Chosen Solution
I’m just questioning what differences are there between those models if it makes a difference in repairing it?
Sammy the differences is more on the PCB. It is usually relates to the different Networks around the world. There can be differences in baseband, SAR levels and Carrier lock/branding. In general the repairs are the same except on the board level.
The letter was the old way of identifying the original carrier. It goes as follows: T=T-Mobile (carrier locked, now known as U1)A=AT&T (carrier locked, now U). The clue here is AT&T does not use “U1” on the device info page.V=Verizon (unlocked after 60 days, now U1).U1 with no clear clues in the model identifier=MNVOs (Ex: Spectrum). BEWARE: THERE ARE FEW CLUES ON THESE AND CARRIERS LIKE SPECTRUM ARE HARD-HEADED ABOUT HELPING NON-CUSTOMERS WITH PAID-OFF PHONES. They sell as “Unknown carrier” for a reason at times! Just avoid them and buy a 1U! I AM ONLY INCLUDING THIS FOR HISTORICAL/WARNING REASONS: P=Sprint (came out before the T-Mobile merger. Most were dropped with the Sprint 3G/4G/5G shutdowns due to no VoLTE, or no way to enable it OTA, and the age of the phones made trying pointlessly expensive vs replacing them with new ones. If it’s a “P” Samsung, it may work and if it does CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY, and do not be surprised if T-Mo drops yours any day)! The issue with these phones is the exotic CDMA hardware nobody wants to touch because Samsung had to alter them to the “Sprint spec” back then because of how fragmented the network was (3G CDMA, WiMax*, 4G LTE, limited 5G) – T-Mobile purchased them when they were doing their 5G rollout). Yes, Sprint somehow had power over the OEMs to do this even with their size and they didn’t have to make their network work like everyone else’s.IMPORTANT: There are SOME “U1” Sprint phones, but there’s a key nasty surprise on “5G” phones from 2019 or older, NOT JUST SAMSUNG: T-Mobile is permanently dropping the 5G bands and making them 4G phones, forever. The radios are there and the bands are still present, but the towers are dropping the Sprint 5G bands because they had to be special, again (angry cat noises). They couldn’t leave anything be and pulled it twice, so the 5G “U1 5G” phones being permanently reduced is no better than the old “P” series phones.Yes, this is a catch-22: Good riddance (and I hope the door hits these things in the back, with how I had to watch for it), but it’s a waste if they aren’t parted out to add to the parts supply for “normal” versions without exotic nonsense which led to them being abandoned or neutered. “P” is now a tattooed scarlet letter, not a red flag; Sprint U1 from 2019 or older is not worth buying used. Even if I ran an MNVO, I wouldn’t want to touch either of these phones to avoid people bringing them on to use them as a way to get replacements comped knowing their days are numbered. I’m glad I can say “P” phones are best avoided (as well as 2019 or older Sprint 5G phones), but at what cost to the environment? If you have a 1U today or a model like the GT-i9300/9305, this means factory unlocked; these can never be carrier locked. U/U1 can be carrier locked at the discretion of the carrier. *A few non-profits sued Sprint to delay the WiMax shutdown because they complained about the deal they were getting. Yes, Sprint did nonprofits dirty too and it took a lawsuit to make them honor the Clearwire deal.
