Hey there, I'm a newbie to rooting and stuff similar, my question is can you use the download mode to install a custom OS on to a US Snapdragon? I want to try to root my phone mainly to remove bloatware and tinker around a bit.
No you can't (US models are bootloader locked) UNLESS you go the route found in the "Bounty for U.S model" route in one of the threads here. It is a pay for BL unlock method, so just know that. Afaik it is the only way to get your model unlocked to be able to run custom OS/root.
I wanted to start a Bounty for a root method in the SM-N975U1 unlocked US model of the Now 10+. Bounty will be awarded to the first CONFIRMED successful method to unlock the bootloader and root SM-N975U1 unlocked US model of the Now 10+. Xda...
xdaforums.com
There you go, check last 10 or so pages, you should see the website/group that does the mod