[Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Guides, News, & Discu] denson9874:
Hello,

First, let me preface this by saying that this is not for those who are already technically capable of flashing U firmware from U1 firmware. This will serve as a tutorial for those who are not sure how to go about doing so. This could at least be a means to access U One UI 3.0 firmware, as it will be posted here for for faster download and bypassing decryption process. I've already done that for you.

So I have a N986U(VZW) and wanted to get an early look at Android 11 One UI 3.0. So, I went through the process of flashing U1 firmware, enrolled in Beta Program, and OTA'd up to latest beta (beta 3). Then, I see that carrier locked devices (to date, ATT, TMB, SPR, VZW) have begun receiving the official One UI 3.0 firmware OTA. Now don't get me wrong, I love U1 firmware, no carrier bloat, more features, typically, than what carrier branded have, among so many others. Alas, carrier branded firmware is generally more safe for me.

So, if you are like me, I wanted to have a means to be able to convert back to U firmware, while still remaining on One UI 3.0. Many of us already know how to go about doing so, but some may not, so I figured I'll outline the steps to go from U1 One UI 3.0 to U Carrier Branded One UI 3.0. I've provided links to the firmware and Odin for easy access and I'm always around, in case any of you have questions or have issues with any links.

Now, we have to have the essentials:

1. Odin(3.14.1_3B Patched is what I used)

2. Frija, or at the very least the firmware to convert over to

4. An archive extractor (Winzip, Winrar, 7zip, etc.) I'll explain why we don't want to use Windows Archive Tool in this explanation.

3. Some form of technical aptitude to be able to download and flash firmware using a tool

After you've gathered all of these, we need to ensure that no fingerprints or other forms of security are on the device. The reason we do this is the avoid any FRP (factory reset protection) issues after flashing. The way we do this is by disabling fingerprint unlock from settings. Change your unlock preferences to Swipe No Security. Do not forget to do this, because if you do, you will need to have an internet connection to the device during initial setup to authenticate your google account.

1.Once you've done this, you want to power down your device. For those who have enabled side button power menu, this is pretty self explanatory. Those who haven't, swiping down from your notification tray will reveal your power button. You know what to do from there.

2.Next, you want to press and hold Vol+, Vol-, and plug a USB-C cable into your device and subsequently into an available USB-A port on your PC. Allow Windows a moment to setup your device if your haven't plugged your device into your PC while in Download Mode before. You should see your device boot into Download Mode, and you will be presented with a Vol+ and Vol- and Power option. You will need to press Vol+ to continue into Download Mode.

3.Then, you will need to open Odin. When you do so, you should see a blue bar indicating that your device is recognized (represented by COM). If you don't see this within Odin, try re-inserting your USB cable into your PC, either into another USB port or changing your USB cable for another.

4.Once you are successfully able to see the blue COM indicator in Odin, you are to choose the applicable partitions (BL, AP, CP, and CSC). These will be archived in the firmware downloaded by Frija or link I provided. Each partition is labeled by it appropriate partition. Clicking each label in Odin will direct you to Windows Explorer, where you can browse for the directory where the downloaded files are locally stored.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A ATT, TMB, OR SPR, DO NOT CHOOSE A USERDATA PARTITION. THIS IS POINTLESS TO FLASH, AND IT WILL SERVE NO BENEFIT IN THE USE OF THE DEVICE AFTER SETUP.

5.In Odin, you will see three tabs under the COM blue bar, named Log, Options, and PIT. I want to direct your attention to the tab labeled PIT. You will need to apply a PIT file in this tab. This file is located in the CSC partition. I have uploaded this file as well. But, if you want to learn how to extract it from the CSC partition, use the aforementioned Archive Extractors to open the CSC partition, and it should be the second in the list of files. Right click this file and select Extract to... From there, you are able to choose the folder you would like to extract to.

The reason you want to use the extractors I mentioned rather than Windows embedded extractor is due to Windows not being able to handle .md5 or .tar files. You will get an error if you attempt to open these types of files with Windows Extractor.

6. Once you've chosen all the partitions in Odin, you will click Start. It may take some time to complete the flashing process, so be patient. Once it completes, you will see Success in the field above COM, and the COM field will change from blue to green. If it doesn't change to green, and instead changes to red, be sure to let it be known to the thread, so that I can assist in the best way I can.

7. At this time, your device may reboot to recovery. This is fine, it just means that you will need to factory reset. Use Vol- to select Factory Reset. Select the option using the Power button. Upon successfully doing so, your device will reset to the setup screen.

8.Your device will be an Out-of-Box state upon reboot. Setup the device as normal.

9.All done! You are now on U firmware One UI 3.0! Congratulations!

I understand that this is a very lengthy explanation and that some, if not all, of this will be redundant to some users. That is okay. Not all of the users on XDA are educated on how to flash firmware on Samsung devices. I hope that after following this guide, that may soon change.

Below are all the files needed in order to flash what is needed in this guide. If you have any issues with downloading them, let me know. I'll be happy to re-upload them on another file sharing client for you.

Update: I've also uploaded the CTL4 firmware for U1 for those who want the updated unlocked firmware, in case you want to switch back to U1.

Odin:

Odin 3.14.1_3B

Frija:

Frija 1.4.3

N986U One UI 3.0:

N986USQU1CTL2

N986U1 One UI 3.0:

N986U1UEU1CTL4

PIT File for Repartitioning:

PIT C2Q_USA_SINGLE.pit