Develop Bugs

AT&T TP2 in Spain?

Hello. I have a AT&T GSM Touch Pro 2 and am visiting Spain soon for a little over a week. I am interested in primarily getting data services (not concerned with making phone calls). Can anyone give me info on if this is possible and what to watch out for?
I would like to get email access mainly, but would love to use google maps and other internet apps. Will these work still? Specifically, do I need to talk to AT&T at all and where or how do I buy/rent a sim card in Spain? Obviously, I want to keep this as economical as possible - how much should I expect to be charged?
Thanks for the help!

yes you'll be able to use your tilt2 in spain with data and 3G. spain's networks use 900/1800 gsm and 2100 3g (umts) and the tilt2 supports those bands.
There are several networks you can choose from in spain, among them are vodafone, telefonica (movistar), and Orange. Once you get there pretty sure they sell them in the airports but also in the supermarkets.
From my experience of traveling abroad (europe and middle east) the data rates on prepaid sim cards are pretty high. But its prepaid so it'll only use what you put in, no going over.
Try googling for vodafone spain, orange spain and telefonica spain and see if they're sites have the prepaid rates.
Overall you won't have to use your At&t sim card, which i highly recommend you don't because you don't want to come back to an enormous bill with international data (which i did once!)
Hope this helps and enjoy your trip

Wow! What a great and thorough response. Other than HardSPL for rom flashing, I have not specifically unlocked my phone. Do I need to do that before using a vodafone, for example, sim? I thought I read recently that AT&T will unlock your phone for this sort of thing - any experience with that?
Thanks again!

indigomontoya said:
Wow! What a great and thorough response. Other than HardSPL for rom flashing, I have not specifically unlocked my phone. Do I need to do that before using a vodafone, for example, sim? I thought I read recently that AT&T will unlock your phone for this sort of thing - any experience with that?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, my bad, that completely slipped my mind. Yes you will need to sim unlock your device. Call At&t and they will provide the unlock code for you. Tell them you are going overseas for business and they will offer you an international plan, just tell them your not interested and they'll ask for you imei number (have it ready before) its found under your battery, on the side of your box, or by calling *#06# on your phone and the imei will pop up in a notification.
They will give you the unlock code and for your device to prompt you for the code, you will have to put a non-At&t sim card in your phone. So either grab one from a friend that has t-mobile or just wait till you get there and make sure you have the unlock code with you

Perfecto! Muchas Gracias!
(Im practicing my spanish)

indigomontoya said:
Perfecto! Muchas Gracias!
(Im practicing my spanish)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no worries haha
not gonna even try my spanish, its horrible! but i understand it pretty well.
My gf did a semester abroad a couple yeard ago in spain and she loved it, enjoy the wine!

Question about UK to US move

Hi there,
Sorry if this is an obvious question - I'm a big mobile enthusiast, but probably not as technically minded as some of you folks
I'm in the UK right now but am moving to the US permanently in a few weeks. I'm getting the Note 7 and am torn between what to do - buy it here or there.
Here's my thinking: If I buy here, it will be free of all that yucky bloatware you get over there since I gather that even if I purchase from BestBuy, there's nothing quite like a sim-free unlocked phone of the type we would get here. And that carrier bloatware scares me. I don't want to have to be rooting my phone and messing about with it to make it run at an acceptable speed when it inevitably starts to slow down, down the line. Plus, I just hate the thought of having all of that rubbish on my phone. If I'm spending $900 or so, I want it to be pure as the driven snow!
I'm not sure which network I'm going to be going for in the US (as an 'Alien' new to the US with no credit history, it's not easy to get a contract) but what I'm looking at is either T-Mobile or AT&T (possibly Cricket, if not main AT&T.) Although I hear T-Mobile signal can be patchy. I'll be in Los Angeles, so I imagine signal should be good.
So what I'm wondering is - will it all work OK there? I'm assuming the GSM version we get in the UK will be compatible with those two networks, though not Verizon. Although I doubt I'll go with Verizon because their packages don't really look good for what I need and also I hear their bloatware in particular is immense!
I know we have a different processor in the Exynos edition (or is that the one you guys have and we have Snapdragon? Anyway, you know what I mean..) But would that processor make any actual difference in day to day use? Does the processor just run the software or does it have an influence on how the phone actually works with the network as a phone and data device? Am I likely to run into problems?
Also, you probably can't answer this - but worth a try.. I assume that Samsung's warranties are not international? Right now, I am on an iPhone and I know that if it breaks in the US, I can just take it to an Apple store in the US. My gut tells me if I buy in the UK and it starts playing up, I'll be on my own, unless you know different? But hey - it's a trade off. Bloatware vs warranty.
Anyway, any thoughts or advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks all.
Phil :good:

Definitely buy the Exynos International version of the phone. I live near Los Angeles and plan to purchase the international version as well because it has no bloatware. It will be my first purchase of an international unlocked phone. I'm on AT&T but my understanding is that T-mobile rocks in Los Angeles. You can't go wrong with AT&T or T-Mobile, but I would lean toward T-Mobile if I were you, they are really kicking butt right now.
The exynos version of the phone will have better battery life by just a bit and it will be only slightly faster. They both have trade-offs, but in the end, it doesn't make a big difference, just get the international version, which is what all of us Americans want. I don't know about the warranty, you might have to ship the phone off for that.

if you buy one in the UK, make sure you make a few phone calls before you move.
European Samsung phones usually refuse to accept US SIM cards unless you make a phone call for a few minutes using a European SIM.

thedicemaster said:
if you buy one in the UK, make sure you make a few phone calls before you move.
European Samsung phones usually refuse to accept US SIM cards unless you make a phone call for a few minutes using a European SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a very good point! I remember reading about this with my old Galaxy when it said that it locked it to the country where the first phone call was made.
But would this possibly present problems? If I made a few calls with my Vodafone sim, would that then mean that it locks it to UK networks and makes a T-Mobile USA or AT&T sim incompatible?
And bands-wise, they're all good to go, right? There's no reason a local US sim wouldn't work 100% in that model? And the processor doesn't make a difference? Just wondering why they bother to put two different processor types in the phone otherwise?

DuffmasterFresh said:
Definitely buy the Exynos International version of the phone. I live near Los Angeles and plan to purchase the international version as well because it has no bloatware. It will be my first purchase of an international unlocked phone. I'm on AT&T but my understanding is that T-mobile rocks in Los Angeles. You can't go wrong with AT&T or T-Mobile, but I would lean toward T-Mobile if I were you, they are really kicking butt right now.
The exynos version of the phone will have better battery life by just a bit and it will be only slightly faster. They both have trade-offs, but in the end, it doesn't make a big difference, just get the international version, which is what all of us Americans want. I don't know about the warranty, you might have to ship the phone off for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - this is really helpful. Good to know TM are good there as had heard a few stories about bad coverage.

it's the opposite.
unless they changed it just for the note 7, you have to use the phone in the UK before you can use it in the US.
here's a quote from an article regarding the region lock in the S7 and S7 edge:
its box will be sealed with a sticker reading "European SIM card only."
The tab below this sticker explains how and why, albeit in tiny and rather verbose script. Essentially, in order for your unlocked European GS7 to be fully unlocked, you first need to make a total of five minutes worth of phone calls using a European SIM. If you don't do this, and try to use it with a SIM from outside of Europe, it won't connect to the network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is to prevent shops from selling European phones in the US.
the unlocking method is so that people moving outside Europe after buying a phone can continue to use it.

thedicemaster said:
it's the opposite.
unless they changed it just for the note 7, you have to use the phone in the UK before you can use it in the US.
here's a quote from an article regarding the region lock in the S7 and S7 edge:
this is to prevent shops from selling European phones in the US.
the unlocking method is so that people moving outside Europe after buying a phone can continue to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it - just been reading up on it. Thanks for this.
Well, that all looks simple enough. Shouldn't be an issue.
In fact, my only fear is warranty now. If I smash or crack it (which I will try not to obvs, but heaven forbid, it happens), I may be spannered.
I doubt my insurance will cover it if it is an international model and Samsung look like they don't do international warranties.
That's the only thing stopping me sitting here pressing 'order' when I'm on the verge of it.
Also, I wonder if Samsung Pay will be affected, If maybe, somehow, that's region specific.
It's a big risk.. Eeek!

Screw it, I've ordered.
So just to clarify - the bands on the international (UK) unlocked version will be compatible with ATT/Cricket and T-Mobile?

Looking To Buy This Phone...Need Advice...

I am looking to get this phone and needed some advice. I haven't bought a cellular branded phone for a long while. I usually go with the USA Factory unlocked version. On this phone is the cellular named stamped on the back of the phone? I know the model for the USA Unlocked version is G820QM (with a 7 at the end at times) but it is honestly harder to find. What does everyone recommend on this phone in regards to getting the cellular branded one or should I keep trying to find the USA Unlocked version? What about bloatware with the different cellular branded ones? How is that? Can you get rid of the bloatware? I also like what I call the LG Branded ones as they get the updates faster do they not? Please help me. I am looking for a phone and this one stuck out at me unless someone suggests a different phone with similar specs to this one? Thanks so much! :good:

alias4ever said:
I am looking to get this phone and needed some advice. I haven't bought a cellular branded phone for a long while. I usually go with the USA Factory unlocked version. On this phone is the cellular named stamped on the back of the phone? I know the model for the USA Unlocked version is G820QM (with a 7 at the end at times) but it is honestly harder to find. What does everyone recommend on this phone in regards to getting the cellular branded one or should I keep trying to find the USA Unlocked version? What about bloatware with the different cellular branded ones? How is that? Can you get rid of the bloatware? I also like what I call the LG Branded ones as they get the updates faster do they not? Please help me. I am looking for a phone and this one stuck out at me unless someone suggests a different phone with similar specs to this one? Thanks so much! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unsure where you're from, but stay away from the AT&T unlocked model (my model G820UM), I'm from the UK and ordered one, big mistake, AT&T does not send any update to their phones if they are not using an AT&T SIM card in the US, some users have been successful in updating they're OS, by just using a AT&T SIM card outside of the US, some haven't and I haven't tried it, because I don't want to waste more money on a SIM card when the results are not 100% guaranteed.
There is no way of cross flashing a different ROM, so you will be stuck without updates, until someone finds a way of cross flashing a ROM from an unlocked model. I'm checking this forum regularly hoping some has found a solution, but nothing so far
If you are in the US and on AT&T then it will fine, bloatware (which is a lot) can be removed/disabled easily
Honestly, for the price I paid (£280), I think the Xiaomi Mi9 would have been a better option, similar specs, updates every 2 months and you're able to unlock bootloader, not the best process to unlock the bootloader, but still possible (just need to wait for permission from Xiaomi which could take a few weeks), you'll be missing out on the best headphone jack, better cameras (not by much) and better battery life, for a similar price I think this is the best deal for snapdragon 855 phone.
If you don't mind paying a bit more and want the same features as the G8, go for the Samsung S10.

hugoprh said:
Unsure where you're from, but stay away from the AT&T unlocked model (my model G820UM), I'm from the UK and ordered one, big mistake, AT&T does not send any update to their phones if they are not using an AT&T SIM card in the US, some users have been successful in updating they're OS, by just using a AT&T SIM card outside of the US, some haven't and I haven't tried it, because I don't want to waste more money on a SIM card when the results are not 100% guaranteed.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried updating after taking out the SIM card?

ChrisAG said:
Have you tried updating after taking out the SIM card?
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Click to collapse
Yep no luck, I've sold the phone, I was wasting too much time trying to find a solution, so just sold it and claimed my sanity back xD
Going back to the trusty Xperia 5, timely updates and great software and they are going for around £260 so easily recommended.

That's too bad, AT&T must be interfering, because I just purchased an unlocked G8 in Canada, and it updated to 10 over WiFi, before I inserted a SIM from my carrier (Bell Mobility). Phone was not on Bell originally.

ChrisAG said:
That's too bad, AT&T must be interfering, because I just purchased an unlocked G8 in Canada, and it updated to 10 over WiFi, before I inserted a SIM from my carrier (Bell Mobility). Phone was not on Bell originally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, this a AT&T "feature", want updates? Buy at AT&T SIM card and use it in the US, guess they don't want anyone outside the US to use their products, unsure why, but it is what it is...

hugoprh said:
Unsure where you're from, but stay away from the AT&T unlocked model (my model G820UM), I'm from the UK and ordered one, big mistake, AT&T does not send any update to their phones if they are not using an AT&T SIM card in the US, some users have been successful in updating they're OS, by just using a AT&T SIM card outside of the US, some haven't and I haven't tried it, because I don't want to waste more money on a SIM card when the results are not 100% guaranteed.
There is no way of cross flashing a different ROM, so you will be stuck without updates, until someone finds a way of cross flashing a ROM from an unlocked model. I'm checking this forum regularly hoping some has found a solution, but nothing so far
If you are in the US and on AT&T then it will fine, bloatware (which is a lot) can be removed/disabled easily
Honestly, for the price I paid (£280), I think the Xiaomi Mi9 would have been a better option, similar specs, updates every 2 months and you're able to unlock bootloader, not the best process to unlock the bootloader, but still possible (just need to wait for permission from Xiaomi which could take a few weeks), you'll be missing out on the best headphone jack, better cameras (not by much) and better battery life, for a similar price I think this is the best deal for snapdragon 855 phone.
If you don't mind paying a bit more and want the same features as the G8, go for the Samsung S10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is 10 really that big a deal from 9? I have 9 on my phone i could care less if it gets 10 and I am pretty sure it wont , lol

I feel like if we have temp root then it's only a matter of time before we get TWRP and roms. I just picked up an AT&T model for $178. Not sure if it's unlocked, but fairly easy through AT&T. Just worried if we have an exploit, updating to 10 might invalidate it.
I come from PS3/xbox 360 hacking, haha.

Trying to get samsung pay on a device (s20+) without it - maybe changing CSC?

Hello.
Here's the back story. Bought my phone from Egypt unlocked s20 plus. Recently moved to canada and trying to get samsung pay to work. Downloaded the app from google play canada but it says that device is not supported. Downloaded it from APK mirror but it just says it needs to update, even though this is the last version.
I was told that getting the BTU or DBT CSC might fix this, since they come preinstalled with samsung pay.
First of all, can I do this by just flashing the firmware (not changing CSC)? Or do I need to change the CSC using samkey? I don't mind flashing first, if that didn't work then using samkey. But would rather go with the route that people think will work straight away.
I'll write all my device's info that I think might be needed to make this as complete as possible. Then I'll put some questions that are confusing me.
So to start this, I bought my phone from Egypt and I'm currently in Canada. Since it's a dual sim model, I have a Canadian SIM as my primary and Egyptian as my secondary. Currently, I'm getting wifi calling but not VoLTE. Reading a bit on this, some people are saying that my network intentionally locked people out of this option if they didn't buy the phone from them. My network is Fido btw.
Model: SM-G985F/DS (4G)
Product Code: SM-G985FZADEGY
PDA: G985FXXU4BTIB
CSC: G985FOXM4BTID
Basebad: G985FXXU4BTI6
Bootloader: G985FXXU4BTIB
September Security Patch.
One thing I'd like to point out is typing "*#243203855#" in the dialer does nothing. Maybe it's because it's not supported? Or the fact that I have dual IMEI?
Questions:
1. Is there benefit of using DBT over BTU?
2. With my bootloader being BIT 4 (I think?), can I use samkey? When I checked it, it said that they only support BIT 1 and 2 on their website. I could be wrong.
3. Is it safe to purchase samkey credits off ebay?
4. Is samkey itself safe? It showed up as a trojen when I installed it. Could be a false positive? Downloaded from the official site btw.
5. Is flashing BTU enough for this to work or do I need to change the CSC?
6. Can I revert any changes that I've done to restore the device in its original state? If I change the CSC, can I revert it back to EGY?
7. Will I get normal OTA updates while I'm here in canada? This applies to both flashing and/or changing my CSC?
8. I would love to keep wifi calling, call HD, and hopefully get VoLTE (but I understand that this might work). And obviously the main reason for this whole thing is getting Samsung Pay to work.
Sorry if these questions might be obvious, I'm really trying to understand this so I don't ruin anything and don't regret anything.
If someone is willing to help me further, I would greatly appreciate it.

I am unsure about majority of the things you have question about, but one thing i know for sure - samsung pay on my s20+ was rarely working making me look stupid at the shops - since i switched to google pay all issues are gone and payment is going through everywhere

Klopers33 said:
I am unsure about majority of the things you have question about, but one thing i know for sure - samsung pay on my s20+ was rarely working making me look stupid at the shops - since i switched to google pay all issues are gone and payment is going through everywhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one thing that I care about with samsung pay is the magnetic card replication. I forgot what it was called MTP, or something? This is something that doesn't work with google pay.

krusion said:
The one thing that I care about with samsung pay is the magnetic card replication. I forgot what it was called MTP, or something? This is something that doesn't work with google pay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The MST function was disabled in 2019 for all the smartphones sold within the EU (at least) due to a new regulation regarding MST technology.
I don't know if it's working elsewhere.
Still, for me SPAY has been working flawlessly for over an year or two, never had any problem, with or without MST

phrancini said:
The MST function was disabled in 2019 for all the smartphones sold within the EU (at least) due to a new regulation regarding MST technology.
I don't know if it's working elsewhere.
Still, for me SPAY has been working flawlessly for over an year or two, never had any problem, with or without MST
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh? This might actually be useless than. So this is a hardware change or a software one? Since mine was bought from Egypt. I plan to flash the UK software on there. I'm not sure if it'll have it or not in this case. I guess without MST, what's the point of using samsung pay over google pay?

Galaxy S20+ 5G (SM-G986B) double sim - Help 5G connectivity issue and wrong CSC

Hi guys! I hope this thread has not been answered already but I've looked on this forum and on the web and couldn't find anything.
Basically I bought this S20+ 5G online and when trying to use samsung pay I discovered it comes from the UAE. It didn't bother me too much, I had some compatibility issues with my cards but I didn't plan to use the samsung pay in any case.
However, when I came back to Italy (as I was in France when I bought the phone) I was excited to try vodafone's 5G network in Rome (already checked with them and I'm abilitated to 5G) but my phone never connected to 5G network. I even tried with a friend's 5G iphone (always with vodafone) and while his phone connected mine didn't.
So, I've looked around for some possible reasons and my conclusion was that the issue came from having the wrong CSC codes, which are XSG/ITV,XEF/XSG. ITV and XEF make sense, as I have an italian and a french sim card, but I can't manage to remove the XSG; I tried to flash the italian ITV firmware (from sammobile) through Odin but nothing changed (I must say I did it using the Home_CSC, so that may be the issue).
So, long-story short my doubts are the following:
- Do you guys agree that the issue wuth the 5G connectivity may come from the XSG part of the country codes? Or should I look elswhere?
- If I flash the italian firmware cleaning also the data on the phone, do you think it will work? Will it invalidate the warranty and knox (as I read that the knox services are somewhat delicate if the phone is modified). I mean the samsung services are useful and I wouldn't want to screw too much with them.
- Should I just surrender to having a 5G phone without being able to connect to 5G?
Thank you so much for the help! I'm really losing my mind on this ahahah

fincot said:
Hi guys! I hope this thread has not been answered already but I've looked on this forum and on the web and couldn't find anything.
Basically I bought this S20+ 5G online and when trying to use samsung pay I discovered it comes from the UAE. It didn't bother me too much, I had some compatibility issues with my cards but I didn't plan to use the samsung pay in any case.
However, when I came back to Italy (as I was in France when I bought the phone) I was excited to try vodafone's 5G network in Rome (already checked with them and I'm abilitated to 5G) but my phone never connected to 5G network. I even tried with a friend's 5G iphone (always with vodafone) and while his phone connected mine didn't.
So, I've looked around for some possible reasons and my conclusion was that the issue came from having the wrong CSC codes, which are XSG/ITV,XEF/XSG. ITV and XEF make sense, as I have an italian and a french sim card, but I can't manage to remove the XSG; I tried to flash the italian ITV firmware (from sammobile) through Odin but nothing changed (I must say I did it using the Home_CSC, so that may be the issue).
So, long-story short my doubts are the following:
- Do you guys agree that the issue wuth the 5G connectivity may come from the XSG part of the country codes? Or should I look elswhere?
- If I flash the italian firmware cleaning also the data on the phone, do you think it will work? Will it invalidate the warranty and knox (as I read that the knox services are somewhat delicate if the phone is modified). I mean the samsung services are useful and I wouldn't want to screw too much with them.
- Should I just surrender to having a 5G phone without being able to connect to 5G?
Thank you so much for the help! I'm really losing my mind on this ahahah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"I bought this S20+ 5G online and when trying to use samsung pay I discovered it comes from the UAE"
So you failed to research Samsung models and attributes, that's on you. Samsung is also responsible or should I say irresponsible? They produce way too many models in addition to multiple firmwares from all the various service providers. Not only that Samsung has made it much more challenging in resolving compatibility issues with proprietary firmware and multiple SoC's. It's actually quite simple, if you want full functionality and avoid alot of headaches buy your service provider's device. You may sacrifice in some aspects but you'll have a smartphone which functions the manner it was designed to operate.