yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
I also work in the IT field and cheap asz companies that buy software once and think that they will be ok for the next 25 years without the need of upgrading or changing their vision and thus their lack of foresight of understanding the possible threats and bad business of waiting till they are forced to change are shooting themselves in the foot. let's not forget that the threat is the users and new windows builds often strengthen the platform. often they also outsource their IT work and as a client, they expect to have the cheapest and less downtime options regardless of how it can hurt them down the road. And as an entrepreneur, you want their business even if its bas business practices what they want to do. That dosen't mean living in the stone age is right. that being said, im not telling you that jumping ship on the first revision of an OS is what should be done. Windows 10 has ben out for quite a while now and what ever issue that are present would be with ancient software that a client has. if one dosen't test and blindly jumps ship without testing then good riddance( any junior IT worker knows this), this will serve them as lesson that will be valuable all their lives.( but let's face it, its much easier to blame the OS than to realise that like with any upgrade process there are some things to take into account and these things are surmountable. ignorance is not an excuse. if a lab was made and the software and hardware tested years and years ago when windows 10 was released, probably these kinks would have been resolved by now...).

as to the arguments that PIE destroys functionalities that people rely on :

aesthetics ?

the love of vulnerability?

phone calls and messages are still working. exchange and other enterprise account sign-ins are still working. i mean apart from communications i wonder what other "business" people might be doing that is defined as critical for their business on their phone. If the company's devices are enrolled and managed, these devices will not magically get updated trust me. and again as explained above, things should be tested beforehand before upgrading.

computer OSs like windows(example at hand) have a much longer life cycle and security updates and fixes are distributed longer after a new OS is released. which is not true with android because once a new OS is released, it's considered as the natural continuation of the OS and is made to be upgraded as if it were a security patch. this allows them to drop old android versions and concentrate their resources on new builds. As you might have also noticed, the OS upgrade pace between a computer OS like windows versus Android is very different, especialy when one is a paied OS and the other free.

but this is all said as a responce to a supposed enterprise/company environment.( which by following IT best practices should not be an issue)

my original comment was directed to the general public as this is by far what xda and people coming here to post are:

just users playing with their devices and up to no good...lol
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] gruuvin:
Pie is good.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] pizza_pablo:
You can eat it all.

I'm good.

:cool:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] Exynosthrowaway:
how can i get rid of the orange mark/notification in the settings menu at software update?

i've already disabled com.wssyncmldm which makes it so that i don't get the notification/prompt on home screen to update anymore, but i also want to get rid of that orange mark/spot in the settings so that it looks clean

anyone knows?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
Maybe if you download what you need, and then go inside of a Faraday cage when you reset it?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
or just dont have a sim card inserted and dont connect to wifi...
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
I like your idea better. I may need to do this too...provided resetting gets rid of the downloaded update. You have to go at least 2 deep on Faraday cages and 3 always works.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
exactly
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
Thanks for taking your valuable time to pass along your experience. After reading the things you tried and I tried that didn't work, I have low expectations that what I have tried for the third day will block Pie. The problem with your solution for me is the Verizon Oreo 8.1 2019-12-01 has no blue icon, only the green one. Moreover, when I use ADB it returns:

crownqltesq:/ $ pm disable-user --user 0 com.wssyncmldm
Error: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unknown package: com.wssyncmldm
1|crownqltesq:/ $

I flashed the 2018-12-01 build from Verizon. Perhaps I need an earlier build, or not Verizon build at all. I'm running an SM-N960U and it sounds like you are running the SM-N960U1.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
[MENTION=3615255]IT_Architect[/MENTION]

did You try flashing a modem file only (cp.md5) of the firmware before or after(pie) the one you currently are on? the update system should see that the firmware that its trying to update has a missmatch on a component and not ask you to update anymore.( this is the theory) so to be on the safe side flash the modem from the month before. technically flashing a newer modem might work (still have cell reception, or have none which in that case can simply flash back to original or prior one as suggested) and might even give better performance if pie modem works. this was discussed a while back and would be the simplest way to block the update.( the bootlaoder BL.md5 is the one that cannot be reverted if revision is incremented)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
- I started on 8.1 2018-12-01 build.

- When it wanted to update, I flashed the 8.1 Verizon files again from 2018-12-01, and later the Pie cp only 2019-06-07, which is their latest Pie, which might have worked for Joomal

- Next time I flashed the 8.1 and 9.0 cp at the same time, but it was waiting for me this morning.

- Currently, as of this morning, I'm on a clean 8.1 build 2018-12-01. I edited the green icon, and further down there are two icons called system updated and I denied them everything I could, set notification priority to low, and turned off System Updates in Developer options, and probably more that I don't remember. As of this afternoon, it is waiting for me with a low priority notification, but it might ambush me without my permission later.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
have you tried an 8.1 modem from the update just before then?

also i wonder if changing the csc version to an older one as well would change anything.

but one question though, when you flash do you wipe data completely each time just to be sure?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
E.G. you are asking for an 8.1 2018-12-01 flash with a cp from and 8.1 2018-10-24 build? No. However I do have all of the builds back to the first on on 2018-08-02 to try any combination of all of the Oreo and Pie builds that were made for the Verizon Note 9.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
id try older modem and older csc.md5 from october while you are at it. hell even put old BL too if its same rev.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
actually mobile device management is the platform used to manage the device in enterprise environments. kind of like joining a computer on a domain and pushing policies to it. i know for a fact that you can manage system updates that way. so disabling it in the fone wouldint have an impact on its a ability to regularly do updates.

but technically the proper way to manage the device and blocking android updates would actualy be to use mdm to do it.

a couple of years ago where i worked i used novells(now microfocus) zenworks. apart from managing computer, it was able to manage android phones by activating knox and allow you to control the devices polices. there are other platforms that use mdm other than zenworks. if having multiple phones to eventualy manage and block uodates on and also deploy contacts, apps and such, it would even be a great tool to use.

[MENTION=3106399]it_[/MENTION]architech ,a couple months back i had even talked to you about mdm when you initiall inquired about the note 9 and wanted to stay on oreo. i belive i had linked to the white paper.

edit:

might be worth a shot if it works

( has 2 nice trials, local or cloud based)

http://tiny.cc/s5adaz

https://www.manageengine.com/mobile...pdate_management/mdm_automate_os_updates.html

interesting read regarding update managment....

schedule the update for 10 years from now.

all in all this would be the golden way of professionally going about all of this. especially for multiples devices as i can understand would probably be the case for you.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
It only takes me minutes to try things, but jd14771 has something interesting to try, so I'll give that a shot first. I'll pull the SIM before I do it so I don't get any "help" during install, although I always get this "updating" message during install. I don't know if that is significant. It takes a little while to determine if it's going to ambush me with an update.

If I do get ambushed I may start with the oldest update, and see if it has the blue icon, but I'm guessing I won't see blue not based on jd14771's comments. Other options I suppose are firmware from non-Verizon firmware where there is a known way of blocking it.

A question you asked was do I have VoLTE/HD voice. As near as I can tell, yes. It was already on in Setup/Connections. The Wi-Fi calling required a setup because it wants to know your address for 911 purposes and to prefer Wi-Fi or cellular with the Verizon software. It doesn't have the pull-down that shows if VoLTE is active. Anyway, my guess is my best shot is still to try to get it to work with Verizon's firmware first.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
Interesting! I've been CIO for two large corporations before starting this business. Then eDIRECTORY has meaning to you. Microsoft's entire network and security architecture is built upside down. One day a guy said to me after seeing what boardrooms were like, "I have no idea why you do what you do. Even if I could do what you do I would never do what you do." He got me to thinking. This isn't fun. So, I started this business where my customers are my friends. However, it also took me out of the enterprise space. I appreciate your ideas. I'm sure I could do what you suggested and will see if it makes sense.

For a long time, my heart has been with Colombian orphan kids, not my business. I'm a bit torn in the middle at the moment and not doing what I should be doing on either front. The weakness of technical people is the love to solve problems, and they want the perfect solution.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] bober10113:
yeah i worked with edirectory for almost 7 years. i was the deployment and imaging "specialist" at my last position.

about the philosophy of support and helping ,

i like this saying:

"Oftentimes in life there are problems, and just as often their are solutions."

-rabbi glickman from Seinfeld

as you can see I'm a big seinfeld fan...lol
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] JohnNadeau:
You're welcome. Yes, you're right, my model is the SM-960U1.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
This is the results:

crownqltesq:/ $ pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sec.android.soagent
Success
crownqltesq:/ $ pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.samsung.android.app
Failure [not installed for 0]
crownqltesq:/ $ pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.wsomacp
Success
crownqltesq:/ $

It started downloading the update even before I had Wi-Fi setup. While it was downloading I did a factory reset and pulled the SIM. I set things up in Developer Options, turned off Auto update system, in Notifications I turned off the notification badge and cleared data, in Apps/Show System Apps I cleared the data, in System updates #1 I turned off notifications and cleared storage but forgot to turn off Modify system settings this time, #2 I cleared the storage but forgot to turn off notifications this time, and then I followed your instructions here:

I did not re-run the first two commands. Wi-Fi and the SIM are both back in now and I have shut down and restarted the phone.

It took quite a while this time and the prompt is different. It says, System Update Ready to Install. However, when I expand it, it just say tap to install instead of the big flowery icon. If I expand it, I'm trapped. It wants to know when and that I can defer installation 9 more times after this. To get out without a hassle of google verification I agreed, then shut down, removed the SIM, and reflashed.

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
I know it doesn't word-wrap, but I screwed up. It uninstalled fine this time.

I didn't run pm install-existing com.policydm this time and did the Update now and it returned that it was already up to date.

So far, I do not see it trying to download Pie. Several times it has happened in minutes, and almost always in less than 2 hours, and it is already more than that. It could be the times it ambushed me in the mornings is simply because I didn't notice it in the notifications earlier. I feel more positive about it this time. This will be wonderful if it holds.

Other:

- In Developer options I turned of Auto Update. (I know, it doesn't stop Pie)

- I turned of auto-updates from Play Store and notifications. I may add back notifications just to see what it comes up with and then turn things off again. Updates is what ambushed us and historically many reviews at the play store of apps that used to work better, so I believe doing updates from the play store requires some due dilligence.

- I learned that no update occurs unless the SIM is installed, so when it wanted to verify me, I used Wi-Fi.

- The last several times it has made me log into Google through Wi-Fi because it says something about it not being shut down right or something. It didn't always do that. I must be doing something different.

- I did try the first Oreo for the phone to see if the blue icon would be there. It's not, and the latest flash is better than the original 2018-08-02 build for the Verizon Note 9.

- For non-root backups I've been using Helium because, even though it isn't straightforward, it can restore single apps and data, or just data and pull the app from the play store. I don't know if there is anything better out there that can backup locally like that. It seems like SmartSwitch is easier but lacks the same granular capabilities.

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
1.

It updated many things and when it was finished, it showed the call recording app should be updated. My guess is it will stop us from exporting call logs as well. I reflashed and ran all 4 commands, which means including disabling security policy updates. The call recording worked.

2. VoLTE and Video Calling work.

3. This morning I woke up to the Pie prompt that rendered my phone unusable until I picked a time to update. I will flash the earliest version or Oreo and perform the same steps.

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
Early this morning I did a clean flash to the earliest version of Oreo that came on the Note 9 SM-N960U for Verizon, performed all 4 commands in ADB, and turned off Auto Update on the phone and in the Play Store. I also cut off all of the updates it was forcing from the Play Store although some happened before I had a chance to stop them. The only notification and prompt I have received since is to update to the latest time zone data, which I did not approve. However, I had to answer when to update to Pie before I did the clean flash. If I get a prompt then, which is in less than 2 hours away, we will have learned something. In retrospect, I wish I had set the time earlier. If it doesn't pop up, we'll see where things are in the morning. It has never made it through the night without block access to the phone with a Pie prompt where the only options are to apply or defer.

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
- Next it is 24 hours later since it forced me to do the last update, and it is forcing me again. Again, it does not say Pie. It updated the phone to the next newest build, the 2018-10-12 build.

- Next wanted to do another update. This time it results in the 2018-10-24 build. What a surprise. :rolleyes:

- Next it wanted to do another update.

- I decided to flash back to square one only this time preserving data by using flashing HOME_CSC_* instead of CSC_*. That doesn't work. I had to select Factory Restore before it would boot back to the Oreo I selected to restore.

It appears more and more as if my options are:

a. Flash my Note 9 SM-N960U to SM-N960U1 and follow the procedures outlined on the first post of this thread.

b. Sell it and get a Note 9 SM-N9600 and I'd get root and flash whatever I want, and with root I can get a real image backup of the phone to restore from.the better.

c. Use carriers as wireless ISPs and move everything to VOIP.

...and a HUGE thank you for all of your help in attempting to defeat this problem. I would have never known how to attempt the things you recommended.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] pizza_pablo:
I have been preventing the PIE update with Package Disabler Pro, purchased directly from the Dev's web site, but it recently failed to open, with a "Failed to validate license key" error.

I decided to switch to prevention using the ADB commands, but cannot find or disable the wssyncmldm app.

Please review my post, for more details, here

https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=80450455&postcount=22
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
That's because wssyncmldm is only available with US UNLOCKED firmware, not carrier firmware.

Switching to US UNLOCKED changes your phone from a U to a U1. (which is reversible) US UNLOCKED is standards-based firmware so certain services do not work if the carrier's network uses outdated legacy 2G and 3G methods of deployment. AT&T is the most decrepit and has a lot of old non-4G network infrastructure, T-Mobile is perfect but has less coverage, the best for international roaming, but can cause a problem with their US-based roaming, and Verizon has far and away the widest 4G and standards-based coverage due in part because they are being forced to shut down CDMA by the end of the year, which is their 2G and 3G, but they still have proprietary implementations of VoWiFi and ViLTE. If you are talking about coverage using current technology, the closest competitors are huddled close to each other 25%-30% behind.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] pizza_pablo:
Great info! Thanks!

Attached is a screenshot, showing the three apps disabled with ADB.

Do you know if I'm covered, to prevent OTA updates, in order to stay on Oreo, or is there another app that needs to be disabled?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
You are showing the green Software update, but not the blue Software update. That means you are running carrier firmware. With US UNLOCKED there is also a blue Software update icon, which is wssyncmldm. After disabling wssyncmldm in ADB, it displays text to the right of the blue Software update icon that reads disabled. I've never been successful blocking updates without disabling wssyncmldm. The only place I've found access to disable it is in the US UNLOCKED firmware.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] pizza_pablo:
I reckon time will tell. Thanks for your help!

Do you think one of the disable system updates without an icon could be the right one?

Screenshots attached.

I guess If this doesn't work, I could resort to flashing the US Unlocked firmware and then disabling the proper apps. I think I would only lose Verizon wifi calling, which I don't use often.

What do you think of the notion, recommended by only one member that I've seen, to install a different modem, in order to prevent a System update?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
Time is what it will take. All I know is I have not been successful if I was unable to disable wssyncmldm in ADB, and I don't know of anyone on xda that has. It would be nice if you could.

How much of a problem it is, depends on the carrier. I'm with Verizon so that means currently no ViLTE and no VoWiFi. ViLTE is a non-issue since it is all but unusable due very little support for it, and apps such as Signal and WhatsApp have become defacto standards work on any device and network and are secure. VoWiFi is useful, but I do not use it. I don't remember the last time I didn't have service with Verizon. Last week I was far out in the sticks and had 1 bar that looked like a period. Everything worked fine except browsing was slow. For large buildings, if they have a cell phone booster, it is for Verizon, and if they have an employee cellular benefit program, it is Verizon. With the US UNLOCKED you don't get any of the carrier software, you get Samsung software instead. The biggest negative for me from that has been no visual voicemail app that shows the number of new voicemails. New voicemails only show up in notifications and the tiny symbols on the top-left of the screen. However, US carrier apps don't work when you swap SIMs while traveling, so forcing standards-based firmware and non-carrier specific software is a good thing in my case.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] pizza_pablo:
What is ViLTE? I have received and sent VoLTE calls with unlocked Moto Z2 Play, Pixel XL and Pixel 2 XL.

Here's what I have done to solve the loss of Verizon's Visual Voicemail app.

Google Voice app for voicemail and visual voicemail. You get a Google phone number and connect it with your cell phone number. It's free and crosses to new phones, keeping your history. I've used it across 5 phones.

I don't miss Verizon's VVM at all, though I don't know if Google Voice will provide the number of new voicemails. I'm sure you could add a count to the icon with Nova or similar.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers] IT_Architect:
ViLTE is video over LTE. VoLTE is a Verizon requirement and you haven't been able to activate other than an LTE-A phone on their network since April 2019 because of that. LTE is the wireless equivalent of Internet's IP. It is a data network. There can be no voice. The two standard methods of digitizing voice are VOIP with IP packets and VoLTE using LTE packets. LTE-A is the first real LTE because it was the first to include VoLTE and real 4G speeds and protocols. Prior to that, you had to use other technologies to do voice. Verizon's 3G is CDMA, which the FCC is forcing them off by the end of the year, and everyone else off by the end of 2020. There is only a certain range of frequencies suitable for cellular communications and CDMA phones are locked by license by Qualcomm to the carrier. This makes CDMA the most onerous of the earlier technologies to clear. CDMA was vastly superior to GSM, which is why every advanced country in the world deployed it. Europe legislated against it because Qualcomm owned the technology. However, later, GSM implemented cdma making it at least usable as a competitor. Then Sprint took over Clearwire, the new 4G, causing Verizon to bolt for LTE, even while it was only on the drawing board and Clearwire was already real. The iPhone was growing Cingular/AT&T and with Verizon, the critical mass worldwide shifted to LTE as did Sprint, and that is how LTE became the 4G.

I do have a Google voice number. I'll have to see if it makes sense. My end game is VOIP if I can find a vendor that makes sense. I want call recording in both directions. RingCentral is not cost effective. You pay more to them than you your entire cellular service and they don't have any network to support. CallHippo would work in theory, but they have very poor support and no real contact list. Google voice doesn't have usable call recording.