I have rooted my rogers phone the UK way and am wondering if i want to install some custom roms/cm7 do i need to unlock my bootloader? I am a noob......there is so much information on this site....bear with me and my questions.
Flashing a stock ROM such as the generic doesn't need an unlocked bootloader because it uses stock kernel, and doesn't need a custom recovery. That's why you can just use flashtool.
CM7 uses a custom kernel and needs recovery, so you need to unlock the bootloader.
Sent from my R800
Hi trying to understand whether i can install custom ROM or not. I have i337ucufni1 baseband and according to terminal emulator i have the same bootloader (NI1)? How do I know if this is a locked bootloader or not so I can Root/Install custom ROM?/
Please advise,
Locked Bootloader
hol64 said:
Hi trying to understand whether i can install custom ROM or not. I have i337ucufni1 baseband and according to terminal emulator i have the same bootloader (NI1)? How do I know if this is a locked bootloader or not so I can Root/Install custom ROM?/
Please advise,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is locked. But with safestrap it can be unlocked and rooted with Towelroot. A custom rom can be tricky as it must you Touchwiz same as stock firmware. Maybe someone else can give you more details.
Just to add on to TailGunner. They are all locked but the early bootloaders, of which you are not, can use an exploit called loki-doki to bypass Sammy's security checks.
Start here--
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/summary-rooting-roming-i337-t2872013
You will need SafeStrap, no custom recoveries, kernels etc.
Read carefully so as not to brick anything.
Oh, BTW MODS will move this to Q&A--
Good Luck--:good:
All you need to know http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
hi guys. i would like to root my nexus 4 preferably without flashing a custom ROM, but which way is easier and safer: flashing a custom ROM or just rooting with SU without flashing a custom ROM? i am a "beginner" and afraid of bricking my device. could you recommend be the best in your opinion rooting tutorial? i saw some on stickies but apparently they are from 2012. are they still relevant? thanks a lot!
you dont need to flash a custom rom to root your phone. your phone just stock and locked as well? there are couple different methods you can use to root depending on the current state of your phone (ie what version os you are running, locked/unlocked bootloader, etc..)
thank you for the answer
i am using 4.4.4 kitkat downgraded from 5 lollipop, so does it mean that my bootloader is unlocked? or not necessarily?
I currently have AT&T stock (I used to have a custom ROM then had to flash to stock ROM to be able to flash to another custom ROM--however, I accidentally flashed a newer version of the AT&T stock ROM which locked my bootloader and I could no longer flash to a custom ROM). I updated my AT&T stock ROM recently and now my back/menu buttons don't work, so I want to see if I can flash to a custom ROM now.
I don't remember the procedure to flash a custom ROM--do I first need to get root in order to unlock the bootloader to be able to flash ROMs (i.e. if I have root then I am guaranteed to be able to unlock bootloader in order to flash ROM)? Is the baseband version the only thing that determines whether I can unlock the bootloader and then be able to flash ROMs?
I currently have OK2 as broadband version and checked one of the stickied threads which said this:
" ROOT
OK2 -- No direct root method. Must Odin OC4 kernel, use Kingroot, then Odin OK2 kernel back."
Does that mean what I have to do is use Odin to get OC4 kernel, then use Kingroot, then Odin OK2 kernel and then I will be able to have root, which means I can then unlock my bootloader and be able to flash to ANY ROM (not just TouchWiz-based ROMs)? Is there anything else I need to consider or is this 100% foolproof? In the future, what should I be careful of in order to prevent getting my bootloader locked again--just that I don't flash a stock (AT&T) ROM that is known to lock back the bootloader?
Thank you all!
There's no way to unlock the bootloader if you have updated your device to the lastest firmware version. The only thing you can do is flash SafeStrap and use Stock Kernel Based ROMs which are compatible with Safestrap.
As regards to the procedure of rooting an OK2 firmware, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you.
Have a happy new year.
mindstormer said:
...however, I accidentally flashed a newer version of the AT&T stock ROM which locked my bootloader ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just about to sit down and flash a stock ROM. Can you explain what you mean by this? Did you flash OK2 and it caused you a problem?
smock9 said:
I was just about to sit down and flash a stock ROM. Can you explain what you mean by this? Did you flash OK2 and it caused you a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a while ago but I used to have I believe an MDL broadband version which meant I could flash any ROM available. I tried a different ROM, didn't like it, then decided to flash back to the stock ROM but accidentally flashed a newer version of it, which meant that my bootloader is now locked. With a locked bootloader, apparently I can only flash to a newer stock ROM (not other ROMs like Cyanogenmod) via Safestrap.
I think if you don't have the MDL broadband version you shouldn't worry about it anyway because it is locked and you will only be limited to flashing stock ROMs.
Slight correction
The previous entry is not entirely correct. Like the OP, I was originally on an unlocked bootloader on my i337. I'd purchased my i337 on the first day and eschewed OTA updates. I wanted to try a touchwiz based ROM, Hyperdrive, and in doing so I recall flashing the stock NB1 firmware. Every firmware beginning with NB1 has a locked bootloader and there has been no progress for more than a year in unlocking the bootloader again. This can limit you to either stock ROMs OR other touchwiz based ROMs like Hyperdrive. I love the Hyperdrive ROM (now on release 21) but its developer has moved on to a newer phone, so it's stuck at Android 4.4.2 and no one has picked up the project in many months. There are several other touchwiz based ROMs for the i337 version of the S4 which I have also tried but I prefer Hyperdrive's myriad customization, even without proper patching. I'll be moving on soon to the Nexus 6P as my daily driver, but would very much like to keep my S4 up to date with a custom ROM. Given the number of people that have been in this same situation, where a newer stock ROM from AT&T locked a previously unlocked bootloader, it's been surprising that the issues have not been overcome on a phone as popular as the Galaxy S4 was and continues to be. I've seen unlocked versions of the S4 selling for just under $400 in the last week of 2015.
Use the desktop version of Kingoroot to root and use Super su and update the binary. Don't forget to hit thanks if this helped.
The bootloader for the at&t s4 was never unlocked. The MDL bootloader had a flaw in it that allowed you to use LOKI which is a lock bypass, not a way to unlock the bootloader.
Does having the bootloader unlocked after rooting and installing a new ROM serve any purpose?
Will it cause problems if I wanted to change ROMs?
PS: TWRP is already flashed.