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Is it possible to have a rooted Galaxy S8 running Pie on a U.S. network?

A

Adi Inbar

Lurker
After checking around to make sure Samsung Galaxy S8 can be rooted on Pie, I bought a model SM-G950U phone, but discovered to my dismay that the bootloader on U.S. versions with Snapdragon processors is not unlockable (there is no "OEM unlocking" setting in Developer Options, and none of the tricks with changing the date or waiting 7 days for Prenormal RMM state to pass will work to make it show up). All the rooting instructions I've been able to find only work for international versions with Exynos processors, or require downgrading to Nougat.

Is there any solution available have model SM-G950U rooted and running Pie?

If not, would any of the international models that can be rooted on Pie (SM-G950F, SM-G950FD, SM-G950N) work with U.S. carriers without disadvantages in service? (I have AT&T and would prefer not to switch carriers unless I absolutely have to.)
 
Adi Inbar said:
After checking around to make sure Samsung Galaxy S8 can be rooted on Pie, I bought a model SM-G950U phone, but discovered to my dismay that the bootloader on U.S. versions with Snapdragon processors is not unlockable (there is no "OEM unlocking" setting in Developer Options, and none of the tricks with changing the date or waiting 7 days for Prenormal RMM state to pass will work to make it show up). All the rooting instructions I've been able to find only work for international versions with Exynos processors, or require downgrading to Nougat.

Is there any solution available have model SM-G950U rooted and running Pie?

If not, would any of the international models that can be rooted on Pie (SM-G950F, SM-G950FD, SM-G950N) work with U.S. carriers without disadvantages in service? (I have AT&T and would prefer not to switch carriers unless I absolutely have to.)
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this is the only thread i found:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...e-snapdragon-g950u-u1-v8-bootloaders.4060701/

but support has been pulled by the dev.

sorry but you are sol. snapdragon on any sammy device has made rooting extremely difficult. if you want to root, do not get a sammy with a snapdragon processor.....get a pixel phone instead......those are very easy to root.
 
The only thing I can add is that changing carriers won't help you: Samsung have locked down the bootloaders of US models at the behest of all of the big US carriers.

To assess the usability of a Exynos model I'd start from the site Mike linked, or go deep into the specs to check exactly which frequency bands it supports vs which bands are used by which US networks. But since global models won't have CDMA support (which I don't think has yet been phased out by Verizon or Sprint, despite talk of that for years) my guess is that ATT is more likely to work fully than one of the CDMA carriers (Exynos models won't support CDMA: the reason Samsung pay Qualcomm for processors in North American handsets rather than using their own as they do in most places is that that is cheaper than their licensing the CDMA IP from Qualcomm. But as CDMA was barely used outside of North America they use their own processors elsewhere).
 
ocnbrze said:
this is the only thread i found:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...e-snapdragon-g950u-u1-v8-bootloaders.4060701/

but support has been pulled by the dev.

sorry but you are sol. snapdragon on any sammy device has made rooting extremely difficult. if you want to root, do not get a sammy with a snapdragon processor.....get a pixel phone instead......those are very easy to root.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw that, but was hoping someone might have come up with a solution since then.

Switching to a different manufacturer is more of hassle than I want right now, but I'll have to look into that if Samsung keeps up their war on rooting. Certainly not Pixel, I'd rather swim in a pool of hydrochloric acid than get a phone from G**gle. It does look like Exynos models G950F and G950K will work on AT&T's network, so I'll get one of those if I can't find a solution with this model.
 
ocnbrze said:
this is the only thread i found:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...e-snapdragon-g950u-u1-v8-bootloaders.4060701/

but support has been pulled by the dev.

sorry but you are sol. snapdragon on any sammy device has made rooting extremely difficult. if you want to root, do not get a sammy with a snapdragon processor.....get a pixel phone instead......those are very easy to root.
Click to expand...
That's... Concerning. Especially because my longest lived phones have all been rooted or jailbroken to continue being able to run current software. And usually gave me the least issues. Granted, a bad flash can brick a phone, but even an official OTA can do that for someone.

Of course, T-Mobile seems to have a hard on for selling me into a new Samsung. Bad enough their batteries are little nuclear bombs as it is; not being able to root would be agony!
 
Hadron said:
US model Samsungs have been some of the least rootable phones for some years now. This isn't new, as this thread illustrates.
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Okay, but still, news to me.
Man, remember when S3's were $400 new? Custom ROMs out the butt, and you could realistically get 4 days on a charge (with extended battery, mind)?

The executives at Samsung need the kind of intervention that Sonic Team had to take before making Sonic Generations at this rate. We've way passed Sonic 06 levels of bad phones from Samsung, now.
 
Thing is, Samsung are the most profitable Android manufacturer (globally). So as far as they are concerned they are doing the right things. And as long as people are prepared to spend > $1000 for +1 on the model number since last year why should they change?
 
Hadron said:
Thing is, Samsung are the most profitable Android manufacturer (globally). So as far as they are concerned they are doing the right things. And as long as people are prepared to spend > $1000 for +1 on the model number since last year why should they change?
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The right decisions? What?
Their Note 7 was literally killing people. The only people who would say that was the right design decision, have serious mental issues.

It still angers me that Samsung gets a free pass from that, right alongside Apple.
 
codezer0 said:
The right decisions? What?
Their Note 7 was literally killing people. The only people who would say that was the right design decision, have serious mental issues.

It still angers me that Samsung gets a free pass from that, right alongside Apple.
Click to expand...

Really?

I had a Galaxy Note7, Samsung recalled it, I got a full refund. And I'm still alive.
 
mikedt said:
Really?

I had a Galaxy Note7, Samsung recalled it, I got a full refund. And I'm still alive.
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The note 7 exploding should have been their wake-up call. Instead, they doubled down with the stupid.

The 20 series flat out drops the headphone jack and support for external storage, but they want to frame it like it's innovating. It's not just bullshit; it's the entire bull.
 
well i love my note 10+5G.....sure it does not have a headphone jack, but it at least has a sd card slot. plus i do not really use wired headphones any ways. my sammy earbuds works great for me.

and it sounds like you are not a fan of samsung.....why not just move on and get a different phone?
 
ocnbrze said:
well i love my note 10+5G.....sure it does not have a headphone jack, but it at least has a sd card slot. plus i do not really use wired headphones any ways. my sammy earbuds works great for me.

and it sounds like you are not a fan of samsung.....why not just move on and get a different phone?
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What do you do when the majority of compatible phones your carrier sells anymore are only from Samsung?

What do you do, when no retail or carrier stores even carry good phones anymore?
 
codezer0 said:
What do you do when the majority of compatible phones your carrier sells anymore are only from Samsung?

What do you do, when no retail or carrier stores even carry good phones anymore?
Click to expand...
well i plan on getting either the next note series phone or the next zold fold 3, i should know which in the next few months.
 
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