Develop Bugs

Are Chinese/Japanese Snapdragons BL unlocked?

For the S8, I read that the Snapdragon variants sold in China (and even HK) had unlocked bootloaders. Is that again the case for the S9?

Teracotta said:
For the S8, I read that the Snapdragon variants sold in China (and even HK) had unlocked bootloaders. Is that again the case for the S9?
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Too soon to tell but likely yes.
Keep in mind however that those models are pretty much unpopular (no idea why) and rarely see any type of development. So you have an unlocked BL but nothing to flash which sucks.
sent from my Pixel 2 XL or Note FE

force70 said:
Too soon to tell but likely yes.
Keep in mind however that those models are pretty much unpopular (no idea why) and rarely see any type of development. So you have an unlocked BL but nothing to flash which sucks.
sent from my Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
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I asked jesec, who developed the first custom ROM for the S8's Hong Kong Snapdragon 835 that very question a couple of days back and he didn't know the answer. Curious if Qualcomm has the unlockable bootloader on all 845 chipsets but I suppose we'll soon find out.

varcor said:
I asked jesec, who developed the first custom ROM for the S8's Hong Kong Snapdragon 835 that very question a couple of days back and he didn't know the answer. Curious if Qualcomm has the unlockable bootloader on all 845 chipsets but I suppose we'll soon find out.
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The only ones which will be unlockable are the ones we are talking about in this thread.
All the US and CAN snapdragons will be locked down tight and a waste of money if you want proper root, twrp erc. its so easy to buy exynos why bother with the snapdragon version unless your on cdma?
sent from my Pixel 2 XL or Note FE

varcor said:
I asked jesec, who developed the first custom ROM for the S8's Hong Kong Snapdragon 835 that very question a couple of days back and he didn't know the answer. Curious if Qualcomm has the unlockable bootloader on all 845 chipsets but I suppose we'll soon find out.
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What about G9600 (Latin America) model?
Is BL open?

Teracotta said:
For the S8, I read that the Snapdragon variants sold in China (and even HK) had unlocked bootloaders. Is that again the case for the S9?
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Click to collapse
Yes, the Hong Kong variant SM-G9650 has an unlocked bootloader and Samsung Pay on that model works as well. We'll see custom ROM's available before too long.

force70 said:
its so easy to buy exynos why bother with the snapdragon version unless your on cdma?
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Exynos doesn't have the exclusive US LTE Bands. For the S9 I see Bands 14, 30 and 71 are all missing. This is a major problem since the US carriers will be shifting more traffic onto exclusive bands.

Teracotta said:
Exynos doesn't have the exclusive US LTE Bands. For the S9 I see Bands 14, 30 and 71 are all missing. This is a major problem since the US carriers will be shifting more traffic onto exclusive bands.
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I live in Canada so have no idea about US bands although i know they have always lacked some for Tmobile. Guys dont seem to have had issues running exynos in the US over the years though?
Ive never had any issues here with exynos at any rate

Which Note 10+ variant to buy (I need root)?

Want to buy a Note 10+ that I can root and use with TMobile
Have been reading a lot and confused which variant to buy
Given I need root, what is the route to go? My analysis so far yields that should buy the Exynos version? Is the Snapdragon version rootable as well?

While the Snapdragon version is "rootable", it comes at some cost (losing full charge capabilities, for one). Exynos phones, as I understand, have unlocked bootloader, making them easier to root. Before you root, however, do some research into the method - there is more than one technique.

There are several posts about this.
North Amerian Snapdragon Note 10+'s (N975U, U1, W) have a locked bootloader. Don't expect to be able to root these phones, regardless what some people/sites claim.
Only Hong Kong Snapdragon Note 10+ (N9750) has unlocked bootloader.
International Exynos versions of Note 10+ (N975F, N975FD) can be rooted, but they lack certain LTE bands used by US T-Mobile which can result in suboptimal speeds in US.

OnnoJ said:
There are several posts about this.
North Amerian Snapdragon Note 10+'s (N975U, U1, W) have a locked bootloader. Don't expect to be able to root these phones, regardless what some people/sites claim.
Only Hong Kong Snapdragon Note 10+ (N9750) has unlocked bootloader.
International Exynos versions of Note 10+ (N975F, N975FD) can be rooted, but they lack certain LTE bands used by US T-Mobile which can result in suboptimal speeds in US.
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This ^ and seriously, there's very little reason to even root anymore.

I'm a little confused

I thought all Snapdragon processor used devices where u.s. version devices.and that all exynos processor devices where international devices.I want to buy a international device Samsung galaxy s20 plus that I can root and flash different roms and mods on too. Which International Version device would you buy if you wanted to place Round 2 mods onto is there any particular one or just any International device. Because all u.s. versions of the s20 plus cannot be rooted and romed correct. Thanks In advance!!!
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

GDane1 said:
I thought all Snapdragon processor used devices where u.s. version devices.and that all exynos processor devices where international devices.I want to buy a international device Samsung galaxy s20 plus that I can root and flash different roms and mods on too. Which International Version device would you buy if you wanted to place Round 2 mods onto is there any particular one or just any International device. Because all u.s. versions of the s20 plus cannot be rooted and romed correct. Thanks In advance!!!
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There are some international devices with snapdragon sold in korea hongkong tiwan & china not only us and the have unlockable bootloader and can be rooted also

GDane1 said:
I thought all Snapdragon processor used devices where u.s. version devices.and that all exynos processor devices where international devices.I want to buy a international device Samsung galaxy s20 plus that I can root and flash different roms and mods on too. Which International Version device would you buy if you wanted to place Round 2 mods onto is there any particular one or just any International device. Because all u.s. versions of the s20 plus cannot be rooted and romed correct. Thanks In advance!!!
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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Click to collapse
The International Snapdragon variants have a better SoC however being in Denmark you won't get some Carrier Features the Exynos variants offer, that's the trade off.

varcor said:
The International Snapdragon variants have a better SoC however being in Denmark you won't get some Carrier Features the Exynos variants offer, that's the trade off.
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So what international version of the Samsung s20 plus would you recommend if you lived in the u.s. and your carrier was t-mobile. Thanks In advance!!!
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

GDane1 said:
So what international version of the Samsung s20 plus would you recommend if you lived in the u.s. and your carrier was t-mobile. Thanks In advance!!!
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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Click to collapse
I have the Hong Kong variant on T-mobile. Advantages - Snapdragon SoC, no carrier bloatware, close to pure android, dual sims, unlocked bootloader, price ($745 on eBay). Disadvantages - Warranty repair would be difficult, no 5G yet or carrier aggregation. Highly recommend, my S8, S9 and S10, all Hong Kong variants, never had any problems whatsoever.

varcor said:
I have the Hong Kong variant on T-mobile. Advantages - Snapdragon SoC, no carrier bloatware, close to pure android, dual sims, unlocked bootloader, price ($745 on eBay). Disadvantages - Warranty repair would be difficult, no 5G yet or carrier aggregation. Highly recommend, my S8, S9 and S10, all Hong Kong variants, never had any problems whatsoever.
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i have a sprint g988u and connect to tmo 5g network just fine

elliwigy said:
i have a sprint g988u and connect to tmo 5g network just fine
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I was referring to the Hong Kong variant, diffierent than your device. I've read some users of the HK device are able to get 5G from US Carriers using SIM 2.

varcor said:
I was referring to the Hong Kong variant, diffierent than your device. I've read some users of the HK device are able to get 5G from US Carriers using SIM 2.
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dunno.. g988u is a usa model and is a 5g model lol.. and also can be bl unlocked
Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

elliwigy said:
dunno.. g988u is a usa model and is a 5g model lol.. and also can be bl unlocked
Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk
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You should post a guide on how to unlock the bootloader on the US model. To my knowledge no one has been able to achieve this.

varcor said:
You should post a guide on how to unlock the bootloader on the US model. To my knowledge no one has been able to achieve this.
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there is no guide.. also not my method.. i cant replicate it anyway since im pretty sure it involves tokens/servers

varcor said:
I have the Hong Kong variant on T-mobile. Advantages - Snapdragon SoC, no carrier bloatware, close to pure android, dual sims, unlocked bootloader, price ($745 on eBay). Disadvantages - Warranty repair would be difficult, no 5G yet or carrier aggregation. Highly recommend, my S8, S9 and S10, all Hong Kong variants, never had any problems whatsoever.
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So you don't feel the data transfer rate without carrier aggregation shows enough difference to matter?

corvus.corax said:
So you don't feel the data transfer rate without carrier aggregation shows enough difference to matter?
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Not to me, I typically download large files on my laptop via WiFi then transfer them to my device. I'm a frequent flyer so I watch movies (torrents) which are typically 2GB. Not sure how long that would take to download on my device via T-mobile but it's not significantly faster than WiFi. When mmWave is widely avaliable Carrier Aggregation will be more valuable but right now High-band 5G is comparable to WiFi file transfer speeds. That's a small inconvenience compared to the benefits the device offers.

@varcor did you change the CSC to see if CA works ?
I'm assuming you're on TGY. I'm also in the USA and think changing to BRI might increase ca bands.

Limeybastard said:
@varcor did you change the CSC to see if CA works ?
I'm assuming you're on TGY. I'm also in the USA and think changing to BRI might increase ca bands.
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No, my CSC is TGY. I live in Mexico but use T-mobile since they offer free calls and data in collaboration with Mexico's largest telcom Telcel. Even when I'm in the US I don't have CA. I haven't gone to T-mobile to ask if they can configure CA but I doubt they can on the SM-G9860 or SM-G9880 regardless of the CSC. I use a laptop with Wifi for large downloads so it's not a priority. I do get Wifi Calling and VoLTE even in Mexico, YMMV depending on your service provider. Also I've read BRI has some issues so I'm not inclined to make the switch. This thread may give you further insight.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s20/help/sm-g9880-bri-taiwan-vs-tgy-hk-t4090635/page3/amp/

varcor said:
No, my CSC is TGY. I live in Mexico but use T-mobile since they offer free calls and data in collaboration with Mexico's largest telcom Telcel. Even when I'm in the US I don't have CA. I haven't gone to T-mobile to ask if they can configure CA but I doubt they can on the SM-G9860 or SM-G9880 regardless of the CSC. I use a laptop with Wifi for large downloads so it's not a priority. I do get Wifi Calling and VoLTE even in Mexico, YMMV depending on your service provider. Also I've read BRI has some issues so I'm not inclined to make the switch. This thread may give you further insight.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s20/help/sm-g9880-bri-taiwan-vs-tgy-hk-t4090635/page3/amp/
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That link is google amped , perhaps you can edit it to make it viewable, thanks.
I was just curious to know if someone had changed their CSC to BRI and if it enabled CA.
I believe the first thing to be gathered is what bands are CA enable on the BRI CSC before even proceeding with anything else.
Also before flashing to attain CA I think one needs to compare tgy and bri CA combos.
Edit. Read that already, mainly non americans discussing attaining 5G on their respective countries.

i unlocked my bootloader yesterday and cannot for the life of me flash anything to my phone. im trying to get lineage on it and no atter what i try to do i recieve an error only official samsung binaries are alloweed to be flashed (recovery) if anyone knows what im doing wrong please assist .
s20+ sprint
knox not tripped
phone boots and informs me that bootloader is unlocked
i havnt done anything yet other then flash the token to unlock .
thanks in advance

SM-G988N CSC bypass for UK location?

Hi everyone,
I got a S20 Ultra (Korean version) as it was one of the few with Snapdragon to work on UK bands but I am struggling to trick the phone to show me content in english on native apps (Samsung Daily, Weather, Members app...).
Don't get me wrong, the initial content is in english but once you try and get more info, about the weather for example, it takes me to a korean website. Members is in Korean all around and daily has Korean cards inside.
Which I think is normal due to the Korean CSC.
I changed the CSC from SKT to KOO but it only removed the network branding and default carrier apps.
Is there a way to bypass the CSC or install an English CSC from UK for example?

did you find how to change it ?

Also have the same issue. I am in Australia. I was thinking about installing australian firmware?

I have an SM-G9860, which is the Hong Kong S20+, and live in Romania. Anyway, I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, having the TGY csc instead of ROM or ORO. Samsung Weather sends me to samsung internet to accuweather.com, which is just what my old exynos s10+ would do, and samsung daily seems about normal, with only the spotify recommendations card showing something in chinese. On the other hand, Samsung Members, which had been acting like I was living in Hong Kong (showing me the offers from there and so on), has, since a few days ago, started showing me content from Romania. Upon randomly launching it last week, it gave me a message as such: "App might reset due to regional settings change" or something like that. My csc is still TGY and samsung pay for instance still is the hk variant. Other than that everything is pretty normal.

Thats why I was asking if its possible to dowbload firmware for the Australian version of the S20 Ultra which is not snapdragon (the reason I bought Korean version because it is snapdragon). Will things still function as normal if I put on Australian firmware that is designed for a korean phone? Sammobile has the firmware for all countries spec phones.

simonriadis said:
Thats why I was asking if its possible to dowbload firmware for the Australian version of the S20 Ultra which is not snapdragon (the reason I bought Korean version because it is snapdragon). Will things still function as normal if I put on Australian firmware that is designed for a korean phone? Sammobile has the firmware for all countries spec phones.
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No. Quite simply put: You can only flash Firmware intended for that specific handset.
For example: I own the SM-G9880, which is the (snapdragon 865) Asian version of the S20 Ultra 5G.
I can only flash three firmwares: TGY (Hongkong), BRI (Taiwan) and CHC (China "open"). NO other firmware. Certainly not, say, the EU Firmware, which is for another CPU entirely (Exynos 990)

Roman9814 said:
No. Quite simply put: You can only flash Firmware intended for that specific handset.
For example: I own the SM-G9880, which is the (snapdragon 865) Asian version of the S20 Ultra 5G.
I can only flash three firmwares: TGY (Hongkong), BRI (Taiwan) and CHC (China "open"). NO other firmware. Certainly not, say, the EU Firmware, which is for another CPU entirely (Exynos 990)
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Thanks Roman. For example I cant use Samsung Pay because it says 'cards must be from Korea'. And a few other things of that nature.
Firmware of a US s20 Ultra running Snapdragon chipset wouldn't work either?

simonriadis said:
Thanks Roman. For example I cant use Samsung Pay because it says 'cards must be from Korea'. And a few other things of that nature.
Firmware of a US s20 Ultra running Snapdragon chipset wouldn't work either?
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Click to collapse
The same way I can't use it because I'd need a card from Hong Kong, but I just use GPay instead, works like a charm. Nope, nothing, I'm afraid. You can only flash the Firmware intended for that specific model number. I am in a slightly different conundrum - I got the SM-G9880, and I'm using it in Europe. While LTE and 5G bands are similar, they aren't identical. LTE, it's barely noticeable, since 1,3,7 and multiple others are supported, 1,3 and 7 work in 4x4 MIMO and the most important Carrier Aggregation Combos like 7-3-3-1 (12) work too. Only thing I don't have is CA with Band 20 (only supported in single mode) and on the LTE side that's basically it - I even have 28-7-3-1. However, 5G wise, different story. Only Bands I got for the EU are N1 and N78, which luckily is exactly what my carrier uses, but there might be N3 and N28 down the road like in other EU countries so it'd be nice to have that...

Roman9814 said:
The same way I can't use it because I'd need a card from Hong Kong, but I just use GPay instead, works like a charm. Nope, nothing, I'm afraid. You can only flash the Firmware intended for that specific model number. I am in a slightly different conundrum - I got the SM-G9880, and I'm using it in Europe. While LTE and 5G bands are similar, they aren't identical. LTE, it's barely noticeable, since 1,3,7 and multiple others are supported, 1,3 and 7 work in 4x4 MIMO and the most important Carrier Aggregation Combos like 7-3-3-1 (12) work too. Only thing I don't have is CA with Band 20 (only supported in single mode) and on the LTE side that's basically it - I even have 28-7-3-1. However, 5G wise, different story. Only Bands I got for the EU are N1 and N78, which luckily is exactly what my carrier uses, but there might be N3 and N28 down the road like in other EU countries so it'd be nice to have that...
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no .. sorry ..
i still think its only the CSC ..
if i know how to modify the CSC_OMC_OKR_G988NOKR1BTI3_CL19654513_QB34370104_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar ....
like i can see carriers/KTC and only Korea ...
i just don't know how to modify the file like how to unpack and repack so i can flash it i search for a guide but nothing on google or here in XDA

Question Is there a difference between regional model numbers?

I'm in the uk and have seen different model numbers listed, I wondered if anyone knows of any differences.
For example I have seen sm-f926b/ds advertised, sould this work in the uk?

F926U is for US Carriers. Since I don't see a W model, I'm assuming it's for Canadian carriers as well.
F926U1 is the factory unlocked model for the US market.
F926B is the international model for countries outside the US/Canada. It used to be an F model. Not sure when/why that changed.
F926B/DS is international Dual SIM. But all international models are Dual Sim now, so...
I believe some of the market designations have changed since this model uses the SD888 chip in every model, rather than the Exynos in the international models.

I see the Thom brown model is sm-f926uzuyxaa, which is the unlocked version, but not sm-f926u1, why?

I see that on US variants there is some plastic cover above volume buttons, on mine there is none.. what is it for? better 5G signal? ) mine is B/DS (I think 'DS' means dual sim, I have sim+esim in mine..) 'B' stands for some europe variant and that's all.. this is regular samsung marking, even note 9 was F/DS and U in US (we got those stupid exynos slowmo things..)
Note9: SM-N960F/DS (Global); SM-N960U (USA); SM-N9600/DS (LATAM, Brazil, China)
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It's marked as B for 5G isn't it?
Previously, 4G phones had the F title.
Also, B designation is also used for some SEA countries, I believe, and also for Australia & NZ.
As for the plastic cover you mention on the USA models, that would be for 5G mmWave antenna.