Flashing Official Firmware -- Version Confusion - Sony Xperia XZ Questions & Answers

I briefly had a US version of the XZ and flashed it with the UK firmware without giving this much thought. When my SG dual-sim showed up, I thought I'd flash it before setting it up, and noticed that there seems to be some inconsistency between versions.
At the moment, 39.0.A.1.250/R4B is the generic SG version, but I see that China is up to R9B and India is at R11B. So, it got me wondering what the designation meant, and if there's any reason for / against flashing an Indian ROM (for example).

I think the R stands for region. I freely changed between them personally. I think the differences are very minor. I know the kernels are the same. There might be different preinstalled languages.

Languages and bloatware differs. As I remember from Arc S times Indian version had less bloatware then Western ones.

Hmm... Hadn't considered they were region codes.
I may give the Indian one a shot. I was hoping for a possible modem update for signal improvement, but looks like that's not in the cards. Maybe it'll fix the strange behavior when adding a contact from recent calls on the Singapore firmware it shipped with.

Related

Does anyone know where I can get a SM-P905 (international version, NOT Verizon)?

I did some hunting on the web yesterday and I couldn't find anywhere to buy a SM-P905 tablet - the international version, not the Verizon version. I found one on eBay, but I was outbid. I even tried eBay.UK and eBay.ca, but no luck. It seems like you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Verizon tablet, but the international versions are like hen's teeth.
I prefer manufacturer refurbished or used, due to price. Anyone know where I can find one?
Tom2112 said:
I did some hunting on the web yesterday and I couldn't find anywhere to buy a SM-P905 tablet - the international version, not the Verizon version. I found one on eBay, but I was outbid. I even tried eBay.UK and eBay.ca, but no luck. It seems like you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Verizon tablet, but the international versions are like hen's teeth.
I prefer manufacturer refurbished or used, due to price. Anyone know where I can find one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Note Pro LTE version are the same, the only difference is software, their hardware is the same. I open the P907A from AT&T and P905V from Verizon, they look exactly the same inside. Other Note Pro P900 also is the same, the only difference is software customized for certain region, like UK version has more languages than US version, they are the same tablet. If I flashed firmware of UK to an US tablet, it will become an UK tablet. I used to flash Korean firmware to an US tablet when its firmware had some issue with bluetooth keyboard.
If you want your tablet has your native language, then just flash the firmware which has that language.
If you want to use different carriers, buy an unlocked one, I have unlocked Verizon which I can use with other carriers such as TMobile, AT&T, or Cricket.
Interesting Beut . . but are the carrier branded versions of the 905 sporting an unlocked bootloader such that custom recovery and custom ROMs can be flashed?
I would venture to guess that this is what the OP is looking for and why they specifically want the international version rather than a US carrier branded one.
Honest question - I have no idea if the bootloaders are still locked, I do recall discussion about the 905V having a locked bootloader at one time though.
Muzzy, you are correct. The fundamental difference between the Verizon P905 and the International carrier versions is the locked bootloader. Verizon has Samsung lock the bootloader. International carriers do not.
I understand what Beut is saying, and yes, the hardware is the same. But that doesn't matter when the software is locked down.
I am also looking for an international P905, I would be very thankful for any tips where to find it in Europe!

I'm trying to install Android 8.0 on my S7, but I am slightly confused...

I finally made the decision to put my hands on my S7, like I did with my old S4, and install a new version of Android. I want to Install the stock version of Oreo from Samsung. But here I encounter one rather big problem that bothers me a lot...
My phone is from Russia, but I bought it in Romania. Everything including my SIM works well. I want to install the Romanian version of Oreo, but the PDA and CSC are different. I thought about this for a while and I said to myself: If my Romanian SIM works fine like it is now, why wouldn't it work on a Romanian firmware?
I just wanted to be sure though. Thanks in advance!
It's the same hardware and mostly the same firmware used internationally, so it shouldn't make much of a difference, and shouldn't be any technical issues.
However flashing your countries firmware, specifically your carriers version, will open up support for things like VoLTE

EU model in the UK - software updates

I'm based in the UK and looking to get the Note 9. Prices in the UK are quite high so weighing up whether to go for an EU model from eBay, Tobydeals etc.
Only thing holding me back now is whether getting an EU model will delay getting software updates or cause problems when they do update.
Software updates already take longer than I prefer so don't want to end up with something that just never moves to a newer version of Android.
Anyone have any prior experience with this sort of thing?
Thanks

Question USA Customization on xperifirm

Hi,
I'm trying to get my Xperia 5iii vowifi working on Freedom mobile in Canada.
I want to test if they USA customization would work.
It might not, I see my XA2 H3123 had a customization for Freedom, which I know won't exist on anything newer.
I can see in xperifirm a usa customization for the 1iii with firmware 61.0.A.23.20
For the 5iii there is no USA customization but has the same firmware number.
Is there a usa customiztion on the way? Or can I download the firmware for the 1iii
It seems the phone is not out in the US yet. That’s what I’m waiting for to pick one up. I’ve seen pre-orders at US retailers saying Jan 11 is the date they will ship. So, you might find the firmware in a few weeks. I wouldn’t recommend trying to load the 1 III firmware.
Hi @Yakkosmurf ,
Thanks for the reply!
I'm really torn between trying to get this to work, and selling the device before messing around with it.
I think I'm going to give the MBN method a try
Any updates on this?
Several news articles say the 5 iii is out in USA now, but I cannot find any stores shipping or carrying it in north america (Canada)
I do find shippers selling what they call the "international version", apparently versions from Taiwan or Hong Kong.
If it turns out the "international" 5 iii is the same as the USA 5 iii and can just be reflashed to USA (I did this once with an older xperia) now the USA 5 iiithen that starts to look like a possibility…
Confusing me further the "international" XPeria 5 III is model number XQ-BQ72 and the USA model number is XQ-BQ62. No idea if there's an actual difference.
Hi @mcc111 ,
I'll tell you what's happened with mine. I bought the XQ-BQ72 and it does work on the networks here, but you can't get any of the added services like VoLTE or VoWifi (this one was important for my uses).
I tried flashing most of the roms from XQ-BQ72, but it seems the problem is there needs to be a configuration file in the modem, which basically won't exist if they haven't launched in the country (none for Canada).
I then tried flashing XQ-BQ52 which seems to be the European model, but that was even worse. The signal would connect and disconnect repeatedly, so there might be some hardware difference keeping it from playing nicely. Or, the 52 just has modem settings that don't work here. But I am not experienced enough to know which.
Because of that, I doubt flashing the 62 is a good idea. I haven't tried because I gave the phone to my wife who doesn't need the extra network features, and it'll be a headache to take back to screw around with more.
I bet since the 62 has been launched, it'll be available online eventually.
mavicanuck said:
Hi @mcc111 ,
I'll tell you what's happened with mine. I bought the XQ-BQ72 and it does work on the networks here, but you can't get any of the added services like VoLTE or VoWifi (this one was important for my uses).
I tried flashing most of the roms from XQ-BQ72, but it seems the problem is there needs to be a configuration file in the modem, which basically won't exist if they haven't launched in the country (none for Canada).
I then tried flashing XQ-BQ52 which seems to be the European model, but that was even worse. The signal would connect and disconnect repeatedly, so there might be some hardware difference keeping it from playing nicely. Or, the 52 just has modem settings that don't work here. But I am not experienced enough to know which.
Because of that, I doubt flashing the 62 is a good idea. I haven't tried because I gave the phone to my wife who doesn't need the extra network features, and it'll be a headache to take back to screw around with more.
I bet since the 62 has been launched, it'll be available online eventually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you discribe who you got to flash the os? I tried flahstool but it didn't recognize my 5iii, then I tried newsflasher and got stuck in a boot loop. Saw a couple people in the newflasher thread getting bootloops as well.
Do you mind share your process?
There is a solution reported as working for both Xperia 1 III & Xperia 5 III posted here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/5ii-1-5iii-volte-patch-guide-to-release-the-root.4363269/
So, can anyone confirm that they were able to Flash a Xperia 5 III US Rom with 5G working, VolLTE and Volwifi working?
teostar said:
Can you discribe who you got to flash the os? I tried flahstool but it didn't recognize my 5iii, then I tried newsflasher and got stuck in a boot loop. Saw a couple people in the newflasher thread getting bootloops as well.
Do you mind share your process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used new flasher.
Newflasher guide to install new firmware for Xperia XZ Premium, XZ1 and more | Xperia Blog
One of the most frequent questions we get asked from Sony Xperia owners is how to change the firmware. Whether that relates to upgrading/downgrading major Android versions, debranding the handset or simply changing the firmware region for faster updates. Using
www.xperiablog.net
This was a few months ago. My flashing to other firmwares for the same model worked fine, but none had the modem configurations to work with freedom. If I flashed the other model, my cellular connection wouldn't work properly.
I haven't tried the USA version, and can't as I gave the phone to my wife who doesn't need the wifi calling.
&(*) said:
There is a solution reported as working for both Xperia 1 III & Xperia 5 III posted here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/5ii-1-5iii-volte-patch-guide-to-release-the-root.4363269/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't get this to work in Canada, but I'd love to hear if anyone else got it to work.
My understanding of this method is your configuration files need to exist on some other version, which it seems mine were not.
A note, it turns out that the XQ-BQ72 (international) and XQ-BQ62 (usa) actually support different bands. The XQ-BQ62 supports more bands. You can see this on this site and some other places: https://www.phonemore.com/compare/p...xq-bq72-vs-sony-xperia-5-iii-xq-bq62/17024281
The bands missing on the XQ-BQ72 are N20, N66, and N71.
No idea whether the remaining bands are adequate for USA 5G and/or on which providers.
I eventually got a XQ-BQ62. I'm having some issues with it but I'll make a new thread for that.

Question S22 Ultra esim enable TGY csc

Hello all, new here! Never rooted a device, I'm very technical and confident but would like to ask the question as to why I'm looking to root or change CSC.
Currently my S22 ultra 512 is a Dual sim Hong Kong purchased device. TGY is the current CSC, basically I'd like to use the esim option and phones sold in Asia specifically China, Hong Kong & Macau at least I'm told have this disabled. My note20 ultra dual sim is the same. By changing csc/firmware can I enable this feature that other s22s have? Basically is there another s22 with identical hardware dual SIM and all that I can put on the phone that will enable this feature? I'd like call recordeding if possible as a phone feature rather app but it's not important. I'll attach screen shots of what versions I currently have. Sorry if I'm asking the wrong questions I'm technical but new to android rooting.. Willing to PayPal or donate to anyone who can assist me through the process. SM-S9080 TGY I know the Taiwan sold device is basically the same hardware but have not received a clear answer if esim is enabled, thinking no but figured I'd mention it. I'd also like to do the same to my Note20 Ultra. Thanks in advance
Watching
I think SM-S908E/DS is the same hardware
Dual sim snapdragon variant for midd&le east
hoss_n2 said:
I think SM-S908E/DS is the same hardware
Dual sim snapdragon variant for midd&le east
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, so worth a try? I'm fairly worried and willing to pay for advice. Rather not brick my phone .. [email protected]
Or WhatsApp is +85254440929
Appreciate the quick response.
I'm hoping this works out, I assume if it does my Note 20 ultra 512g dual sim hk spec phone will to using the same principle?
hoss_n2 said:
I think SM-S908E/DS is the same hardware
Dual sim snapdragon variant for midd&le east
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would there be any issues using a UAE CSC such as XSG? Or would another CSC be suggested? I'm aware that in parts of UAE you can not use WhatsApp or equivalent calling ect? Sorry for the basic questions, last one lol.. Doing this will root the phone or just change the software?
Thank you kindly
12453RS3 said:
Would there be any issues using a UAE CSC such as XSG? Or would another CSC be suggested? I'm aware that in parts of UAE you can not use WhatsApp or equivalent calling ect? Sorry for the basic questions, last one lol.. Doing this will root the phone or just change the software?
Thank you kindly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Egy csc have call recording , but this is only valid for s22 ultra because both are snapdragon , for note 20 ultra different hardware
12453RS3 said:
Would there be any issues using a UAE CSC such as XSG? Or would another CSC be suggested? I'm aware that in parts of UAE you can not use WhatsApp or equivalent calling ect? Sorry for the basic questions, last one lol.. Doing this will root the phone or just change the software?
Thank you kindly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Guys, someone can confirm if CSC TGY have esim activated on S22 ultra SM-S9080? o wich carrier could have it?
I'm having exactly the same issue... just tried out the HK and CN variant. Both don't an eSIM support.
However, I've also read somewhere that Samsung has "dropped" the eSim support in on of the recent Firmware versions, because the had too much trouble with that.
So the quesetion is: Is this a regional issue (e.g. TGY, etc.) or is is a "Version" issue (e.g. an earlier version still might have it)
Best!
hoss_n2 said:
I think SM-S908E/DS is the same hardware
Dual sim snapdragon variant for midd&le east
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi i have a s9080 hk model and tried flashing the s908e/ds firmware through odin buy kept getting failed partition error
i want to share my experience with my note9, it was the N variant - South Korea, i had network issues in which case i had to root my phone and install a custom rom which had csc of my country and i worked great.
if you could do with a rooted phone follow this:
1. check if your phone is listed as rootable.
2. check if your phone has a custom rom:
if YES you could see or ask for what you need ( in the Rom's forum or the developer).
if NO wait and keep researching.
dont flash another region firmware even if its the "same phone" you might break the phone.
Okay, quick info: I've flashed all three regions (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) on the SM-S9080 (current firmware versions june to Sep) and none of them have eSIM support.
This is really annoying - especially when all the offical samsung websites praise that the phone supports esim.
I'm personally pretty pissed off and the key reason is that I know that other users of the same phone in other regions of the world can use it and I'm not able to do this, because the programmers just want to make their lives easy and "silently" drop this feature from the firmware.
Something similar happened about 15 years back with a Sony device and since then I've never ever bought anything from Sony again (neither phone nor anything else). So the same is probably going to happen with Samsung.
SamLux said:
Okay, quick info: I've flashed all three regions (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) on the SM-S9080 (current firmware versions june to Sep) and none of them have eSIM support.
This is really annoying - especially when all the offical samsung websites praise that the phone supports esim.
I'm personally pretty pissed off and the key reason is that I know that other users of the same phone in other regions of the world can use it and I'm not able to do this, because the programmers just want to make their lives easy and "silently" drop this feature from the firmware.
Something similar happened about 15 years back with a Sony device and since then I've never ever bought anything from Sony again (neither phone nor anything else). So the same is probably going to happen with Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you flash a different CSC, I read that since basically the firmware reads your sim, grabs the CSC from that, that if you leave it out, on the boot up screen before you start the setup, you can hold Volume down, I believe or some button combo to skip through set up so you don't need a SIM to complete it.. then you have the actual firmwares original CSC and not the one that was read from your SIM card.. Cuz if not no matter what firm u are you flashing, if your SIM card is in there and you run set up it's going to go by that. The firms are supposedly all the same but what's changes is the CSC each time.. now overseas, United States, snapdragon vs Exyno it's a different story. They do have different firmware's...
But I do know that the phones are basically all universally the same all the same hardware but it's the firmware the software that does all the matter of difference... Including the bootloader for instance. We all have the same hardware but I can't unlock mine it's software there that can do it.. if I find the site up forward it for you.. have you gone into the service mode after enabling it? There's a bunch of crap you can do in there that has to do with antennas and SIM cards and ESIM stuff you might just need to enable something.
soyelreyy said:
When you flash a different CSC, I read that since basically the firmware reads your sim, grabs the CSC from that, that if you leave it out, on the boot up screen before you start the setup, you can hold Volume down, I believe or some button combo to skip through set up so you don't need a SIM to complete it.. then you have the actual firmwares original CSC and not the one that was read from your SIM card.. Cuz if not no matter what firm u are you flashing, if your SIM card is in there and you run set up it's going to go by that. The firms are supposedly all the same but what's changes is the CSC each time.. now overseas, United States, snapdragon vs Exyno it's a different story. They do have different firmware's...
But I do know that the phones are basically all universally the same all the same hardware but it's the firmware the software that does all the matter of difference... Including the bootloader for instance. We all have the same hardware but I can't unlock mine it's software there that can do it.. if I find the site up forward it for you.. have you gone into the service mode after enabling it? There's a bunch of crap you can do in there that has to do with antennas and SIM cards and ESIM stuff you might just need to enable something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I've (think to have) learned so far:
There are two different hardware combinations: (a) the snapdragon variant and (b) the Exynos combination. For each combination, there are differernt firmwares available
Each firmware (e.g. SN-S9080) is a special combination of modem-settings, software configuration, etc. that is geared to optimize the phone performance and battery consumption
For each firmware, you have then certain CSC variants, wihch then further add which apps are available, etc. (for example in the Taiwan variant, Google is available, while in the China Mainlaind variant it is not)
During the first-time installation process, you can choose the language of the phone (and maybe also the CSC), but you can't change the firmware
Therefore, my problem is this: I've tried all the CSCs which are available for m firmware (SN-S9080) but none has eSIM support. Now I want to flash a differetn firmware (e.g the SM-S908E firnware), but Odin currently doesn't let me flash this onto my phone.
Does anyone have a guidline of how to flash a SN90E firmware onto a phone which currently runs a SN-S9080 firmware?
Best!
SamLux said:
What I've (think to have) learned so far:
There are two different hardware combinations: (a) the snapdragon variant and (b) the Exynos combination. For each combination, there are differernt firmwares available
Each firmware (e.g. SN-S9080) is a special combination of modem-settings, software configuration, etc. that is geared to optimize the phone performance and battery consumption
For each firmware, you have then certain CSC variants, wihch then further add which apps are available, etc. (for example in the Taiwan variant, Google is available, while in the China Mainlaind variant it is not)
During the first-time installation process, you can choose the language of the phone (and maybe also the CSC), but you can't change the firmware
Therefore, my problem is this: I've tried all the CSCs which are available for m firmware (SN-S9080) but none has eSIM support. Now I want to flash a differetn firmware (e.g the SM-S908E firnware), but Odin currently doesn't let me flash this onto my phone.
Does anyone have a guidline of how to flash a SN90E firmware onto a phone which currently runs a SN-S9080 firmware?
Best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think the chinese s9080 is locked down only because you cant flash other firmware like other models most secret codes like to change bands dont work and this model took agesto get one ui 5.0 update
Well, I can flash different CSC variants, e.g. the Taiwan or the HK variant (and these are not multi-CSC firmwares, but seperate files).
However, does anyone have an idea of how to flash e.g. the S908E firmware onto a phone that is currently running S9080?
I was able to flash all files of the S9080 variant (including BL - the boot loader), so that means that the phone is *not* locked, right?
I've tried to click the repartitioning option (because the S908E is bigger than the S9080), but that also didn't help.
Do I maybe really need need to "root" the phone first for flashing another firmware? This doesn't sound logicall, so I tried to avoid rooting so far ...
Any ideas or a link to a "how to" is warmly welcome ...
soyelreyy said:
When you flash a different CSC, I read that since basically the firmware reads your sim, grabs the CSC from that, that if you leave it out, on the boot up screen before you start the setup, you can hold Volume down, I believe or some button combo to skip through set up so you don't need a SIM to complete it.. then you have the actual firmwares original CSC and not the one that was read from your SIM card.. Cuz if not no matter what firm u are you flashing, if your SIM card is in there and you run set up it's going to go by that. The firms are supposedly all the same but what's changes is the CSC each time.. now overseas, United States, snapdragon vs Exyno it's a different story. They do have different firmware's...
But I do know that the phones are basically all universally the same all the same hardware but it's the firmware the software that does all the matter of difference... Including the bootloader for instance. We all have the same hardware but I can't unlock mine it's software there that can do it.. if I find the site up forward it for you.. have you gone into the service mode after enabling it? There's a bunch of crap you can do in there that has to do with antennas and SIM cards and ESIM stuff you might just need to enable something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with an without SIM card didn't make a dfference. The firmware files for 9080 are all single CSCs anyway.
So after more than five weeks of trying around, I finally have to say that it seems impossible to enable eSIM on a 9080 (i.e. the version bought in China).
I've tried so many things by now (the VN Rom, the Dr Ketan Rom, switching CSC to Hong Kong or Taiwan, etc.).
So my conclusion is this: You have two options
a) Don't buy a Samsung Galaxy phone at all
b) If you really want to by a Samsung, then buy on from a region where there are the least restrictions on your firmware in the first place.
Everything afterwards turns into frustration.

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