I have a Galaxy S5 on Verizon and there is currently no method to unlock the bootloader. I am wondering if there is a place to go and learn how to unlock bootloaders (and I mean finding the unlock method, not just flashing something). I know I will most likely not be able to, but I want to learn how they did it for simpler devices. I have moderate programming knowledge and I have plenty of knowledge on Android works, but not how to unlock bootloaders. Thank you.
DROIDRAZ said:
I have a Galaxy S5 on Verizon and there is currently no method to unlock the bootloader. I am wondering if there is a place to go and learn how to unlock bootloaders (and I mean finding the unlock method, not just flashing something). I know I will most likely not be able to, but I want to learn how they did it for simpler devices. I have moderate programming knowledge and I have plenty of knowledge on Android works, but not how to unlock bootloaders. Thank you.
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College. If you're lucky.
Related
I currently use a Samsung phone that does not have a locked bootloader. I've read that Motorola is one of the manufacturers that likes to ship their phones with a lock bootloader, and this prevents people from flashing/hacking/rooting their phone.
How big of an issue is this? Are there reliable and straightforward way to bypass a locked bootloader? If I were to get a Droid 4 next year which comes with a locked bootloader, will I still be able to flash it with custom ROM and root it?
Hi,
There are way too many threads discussing this, both in the general section and individual motorola threads.
Please search
Is it possible to unlock flipout from this website ? https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-b
Also is there any custom rom for it ?
No, the Unlock My Device program at the moment supports only one new device, the Photon Q 4G LTE.
I really hope that the masterminds at Motorola will soon add many more devices, especially older ones like the Flipout. Many of these devices are out of warranty by now anyway.
As for custom ROMs, there are none. Unfortunately the Flipout was not very popular with the modders. However, with an unlocked bootloader this could change.
So... how does one 'SIM unlock' this phone?
Do I understand right, that it needs to be rooted first?
Do I need to also CID unlock it, or is that only needed for flashing a custom ROM?
DylanKeyne said:
So... how does one 'SIM unlock' this phone?
Do I understand right, that it needs to be rooted first?
Do I need to also CID unlock it, or is that only needed for flashing a custom ROM?
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Only way for BF/Charm is by code, does not require root. Check ebay: search for "unlock mb511" or "unlock mb502" - fairly cheap these days,
Actually, bootloader unlock and carrier/sim unlock are two different things, so we're rather off-topic here.
I'm sure Moto has no interest in unlocking bootloaders of phones they've already sold, so in response to the OP I should say, "No; absolutely not; not ever."
(my browser spazzed and I lost my last post if it shows up as a double ignore the other one!)
I'm new to Android and finding it confusing so thanks for the help so far!
I have a 910F Note 4 on Lollipop and want to root it to get rid of bloatware and possibly stop ads (if I can convince myself it's ethical) btu I *may* want to custom ROM it later.
So far your help and my reading have taught me this:
-- I can root using chainfire in order to get rid of bloat and block ads
-- If after rooting I later want a custom ROM or Xposed I'll need to get custom recovery in which case I'll be able to add CWM or TWRP later to my rooted phone
Assuming the above are true (if not please tell me!!) my question is this:
What on earth is oem unlock/bootloader unlock? In my reading I've come across people talking about this and it wiping the phone. I can't find an easy answer online. If I root +/- do CWM/TWRP will that automatically do OEM unlock or are they different things? Is bootloader unlock a different thing too? I'm confused! Will I need to root AND custom recovery AND oem unlock AND unlock bootloader?
Thanks in advance!!!
Some devices come with a locked bootloader, where you may be able to root the device via an exploit, but you can't change lower level software (ie kernel and/or recovery)... unless there is an unlock method for the bootloader.
The devices that do have a locked bootloader can be locked by the manufacturer, or by the carrier. That's the difference between the two. Either way the bootloader is still locked, only difference is who called for the locking.
For example, note 4 on tmobile does not have a locked bootloader, however, note 4 on at&t does. That decision was made by at&t, not Samsung. As far as I know, the at&t variant does not have a method for unlocking the bootloader yet so there's not much development for the device.
Compare to nexus devices, where Google automatically has the manufacturer lock the bootloader, but it being a development device, it's the easiest bootloader to unlock. It's literally a one line command in adb. HTC devices are locked but you can get an HTC dev code to unlock it from HTC.
I hope that makes sense. The best way to determine if your device has a locked bootloader is to visit the development forum or the general/Q&A forums for your device. If you have a locked bootloader and there is an unlock method, you only have to do it once (until you update or relock your bootloader). Some locked devices never get an unlock method. It designed to maintain the security and integrity of the device, but it also prevents user tampering.
Thank you for your thorough reply absinthesummer, very helpful.
However I'm still a little confused. My reading suggests to me that T-Mobile (910T) is *rootable* and the AT&T version (910S?) is not *rootable* but I'm in the UK and don't use these providers I use EE. And so I have the international variant of the Note 4 which is the 910F. I don't see a subforum or help for the UK EE version of the note 4 but as it's the 910F I assume that's the one I need to search for and not worry that EE will have put their own lock onto the 910F??
Now, because this happens to coincide with what you are saying has a locked bootloader or not, am I to assume that whether or not something is rootable is the same as whether or not it has an unlockable bootloader? i.e. is something only rootable or not because its bootloader is unlockable or not? If so therefore am I correct to assume that as the 910F which I have is rootable that it is also bootloadunlockable? And furthermore am I correct to assume that the very process of rooting itself unlocks the bootloader? Or perhaps in the case of the 910F it doesn't need to be so is even easier than Nexus devices? i.e. I just simply root and that in itself mean bootloader is already unlocked (and I am assuming that oem unlock is the same thing?)
I'm getting myself in a muddle I think!
Hehe it's totally cool, and yes your carrier could put a lock on it but that's incredibly rare in Europe due to frequent traveling between countries and the need to change Sims and carriers often... or at least that's what I've been told. The US carriers who lock their bootloaders are typically GSM carriers who do not expect you to need to root/carrier unlock/whatever. It's a control thing imo.
Anyway, your note 4 does not have a locked bootloader. If you check the development forum for your device you will see plenty of roms and guides and directions for rooting. That's usually a good indication that a device is unlocked (and those anticipating the release of new devices tend to get lock information prior to release, so they know which device they intend to buy).
Anyway, since you don't have a locked bootloader I wouldn't worry about it... that reminds me of a device I had for about a week, the LG L9. It had an oem bootloader lock but the international variant did not. We could root it & use a specially designed recovery with the bootloader locked but we couldn't flash a custom kernel (with a custom rom). They figured out that we could flash the international firmware and unlock that way, but it would make our display backwards (mirrored) and while that could be fixed, we would never be able to revert the boot screen. Now that's way too much trouble to go through just to unlock a bootloader and I did end up returning it and getting an s3 instead.
Bootloader locks are no fun, but they are not often placed on international devices for various reasons, so really I wouldn't worry about it too much.
If you get a device like a Google nexus, or an HTC that has a known locked bootloader, the bootloader and unlock method will be specifically mentioned in the routing guide. I hope that helps.
One more thing: rootability and locked bootloaders are not mutually exclusive, sometimes you can root devices with locked bootloaders and sometimes people will come up with ways around them (ie note 3 has safe strap recovery that runs parallel to stock recovery) to be able to use custom roms. However, if no exploit is found and there is no workaround, development will stall until one or both of those things is found. You may be able to root a device with a locked BL, but you may not be able to flash custom roms/kernels without a workaround. What I meant though is if you see a popular device with very little development, that's probably due to a locked bootloader and not having found a way around it yet. Most guides will explicitly mention the BL though if it's something you need to do
Yet another thoroughly helpful and detailed reply. Thank you very much indeed. You're a star!
I have a verizon samsung galaxy note 3 as many already know after 4.4.4 was released verizon locked the note 3 boot loader so users cannot down grade back to 4.4.2 and the only successful root process that works is on 4.4.2 at this time as far as I've researched so my question is if I were to pay verizon the sim unlocking fee and switch to a carrier that has a known properly working root process, in theory would this work. ? Any feed back would be great. Hoping this will work??!! If any thing I've said is confusing please reply and I'll try my best to reword it.
You're assuming that when you pay the fee that verizon will flash you with an unlocked boot chain. Don't think it's possible. If I'm not mistaken, some of the trust zones are flashed then locked with a physical fuse.
....
So paying the unlocking fee then say you buy a BYOD (bring your own device) kit from t-mobile, straight talk etc, activate the phone with the new carrier (preferably a carrier that currently has a root method that works) then proceed with rooting said device?
Again I'm new to the forum as well as new to the concert of rooting, flashing custom roms etc so please respond in laymens terms
Idk if it could work, I'm just trying to explore any possible solutions to the problem of when android 4.4.4 was released (verizon released theirs with a locked bootloader and if my reseach is correct, there are root processes working for android versions after 4.4.2 on other cell carriers.
So what I'm trying to figure out is if I found a root process that is known to be working on for example (a root process that works on t-mobile, sprint, at&t etc)if I paid to unlock the damn sim and activate the SM-N900V on a cell carrier that so happens to have a working root process, what is the likely hood of it working?
Or
Will it be a complete waste of time, effort, and money to atempt?
Riwd98 said:
So paying the unlocking fee then say you buy a BYOD (bring your own device) kit from t-mobile, straight talk etc, activate the phone with the new carrier (preferably a carrier that currently has a root method that works) then proceed with rooting said device?
Again I'm new to the forum as well as new to the concert of rooting, flashing custom roms etc so please respond in laymens terms
Idk if it could work, I'm just trying to explore any possible solutions to the problem of when android 4.4.4 was released (verizon released theirs with a locked bootloader and if my reseach is correct, there are root processes working for android versions after 4.4.2 on other cell carriers.
So what I'm trying to figure out is if I found a root process that is known to be working on for example (a root process that works on t-mobile, sprint, at&t etc)if I paid to unlock the damn sim and activate the SM-N900V on a cell carrier that so happens to have a working root process, what is the likely hood of it working?
Or
Will it be a complete waste of time, effort, and money to atempt?
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You are confusing 2 different types of "unlocking".
Sim unlocking is not the same as unlocking a bootloader.
The locked bootloader will not be unlocked by Verizon.
The locked bootloader will not allow you to flash a custom kernel or system and prevents the easy rooting methods. Unless someone finds a root method, you will not get root on that device.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
So I really really want to learn more about how the bootloader works, how its locked, how others in the past have been unlocked and so on. The reason I want to know more is because the only way to install twrp from what I've heard is you need to unlock the bootloader. Can someone point me to the right direction? I want to know what coding language it uses too etc.!