yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jeffsrawr:
can someone upload just the HOME_CSC file for bootloader 2 AWK7 as it takes 4 hours to download the whole canadian firmware from any site unless you want to pay... the file we need is like 200MB i dont need the whole 3.5GB file. google drive link to HOME_CSC would be nice
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
BL2 Factory Binary

https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=962021903579500553

BL2 HOME_CSC

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yj2tPWTbyQuVzk7zXMGRaAoHOFR3cP_9
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jeffsrawr:
its weird my tracfone branded phone came carrier unlocked but has tracfone firmware. if i put a att sim in it says it needs to restart than it boots up with a sim update boot screen, than all of a sudden it reboots to the ATT bootscreen and has directv and att apps installed and no longer has CDMA listed in the mobile connections menu. when i put the straight talk sim back in it does the same and switches back to tracfone and removes att apps and puts tracfones my account back and CDMA settings come back. i have never seen that before. anyone else experience that? its like a weird universal firmware thats not locked.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
That is part of Samsung's byod/bring your own device. It copies every carrier file to your phone if you put in a different sim.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] rlsyoung:
If I'm still on bootloader 1, can i downgrade my firmware to an earlier one, since it will still be bootloader 1?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] clarkcant:
If flash the unlocked firmware on to my Verizon S8, will I then be able to unlock the bootloader?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
No....
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jeffsrawr:
so does that mean if i put in verizon sim it auto does VOLTE and so on? no need to flash between firmwares.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
I think so but it will only do that on BQK5 and up
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Reechings:
Hahaha that would be nice
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] El Genio Malvado:
Currently on VZW S8, If I flash with the unlocked FW, does this enable the hotspot feature without checking with carrier (GF OG UDP) ? really just want my unlimited hotspot back.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] michael142857:
Questions for S8 Carrier settings

First, thank you so much for your guide, it does help a lot

but I do have a question that currently using cricket service, but I do need to switch carrier when I travel to another country. Before I did the carrier switching section, I didn't see that XAA is unlocked one.

I tried to repeat the process, but when I flashing

it says failed. Can u tell me why and how should I do this process again?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] rampaadh:
Awesome work! I updated my phone firmware to unlocked firmware and got rid of verizon bloatware!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Mike15678:
This problem has now been rectified, as of 1/15/18 6:24 P.M. EST

Please re-download the firmware that is affected by the problem, from the "Downloads" section of the guide.

Also, the guide has been significantly updated, for those who haven't noticed. The guide supports users who are on either Bootloader v1 or Bootloader v2.

Original Problem:

To anyone who has downloaded the "Bootloader v1 Unlocked Firmware" I provided, please DON'T flash it! I accidentally downloaded the Bootloader v2 one. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Mike15678:
You need to download the Bootloader v2 Combination Factory Binary. It's now in the "Downloads" section. Also, the guide has been updated. So, try to follow where you left off.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] deltacharlie:
Hi Is it possible to load a carrier not found in countries supported by Snapdragon processor. I am looking to load INS CSC (India CSC) on snapdragon phone in order to enable a 4g LTE indian carrier ? Indian S8 phones are based on EXYNOS processor.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
This is only for snapdragon phones btw
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] howlingmoon12:
Lot of confusion given the CSC consists of 3 parts so I hope someone could clear this up for me.

I bought a Candian S8 off of Rogers (RWC/RWC/XAC) and flashed it to U1 out of the box to avoid bloat. I didn't notice at first but I consistently have the "Sprint ODAMD.." message after a restart and the code was now (XAA//XAC), I was informed that I would have to perform the carrier switching steps here to get the proper (XAA/XAA/XAC) that I need.

1. I rather not have to backup and restore data if there is a method to simply get the (/XAA/) there, is there a way or is this the only choice?

2. Im intending to travel later this year and I plan on getting a local SIM. will swapping out the one I have change the (XAA/XAA/XAC) that I have or would it stay that way?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] datghostrecon:
Hi, I am carrier switching and while doing step 9, I couldn't find any file that starts with "COMBINATION". I am stuck, and I know this is an old post but if anyone knows what I can do, let me know. I have an At&t galaxy s8 and I am making it a T-Mobile one. I used the Factory Binary Bootloader v1 download.

---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------

I am on step 9 for carrier switching, download factory binary bootloader v1 and when clicking on AP and directing to the factory binary file, I could not find a file labeled "COMBINATION". What do I do? I want to convert my At&t to T-Mobile
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] vazovskiiii:
Hi, there can I use this guide to debloat S8 Active from AT&T?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] datghostrecon:
Galaxy S6 Edge

Does anyone have the link to another instructional guide that is as detailed as this? I want to do this for the galaxy S6 edge which is running on Android lollipop and I want to take it to 7.0. It is an At&t phone and I want it to become a T-Mobile so I want it to specifically be about carrier switch. I recently used this guide for the Galaxy S8 so I need files like the factory binary, the Canadian Home CSC file and things but for the S6 edge
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
You can't it's a single Csc phone only. Contact at&t to carrier switch you only have that option unfortunately. There is no other way.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] colemanation:
Hey, I have a quick question. I have a Verizon S8 but want to do away with the bloat and get the extra LTE Bands. I bought it when I was in the states but I live abroad (because was the only carrier version that comes pre-sim unlocked). I want to flash the unlocked firmware but want to know if I will lose the sim unlock.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
You will not lose the sim unlock it's tied somewhere to the sim card I think.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] roguester91:
I have no idea how to do the adb part with the command prompt. I can't even get out of factory binary to just end this process of carrier switching. I'm stuck please help.

edit I figured it out, but I am now unable to flash any firmware to my device. Can someone help link me to unlocked v2 firmware?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] hna2195:
Just used this guide.

Perfect execution to change from Unlocked Verizon to AT&T

Used all your files in your download section

One anomaly I ran into, it wasn't major as I ignored it

Under Carrier Switching section step

20) Type in "adb reboot bootloader". Left ADB open.

the command did not return anything nor did reboot the device into the download mode

Typed "adb devices" it shows the device as offline, So I kept ADB window open, and did a manual Bixby+volumedown+power to get into download screen and continued with your steps.

Great Job mike15678, thank you,
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] zentg:
i had u1 firmware on my vzw s8 (using tmobile) i followed these instructions to return to standard firmware, though at the end when it was updating firmware it got an error at 32% but then it reboot and it seems like i got tmb/tmb/vzw firmware. so am i all set?

also have we learned anything more? i really prefer unlocked firmware for the smart call feature. if i go back to unlocked and update to oreo will it brick my phone? do i need to stay on the carrier firmware?

edit: turns out i missed the step to enable the UMS and flash the UMS file. seems like im all set now.

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------

do you guys think later on someone will find a way to flash u1 firmware in blv3?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Mr. Orange 645:
Update from [MENTION=7277512]mweinbach[/MENTION]:

"EDIT: After being tested by XDA Senior member me2151, it turns out cross region flashing does work. Prince Comsy Odin is working, but we can not test if the factory binary flashing will hard brick your phone. So flashing US unlocked onto a US carrier device should work."

To expand a bit on what [MENTION=7277512]mweinbach[/MENTION]*just said, [MENTION=4591212]me2151[/MENTION]*did some more testing, and he was able to successfully carrier switch from a 950U to 950W using Comsey ODIN. So it looks like Comsey ODIN is not patched as we originally thought. Not sure exactly what caused the tester's phone to brick, but it HARD BRICKED and had to be RMA'd at his expense. So we jumped on the forums here to warn others until more testing could be done. [MENTION=7277512]mweinbach[/MENTION]*wrote the article and [MENTION=7820902]xdanilva[/MENTION]and I began posting here.*

We may have overreacted, but wanted to err on the side of caution to protect people from hard bricks.*

The Blv3 factory binary has not been tested, so still unsure if/how we will be able to use it, or if it will cause issues.*

For now, carry on as usual, but understand we still don't know the full implications of the Blv3 patches. One person has already HARD BRICKED, and [MENTION=4591212]me2151[/MENTION]*almost hard bricked testing all of this for us.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] zentg:
Lol dang dude, i ended up wiping my phone and freaking out for the past 2 days for nothing D: oh well im glad that i can use the u1 because i can't live without smartcall!! back to u1 it is!!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Mr. Orange 645:
Sorry!! We just wanted to prevent bricks. Rather people inconvenienced over resetting and flashing than out money to RMA a brick.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] roguester91:
Anyone have a link to unlocked firmware v2?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] monkey39:
Same here, but I still appreciate the warning. Can't afford an $800 paperweight atm.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xdanilva:
Currently uploading it.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] roguester91:
Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mapki:
Hi! I live in Ukraine and I am thinking about buying sprint S8 bad esn on Ebay. Will it work internationally (in Ukraine)? Do I have to unlock it to use internationally? I had many Verizon bad esn phones and all of them work perfectly.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] chetan180:
yeah root and then flash this zip via flashfire and volte works perfect. used to use on my old s7 edge works perfect. now i dont use jio so i didnt try. but it has work
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] deltacharlie:
Thanks. I got it to work, but like you said it requires root and i need to run a app that does safetynet check. I remember in S7 there was a way to unroot and still retain the modifications, but guess it not possible in S8
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] J.Stryker:
So if I were to buy a verizon s8 now with the sales, I would be able to flash to U1 or only U1 can switch? The phone will be used in Europe later but since I currently use verizon I can't get the exynos. Thanks
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jasdev_10:
Hey,

I have a SPR G950U, can i flash Unlocked Firmware (XAA) directly for international use or do i have to follow Carrier Switching to XAA first?

Thanks
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] briandang98:
Does this guide use for S8 verizon US phone

In the switching carrier flashing it flash the CANADIAN firmware. So I wonder is this guide can be used for S8 phone in US ?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jasdev_10:
Hey,

My phone is on G950USQS2BQL1_G950UOYN2BQL1_SPR firmware (Sprint Galaxy S8).

I have tried Carrier Switching and combination firmware fails to install with Odin

I have tried flashing Unlocked Firmware and it fails to install with Odin too.

I have tried with Prince Comsy Odin, Odin 3.12.7, Odin 3.12.5, Odin 3.12.3 and it fails with all Odin versions...

Why is this happening?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TheLordDerpus:
What's the difference?

Hello all!!

Hopefully a simple question here, but, I'm assuming not asked very often as I am not finding answers or at least answers looking for regarding my question.

What are, if any, the perks of one carrier firmware over the other? *BLOATWARE ASIDE*

I came into possession of the S8 G950u through Cricket (not BYOD). So it had the annoying Cricket splash screen and all the loving Bloatware! I found this thread & without hesitation switched to the Unlocked firmware for perks of minimal bloatware.

But... I started reading a little more into things and have questions... BLOATWARE ASIDE... are there any perks to one carrier firmware over the other? If so, what is it? Why did you flash it?

I've heard that the T-Mobile firmware gives access to more bands, Sprint gives Download Boost or Wifi Calling.... So on & so on....

Other carrier firmware can receive updates faster (not sure which, if that is true).

And yes I already know the biggy, Unlocked firmware does NOT mean network unlocked.

Any insight on this would be great!

If it helps/matters - Galaxy S8 G950u (currently on unlocked firmware), Running Cricket MVNO (owned by AT&T).

Thanks a bunch!!! :D
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] kaalatittar:
I am trying to flash unlocked firmware primarily to get rid of cricket bloat.

can someone tell me what do I stand to lose ?

also I cant seem to find the cricket firmware and PDA CSC etc in updato website ??

any ideas ?

---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:15 PM ----------

where did u find firmware on updato like CSC etc
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] TheLordDerpus:
I just downloaded the Unlocked Firmware (Bootloader V1) which downloaded as a compressed/zipped folder.

Uncompress/Unzip the folder and you should see all necessary files for Odin.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] kaalatittar:
thanks so much

I am DL it now, will see how what all files it has

just powered the phone on and seems it does not have much bloatware. just 3 cricket apps.

rest of the crap is samsung, which I guess will be in the unlocked firmware as well cuz its samsung's crapware
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] tropicalTech:
Is there any way to be sure T-Mobile bands will be enabled after flashing from cricket firmware? UUnlocked with cricket firmware i only get 2.3 Mbs while T-Mo Phone is 20+ Mbs. Also does anyone have the cricket firmware to reflash to if it doesent provision T-Mo?
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Markbarr:
Hello, I have the model G950u1, I want to update it to oreo, I can use the firmware of the g950u, such as update, baseband G950U1UES2AQL1, the oreo is G950USQU2CRB8, thank you very much.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] distho:
Yes you can.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fareed332:
SM-g955w

i have s8 plus g955w sim unlocked.. Can i direclty flashed g955u1 firmware with prince cosmy Odin or are there any other steps to follow because i don't use any carrier specific function bit confused right now
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] rlsyoung:
I have unlocked firmware installed on my phone, but my CSC codes is TFN, which is TracFone. I believe TracFone owns straight talk and I'm running off straight talk's verizon tower. I plan on downloading vzw firmware. Do I need to use the carrier switching method, to go back to stock? Also, do you guys think I'm better off using TFN stock version, since they own straight talk, and this is the active CSC or would I be better off using VZW, since straight talk uses their network?

*Sorry for any grammar typos, busy at work.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] sgPrototype:
This really saved me :)

I'm in Asia but i got this S8 SM-G950U as a USA import set (cheaper). Was about to return/refund it cos the SD card kept unmounting/remounting repeatedly, until i realised it was probably because i wasnt able to update my system software (due to being out of the US) - it would say "you already have the latest updates" when i tried to update the system.. >>> so in short your very accurate guide really saved me.. was able to follow it to the letter (flashed the unlocked firmware making my device a SM-G950U1 / baseband G950U1UES2AQL1 now).. and thankfully my problem is gone.. Praise God! :laugh:
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xmatic:
I've been reading relentlessly online and haven't been able to flash my cricket Samsung galaxy s8 to remove the all bloatware including splash screen. My phone successfully unlocked via an ebay remote unlock purchase, so unlock works fine. Now I tried loading the current tmobile firmware with android 8.0 and it flashed successfully via odin, but once it passes the install and it reboots it seems to get stuck at 32% and I have to manually boot into recovery to erase everything behind and then it boots up fine. However, the cricket splash screen is STILL present and so are two apps from cricket that are still on the home screen. I did confirm the firmware updated. Also prior to my flashing of the tmobile firmware, I flashed the USA USC version firmware 7.0 thinking this was the unlocked version with the same issues as above. I then realized USC was not the "unlocked' standard flash, but a different carrier I didn't want. Can anyone PLEASE point me in the right direction. What am I missing? Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] simon31392:
it worked!

it took me 2 tries, but I got it! works beautifully. The only down-side is that it doesn't have the Oreo update released for it yet, whereas when I had the sprint firmware, I had Oreo. No biggy. ANYBODY need any help, don't hesitate to ask. I made a few mistakes that I figured out how to fix quite easily.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] steve_xyz:
Just flashed my Verizon S8 with unlocked firmware. Works great with MintSIM. No more bloatware now. Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] gm2racer:
Hey everyone, I have a couple of quick questions.

I recently bought a Cricket S8. After I received the phone, I flashed the unlocked firmware. So now I have a carrier (SIM) locked phone running the unlocked (SM-G950U1 XAA PDAG950U1UES2AQL1 to be specific) firmware. Cricket will provide the unlock code for my phone in 6 months, which I intend to do. Does anyone know if I will need to flash Cricket's firmware in order to unlock the phone?

Also I've noticed that most of the unlock services have the seller running SamKey on your PC remotely with the phone connected to USB in order to obtain the unlock code. Are there any reputable sellers who will simply provide the unlock code based on IMEI?

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] OtisFeelgood:
I have the cricket s8 too. I used SwiftUnlocks.com to unlock my phone. I gave them my imei number and received the unlock code a few days later.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] J.Stryker:
Followed the steps and it just gets stuck on setupconnection...

When that doesnt happen, this does

<ID:0/003> File analysis..

<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..

<ID:0/003> Initialzation..

<ID:0/003> Set PIT file..

<ID:0/003> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!

<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..

<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..

<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.

<ID:0/003> abl.elf.lz4

<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.

<ID:0/003>

<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.

<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

Ive tried different versions of odin and firmware. I'm at the point where I want to throw my phone out of a window.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] t12icky0:
I have the cricket s8 also on unlocked firmware. I literally got the unlock code from cricket, popped in another sim(while on the unlocked firmware) and it showed the screen to enter the code. You can be in any firmware and unlock it.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] J.Stryker:
I've searched everywhere and keep getting stuck at setupconnection
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jemlinus:
I get the same result with Princecomsy Odin.

I get Sha error when using the latest v3.13.1 version of odin.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] J.Stryker:
Yup I've gotten that as well. Nothing seems to be working. One time it looked like it was working then failed at 32%. I havent been able to replicate that.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] t12icky0:
Try this version, says for the note 8 but I used it today on the s8 multiple times.

https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=890129502657595813

---------- Post added at 06:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 AM ----------

I posted a version to try on a post above this.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jemlinus:
Thanks. I'll try as soon as I get back from my trip.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] J.Stryker:
You, my friend, are a hero. It worked. Now I can finally setup my phone properly.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] t12icky0:
Awesome I'm glad it worked for you
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] shahneil:
Cant revert back to unlocked firmware.

Hello,

I have sim unlocked USA version of 950U1 which I bought at best buy. I flashed G950USQU2CRB9-TMK firmware just to get oreo as I was on nougat and go tired of waiting which I was able to do . Now unlocked version of OREO came out and I tried to revert back to version G950U1OYM2CRB9 but somehow I cant revert back to unloced 950u1 firmware. Most of time write operation failed or it got stuck in setup connection in ODIN. I have tried version 13.1 and 12.7 does not seem to work.

My phone works normally and I did not notice anything different apart from my phone now says it is 950U instead of 950U1 and I did not see any carrier specific bloatware.

I also tried flashing 950U1 firmware of ATT /T mobile but that also did not work. I still have a working phone without any issue. But would like to revert back to unlocked firmware. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Thanks.
[Samsung Galaxy S8 Guides, News, & Discussion] august_:
Hi, thanks for the guide, it looks great, but I think I need some clarifications. In my case, I bought an unlocked U1 galaxy S8 while living in the US, but now I live in the UK. My CSC used to be XAA, but since I updated to oreo it is GCF. My CSC version is G950U1OYM2CRB9.

If I'm not wrong, the process I should follow is the carrier switch first, and then flash the standard firmware U1. ?y question is, if I follow these steps and set my CSC to XAA,will it change back to GCF when I put in my British sim card? It is really annoying because I cant use any Samsung apps nor Bixby because I get a "not available in your country" message.

Edit: do I need any specific sim card for the process? I only have a 3 British one.

Thanks for your help guys