Database Users

[Q] Keeping jailbreak after reseting my phone?

Hi guys, I tried searching the forum for this same question as well as googling, but I seem to have failed at that, so I stopped lurking, registered and am asking directly:
I am planning on selling my Omnia 7, but am curious as to how the whole "reset my phone" option works. I have mango update, not interop unlocked tho (I didn't update the latest 2 bugfixes fearing that my unlock would go away, although after some lurking that fear is proven irrational) and I want to "advertise" my phone as jailbroken, but I can't seem to be able to "detach" my hotmail account from the phone, and people have suggested that "reset my phone" option takes the phone all the way back to initial configuration. Now, what I'm curious about is - does this option also undo my jailbreak?
If so, how hard is it to re-unlock the phone for the new owner (I'd like to help him out as much as I can, in case he is not a tech-savvy guy and would rather get a fully unlocked product hassle free)?
I got my Omnia 7 and unlocked it via chevron, so it was fairly easy.
Thank you in advance for any help provided .

If it really is Mango, and not 8107, than you need to hard reset the phone and windowbreak it again. You don't need to enter your liveID to do this. After that, your phone will be clean of ALL your info, files and settings and jailbroken. You can than update it to the latest OS version (8107) via Zune so you can advertise that too.
http://windowsphonehacker.com/articles/the_windowbreak_project-12-23-11
PS: The buyer will not be able to windowbreak again if he needs to if you don't provide him with the backup files from your computer, because samsung has "fixed" the hole windowbreak was using in the new updates. You could backup your phone after the hard reset (but before you update it to 8107) and provide that. It should not be a huge file when the phone is hard reseted.

d.a.v.o.r said:
If it really is Mango, and not 8107, than you need to hard reset the phone and windowbreak it again. You don't need to enter your liveID to do this. After that, your phone will be clean of ALL your info, files and settings and jailbroken. You can than update it to the latest OS version (8107) via Zune so you can advertise that too.
http://windowsphonehacker.com/articles/the_windowbreak_project-12-23-11
PS: The buyer will not be able to windowbreak again if he needs to if you don't provide him with the backup files from your computer, because samsung has "fixed" the hole windowbreak was using in the new updates. You could backup your phone after the hard reset (but before you update it to 8107) and provide that. It should not be a huge file when the phone is hard reseted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing response Davor, 100% documentated and acurate.

d.a.v.o.r - your answer is much appreciated, however, I found a video on youtube demonstrating windowbreak method being done on the same version of software (how I forgot to mention that in my first post is beyond me and I apologize for being vague) I had and it was being done after the uploader restarted his phone using the "reset my phone" option, so I took that as a sure sign it could be done with no problem.
Sold my phone, buyer seems to be a regular on XDA tho, so I'm guessing he'll have no problems whatsoever .

S7 SM-G930F Rent-A-Center Lock Workaround

I thought I would post this in case someone else is stuck like I was. I purchased an S7 SM-G930F off ebay and it worked fine for a 45 days until 2 days ago when a Rent-A-Center lock screen popped up and rendered the device unusable. I tried to get it returned through ebay but the seller and ebay both said that the return window closed. Based on web searches this has been in place for a few years on Rent-A-Center acquired devices but I couldn't find anything fixing it for the S7. Long story short I tried everything under the sun to get a firmware on it and every way failed. It seems like anything based on Samsung firmware would trigger it including multiple different builds such as Superman. Others probably know more, but it seems like there is something in Samsung produced firmwares (maybe knox) that checks and trips on the IMEI number causing the lock to trigger.
There are guides and information out there about using Cyanogenmod on an S5 to work around it so I looked through all the firmware available and decided to try the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 here by Angelo27093 since it wasn't based on Samsung Firmware.
That worked! Many Thanks to Angelo27093 and anyone else who worked on that firmware because it turned my 500.00 brick into a usable device.
Steps (I'm a newb so maybe I didn't need all this)
1. Download the Stock firmware of your choice from Sammobile
2. Unzip/unrar it and pull out the BL and CP for bootloader and modem (I used 7Zip)
3. Grab TWRP from here
4. Grab Odin 3.12 here
5. Download the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 ROM here
6. Put the N7 ROM on an SD Card
7. Put the Device in Download Mode (Hold Vol Down, Power, Home)
8. Use Odin to flash TWRP to the device (AP)
9. Reboot into Recovery Mode (Hold Vol Up, Power, Home)
10. In TWRP use Advanced Wipe to Wipe everything except the SD Card. If it fails use Reset Data first, then Wipe
11. Reboot into Download mode from TWRP Reboot menu
12. Use Odin to Flash the BL, CP, and TWRP
13. Reboot into Recovery mode
14. Use Install from the TWRP menu to browse to N7 Google Pixel ROM on the SD Card
15. That's it. Wait for it to boot and setup (might take 5-10 min)
The only other thing I did was grab exchange services and the samsung email client from an APK mirror.
Again, MANY Thanks to all the people that put all this software together. Saved my device!

Just tried this, still doesn't work for me. Followed all the steps. Did the lock come back for you?

1- install twrp
2- boot into recovery
3- Go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> hit "Select"
4- type these comands
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13
5- do a factory reset with the recovery

deshaney said:
1- install twrp
2- boot into recovery
3- Go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> hit "Select"
4- type these comands
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13
5- do a factory reset with the recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When doing dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11 I get the following error:
Code:
dd: writing 'dev/block/sda11' : No space left on device

Thank you for this!! At our cell-repair place we had a customer have this stuck on their S7 and we could not get it off. We had actually tried this exact thing once before without a few of the steps. Well, we did everything in this order again, including flashing twrp again and typing the code before installing the rom and it worked! Not sure what was different between our two separate tries, but in the end it worked! So thank you!!

deshaney said:
1- install twrp
2- boot into recovery
3- Go to Advanced -> Terminal Command -> hit "Select"
4- type these comands
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda11
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda13
5- do a factory reset with the recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after do odin flash with G930FXXU1APB6 and all ok

Note 8
I just bought a "unlocked" note 8 and everything was clean when I checked it and everything works and is activated but when I was scrolling though the settings I saw under "knox" there's a Rent-a-center profile with the contact number and everything. So I'm assuming this is going to do the same exact thing. And if it does, will this method work for my phone as well? I've been doing research about what it means and a solution when i stumbled on this post and figured I'd ask some people who are familiar with the issue and might know what to do and not to do. So If anyone has any advice or can help please let me know

mjohnson27401 said:
I thought I would post this in case someone else is stuck like I was. I purchased an S7 SM-G930F off ebay and it worked fine for a 45 days until 2 days ago when a Rent-A-Center lock screen popped up and rendered the device unusable. I tried to get it returned through ebay but the seller and ebay both said that the return window closed. Based on web searches this has been in place for a few years on Rent-A-Center acquired devices but I couldn't find anything fixing it for the S7. Long story short I tried everything under the sun to get a firmware on it and every way failed. It seems like anything based on Samsung firmware would trigger it including multiple different builds such as Superman. Others probably know more, but it seems like there is something in Samsung produced firmwares (maybe knox) that checks and trips on the IMEI number causing the lock to trigger.
There are guides and information out there about using Cyanogenmod on an S5 to work around it so I looked through all the firmware available and decided to try the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 here by Angelo27093 since it wasn't based on Samsung Firmware.
That worked! Many Thanks to Angelo27093 and anyone else who worked on that firmware because it turned my 500.00 brick into a usable device.
Steps (I'm a newb so maybe I didn't need all this)
1. Download the Stock firmware of your choice from Sammobile
2. Unzip/unrar it and pull out the BL and CP for bootloader and modem (I used 7Zip)
3. Grab TWRP from here
4. Grab Odin 3.12 here
5. Download the N7 Google Pixel Edition 2.0 ROM here
6. Put the N7 ROM on an SD Card
7. Put the Device in Download Mode (Hold Vol Down, Power, Home)
8. Use Odin to flash TWRP to the device (AP)
9. Reboot into Recovery Mode (Hold Vol Up, Power, Home)
10. In TWRP use Advanced Wipe to Wipe everything except the SD Card. If it fails use Reset Data first, then Wipe
11. Reboot into Download mode from TWRP Reboot menu
12. Use Odin to Flash the BL, CP, and TWRP
13. Reboot into Recovery mode
14. Use Install from the TWRP menu to browse to N7 Google Pixel ROM on the SD Card
15. That's it. Wait for it to boot and setup (might take 5-10 min)
The only other thing I did was grab exchange services and the samsung email client from an APK mirror.
Again, MANY Thanks to all the people that put all this software together. Saved my device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didn't work for me, model g930f. please helpppp!!! ((

TLDR, follow back to stock procedures for your phone. In this case they have used an exploit to gain system persistence. Without clearing the system and data partitions, the exploit will likely return ("factory restore" only wipes data partition).

Sounds to me like the Rent a Center lock is a legitimate lock by Rent a Center... It seems that whomever you bought your phone from had acquired it from Rent a Center on a "rent to own" or something similar - And they sold you a phone that wasn't theirs to actually sell....In other words it looks - walks & smells like fraud on the part of the person who sold you the phone.
https://www.rentacenter.com/smartphones/shop-smartphones/c/5001
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

magmafire said:
actually i bought a note 8 on ebay after 2 months use my phone was locked too with its was saying rent a center and asking for password
a friend of mine has commented on facebook post for someone who was saying he have sucessfully removed this lock
i did contacted him on his facebook he told me to send picture of the lock i did send it and he said he can unlock it he asked me for 90$ to remove the lock i accept and and paid him via skrill he asked for team viewer the logged to my pc then made the screen black and i do not know what he did then he tell me to do some steps and volla my phone was in download mode for 2 minutes then rebooted and i cant believe the lock was gone
this is the link where i found his post
www . facebook . com/ baselalzoupi/posts/2089441677959653
and this his facebook id page where i contacted him
www . facebook . com/ baselalzoupi
i cant post links because i just registered to make you guys know about it because i spent 1 month searching for solution
remove spaces in the link to make it work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had great experience with this service referred by @magmafire. Basel was very professional, friendly and patient. He is passionate about his work. The price was more than fair for the service he offered. I highly recommend him for anyone's got a rent-a-center locked phone. :good:

shaggyskunk said:
Sounds to me like the Rent a Center lock is a legitimate lock by Rent a Center... It seems that whomever you bought your phone from had acquired it from Rent a Center on a "rent to own" or something similar - And they sold you a phone that wasn't theirs to actually sell....In other words it looks - walks & smells like fraud on the part of the person who sold you the phone.
https://www.rentacenter.com/smartphones/shop-smartphones/c/5001
Sent from my SM-G955W
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it really comes down to it rent a center are a bunch of crooks who over charge people 2,500.00 for a 800.00 phone ??? screw rent a center.

Any one here can verify this method works? Seems ever one saying its not working. I bought a s7 other day mint condition for 25 bucks guy said it wouldn't turn on so i got home and charged it and it came on but it has a RAC lock on it. I figure if its ez enough for me to get it off i will try that but if not i will wait till i get another s7 with bad lcd and swap boards. I tried flashed U1 FW and that didnt work.

Flash the engineer bootloader that matches your firmware version. This will give you root she'll access. Then you can use the "dd if" commands to remove rac lock. I've done it on multiple phones.

I have the opportunity to buy a Note 9 from a seller that seems to deal with second-hand stuff (maybe a pawn shop, or they bought a pallet of electronics for resell/repair/etc). I don't think it's some degenerate that just didn't pay their bill and are trying to rip off RAC. It's the unlocked international version (N9600) that can be bootloader unlocked, rooted, etc. I'm familiar with the process of entering download mode, wiping, rebuilding partitions, etc. Would this process work on this phone to permanently remove the RAC lock? I plan to use the phone on Verizon, FWIW.
Now, a note on the legality/honesty of this situation:
I know that there is the possibility of dishonesty here... so it's a little taboo to talk about. RAC locked down the device due to non-payment. However, I hate the idea of the hardware going to waste. The fact is that when someone defrauds a lender (carrier, rent a center, etc)... it sucks, and there's a phone that's locked until it's paid for. However, in most cases, they don't pay for it, and it gets sold on the gray market. I just want this device to be able to be used again. If RAC is the only entity that can *legally* unlock it, then it's just not going to happen. They might want thousands of dollars to pay it off.
Stolen cars are eventually sold at auction, assuming they are in suitable condition. It's the most legitimate end to preventing a running car from going unused.
So... on the honor system... we technically capable people that just want to battle entropy of electronics might be able to remove the lock permanently and save the device from the e-waste heap. That's my goal. And a good deal, of course.
So... Will this work for the N9600? Thanks

KerwinSiwa said:
I totally agree. State courts throughout the US have consistently held that a failure to pay for leased merchandise is civil in nature, and does not rise to the level of theft or other criminal charges. Hence, a person in possession of a Rent-a-Center locked smartphone is not in possession of stolen property. No harm, no foul. Ethically, I can see where Rent-a-Center posits in terms of a loss. Nevertheless, the civil dispute is strictly between Rent-a-Center and the lease signer. That's none of my business. My name's Paul and that's between ya'll; my name's Bennett and I ain't in it. Anyway you get my point. A Rent-a-Center in Tennessee recently sought civil damages against an individual who was charging a fee to remove RAC remote security from RAC smartphones. Rent-a-Center ultimately lost the case (See Rent-a-Center, Inc vs. Jerry Garvey, Jr (Tenn. R. App. P. 81 (Aug 2018)).
By the way these locks are super simple to remove and, on most devices, the remote security protocol can be removed from the device in 15 minutes or less. Rent-a-Center should perhaps look into some better security. Yes, you can do this on the N9600 as well. I can confirm on that model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the item in question already sold to someone else... But now that I'm interested in the topic, I'm also curious. Can RAC blacklist the phone like a carrier could? Could they put the IMEI or MEID on a list of stolen devices and carriers like Verizon or Tmobile could refuse to activate them? Or, do they have no authority to do that? If they could blacklist the device for all carriers, it doesn't matter how simple their security is.
Thanks again

So... Let's say I came across a phone with a RAC lock and did an ESN check. If I got the attached results... What would be the outcome? It's not on the blacklist, but it is on the NCIC list (national crime information center). Would Verizon or any other carrier allow it, or not? I kind of want to ask Verizon directly, but that would be like asking a TSA agent what weapons *are* allowed on a plane.
Any advice?

DrPhant0m said:
So... Let's say I came across a phone with a RAC lock and did an ESN check. If I got the attached results... What would be the outcome? It's not on the blacklist, but it is on the NCIC list (national crime information center). Would Verizon or any other carrier allow it, or not? I kind of want to ask Verizon directly, but that would be like asking a TSA agent what weapons *are* allowed on a plane.
Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ncic is the national database that police use for lost/stolen stuff. carriers generally dont have access to it. but cops do. if a cop runs the imei in ncic it would come back as stolen and you might get in trubble with the law for possing stolen property. however unlike cars or guns the cops only check phones through ncic if something suspicious is happening like phone theft investigation where they have a description of person or vehicle possibly involved

Newbie Help with an Unrooted, Unmodified Phone Stuck in Fastboot Mode After Update

I'm not really looking to do anything unofficial or invalidating or ultra-complicated to my phone. I've been looking everywhere for help, and I'm having a lot of difficulty, so I'm really hoping there might be someone here who can help me. My phone is a Moto X Style, and last night I tried to update it (I can't remember what the update was called, but I had been trying to avoid it like the plague because anytime I update ANY KIND OF THING WHATSOEVER something ends up going wrong. I got tired of getting the little pop-up reminding me to update my phone, so I finally decided to install it). I had connected it to the charger to make sure it would stay charged during the update since updates can take a while. But when I checked my phone next, it had gone into fast-boot mode with this message:
Start Up Failed:
Your device didn't start up successfully. Use the Software Repair Assistant on computer to repair your device.
Connect your device to your computer to get the Software Repair Assistant.
Turning it off and on again just results in the same thing. I thought maybe if I tried to do a reset to factory settings maybe it would work again. But unfortunately, I can't seem to access recovery mode, either. When I try to access recovery mode, the phone restarts and still gives me the start-up failed message in bootloader logs as well as a couple of messages in a purplish-pink that's all:
Version downgraded for recovery
Failed to validate recovery image
ERROR: Failed to pass validation, backup to fastboot
Fastboot Reason: Fall-through from recovery boot mode
I tried talking to Motorola Technical Support on their website via Online Chat. They were effectively useless, and at one point recommended I take the phone to a Service Repair Center...
In India. (I live in the United States, and I work as a cashier in retail. I can't afford a trip to India - might as well buy a new phone at that point. Of course, I can't really afford to buy a new phone right now, either).
I've tried doing some research on my own. The only Software Repair Assistant that seems to be available is the one from Verizon Wireless. I tried to get that to work but no dice. No surprise there, I guess, since I'm not actually with Verizon Wireless (I'm on a Republic Wireless phone plan cause cheap). I read that sometimes Republic Wireless can interfere with things update-wise and cause something like this to happen? But I couldn't find anything about how to fix it.
I have no idea how much it would cost if I tried to take it to some kinda other non-official repair service somewhere, and I want to try and avoid that option if I can. Please if you have any suggestions that won't result in my phone ending up in worse condition, I could really use the help. I'm so upset and frustrated by this issue. I knew updating my phone would suck, but I didn't think this would happen!

Gigglypuff said:
I'm not really looking to do anything unofficial or invalidating or ultra-complicated to my phone. I've been looking everywhere for help, and I'm having a lot of difficulty, so I'm really hoping there might be someone here who can help me. My phone is a Moto X Style, and last night I tried to update it (I can't remember what the update was called, but I had been trying to avoid it like the plague because anytime I update ANY KIND OF THING WHATSOEVER something ends up going wrong. I got tired of getting the little pop-up reminding me to update my phone, so I finally decided to install it). I had connected it to the charger to make sure it would stay charged during the update since updates can take a while. But when I checked my phone next, it had gone into fast-boot mode with this message:
Start Up Failed:
Your device didn't start up successfully. Use the Software Repair Assistant on computer to repair your device.
Connect your device to your computer to get the Software Repair Assistant.
Turning it off and on again just results in the same thing. I thought maybe if I tried to do a reset to factory settings maybe it would work again. But unfortunately, I can't seem to access recovery mode, either. When I try to access recovery mode, the phone restarts and still gives me the start-up failed message in bootloader logs as well as a couple of messages in a purplish-pink that's all:
Version downgraded for recovery
Failed to validate recovery image
ERROR: Failed to pass validation, backup to fastboot
Fastboot Reason: Fall-through from recovery boot mode
I tried talking to Motorola Technical Support on their website via Online Chat. They were effectively useless, and at one point recommended I take the phone to a Service Repair Center...
In India. (I live in the United States, and I work as a cashier in retail. I can't afford a trip to India - might as well buy a new phone at that point. Of course, I can't really afford to buy a new phone right now, either).
I've tried doing some research on my own. The only Software Repair Assistant that seems to be available is the one from Verizon Wireless. I tried to get that to work but no dice. No surprise there, I guess, since I'm not actually with Verizon Wireless (I'm on a Republic Wireless phone plan cause cheap). I read that sometimes Republic Wireless can interfere with things update-wise and cause something like this to happen? But I couldn't find anything about how to fix it.
I have no idea how much it would cost if I tried to take it to some kinda other non-official repair service somewhere, and I want to try and avoid that option if I can. Please if you have any suggestions that won't result in my phone ending up in worse condition, I could really use the help. I'm so upset and frustrated by this issue. I knew updating my phone would suck, but I didn't think this would happen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it is telling you to get the software repair assistant, are you putting your phone into your computer with the message displayed? Just want to make sure it doesn't automate a repair for you.
Do you have an unlocked bootloader, rooted, etc.?
Gotta ask to know where to possibly start.

aybarrap1 said:
When it is telling you to get the software repair assistant, are you putting your phone into your computer with the message displayed? Just want to make sure it doesn't automate a repair for you.
Do you have an unlocked bootloader, rooted, etc.?
Gotta ask to know where to possibly start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried plugging it into the computer, but nothing happens. I've tried downloading the Verizon Wireless Software Repair Assistant, but it just gets stuck on Processing... and nothing happens.
I haven't done anything to the phone. No rooting or anything like that. Dunno if this is relevant, but -
Console (NULL): null
Tools Mode Config: DISABLED
Battery OK
Device is LOCKED. Status Code: 0
Software status: Official

Gigglypuff said:
I've tried plugging it into the computer, but nothing happens. I've tried downloading the Verizon Wireless Software Repair Assistant, but it just gets stuck on Processing... and nothing happens.
I haven't done anything to the phone. No rooting or anything like that. Dunno if this is relevant, but -
Console (NULL): null
Tools Mode Config: DISABLED
Battery OK
Device is LOCKED. Status Code: 0
Software status: Official
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any idea what version of Android you were running (MM, N)? What specific model do you have (XT1572, XT1570, XT1575)

I'm really not sure what version I was running. The model is XT1575, though.

XT1575 is not enough to determine the exact error. Is your phone Verizon wireless locked SIM or all SIM type? If it is in first case, so hard to fix it. Bring it to Verizon.
If phone works with any SIM (2nd case), you can try to reflash your recovery via adb (google it). If it doesnt work, you may have to unlock your bootloader (warranty ended), flash the newest firmware corresponds to XT1575. If all is done without error, your phone may start again like a brand new. You have to set up everything again.
Do it with your own risk.

Does anyone have OEM Unlock on the SM-J530G?

I've been trying for a long time to get OEM unlock with the Samsung Galaxy J5 Pro SM-J530 G variant. I've seen people unlocking the BL in the J730G, same exynos chip.
Here is what I have tried so far:
All date/time tricks
Factory reset
Flash Stock ROM
Waited 7 days
My last attempt made me give up and ask for help here... I completely flashed the most recent stock rom, wiped everything using the CSC file not the CSC-HOME, I did the start setup logging into samsung account and google account, after completing the start setup I inserted the SIM card otherwise that stupid start setup would consume 4G costing me $$$.
Waited for 168 hours with the device always on, and still no OEM UNLOCK, I mean what else can I do... there's almost nothing about this problem with this device here on XDA... I'm hoping someone with a SM-J530G and that had OEM Unlock could tell me what was the process to enable this option. Or what are my options here? Thx
And by the way, I've seen something called Miracle Box, but I dont want to use it since it does not look very legal, I think its meant for FRP bypass. I'm just an android user trying to root my personal device e.e

I'm having the same problem, I'm tired of this, never buying Samsung again. I tried all the things I searched on the internet for hours and nothing works, I do not want to wait 7 days, if you find a method of bypassing that actually works, please do tell me, I will do the same if I find one.
I'm so pissed.

I have good news for you my friend, and for everyone that is reading this. I tried many and more times the same procedure changing small things. I will try to write it out as best as I can so I can help some fellow buddies who've got the same problem.
1 - (As I had already everything backed up and got nothing to lose) Factory Format the device (I did it from the bootloader), hell, I even also cleared cache just for god's sake.
2 - Proceed to initiate Android, DON'T sign-in to any account (nor Samsung nor Google), don't change the date during installation, finish set-up.
3 - DON'T enable Developer's Mode yet. Change the date, I've set it for a month back just to be damn sure (disable automatic date-set). Now go to the Software Updates tab and disable auto-updates and manually check for updates, once done, re-boot.
4 - Once rebooted enable auto-date (that should correct the old date and replace it with the actual one) and re-do the manual check.
5 - Re-boot and enable Developer's Mode and hopefully, for the love of Ragnar Lothbrok, OEM Unlock should be there. I hope it is for all of you.
Hope it helped, good luck buddy/buddies!

Franz Enz said:
I have good news for you my friend, and for everyone that is reading this. I tried many and more times the same procedure changing small things. I will try to write it out as best as I can so I can help some fellow buddies who've got the same problem.
1 - (As I had already everything backed up and got nothing to lose) Factory Format the device (I did it from the bootloader), hell, I even also cleared cache just for god's sake.
2 - Proceed to initiate Android, DON'T sign-in to any account (nor Samsung nor Google), don't change the date during installation, finish set-up.
3 - DON'T enable Developer's Mode yet. Change the date, I've set it for a month back just to be damn sure (disable automatic date-set). Now go to the Software Updates tab and disable auto-updates and manually check for updates, once done, re-boot.
4 - Once rebooted enable auto-date (that should correct the old date and replace it with the actual one) and re-do the manual check.
5 - Re-boot and enable Developer's Mode and hopefully, for the love of Ragnar Lothbrok, OEM Unlock should be there. I hope it is for all of you.
Hope it helped, good luck buddy/buddies!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is awesome! I'm going to try it tomorrow, I've been using the device doing my third 168 hours. If it fails again I will repeat everything like you did.
Thank you!!
Sent from my SM-J530G using XDA Labs

Another 168 hours wasted and I followed the trick above, it does not work it was patched with the august 2018 security patch, my device is running with the november 2018 security patch.
My frustration is beyond what I expected to experience with this device... I guess most people were able to activate this thing except me >.<

Enlighten me
When you keep it for 168 hours does the WiFi have to be on or is that not necessary

Sameer521 said:
When you keep it for 168 hours does the WiFi have to be on or is that not necessary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested with wifi always on and logged to google and samsung account so it could sync whatever it had to sync, still no success. I have no idea on how to meet the requirements to unlock the BL on this phone

scroll-lock said:
I tested with wifi always on and logged to google and samsung account so it could sync whatever it had to sync, still no success. I have no idea on how to meet the requirements to unlock the BL on this phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is their any other method for 2019.am at my wits end

OK I tried something and it worked to unlock the oem.
Have a Samsung account,then go to find my mobile website and press unlock.it did the trick for me.hipw it helps you as well

Firstly, i use miracle box and then i use samsung tools pro to "reboot" my device because when you unlock the bootloader there is a fail on the room.
here you have a video which could help you.

Help Needed - Pixel 4 - No WiFi+Data after update

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a used Pixel 4. Past owner said WiFi+Data stopped working after updating Android and that the phone is unlocked and carrier-free. I need to unlock bootloader in order to install GrapheneOS but it is greyed out. As you can see in the screenshots, it seems like the phone is not recognizing WiFi and IMEI hardware while booted. IMEI does show up in the barcode menu option in fastboot. System UI crashes if I try to open WiFi config. The only thing I could try was tethering via Bluetooth from my other phone and updating Android OS and apps. Already tried wiping everything and forcing phone to connect to Google while on Bluetooth tethering by pressing (*#*#2432546#*#*) in the dialer as sugested here: https://source.android.com/setup/contribute/flash#preparing-your-device
This doesn't show any success or error message.
One thing that may have happened is this: https://www.phonearena.com/news/google-pixel-android-12-verizon-update-issue_id136367
Apparently Google sent OTA Verizon update to unlocked Pixel 4's by mistake. Maybe the wrong software is what is making it not recognize WiFi+Data?
Current installed build is 12.1.0 (SQ3A.220605.009.A1, Jun 2022). Maybe I should wait for a new SP* instead of SQ* build to come out and try installing it? This is because P is for the main platform branch as explained here: https://source.android.com/setup/start/build-numbers#build-ids-defined
Hopefully it comes out before October since that is the end-of-support date.
OTA builds: https://developers.google.com/android/ota#flame
Other option would be to try out this but it seems the riskiest and last resort option:
Unlock carrier locked bootloader Pixel [BETA]
UPDATE AS OF 16 OF MAY 2023 This project isn't working right now, but I am still working on it. However due the complicated nature of the projects and the fact that I have little free time means this project will probably still take time to get...
forum.xda-developers.com
And yet another option would be to purchase a new board and replace it.
What do you think? I tried submiting the IMEI to T-Mobile's site and it says it is OK to be ported. Verizon's site didn't let me submit the IMEI I don't know why. And for AT&T I didn't find any site for that. IMEI checks say it is not blacklisted.

Did u solve this?