For hahas I asked Samsung about unlocking the BL

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    For laughs I sent Samsung customer support a request about unlocking the S4 like the htcdev.com site. This was their I think canned response. Looks like they recommend the Verizon dev edition.

    "After reviewing your email, we understand that you would like to know the information on unlocking the boot loader of your Samsung Galaxy S5 phone.

    We understand your requirement.

    We would like to inform you that Samsung manufactures the devices according to carrier requirements/specifications and the devices will be locked to particular carrier network. As of now the option to unlock the bootloader on Samsung devices is unavailable. Unlocking the bootloader might damage the functionality of the phone. Moreover, it voids the warranty(one year from the date of purchase) of the phone.

    However, Developer edition phones are available from Samsung wherein you can modify/develop any applications and the bootloader will be unlocked. As of now Samsung Galaxy S5 developer edition model(Verizon) is yet to release. Access the web-link below wherein you can view the specifications of the phone.

    Link: http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/ET-G900VMKAVZW-specs

    Please feel free to write back to us if you have any queries. We will be glad to assist you.

    If you are looking for more details on the functionality of a product or would like to find answers to some of the questions, visit us http://originus.samsung.com/us/smartphone-simulators-and-tutorials/# for an interactive review of some of our Samsung products.

    Link: http://originus.samsung.com/us/smartphone-simulators-and-tutorials/#

    If you have more questions regarding your Samsung Mobile Phone, you can also reach out to our chat support team by accessing the following link. Live Chat is available 24 hours a day. 7 days a week.

    Link: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/contact

    Thank you for your continued interest in Samsung products. "
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    Honestly then they really should let us at leat have the option of unlocking boot loader a year after ownership. But still, their reasoning still leaves the debate open to, it's our device, we should have the choice to take the risk. Oh well at that point they'll just push the issue back onto AT&T.
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    That is basically being covered by carrier requirements. That AT&T requested it to be locked. The assumption being that T-Mobile didn't require it to be.

    Sent from my SGH-T869 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

    Yeah I would buy that if HTC didn't have HTCdev.com. There is no way Samsung ended up with a more restrictive contract than HTC.

    I was bored so I decided to bug the Samsung tech support folks. Transcript follows

    info: Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.
    info: You are now chatting with '****'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today.
    info: Your Issue ID for this chat is ******
    Alice: Hi, thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. How may I help you today?
    Chad: I'm looking for a way to get a signing key for my S4 (SM-G900A). Like HTC provides at htcdev.com.
    Chad: sorry its a S5
    Alice: I understand that you want to have signing key for S5. Am I correct?
    Chad: Yeah basically I want to unlock the bootloader.
    Alice: Thank you for information.
    Chad: Or I'd be willing to return this S5 and buy direct from Samsung but i couldn't find one on the website with the same US ATT bands just the verizon ones.
    Alice: I would like to inform you that there is no such option in S5 device which you are using.
    Chad: Samsung must have the key for my S/n
    Chad: it was burned in when they manufactured the handset
    Alice: You need to buy Developer Edition model to unlock the bootloader.
    Chad: i would like to do that but i dont see an att developer model
    Chad: and last i checked the verizon one wasn't orderable
    Chad: I'm a long time Samsung customer I must have at least 12 samsung devices in my household.
    Chad: This lack of help is going to drive me to HTC for mobile.
    Alice: I do understand your situation.
    Alice: I apologize for the inconvenience caused.
    Chad: and I may have to look at other TV electronics manufacturers
    Chad: Samsung does have the key and are refusing to provide it?
    Chad: Its win/win for you. You get out of warranty obligations.
    Alice: I would have surely helped you if there is an option. Please understand that Samsung manufactures the devices based on the carrier specifications.
    Chad: I understand that but you have the key. HTC does the same thing and they provide the key at htcdev.com
    Alice: The warranty will be voided if you try to unlock the bootloader.
    Chad: I understand that and I'm ok with it. Samsung wins no warranty obligations.
    Alice: I do understand your concern. I am sorry to say that there is no option to unlock the bootloader .
    Chad: You mean samsung won't give me the info i need.
    Chad: OK I will return the phone. I have huge amount of Samsung gear in my house. It will no longer be my default manufacturer for electronics. I have been a customer for over a decade.
    Chad: I'd like a corporate contact to send a letter or email to as well please.
    Alice: I apologize for the inconvenience caused.
    Chad: I'd also recommend you put a warning sticker on the boxes with phones with the locked bootldr. Its kind of sleazy to not warn people about that.
    Alice: I would have surely helped you if there is any option for me to help you. Samsung will not recommend to unlock the bootaloader.
    Chad: I understand that and I would buy it was a contract restriction with ATT if HTC didn't provide exactly what I'm asking for with the M8.
    Alice: I apologize for the inconvenience caused.
    Chad: Not your fault I know you don't set the policy. Do you have someone in public relations or somthing like that I could send an email to?
    Chad: I just want to vent my frustration to a VP level person. I've been buying a lot of Samsung product for years.
    Alice: I will provide you a link where you can send an Email to Samsung.
    Chad: thank you
    Alice: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/email/product/SGH-I317TSAATT
    Alice: You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with?
    Chad: No that was it I'm happy with all of my other Samsung products at this point.
    Chad: thank you
    Alice: I really appreciate your time and patience.
    Alice: We thank you for your inquiry today and hope your experience with Samsung tech support has been a pleasant one. In an effort to continuously improve our service, we request you to take a minute and complete a quick survey.Please click blue 'X' button on the upper right corner and you will be provided with the survey to complete.
    info: Chat session has been terminated by the Samsung Agent.
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    Could you please let us know how's your SM-G900T performs on ATT networks? It picks up all LTE/3G bands properly to compare with original G900A? How's reception? I'm thinking about doing same thing that you did since TMO's one could be easily rooted...

    same Reception as my ATT HTC One M8, i check reception via DB in status menu as signal bars are inaccurate many times...At my house I average about 105 DB on LTE with my M8, on the TMO S5 with ATT sim average 105 as well. So far I've picked up all LTE and HSPA+ bands on ATT properly just make sure your sim is activated on an ATT LTE device first and that you have the proper APN set.
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    Here's my rant on the AT&T website:

    Do not buy this phone!! Thank you AT&T for being one of the only 2 carriers to lock the bootloader on this phone, i.e. putting a 60 mph governor on my lamborghini. This is my property I bought and I should be able to do what I want to with it. You have taken one of the world's most advanced smart phones and locked it down, effectively making it a dumb phone. My S2 did so much more than it was ever designed for with Root and custom ROMS and recoveries. There is a reason Android is open source; So developers can make better software and push these phones to their limits. I've only had my phone 2 days, but I will be returning it and switching to T-Mobile. In addition, I will be canceling my Uverse U300 and switching to Brighthouse. You have one of the slowest, yet most expensive internet services. $150 a month for internet and cable (with included discounts) is ridiculous. There is currently a big push on developers forums for a mass exodus from AT&T because of the S5 being locked down. Don't bother replying with your typical bureaucratic answer of how this voids the warranty and causes problems for tech support. I hate to break this to you, but those of use that run custom software do not bother with customer support on our products. And as far as voiding the warranty, I'm ok with that as again, IT IS MY PHONE. Goodbye AT&T.


    https://www.facebook.com/ATT