General [Info & Reviews] Canada & the SM-S908N / SM-S908E

[nonomancer]

Hello hello!

Thought I'd share my experience purchasing and using my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra SM-S908N, the South Korean model, in Canada!

I'll be providing as much pertinent and accurate information as I can, but please note while its been great for me your experience may differ. The SM-S908N & SM-S908E both share the same bands and will work the same in Canada. This article will only refer to my device the SM-S908N.

Feel free to ask questions! I'll try my best to remember to reply, but don't ask me about CSC or 5G.

Bulletin

: The Nonomancer Report

(22-07-20)
- Added warning about ZOOAUX. Got a second one that is garbage and returned it. There's so many garbage adapters it's unreal! Ordering more adapters soon will add to the review section. Should have time to update rest of article soon.

(22-07-14)
- User Starman2021 has written an article about flashing CSC and getting 5G for Canadian providers. I will attempt it soon, for science, but won't be able to test 5G unless I can find a SIM to borrow. Please report your experience on his article, I will update this article to reflect it.

- I've cancelled the MediaFire subscription / Magisk ROM project until I make a proper decision about how I will get involved in the S22 community. The uploaded files will remain but will expire. I will find a different host soon and re-upload.

- I'm still dealing with stock ROM config and there's a lot left to do. I'll update this article soon and add more technical data and my debloat script.

PLEASE NOTE - This is a reference only.
- Do not limit yourself to this article for information.
- I will not provide any help if you encounter any issues by executing on what you read here.
- I have not tested my ROMs. If your model or region differs, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
- The ROMs provided will not be kept up to date routinely.

TLDR​

- Works perfect on Telus/Public Mobile network. It setup provider and mobile data info automatically.
- Rooting the device takes a few minutes with Magisk.
- You may have issues with 5G. It might work, but I'll need testimonies and anecdotal data! Get involved.
- Some 4G/LTE & a 5G band are missing which could affect your experience. Review your provider bands!
- At the time of purchase, the SM-S908N was 2-300$ cheaper than the SM-S908E listings.


Special thanks to Williamtung, 52yt & Hamid Chikh, for guiding me with your words of wisdom! I wouldn't have and love my S22 the way I do without your work. And of course, the XDA community! <3

Index​

INFO
A lot of information is missing, I will gradually update over time.

Device Info (All the specs.)
Device Bands and Service Compatibility (Compatibility details for Canadian providers.)
Order Details (The purchase details everyone wants to know.)
Accessories (Some reviews and warnings.)
Device Setup Tips (I'm here in my garage!)
Downloads (My Magisk patched ROM & tools you don't want to miss)
References (Read these and bookmark them!)

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Device Info ​

Specs References: Samsung Korea, Samsung Canada

Device: Samsung S22 Ultra
Model: SM-S908N
Color: Phantom Black
Storage: 512GB

Service Provider: SAOMC_SM-S908N_OKR_KOO_12_0017
Region: KOO (KOO/KOO/KOO/KOO)
Baseband Version: S908NKSU1AVEF
Build: SP1A.210812.016.S908NKSU1AVF1
Kernel: 5.10.81-android12-9-24339823-abS908NKSU1AVF1
CSC: Might provide # later. (Don't ask me about this. I don't know. Never played with CSC.)

2G GSM: GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G UMTS: B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
4G FDD LTE: B1(2100), B2(1900), B3(1800), B4(AWS), B5(850), B7(2600), B8(900), B12(700), B13(700), B17(700), B18(800), B19(800), B20(800), B25(1900), B26(850), B28(700), B66(AWS-3)

Bootloader: Unlocked
ROOT: Magisk
ROM: Stock Samsung OneUI 4.1 (Android 12)

Device Bands and Service Compatibility​

WARNING
- The SM-S908N is missing the 5G band B71 and 4G LTE bands B14, B29 & B30 of the Canadian Model which might be used by your service provider. This could negatively impact your experience!
- I do not have 5G with my provider so I can't and will not be testing it.
- 5G most likely doesn't work. I will consider it so until someone confirms otherwise.

Please take the time to review the bands used by your provider.

It works like a charm! During setup, the phone downloads the provider details. My provider name showed up and mobile data worked instantly.

Perfect operation on the Telus / Public Mobile network!

Order Details​

INFO
Cleared statement amounts are the same as the authorized amounts for me.

Purchased From: ebay with seller with_us. The 1099.99$ USD listing that includes shipping.
- 1000x thanks to XDA user 52yt for recommending this seller!

Payment Method: Paypal Only.
- Other payment methods are refused by seller.
- Only ships once payment clears.

Cost: 1,492.54 CAD
- Includes around 54$ extra from Paypal fees vs using credit card directly, but it might be more I forgot.
- Does not include duties and taxes.
Import Duties & Taxes: 224.47$ CAD
Total Cost with Accessories: Cry a lot

Shipped From: South Korea
Shipping Time: Ordered June 20th. Received June 27th.

Accessories​

INFO
I spent days researching the accessories to avoid getting lemons and still got caught. In case you might also need some accessories, here's what I got!

Protective Case

Spigen Optik Armor (with camera cover) Acceptable!
- Perfectly content aside from it being a cheap case.
- Looks & feels amazing to hold. Wobbly when handling case without phone.
- Lays crooked because of camera cover.
- Camera cover / sliding mechanism's build quality is very poor. Hard to slide.
- Had to drill hole in camera cover to allow flashlight through.
- No issues with wireless charging. Camera cover slightly in the way of the phone's charger coil.
- Makes the stylus slightly harder to pull out, but not a problem with normal length nails.


Screen Protectors

Liquid UV Tempered Glass: Not tested yet. Ordered the Mowei [3+2 Pack] with stellar reviews.
- Will install soon.

TPU: Not tested yet. Ordered the EGV with stellar reviews.
- Will not install. Only there as backup in case I royally mess up the tempered glass install.


USB-C Audio Adapters

WARNING
- The S22 Ultra only supports adapters with Hi-Fi DAC chips and they don't all perform the same. Your experience may differ depending on your hardware.

- The adapters listed below were not thoroughly tested and I can't speak for their durability over time.

- Splitter adapters cause annoying, but short disconnects. For example, if you are listening to music and then plug the power, it will disconnect and reconnect the cable. Thanks Samsung!

CableCreation 2-in-1 (T-shaped model) **Refunded**
- Audible white noise (hissing) during playback, with a click/pop at the end of each sound.

Stouchi USB-C to 3.5mm (2 pack) **Refunded**
- LOUD audible white noise (hissing) during playback, with a LOUD click/pop at the end of each sound.

ZOOAUX 2-in-1 (B094Z6149B) Acceptable! *WARNING*
- Clear sound with no artifacts. Got hissing once with no clicks, reconnecting fixed it.
- WARNING: I ordered a 2nd one and the new one had loud noise and clicks/pops.


USB-C Headphones

Skullcandy Sport (S2SXY-N740) Acceptable!
- No audible artifacts. Sounds like any good 20$ headphones.
- Bad shape and size of earbuds/gels masks all the bass, give a bad noise cancellation and bad fit.
- Perfect for duolingo and falling asleep to Futurama!


Other Adapters

UGREEN MicroSD to USB-C Acceptable!
- Must be plugged in directly.
- Doesn't work when used on other adapters or docks/hubs (At least from my experience).

Device Setup Tips​

The first screen(s) will be in Korean!

• If there's no SIM in the phone, you'll be greeted with the first setup page. The drop down arrow you see will let you switch to your language of choice. View example here.
• If a SIM is inserted, there will be a warning about mobile data charges before the first setup page. See translated pic here.

Downloads​

My Magisk Patched ROMs (No other modifications)

• Latest: Firmware v2022-06-04

Drivers & Tools

• Android platform-tools (adb)
• Samsung's Android USB Driver
• Bitfrost (Downloader for Firmware/Stock ROMS)

Apps

• Magisk

References​

Guides

• How-To-Root
• Device Optimizations
• Debloat Ref 1 & Ref 2 (Use caution with these, they can cause critical problems like bootloops! My own shell script will be made available soon.)

 

[nonomancer]

reserved.

 

[nonomancer]

Article Changelog
0.3.1 Add details about SM-S908E
0.3.0 Move changelog section. Add Index & TLDR sections.
0.2.0 MediaFire repo. Initial release of magisk patched rom v22-06-04. Change article text and presentation.
0.1.0 Initial Release.

 

[hand-filer]

 

[Starman2021]

If anyone is interested and is rooted, I have added the 908W csc successfully to my device the 908E to get 5g and WiFi calling etc working. PM me.

 

[nonomancer]

Nice to hear!

Have you posted about it somewhere? If so, I'll put a link to it in the article. Otherwise, feel free to update us here or msg me and i'll document it.

Curious to hear the details!

 

[Starman2021]

I created a post in case anyone would like to try it out. I've done it multiple times on different firmwares and it has worked every time.

S908W CSC FOR S908E

Hi everyone. This is for anyone with a S908e device that lives in Canada and would like to have proper signal, 5g, rcs in Samsung messages among other things. This should work for other regions as well such as the US. If you want to PM me your...

forum.xda-developers.com

 

[nonomancer]

I created a post in case anyone would like to try it out. I've done it multiple times on different firmwares and it has worked every time.

Awesome. Thank you for documenting it!

I'll link to it in my article and I'll try to setup my CSC in the following weeks.

If possible and not too time consuming, I'll try to research and document/backup the different CSC files from our providers in case there are nuances between them. I'm not making any promises tho, this effort could turn out to be a waste of time.

 

[babyboy3265]

Guys I have just received a Korean 512GB S908N, the phone seems to have a Snapdragon CPU. And not an Exynos as some threads suggest..
S908N TWRP EXYNOS ???

Please help me understand, searching has not led to any answers so far about what the CPU really is. The internet seems to have mixed feelings. I want to install a custom rom but to do so I need to install TWRP 1st.

What is happening?

 

[nonomancer]

Guys I have just received a Korean 512GB S908N, the phone seems to have a Snapdragon CPU. And not an Exynos as some threads suggest..
S908N TWRP EXYNOS ???

Please help me understand, searching has not led to any answers so far about what the CPU really is. The internet seems to have mixed feelings. I want to install a custom rom but to do so I need to install TWRP 1st.

What is happening?

You'll have to confirm with the dev from the TWRP EXYNOS thread. I haven't read it, it may already answer this question.

---

You can use the CPU-Z app from the Play Store to get the Device -> Board id and search that on google.

I can't speak for all phone models, but here is the gist.

S908N board is named taro which is SD8G1:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G SM8450 (Taro) | Processor Specs | PhoneDB

2021, Multi-core Application Processor with Modem, 64 bit, octa-core, LPDDR4x SDRAM, LPDDR5 SDRAM, 51.2 Gbyte/s, 6144 Kbyte L3, 4 nm, Qualcomm Adreno 730 GPU, 818 MHz GPU, CSD, GPRS, GPRS C12, GPRS MSC12, GPRS MSC32, GPRS MSC33, EDGE, EDGE MSC10, EDGE MSC12, EDGE MSC32, EDGE MSC33, UMTS...

phonedb.net

S908B board is named S5e9925 which is Exynos:

Samsung Exynos 2200 5G S5E9925 | Processor Specs | PhoneDB

2022, Multi-core Application Processor with Modem, 64 bit, octa-core, LPDDR5 SDRAM, 51.2 Gbyte/s, 4 nm, Samsung Xclipse 920 GPU, CSD, GPRS, GPRS C12, EDGE, EDGE MSC12, EDGE MSC32, UMTS, TD-SCDMA, HSDPA, HSDPA 1.8, HSDPA 3.6, HSDPA 7.2, HSDPA 10.2, HSDPA 14.4, HSPA+ 21.1, HSPA+ 28.8, DC-HSDPA...

phonedb.net

 

[babyboy3265]

You'll have to confirm with the dev from the TWRP EXYNOS thread. I haven't read it, it may already answer this question.

---

You can use the CPU-Z app from the Play Store to get the Device -> Board id and search that on google.

I can't speak for all phone models, but here is the gist.

S908N board is named taro which is SD8G1:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G SM8450 (Taro) | Processor Specs | PhoneDB

2021, Multi-core Application Processor with Modem, 64 bit, octa-core, LPDDR4x SDRAM, LPDDR5 SDRAM, 51.2 Gbyte/s, 6144 Kbyte L3, 4 nm, Qualcomm Adreno 730 GPU, 818 MHz GPU, CSD, GPRS, GPRS C12, GPRS MSC12, GPRS MSC32, GPRS MSC33, EDGE, EDGE MSC10, EDGE MSC12, EDGE MSC32, EDGE MSC33, UMTS...

phonedb.net

S908B board is named S5e9925 which is Exynos:

Samsung Exynos 2200 5G S5E9925 | Processor Specs | PhoneDB

2022, Multi-core Application Processor with Modem, 64 bit, octa-core, LPDDR5 SDRAM, 51.2 Gbyte/s, 4 nm, Samsung Xclipse 920 GPU, CSD, GPRS, GPRS C12, EDGE, EDGE MSC12, EDGE MSC32, UMTS, TD-SCDMA, HSDPA, HSDPA 1.8, HSDPA 3.6, HSDPA 7.2, HSDPA 10.2, HSDPA 14.4, HSPA+ 21.1, HSPA+ 28.8, DC-HSDPA...

phonedb.net

I have already messaged there as well and waiting to hear back... It is really weird...