How To Guide How to Enable All Bands Through Service Menu on US/CA S23 series (including Sub-6 and mmWave)

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OhNaNa30

Member
Jan 23, 2018
6
2
Samsung Galaxy S10+
Hello, permission to ask, i have a s10+ sm-g975u xxa verizon. Im only getting LTE instead of LTE+..I bought it online. Im using this phone here in Philippines. All bands are unlocked. But i think i have a problem with the carrier aggregation. Please help.
20230317_170305.jpg
 

tangnt

Senior Member
Oct 21, 2014
126
15
One of the side effects(or coincidence) after flashing to U1 is that Android auto stopped working (I have a Hong Kong data esim), I tried flashing back to W with no luck. Previously it would work with no issues but now the second I enable Hong Kong sim Android auto stops launching....

Have you tried changing CSC again when you are on a W firmware?

Because if you flash an U/U1, then your CSC will be automatically changed to XAA. And if you just simply flash back a W, then it may stay at XAC.

Flash a W then use Samfw Tool to change to a CSC you had before.

Btw, did you have to reset your phone when you flashed an U firmware on your W phone? Using Home_CSC. It took me 5 hours to set everything up and I really do not want to go through that again.
 

tangnt

Senior Member
Oct 21, 2014
126
15
Hello, permission to ask, i have a s10+ sm-g975u xxa verizon. Im only getting LTE instead of LTE+..I bought it online. Im using this phone here in Philippines. All bands are unlocked. But i think i have a problem with the carrier aggregation. Please help.

Check if the phone is even compatible with your carrier first. Call them.
 

Romeo Nickolas

Senior Member
Jun 16, 2022
107
30
Hello, permission to ask, i have a s10+ sm-g975u xxa verizon. Im only getting LTE instead of LTE+..I bought it online. Im using this phone here in Philippines. All bands are unlocked. But i think i have a problem with the carrier aggregation. Please he
Hello fellow filipino. This steps wont work on your phone. The only way to unlock the CA on s10 is using QPST TOOL with EFS explorer then modifying the 00028874 file with the right carrier combination of your network.

Learn how to use the QPST. Then PM me if you want the modified 00028874 with Philippines CA support.
 
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OhNaNa30

Member
Jan 23, 2018
6
2
Samsung Galaxy S10+
Yes, i tried using QPST tool. At first, i manage to open efs folders. But suddenly, it doesnt read my phone.
 

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EtherealRemnant

Senior Member
Sep 15, 2007
5,113
2,268
38
Denver, CO
OnePlus 9
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
Hello, permission to ask, i have a s10+ sm-g975u xxa verizon. Im only getting LTE instead of LTE+..I bought it online. Im using this phone here in Philippines. All bands are unlocked. But i think i have a problem with the carrier aggregation. Please help.View attachment 5864941

Hello fellow filipino. This steps wont work on your phone. The only way to unlock the CA on s10 is using QPST TOOL with EFS explorer then modifying the 00028874 file with the right carrier combination of your network.

Learn how to use the QPST. Then PM me if you want the modified 00028874 with Philippines CA support.

Yes, i tried using QPST tool. At first, i manage to open efs folders. But suddenly, it doesnt read my phone.

You need to flash the XAA firmware. Maybe verizon firmware blocked it.
Can you all please take this to PMs or to the S10 forum? This conversation doesn't belong here.
 
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This is for individuals that can gain access to system shell or root. Please use the commands accordingly and please research before you decide to execute any commands.
@peacey8 you're more than welcome to add to OP on here and on S22 Ultra thread.
 
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kornelme

Member
Mar 23, 2023
8
0
Dear All! I bought an S23+ in the US and would like to use it in Hungary. I followed the method, everything worked as described. Now it seems that all bands are enabled (screen attached) but my phone is still not connecting on 5G. I also attached the 5G bands used by my provider (Yettel Hungary). what could be the problem? any hints are appreciated!
 

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Jan 26, 2023
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Is there 5G where you are geographically?? If there is it might have to do with carrier aggregation since it's NSA. But I'm just guessing....🤷
 

kornelme

Member
Mar 23, 2023
8
0
Try activating the SA portion of the 5G bands as well as in NSA I assume would have to do with CA.
thanks for the reply. I did the change but still no 5G connection. I have coverage as the same SIM card works on 5G in another phone. Settings were done for both SIM-s although I only have one. Current state looks as attached. What else could I try?
 

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Jan 26, 2023
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thanks for the reply. I did the change but still no 5G connection. I have coverage as the same SIM card works on 5G in another phone. Settings were done for both SIM-s although I only have one. Current state looks as attached. What else could I try?
Hmmm..... I'm wondering if it could be the IMEI being blocked by the carrier for 5G? I'm running out of ideas. 🤔. Did u try to force the phone into 5G and manually select the network? I know one person said that they bought the device in Denver and the 5G symbol showed up while in the Netherlands. So I'm not sure. Try the app Netmonster and see if it shows 5G NSA.
 
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kornelme

Member
Mar 23, 2023
8
0
Hmmm..... I'm wondering if it could be the IMEI being blocked by the carrier for 5G? I'm running out of ideas. 🤔. Did u try to force the phone into 5G and manually select the network? I know one person said that they bought the device in Denver and the 5G symbol showed up while in the Netherlands. So I'm not sure. Try the app Netmonster and see if it shows 5G NSA.
I used the Cellular-Pro app, there are no signs of 5G network. It seems as if the phone would be unable to see any 5G bands. I'm not sure about IMEI blocking but I doubt if Yettel would do this. Why would they? Can it happen that although the settings are there some HW part is missing from some models? I don't think so but does not have any other ideas...how can 5G connection be forced?
 
Jan 26, 2023
26
0
I used the Cellular-Pro app, there are no signs of 5G network. It seems as if the phone would be unable to see any 5G bands. I'm not sure about IMEI blocking but I doubt if Yettel would do this. Why would they? Can it happen that although the settings are there some HW part is missing from some models? I don't think so but does not have any other ideas...how can 5G connection be forced?
I do know that the US version supports N1 N7 N28 and N78 out of the box. So those should work. If these bands are deployed where you physically are may be different. I doubt the hardware is different as the modem is the same around the world. I'm not sure why nobody else is posting ideas either. This group seems to go dead. Try the app Netmonster. Screenshot what that shows.
 

kornelme

Member
Mar 23, 2023
8
0
I do know that the US version supports N1 N7 N28 and N78 out of the box. So those should work. If these bands are deployed where you physically are may be different. I doubt the hardware is different as the modem is the same around the world. I'm not sure why nobody else is posting ideas either. This group seems to go dead. Try the app Netmonster. Screenshot what that shows.
Thanks for the answer! Here are the screenshots from both Netmonster and Cellular Pro. No signs of 5G networks...
And a question to all members😊: Anybody who managed to get this working somewhere in Europe?
 

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  • 1
    Felicia is hardware specific and model specific.

    You actually have to buy the phone in Japan in order to have NFC-F.

    Out of luck.
  • 9
    What is this?

    This is a guide on how to enable all LTE and 5G bands on the US or Canadian S23 series phones by going through the service menu. This guide is a copy of my S22U guide, which is mostly based on this S20U guide by mellojosh, but has been adapted for the S23U phone with more information added.

    Who needs this?

    Different countries and carriers use different 5G frequency bands, so the phone's software limits 5G bands to your model's country and carrier even though the phone hardware supports more bands. Here are some cases when unlocking all 5G bands could be useful:
    • You live outside the US/Canada but bought a US/Canadian model and want to use 5G in your country that uses different 5G bands than US/Canadian carriers.
    • You live in the US/Canada but are travelling to a different country and want to use their 5G service which uses different 5G bands than US/Canada.
    • You live in the US/Canada but think your carrier is limiting your 5G service for some reason and think that you can optimize it better.
    Which bands can be enabled this way?

    All bands the phone supports in hardware can be enabled through the service menu. For the US S23 Ultra, that includes all Sub-6 bands like n78, and mmWave bands, as well as 5G SA bands, as shown in this screenshot below. For the Canadian S23 Ultra, this method will unlock all the same bands as the US model except mmWave (might be a hardware or firmware limitation).

    Bands List.jpeg

    Which phones does this method support?

    This method has been confirmed to work on:
    • Samsung S23 Ultra (S918U, S918U1, S918W).
    • Samsung S22 Ultra (S908U, S908U1, S908W).
    • Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4. Thanks @Abaddon and @otteporihs.
    This method works on both Android 12 (One UI 4.1) or Android 13 (One UI 5.0, 5.1).

    This method requires your device be on the US firmware (XAA or other US CSC), so as long as you can Odin flash XAA firmware on your device (such as Canadian variant), you should be able to do this.

    If you get this method working on your phone that isn't in the known list, post it here and I will add it to the list above.

    How To Guide

    You will need a Windows computer (or VM) and the Samsung USB Driver installed to do the following steps. Install the USB driver from here before proceeding if you do not have it installed.

    A. Flash US Firmware

    First, your device must be on US firmware (XAA or other CSC). You can skip this step and go to B if your device is already on US firmware.

    If you're not on a US firmware because you have another Snapdragon variant (like Canadian), follow the steps below to flash XAA firmware. Note this will WIPE and FACTORY RESET your device. ALL DATA WILL BE LOST. So backup if you need to.
    1. Download Odin 3.14.4 or latest version.
    2. Download US XAA U1 firmware for your device from SamMobile.com or SamFw.com. For example, for the S23 Ultra, download the XAA firmware for S918U1. Extract the contents of the firmware to somewhere on your computer. You should have 5 files (BL, AP, CP, CSC, HOME_CSC). We won't use HOME_CSC.
    3. Restart your phone and go into download mode. On the S23 Ultra, hold all three power and up + down volume at the same time until the phone starts, then press the up volume key to get into download mode.
    4. Open Odin and connect your phone to your computer with a USB. Odin should say your phone was added.
    5. Click each of the BL, AP, CP, CSC buttons and select the corresponding files from the firmware zip you extracted. For CSC, use the file that starts with CSC and not HOME_CSC (we won't be using HOME_CSC). Do not load anything into USERDATA.
    6. Click start and let it flash the firmware (see the picture below). If it flashed correctly, your phone will be on XAA firmware after it restarts and you will have to set it up again from scratch.
    7. Set up your phone and verify it is on XAA firmware by going to Settings -> About Phone -> Software information -> check that it says XAA/XAA,XAA/OOO under "Software provider software version". OOO here will be your phone's original CSC like XAC which you cannot change and do not need to.
    A - Odin Flash.png

    B. Unlock Service Menu Secret Codes

    The next step is we need to unlock access to the service menu. Usually this is locked by default, but it might already be unlocked for you.

    First check if you can access the service menu by trying each of these ways:
    1. Open dialer and enter *#27663368378# to try to get directly into the service mode main menu. The menu should open after you press the last # character, you shouldn't have to press call.
    2. Open dialer and enter *#73# to get into RF Test mode. Press Band Selection. Press three dots on top right -> Back. Repeat three dots -> back three more times until you get to the service mode main menu.
    3. If either of the above ways works for you to get to the service mode main menu, then you can skip the below steps to unlock the menu and go directly to instructions C.
    If you cannot access the menu with the above codes, then follow these instructions to unlock the secret codes.
    1. Enable USB Debugging in Developer menu.
    2. Download SamFW FRP tool 4.0 or latest version from here.
    3. Open SamFW FRP tool and connect your phone to the computer with a USB.
    4. Using SamFW FRP tool, go to MTP tab and click on "Enable Secret Code for Verizon". See the picture below. Note it works on any US CSC even though it says "for Verizon".
      • If in the program output you see it's getting stuck on "Waiting for DIAG", then dial *#0808# on your phone to open USB settings and select "DM + MODEM + ADB" then press OK. The program should then complete the step and then get stuck on "Disabling DIAG". When it does, using the *#0808# menu again, select "MTP + ADB" this time and press OK. Now the program should complete the step and say that secret codes was unlocked.
    5. Now you should be able to use *#73# for RF test, or *#27663368378#* to go directly to service menu. Test it to make sure at least one of the codes works and the service menu is opening.
    B - SamFW FRP Tool.png

    C. METHOD 1: Use the Service Menu to Unlock All Bands
    • Enter the service menu using either way.
      • Open dialer and enter *#27663368378# to get directly into the service mode main menu.
      • Open dialer and enter *#73# to get into RF Test mode. Press Band Selection. Press three dots on top right -> Back. Repeat three dots -> back three more times until you get to the service mode main menu.
    • Use the service mode to set the following options. Note you can go back between screens with three dots -> back for quicker navigation, but I am just starting each option below from the main menu so it's easy to read.
      1. Enable all LTE and 5G bands.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> SYSTEM -> Next page 4 times -> SET LTE BAND CONFIG -> SET DEFAULT LTE BAND.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> NR5G -> PRUNE STATUS -> REMOVE NR5G PRUNE.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> GCF -> REMOVE ONLY NR WHITELIST.
        • Optional if you need to enable mmWave bands on US model: Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> NR5G -> Sub6/mmWave -> ALL ENABLE.
        • Optional if you have issues going from LTE to LTE+ (carrier aggregation not working properly): Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> AS -> Next Page -> DISABLE CA COMBO CHECK -> DISABLE ON.
      2. Enable 5G NR features (DSS & CDRX) if needed. These options might already be enabled for you by default.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> AS -> Next Page -> NR CDRX CONTROL -> NR CDRX ENABLE. NR CDRX is 5G power saving mode.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> AS -> Next Page 2 times -> NR DSS CONTROL -> NR DSS ENABLE. NR DSS is 5G Dynamic Spectrum Sharing.
      3. Enable 5G SA if you're lucky enough to have a carrier with standalone 5G networks. This option might be enabled by default already.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> NR5G -> SA/NSA Mode Control -> SA/NSA ENABLE.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> NR5G -> SA/NSA Mode Control -> Remove SA permit list.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> NR5G -> NRDC -> NRDC ENABLE. NRDC is for dual connectivity with Sub6 + mmWave bands in parallel. Only applies to 5G SA networks and only if your carrier uses it.
      4. Restart your phone, then dial *#73# to get into RF Test Mode. Click Band Selection -> Sim 1 or Sim 2 (whichever you use). On this screen if you scroll down, you'll see a list of enabled NR5G bands. Make sure all bands are enabled. See my picture below.
      5. NOTE: Band selection won't be reset with a reboot, but might be reset after a CSC update (or a software update that includes a CSC update). You will have to re-do the service menu settings every update or re-flash of a CSC.
      6. NOTE: If you use an eSIM or a dual-SIM phone with a 2nd SIM, you need to change the NR5G stack before changing the NR5G related options above. Change the NR5G stack to Stack 2 with the following setting first.
        • Service Mode Main Menu -> UE SETTING & INFO -> SETTING -> PROTOCOL -> NR5G -> Stack Selection -> Select STACK 2.
      7. OPTIONAL: Now that all bands are enabled and usable, you can use the Band Selection menu under *#73# to selectively disable certain bands if you need to. This is not covered here but that menu is self-explanatory.
      8. If this method isn't working, try METHOD 2 below. You do not need to try METHOD 2 if this method ended up working for you.
    D. METHOD 2: Unlock all bands via Protocol Simulation menu.
    • If METHOD 1 above didn't work or not all bands were unlocked, you can try to unlock all bands by simulating a change in your CSC to GCF (Global Certification Forum). This won't actually change your CSC to GCF, but will change the options in the service menu as if you were on GCF CSC, which should give you access to all SA and NSA bands. Credits to @wr3cckl3ss1 for figuring out this method.
    • To do this method, first enter the service mode main menu using either of the following ways.
      • Open dialer and enter *#27663368378# to get directly into the service mode main menu.
      • Open dialer and enter *#73# to get into RF Test mode. Press Band Selection. Press three dots on top right -> Back. Repeat three dots -> back three more times until you get to the service mode main menu.
    • Using the service menu, change the following options
    1. Go to: Service Mode Main Menu -> PROTOCOL STATE -> PROTOCOL SIMULATION -> IMEI PRE CFG SIMULATION.
    2. In this menu, click [1] AP, then click GCF (last option). Then click [2] NET1 and change it to GCF as well. Do the same for [3] NET2. All GCF.
    3. Press [4] Write. Then restart phone.
    4. Check if all SA bands were unlocked. If not, repeat the band unlocking instructions from METHOD 1 above and then restart the phone and check again.

    Enjoy your unlocked LTE and 5G bands!

    I have personally tested this on a Canadian S23 Ultra (S918W) on US XAA firmware to enable all bands. I reflashed Canadian firmware after I unlocked the service menu and the service menu stayed accessible even on Canadian firmware. So the trick is to always start out on US firmware and unlock the menu there first.

    CREDITS

    @mellojosh for his guide on service menu band options on the S20U1.
    @wr3cckl3ss1 for instructions on protocol simulation.
    2
    The mmWave antenna is expensive. It was like $50 per device during the X55 days and I'd be surprised if that cost has gone down much so it's no surprise manufacturers continue to leave it out when it's not in use in that market. Heck, Google leaves it out of their base model unless you have Verizon or AT&T (even though T-Mobile has mmWave too) and only includes it in the unlocked Pro models.
    2
    From a T-Mobile branded S23 Ultra (SM-S918U) using eSIM:

    TMobile_SMS918U_All_Bands.jpg
    2
    can anyone with a German or European S23 say if this is useful for us?
    I would like to know this too. Even though 5G isn't widespread in EU (no mmWave etc.), I'd like to enable it if the phone supports this but is limited/unabled for no reason.
    No unfortunately this method is for US/Canadian phones only.
    2
    What if you flash the XAA firmware? And change CSC to GCF? I would be surprised if the hardware was different.
    Unfortunately I tried that and it is still doesn't work. I do know why though. If you put the Canadian phone (on XAA firmware) in diag mode and check with QPST EFS explorer, you can browse the Qualcomm modem firmware files in the EFS and see that the mmWave firmware file is missing (/nv/item_files/rfnv/00029652). On my US model S22U, this file exists. Without this file, the mmWave frequencies will not show up. I think these EFS firmware files are not included with the software updates, and instead are written to the hardware when the phone is made (like IMEI).

    Now I tried to copy this firmware file over from my S22U to S23W with QPST EFS explorer, but the file is deleted once the phone is rebooted (which is needed to load the file). It seems the EFS partition is not really writable with QPST explorer, or there is some master read-only copy that gets copied every boot. If anybody knows how to make changes stick with QPST EFS explorer on non-rooted devices, please tell me your experience.

    Perhaps if one were rooted it would be possible to add this file since I have seen people modifying the EFS partition with root. But I have no experience with this so I cannot help if one wants to try that. And anyways I cannot root the Canadian version so that's not an option for Canadian model.