[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S8+ Questions & Answers] spamlewin:
Hello! Figured I would ask here since all my searching only seems to get me bits and pieces of an answer.

Before we start: I have an unrooted S8+ on VZW (hence why I'm posting here). I got it running Nougat about a year ago. When 8.0 was leaked on the S8+ subreddit, I downloaded and flashed using sideload. Not the first time I've done it, everything went well during the install.

Flash forward a few weeks. My phone begins to randomly lock up and restart, oftentimes several restarts consecutively. I figure it must be something wrong with the download. Something must have been incomplete. I uninstall apps, try and troubleshoot in safe mode, everything.

So I hear about Odin, and I am told to download it and flash new firmware to my phone as a means of fixing it. I download the newest version I could find (3.13.1), and the newest version of the USB drivers from Samsung (ver1.5.65.0), straight from Samsung's website. I figured if I flash Oreo again, I might be able to fix the solution. Having experienced the frustration for a month plus, I read up on how to use it.

I downloaded my firmware from SamMobile. I selected the 8.0 build from the VZW section. I compare the builds. I was running CR1. The build number on their site was CRB9 (taking a wild guess and assuming the B stands for beta). I download and flash using the new version of Odin. I made sure the right files were selected for each slot (BL matches BL, AP matches AP, etc.). I selected the CSC file (not the HOME_CSC, although I did go back and try with the HOME_CSC as well). I added in the USERDATA. I made the right options are checked in the options tab. I hit start and let it sit, keeping an eye on it. It goes through everything. I see a green "pass" at the end, so I figure I'm good to go. It reboots into recovery, I wipe system cache and do a factory reset (already backed up all my data). I go to reboot, and now my phone is stuck on the "Samsung Galaxy S8+, Powered by Android" screen. It stays there for a second or two, then bootloops to the same screen.

So this morning I find out about an alternate site called "Updato". I hear people recommend it so I went there. I filtered my results to VZW, USA. I download the most recent version of Nougat. It flashes no problem and boots up. I go through the setup and all of a sudden I'm greeted by the TMobile app and not much else (stock apps were present). There's no bloatware either. My system settings had several new and redundant options (a few different system/software update menus for example). I immediately come to the conclusion it's not what I should have. I went through and tried flashing the 8.0 firmware with a slightly older (and theoretically more stable version of Odin (v 3.12.10.1). It has failed in the same fashion, so I'm currently stuck in the bootloop I mentioned earlier.

I can still access the download screen, and the information it lists in the top left corner matches what I had initially if memory serves (I can provide it if required). My question here is what do I do now? Can someone point me to an official 7.0 release for VZW that I can use to get the 8.0 update OTA? Should I switch back to the newest version of Odin or is there a different version I should try? Any help is greatly appreciated! :)

Edit: I can also access the recovery screen. I am unable to access the safeboot selection screen. Don't know if it helps!