly updates. Is it possible to patch the phone with the monthly updates from ATT using ODIN or is ODIN only used for full ROM flashes? Some of the updates are only 20 MB each but they do have security stuff and i like to stay current.
Any thoughts or advice on how to proceed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have an unlocked S6 on Cricket, and though I don't have an answer to your question really I did want to mention that I took the phone to a Best Buy with a Samsung Experience Shop and they upgraded it from 5.1.1 to 6 for me. I plan to do the same when Nougat gets released. As best I can tell they can't do monthly security patches for you, only major releases, but it still is better than nothing. Plus, in theory the FCC will eventually start forcing AT&T to update branded phones that are not active on its network, or at least so I read a while back when I was investigating this issue. Take that with a grain of salt.

How to flash updated T-Mobile firmware on very un-updated AT&T S7 Edge?

I'm new to XDA and not very expert at Android. I used to use a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 with T-Mobile as the carrier. I recently bought a used AT&T Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and have succeeded so far in getting it unlocked so it recognizes my SIM card. So my phone is up and running. However, it is still an AT&T phone. I don't know all of the ways it is undesirable to use an AT&T phone on the T-Mobile network. I do know that updating software is problematic. I want to make this phone into a T-Mobile phone, so that when software updates are available it asks me if I want to install them and so on.
Now I'm getting into unfamiliar territory. I believe my CSC is G935AUCU1APB4. (This is called my 'baseband version' in the settings menu.) From 'PB4' I get that this firmware is from February 2016, version 4. My model is G935-A and what's in between tells me something about my country and original Android version, maybe. So when I go looking for a late version of T-Mobile's firmware for my phone, would it still start with G935A, or would it perhaps look like G935T (for T-mobile)? Or perhaps G935U (for unlocked?) Anyway, my first big question is what firmware package should I look for and how do I know that is the right one?
After that, well, I have never manually flashed firmware into a phone. I see references to Odin and SmartSwitch and sammobile. Well, shoot. I figure I can learn any of these packages. Which should I use and why?
That's enough for now, thanks for reading!
metalmagpie
metalmagpie said:
I'm new to XDA and not very expert at Android. I used to use a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 with T-Mobile as the carrier. I recently bought a used AT&T Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and have succeeded so far in getting it unlocked so it recognizes my SIM card. So my phone is up and running. However, it is still an AT&T phone. I don't know all of the ways it is undesirable to use an AT&T phone on the T-Mobile network. I do know that updating software is problematic. I want to make this phone into a T-Mobile phone, so that when software updates are available it asks me if I want to install them and so on.
Now I'm getting into unfamiliar territory. I believe my CSC is G935AUCU1APB4. (This is called my 'baseband version' in the settings menu.) From 'PB4' I get that this firmware is from February 2016, version 4. My model is G935-A and what's in between tells me something about my country and original Android version, maybe. So when I go looking for a late version of T-Mobile's firmware for my phone, would it still start with G935A, or would it perhaps look like G935T (for T-mobile)? Or perhaps G935U (for unlocked?) Anyway, my first big question is what firmware package should I look for and how do I know that is the right one?
After that, well, I have never manually flashed firmware into a phone. I see references to Odin and SmartSwitch and sammobile. Well, shoot. I figure I can learn any of these packages. Which should I use and why?
That's enough for now, thanks for reading!
metalmagpie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I have learned a ton in the last couple of days. Bottom line is the easiest way to update OS on an AT&T Samsung is to take it to Best Buy and ask the person at the Samsung counter to do it. I see no reason to believe that it is possible in software to make an AT&T phone look like a T-Mobile phone. And as far as flashing with Odin? What a totally buggy tool! I was NEVER able to make it get past "analyzing files" or maybe "file analysis". When you get down to switching cords from one USB port to another I figure you might just as well change your socks. Finally, there is a TON of crap advice out on the Web.
metalmagpie

Bought Fake G930F - What now?

The phone was supposed to be new but when it arrived the seal was broken.
It shows G930F on the sticker and the ROM installed is 7.0: NRD90M.G930FXXS4BQC1. Phone Info and CPU-Z both show a Snapdragon 820 installed and the bootloader G930TUVS4BQC1. Both of which indicate to me it is a SM-G930T in reality. Am I correct? There are no OTA updates available.
Is there anything I can do to make the phone usable here in Europe and get the latest security patches or a newer ROM? Phone service is unusable atm.
I still don't have my money back from Paypal, but the Ebay seller already told me that they decided in my favor and how I scammed him (funny, he?). How it looks I can keep the phone, but I would like to know if I can make it usable some how.
solisar said:
The phone was supposed to be new but when it arrived the seal was broken.
It shows G930F on the sticker and the ROM installed is 7.0: NRD90M.G930FXXS4BQC1. Phone Info and CPU-Z both show a Snapdragon 820 installed and the bootloader G930TUVS4BQC1. Both of which indicate to me it is a SM-G930T in reality. Am I correct? There are no OTA updates available.
Is there anything I can do to make the phone usable here in Europe and get the latest security patches or a newer ROM? Phone service is unusable atm.
I still don't have my money back from Paypal, but the Ebay seller already told me that they decided in my favor and how I scammed him (funny, he?). How it looks I can keep the phone, but I would like to know if I can make it usable some how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nightmare! Anyway if it's a T Mobile snapdragon (it definitely looks like it) you'll need to install T Mobile firmware from Sammobile of use SamFirm Tool. Flash with Odin obviously and make sure OEM is unlocked.
**This is important** so pay attention. Your boot loader version is an old one (U4) which is good because it means there's more you can do with it and the phone should be fairly easy to root. If you just type "G930T" into Sammobile firmware search you'll see there are lots of firmware updates after the one installed on your device. Once you upgrade a boot loader you cannot go back.
There's quite a few threads here about USA devices working in Europe, for the most part the phone will work but sometimes people have issues with 4G or LTE due to the radio band differences in the USA and Europe (regional difference).
So flash official firmware (stick with nougat 7.0 if you want for now) and see how the phone works, then basically go from there.
Thank you very much, for the answer!
cooltt said:
Nightmare! Anyway if it's a T Mobile snapdragon (it definitely looks like it) you'll need to install T Mobile firmware from Sammobile of use SamFirm Tool. Flash with Odin obviously and make sure OEM is unlocked. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do I exactly need the T-firmware? I can disable OEM lock on the F-firmware and I can factory restore without issues. Afaik I still don't get updates, if I'm not in the US with the T-firmware. The problem I have is bad connection and no security updates. If I read correctly in other threads there might be no way to fix the connection problems. I think people flash the U-firmware over 930T and 930A. I'm not sure which one would be best.
**This is important** so pay attention. Your boot loader version is an old one (U4) which is good because it means there's more you can do with it and the phone should be fairly easy to root. If you just type "G930T" into Sammobile firmware search you'll see there are lots of firmware updates after the one installed on your device. Once you upgrade a boot loader you cannot go back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any danger this happens automatically if I flash another ROM?
There's quite a few threads here about USA devices working in Europe, for the most part the phone will work but sometimes people have issues with 4G or LTE due to the radio band differences in the USA and Europe (regional difference).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I kinda need band 20 here for 4G to work without problems.
Edit: According to Frequencycheck there shouldn't even be a incompatibility (in theory).
I was able to flash the G930U firmware and bootloader (v4)* and OTA updates are working. Reception is still very flaky. Sometimes I get full bars, mostly it's at 1 bar. According to several websites the frequencies and bands are fully compatible to my country and provider. Strange. (My older phones all worked better.)
So now I wonder if there really is any reason to stay on v4 bootloader. Since this is the Snapdragon version I can't install Lineage and root seems to work even in the latest bootloader according to this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-s7-edge/how-to/root-s7-s7edge-oreo-nougat-t3819616.
*Howto: https://forum.xda-developers.com/at...to-install-g930u-firmware-sm-g930a-t-t3609300
solisar said:
I was able to flash the G930U firmware and bootloader (v4)* and OTA updates are working. Reception is still very flaky. Sometimes I get full bars, mostly it's at 1 bar. According to several websites the frequencies and bands are fully compatible to my country and provider. Strange. (My older phones all worked better.)
So now I wonder if there really is any reason to stay on v4 bootloader. Since this is the Snapdragon version I can't install Lineage and root seems to work even in the latest bootloader according to this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-s7-edge/how-to/root-s7-s7edge-oreo-nougat-t3819616.
*Howto: https://forum.xda-developers.com/at...to-install-g930u-firmware-sm-g930a-t-t3609300
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK good T or U is good on that device.
Changing the bootloader won't make any difference to the reception, the phone is built to work in a different region its as simple as that. It will never be 100% functional in another region as the bands are hardware and firmware specific. As you've found out the firmware is the easy part but you'll need to change the motherboard to resolve the incompatible hardware issue, it's simply not worth it.
Also, all these other threads saying it is possible to get it 100% working are talking rubbish. If it were that easy everyone would be buying Sammys from South Korea where they cost peanuts and then just flash your region firmware. There are commercial reasons (like all smart phones) the same device is built for different regional markets.
Its so annoying that people post such crap on these forums, very difficult for newbies to follow advice.
cooltt said:
OK good T or U is good on that device.
Changing the bootloader won't make any difference to the reception, the phone is built to work in a different region its as simple as that. It will never be 100% functional in another region as the bands are hardware and firmware specific. As you've found out the firmware is the easy part but you'll need to change the motherboard to resolve the incompatible hardware issue, it's simply not worth it.
Also, all these other threads saying it is possible to get it 100% working are talking rubbish. If it were that easy everyone would be buying Sammys from South Korea where they cost peanuts and then just flash your region firmware. There are commercial reasons (like all smart phones) the same device is built for different regional markets.
Its so annoying that people post such crap on these forums, very difficult for newbies to follow advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feared as much. At least I got my money back now except shipping fees. I can still use it as a mobile computer for browsing and some applications. For a useful phone and navigation device I'll have to buy another one.

Question Flashing unlocked firmware over carrier firmware?

Like the title says, is this possible and can it be done without wiping user data? Thanks.
Probably not worth the trouble. Always assume you will lose the data and back it up redundantly.
I thought there be a night and day difference when I got the unlocked N10+ N975U1 vs the AT&T variant N975U. There wasn't. The unlocked version actually had some bloatware not on the AT&T variant
Easiest and safest thing to do is package blocked the carrier bloatware. Verizon does some screwy modes to their devices so getting rid of that be nice. AT&T does not, that surprised me. Some users might like some of the AT&T apps.
It was successful, thank goodness. See my follow up here https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/f721u1-firmware-now-available.4484639/
Notice much difference?
Yeah the main stuff are:
1. Rcs with jibe server works now. Before it used att server so it wouldn't connect properly with other users
2. System updates come directly from Samsung instead of att
NguyenHuu said:
Yeah the main stuff are:
1. Rcs with jibe server works now. Before it used att server so it wouldn't connect properly with other users
2. System updates come directly from Samsung instead of att
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use either.
Updates is one of the first things I disabled on my N10+'s. One's on Pie, the other 10, I prefer Pie though. Once Google started rolling out scoped storage I bailed.
&
AT&T/Samsung have a nasty habit of screwing up older devices with firmware upgrades. Just had a pair of Buds+ screwed up like that a few months back, now they need the firmware rolled back*. S4+, same deal a few years back, but bootloader was updated too, no rollback.
If an OS is running fast, stable and fulfilling its mission... I let it be.
*I have 2 new pairs of Buds+, they sound identical and like my original pair use to, grrrrr.
Went with them because Samsung's newest release lack the features I want. Rather annoying.
The Buds+ have a 11 hr run time, light, don't fall out and sound good.
Sorry I should've posted my question here, instead of creating a new thread.
I recently purchased a flip 3 and am on a payment plan, tmobile won't unlock my phone unless I pay it off in full. Is it possible to flash the default software of the unlocked model so I can get updates from Samsung and still have my sim work? I'm not switching carriers, do I need the tmobile version of firmware for data/phone to work if the phone isn't unlocked?
boxface said:
Sorry I should've posted my question here, instead of creating a new thread.
I recently purchased a flip 3 and am on a payment plan, tmobile won't unlock my phone unless I pay it off in full. Is it possible to flash the default software of the unlocked model so I can get updates from Samsung and still have my sim work? I'm not switching carriers, do I need the tmobile version of firmware for data/phone to work if the phone isn't unlocked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone service will still work perfectly fine on U1 firmware, but you may lose lose some carrier-specific features like wifi calling etc. But.... the U1 models don't always necessarily get faster updates than the carrier models. For example, with the most recent update, the carrier model got it 2 weeks before the unlocked model. So if that's your only reason for wanting to change firmware, I'd advise against it.
Notify Update
- U model update history
Notify Update
- U1 model update history
iBowToAndroid said:
Phone service will still work perfectly fine on U1 firmware, but you may lose lose some carrier-specific features like wifi calling etc. But.... the U1 models don't always necessarily get faster updates than the carrier models. For example, with the most recent update, the carrier model got it 2 weeks before the unlocked model. So if that's your only reason for wanting to change firmware, I'd advise against it.
Notify Update
- U model update history
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I'm concerned about is tmobile eventually stopping the updates way sooner than Samsung. The carriers don't usually update a phone as long as the vendor so to avoid that I would rather not use T-Mobiles version. Thanks for the reply, it was very helpful.
iBowToAndroid said:
Notify Update
- U1 model update history
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
boxface said:
What I'm concerned about is tmobile eventually stopping the updates way sooner than Samsung. The carriers don't usually update a phone as long as the vendor so to avoid that I would rather not use T-Mobiles version. Thanks for the reply, it was very helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect. Every single model's lifespan for updates has always been the exact same, whether U or U1
I downloaded the unlocked firmware via Frija for SM-F711U1 / XAA and flashed it onto my At&t unit using patched Odin. Lost my data since the install didn't work without flashing CSC but booted up and working just fine now. No At&t bootscreen or bloat

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