[Samsung Galaxy Tab S8] Vexarana:
SUMMARY - Found a way to get OTA firmware updates on a carrier-neglected Galaxy Tab S8+ 5G by changing the CSC.

Greetings all. It has been many, many years since I have been on XDA Forums and I was excited when I found this section for the Galaxy Tab S8.

For background, I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ 5G version from Amazon in July of 2023. It arrived brand new, sealed with factory protection, in the box. I use Google Fi for my cellular service, and there is no option to purchase a Tab S8+ from Google Fi with 5G enabled, but I got such a good deal on the tablet that it was cheaper than the WiFi version.

After a few months, I ordered a data-only SIM from Google Fi, threw it in, and it worked perfectly. Bonus connectivity!

Alas, when the OneUI 6.0 update started rolling out in December 2023 and January 2024, I kept checking for updates but no dice. As it turns out, I had gotten such a good deal on the tablet because it was a DISH NETWORK 5G version, and I am guessing the seller got some sort of crazy deal on it but didn't actually want the device so they just sold it. Oh well, some carriers are slower, I will just wait.

Well, here we are at the end of April and as far as I can tell, all the major carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) have pushed their updates out for OneUI 6.0 and I was still unable to get the new firmware.

I did find a few Reddit posts talking about the actual 5G bands differing somewhat between models, but ultimately it seems like the major difference is carrier branding. I was able to find a few people who did CSC changes on their Tab S7 series with success, so I went researching and found the following article:

https://technastic.com/change-csc-samsung-devices/

The MAIN CSC for my device is ONY which (from another TechNastic article) I was able to find has the following sub-CSC's available:

OYN (Multi-CSC) ➡ United States of America (ATT, VZW, TMB, USC, XAA)

Using SamFW Tool, it actually says that the following codes are valid, so you can see that my DSH one actually does exist:

ASR | DSA | DSG | DSH | TMB | TMK | XAU | ATT | CHA | GCF | USC | VZW | XAA

At first I tried the XAA code (which is supposed to be unlocked) but when I checked for firmware updates, it said there was nothing available.

Then I found someone who mentioned that the VZW and ATT CSC's lock some device features, but the TMB and USC CSC did not limit. This is a change only on the device, with no "flashing" required, Samsung has the carrier settings baked into all the firmware already.

Since Google Fi at my house primarily connects to T-Mobile towers, I changed the CSC to TMB, rebooted, and have since been plowing through over a year of firmware updates that the Dish Network CSC never had pushed out. I believe my last security update was from February of 2023 (so 5 months before I even bought the device) and so I am slowly working my way towards OneUI 6.0 on my Dish Network (but ultimately unlocked) Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ 5G.

I will report back as soon as the updates stop and I will re-test my Google Fi 5G connectivity. The only difference I have noticed yet is that it has a T-Mobile splash screen when the device boots. Big whoop, I don't turn it off and on like my Windows PC so that has no effect on me. If I run into any issues where it is asking for an unlock code, I will report back. However, I think my game-plan is that if the device thinks it is a locked T-Mobile tablet I will just change the CSC back to DSH or USC, since it won't downgrade the firmware installed.

I am not sure how many people are in my same situation, but I hope this can help at least a few folks!

UPDATE: I am all the way through OneUI 6.0 as well as the 1 March 2024 security update. CSC change did create the T-Mobile app on my home screen but that was easy enough to remove. Google Fi app shows my account correctly. Mobile carrier shows Google Fi, and like I said before I am connected to the T-Mobile tower and getting decent 5G speeds.