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!

Newbie question. Installing Oreo on S8

I'm completely new to the Android OS and have a question.
I purchased a used Galaxy S8 SM-950U (Unlocked with AT&T branding on load) with Android Version 7.0.
How would I go about updating it to Android Version 8.0 in terms of getting the correct files? I probably can't use, for example, the Verizon Oreo version for this phone which looks to be AT&T branded, so would I go on AT&T's website to get the correct files or how does that usually work?

pitrofilta said:
I'm completely new to the Android OS and have a question.
I purchased a used Galaxy S8 SM-950U (Unlocked with AT&T branding on load) with Android Version 7.0.
How would I go about updating it to Android Version 8.0 in terms of getting the correct files? I probably can't use, for example, the Verizon Oreo version for this phone which looks to be AT&T branded, so would I go on AT&T's website to get the correct files or how does that usually work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its unlocked you can use any US firmware you want yes it will just have that carriers apps I dont know the exacts but its not to bad
keep in mind if you are looking to root you have to stay on 7.0 revision 2 bootloader or less any thing 3 or higher which is 8.0 we cannot root

TheMadScientist said:
If its unlocked you can use any US firmware you want yes it will just have that carriers apps I dont know the exacts but its not to bad
keep in mind if you are looking to root you have to stay on 7.0 revision 2 bootloader or less any thing 3 or higher which is 8.0 we cannot root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer. So it sounds like I could even go with a non carrier branded version straight from Samsung without bloatware (if there is such a thing?)
Good point on the root. As far as I have read the bootloader is different from the OS, so would it be possible to root it with a 7.0 bootloader and install a newer OS (8.0 or 9.0). Or do these always go hand in hand?

pitrofilta said:
Thank you for your answer. So it sounds like I could even go with a non carrier branded version straight from Samsung without bloatware (if there is such a thing?)
Good point on the root. As far as I have read the bootloader is different from the OS, so would it be possible to root it with a 7.0 bootloader and install a newer OS (8.0 or 9.0). Or do these always go hand in hand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hand in hand kinda
7.0 bootloaders dont work for 8.0
you can i think use comsy odin and install the 950u1 bootloader 2 firmware which is unbranded to maintain it

TheMadScientist said:
hand in hand kinda
7.0 bootloaders dont work for 8.0
you can i think use comsy odin and install the 950u1 bootloader 2 firmware which is unbranded to maintain it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info, thanks!

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.

Unlocked AT&T S10+, can I flash it with a Tmo ROM?

This may be a rather basic,question, but I'm trying to play it safe so I don't brick my S10+ (SM-G975U). Can I download an official Tmobile Android 10 ROM and flash the phone with it? The phone is not rooted and the bootloader hasn't been touched (at least by me).
I purchased an unlocked AT&T device and use it on Tmobile without issue. I am not, however, receiving any updates from AT&T or Tmobile, so I'm looking to update to Android 10.
Is this possible?

Pardon_The_Pickle said:
This may be a rather basic,question, but I'm trying to play it safe so I don't brick my S10+ (SM-G975U). Can I download an official Tmobile Android 10 ROM and flash the phone with it? The phone is not rooted and the bootloader hasn't been touched (at least by me).
I purchased an unlocked AT&T device and use it on Tmobile without issue. I am not, however, receiving any updates from AT&T or Tmobile, so I'm looking to update to Android 10.
Is this possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can take any official carrier firmware made for the phone and flash it with the patched version of Odin. The bootloader has to match though. If you're on bootloader 2 you can't flash a bootloader 1 ROM. You can even flash the unlocked Samsung U1 firmware. You can also jump from Android 10 back to Android 9 and then back to 10 as of late. The phone can't be rooted nor can the bootloader be unlocked.

Bootloader version
Thanks for the quick reply and I appreciate the guidance. How would I know what bootloader I am running on my device currently and what version of bootloader the ROM is?

Pardon_The_Pickle said:
Thanks for the quick reply and I appreciate the guidance. How would I know what bootloader I am running on my device currently and what version of bootloader the ROM is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. To find out your bootloader go to settings, about phone, software information. Look under baseband version and you should see "G975USQU2CSKP" or something along those lines. The 2 right before CSKP is your bootloader version. If it says 1 instead of 2, then you're on bootloader 1.

SM-G975U (T-Mobile Galaxy S10+) Rooting, etc

It's been so long since I last rooted my phones, maybe 6 or 7 years now... I don't even know where to start. Is TWRP still the go-to method for rooting these Android devices?
I couldn't find anything specifically for the T-Mobile variants, dunno if that's been done yet.
Thanks,
Nick

Your bootloader is locked and cannot be unlocked. No root or TWRP available.

StoneyJSG said:
Your bootloader is locked and cannot be unlocked. No root or TWRP available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks

No problem!

Is this device always going to have a locked bootloader? Flashing an unlocked firmware wouldn't change anything? Im new to samsung and have been out of the rom game a long time.

PunkUnity said:
Is this device always going to have a locked bootloader? Flashing an unlocked firmware wouldn't change anything? Im new to samsung and have been out of the rom game a long time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These devices will always be locked down. The last U.S. Samsung phone to get root was the S9, the S10 line are locked up tight. Flashing unlocked firmware just makes your phone carrier free so you can use it with any carrier, it doesn't unlock the bootloader.

What phones are best for modding these days then? Just came from a Pixel 4 XL and it had a locked bootloader plus tons of hardware issues that ended in me getting this phone

I would say a One Plus phone is probably the most versatile as far as modding goes these days. You could also get an exynos S10 variant which can be rooted and custom recovery installed.