Develop Bugs

[Q] T-Mobile branded S3 somehow became AT&T.

When I received my S3, it was on a T-Mobile branded stock firmware 4.1.1. I wanted to try CyanogenMod, so I installed it, but didn't like it.
Here's where my problem begins. Upon wiping my phone back to stock to get rid of CyanogenMod, I find that it's now AT&T branded, despite the physical phone being a T-Mobile T999.
I tried rooting it and using CSC changers, but those tell me that the PreconfigUI is SingleCSC, and thus apparently unchangeable.
What I want to do is somehow get my phone back to T-Mobile branded stock.
P.S. I do not have a MicroSIM yet.

GraphicsApathy said:
When I received my S3, it was on a T-Mobile branded stock firmware 4.1.1. I wanted to try CyanogenMod, so I installed it, but didn't like it.
Here's where my problem begins. Upon wiping my phone back to stock to get rid of CyanogenMod, I find that it's now AT&T branded, despite the physical phone being a T-Mobile T999.
I tried rooting it and using CSC changers, but those tell me that the PreconfigUI is SingleCSC, and thus apparently unchangeable.
What I want to do is somehow get my phone back to T-Mobile branded stock.
P.S. I do not have a MicroSIM yet.
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Click to collapse
Can you go to your phone's settings => about device and check what the firmware settings are? Let's see what you have under firmware version, baseband version & build number. If possible, you may post a screen shot. Did you say you returned to stock by wiping your phone? Hardly seems likely and you would have probably needed to flash some firmware. Would you recall what you flashed?

Thanks for stepping up. My phone's info is:
Android Version is 4.1.1
Baseband is I747UCDLK3
Build is JRO03L.I747UCDLK3
I did not flash any firmware, as I had no reason to.

GraphicsApathy said:
Thanks for stepping up. My phone's info is:
Android Version is 4.1.1
Baseband is I747UCDLK3
Build is JRO03L.I747UCDLK3
I did not flash any firmware, as I had no reason to.
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Click to collapse
It's definitely on AT&T firmware. Apologies if I sound like I'm doubting you but are you certain it had T-Mobile firmware when you acquired it? I'd guess it was probably already an AT&T phone. If you bought it in the secondary market, there could have been some previous repairs involving parts swaps. Your safest bet may be to leave it as is and unlock for you use on T-Mobile. Trying to force on T-Mobile firmware now could result in a brick. As it is on 4.1.1, you can easily free unlock it by following the well tested method you'll find elsewhere in this forum.

No apologies needed. I forgot to state that the phone was purchased with the T-Mobile boot animation and bloatware already present, and that the model number printed below the battery is T999. I've got no clue if there was a parts swap or not. Is the method to unlock that's posted elsewhere that you're referring to the one that begins with you dialing *#197328640#? If so, i've tried it but never got the unlock message to show.

GraphicsApathy said:
No apologies needed. I forgot to state that the phone was purchased with the T-Mobile boot animation and bloatware already present, and that the model number printed below the battery is T999. I've got no clue if there was a parts swap or not. Is the method to unlock that's posted elsewhere that you're referring to the one that begins with you dialing *#197328640#? If so, i've tried it but never got the unlock message to show.
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There could have been a previous JTag operation involving forced firmware installation on the MB. I've seen previous hybrid firmware involving one or other partition belonging to a different model - e.g. the modem, bootloader or something else but not the complete system.
Yes, that's the unlock method I was referring to. You won't get any confirmation that the process worked at the end. However, if you did it correctly, you would know it worked when you insert a non-compatible SIM card and it works. You should also be able to install T-Mobile apps especially the Wi-Fi calling app which is a really nice feature of T-Mobile.

I'm getting it microSIM'ed tomorrow. I'll see how that goes.
UPDATE: Successfully obtained and installed T-Mobile microSIM. Still wish to replace AT&T boot animation and bloatware with T-Mobile's, though.

GraphicsApathy said:
I'm getting it microSIM'ed tomorrow. I'll see how that goes.
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OK. I'd be interested in knowing the outcome but I'll be surprised if it isn't unlocked already. Did some further research and there have been some reports of people successfully 'flashing' AT&T firmware on T-Mobile phones, and vice versa. Not sure why this should happen and conventional logic suggests the result should be a hard brick which is indeed the most common outcome. I'll also suggest you boot into download mode and see the information under bootloader. If the device has a T-Mobile bootloader, it may be possible to remove the OS via custom recovery and re-flash T-Mobile firmware.

Download mode currently gives Product Name as SGH-I747. Wiping AT&T OS via custom recovery and then installing the proper one sounds like a good lead. I eagerly await your instruction

GraphicsApathy said:
Download mode currently gives Product Name as SGH-I747. Wiping AT&T OS via custom recovery and then installing the proper one sounds like a good lead. I eagerly await your instruction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If download mode info shows secure bootloader enabled, the phone is, to all intents and purposes, now an AT&T phone. Attempting to flash T-Mobile firmware may likely result in a brick which would require a JTag fix. I was hoping download mode would show it still had a T-Mobile bootloader which could have allowed for safe firmware installation but this does not appear to be the case. Likely the motherboard was previously replaced or it suffered a brick and AT&T firmware was JTagged on. Either way, it would be safer to leave it as is.

Bummer. I'll leave it as is then. Thank you for all the help.

Update S3 Help

My wifes phone I747 has been having a Camera fail for many months now and she misses a lot without camera. She is running the old 4.1.1 still and i think its possible a Version upgrade may fix the issue. Now I ask can anyone please provide me with a full detail way to upgrade now that i Rooted it ??
I have looked for a week now on different ways but either i get lost or many files don't work anymore since its a old phone now.

You cannot get OTA updates if the phone is rooted.
If you are on the 4.1.1 bootloader and modem, I suggest flashing back to stock 4.1.1 using Odin and firmware from sammobile.com. Once you are on stock, run OTA updates until you have the most recent ROM on your phone. This method is rather slow but it is the safest way to update to the latest KK ROM.

audit13 said:
You cannot get OTA updates if the phone is rooted.
If you are on the 4.1.1 bootloader and modem, I suggest flashing back to stock 4.1.1 using Odin and firmware from sammobile.com. Once you are on stock, run OTA updates until you have the most recent ROM on your phone. This method is rather slow but it is the safest way to update to the latest KK ROM.
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It's with Cricket so no OTA anyways :/
I will try what you posted and get back with ya

I thought cricket was cdma. I could be wrong as I am in Canada where there cdma has been phased out.

audit13 said:
I thought cricket was cdma. I could be wrong as I am in Canada where there cdma has been phased out.
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Used to be but now only GSM At&t purchased half of Cricket wireless so now it runs the network.

How to know the exact version or carrier because a custom ROM replaced it?

I747 sometimes restarts itself and gets stuck on the custom rom boot screen. I have tried multiple ROMs and multiple kernels by now but the problem persists. The only thing that gets it out is that I have to manually remove the battery and put it back in. Also sometimes the WiFi stops connecting and when I try to turn it off and on again, it gets stuck on "WiFi is turning on".
The only thing I want to do now is go back to the original firmware however the because I have a ROM installed, I don't know exactly what the VERSION (the version shown in the settings doesn't match any of these). I also don't remember the exact carrier. Can anyone help regarding this?

Did you make a nandroid backup before installing the custom ROM? If not, I suggest using ODIN to flash the stock NE4 firmware. You can find the NE4 4_file tar file thread in this forum.

StoneyJSG said:
Did you make a nandroid backup before installing the custom ROM? If not, I suggest using ODIN to flash the stock NE4 firmware. You can find the NE4 4_file tar file thread in this forum.
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No backup at all. I was also thinking of the Odin way however as I mentioned in the post, I can't find a version of the software that matches that on the phone. I also don't know the phone carrier (it is from Canada i747m with 2gb RAM, thats all I know). Is it okay to just do any version of the firmware or do I need a specific version?

Boot into download mode and confirm the model # there.

sCell_ said:
No backup at all. I was also thinking of the Odin way however as I mentioned in the post, I can't find a version of the software that matches that on the phone. I also don't know the phone carrier (it is from Canada i747m with 2gb RAM, thats all I know). Is it okay to just do any version of the firmware or do I need a specific version?
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Click to collapse
If it's an i747m then you need firmware for that model. Firmware for the i747 won't work on i747m.

sCell_ said:
No backup at all. I was also thinking of the Odin way however as I mentioned in the post, I can't find a version of the software that matches that on the phone. I also don't know the phone carrier (it is from Canada i747m with 2gb RAM, thats all I know). Is it okay to just do any version of the firmware or do I need a specific version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's a Canadian i747m, it may be a Telus, Bell, Rogers, [email protected], or SaskTel phone. Check the back --- oh wait, Telus doesn't have custom backs (I have a S3 from Telus).
It doesn't matter what VERSION, it matters what MODEL it's for. I could flash CM10 and it would run, BUT it has to be for the EXACT SAME DEVICE! (d2can if you wanted to know.)

Rogers, Telus, bell, fido, Koodo all use the same stock base rom with slight customization for each carrier. You can install the rogers rom to a Telus phone and bell phone. I've done this many times.

Going back to stock?

I'm selling a SIM-unlocked Samsung phone that was originally from Verizon. If I flash it back to stock, does it automatically detect what SIM it has and just "adds" those carrier apps? 'Cause it seemed like it did that when I had it on MetroPCS and T-Mobile. Or is that just on jrkruse's ROM? How would I get this back to stock so it can get security patches again?
I have downloaded a firmware file named "SM-G955U_1_20191002135553_sh0v99vvjn_fac," is this the latest?

GuyInDogSuit said:
I'm selling a SIM-unlocked Samsung phone that was originally from Verizon. If I flash it back to stock, does it automatically detect what SIM it has and just "adds" those carrier apps? 'Cause it seemed like it did that when I had it on MetroPCS and T-Mobile. Or is that just on jrkruse's ROM? How would I get this back to stock so it can get security patches again?
I have downloaded a firmware file named "SM-G955U_1_20191002135553_sh0v99vvjn_fac," is this the latest?
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I dont know what that firmware is. That's not from a legit site it seems. I would use updato or sammobile. For the latest. And yes if you put a multi csc stock firmware it will auto detect sim and personalize accordingly

TheMadScientist said:
I dont know what that firmware is. That's not from a legit site it seems. I would use updato or sammobile. For the latest. And yes if you put a multi csc stock firmware it will auto detect sim and personalize accordingly
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Click to collapse
That's why I'm kind of hesitant to flash it back to stock. But I might have someone interested in it as it is, so I just factory reset it and will wait on a response.

Question Verizon factory image vs. Global

I always flash global image instead of Verizon due to bloat ware and stuff.. I did have a question would it be worth grabbing the Verizon radio images and flashing them as I'm on the Verizon network? Also do you flash them with adb or is there another method? So used to having TWRP.. Much appreciated.

I never flash the VZW image......but you can certainly try the radio as you suggest. Normally, I never see any difference, but curious if others see some....the radio is different in the current VZW image.
You would do "fastboot flash radio radio_imagefile_here"

stalls said:
I always flash global image instead of Verizon due to bloat ware and stuff.. I did have a question would it be worth grabbing the Verizon radio images and flashing them as I'm on the Verizon network? Also do you flash them with adb or is there another method? So used to having TWRP.. Much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What bloatware (and stuff) are you referring to regarding the VZW image?

stalls said:
I always flash global image instead of Verizon due to bloat ware and stuff.. I did have a question would it be worth grabbing the Verizon radio images and flashing them as I'm on the Verizon network? Also do you flash them with adb or is there another method? So used to having TWRP.. Much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Verizon firmware isn't a "Verizon owned" firmware, it's just a variant that Google has released because when Google sent out the "global" firmware for testing Verizon reported issues with it, and it was too late to incorporate the fixes and send out another firmware to all carriers for testing.
The variants in firmwares have nothing changed in them other than the radio/modem/network files and maybe app versions if the variant had to be built at a later date and picked up a new app version in the build process. The firmwares are exactly the same. They don't come with any additional bloatware, because Verizon's networking specific apps are actually already included in the base firmware and are enabled/disabled on the presence of a Verizon SIM. The bloatware you are delivered is when setting up the phone and the setup wizard will offer the carrier bloatware to be installed depending on the carrier of the SIM.
Run the firmware designated for your carrier. You might have service issues if you don't, but it will run almost the same.
I ran the Verizon variant on my phone with T-Mobile and I got service just fine, however it appears that Verizon wanted the scaling for network strength to be changed because it reported 0 bars even though I had service. It also wanted to try really hard to latch onto mmWave, so it appears that Verizon wanted that and potentially more changed.
Just run the online flash tool from Google to get updated, or follow the tutorial threads in the help section.
cmh714 said:
I never flash the VZW image......but you can certainly try the radio as you suggest. Normally, I never see any difference, but curious if others see some....the radio is different in the current VZW image.
You would do "fastboot flash radio radio_imagefile_here"
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You'll have to flash more. There's also the modem inside the image and there are also APNs and other files for networks on the system image or vendor image too, so it's really just best to take the whole firmware.

Ok so I should just flash over the global and so as usual then right?

stalls said:
Ok so I should just flash over the global and so as usual then right?
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You mean flash the Verizon firmware over the global firmware you already have on your phone? Yes, it will be fine. You don't need to wipe the phone.