yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] sun2sunny:
First i flashed CSC file multi csc but after dat i flashed firmware n stucked minimum firmware where the knox n umc are administrator n they manage my fone by blocking google play etc i flashed many firmware but same thing i ended up and this was start when i select some csc by dialin *#272*imei*# Fter dAt reset fone is totally control in knox it was fine before flashing.... fone is bought from uk and unlocked model. I think i flashed the csc of retail store unit

---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------

Put foot on break bro ....i flashed the csc n select it by *#272* after that fone has some stupid knox controll other wise it was ok... i bought it for 1100 usd and its not ldu unit sim calling msgeing lte is working fine but goigle play doesnt work after knox profile update before dat it also work.... u can say when profile updated in setup of knox things got greyed n non selectable in device administator
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
No matter what you do, You will need to lift the region lock first, Unlocked model means you're not tied to any mobile carrier but you're still locked to the region this is Samsung's tactics to fight grey markets, by define, it's to block people from reselling Samsung phones outside of their official channels... So what you're gonna to do is to return the phone back to the seller and ask the seller to activate the phone with the UK sim-card and send it back to you, this is only the way to unlock all potential features such as OEM Unlock.

I know this sounds kind of tough, but this is only the way to go, Besides you have already messed up the phone and seller is unlikely to accept your return request and Samsung isn't gonna to help you anyway as your phone is bought outside of their official channels.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] sun2sunny:
I think i cant sent it back to uk ... i need some info regarding root in comibination file firmware i tried it managed to install su but it didnt work as i dont know how to fully root in combination firmware ... i think combination firmware is last hope to me.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
You still don't understand me. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, You will need OEM Unlock in order to root the phone and WITHOUT OEM UNLOCK You cannot do anything, flashing ROMs (firmware) from different regions will NEVER HELP! Of course, You can install Supersu, because it's an app and can be installed via APK installer.

Your last hope is gone. Sorry.

I tried every single thing with ROM combination changing CSC didn't help. Still, the phone is locked to the region (Singapore).
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] maybeonly:
Some people, who are in China and bought Singapore N950F/DS's and use Chinese SIMs, have got OEM options, while some have not.

I think Samsung never cares the region, they're just selling their phones.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] thanik:
I just contact Samsung Mobile Thailand via Facebook page and they said the software doesn't support this option. I don't believe them. I think they just answer what they only know. Maybe I should try calling customer support via phone instead.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] me_ashman:
Yep Optus branded has no unlock
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
These people got the phone region lock lifted before being shipped to them, some sellers are advised to do this, while the most sellers in the grey market do not do this because they don't care. In the UK seller, Clove does offer an option to activate the phone with the UK Sim-Card and have it shipped to customers, many users here were reported to have success with Clove and got their OEM Unlock visibly.

It's most likely that anyone who bought the phone from the grey market will have a complicated situation here. You get your warranty invalidated, OEM Unlock and other potential features disabled.

Samsung actually cares about their phones and they discourage people from buying phones outside of their official channels.

---------- Post added at 09:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 AM ----------

Branded Note 8 you don't get OEM Unlock. Because carriers discouraged users from unlocking their bootloader. Samsung is doing what they did with Snapdragon. Carriers tended to remove some features in Android.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
I bought my phone from Samsung Australia through preorder on their website (it cost me $1499, which I still think is good value for the quality of the phone, and the usage I will get out of it in the next couple of years). It's a pure, unbranded, unattached phone, and it still has no OEM unlock option. I'm sure the grey market might have some difficulties, but remember there are still at least a few people out there who purchased an Exynos Note 8 legitimately in their own country, who didn't get the unlock option. I'm hoping I can get help from Samsung to either enable the OEM unlock, or to maybe exchange or refund the phone so I can get an unlockable phone from Samsung in a way that both the supplier and the customer are happy with. If they don't want to help me with that, I guess I have no other option than to use the phone without being able to customise it or run the software I choose on it, until someone comes up with an unofficial way to unlock it.

My point is, The region lock might be the issue for some people, but it definitely isn't the issue for everyone here. As someone with a completely legit phone who still can't unlock it, I'm not convinced that a region lock is the problem at all. All these other people who can't unlock their phones could just be in the same situation as myself, where the option has been disabled for some other, unknown reason.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] maybeonly:
Hmm...

I've asked a seller who sells Singapore N950F/DS in China, he do not know anything about the "local sim issue", he can not promise that the phone he sold can be OEM unlocked either.

What's more, some of the ones who can unlock their phones successfully had got them for a week, I think that nobody knows the "local sim issue" a week ago.

As we know, every N950N can be unlocked, so the region policy is lack of soundness.

I'm disposed it is only a bug. But I'm wondering whether and when Samsung would fix it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
Most cases here are the grey market-related issue also region lock is mostly affected, It's unfortunate to see that legitimate users are affected. I'm trying to sell the Singaporean version of Note 8 to a local guy with the money I'm gonna to buy Malaysian version and see if that fixes it. It's worth noting that you should contact Australian Samsung and let them know that OEM Unlock option is supposed to be there (below Bluetooth HCI snoop log in the Developer Options) for Unbranded Note 8. They're likely to replace the phone for you if it doesn't meet your expectations.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 AM ----------

I'm pretty certain he doesn't know what is a "region lock", Region lock is the most case here are affected. If the phone is bought from Singapore and has an OEM Unlock, it means someone who sold the phone has activated it prior reselling. Not every N950N is unlocked you still need to ask someone in Seoul to activate and send it to you, South Korean sellers aren't that stupid and they know the phone is locked to a region and they will unlock it before selling it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] maybeonly:
I agree that he doesn't know what is a "region lock".

But

Some people who bought phones from foreign have got the OEM unlock,

While some people who bought phones from local sellers haven't got that.

I can not agree to the region lock.

To support the region lock, you suppose that the phones sold to foreign have been activated by a local SIM, and there's a bug which cause some people who bought phones from local sellers not got the option.

I suppose that it is only a bug. This is much simpler.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
You mightn't have seen all prior posts in this thread.

"Some people who bought phones from foreign have got the OEM unlock,"

Again, These are the people who bought from Clove UK, various of other sources and it's region lock lifted. It means sellers already have ACTIVATED with origin sim before selling it to a foreign country!

"To support the region lock, you suppose that the phones sold to foreign have been activated by a local SIM”

Yes, They have been activated BEFORE reselling. But still, some phones locally bought are affected as well.

"a bug which cause some people who bought phones from local sellers not got the option."

I have stated many times, This is not an issue! local sellers also sell the grey-market Note 8, But I have seen few users are affected with OEM Unlock invisibility it's due to non-activation of region lock. In this case, if bought directly from Samsung, then Samsung is liable to help you with replacing the phone with OEM Unlock.

Please read the whole thread before posting it, A lot of handful pieces of information are already posted by other users and they got their OEM Unlock visibly when they bought it from the seller who is aware of region lock.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] maybeonly:
I'm following this thread for days. but my English is too poor to express well.

“Buying from local seller" is neither sufficient condition nor necessary condition to the "unlock" option.

And lots of people got the option suddenly yesterday.

At all, I cannot agree the region lock. I think there's something else.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
Unfortunately I haven't seen any stories from Australia where the OEM unlock option was available. There was also that poster from Russia who seemed quite confident saying that OEM unlock was disabled across all of Russia as well.

I'm not worried about region locked phones and i don't think anyone else is, the more worrying thing is that in some regions we might be unable to get the unlock option because Samsung wanted it that way.

EDIT: I'm going to get in touch with Samsung support and try (politely) to get some help on this issue on Monday. I doubt I'll get an immediate fix from first line support, but hopefully I'll be able to find something out from someone further up the chain maybe in the next week.

EDIT 2: It would be very helpful if anyone from Russia or Australia who has been able to get the OEM unlock, could post in here and let us know, this would quickly rule out the worst case scenario here.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] xxx42069:
Yeah man I gotta say, you need to slow your roll a bit. You speak as if you know these things for an absolute fact and bottom line is you don't, and neither does anyone else. It's all speculation. While the things you say have some merit and may be true, they also might not be true and you could be totally off. You need to stop speaking like this has already been figured out and you alone are the keeper of this great knowledge and everyone else is an ignorant idiot. There are just too many variables in play and no one knows the answer for certain yet. All we can do is make best educated guesses. You can't make such broad statements like "all those people bought from sellers who removed the region lock for them. " You don't know that, you can't know that, and that is way too broad of a statement to make and speak of it like its gospel. Help others, contribute what info you can, state your opinion, but stop talking like you and you alone have this all figured out. You don't.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] pswin09:
You are right.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] LouK:
Hi!

Looks Like I'm in the same boat as you, Purchased my N8 from Sobeonline1, too.

Have you heard back from them yet?

If yes, can/will they help?

TIA for reply.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
I'm confident of what I'm talking about. I'll drop here an evidence of what I'm talking about. You'll realise that Snapdragon-alike era is coming to Exynos, the "Bootloader Lockdown".

So, Today I just ran into Samsung Store and the Digi Store (Malaysian Mobile carrier), I'm herewith attaching pictures from two demo sets.

Below pictures are from Samsung Store Malaysia

Below pictures are from Digi Store Malaysian Mobile Carrier

So basically I went to Samsung Store and asked the clerk why OEM Unlock is not showing on Digi Sets, Apparently, They said that Samsung is bringing new strategy to lockdown OEM Unlock on Mobile Carrier just like the Snapdragon. Therefore, Region Lock is also to play a role on OEM Unlock according to the clerk.

Furthermore, The above evidence is enough to provide that Samsung is bringing Snapdragon-alike bootloader lockdown for carrier sets, while Samsung store sets do not have any bootloader lockdown.

It's very saddening to see Samsung is messing up with Exynos like they did with Snapdragon.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] white7561:
Hmm. So if we buy from Samsung stores. We should get the oem unlock button?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
If you do this, make sure you confirm the option is really there before you hand over your money. You should get the unlock button but it's not a 100% guarantee unless you can check it yourself.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
Yes, According to the clerk. He says Samsung Stores only sells OEM unlocked. While carriers sell OEM Locked.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] white7561:
Yeah true. As here.the Note 8 haven't been released yet. So only demo units are on Samsung stores. All of those demo have the oem unlocking option. .but the csc isn't the same as my country csc. So I'm a little bit worried. And the csc there isn't on any list on the internet
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
Here in Malaysia, Note 8 is already released. CSC isn't an issue at all. I think there is probably different kind of secure enclave-alike unique key assigned to each device which cannot be modified it's embedded into hardware. No matter how many region ROMs you change, it will remain same. CSC is actually a country/carrier code and it's not quite important when it comes to OEM Unlock lockdown.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] white7561:
Kk thanks for your info. I hope mine have it [emoji3][emoji5]
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] pswin09:
That mean we totally cannot get oem unlock if we buy from carriers ? I tried with my friend M1 sim for my Note 8 (his recontract sim for Note 8) and still no oem unlock option. Look like they lock down permanently for carriers phone especially for M1. One of my colleague with starhub line also don't have oem unlock option. Look like they even want to lock down for their carrier sim users.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
Glad to help! Just make sure to buy from the local official store, you're safe. The clerk also says if we buy from foreign country sets, He cannot guarantee if OEM Unlock will be there not. But I see in this forum some users did have OEM unlock bought from foreign countries it's mainly due to an unlocked region like Clove UK sets.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Eagle 3:
I bought mine from the Samsung store in The Mall, Korat Thailand. I too do not have OEM Unlock. It was the first thing I checked before I put in my Thailand AIS sim card. After I put the card in and made a bunch of phone calls thinking that I need to activate it by using it for over 5 minutes, which is something I read on this forum. I still didn't have the option.

So this contradicts what some people are saying that if you buy from Samsung, you will get the OEM Unlock option.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Brava27:
"I'm not sure is it important or not, but I got OEM option after I turned on "system autoupdate" in developer menu.

We all know that "after" doesn't mean "because of", but if any..." someone posted that.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
It appears like that, I see same with Snapdragon like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T etc also have OEM locked. So it means even if you use M1 Sim you won't have OEM Unlock. The clerk said there is no guarantee if the carrier will ever consider lifting OEM lockdown.

I don't like this kind of idea Samsung makes. it's pretty weird.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] white7561:
Guys. Could you guys try put all possible fix on one post and update it as time flies? It would be so helpful for most of the peeps when they bought their phone. Thanks
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] thanik:
Update for Thailand device

I called Samsung customer service via phone and asked about OEM Unlock. The technical operator said that device sold in Thailand should have OEM unlock option. But she can't try it yet because the device will arrive in customer service tomorrow. (which means the customer get the device even before support lol) So, she will call me back when she tried it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] white7561:
Keep us updated. [emoji5][emoji5]
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] pswin09:
If they continue this way and if there is no solution, I gonna sell this phone and will be this is my last Sammy phone. They disappointed their customers. Still don't know which devices to go. Pixel 2 xl wouldn't have 3.5mm jack, I don't like lg also. [emoji23] [emoji23]
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
You still have OEM Unlock with Exynos, Samsung just disabled OEM Unlock option only for carrier sets. While official sets sold by Samsung Store will still have it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] pswin09:
We cannot guarantee whether they will lock down for all of their futures devices bro. [emoji16]
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
Just a reminder that I bought my official Note 8 from the Samsung website and OEM unlock was disabled. It's not as simple as that guy is saying in here.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
Samsung Store also sells carrier locked sets. If you received carrier locked sets you can contact Samsung and have it replaced.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] mha93:
So I just bought this phone last night from my local carrier and I can't get the OEM unlock too.

I'm using a Singapore device, N950F/DS. Tried switching between the original carrier and another carrier's sim card and after rebooting a few times I still can't get OEM unlock to appear. I also tried calling a local number and let it run for 5 mins and still nothing.

However, my friend who got the phone from the same carrier as me but got it about 2 weeks ago managed to have the OEM unlock option on his phone when I checked with him.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
Is there a way I can demonstrate the phone is carrier locked? The CSC info for the phone is XSA/XSA/XSA which is supposed to be the carrier independent code.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
Yes true that's quite concerned. Can't make any guarantee here about OEM lockdown.

---------- Post added at 06:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:54 PM ----------

Hard to tell.. CSC is same for carrier locked sets as well. Just referring to OEM unlock option is simple way to find out whether phone is locked to carrier or region... You should refer to my earlier posts I have posted two demo sets both demo sets have XME/XME/XME CSC one is carrier locked and other is unlocked set and sold by Samsung Store only.. But you can buy OEM unlocked set from outside channels it's hard to find one.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
This sounds very far fetched to me. First you say the CSCs which specifically exist to designate the carrier associated with a phone, just don't mean anything. Then you say users are obtaining unlocked phones in outside channels somehow. And on top of that, of everyone I have seen on this site and others who bought a phone from Samsung in my country, didn't get OEM unlock, and you are saying that this is because Samsung is selling carrier locked phones out of their own stock. Maybe you're right. but it seems completely unlikely. I'd caution anyone reading this thread to not believe what this guy writes.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] bober10113:
the OEM unlocked seems to have a time switch. not clear what triggers it but one fact seems true:

time.

everyone within the same region of where the phone is from seems to be eventually getting the oem unlocks appear.

I would like to know if anyone from north america who ordered a signapore phone( in dl mode Carrier:XSP )

eventualy got their oem unlock option.

I do know that many like myself have been flashing left and right other firmwares that might even be the reason or cause of still not having the oem option.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] force70:
They Will most likely it seems to be the direction things are going anyway.

The days of me owning samsung devices seem to be coming to an end.

I was on the fence about the note 8 Already and now all this utter BS has turned me off even more.

sent from my Note FE, S8 plus, or S6
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] $-MONARCH-$:
I said first 3 code will be designated for the sim you use it. And second code will designated for Region ROM, third is the device origin country.

Like Apple, Samsung also sells carrier locked phones in their stock and I know this sounds weird, I don't agree to their way of handling situation like this. But do understand, if you buy Samsung phone officially from country 1 and you can't have OEM Unlock in County 2 until you activate the phone with country 1 sim card, it's due to region lock policy.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] pswin09:
The reason I always buying samsung phones is because of the love of devs support and easy to root or customize without needing bootloader unlock token like htc always did. If they're making harder for users and devs from doing development, they will lost a lots of royal customers in near future. Good luck Samsung.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] fungamerzone:
Not that true. I've bought 2 sets(pre order) from M1, and they both have the oem unlock selection, thankfully. Just found out yesterday when I came across this thread.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] ihaveaphone:
Except that this isn't even the case for some people who have bought the phone in their country and are obviously using it in a way that would not involve a region lock. Think about it. Region lock isn't an issue and we still can't get the option. If this is a problem for phones without a region lock, then you shouldn't be trying to tell people region lock is automatically is the cause of their problem when you know nothing about their circumstances. It's not helpful, it's misleading and counter productive.

---------- Post added at 06:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------

Good to know that not only is the region lock thing a load of rubbish, but the carrier restriction stuff he was saying is bogus as well. How annoying to not only have to try and find out how to fix this problem with our phones, but to have the one thread on the internet that should be dedicated to solving the problem, littered with misleading information.