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Which LG V20 should I buy? Help!

I am looking for an LG V20 that I can unlock the bootloader and root the device. Which variant do you guys recommend? I am currently on ATT and would like to know if the ATT version can be unlocked and rooted. If not which one can I use for ATT and unlock it?

borijess said:
I am looking for an LG V20 that I can unlock the bootloader and root the device. Which variant do you guys recommend? I am currently on ATT and would like to know if the ATT version can be unlocked and rooted. If not which one can I use for ATT and unlock it?
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I think all the variants are currently on versions that have patched Dirty CoW. Up until recently, on T-Mobile, you could at least downgrade with a KDZ, but the latest version has anti-rollback.
I think the US996 might be your best bet. You won't have WiFi calling, but it at least has an official unlock, even if it can't be undone.

Which LG V20 has the most support?

If i were to get a LG v20, which version should i buy if i am concerned with rooting, bootloader unlocking, and roms and such?

The at&t variant is the one that can be rooted on all the software versions the company has released thus far. This might change though in any future updates the company releases. The rest can also be rooted, but only up to certain software versions (mostly those released prior to mid-2017, for the T-Mobile variant, updating to H91810P and beyond means you can't root, yet).

The factory unlocked US996 (not to be confused with the us cellular us996) is the only one that LG provides an official means to unlock the bootloader which is a key part of rooting and installing custom ROMs. The others must rollback to an old version (which isn't possible on recent Sprint and T-Mobile firmware but the framework is there for any carrier to stop it) to root/install a custom ROM. Besides that both x86cpu (main maintainer of LineageOS for the V20) and myself ( I fell into maintaining TWRP for the V20) have the US996.

I recently bought a used H910 AT&T from ebay running 10m
Had to downgrade to unlock bootloader and install TWRP but working like a charm...

is the us996 model the same one as the t-mobile version? is there a way to tell which us996 is which?

Hi, sorry for asking this if it sounds dumb but i am not good in rooting and custom rom stuff i just use stock rom. Recently I also bought h910 and it has some issues regarding the os. How to know that i need to downgrade the android to unlock boot loader for installation of twrp? Can you help me?
I am also having this issue which i posted in xda, may be you are aware of it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/help/lg-v20-h910-how-to-remove-carrier-t3773458

As far as i check and know there is only one us996 model and that's the us cellular variant

@runningnak3d has recently developed a method to root T-Mobile H918. (main thread here)
Several members have reported successfull root, and it appears the method is successful on many other V20 models (even other LG phones) as well.

Best model for rooting?

Hey guys
Ive searched the forums before posting this question
I saw that the US996 is recommended for rooting
I was wondering if there was any other model that supports GSM (att/ tmobile) and I can unlock and root?
As the US996 is very expensive compared to any other model..
Would an unlocked H910, H918, VS995, or LS997 work??
I want to root and change roms etc.. but economically

Is the us996 "rootable" still?

Hi all, I just got a sprint ls997 but was disappointed to see that my firmware(or software, I dunno) update of ZVA prevents me from rooting the phone. Now I'm considering buying an unlocked (us996) version, but am having issues with this forum from inexperience. What I find is guides for installing custom ROMs, rooting, etc. but they seem not to talk about the requirements of your phone or the firmware updates you need to be before in order for it to work. I had this issue with my sprint version; the guide said you could install the ROM on an ls997, but did not mention anything else. So I just need someone who understands all of this modding stuff to tell me. Could I just go buy a us996 right now and be able to root it? Is it still possible?
Thank you!

As far as I know, pretty much any other V20 model is still rootable nowadays. There are different rooting guides for different models, and most should tell you the exact requirements if you look carefully. Regarding the US996, there are actually three variations of it, and one of them is by far the easiest V20 to root since it is the only one supported by LG for unlocking the bootloader on their website. The trick will be identifying and finding this unlocked US996 USA variant, and you can find more info in this older thread.

C D said:
As far as I know, pretty much any other V20 model is still rootable nowadays. There are different rooting guides for different models, and most should tell you the exact requirements if you look carefully. Regarding the US996, there are actually three variations of it, and one of them is by far the easiest V20 to root since it is the only one supported by LG for unlocking the bootloader on their website. The trick will be identifying and finding this unlocked US996 USA variant, and you can find more info in this older thread.
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Hmm. Is the LS997 totally locked down in terms of unlocking the bootloader? I got a US996 and unlocked it, but unfortunately the service is not compatible with Sprint.

The only way an LS997 can be rooted is if it hasn't been updated past May 1, 2017 (Software version LS997ZV7 - I happen to be using one of these). Anything after that is irreversibly locked down, and unfortunately, those older LS997 models are very hard to find nowadays. Ironically, many of them have been cross-flashed with US996 firmware to be used on GSM networks, mostly overseas (you'd be able to tell from the sticker behind the battery if it hasn't been peeled off). And yes, the LS997 is the only V20 model that can be used on the Sprint network.

[Q] Unlock Bootloader on Converted US997

So I have a US997 that has it's bootloader unlocked and while the current available custom ROMs are great, they aren't very stable for me and some features don't work like they should. LG hasn't officially released Pie for the American model yet (hopefully yet isn't never) so I attempted and succeeded in converting my US997 into a Canadian H873. Though unfortunately, I lost my unlocked bootloader. I then went back to official US997 software and the bootloader was unlocked once again.
Is it possible to use say H873 firmware on a US997 while keeping the bootloader unlocked for TWRP and Magisk? I tried unlocking it again on H873 firmware but due to the way it was flashed, it wouldn't get detected by my PC in ADB or Fastboot mode, so it may or may not be possible to do so that route.
Thanks