AT&T Samsung Galaxy S8 Softwate update when not on AT&T anymore

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@orubin wrote:

Update on the updste: went to an AT&T Store, we put in a provisioned SIM, waited a bit and tried a software update. No joy. Waited a bit longer, still nothing. Thanks to the fine people at the Emeryville, CA store for trying  and being so helpful even though I was not a current customer. That is excellent service  

 

Back to talking to T-Mobike tech guys. They said they would research a way to try and push an update to my phone. It seem to have been successful. Tonight I got a T-Mobile notice .  I clicked software update and my phone showed a T-Mobile update ready to download. . Looks like  the boot loader went to v2, because I got a new 7.x Android update and after the second reboot, the sim was read and now my phone starts with a T-Mobile logo instead of the AT&T logo.  And I just got notified of more updates available. Seems they figured something out. 

 

So problem solved. What a nightmare of an issue. Never taking a phone across networks again  

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@orubin

glad you got it sorted.  I would say the one updated triggered the switch...

Thanks. It was never my intention to contact BBB or sue anyone. 

I have to wonder if putting the SIM in for a short time triggered something, or T-Mobile figured it out. The updates were labeled as T-Mobile software update. 

In any case, I am up to the latest 7.x install. Now the big question, go to Oreo or not? I hear a lot of people complaining about battery life and other issues. So I am on the fence on the new OS. 

Thanks GLIMMERMAN76, you were a great help. Appreciate it. 

Another way to update your phone is by flashing it with odin.i know that custom roms are not as good as original. So u can find an original software rom from Sammobile.com .just enter your device model amd download the respective rom and fladh it with odin.You can also search on youtube to change the software from at&t to F model.However it is not recommended

Flashing f series software is stupid and reckless since both phones use different socs.   The us version uses a snapdragon and the f series a Samsung exynos.

Hi,

Could you tell me who you talked to at tmobile. I am having the same issue. 

Thanks

Wow, that was so long ago, I do not recall. 

But what I think really freed this up was getting an active AT&T SIM card put in the phone long enough to get the next update. Once that update was installed, the phone then took the T-Mobile updates from then on. 

I assume that if T-Mobile changed something on the back end, it would have been changed for everyone. So I believe the other SIM kicked this off running.  I just went to AT&T stores until I found one that would help. 

how long did you leave the AT&T sim in for? Having the same issue. @orubin 

I left the AT&T SIM in the unit for about 40 minutes. Nothing happened at that time. I left the T-Mobile SIM out for about 4 more hours while the phone was on WiFi, still nothing. Before bed I put the T-Mobile SIM back in and the next day I got an update. 

All that might just have been a coincidence. You need to get that very first update, and the phone will switch to the other carrier's updates. After the first update my phone booted with a T-Mobile logo, and then took all the next updates on its own. 

Might have all been a coincidence too.  That first update is the critical one. It is also possible that AT&T is no longer sending out that update too. No way to know. 

This is that I did. I contacted Samsung. They sent me to repair store

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/locations/

Went to it, guy did update for free. Took about an hour to update. Working great.

Wow. The audacity to call this "solved!" Smh.. I have att prepaid too and they treat us like 2nd class citizens. It's WRONG. 

Well, for the OP, it was eventually solved.  The solution presented is what he ultimately ended up doing - it just took finding the right store to work with.

I never said solved for everyone. It was solved for me, the person who started this thread,

I’m sorry this has not worked for,you, but slamming me for saying MY PROBLEM was solved is way off base.

I have similar issue.  AT&T branded, unlocked Samsung Galaxy S9 plus purchased on Amazon, where I'm now on another carrier and stuck at the August 1, 2018 security update with Android 8 when I should be on Android 9 with an August 2019 security update.

Debating what to try next after reading this post:  1) Try to temporarily get AT&T sim to see if would update phone then switch back to my sim; 2) Try again to see if my carrier will find a solution to push an update like your t-mobile carrier did (but they already told me they couldn't; 3) Try factory reset; 4) Try to find OS ROM and flash phone myself; 5) Take to UbreakIfix (Samsungs authorized service) as suggested by Samsung.

When I called both AT&T and Samsung last week, each said sending out updates was the others responsibility and they each said they had nothing to do with it.

Are there any working solutions out there if my current carrier can't help?   And, does anyone know if flashing a phone with a ROM will change my unlocked phones status to "locked" which would be another nightmare.

I recommend the SIM path. Worst case you buy a 1 month Pre-paid SIM (with data) and leave it in as long as possible. You only need one update, and after that your provider can "convert" the phone to their network and send other updates. When this happened for me, the next update removed the AT&T startup screen and replaced it with their T-Mobile start-up screen. Which is horrible and VERY bright pink. 

good luck.

I have reached out to t-mobile and they say they can't push an update. I have all your very informative posts (Thank you) and I am in the same boat. i would love to get a push update from t-mobile so I could update to oreo. any advice would be appreciated as t-mobile is just saying they can't help