yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] raduque:
Bootloader lock has nothing at all to do with carrier SIM locking. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint devices are always SIM locked, but Verizon LTE devices are required to be SIM unlocked.

The Galaxy S8 is universal hardware for the US, only difference is carrier firmware version. You can, once unlocked, freely swap your sim between any carrier the device supports (except Sprint I believe, as they use a whitelist that simply blocks any IMEI not on it).

What this thread is attempting to do is have the S8 behave like the S7 before it - freely flash any carriers firmware to turn it into that carrier's branded device. Example: Flashing the AT&T software to the Verizon device in order to get AT&Ts native network features like RCS and VoLTE.

I've got a week for these guys to succeed before I hit my return period and buy a US unlocked - I just want to get rid of Verizons junkware and get back Samsung Cloud and Caller ID.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] martylavender:
I def know the difference. Which is what I was saying. I could care less about flashing my phone with another carriers firmware. I do however wish I could use a custom ROM. I miss my Note 2. Hehe
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] twister082179:
I am currently on XAA/XAA/TMB but I want to flash back to stock so I can SIM unlock my phone thur the app but I can´t. It gives me an error like in the Pic. I have tried normal odin and prince-comsy odin, both csc, doing factory reset and nothing. Some help?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
check the other carrier switch thread.. they have a method to fully convert firmware
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] V0idst4r:
Looks like root for the snapdragon version is a lost cause. I'm considering unlocking my T-Mobile S8+ and selling it for a Exynos.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jellomonster54994:
carrier switch might be possible if you visit the other forum someone said they got it
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
So im sitting here on lucky patcher just messing around and noticed I can view all of my root folders and files. I can even share the apk's. (that part I'm testing and I'll look more into in the morning)

But two things, first is every phone is set up to be the exact same. To a T. I have apps for every other carrier on my phone I found in system apps. Metro, cricket, att, Verizon, etc.

Second, ill get back to this note after I test the sharing Apk part
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] ashyx:
Pretty normal, you can access system as read only with any file manager.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Rushstrike:
Carrier switching is definitely possible. I just got it to work today and provided instructions in this thread:

https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s8/how-to/switch-to-carrier-firmware-100-t3609487/page11
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
are you on eng boot or stock enforcing kernel?

---------- Post added at 11:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

apparently the debug kernel has rw to certain partitions but not to system (i kno this is known) but as someone just stated full carrier switching is now possible on eng boot by changing mps.code on efs partition.. however i do not believe this means sim unlocking for att or tmobile (theres already a method for sprint and vzw already unlocked)

so if you got say a tmo s8 and its officially unlocked but using it on att (or something) you can fully switch it to an att device bloat and all and it should function as att...

So far no one has tested whether this unlocks if say switch tmo to vzw which are unlocked... but personally i highly dount it magically sim unlocks devices.. cant be that easy right?? at least we can convert any U device to any carrier entirely and thanks to no branding (vzw or att) on the actual device whos to say it can be any carrier :)
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] 00000008:
S8 and s8+ specs cut off

my Galaxy S8 SM-G950FD only supports up to LTE Cat.10 instead of LTE Cat.16

and 3CA only instead of 5CA

my device is exynos 8895

what's yours? I need feedback, information
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
I more meant the whole having every app from every other carrier part.

And I'm on stock firmware [MENTION=3812611]elliwigy[/MENTION]
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] billydroid:
Well chainfire is taking crack at the root issue.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Duck Quan:
Does anyone know if there is a unlocked firmware available as of yet? I was wondering if it was possible to flash the unlocked firmware like with the S7
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
You have not read any of this thread, have you....
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] happy2472:
Ok so ill ask again ... if im on verizonni can do this? Whats the best firmware to load for the best experience?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
There is no root as of yet. It's being worked on. So give it some time
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] unitz0mbie:
So far Canadian xac is working great with latest update
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] martylavender:
What exactly is the EngBoot? What does that stand for? Eng? Curious. Also how does the EngBoot give us the best chance at root?

EDIT

Ahh NM Engineering Boot file. That alone explains everything to me :)
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Interceptor777:
Can someone here try and flash the Chinese firmware?

Chinese phone is SD835 and has an unlocked bootloader. Is there any reason the firmware wouldn't work with the US or Canadian model?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
Overseas models are using the exynos chip. US models using the snapdragon chip.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Interceptor777:
The Chinese model uses the Snapdragon chip and has an unlocked bootloader.

China still has a CDMA network which makes them need the SD835. It was the same with the S7.

The Chinese S7 had a SD820 and also an unlocked bootloader.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
I honestly didn't know that. I don't follow much on China. Honestly I thought we were the only ones using CDMA.

That bothers me now that they have an unlocked bootloader. I'm starting to feel more and more like the bootloader lock being so secure was so Samsung can push samsung pay and make sure it stays secure and hopefully becomes the biggest payment app. Huge money in it for them. Not needing NFC and using the magnetic system is honestly a huge deal, but still want to root haha
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] happy2472:
Ok ill reword if for you .... WHAT CAN I FLASH AS IN THE CARRIER SWITCH PROCESS TO MAKE MY PHONE BETTER OR WHATEVER THE BENEFIT FROM FLASHING TMOBILE OR SPRINT OR WHATEVER???????
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] unitz0mbie:
u dont have to use caps, theres xda threads that explain the process. you need a modified version of odin and the firmware, i have my device unlocked so i dont need to put in codes or whatever
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] happy2472:
Dude i get that ... but whats the real reason or use or benefit and whats the better to flash via odin? Xac .. or what
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] sketron13:
Oops, wrong thread
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Interceptor777:
Here's the catch: No Google Play store or services.

But they have an unlocked bootloader so if they want those, they can flash it with TWRP (When it comes out eventually) but they will lose Samsung Pay.

Why can't we have nice things Samsung. SD835 US Model with Unlocked bootloader running Resurrection Remix and Dualboot with a decent TW ROM for the camera.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
Apparently there is a way to keep Samsung pay after root. Requires an essentially stock kernel and minimally edited rom, but doable.

And until pay gets updated, it's currently working with magisk su
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Interceptor777:
Holy ****ing **** what?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
This was on another device. So don't quote me saying it will for sure work on the s8. But im betting there's a way that I will look into porting. But not till we situate the initial getting root problem first
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] billydroid:
The Chinese version does not exynos. It uses snap 835 but has more ram. it's the sm-g9550

I'm pretty sure the bootloader is locked on that too though
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
Thank you. We just went over this literally between the 3 posts above yours
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mweinbach:
To change carrier, you need to use the Factory Binary with the Canadian CSC of the XAC firmware, then type in the *#243203855# in the IME section of the factory binary. Then select XAC. Then install. Then use the command in the OP to select your carrier. Then flash the latest U firmware. I dont know if this works from the XAC to the stock XXX/XXX/XXX firmware.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] unitz0mbie:
im using xac right now with no issues on cricket, i got my phone unlocked today through Samsung (att) waiting for the unlocked firmware for the us version and ill be set
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mweinbach:
https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=72333570&postcount=3

These are instructions on how to switch carriers on Snapdragon variant of the S8.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
i notice u dont give any thanks/credits to anyone in your thread lol.. did u find all the files and methods solely by yourself?

just sayin lol, typically ppl give credits to those who supply files or spend days or weeks figuring stuff out
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] martylavender:
If we did get root wouldn't Magisk work to hide root? I

i.e. Samsung Pay, etc would still work?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] 954wrecker:
If you guys had them in the OP you wouldn't have to complain. I guess you just haven't had time yet with all the research and development...
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
its not my thread smart guy lol
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] d33dvb:
burn...
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mweinbach:
Most of this I figured out myself. I do have to thank one person but these files I found myself or have credited already.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Raymonf:
Since nobody has answered, nope. We'd need an unlocked bootloader for that, since Magisk patches boot.img. If we were to modify boot.img, the signature wouldn't match. We don't have Samsung's private key for signing the images (and never will, probably) so we can't forge it.

/shrug
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
Since no one seems to know, I happened to be looking around today at Romup.com and I saw a rom that said G950U1 - XAA all... would this by any chance be the rom for the unlocked version to be sold? I jumped through a ton of stupid hoops (it's surprisingly difficult to give them money) and downloaded this rom. It appears to only have 5 files in it.

AP_G950U1UEU1AQDC_CL11247461_QB13384416_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT_meta.tar.md5

BL_G950U1UEU1AQDC_CL11247461_QB13384416_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5

CP_G950U1UEU1AQDC_CP6347067_CL11247461_QB13384416_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5

CSC_OYM_G950U1OYM1AQDC_CL11247461_QB13384416_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5

DREAMQLTE_USA_SINGLE.pit

On unpacking the CSC and extracting the ext4 image, it shows all 15 CSCs for US carriers. There is no home CSC and no userdata.

Anyone have any idea what this would be actually?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TechBSwift:
Its easier if you upload the file for us to test
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] ait1071:
This was the issue I had when I made the original thread. It translated to like $48 but you had to purchase 300 yuan. I have no way of purchasing yuan or else I would have gotten that firmware.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TimelessPWN:
You can pay for it with a debit card, recharge 300 yuan, then it'll take you to another page translate, debit card will be in the tabs on top, a qr code shows up, scan with you samsung internet and the qr reader extension, it'll then bring you to the payment page
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] ait1071:
The problem is, how do we know this firmware is any different than the one you had purchased? Thanks btw for your purchase.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TimelessPWN:
We don't..... And the other person interested in buying it knows this as i mentioned it on the last page. The only difference's we are aware of are this one is supposedly engineering firmware, and it is around $50 compared to the $10.

As for the purchase you are welcome, I am more than willing to contribute to the community and always will be!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Quickvic30:
It made me register before I could even attempt to purchase and I'm waiting on them to verify my account. Did you guys have to register?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TimelessPWN:
Yes i had to register
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
if u can get eng firmware thatd be great.. surely donations would more than repay you back.. i siluggest if you purchase any debug or eng firm you join the HO before releasing..

we wiol test everythijg out make sure it all works snd wipl allow you to make a thread and use your paypal donation leaks.. we just want root at the least lol.. be the worlds first s8/s8+ snapdragon root
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] drew272011:
Let me know it so need some extra $$
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
I am not savvy on setting up bounty threads but I feel it is necessary.. that way we can set up a group chat and anyone who purchases files or directly contributes to rooting snapdragon variants will get due credits.. can also say if anyone who purchases any firmware (ENG or full debug firm etc.) that leads to root can get reimbursed what they spent and probably then some...

This might also entice other devs to work with us in achieving the ultimate goal of root and/or unlocked BL..

I might make one and keep track but not sure which device thread to post it in?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] djhotsauce:
Okay try to buy the one for the S8 Plus. But I am completely lost.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TimelessPWN:
Scan first image with a QR reader on phone and it will bring you to a purchase page where you enter your details
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] djhotsauce:
thanks, got it lol. but unfortunately "This Transaction Does Not Support The Bank Card Payment" if anyone find a site that support Bank Of America please let me know.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
lol i have no idea.. ive never purchased anything like it but clearly ppl have done so in the recent past.. one thing i can say is i created a bounty thread..so if it is legit and ppl donate you could get your money back if it pans out

i specifically added in the bounty thread if someone purchases said firmware that directly leads to perm root then they would get reimbursed first..

check it out:

https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s8+/how-to/bounty-thread-snapdragon-usa-variants-t3598271
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] djhotsauce:
I've been trying all f'ing morning lol. Can't get nowhere, I've tried about 10 cards now. None seems to work. Now it's making me question the legitimacy of RomUP ??.

I've tired Ali-pay, credit, debit, even some of the online banking to pay. I don't care about the money I just want root, hopefully this will give us the foot in the door we need.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] djhotsauce:
if someone who purchase from that site before willing to buy this for me ill send them money via google wallet or paypal.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
check out the bounty thread.. no pledge required of course but at least spread the word.. more eyes we have the better off we are

---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------

lol how much is that in US $???
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TimelessPWN:
It is $45 US as for it not working, no idea been told RomUp is fairly reputable maybe because it is Chinese yuan but that shouldn't make a difference
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] djhotsauce:
300.00 Yuan is 43.51usd so $44
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
pm me the link, cant guarantee ill buy it but ill do some research and possibly buy it
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Maltego:
See if you can find the file size of the ROMUP file. If it's the same or a bit more or less (meaning different compression used) don't buy it. But if there's a big difference we'll pay you back if you purchase it. :highfive:
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mweinbach:
If you buy it, I will unpack it.

I misunderstood, can you send me the files.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
What's the best place to upload this file? I can try to use mega, it's all I usually know, unless someone has a good place
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mweinbach:
mega is fine, i can reupload to android file host
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
Where there's a will, there's a way. I'm not pushing too far into making Samsung pay work on these things until we can get root as it would be a wasted few weeks if 1, we don't get root, or 2, i finally go to test it and it doesn't work

But making Samsung pay work on the s8 after root is high on my list of to-dos. And that will be after building a rom for it. So at least a month out
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
Here you guys go. Took a bit to upload. This is a G950U1 XAA rom

https://mega.nz/#!RmJzHKaB!DOZm348PUCsk11rvwXnDvbq4a7a11T9Y4NnHIbPY4Gw
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
you wouldnt happen to have the G955U1?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
Nope, but romup has it as well

http://www.romup.com/roms/17313

It's such a pita to pay them though.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
how much is that in USD lol
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] twister082179:
followed all the steps and yes finally changed from Verizon to T-Mobile! the only thing is that now it is TMB/TMB/VZW. I guess you can´t make it full TMB
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
They oddly price it in "gold coins" They have an exchange rate of 10 coins per RMB Chinese currency. It comes to about 2.25$ USD. The problem is that you have to somehow pay them, which they only take mainland china payment methods. After exhausting alipay, and other methods, it turns out you can activate Wechat pay in the US if someone in china sends you money. So I used a service that took 5$ in paypal money to convert into about 20 RMB = 200 coins, then paid it for the download.

From there it gets more annoying because the file is too big for normal download so they make you download Baidu net disk or what not to download it... and its really some work to figure out if you don't read chinese. About 8 hours and 5$of trying to figure all this out later I had the file.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
i am trying to figure out what product code is TCC:
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mweinbach:
Comcast
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] gqukyo:
Who wants to try to flash this all of this to see if you can convert a carrier S8 to unlocked? lol
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] BigHussle:
Its a AGC Aspire version
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
So I set my phone to XAA per mweinbach's instructions... then I flashed the rom I posted. (fingers crossed the whole time)

Stock boot up... Stock non customized GS8. No bloat.

when I put in a ATT sim card it says Service Provider update, Your Device will restart to configure features supported by the new sim card.

Reboots and ATT works

when I put in a Tmobile sim after it says the same thing and reboots

Reboots and T mobile works

when I put in a Project Fi sim it says the same thing and reboots.

Project fi works... and really oddly it uses wifi calling... which I can't find the setting for. VoLTE etc is enabled.

when I put in a verizon sim it says the same thing and reboots

Verizon works... yes SMS works

Note: this mimics what the Galaxy S7 did when I flashed the U rom onto it when I had it. (would reboot and switch carriers)
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] unitz0mbie:
is this better than the canadian firmware?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] equake:
Can you provide which Phone Verizon (ATT, TMO, SPR etc) you have and how you flashed the Unlocked ROM version (i.e. which version of ODIN and which slots you flashed)?

Can you also respond to whether VOLTE, and WiFi calling works on all Carrier SIMs you have tried?

Thanks.

my 2 cents
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mrfuzzie23:
so what software version does your device say its at now? AQDC? or after you were done did it update to the latest (which i think is AQDE)?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
For root, Has anyone attempted to figure out the signature key Samsung uses? Then just sign a rom with Samsung key so the bootloader is happy with it.

I mean commands to get the hashes are easy enough. It's just deciphering that would take some time and effort..

I feel like this would take a long time and a lot of rng luck, but if it comes down to it, I might do some digging
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fibrizo:
Not sure, but verizon works. Also my phone pronounces "about" properly now.

VZW phone, I followed mweibach's link on page 138 instructions, but I used this rom at the end. I flashed all slots AP,BL, CSC, etc

I can't tell because the option doesnt show up on all the carriers, but when I call it says I made it via wifi calling. I'm not sure about ATT as my service is restricted on that sim.

Yes AQDC, and I haven't had time to finish my setup. I did a factory reset after testing the sims to do my real setup
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Rushstrike:
Awesome this looks like the rom to use. When I was using xaa from flashing the Verizon firmware. It doesn't know how to provision the apn settings correctly so that's why sms doesn't work. I think all the Verizon users who want xaa should try this firmware. Good find!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
lol.. of course it has been thought of many times.. but only way to get it would be to brute force which would take an unimaginable amount of time
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] unitz0mbie:
does it have all the display settings and stuff?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] gqukyo:
[MENTION=582539]fibrizo[/MENTION] what does it say when it's in download mode where it used to say VZW? Does it still say VZW?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Acoustichayes:
Unless you have a machine designed for brute force attacks running Linux with a couple of amd gpu's in it...
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] elliwigy:
no, even with the most powerful hardware it will take literally forever.. it has been discussed many times over the years and theres a reason no one has done it already