Database Users

[Q] Nexus 7 Owners Bootloader unlock question

Hey there,
I have a few questions for owners of the Nexus 7 or anyone who is able to help me
1. When you fastboot oem unlock to unlock the bootloader, does the device get wiped? I ask because someone mentioned that the Galaxy Nexus from the play store no longer wipes when running that command.
2. When you unlock the bootloader, do you no longer receive OTA updates? and if not, does it just require a simple relock to get back in the update channel? This is mainly for my N7 but also as I recently sold my friend a Galaxy Nexus which I relocked the bootloader too, and I hope he can still get OTA updates for Jelly Bean and the likes.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks in advance,
DarkRyoushii

Not sure on number one.
Number two is bootloader state has no effect on ota's

Thanks for the reply. I'm still really curious about the first question though. It would be great if it's the same as the play store nexus because then I won't be pressured to unlock the device when I first get it
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

I unlocked mine before setup. So I don't know if it wiped anything.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

is "unlocking the bootloader" another word for rooting then? Google results seem to suggest that when I looked up the term. "Unlocking the boot loader allows you to put custom ROMs on your phone" - from a Sonymobile Xperia site.

Salty Wagyu said:
is "unlocking the bootloader" another word for rooting then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's essentially step one of that process.

"Unlocking the Bootloader" is entirely different than "Rooting", although it is a prerequisite.
The Unlock operation will warn you that it will wipe the device - if it still does.
Anyone who unlocks should be able to tell us if they get that warning.

Unlocking the boot loader will wipe your device:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28267712
'Note: You need to unlock the bootloader in order to use this Superboot. Note that the OEM unlock sequence wipes your device'
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

quick linux/android primer
A bootloader is a small program which directly interfaces with the hardware to load a secondary program. That secondary program can be either a second stage to a bootloader or the actual OS, in this case, android. An OEM locked bootloader will only load a secondary program which is approved by the OEM. It usually does this by signing the code with a digital signature. Unlocking the bootloader will allow unsigned code to be executed. This unsigned code can be Another ROM or an altered version of the existing ROM.
Rooting is the process of obtaining superuser access to the operating system, in this case, android. In Linux and android, the superuser is the only user which can execute certain programs or write to protected filesystems such as /system. It is desirable to have root access to the OS so that you can perform extra functions such as hardware configuration like overclocking the CPU speed.
Without an unlocked bootloader, you can not run the program required to gain root access. As well, you must gain permanent root so you don't lose access when the device reboots.
Hope this clears it up for you.

DarkRyoushii said:
Hey there,
I have a few questions for owners of the Nexus 7 or anyone who is able to help me
1. When you fastboot oem unlock to unlock the bootloader, does the device get wiped? I ask because someone mentioned that the Galaxy Nexus from the play store no longer wipes when running that command.
2. When you unlock the bootloader, do you no longer receive OTA updates? and if not, does it just require a simple relock to get back in the update channel? This is mainly for my N7 but also as I recently sold my friend a Galaxy Nexus which I relocked the bootloader too, and I hope he can still get OTA updates for Jelly Bean and the likes.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks in advance,
DarkRyoushii
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, unlocking the bootloader does wipe your device.
2. Unlocking the bootloader and rooting "per se" doesn't prevent you from receiving any OTA updates (thanks albundy2010 for the clarification on this).

Just having root doesn't effect ota either

albundy2010 said:
Just having root doesn't effect ota either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean on the Nexus 7 or in general ? Because I've never been able to receive OTA updates in my phones while rooted.

Any nexus device for sure and just about every device that I know off.
Stock rooted roms will not have a issue with a ota. The issues come from custom roms?/ changes in /system that the updater script checks for etc.
Think about it for a second. All the I installed the update and lost root! How can I fix it topics. Ota root keepers and so on.
Root alone does not stop ota's. It is what the user ends up doing with root access that does

albundy2010 said:
Any nexus device for sure and just about every device that I know off.
Stock rooted roms will not have a issue with a ota. The issues come from custom roms?/ changes in /system that the updater script checks for etc.
Think about it for a second. All the I installed the update and lost root! How can I fix it topics. Ota root keepers and so on.
Root alone does not stop ota's. It is what the user ends up doing with root access that does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely right, mate. I totally forgot about the fact I have custom roms in all my Nexus phones, hence my confusion.

Nexus 7 unlock bootloader problem
Hey guys,
I'm having issues unlocking the bootloader on my Nexus 7. I've followed instructions that I've seen all over the web. I have the latest SDK and google usb driver and USB debugging is enabled. I've rebooted both my PC and Nexus 7 with no success in running "fastboot oem unlock" which stays on "waiting on device." I did run "adb devices" and it lists my Nexus 7 by its serial number. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

rmm200 said:
"Unlocking the Bootloader" is entirely different than "Rooting", although it is a prerequisite.
The Unlock operation will warn you that it will wipe the device - if it still does.
Anyone who unlocks should be able to tell us if they get that warning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How was the nook tablet rooted before the uboot exploit was discovered? Trying to understand more about these things.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using xda app-developers app

Unlocking the bootloader erases the userdata & cache. Here's what I got on command line:
E:\downloads\Android\androidsdk\platform-tools>.\fastboot oem unlock
...
(bootloader) erasing userdata...
(bootloader) erasing userdata done
(bootloader) erasing cache...
(bootloader) erasing cache done
(bootloader) unlocking...
(bootloader) Bootloader is unlocked now.
OKAY [ 66.329s]
finished. total time: 66.331s

Question about the toolkit

Hello N7 community, I had a question about the boot loader toolkit vs doing everything manually. This is my first nexus device and so far I'm loving it but I want to root it and from what I've read the boot loader has to be unlocked first similar to HTC devices, I did a Google search and came up with two links to AC one was a one click toolkit and the other was instructions for the SDK method. I havent done much with SDK but can easily read and figure it out but if the toolkit is reliable I'd rather go that route since I'm a firm believer I'm work smarter not harder lol. So my question is, is the toolkit a reliable way to unlock the boot loader and root the N7 or should I figure out the SDK method? I have the N73g running 4.2.1 if it makes a difference
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

dmonger11b said:
Hello N7 community, I had a question about the boot loader toolkit vs doing everything manually. This is my first nexus device and so far I'm loving it but I want to root it and from what I've read the boot loader has to be unlocked first similar to HTC devices, I did a Google search and came up with two links to AC one was a one click toolkit and the other was instructions for the SDK method. I havent done much with SDK but can easily read and figure it out but if the toolkit is reliable I'd rather go that route since I'm a firm believer I'm work smarter not harder lol. So my question is, is the toolkit a reliable way to unlock the boot loader and root the N7 or should I figure out the SDK method? I have the N73g running 4.2.1 if it makes a difference
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the best way to do it is also the right way, via fastboot. google made it easy to unlock the bootloader and root any nexus device(the method is the same for all nexii). there are links here that explain it, but this is it in a nutshell.. fastboot OEM devices(these three words unlock the bootloader), fastboot flash a custom recovery, flash either the su binaries or any custom ROM in your new recovery, reboot. that's all, easy. you can use a root toolkit, but you won't learn the basic processes needed for solving issues later on. I've seen people ruin their devices trying to resolve an issue that could have been resolved easily with some basic knowledge. also, read the forums, you'll notice how many threads there are with issues that include the words "I used a toolkit", you wont find any that use the words "I used fastboot". also, occasionally, these root toolkits create their own issues.

I appreciate the response but I've learned over the years of fiddling with my phones and time spent on xda that most of the "I bricked my phone" threads are people being careless. I'll look into doing everything through adb. Seems very similar to how the Sprint OG Evo was done.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

dmonger11b said:
I appreciate the response but I've learned over the years of fiddling with my phones and time spent on xda that most of the "I bricked my phone" threads are people being careless. I'll look into doing everything through adb. Seems very similar to how the Sprint OG Evo was done.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you know adb, fastboot will be very easy for you. you'll need it to unlock the bootloader at least, everything else can be done via adb. the all important line and the gift that google gave us.. fastboot oem unlock.

Unlocking and rooting with Wugfresh

Hey there XDA, excuse me if what im about to ask is silly, i have been out of the android scene for a while, i switched over to the dark side when my X10 died on me, however i have now received a Nexus 7 Wifi running 4.2.2.
Im planning on unlocking/rooting and then switching to a custom rom using Wugfresh's Nexus Toolkit but after reading a few threads here and there im scared of accidentally bricking the bootloader, from what i've read this is because people accidentally use fastboot erase, but is there any risk this will happen while just unlocking with Wugfresh's toolkit?
Ive tried googling for an answer but not getting exactly the answer i need.
Thanks in advance

Unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery then flashing a custom ROM is very easy to do manually so I don't really see a need for a toolkit.

This.
Username invalid said:
Unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery then flashing a custom ROM is very easy to do manually so I don't really see a need for a toolkit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may seem overwhelming at first but just do a bit of reading and follow the posted instructions that way IF something goes wrong you have the means and ability to fix it instead of saying the toolkit broke my tablet and I don't know what to do.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

What I noticed are the drivers are well hidden on the board...
Key is the drivers, the rest of it is child's play.
Beamed from my Maguro.

[Q] Nexus 7 bricked

my nexus 7 with jwr66y has struck on the screen boot failed
I tried to relock using nexus tool kit and then tried to flash stock rom and relock but unfortunately nexus root kit dint woed boot locker locked rk well and it displayed bootloader locked and failoed to flash stock rom and now all i got was a bootloader screen with locked state..help me

Hey, try to do the same procedure again.
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

federer123 said:
but unfortunately nexus root kit dint woed boot locker locked rk well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy for you to say.
I don't know what the point of locking your bootloader would be - especially if you don't have a working ROM on the tablet (stock or otherwise).
If you are trying to go back to stock and never root again, well then: unlock your bootloader, get stock running on your tablet FIRST and only then lock the bootloader after everything else is working.
So, for the moment, unlock the bootloader and get a ROM installed. You can use a toolkit if you want, but using fastboot manually will avoid the "hiding" of any error messages. There are a TON of threads in here on how to do that.
And if you want any kind of decent help, don't use the phrase "it didn't work". That's totally ambiguous - it sort of implies that there is only one possible reason why something went wrong on your tablet, and we all know exactly what that one thing is. Not even close; there are hundreds of things that could have gone wrong.
A far better approach is to detail exactly what you were attempting, and then cut and paste any error messages you observed into your post here on XDA.

Root without bootloader unlock?

Good Afternoon All,
Do you think it may be possible that we can get root access without unlocking the bootloader - I'm a little reluctant to unlock the bootloader because of the QFuse blowing.

The QFuse does not blow when you unlock or relock the bootloader. Many reviews and Android news sites spouted that nonsense without having tried it. There are many screenshots of Google CSRs saying that they don't know what the QFuse is for, but unlocking the bootloader/rooting/alterring software is fine as long as it's not so bricked you can't reflash stock images before sending it in to them.
Link to a thread discussing this issue.

Scyntherei said:
The QFuse does not blow when you unlock or relock the bootloader. Many reviews and Android news sites spouted that nonsense without having tried it. There are many screenshots of Google CSRs saying that they don't know what the QFuse is for, but unlocking the bootloader/rooting/alterring software is fine as long as it's not so bricked you can't reflash stock images before sending it in to them.
Link to a thread discussing this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 the QFuse status didn't change when unlocking the bootloader. The media exaggerated about the qfuse and nothing has happened. Everything about the phone still works properly.

Thanks very much, I wasn't aware of this, I should read more. Awesome news.

But to answer the first question.
Very few people put in effort to root a phone with an unlocked bootloader, not matter what fuses are blown.
A phone with an unlocked bootloader has root by default.

Swatto86 said:
Good Afternoon All,
Do you think it may be possible that we can get root access without unlocking the bootloader - I'm a little reluctant to unlock the bootloader because of the QFuse blowing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
last i read you have to flash a kernel in order to root the phone therefore you need to unlock the bootloader to do so, i would like to just root myself but i don't know if you can.

No answer?
I would like to get Root on my Nexus 6p but currently do not want to invest the time for full bootloader unlock/fresh install.
So... I will ask again, is it possible to get Root access on Nexus 6P with stock kernel and leaving bootloader in factory locked state? If yes... are there any guides to do this?

Why people are afraid to unlock the bootloader? Nexus devices don't lose the warranty when you unlock it, you can also lock it again.
Enviado desde mi Nexus 7 mediante Tapatalk

PetrichorXFi said:
No answer?
I would like to get Root on my Nexus 6p but currently do not want to invest the time for full bootloader unlock/fresh install.
So... I will ask again, is it possible to get Root access on Nexus 6P with stock kernel and leaving bootloader in factory locked state? If yes... are there any guides to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No

PetrichorXFi said:
No answer?
I would like to get Root on my Nexus 6p but currently do not want to invest the time for full bootloader unlock/fresh install.
So... I will ask again, is it possible to get Root access on Nexus 6P with stock kernel and leaving bootloader in factory locked state? If yes... are there any guides to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer is no.
To do what you want, someone would need to develop and exploit.
There is no motivation to do that when all one has to do is unlock the bootloader.
On phones where a bootloader unlock exists, root methods require unlocking the bootloader.
This is to install a custom recovery so yiou can flash SU.
Unlocked bootloader = root, no matter what.
You will need to invest the time and backup your device.

@TS, did you read the unlock/root guide in general section? It clearly states you need an unlocked bootloader + custom recovery to root your device..
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA-Developers mobile app

I think this should be possible now with Quadrooter vulnerabilities?

sushah23 said:
I think this should be possible now with Quadrooter vulnerabilities?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DOA.
But nobody is going to put in time and effort.
What is the point? Unlock the bootloader and flash. It does not void the warranty.
There is even a defined method to get the monthly security update.
With the exploit, it will only work until the next OTA patches it.

I was hoping to root without unlocking the boot loader also. I am definitely not willing to do this since I believe that is what wrecked my previous 6P. It was fine until I used Nexus Root toolkit. I unlocked the boot loader, installed TWRP and rooted then minutes after this the phone locked up, rebooted and was stuck in a permanent boot loop. I couldn't get into recovery or even install any recovery. That phone is currently at the Huawei repair center in Texas and they are sending me a new device. They believe the internal ROM failed and I have suspicions of everything I did with the Toolkit did this. I am afraid to try it on my current 6P that I got from a friend. I have no root now and the phone is massively stable. 400+ hours uptime with no reboot and no slowdowns. But if I were able to root with no unlocking of the boot loader or installing any custom recovery I probably would do it. I hate that I am scared to do all that again with this other phone haha. Sorry for sounding paranoid but ****, see where am I coming from?

LiquidAlloy said:
I was hoping to root without unlocking the boot loader also. I am definitely not willing to do this since I believe that is what wrecked my previous 6P. It was fine until I used Nexus Root toolkit. I unlocked the boot loader, installed TWRP and rooted then minutes after this the phone locked up, rebooted and was stuck in a permanent boot loop. I couldn't get into recovery or even install any recovery. That phone is currently at the Huawei repair center in Texas and they are sending me a new device. They believe the internal ROM failed and I have suspicions of everything I did with the Toolkit did this. I am afraid to try it on my current 6P that I got from a friend. I have no root now and the phone is massively stable. 400+ hours uptime with no reboot and no slowdowns. But if I were able to root with no unlocking of the boot loader or installing any custom recovery I probably would do it. I hate that I am scared to do all that again with this other phone haha. Sorry for sounding paranoid but ****, see where am I coming from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As good as toolkits are, put in the extra time and avoid using them because you are never in full control of what is being done to your device. Take a little extra time and learn adb and fastboot. It's actually really simple and you can get so much done without the need for using a toolkit.

Jammol said:
As good as toolkits are, put in the extra time and avoid using them because you are never in full control of what is being done to your device. Take a little extra time and learn adb and fastboot. It's actually really simple and you can get so much done without the need for using a toolkit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried that only a few times. I understand what you're saying. I guess convenience can be more destructive. :/

LiquidAlloy said:
I have tried that only a few times. I understand what you're saying. I guess convenience can be more destructive. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all honesty it's not even more convenient. Once you've used the command line you'll never go back to a toolkit. It's actually easier, much faster and you have way more control over what you do.

PetrichorXFi said:
No answer?
I would like to get Root on my Nexus 6p but currently do not want to invest the time for full bootloader unlock/fresh install.
So... I will ask again, is it possible to get Root access on Nexus 6P with stock kernel and leaving bootloader in factory locked state? If yes... are there any guides to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Helium app for individual apps backup. Worked great to backup a few apps/data when I changed from one Nexus 6P to another. Might be a bit buggy to get working to get the backup, but after that everything is fine.

you can do it with KINGROOT