Hi all
Just picked this phone up and have 1 quick question.
First Samsung and I want to unlock the bootloader and install TWRP.
When submitting the IMEI, carrier, etc for unlocking carrier does this
unlock the bootloader and trip Knox as well.
Thanks
Related
Hi
i have had a search and can find plenty of USA bootloader questions regarding The Note 4. these usually deviate into US Carrier bashing and Samsung hating.
My query is specific to UK release of the Note 4. I am thinking of getting one but would like to know, from anyone who can verify, is the boot loader locked/unlocked? Are the sim free ones unlocked.
i fancy one however would rather not void my warranty on day one. Option 2 is looking at getting hold of a developer edition note 4 however they are not available here yet.
if you are in UK and can help or know id be greatful
many thanks
wookey
No UK models, the n910f have locked bootloaders. The only models that have locked bootloader are at&t and verizon but they are locked by the carrier. Sim free ones won't be carrier or bootloader locked but might well be region locked ie an American variant may be locked to America and a European locked to Europe etc.
You will however probably lose your warranty when you root although eu law states rooting shouldn't void your warranty for a hardware defect
I have never minded restoring my phone back to stock when sending in for warranty repair. so might be enough not to void it if unlocked?
Once you root you will trip knox and that can't be reset. That's the same on all new Sammy phones. But most Sammy centres don't actually check for knox in the UK
First off, sorry for the confusing thread title.
I'm currently running an AT&T Note 3 which has a locked bootloader and I've wanted to run CyanogenMod for a while now. I've ordered a second hand T-Mobile Galaxy S5 because I've heard the bootloader is unlocked and/or unlockable.
Can anyone here clarify how the sim lock/carrier lock works?
Will this require me to purchase an unlock code or will flashing the bootloader and custom firmware automatically unlock the sim? From my research I've read that I still need to unlock the sim, but I've also read that using a different bootloader can unlock it. Kind of confusing.
hi all!!!
i have n910f on contract wich is locked to wodafone uk, its expensive to get it unlocked now as it cost 70pounds in uk, but i will get unlocking code from my carrier i september...
my question is does flashing custom recovery and custom rom based on orginal will affect ability to get it unlocked later?
i would like to flash cwm, custom rom and root it but im afraid that if i do so i wont be able to get sim lock off...
does anybody know ansfear if it will affect sim lock in any way?
regards
No, rooting won't affect the ability to unlock
(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!
Hello guys,
About 22 months ago I grabbed a UK Note 3 (n9005 iirc) on the O2 network and loved it to bits. I requested my unlock code in early April, received it and proceeded to grab a new phone and passed my old Note 3 onto my Dad.
The Note 3 had it's bootloader unlocked, rooted, custom recovery flashed and running SlimLP and is till pretty great.
So my Dad pops his Three SIM into the Note 3, it asks for the unlock code, he puts the code in direct from the email I received from O2 and... code failed, unlock unsuccessful. My Dad being my Dad, asked me to input the code and nada, no go. O2 sent me a new code today after I spoke to them this morning and informed them... that new code is exactly the same as the old one that didn't work.
I checked the IMEI number against the one in the email and they match perfectly.
Could the fact that the the bootloader is unlocked, the phone is rooted, there's a custom rom on and/or a custom recovery installed be affecting the unlock code? My Dad has everything else working to his satisfaction on the phone all except this whole network issue.
At this moment in time I am quite frustrated that despite having the code it's not straight away simple and working as expected.
Any assistance would be most welcome.
The bootloader has never been locked on the phone afaik.
The unlock code needs to to be entered using a stock Samsung dialler.
I recommend flashing back to stock, sim unlock, flash back to a custom rom.
audit13 said:
The bootloader has never been locked on the phone afaik.
The unlock code needs to to be entered using a stock Samsung dialler.
I recommend flashing back to stock, sim unlock, flash back to a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure the bootloader was locked as it triggered the void warranty bit but it's been so long ago that anything could have happened.
SlimLP uses the stock dialler for Lollipop anyway but it's no pain to flash the phone with a stock rom (does it matter if it's an O2 stock ROM or can it be a stock Lollipop Rom?) and give that a go.
Personally I use PixelPro dialler which doesn't seem to take over the phone part like it used to, only the dialler side.... But that's by the by.
Knox and a locked bootloader and two different things.
Knox is present in almost every Samsung android phone running 4.3 or higher. It is Knox that triggers the change from 0x0 to 0x1.
Locked bootloaders are present on phones from att and Verizon. There could be others but these seem to be the most common. Att and Verizon note 3 bootloaders, once locked, have never been successfully unlocked as no one has been able to find a working exploit.
When I say stock dialler, I am referring to the stock Samsung dialler.
Flashed back to a 5.1.1 stock O2UK network ROM, entered the code and voila.... network unlocked.
Thanks for the assist.