Database Users

[Q] OEM unlock on Note 4?

(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!

[OEM UNLOCK] - Canadian Telus LG G4 H812

Settings > General > About Phone > Software Info > Tap Build Number until you have Developer Options. Go back to About Phone and tap on Developer Options and Enable OEM Unlock is right there, simply check it off to fully enjoy your beautiful G4.
Just wanted to let everyone know carrying a Telus G4 that it is there in developer options incase they didn't know.

Spudnubs said:
Settings > General > About Phone > Software Info > Tap Build Number until you have Developer Options. Go back to About Phone and tap on Developer Options and Enable OEM Unlock is right there, simply check it off to fully enjoy your beautiful G4.
Just wanted to let everyone know carrying a Telus G4 that it is there in developer options incase they didn't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome find! /kappa
Most models have this option, but it does nothing for us without fastboot, for now..

I saw this in the options, but wasn't sure how it helped us. What is the plus value of doing this? Does it permit to fasboot oem unlock?
**Edit** Read up on it. It only enables fastboot, which you could do once root was achieved anyway, so no big exploit. Anyone courageous enough to attempt to bootloader unlock the sucker?

I thought they all had this option but the T-Mobile variation was the only one where it actually did anything?
EDIT: I attempted to enter Fastboot with Vol-Up and Power without success.

To my knowledge the only G4s that are unlocked are the TMO (811) and International (815EU) everyone else, that option is a dummy option. the reason thats there is because that option is a default dev feature in LP. Checking this unless you have either of the two listed variants has no effect. It makes you able to use the fastboot oem unlock command which is only supported on these two variants.

djkinetic said:
To my knowledge the only G4s that are unlocked are the TMO (811) and International (815EU) everyone else, that option is a dummy option. the reason thats there is because that option is a default dev feature in LP. Checking this unless you have either of the two listed variants has no effect. It makes you able to use the fastboot oem unlock command which is only supported on these two variants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has it been confirmed that the Canadian version has a locked bootloader? Or would it be carrier dependant? There just isn't a lot of people, understandably, talking about the H812.

Usraek said:
Has it been confirmed that the Canadian version has a locked bootloader? Or would it be carrier dependant? There just isn't a lot of people, understandably, talking about the H812.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Connect your phone to your pc, and run this command in terminal: adb reboot bootloader
if it puts you in fastboot you can issue this command: fastboot oem unlock
if you can't even enter fastboot, then you device bootloader is locked.

Confirmed: Does not work. (Telus H812)

Confirmed locked, Rogers H812.
Worth a shot anyhow I suppose

Well... At least we're one step closer to getting root on Canadian variants. It's a step in the right direction at least.

This is a standard Android option. it only works on a couple of devices. T-Mobile is one. It's definitely not a quick and easy fix to unlock your bootloader for 95% of people.

the_scotsman said:
This is a standard Android option. it only works on a couple of devices. T-Mobile is one. It's definitely not a quick and easy fix to unlock your bootloader for 95% of people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah well, I can certainly live without flashing a new ROM. LG's take on Android isn't as absolutely foul as Touchwiz was on my S3. I'll be perfectly sorted once we have access to Xposed, Viper, and the other incredible applications that require root.

I guess if it just restarts as usual after issuing the command then the bootloader is locked.
Talking about MTS H812.

Has anybody bugged LG about unlocking the bootloader recently. Last I see is that they unlocked 815 and others were to follow.
I did, however, find this: https://www.change.org/p/lg-electronics-unlock-bootloader-on-all-g4-devices

ETA ?
Is there some information about possibly having support for CM on the H812? It's suck that LG don't seem to want to unlock the locked Canadian and European variant of the G4. If I would have known that earlier I would have went for a Nexus 5 or 6 and not a G4 :/

Not sure where everyone is coming up with this uninformed bullcrap that if your able to boot into the bootloader you are unlocked. The boot loader on EVERY single G4 is LOCKED until you have LG provide you the unlock.bin, after giving them the Device ID from fastboot. If you own an H811 from T-Mobile you can unlock without the unlock.bin. If your lucky enough to be able to access fastboot on other models, it just means you are able to obtain your Device ID for the day LG decides to support the US models. End of discussion, nothing more to talk about!

urlyisis said:
Has anybody bugged LG about unlocking the bootloader recently. Last I see is that they unlocked 815 and others were to follow.
I did, however, find this: https://www.change.org/p/lg-electronics-unlock-bootloader-on-all-g4-devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've recently contacted LG Canada about releasing an unlock tool for the boot loader on the G4 Canadian variant. I conveyed to them that it is one of the primary features I look for in a phone (I have the G2, G3 and got the G4 in expectation of eventually getting to install other ROMS). I've not received a response yet.
Given that the hardware features are gradually becoming indistinguishable between vendors (and LG is no longer on the world wide market share short list), one way to differentiate yourself and place yourself apart from others is to permit the user the ability to do as they wish with the phone, especially when the costs to maintain future OS releases becomes onerous and unprofitable and developers and open source communities are willing to pick up where vendor left the phone to wither and die.
I had advised them that the G4 will be the last LG phone I will be buying if this is the stance they take.

I gave up on this phone, it's out for hardware repair right now, I'm not even anxious to get it back, I'm enjoying my old unlocked rooted s4
Sent from my GT-I9505G using XDA Free mobile app

Well, that is disappointing to say the least.
I am bought the Canadian LG G4 without even anticipating that it wouldn't be unlocked. I had a LG G3 previously and was generally happy with the phone. Lesson learned I guess. I'll make sure my next phone does not have a locked bootloader, and LG won't be on the list for my next device.

Azure1203 said:
I guess if it just restarts as usual after issuing the command then the bootloader is locked.
Talking about MTS H812.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can this model be used in the United States?

[Request] Bootloader unlock guide

As title, is any up to date guide on how to unlock bootloader?
The only guide found here points to dead links.

xelrix said:
As title, is any up to date guide on how to unlock bootloader?
The only guide found here points to dead links.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, you can't unlock it anymore. We need to wait for Huawei to change its mind (unlikely) or our developers to come up with an idea how to unlock it.
Both options require waiting...

Any news?

you may try with DC unlocker, which will fund 4€ for an bootloader unlock code. then you may follow th usual unlock procedure via ADB

Hello dears,
I've been looking for a new P10 plus, but I won't buy it if there is no option for bootoader unlocking.
I've been accross this one:
Code:
http:--huaweiadvices.com/unlock-bootloader-huawei-p10
,
where it mentions this one:
Code:
http:--hwid5.vmall.com/CAS/portal/userRegister/regbyemail.html
Is there anyone with any experience on this?
Do you know if the Xiaomi's are unlocked?

Well, I did pay a visit to hwid5.vmall.com, no unlock codes provided there.
Do you think it will work from hardreset24.com/instruction/how-to-get-password-for-unlocking-bootloader-in-huawei-p9-plus-only-by-imei or from global-unlocking-solutions.miiduu.com/bootloader-unlock-codes-choose-model-below or dc-unlocker.com?
After the unlock code is inserted, can we flash any ROM, firmware, kernels, etc? Does it stay unlocked?

I did unlock VKY-L29 using this method https://forum.xda-developers.com/9-lite/how-to/unlock-bootloader-code-t3859685
It's not oneclick job and took me several evenings to unlock, but it's free and it works. The problem is that you need to get a unique slock file and then again you'll need edit nvme file (or gently ask someone who understands). There are very nice support if you're not pushing them to do magic for you.
All in all, i have unlocked device for several months and now i use OpenKirin Pie.

Thank you for taking the time to answer.
I'll give it a shot when it comes!

How to Unlock Bootloader

Someone Plz Take Initiative To provide Guide on How to Unlock Bootloader
Roms. Have started coming out
I would nice if someone made this

Have you try it from, https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/bootloader/
I don't know if it's working,,, I'm not planning to unlocking bootloader yet.. since development of the device is not really good (yet).

R324D said:
Have you try it from, https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/bootloader/
I don't know if it's working,,, I'm not planning to unlocking bootloader yet.. since development of the device is not really good (yet).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Itz not working app crashing literally everytime

Screenshot

What happened in the process since you opened the webpage?
Is there any command? Is it requiring you to install an apps or something?
Is it "OEM Unlocking" menu on developer options turn to live so can be disabled or enabled?

They ask for email id and pass code
Pass code we get from the hmd boot loader app and app is crashing while asking to confirm bootloader unlock

Nokia doesn't allow to unlock our bootloader officially..
That's why app keeps crashes

https://www.techmesto.com/guide-unlock-bootloader-nokia-android-phones/
Check this link, Its paid but.

There should another way or something to bypass and.unlock
There is no point in having many good roms when u can't use it

saurabh.k said:
Nokia doesn't allow to unlock our bootloader officially..
That's why app keeps crashes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adding to this point, the HMD app pointed out will only work for Nokia 8:
https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/...-announces-bootloader-unlock-program-nokia-8/
Hopefully, they will open up the program for more devices.
Nokia had blocked the unlock process last August due to a security threat: https://www.xda-developers.com/augu...nes-blocks-the-only-bootloader-unlock-method/
There's already another thread on this forum which guides you to unlock the bootloader by first downgrading back to the firmware before this August update

It's a reliable service. This is the only way to unlock bootloader currently. I can recommend this..

My Nokia 6.1 plus stuck on androidone download mode
Please help me

How do the paid services generate the unlock codes with IMEI and Serial number?
Any luck with getting bootloader unlocked using their unlock keys, Any experiences with these?
Is it possible to unlock without using these 3rd party services, Are there any algorithms for this. Its been more than a year since its release and still no reliable method to unlock these phones after the security update.
Is it possible to unlock bootloader after downgrading to Oreo, does this require any unlock codes.

H873, any hope for unofficial bootloader unlocking?

Hey, i have the model number H873 which is canadian, and i looked on google and this thread etc and havent seen any possibility of bootloader unlocking
So i guess im ****ed. rip lol what do i do, is there still hope for unofficial bootloader unlocking or something¿ Because I do see the OEM Unlocking toggle in dev options. Or am i just stuck with a bootloader locked phone forever?

There's someone obtained the root, he's working for easy method