S10e not receiving updates

[coolbreeze1]

Hi all, I'm a long time Samsung user (started with an S2, then S4, S7 and now S10e) though this is my first post here. 

I'm in the UK. A couple of years ago, I bought a Samsung Galaxy S10e from an ebay seller. It all worked fine and the whole family ended up getting S10e's to replace their aging S7s and S4s from the same seller. They've been working fine, except only one of them receives Android updates. 

It turns out these were AT&T phones, yet they are unlocked and we're all using UK carrier SIMs fine.

One is up to Android 11 and regularly installs updates still. The other 3 phones are still stuck on Android 9.

I haven't been able to contact the original seller.

I noticed the "Service Provider SW ver." is different on the ones that don't receive updates. It says

SAOMC_SM-G970U_OYN_ATT_PP_0036 R38M20GMFRZ ATT/ATT/ATT whereas the one that receives updates says SAOMC_SM-G970U1_OYM_XAA_RR_0007 XAA/XAA/ATT

Do I need to update the Service Provider string to be able to receive updates?

If so, how do I do that? Or do I need to do something else? 

[Stuie]

If you have a pc or laptop you can goto www.sammobile.com then click firmware and search for the uk firmware for the s10e, it will be under g970f the unbranded UK firmware will be BTU. It will also tell you to download the odin application which is used to install the firmware to your phone from your laptop or pc. There is a step by step guide to tell you how to install the firmware to your phone. It all free to download and use. I have used it a few times before so i can recommend it

[Pugs1957]

You cannot flash that device with anything other than software for the 970U1. Apart from that, I agree with Stuie.

[coolbreeze1]

Thanks guys. I remember looking at that before but was a bit wary of downloading firmware from unofficial sources.

What's BTU? 

And would installing a firmware this way root the phone? I'm not keen on doing that as I need to be able to use my banking apps etc. 

I'm assuming flashing a new firmware performs a factory reset? 

I found this link which seems to indicate I can change the CSC without flashing the firmware: https://samsungfirmware.net/change-csc-samsung-galaxy-phones/ 

I tried out the *#272*IMEI number# code and it gave me this promising yet ominous warning:

[Pugs1957]

BTU is the CSC unbranded firmware for UK devices. Trying to install firmware for a different model of phone may brick your device so you have to stick with the ATT firmware.
The least risky option is to see if there's an update using Smart Switch for PC, otherwise you will have to use Odin. You will need the latest firmware for your particular device. You program 5 files in Odin and for the CSC if you flash the home_csc file you will not lose your data.
Using Odin does not root your phone.

[coolbreeze1]

Thanks. I did try Smart Switch initially. It didn't offer up any updates. I'll be backing up my phone and trying the *#272*IMEI number# route first as that sounds the least risky in terms of bricking the phone. Afterall, I know the XAA (unbranded) CSC on my wife's phone receives updates fine. If that doesn't work, I'll try Odin. 

I'll report back on progress (may be a few days). Thanks for all help and pointers so far. Much appreciated. 

[coolbreeze1]

So backed up the phone using Smart Switch and ran *#272*IMEI number#. Chose XAA and hit Install. Got a prompt to choose between sales&network code change or network only which was unexpected. Chose sales&network code change as other forum users indicated that worked for them. Phone rebooted. Another unexpected result was no factory reset happened. Got my PIN prompt as usual.

Logged in and all my apps, files and settings are still there. Checked the CSC. It now shows XAA/XAA/ATT as expected. However, a check for update still shows "Your software is up to date". 😬

Comparing the Service Provider SW ver. info on my phone (no updates) vs my wife's one (gets updates) I see:

No updates: SAOMC_SM-G970U_OYN_XAA_PP_00013 R38M20GMFRZ XAA/XAA/ATT

Gets updates: SAOMC_SM-G970U1_OYM_XAA_RR_0007 XAA/XAA/ATT

Now when I try *#272*IMEI number# again, I get "Connection problem or invalid MMI code". 

Now I'm feeling a bit wary about flashing using ODIN. Am I right in thinking this will knock out the Knox or Secure Boot elements of the phone so it's status will change from "Official" to "Custom"?

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[Pugs1957 · Accepted solution]

For you to receive updates you will need to flash G970U1 firmware to your device See Is it safe fo flash a Samsung G970U with a G970U1 firmware WITHOUT an Unlocked Bootloader?? - Androi...

Latest firmware can be found here Download Samsung Galaxy S10e SM-G970U1 XAA Unknown firmware (sammobile.com)

This is official firmware so no Knox or bootloader issues. You will find there are 2 CSC files, Home_CSC keeps your data intact.

[coolbreeze1]

Ended up having to use ODIN Patched in order to go from G970U to G970U1 and couldn't find the BTU firmware anywhere so downloaded XAA - not sure if that means I won't get OTA updates going forward being in the UK?

I also used Frija which seemed a lot simpler and faster than sammobile to download the firmware files.

I'm now rocking Android 11, One UI 3.1 and Android security patch level March 1, 2021. Yay! I can't believe I was previously still on security patch level xxx 2019!

The device status is still Official and banking etc apps work fine. Initial impressions of Android 11 over 9 are favourable. It seems a lot more polished and slicker/smoother. So far so good.

A big thank you to Stuie and Pugs1957 for your very helpful pointers and advice. You guys rock!

[Pugs1957]

Glad you got it working. I believe you should now get OTA updates like your other device.