Android Updates after unlocking from service provider?

dvsman

2[H]4U
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Dec 2, 2009
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Hey guys,

I'm hoping someone here knows the answer to this. So I completed the contract on my office phone and had it unlocked via the unlocking code from AT&T (it's a Samsung S6 Edge Plus). But now I started thinking, when the Android 7 update comes out, will I still be able to update it?

If I click 'Check for updates' right now, it says it checks with the AT&T servers - the service provider which I no longer use it on and which the phone is no longer connected to.

Any mobile experts happen to know?
 
Once Samsung releases the 7.0/7.1 ROM for your phone & region, simply download the entire ROM (https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/) to your PC and flash using Odin or Fastboot. Instructions on how to do this are widely available via Google. 'Course if you've rooted the phone, you can also flash it from recovery. Make sure you backup all data (phone/text logs, emails, contacts, etc.) first.
 
If you're not directly on the original carrier's network (the one that sold the phone) then there's a chance you won't get OTA updates because they push those over their own networks. That doesn't mean you can't get the update as mentioned above, in a manner/form which will require a manual installation and no, root is not required to install an official OTA - the factory recovery (not a custom one) allows for the installation of OTA updates (update.zip) directly from recovery on most any phone, it's always been that way, you just have to locate that update.zip file someplace (it'll never be found at the carrier's support site. Best practice is looking at places like the XDA-Developers forum to find someone with the device using the original carrier who can save that update.zip OTA file when they do the upgrade themselves and ask them to share it someplace you can grab it yourself for the manual install.

Unlocking the carrier use doesn't have an effect on not getting OTA updates, what can cause that to happen - not getting those updates - is either not being on that carrier's network or potentially rooting the phone which breaks the security model that's part of the check to confirm the device is eligible to accept the OTA in the first place.

The instructions above about grabbing the full entire ROM archive from SamMobile is a valid one as well IF someone does eventually share that full installation ROM - it's not an update but the full thing as though you were wiping your device completely clean and installing that latest full version of the OS so except to lose data in that process - make sure you've got everything backed up prior to a full Odin flashing operation or you're going to regret it most likely.
 
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