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.!
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If I have an unlocked G1, can anyone tell me if I root my phone and update to some of the firmwares posted hete (RC33), is it possibel that my phone becomes locked again? I now have RC19 and the phone is fully unlocked, but I'm afraid it can become locked again if I root it or flash it with another firmware. I have enough technical background to do the rooting and flashing as I have expoerience with windows mobile, but this is something new for me. Btw - i totally love the G1 and regret not leaving windows mobile.
The Sim-Lock is in an area of the phone that can not be "flashed' by the user. You are good to go!
Thanks a lot for that !
daveid said:
The Sim-Lock is in an area of the phone that can not be "flashed' by the user. You are good to go!
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I have been looking for this answer, as well. I have a brand new g1 that I traded my 3g iphone for. It's unlocked and on my AT&T account with no problems. But I had my iphone modded to the hilt and so of course I want to do the with the g1. That was the answer i was looking for!
Anyone else?
Yes. Please, anyone who has rooted and upgraded their UNLOCKED g1 , share experience. It may seem like a stupid question to some of the "advanced" users
bt remember - you weren't born with knowledge, so share it!
For example - an ulocked Iphone can be locked when upgrading so are you sure that the G1 won't lock as well!
What do you mean unlocked? As in sim unlocked, if so it can not be locked by upgrading software.
If you mean unlocked as in you have access to root. Then yes, but that is why you use JF's firmware.
alright ive got a rooted rc33 and im on at&t, ive upgraded from rc30..
so even when you upgrade you're good to go
I mean sim unlocked
I mean what unlocked means - SIM unlocked. My device is rc19 and came unlocked for any sim cards. I haven't done anything with it yet - root or upgrade and I wanted to ask if it's safe root and upgrade a sim unlocked device.
I was concerned it may become locked again because I don't know anything about the unlocking process on the G1 - I know there is a code that's generated according to the IMEI and tahat's about it but I wanted to know if this code can be erased by flashing newer firmware. I have read the steps described on this site for root and upgrade and I plan to do those with my device but I wanted to gather some opinions first. I hope this topic will be useful to others who have bought the G1 unlocked and are concerned.
axlastro said:
I mean what unlocked means - SIM unlocked. My device is rc19 and came unlocked for any sim cards. I haven't done anything with it yet - root or upgrade and I wanted to ask if it's safe root and upgrade a sim unlocked device.
I was concerned it may become locked again because I don't know anything about the unlocking process on the G1 - I know there is a code that's generated according to the IMEI and tahat's about it but I wanted to know if this code can be erased by flashing newer firmware. I have read the steps described on this site for root and upgrade and I plan to do those with my device but I wanted to gather some opinions first. I hope this topic will be useful to others who have bought the G1 unlocked and are concerned.
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youre safe to upgrade and root, ive done both and mine has stayed unlocked..
Ok. That sounds encouraging. I recall that there were more than one ways to unlock the Iphone. Is it the same with the G1 - I know the main way to unlock
it is by entering a code but I also know there are HARDWARE unlocked devices (as the developer edition of the G1) - Is yours only simUnlocked or is it hardware unlocked too? I'm sorry if I'm asking too much, but I don't want to pay 30$ to get an unlock code again.
It's not like the iphone. The iphone is has to be 'unlocked' by hacking the firmware, since apple have never released any legitimate way of unlocking it, and seem to take great delight in re-locking 'unlocked' iphones every couple of months (this is one of the reasons why my iphone sits at home gathering dust).
The G1 has a standard unlock code, just like just about every phone on the market. Once that code has been entered the phone is unlocked permanently. There's no such thing as a hardware unlocked device - it's merely never been locked to a provider. In the same way if I buy a 5800 from Nokia it's unlocked but it's no different to one got on contract, it's just never been locked.
Google don't care much if you run JF firmware or something you cooked up yourself... they give away the source code so you can do just that.
Thanks.
So entering the simunlock code is irreversible process, having nothing to do with the firmware. That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks guys.
Successfully rooted, upgraded to Jf RC33 with multitouch, put apps on SD and very happy now
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.
(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!
Why in God's name are the bootloadera locked on The US variant of the S7 edge? Can anyone figure this out? Is there a way to port over Twrp im so sick of this phone and let the crap to root it.
There;s no way to unlock the bootloader and you cant install twrp on the snapdragon variants (except for the chinese variant.)
Blame the carriers.
But you can use FlashFire to flash stuff on your device with the current root method.
Current root method is using a engineering bootloader so the performace and battery is terrible.
We cant have nice things bro srry
Is any work being done to try to unlock the bootloader of the SM-G955U model? Just got the phone so I'm out of the loop and was wondering what the hold up is. Bought a simple mobile version and put my T-Mbile sim in it. Works great so it is definitely carrier unlocked, but the bootloader is locked which means I cannot install a custom recovery. Not very happy with Touchwiz...
abel408 said:
Is any work being done to try to unlock the bootloader of the SM-G955U model? Just got the phone so I'm out of the loop and was wondering what the hold up is. Bought a simple mobile version and put my T-Mbile sim in it. Works great so it is definitely carrier unlocked, but the bootloader is locked which means I cannot install a custom recovery. Not very happy with Touchwiz...
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As far as I no one's doing anything on that side of stuff, you can still get root and there is a custom rom out there by a user named Partcyborg, do not expect to see any aosp/lineageos roms out, there isn't events fully working one for the exynos version