yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] dazemc:
Also, try to use a 2.0 USB port (not the blue one) I have had problems with Odin detecting my device with 3.0 ports.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
That can work for some. I haven't had any issues flashing using USB 3 ports though, including nthrougha USB 3 powered hub. Using hubs though isn't recommended
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] fbweip:
Oh wow, I completely skipped the Usb debugging step... It worked perfectly now. Thanks so much for quick reply!!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
It happens. The steps are so simple, it makes one or two easy to overlook.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] dublus:
Between my wife kids and I we have 3 Note 8's and 2 S8+'s. They are all t-mobile branded running on t-mobile. I followed a guide to enable tethering on all of them. They all tether fine now except one Note 8. Looking at all of the Note 8 firmware version numbers I noticed the only difference between it and the others is the Service provider SW ver is different and presumably a later version since it is a higher number.

Is there a way to flash that phone to match the other two?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] creeve4:
I am planning to flash a N950U1 that I bought for my wife with the TMB carrier firmware. Do I need a SIM card in the phone when it first boots or can I put it in later and then reboot?

She is out of town for a few days and I want to get it ready for when she returns.

Also, her current Note 8 (which has a broken screen) shows TMB/XAA/TMB. How do I get this same combination through firmware flashing?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
It is better to flash with the SIM in the device. It isn't necessary, but it usually makes the conversion and setup go smoother.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] creeve4:
Can I use my t-mobile SIM during flashing? will that mess anything up when she puts her t-mobile SIM in later?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
It is better tonflash with the SIM in under most circumstances. If that is the SIM you are using for your current service, then leave it in.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] creeve4:
Two more questions (hopefully the last):

My wife's current Note 8 (which has a t-mobile SIM in it) shows TMB/XAA/TMB. Shouldn't the middle CSC be TMB not XAA? How do I get this same combination through firmware flashing?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
It should. It depends on how you flashed though. I know some use the HOME_CSC, which can cause some issues. There are some anomalies with the conversion process I have personally never ran into. When flashing the first two of the three should change. In some cases, not having a SIM in when flashing and completing the setup will leave the middle in limbo and in some cases, just gets stuck. This can also happen if the SIM is unrecognized by the firmware. There are more ways it can happen and probably some I haven't seen or am aware of. Did you flash all 4 pieces of the firmware (BL, AP, CP, CSC) and were they all from the same factory image? There are some combination firmwares out there which you have to watch out for.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] hellomen31:
Hey. I have a note 8. bought on ebay half a year ago. Suddenly he lost imei. Resetting to factory settings did not help. I stitched it through odin. I stitched it with the same firmware as it was with the xaa region.

Now the phone does not load. Error: security error this phone has been flashed with unauthorized software and ...

in download mode carrier: mdl.

what is this carrier?

Bootloader v5.

What firmware to flash it to restore? Sorry for my English. motherboard n950u, took apart watched
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
Flash with a v5 bootloader U1 XAA firmware.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] hellomen31:
I downloaded the latest firmware. The device hung up for 10 minutes, after again: security error. In recovery error: dm-verify verification failed. After reading the topic here: [GUIDE] FIX N950F efs failed to mount and dm-verify fail (unbrick), I realized that I got a brick
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jschramm:
Still looking for some help with this request. thanks.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
I have never seen a brick as a result in cross-flashing a U, U1, or W firmware device that is an N950 model. The process is very straight forward.

You mentioned your device bricked. Is your device a North American Note 8? Combination firmware are usually meant for the Exynos devices. This thread specifies it is for owners of North American N950U/U1/W, which is a SnapDragon device.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] skeptic612:
Odin keeps asking for pit file. It can't retrieve the pit file from my phone. Any thoughts?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jschramm:
You mentioned your device bricked. Is your device a North American Note 8? Combination firmware are usually meant for the Exynos devices. This thread specifies it is for owners of North American N950U/U1/W, which is a SnapDragon device.[/QUOTE]

Device is not bricked, just trying to veryify the files for my switch from ATT Note to Unlocked.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
Have you tried the modded or patched ODIN? You shouldn't need a PIT file.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] skeptic612:
I'm using Jodin for Mac. Is there a modded version for Mac or should I use the PC version only? If so can you direct me to the patched version?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
No clue. I have never used a Mac. Can you run Windows in BootCamp or as a virtual machine and try it that way?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] skeptic612:
I'm downloading a trial VM Ware now to give it a try. Thanks for the replies
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Flynn-cat:
V5 Canada csc

So I'm wanting to carrier change my VZW Note 8 to TMB, and while trying to gather all the required files, figured out that I'm on BL V5. Found the combo file for v5, found my intended firmware, but I can't seem to find the matching V5 Canadian XAC HOME_CSC. Can anyone link to the correct version, or tell me what I'm doing wrong? Any help is appreciated :)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
For starters, using a HOME_CSC in a conversion. To go from VZW to TMB, I would personally flash the U1 first, even though some say it isn't necessary. You never use the HOME_CSC when converting because it will not convert properly and you will potentially be left without working data or worse, no service at all along with the potential for a lot of other problems.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Flynn-cat:
Is the process for V5 different from the guide? Flashing the HOME_CSC is Step 16? (Really not being a smarta**, just trying to get my head straight on what I'm supposed to do)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
The thread is 216 pages in. The HOME_CSC should only be used when flashing the same firmware, as in rolling back to an earlier build with the same bootloader version or updating. It preserves data, settings, bands available, etc., which you obviously don't want preserved when converting your device to a different firmware. I have never used the methods in the first few posts but they seem a lot longer and more complicated than they need to be.

What you need is the U1 XAA image with the v5 bootloader, modded or patched ODIN, and the TMB U image with the v5 bootloader.

Back up your device and leave the SIM in it.

Enable Developer Options and USB Debugging.

Boot your device into Download Mode.

Connect it to your PC and verify the correct drivers are installed in Device Manager.

Load up the AP, BL, CP, and CSC (not HOME_CSC) in the modded or patched ODIN.

Don't change any of the default options and flash.

Once it finishes, the device will reboot to the setup.

Skip through the setup process, go back to settings, Developer Options, and enable USB Debugging once again.

Boot into Download Mode and load up the AP, BL, CP, CSC (not the HOME_CSC), and userdata.

Don't change any of the default options and flash.

Once complete, the device will reboot once again, you will get the setup again, and you will have a TMB U firmware on your Note 8.

Obviously, my steps are a bit abbreviated, but they get the point across. You need to flash to the U1 non-carrier specific first to ensure the conversion both times goes successfully without issue. This process will not SIM unlock your device!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Flynn-cat:
Sorry to bother you again, but I got half way through. Flashed the XAA firmware smoothly. Went to flash the TMB and keep getting this error:

<ID:0/005> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..

<ID:0/005> File analysis..

<ID:0/005> Total Binary size: 7049 M

<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..

<ID:0/005> Initialzation..

<ID:0/005> Set PIT file..

<ID:0/005> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!

<ID:0/005> Can't open the specified file. (Line: 1892)

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

Is that a problem with the firmware file or did I miss something somewhere?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
It could be. What did you use to extract the firmware? Windows built-in ZIP software can cause file corruption. It can't hurt to try downloading it again though and from a different source and use either WinRAR or 7zip to extract it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Flynn-cat:
Extraction was the issue. Up and running now! Didn't solve my issue, (I use Simple Mobile and Wi-Fi calling setting was not showing up) but hopefully it'll work a little better with my service.

Thanks so much for all your help!!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
Did you check the settings in the dialer?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Flynn-cat:
Yep. I can put a true TMB sim in and the setting is there. But with my Simple Mobile sim, the setting goes away. Truly exasperating.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jschramm:
you say to leave the SIM card in the phone, is that the SIM card of the firmware you are flashing to? In this case a T-Mobile SIM?

When you flash the TMB U firmware is that with the modded or regular ODIN? Thanks.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
Have the SIM card that you intend to keep in the device and use in the device when flashing. Use the modded or patched ODIN.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jschramm:
If I wanted to leave it as an unlocked version could I just flash U1 XAA and leave it at that? Then I could switch back and forth between AT&T and Verizon if needed?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
Flashing to the U1 will not SIM unlock the device. Yes, you could leave it on the U1 non-carrier specific firmware. You will be missing carrier aggregation and pote tially a few features that come bundled in the carrier bloated U firmwares, but that is ultimately your choice in what works best for you. When switching from one U to another U firmware, you must flash to the U1 first and must not use the HOME_CSC when cross-flashing to another carrier firmware version.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] ninja_unmatched:
To be sure... can use which method to flash A Sprint Note 8 (CRK1 firmware 8.0) to t-mobile or unlocked firmware. I can get the phone unlocked I know that part. Clear on once I get it unlocked domestically & international.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] xiyan2127:
Hi, I am using Note 8 with XAA/XAA/TMB. N950U with baseband N950USQS5CRK1. I cant get any software or security patch updates from OTA. I have to always download Manually and flash from Samfirware tool. I am not in US. My network provider is Ooredoo Maldives. I bought phone from abroad. Since I first bought this phone, I cant get OTA updates. I tried flashing U1 but then a notification with Sprint OMADM comes up and never goes. So I flash back to U firmware. Can someone guide me to have OTA updates coming to my phone. Thank you soo much. Neither Samsung nor Tmobile Support gave a solution to me. They told to wait for software updates, but they never came even after 6 months. :(
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] mbrown17:
Nothing happens?

I should preface this by saying these instructions were Greek to me at first. But, think I've figured out what's what, downloaded, installed, setup and extracted everything now. But nothing's happening.

Here's what I get from the odin log - if it helps (again, that's all Greek to me too!)

<ID:0/005> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..

<ID:0/005> File analysis..

<ID:0/005> Total Binary size: 6842 M

<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..

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

FWIW - My goal is to flash the ATT firmware so that I get WIFI calling back on my Note8 and can make calls/send texts in my bunker of a house (as well as at my parents' and inlaws' houses in the middle of nowhere.)

I appreciate your help and patience!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] njdan30:
I know im a little late to the party but I have a sprint s8 plus with bootloader v5 and I'm currently on Verizon straight talk network my question is can I use the u1 unlocked firmware or do I risk losing unlock and imei problems ive been reading and reading but the more I look the more confused I get, I have Odin and modded Odin and an no stranger to flashing etc. Just afraid like I said about imei and unlock being messed up, currently on the drl7 closed beta android 9 from firmware science I've switched back and forth between 8 and 9 numerous times im looking to get rid of the tracfone stuff that it switches to due to being on straight talk. Thank you in advance and sorry if it's a stupid question etc..
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Mr. Orange 645:
Flashing the U1 firmware will in no way affect your IMEI or carrier unlock status.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] njdan30:
I didn't think so but like I said been seeing so many conflicting post around, I know earlier bootloader and firmware versions weren't an issue. I saw something about possible hard bricking, and another about it losing signal and service and messing with imei do to later bootloader security etc.. I guess I'm gonna try and see ?*♂️
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
Use the modded ODIN, make sure the U1 firmware you are going to flash has the v5 bootlosder, and don't use the HOME_CSC. You need to use the other CSC that will wipe the device to make sure everything converts properly.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] 0x6A7232:
How would I go about updating a Sprint Note 8 on software version N950USQU3BRA6 hardware Rev1.0, Baseband N950USQU3BRA6, kernel v 4.4.21-12461033, Build number NMF26X.N950USQU3BRA6 to the latest AT&T firmware? I already called up Sprint and unlocked the device (last year)

I'm just not certain about this COMBINATION set that somehow has to be matched with my firmware version (really?? I'm upgrading but it's Sprint, am I matching to the AT&T version I'm upgrading to or the Sprint version I'm coming from?)

I don't necessarily want the full AT&T software package, the XAA unlocked that's slightly modified to enable some services sounds great, but not if it's going to be a major PITA. I'm comfortable with command line, I have Odin 3 and the Odin 3 modified + drivers + platform tools / adb, but I don't want to brick the device because I flashed the wrong firmware.

So, what's the easiest route from ~ 1 year old Sprint factory + unlocked firmware to the newest AT&T factory or XAA / XAA+ firmware? Which directions am I following.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] labello29:
hello everyone nice discussion I know I should not write here I apologize in advance, I was wondering if there is something similar for international model SM-N950F (Exynos) thank you all
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] men+at+work:
so what's up with these phones not turning back on after the battery goes to zero? My phone sat for half a year before i saw some random post on android forums from a guy who said to charge it via a charger and a wireless charger at the same time. I was able to get it turned back on and had it drain to zero a few times after that and was able to get it working with the same method. Now it just happened again and i cant get it to come back on for the life of me, just able to get into upload mode and it says "unknow error, RAM dump" etc....

Is there a fix for this?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] qc777y:
U5 can no longer flash firmware

Hello all,

Just got myself an sm-n950u that was supposed to come with an unlocked firmware. It came with tmobile. I intended to use it on Straight Talk / Verizon network. An interesting development... The firmware version that came out on January 30th has removed the ability to flash firmware to phones. The Note 8 is the only device that received this lockdown. Flashing firmware with Odin DOES NOT WORK. You cannot root your phone, you cannot change carrier firmware. If you are in the same boat as me, I recommend you start the process of returning your phone. I have been up and down 100s of forums and dozens of firmwares, odin downloads, samsung drivers downloads, and have driven myself to the point of madness.

If anyone finds a fix or workaround, I would love to hear it! Despite the fact that by the time anyone responds the Amazon seller that lied to me will have given me a new phone with Verizon firmware, compensated me for the $20 Otterbox Alpha Glass I put on the phone already, and gifted me the OEM charger for my troubles :)

I'd have posted the link to an article confirming this information on wccftech, but I'm not allowed :(
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Friendlyx355:
I flashed it wrong i'm guessing and now when i try to turn off the phone and i click power off, it'll just go back to the main screen. Afterwards, i try to type in my pin and it'll just go black and then return to the main screen. Any thoughts?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] jcsww:
I'm guessing you used the HOME_CSC when you should have used the other one
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] bober10113:
doing a manual wipe cache and data should probably fix it too.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] MrMike2182:
I flashed from N950U to N950U1 with no problem at all.. Did you use the regular Odin to try to flash the N950U1 unlocked firmware? If so, that's why it didn't work.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] black96ss:
I think your dual SIM modem has the exynos chipset which isn't compatible with snapdragon chipset variants.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] cal196:
Thanks, I downloaded from sammobile and it was slightly faster. Almost done now.

Any idea what functionality is lost when using unlocked with vzw userdata vs using verizon firmware?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] kbonnel:
Unfortunately I don't know the answer to your question. I am pretty sure others have indicated based on past searches, though I was specifically looking for t-mobile capabilities on an unlocked firmware phone. (and from what I can tell, on T-Mobile all of the carrier features will work on an unlocked firmware samsung.)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] cal196:
I have a note 8 on tmobile. When you say carrier features, are you referring to the extras it comes with like Name ID, TV, VVM, Video calling?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] kbonnel:
Yes, it is my understanding that an factory unlocked note 8 should have carrier features on t-mobile, such as volte, wifi calling, etc. Many of t-mobiles features are through apps, such as VVM. Not sure about Video Calling/TV as I have never used those.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] gottria:
Did you ever flash back to the unlocked U1 firmware yet? I flashed the carrier firmware for ATT to get Wifi Calling and VOLTE, don't need WiFi calling but definitely need VOLTE for work and couldn't get it working so I just flashed the whole enchilada to ATT with bloat and everything works.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] nexus6r3plicant01:
It's in the phone settings all the way at the bottom
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] BlueFox721:
For any one wanting the XAA USERDATA file, it is bundled in the AP file, I believe. Use winrar or 7zip to extract...I have not tried to flash it alone myself though...so flash at your own risk
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] black96ss:
Does this mean if you flash the XAA AP along with the XAA BL, CP, and CSC it would write over what ever previous USERDATA file that was used????
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] yijinsa:
First of all thanks for you hard work .

Quick questions ,I have xfinity note 8 which state don't support band 12 . what should I do to get band 12 support if I switch T-Mobile sim . just flash T-Mobile firmware .or I have to carrier switch too ?

Thanks again
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] Krayziepop:
I can only speculate, but if it's in the file structure then I have to believe it gets flashed during installation. It makes sense, if you put just the AP in the Odin slot on the XAA version and then swap it with the ATT AP, the binary size is quite significantly larger on XAA. I'm going to give it a go at work in the morning, I'll report back when I have it up and running.

Thanks for the input guys!

Michael Stockwell
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] wa0qbu:
Sprint voice mail on unlocked phone

I have the Sprint app and it installs with out error and functions normal but it can not connect to voice mail server. Can this be flashed with Odin I am not rooted completely stock unlocked phone. I have searched but am unable to find any pointers to make the connection to the server complete. I do have the Samsung voice mail but am wanting Sprint app with out all the other bloat.

Thanks for any advice or search references
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] asifali418:
So there is any other way I can try please help me out
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] yijinsa:
Anyone help please
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] kbonnel:
[MENTION=5649240]BlueFox721[/MENTION]

I wanted to see if you had ever seen the same during step 23?

"Step 23 - After menu pops up, Scroll down until you find an "XAC" option. Select "XAC" and then select "Install".".

When I clicked install, another little pop up happened that asked if it was for a full install or a network install, I selected Full install. Have you ever seen this before? Anybody else? I wanted to be sure everything I did was OK, and almost feel like I should redo everything to see if it does it again.

My setup was: Note 8 Verizon firmware re-flashing to a T-Mobile firmware through the carrier switch process.

Thank You
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] BlueFox721:
To switch to T-Mobile completely follow the switching carrier guide completely and change the code to TMB and then flash the TMB SM-N950U Firmware
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] BlueFox721:
Am not sure...as long as the code changed, shouldn't be a problem
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] BlueFox721:
Yeah, if anyone tries to flash XAA and a carrier USERDATA file at same time ends up with some files or all files being over written by XAA USERDATA in AP...this is why we flash separately. Carrier AP files do not contain USERDATA files.