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Help Unlocked ATT Samsung S20 Won't Update in Canada

G

gss450

Lurker
Hi, I bought an unlocked ATT Samsung S20 last summer. I'm in Canada and the phone has been working with no problem. I have not received the One UI 5 update nor the Android 13 update. I checked with Samsung Canada and they referred me to Samsung US, they said that I should be patient and wait. After checking online I'm getting the feeling that the phone has to be on the ATT network. Does this make any sense? Does anyone know if this is the case?
 
With the Pixel 7 there are several model numbesr For AT&T it is GQML3 For other GSM networks the model number is GVU6C. The AT&T phone is set up for 5G N77 band You can also access 5G+ in select airports, stadiums, and venues using high-band technology, and requires a device that supports band n260. That 2nd band is real fast but doesn't go very far, nor does it penetrate buildings

So my guess is you may need to be on an AT&T network for the update
 
gss450 said:
Hi, I bought an unlocked ATT Samsung S20 last summer. I'm in Canada and the phone has been working with no problem. I have not received the One UI 5 update nor the Android 13 update. I checked with Samsung Canada and they referred me to Samsung US, they said that I should be patient and wait. After checking online I'm getting the feeling that the phone has to be on the ATT network. Does this make any sense? Does anyone know if this is the case?
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Yes, 100% the case. AT&T (for god knows what reason) requires that an active SIM of theirs be inserted, in order to be able to pull OTA updates over wifi. That's the case with ALL Android devices, regardless of manufacturer.

So you'll need to manually update, using a PC
 
iBowToAndroid said:
Yes, 100% the case. AT&T (for god knows what reason) requires that an active SIM of theirs be inserted, in order to be able to pull OTA updates over wifi. That's the case with ALL Android devices, regardless of manufacturer.

So you'll need to manually update, using a PC
Click to expand...
I tried updating through Smartswitch but it said that the phone was up to date. I'm not sure whatto do now. I did read somewhere that could pick up an AT&T sim off of Ebay. Do you think that would work?
 
gss450 said:
I tried updating through Smartswitch but it said that the phone was up to date. I'm not sure whatto do now. I did read somewhere that could pick up an AT&T sim off of Ebay. Do you think that would work?
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No. I specifically stated that an *active* SIM is required.

You can manually download the firmware and flash using Odin
 
I'm surprised Samsung allows them to get away with that, doesn't look good on them. Thanks for the confirmation.
 
gss450 said:
I'm surprised Samsung allows them to get away with that, doesn't look good on them. Thanks for the confirmation.
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Samsung will basically do whatever a carrier wants, in order for the carrier to sell their devices. Same reason why you can't change the network mode on an AT&T Samsung - they block that option, while other carriers freely have it available in their configuration
 
gss450 said:
Lesson learned, I won't be buying anything related to AT&T.
Click to expand...
Ehh, there are always ways around the software restrictions. If you can get an AT&T device for considerably less than an identical phone from a different carrier, it's worth a few minutes of work
 
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