How To Guide Carrier/SIM Unlock - Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G SM-G998U & U1 (QualComm SnapDragon) USA/CANADA! - NO ROOT- FREE

[JimmyL216]

okay, Dr. Sim among others somehow cannot unlock phones as there seems to be some global unlock server that is offline. Over one month i'm waiting every site i check server is offline.

I just got my S21 Ultra unlocked less than a month ago.

 

[Badman87]

I just got my S21 Ultra unlocked less than a month ago.

Okay, I should have quoted my model is a S21 ultra locked to Verizon (I know about the 60 activation window) etc ..... I just hope they close this thread to not give false hope

 

[domnulv]

This method on the thread doesn't work. But I used Dr. Sim to get mine unlocked. Paid $40 and in a week they sent me a number that I entered when I put a different carrier sim in and it unlocked it. Make sure you get the official Dr. Sim website. Other places come up in a Google search

We talk about s21 verizon unlock. It is not possible with code received from server, dr sim or another...

 

[HaniBawolf]

Here's a free How-To on how i successfully Carrier/Sim unlocked my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G running the NEWEST Android update on bootloader 5 (USQU5BULJ)released in January of 2022 that was carrier locked to Verizon and now fully Unlocked.


DISCLAIMER:
*This does NOT trip Knox or Void your warranty and does NOT require a root or a paid service. **This is the process I took, you may find some of these steps are not needed but for the purpose or recreating my results, I'll be posting my exact process.***This has ONLY BEEN TESTED ON SNAPDRAGON BASED SAMSUNG GALAXY S21 ULTRA 5G SM-G998 U & U1, if you try it on a different model or phone you may (and likely will) receive different results!!!!


You can read more on how this method works to force a carrier update to your device, here, on the Official Android dev site.

Here's what you'll need:
•ANY (activated or not) Sim from the carrier you wish to switch too.(or a way to replicate the carriers cert from one)
•A computer
•Patched Odin
•BOTH the NEWEST U & U1 ROMs/Firmware - theres a full post on these and how to flash them here, Stock Firmware and ODIN Flashing Guide (XDA) or visit SamFW.com, it has both Odin and the ROM/Firmware files you will need.
•(Optional?) Android ADB platform tools (You can find them on the official Android Developers page here or use any ADB software of your choice, fastboot is not required or used in this process. Link: Android Dev Platform Tools (Official)


Step 1:
So let's presume you have a Verizon or T-Mobile carrier locked phone, if you look at your baseband, which you can find in Settings > About > Software Info, you should see this "SM-G998Uxxxxxxx"

NOTE:
It Is CRITICAL that we flash the U1 rom BEFORE putting in the desired carriers SIM, then reboot, let phone fully boot, ONLY THEN should we insert the desired carriers SIM.

Step 1b:
Head over to your preferred site to get stock Samsung Roms (Refer to link above if you don't know where to find) and download the U1 XAA rom and the U rom of the CARRIER YOU WISH TO USE.


IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD BOTH THE "U" ROM FOR THE CARRIER YOU WISH TO SWITCH TO AND THE U1 UNLOCKED (XAA) ROM/Firmware.

IF YOU ALREADY HAVE U1 FIRMWARE
I.e "SM-G998U1xxxxxxx" - you can skip to step 2, but I would recommend reading through the next part.


Put you device in download mode (Hold Vol up and Vol down and plug in the USB, which should be connected to your PC and now your phone at this point.)

Flash the U1 XAA Rom, place appropriate files in appropriate places in Odin, when you get to CSC, DO NOT use the "HOME_CSC" use the other.

Leave the rest of Odin settings alone and hit Start, wait for it to finish and reboot.


Step 2:
Once the phone boots, return to Settings>About>Software and confirm the device is now showing the "U1_XAA" in the Service Provider Software Version - it should say something like "SM-G998U1_XAA blah blah blah" - you just want to see the "U1" bit.

Now put in the Sim from the carrier you desire. A pop-up should appear prompting you to restart your device.


! CRITICALLY IMPORTANT STEP !
We will now initiate a reboot, but BEFORE the device fully restarts, we need to force it into RECOVERY MODE, I was able to achieve this by holding the power and Vol Down buttons at the same time, starting to hold them directly after the "Samsung" Logo fades away upon initial restart. If you have trouble getting into recovery, please comment below.


Once in recovery, use the volume keys to navigate to "Clear Cache" select and execute. Now go to Factory Data Reset/Wipe, select and execute. It should be the option directly above "Clear cache".

Once done, go up to "Reboot to Bootloader", Select & Execute.


AGAIN, Very Important step! We MUST interrupt the boot process again and force the phone BACK into download mode this time, so once the phone attempts to reboot, we need to hold the Vol Down and Vol Up buttons at the same time and the USB MUST be already plugged in, essentially it should remain plugged in throughout this process.

We should now be back in download mode and be on "U1" as we have verified in the steps above.


STEP 3:
Now it's time to flash the ROM/Firmware from the carrier you wish to use. Make SURE you have the SIM from the same carrier inserted during this process as mentioned at the beginning. It doesn't need to be a working or activated SIM, just simply one from the carrier you wish to have this S21 work on.


Flash all items from the "U" ROM/Firmware as you did earlier, ensuring to use the "U" ROM/Firmware for your desired carrier as described above. Same deal with CSC here, DO NOT use the "Home_CSC", use the other.
BE SURE that you use the USERDATA file that comes with the "U" ROM/Firmware. Its Critical in order to get the phone working properly on the new carrier.

Start the Odin flashing process & wait.
Phone will Auto-Reboot.....

Done!


You should now be on the carrier you wish to use.
This can be (in theory, test at own risk) replicated for ANY carrier supported by Samsung.


Please comment your experiences/ issues etc below. Don't be afraid to ask for clarity of something.

PoC, results after doing above process pictured in this screenshot.

Good luck.
-k0mrade



---if you feel like donating because i helped you, heres how:
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Shiba Inu: 0xaa4dfea836e7f28657af6b91d659797eb3ace89b


Before process, this message would appear shortly after inserting a new SIM in testing devices:

View attachment 5530867

After preforming above procedures I now find pictured below by running this activity:
com.samsung.ssu.unlock.MainActivity

View attachment 5531069

And verify twice by checking my work in Settings>About>Software Information> Service Provider Software Version & Carrier Configuration Version.

View attachment 5531071

Could this work for Samsung Note10+ sprint carrier with UI 7 or higher,

 

[iBowToAndroid]

Could this work for Samsung Note10+ sprint carrier with UI 7 or higher,

No

 

[Limon_Lime]

How can I change mine from G988U1 VZW to G998U1 XAA?

 

[Semetery]

I'm wondering too.

I used the guide (https://xdaforums.com/t/flashing-s2...etting-past-the-setupconnection-step.4365133/) a few months ago for a previous s21 ultra and it worked, now I can't get Frija to work for me to even get started.

My verizon s21 ultra is unlocked but still the carrier version. I can't get it to store the US Mobile APN no matter what I've tried, so I need to convert it to carrier-free.

Has anyone done it lately?

 

[jedijoe46]

So has anyone tried the above method and are able to use your own Sim?

 

[Kurisoft]

have tried multiple times this ' step by step ' tutorial and doesnt do a thing aside from not being able to return to U from U1

 

[jedijoe46]

Sucks. I have a Verizon s21 ultra that my cousin gave me just before he passed but it was never used or unlocked. Thought about taking it to Verizon to see if they would unlock it, but I don't know if I'll catch any flack for lack of proof of ownership. It isn't blacklisted. Idk.

 

[Kurisoft]

anyone knows if by changing csc to XAA with samkey will work?, like will it continue with the OP instructions?

 

[Badman87]

According to samkey customer support csc change is supported for the S21 on Binary 4. However network unlock is not supported 1 credit required I haven’t tried it to confirm though

 

[Badman87]

Sucks. I have a Verizon s21 ultra that my cousin gave me just before he passed but it was never used or unlocked. Thought about taking it to Verizon to see if they would unlock it, but I don't know if I'll catch any flack for lack of proof of ownership. It isn't blacklisted. Idk.

At this point I am wondering when this unlock server that all the major unlock site use will finish updating I’ve been waiting for two months. And this thread is very misleading as this thread does not network unlock and was copied from another post.

 

[Kurisoft]

i installed XAA with samkey but instead of showing G998U1_XAA*, it shows G998U1_OYM_XAA_12_0029 XAA/XAA,XAA/TMB, i insert sim card but still no pop up to restart phone, will keep on searching online, might be wise to just sim unlock it by remote control on ebay, the bad thing is that it cost $200

 

[Badman87]

i installed XAA with samkey but instead of showing G998U1_XAA*, it shows G998U1_OYM_XAA_12_0029 XAA/XAA,XAA/TMB, i insert sim card but still no pop up to restart phone, will keep on searching online, might be wise to just sim unlock it by remote control on ebay, the bad thing is that it cost $200

Remote unlock is presently not supported by reputable sites e.g cellularunlock,imeigurus and even doctorsim, it seems all of them use the same server for unlocking and like its updating 2 months now that eBay 200 I am 100% sure they can’t do it they will collect your money and cancel and refund you or have you waiting don’t buy it unless they confirm before purchase that it can be done right away. I’m waiting too hoping for a solution

 

[Kurisoft]

Remote unlock is presently not supported by reputable sites e.g cellularunlock,imeigurus and even doctorsim, it seems all of them use the same server for unlocking and like its updating 2 months now that eBay 200 I am 100% sure they can’t do it they will collect your money and cancel and refund you or have you waiting don’t buy it unless they confirm before purchase that it can be done right away. I’m waiting too hoping for a solution

checked on drsim like people on this thread had mention and it shows they can remotely unlock the phone for $110, but not sure if its 100% trustworthy

 

[Kurisoft]

trying to revert back to tmo stock rom and odin keeps on getting stuck on file analysis, have tried multiple cords, changed usb ports, restarted pc, restarted phone, restarted odin, nothing seems to work.

 

[Badman87]

trying to revert back to tmo stock rom and odin keeps on getting stuck on file analysis, have tried multiple cords, changed usb ports, restarted pc, restarted phone, restarted odin, nothing seems to work.

View attachment 5621419

Maybe you can try a firm ware with the same binary (3) I see you’re trying to update to binary (5). I’m no expert but just confirm it’s the right region firmware for your device

 

[Kurisoft]

Maybe you can try a firm ware with the same binary (3) I see you’re trying to update to binary (5). I’m no expert but just confirm it’s the right region firmware for your device

i was able to go back to stock, i gave up on unlocking the sim for now, but, if the sim is locked, so is the esim? any one knows?

edit:
-searched on the web, and it seems my question was kinda dumb,
-esim locked aswell.

 

[K0mraid3]

For everyone who continusly says this doesnt work, heres another clear example and guide to it working.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyS21/comments/pi890d