yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] iunlock:
Hmm well for what it's worth, I got my T-Mobile Note 8 in yesterday and went immediately into working on it...

The reception is night and day compared to my F Model.

I got it rooted successfully and it's running all my typical root apps just fine like: Titanium Back Up, etc... except any apps that require xposed framework as I can't get the framework flashed properly due to not having a custom recovery.

For giggles, I've tried using Flashfire, and although it looked promising, no go. After it flashed it went to the black screen with the Samsung logo w/ the blue LED up top just pulsating.

The main thing for me wanting root was for xposed -> xprivacy. (Security / Privacy fanatic here... Mainly to just block phone, imei and some other info that apps don't need.)

I've found a few apps that fit the bill pretty well that works just with root and without the need of xposed framework like AFWall+, xprivacy etc...

The apps are:

+ APK Permission Remover

+ NetGuard

+ Package DIsabler

Between those and Titanium Back up, with root for anyone in the same boat as me can have everything you wanted with a carrier branded rooted phone. (Yes, the battery charges to 80%, but if you turn off the phone and charge I think it'll go to 100%...I'll test it out. However, keeping the battery charge to 80% is actually a good thing for battery health...)

So anyhow during the course of this, I ran across an interesting menu and thought I'd share to see if there is any value to finding any answers to the issues we're seeing with the Exynos.... And if anyone is interested here is my most recent post on the journey to get this TMO N8 successfully rooted.

I've attached a bunch of pics below....
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] masri1987:
Maybe we need to get the devs involved since all their kennels and ROM are marketed for N devices..
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
They work on N devices, but they are using F firmware for their base.

You can use them in combination, but there are a few minor differences. Primarily the F firmware has more functions built in. I've combed through both extensively in researching the poor signal and data speeds my earlier full tmobile 950U based CSC patch caused and now know exactly what is different between the two Exynos variants as a result.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] masri1987:
my bad, i meant it as their awareness of this discrepancy , i know you're inching closer on this difficult path young grasshopper
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] jooniloh:
wouldn't the smart switch emergency recovery wipe my internal SD card which TWRP does not back up?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
I said I wouldn't mess with my phone settings anymore cause unlike most here I actually get good speeds. But I made some changes anyway.

With stock F rom & KT's TMO zip, I changed from CAT9 & RRC Release Control 11 to CAT10 & RRC rel 12. I also enabled 256qam & 4x4mimo (I think, see below).

From what I read online, there's no 4x4mimo support in my area. Of course my phone still reports 4x4mimo not supported. Also found online that there is 4x4mimo support in an area about 30mins away from me so I'll have to test that later as well as Tmobiles upcoming Gigabit Class LTE.

I'm confused about the menu to enable 4x4mimo. In the same menu it's clear for 256qam, it say disabled or enabled. But for 4x4mimo it'll say disable or enable. So does that mean when it says enable, then you click on it, is it then enabled when the menu changes to disable. I didn't think so, I assume it must be disabled by default & by default it said disable but why does it not read the same for 256qam? Anyone know?

I'd like to leave 4x4mimo enabled just in case. I'm not sure if any of these other changes made a difference but I just beat my old record of 100mbps so I'll leave the settings as is for now.

I forget who mentioned it but some one mentioned an app called Network Cell Info a while back. I stopped using LTE Discovery, Network Cell Info is so much more useful. So thanks to whoever mentioned it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
I had the same question about the 256QAM and 4x4 MIMO option - pretty sure whatever it displays is what it is set to though. I also don't have 4x4 MIMO support in my area yet but I noticed a bit faster speeds with 256QAM enabled vs disabled.

Also - to anybody still having this CA issue - please make sure you're not on my T-Mobile CSC patches named before v7, we figured out that one of the files from the N950U was causing CA to be whacky, so I switched that file with an S8+ version and instantly everything worked properly again.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
Does that apply to Fs also? My CA seems to be working fine? I'm still using 3a & all the speeds I've posted in this thread is with 3a. I remember something with 4 you said you updated the script cause something wasn't sticking, like the csc or something, I didn't even have that issue whatever it was, I forget.

---------- Post added at 06:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:21 PM ----------

Oh and what kind of behaviour was the wacky CA issue?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
If you're on 3a I think that was before I started using Note 8 files. The first few versions were S8+ entirely, then I switched to Note 8 T-Mobile N950U, then from scratch used TEKHD's S8+ TMO patch as a base and replaced the apps/libraries/etc with 950U files until my v7 zips.

We discovered that TMB_keystrings.dat which is /system/omc/TMB/etc/ was screwing up CA behavior so we were getting awful LTE performance most of the time. As soon as I replaced that Note 8 file with an S8+ or Note 5 version the LTE performance jumped back up to normal.

several other members found that as soon as data tried to connect and CA tried to start working everything would bog or disconnect entirely, but now that I'm using a non-950U TMB keystrings file everything is fast again.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
I see, dammit, now you've got me curious. I don't experience those bogging down issues as you can see with my speedtests so I must not be using a ver with U files but now I'm wondering if v7 might make any difference.

Does the script in your zip delete omc & related first then install the files? I assume yes as that's what it did before but I just wanted to make sure that I can just flash the zip & not have to worry about old residual files.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
Yes it deletes the entire contents of /system/omc/ folder and replaces it with the TMB stuff, also adds some other files in other folders though and I have not made a delete script yet. I might make one just in case we want to do an in-place reversion.

I don't think it would help since everything is already working fine for you. Honestly if someone is on a real 950F or 950F-based ROM you can just use any of the existing S8/S8+ CSC patches. My goal is just to make a nice small easy-to-use zip for us that will make it work on F or N variants with as much real Note 8 as possible while still giving us all the desired extra features possible from CSC features.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
Yeah, you're probably right. I just downloaded 7c. I like that it doesn't have all the other non-tmb carrier stuff & the size is smaller. But really it's only 30mb smaller which is nothing to worry about. And I had way much more other carrier stuff in omc when I was on stock F XEU FW.

I'll just leave mine as is for now, I'll play with 7c if I get bored one day.

Thanks again for all the hard work!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
Do you still have this issue? I know you've probably been on a bunch of different setups since I first asked about this but I finally figured it out, well in my case anyway.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] masri1987:
no, i don't have this issue anymore, and i do'nt know why i don't have this issue lol
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
Oh ok, was just wondering. It's basically just a glitch with quick settings csc.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] DeeXii:
Hey, I've been crazy busy with work etc.

Has this all been resolved?

Is the network connection 1:1 with USA based phones?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
I don't have an N950U to compare but it's faster than my Note 5 again.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
Same here, I don't have a U to compare but my F has always been faster than my TMO Note 5, even before KT's TMO zip which really had no effect on speed for me.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] iunlock:
Out of curiously, could this be simply due to the Note 8 being connected to a band that isn't in a position of needing any type of carrier aggregation? (When getting those good speeds?)

When testing my (F) model next to my TMO Note 5, it was downstairs where there is very low signal. (A carrier aggregation zone as the bands would switch just walking to the next room.)

I also have a TMO Note 8 and it gets excellent reception on par, and at times even better than my TMO Note 5 when downstairs...

From the extensive testing that I've done and from what I've seen with my own eyes, there's no way the (F) model has equal or better 'reception' than my TMO Note 8 variant. [MENTION=307564]deex[/MENTION] also has both variants and can say the same...

We've been testing this thing since the start of this thread...

I really think for those getting good speeds on the F or N models on T-Mobile are in areas that are "rich" in signal to where it is not battling with the aggressive carrier aggregation that exist in low reception areas.

To be clear, I really want this to work out lol... I check back here always hoping to find good news..... because I want the 256GB variant and will buy one in a heart beat once this gets sorted out.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
Pretty sure we sorted it out last week when I found out that the TMB_keystrings.dat from the T-Mobile Note 8 was causing all the problems, and it works fine if that is replaced with one from an S8+ or Note 5.

Carrier Aggregation is not meant as only a way to give increased bandwidth in poor-signal areas - it is meant as a speed boost method at all times when downloading/streaming.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] iunlock:
Ah, I must have looked right past it and maybe because it didn't scream with big bold titles like, "BREAKING NEWS! FIGURED IT OUT!" :p

For those that are curious and for convenience sake, it is post #518.

It would be great to get a step by step / info posted up on the OP with a title like: SOLVED (making sure to credit the findings accordingly... Thanks [MENTION=4375750]Kalm_Traveler[/MENTION] for finding the Elixir of Note 8 Life.)

[MENTION=307564]deex[/MENTION] perhaps you could coordinate with [MENTION=4375750]Kalm_Traveler[/MENTION] or maybe if Kalm could make a post then you could copy paste/link that in the OP ... :highfive:

---------- Post added at 07:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 PM ----------

BTW guys, just wanted to say nice work and investigation in all of this.... :highfive:

---

Q:

1. Both the (F) and/or (N) model will work now (fully on the connection end) by replacing the TMO_keystrings.dat file with the one from the S8+ or Note 5??

- [MENTION=4375750]Kalm_Traveler[/MENTION] I see that you have the (N) model. To confirm, any of the (N) models will work yes? I really am wanting the 256GB version as well. :)

2. Which model is better to get? (F) or the (N)? (Or does it not matter?)

---
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
I certainly don't doubt what you are suspecting & it's somewhat consistent to what I'm seeing. At home where my speeds range from 25-55 mbps (depending on time of day of course) I'm pretty almost always connected to band 4 primary with working CA (band 12) during speed tests.

In the areas where I get 80-135mbps (and during the day), I get these speeds again connected to band 4 but during all these test when I have checked CA is not active....excellent coverage.

In the beginning I thought my Note 5 got better overall reception than my F Note 8 cause my Note 5 always showed more bars. But that's s not the case, my Note 5 just shows more bars, but looking at signal strength, it's not actually that much better on my Note 5, just slightly compared to my Note 8. Great signal strength doesn't always necessarily mean better speeds in my area. There are areas where I get awesome signal strength but don't have awesome speeds. In these area I'll be connected to band 12. Anytime I'm in an area where I'm connected to band 12 as primary, speeds suck. And lots of times the tower will be much farther away but still show excellent signal strength which makes sense for what band 12 is. When I get awesome speeds on band 4, I'm usually very close to the tower, again makes sense for what band 4 is. But for the most part, I'm usually connected to Band 4 primary most of the time in my area.

Recently KT pointed out something, I've never encountered the issues reported in this thread cause I have always been using one of his earlier versions that used S8 files & not the U files that had the tmb_keystrings.dat that was causing issues. But then again my speeds weren't any slower or faster on my F before KT's zip. I guess in my area cell density & CA work much better than for some of you guys.

All I know is I'm getting faster speeds on my F Note 8 than I have ever got on my Tmobile Note 5. 70mbps is the fastest I have ever seen on my Note 5. 135mbps is the fastest I have seen so far on my Note 8. But there's also the possibility that Tmobile could have bumped up speeds in my area very recently, I don't know.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
If you are going to flash custom ROMs there is no difference, aside from the larger capacity available in the Korean model. They are identical hardware.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] iunlock:
There are indeed many variables for sure. Even the slightest bump of the phone when doing a speed test could throw it off track.

This is why when I ran my speed tests, I did not just put the phones side by side, rather I matched up the dbm/asu's as close as possible.

It's nice to see another confirmation of a (F) model getting good speeds. Thanks for the input. :highfive:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shouren04:
That may be true but I run my speed tests differently. I only have one sim so I can't run my Note 8 & Note 5 side by side. Best I can do is run speed tests on both phone with them in the same exact spot, like sitting on a desk or something without holding them in hand. I also check to see if both phones are connected to the same tower using Network Cell Info.

I don't try to match dBm cause the phones are different, they have different performance in signal reception. Even with same exact model phones signal strength can vary depending on a nunber of variables. I can move my phone around in a 1-2ft radius & dBm may only change 1-3dBm or not at all. And even if not moving it can still fluctuate slightly. I don't think it's critical to absolutely not move the phone at all during a speed test. After all these are mobile devices & meant to move around. It shouldn't fluctuate in speed that much just moving around slightly in hand. It certainly may but that's not a concern for me.

When I run speed tests I check for consistency in speed. Many of the guys here that were having speed issues were reporting a good speed, then run the test again & speed goes to crap. That's my concern, not highest possible speed but consistency in speed test in a certain area. As you can see in all my screenshots that I've posted in this thread that my speed tests are consistent (multiple tests in the same location).

Speaking of the Network Cell Info app, I mentioned in post #515 that I stopped using LTE Discovery. For all you guys using LTE Discovery, you should try using Network Cell Info, it's so much better & provides so much more info. I love this app!

On my stock F I had H+, 4G & 4G+ icons. With KT's TMO zip I have only 4G & 4G/LTE icons (normal for Tmobile phones just like my Note 5). Some will have LTE & LTE+ instead of 4G & 4G+ icons, I saw these too LTE & LTE+ when something odd happened when I was messing with my Note 8's build.prop. With Tmobile you won't see a different icon when CA is active or not, all you will see is 4G/LTE when connected to LTE or just 4G when connected to HSPA+ (like when I make a call with VoLTE turned off). For non-tmobile, 4G or LTE is when connected to LTE & 4G+ or LTE+ is when you are connected to LTE with CA "active", of course H+ is when connected to HSPA+.

Using Network Cell Info I can see when my CA is active or not at a glance when I want to, the app will show a 4G or 4G+ icon in the notification bar or LTE & LTE+ within the app. App also shows what tower you are connected to based on MLS database & also track connectivity if you are moving. There's so much more than what LTE Discovery provides that I donxt want to list, you'll just have try & see for yourself. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] iunlock:
That is a great app indeed..

To be clear, did you also change out the TMB_keystrings.dat file and replace it with the one from the S8+ or Note 5 ?

Are you speeds 100% good now? Or are there still issues in certain spots?

We're just trying to get more validation on this whole issue being resolved as the discovery for the cure, as great as it is, wasn't really announced with confidence as one would expect...

This is huge... for many international variant users on TMO etc... I guess I just expected screaming from top of the mountains of finding the elixir rather than it being super casual lol.

Is it an absolute 100% GREEN LIGHT to go ahead and get the F or N model Note 8's to use w/ T-Mobile?

The speeds with changing out the .dat file will make the F/N Note 8's ... 1:1 ... to the T-Mobile variant in terms of speeds yes?

Thanks. :highfive:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kamikaze_Ice:
Just cross posting this for relevance to this thread :)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Sn0wR@pt0r:
Bump!

So...finally got my Note 8 (N950N 256GB Deep Blue from SK Telecom) on the way...Yay!...will be here by week's end. :cool:

Will start tinkering with it next week or so...prob try it out on both AT&T and T-Mo here in the states...see which I like best.

Just wanted to check in on this thread again & see what the status was on the CA/speed issue...so I know how to proceed in the coming weeks. :good:

Last I heard, KT was working on some new CSC stuff...but I know it's been holidays & such, so everyone has been busy & what not...no hurry here, just curious. :fingers-crossed:

Figured I'd bump this briefly, for any new updates as we start heading towards Christmas holiday now.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday...Cheers!! :)

Have a great week!

TIA
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
With my T-mobile patch the problem was the N950U tmobile keystrings file. It has been replaced with an S8+ version that works great.

Yes I'm working on a final version that can be applied on top of stock N or F firmware, just busy because I work full time and go to school full time. Finals this week and next week but I'm making some headway.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Sn0wR@pt0r:
Thanks for the update KT, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Understood...I know what it's like to be that busy...lol :cool:

No hurry here, just let us know when you have success with it.

BTW...Good luck on your finals!!! :good:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Negroid:
Hey guys, so I skimmed this thread and to my understanding (according to the Italian part) if I root & flash csc patches or get a rom that does, my tmobile us lte speeds on my n950f will be up to par? I purchased a device & don't want to root until I know for sure. Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kalm_Traveler:
yes. the earlier versions of my T-Mobile CSC patch that a few members are using contained all the files from the N950U T-Mobile Note 8, one of which was later found to be causing crappy LTE performance. I switched that file out with one from an S8+ and that fixed the LTE issue.

Anybody with a 950F who wants to use it on T-Mobile, or anyone with a 950N who wants to flash a 950F-based ROM and use their phone on T-mobile is good to go with the patch in it's current state. I am still ironing out some bugs getting it to enable Wifi Calling properly on N950N ROMs, however (for those of us that don't want to have to flash a custom ROM).
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] tokoam:
Is this the case with all F and N models? I'm on ATT and would love to know if this works for us ?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] Kamikaze_Ice:
I've not had any problems with that yet, but I can't exactly compare speeds to anyone else in town, and AT&T is still giving me crap in general with network speed on any of my phones that were purchased directly from AT&T (2-3 Mbps average down and very rarely reaching a max of 6-7 Mbps. Upload speed is <1 Mbps...) I don't believe there is a problem with these csc files as I would expect something to be different, but with my speed being as low as it is this practically means nothing.

I did find some cscfeature .xml files that were NOT encrypted in N950U1 (AT&T) firmware (SEE POST HERE), but I've not had time to compare them with no free time between work emergencies (so much overtime...), holidays and trying to get gifts for friends and family AND preparing for New Years party.

When I do have time I plan to compare the files from the N950U1 to the files used in Tkkg1994's CSC Selection tool for the S8/S8+, and the comparison will be like what I did HERE for the TMB files in that AT&T firmware.

Tkkg1994 has started one for the Note 8 HERE but this does not include AT&T yet.

Dr. Ketan has some flashable CSC files, including AT&T, but I recall someone mentioning that these were from another Samsung device (Older Note models or S8/S8+ files, I forget and didn't compare them either), so this is another option that may or may not work.

Make some backups of everything and try em out so you can restore if things don't improve or somehow breaks something.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] tokoam:
Patiently waiting for you to look all this up and give me 200mbs up and down lol I would tinker with these files but I don't really know enough thanks for your help tho if there's anything you want me to test out I'm here ready to go !
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] shadym1lkman:
Is there another thread or an update on this?