Bootloader unlocking discussion thread - Verizon Galaxy S 5 General

I made this thread to try and get the get the flame burning again on this topic. It seems since we've achieved safestrap people don't seem too interested in pursuing an unlocked bootloader. I understand that if i want AOSP i should try trading my phone for one with an unlocked bootloader (knowing that somebody is going to comment saying that). But what does that do for the community? Nothing productive. Speaking theoretically here, how is a bootloader unlock achieved with the bootloader lock key? Is there some way of inputting it to unlock the bootloader? What happens if you have the wrong key? Is there a way to create script a keygen that goes through every possibility of however many digit of a code the bootloader lock key is? Or can it only be done via exploit?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Let the discussion begin.

Travisholt92 said:
I made this thread to try and get the get the flame burning again on this topic. It seems since we've achieved safestrap people don't seem too interested in pursuing an unlocked bootloader. I understand that if i want AOSP i should try trading my phone for one with an unlocked bootloader (knowing that somebody is going to comment saying that). But what does that do for the community? Nothing productive. Speaking theoretically here, how is a bootloader unlock achieved with the bootloader lock key? Is there some way of inputting it to unlock the bootloader? What happens if you have the wrong key? Is there a way to create script a keygen that goes through every possibility of however many digit of a code the bootloader lock key is? Or can it only be done via exploit?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Let the discussion begin.
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If you took the time to read the numerous discussions on this you'd know the answers. People are dropping the unlocked bootloader since even the S4's hasn't been unlocked (since MDK baseband). Regarding the five key questions, it would take a super computer thousands of years to try every possibility. Wrong one would equal bricked phone. Exploit would be only way, and now that Geohot works for Google, he's out of the picture and I'm sure the other Devs aren't going to bother. SS is fine for now, you can always switch carriers if you care that much.

So the community on this device will never progress. Awesome.

Travisholt92 said:
So the community on this device will never progress. Awesome.
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That is a real possibility. Now with this lesson learned, look for a carrier or device next time that does not lock the bootloader. HTC locks their bootloader but is good enough to provide us users with a way to unlock it. As mentioned, bootloaders are WAY different than obtaining root and there is a very real chance of killing the device in the trial and error process.

I feel where you are coming from i felt the same way. Switched for an HTC One m8 and besides the fact that the bootloader can be unlocked, it's just a much better phone. Should give it a shot! A GS5 is an equal trade for an m8 on craigslist so it shouldn't be too hard. It does seem the general consensus is that the dev's have given up on even trying to unlock it so i would just accept it and move on unfortunately.

Related

[Q] Rooted, 4ext recovery, sim locked.

Trying to just sim unlock. Still S-on, no roms flashed yet other than the recovery and super user thing. (which works according to the terminal emulator.)
No just trying to unlock it so I can stick in my tmobile prepaid sim. They tell me once the phone is unlocked I can just drop it in and everything will be fine.
Problem is, the only way to unlock it I can see is to screw around with downgrading my firmware, using ace to unlock and then bringing i5t back up to date and none of the methods seem current. They virtually all have dead links or are for earlier version of everything.
Having managed to root (more or less, still s-on) is there any way I can get the unlock code for my imei without having to pay someone or go beg at&t in person?
Or can someone confirm for me with some kind of citation that unlocking an htc inspire is not possible even when rooted?
Thanks very much for your time
After thought: would flashing MIUI or some other rom sim unlock my phone?
The AAHK site by attn1 has a manual method.
shall Henbil
bananagranola said:
The AAHK site by attn1 has a manual method.
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Thank you for responding
I've been all over that site. Starting here: (I'm not allowed to post links) *sigh*
And I can't find anything relevant to my particular combination of circumstances. I've been googling and reading all day.
Could you provide a more specific link?
To my understanding the ace hack method will require me to relock my phone and then employ it to unlock it, but this will also entail a down grade of my radio firmware. I would like to avoid that because the ace kit is apparently no longer supported and I'd like to not risk bricking my phone with an extraneous process. (relocking with the intent of unlocking.)
What part of the phone controls the sim lock? Is s-off relevant in this context? In a sense search engines, forum or Google, are worthless because of the sheer number of variables and old answers. This problem is made infinitely worse by the general trade for forums to outlaw "necro posting." (Which preserves outdated information while simultaneous severing links to new information, on tops of creating false positive results.)
I haven't even begun to play with my phone only options. For all I know there is some off market third party app out there that will unlock my phone from its home screen hehe.
I'm rambling. Sorry.
http://tau.shadowchild.nl/attn1/?cat=6
Ironic. That's the link I wasn't allowed to post above
It's useless to me because I'm not a developer. It's rather blatant and mean about running non-devs off.
This is NOT a step-by-step, but a description of the activity. This is deliberate. If you don’t know what you are doing and don’t understand what’s going on – DON’T EVEN TRY THIS.
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In fact I don't know what I am doing.
Do you (or anyone) have any alternative resources?
How is it pay sites are able to generate unlock codes?
All I know to do is go ask your provider for an unlock code.
bananagranola said:
All I know to do is go ask your provider for an unlock code.
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I'm starting to agree, but given my inexperience I was hoping I just missed something in my research.
Thanks for your time.

Hopes & Dreams

Is it silly to hope this update will provide a pathway to re-unlocking the boot loader?
If so, I'll update, if not, I'll hold off. *le sigh*
It has been stated over and over again that the security hole was patched. 4.4 is even more secure. People need to stop asking about unlocking, it's getting old.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
RikRong said:
It has been stated over and over again that the security hole was patched. 4.4 is even more secure. People need to stop asking about unlocking, it's getting old.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
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So, thanks for your asinine, non responsive reply. The question was whether the update could provide a pathway to unlocking. I assure you I am more familiar with the situation of the boot loader than you are. Acceptable answers would include
1. Yes
2. Yes because blah blah blah
3. No
4. No because blah blah blah
It has already been debated that the update could possibly include a change to the boot loader that could be exploited. Since there are those that are more knowledgeable than me and are able to give actual answers, I shall ask you to have a good day, sir.
brownrt said:
So, thanks for your asinine, non responsive reply. The question was whether the update could provide a pathway to unlocking. I assure you I am more familiar with the situation of the boot loader than you are. Acceptable answers would include
1. Yes
2. Yes because blah blah blah
3. No
4. No because blah blah blah
It has already been debated that the update could possibly include a change to the boot loader that could be exploited. Since there are those that are more knowledgeable than me and are able to give actual answers, I shall ask you to have a good day, sir.
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It's just because this question gets asked over and over and over again. A little bit of searching will pretty much explain how this was an exploit, not an actual path to unlocking the bootloader. Once this was patched and fixed, the hopes of finding another exploit to unlock the bootloader on a phone that was not meant to have it's bootloader unlocked, were pretty much gone. Dan, who found the exploit, had done a LOT of exploring that took a lot of time, trial and error, etc. It wasn't an easy exploit that just showed up all of a sudden. The same goes for getting root. It's not an easy thing to get. As each patch comes out for Android, more and more exploits are patched. it's just part of the business to make the OS more secure.
Going to KK, as explained in the previous posters comments, pretty much makes it possible only if pigs fly. KK is more secure than JB and as each iteration of Android comes to being, it means it becomes more and more secure, which means less exploits to find to gain root. This also means, unless they reintroduce a new exploit (highly unlikely), then don't hold your breath for an unlocked bootloader as well.
If you're more aware of the situation than I, why did you ask about it? I meant no disrespect, but it has been frustrating seeing many people come in and asking about the BL, almost a year after the OTA was released to lock it back up. If you think KK will offer you a path to unlocking, then I invite you to go through the Moto X and S5 forums and see how much trouble they're having even attaining root.
iBolski said:
It's just because this question gets asked over and over and over again. A little bit of searching will pretty much explain how this was an exploit, not an actual path to unlocking the bootloader. Once this was patched and fixed, the hopes of finding another exploit to unlock the bootloader on a phone that was not meant to have it's bootloader unlocked, were pretty much gone. Dan, who found the exploit, had done a LOT of exploring that took a lot of time, trial and error, etc. It wasn't an easy exploit that just showed up all of a sudden. The same goes for getting root. It's not an easy thing to get. As each patch comes out for Android, more and more exploits are patched. it's just part of the business to make the OS more secure.
Going to KK, as explained in the previous posters comments, pretty much makes it possible only if pigs fly. KK is more secure than JB and as each iteration of Android comes to being, it means it becomes more and more secure, which means less exploits to find to gain root. This also means, unless they reintroduce a new exploit (highly unlikely), then don't hold your breath for an unlocked bootloader as well.
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I don't see no pigs flying.
RikRong said:
It has been stated over and over again that the security hole was patched. 4.4 is even more secure. People need to stop asking about unlocking, it's getting old.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
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See how asinine you were now?
brownrt said:
See how asinine you were now?
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just run and do it they were helping you to the best of there knowledge at the time
billycar11 said:
just run and do it they were helping you to the best of there knowledge at the time
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Feel free to explain to me what was helpful about their replies to the OP?
brownrt said:
Feel free to explain to me what was helpful about their replies to the OP?
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they were right at the time and now things have changed the community as a whole was just really annoyed about getting the same question so much so they were frustrated and i know users who missed out were even more frustrated with not being able to do what they want with there phones so don't take your frustration out on people who were trying to tell you the right answer at the time , take it out on your boot loader and unlock it yayayayay
brownrt said:
Feel free to explain to me what was helpful about their replies to the OP?
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Feel free to explain to me what was helpful about your posts?
brownrt said:
I don't see no pigs flying.
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brownrt said:
See how asinine you were now?
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Past has shown that as old as these phones are, a new root exploit, when all others have been patched, never occurs.
What just happened was luck:
Someone was working on a root exploit not specific to this phone AND you got lucky that it worked for the RAZR HD/MAXX/M.
You got REAL lucky with Motorola basically screwing up and re-introducing the bootloader unlock exploit. This was patched with version 9.18 last year and has been unavailable since then. THIS was dumb luck, period. Well, dumb on the part of Motorola for somehow falling back to the old code that is located on a protected zone of the phone. This was the ONLY way it could have be re-introduced and this RARELY happens, so again, dumb luck.
However, there is another OTA coming (I was just emailed asking to participate in it yesterday). I'm pretty sure it will fix the Towelroot exploit (all 2013 phones running 4.4.2 as well as any 4.4.2 kernel whose date is >= 6/3/2014 disallow the Towelroot exploit) as well as the bootloader exploit.
So, now is your chance to root and unlock the bootloader and it's high time everyone takes advantage of this because we will get the same questions, over and over again when the next OTA comes out.
Our main point, as has been stated, was if people would just search and read, rather than being lazy and just asking the same question that has already been asked a hundred times before, they would find their answer a lot quicker and the rest of us who have been helping so many other people would not feel we would have to rehash the same answer again. It's like being in class, the teacher explains something, and then 10 other people raise their hand and ask the teacher about the exact thing the teacher just went over, so now the teacher has to stop class, explain it again, and then 10 more kids raise their hands and ask the same, exact question. It pollutes the forums with the same questions and then the same answers.
We weren't being mean about saying no root, but what just happened was pure luck, especially with the bootloader unlock.
BTW, I think I did see a pig fly in Minecraft yesterday, so I guess they did fly which makes sense. :laugh:
In the end, we are all very happy for those that have locked bootloaders because now, they can root and then unlock this phone. But, they need to do it NOW before the next OTA comes out. And I can guarantee you that those who fail to do it will be back on here asking the same question over and over again. So, let's spread the word and beg and plead that these people root their phones now and unlock the bootloader so that when the next OTA comes out in the next couple of weeks, they won't have to worry about another root exploit, if at all.
Again, those with locked bootloaders got real lucky.
As far as warranty goes, who cares. The phone is old (18+ months) and most people who have turned in their locked phones for warranty have gotten their replacement without having to pay anything, so the company will accept them and they don't charge for it. Besides, would you rather have an unlocked phone knowing you can have root no matter what the next OTA does or do you want to wait and have to do an exploit? Sideloading is SO much easier and just requires a reboot into a custom recovery (like TWRP) and then you do an "adb sideload" and you reboot and your done. Pretty easy, no muss, no fuss.
billycar11 said:
they were right at the time and now things have changed the community as a whole was just really annoyed about getting the same question so much so they were frustrated and i know users who missed out were even more frustrated with not being able to do what they want with there phones so don't take your frustration out on people who were trying to tell you the right answer at the time , take it out on your boot loader and unlock it yayayayay
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Being annoyed by the question is not the same as the quest. In fact the question had not been asked before.
killrhythm09 said:
Feel free to explain to me what was helpful about your posts?
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It wasn't a post. It was a question. Questions are not meant to help anyone but the asker. Being that I was the asker and people that had no idea about actual development decided to answer, I am in fact the best person do judge whether or not they were helpful.
iBolski said:
Past has shown that as old as these phones are, a new root exploit, when all others have been patched, never occurs.
What just happened was luck:
Someone was working on a root exploit not specific to this phone AND you got lucky that it worked for the RAZR HD/MAXX/M.
You got REAL lucky with Motorola basically screwing up and re-introducing the bootloader unlock exploit. This was patched with version 9.18 last year and has been unavailable since then. THIS was dumb luck, period. Well, dumb on the part of Motorola for somehow falling back to the old code that is located on a protected zone of the phone. This was the ONLY way it could have be re-introduced and this RARELY happens, so again, dumb luck.
However, there is another OTA coming (I was just emailed asking to participate in it yesterday). I'm pretty sure it will fix the Towelroot exploit (all 2013 phones running 4.4.2 as well as any 4.4.2 kernel whose date is >= 6/3/2014 disallow the Towelroot exploit) as well as the bootloader exploit.
So, now is your chance to root and unlock the bootloader and it's high time everyone takes advantage of this because we will get the same questions, over and over again when the next OTA comes out.
Our main point, as has been stated, was if people would just search and read, rather than being lazy and just asking the same question that has already been asked a hundred times before, they would find their answer a lot quicker and the rest of us who have been helping so many other people would not feel we would have to rehash the same answer again. It's like being in class, the teacher explains something, and then 10 other people raise their hand and ask the teacher about the exact thing the teacher just went over, so now the teacher has to stop class, explain it again, and then 10 more kids raise their hands and ask the same, exact question. It pollutes the forums with the same questions and then the same answers.
We weren't being mean about saying no root, but what just happened was pure luck, especially with the bootloader unlock.
BTW, I think I did see a pig fly in Minecraft yesterday, so I guess they did fly which makes sense. :laugh:
In the end, we are all very happy for those that have locked bootloaders because now, they can root and then unlock this phone. But, they need to do it NOW before the next OTA comes out. And I can guarantee you that those who fail to do it will be back on here asking the same question over and over again. So, let's spread the word and beg and plead that these people root their phones now and unlock the bootloader so that when the next OTA comes out in the next couple of weeks, they won't have to worry about another root exploit, if at all.
Again, those with locked bootloaders got real lucky.
As far as warranty goes, who cares. The phone is old (18+ months) and most people who have turned in their locked phones for warranty have gotten their replacement without having to pay anything, so the company will accept them and they don't charge for it. Besides, would you rather have an unlocked phone knowing you can have root no matter what the next OTA does or do you want to wait and have to do an exploit? Sideloading is SO much easier and just requires a reboot into a custom recovery (like TWRP) and then you do an "adb sideload" and you reboot and your done. Pretty easy, no muss, no fuss.
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First off, my phone was an insurance replacement, not a **** up "oops I accidentally updated"
But I have to ask you, when you decided to answer originally, did you actual contemplate the question? Or did you assume that it was the same that had been asked before? I assure you that if you had thought about it, you would have considered the plausibility of an answer other than no. (yes and maybe being the alternatives). The post didn't ask you how to do it. And also, EXACTLY what would the OP search for to find an answer. KitKat was still in Soak Test at the time of the OP, but the all knowing non developers seemed to have the answer (this seems unacceptable). I think if the question had been pondered by the respondents they would have realized the question had not been asked before.
1. Historically, new root an boot loader exploits have been found AFTER an update has been released.
2. Historically there has not been a phone that jumped an entire cycle of updates to a new release. And that is hundreds of phones over many OSs over many iterations.
3. The idea that it was plausible should have been at the forefront of peoples minds, because the boot loader was required to be changed. There have been many posts about the nature of root being changed in kitkat. So the jump would absolutely open up risk to exploit.
4. Google wants devices to be open. Did no one think it was plausible that the exploit would be reintroduced after the hand off to Lenovo?
So I ask again, the present situation not withstanding, do you honestly think that anyone answered my question? A bunch of people tired of reading a similar question, giving the answer to a different question. As a member and contributor to the xda community for quite a while now, I've learned that it's important to actually answer the question that's actually asked and not assume the OP is not fully aware of the question they are asking. Especially if the qualify the question in the first place to differentiate it from the question he knows responders are going to assume the OP is asking. Cheers.
P.S. The idea that any of you were actually being "helpful" is cockypop.
brownrt said:
P.S. The idea that any of you were actually being "helpful" is cockypop.
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I apologize if it came off gruff, but we have been helpful before, it just gets aggravating when it appears as if someone didn't do their due diligence in doing actual research, especially if when we've answered the same question numerous times.
In the future, I'll work at being more helpful and if it's the same question that I've already answered, maybe instead of going off, I can just wait for someone else to answer, especially if I've already typed the same answer numerous times to other people.
In any case, whether you think it's poppycock or not, we are genuinely happy for everyone that has now had a second chance at unlocking the bootloader with this "mistake" from Motorola. I just hope everyone takes advantage of it.
^^^I won't apologize for appearing "gruff."
brownrt said:
See how asinine you were now?
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I don't feel asinine, in the least bit. What happened was pure, dumb luck (or someone at Moto "accidentally" putting the TZ back into the KK update). You all also got lucky when someone decided to try out Motopocalypse just for the hell of it. At the time, there was no "path" to the unlock and every experienced dev (I'm no dev) was under the notion this would never happen. Thanks for bringing this up, I always enjoy a good discussion. I was wrong, the devs were wrong, the experts were wrong.
ill just leave this here
im not getting involved in this bickering, ill just say this:
-it took Dan (a security expert by trade) a long time to find the BL unlock. so when he says "it will never happen again", i tend to belive him. therefore "the never going to happen" post by others.
-i highly doubt moto forgot on purpose to apply the known exploit patches, or let us have it back on purpose, so someone over there is probably fired right about now.
-had geohot not found a blanket root, something that is quite rare, there still would be no root as no one is actively trying.
so, however it may have not been worded in the best manner, the assumptions at the time of the op were accurate.
that will be all, as you were....

MOD's please delete this post.

Deleted...
Leaving Verizon.
Sharpie603 said:
Recently Verizon has shown their true colors. They do NOT want to give us control of a device that we bought and paid for. (That's like buying a radio that only plays Country).
In my eyes. If we pay you monthly then why do you care what we do with our device? We own it right?
However, after days of researching and very knowledgeable co-workers..... The solution is here.
ODIN 3.10. That's Correct. ODIN 3.10 has the ability to look past the locked bootloader and grant access to roll back. This was not made to be public but (Thank GOD) was leaked on Aug 26th.
You can download ODIN 3.10 here: http://www.theandroidsoul.com/download/download-odin-3-10-6/
I have not yet tried to root after rolling back to the BOA8 Kernel. Anyone want to test this out and let me know if you were able to root after downgrading?
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So you were able to downgrade from OG5 to OA8, just by using the 3.10 version of ODIN? Has anybody else tried this yet?
scadilla said:
So you were able to downgrade from OG5 to OA8, just by using the 3.10 version of ODIN? Has anybody else tried this yet?
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Just the Kernel, not the firmware. Which in reality.... Serves no purpose.... The bootloader still remains locked and prevents from downgrading the firmware. However, this method works for downgrading kernels...
I'm still looking into ways to obtain root with a downgraded kernel. Not saying it's possible, but I'm not giving up just yet.
Sharpie603 said:
Just the Kernel, not the firmware. Which in reality.... Serves no purpose.... The bootloader still remains locked and prevents from downgrading the firmware. However, this method works for downgrading kernels...
I'm still looking into ways to obtain root with a downgraded kernel. Not saying it's possible, but I'm not giving up just yet.
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I'm definitely following this thread!!! Thanks for the info Sharpie603!!! Man... I really hope you're successful!!! I'm ROOTing for you! (Pun intended! Damn I'm funny! No?!?! Anyone???) LOL
Sharpie603 said:
Just the Kernel, not the firmware. Which in reality.... Serves no purpose.... The bootloader still remains locked and prevents from downgrading the firmware. However, this method works for downgrading kernels...
I'm still looking into ways to obtain root with a downgraded kernel. Not saying it's possible, but I'm not giving up just yet.
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Ah, OK, that makes sense so the thinking is if you are on OG5 with the locked bootloader that you could downgrade the kernel and then root. I'll be following closely as well.
scadilla said:
Ah, OK, that makes sense so the thinking is if you are on OG5 with the locked bootloader that you could downgrade the kernel and then root. I'll be following closely as well.
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Not looking very promising.
Can you downgrade APNHLOS?
Terribly misleading title. OE1 and OG5 didn't do anything about locking the kernel, they were bootloader locks. As you said, unless you can downgrade which you can't. The only way this would be useful is if we could get root by only downgrading the kernel, which we cannot. We could access safestrap if we HAD root access, because we could flash the NI2 kernel to get access, but no root = no safestrap.
I don't think you made a discovery, I think you just came across what wasn't stated bluntly, simply because it wasn't necessary information to tell people. As for your quest to find a way to root.... I'm just going to say, have fun.
In regards to the OP's statement - Verizon could care less about the rooting community and allowing you to do what you want with your "owned" devices. Verizon and AT&T locked the phones down tight as they should because this is a portable personal computer with all your financial information being transferred back and forth. Tightening the security of the phone against hackers trying to steal all your information and identity had the unfortunate side effect of making root near impossible currently. The device performs exactly as advertised on the box and in the specifications. Your analogy of a radio stuck on country is a poor one. Think more like you bought a car and it will not go 200 miles an hour. There is nothing preventing you from purchasing a car that can, or replacing the engine to do so which would have other downfalls such as gas mileage going to crap. In the same analogy you can purchase a T-Mobile motherboard, swap it out, be able to root, but not get certain LTE bands. Verizon has not targeted you at all...you can blame the hackers constantly trying to get information off the phones. Verizon and AT&T took steps to try to prevent that and of course increase profits by being rated the most secure phones out there. Verizon never gave you the keys to root...ever! So they are not keeping this info from you. Just like every device that took a little time to find root, it is up to you and the developers to find away around it.
This is the same as saying Acme safe company is trying to keep you from being rich because they made their safes more secure.
Spartan117H3 said:
Terribly misleading title. OE1 and OG5 didn't do anything about locking the kernel, they were bootloader locks. As you said, unless you can downgrade which you can't. The only way this would be useful is if we could get root by only downgrading the kernel, which we cannot. We could access safestrap if we HAD root access, because we could flash the NI2 kernel to get access, but no root = no safestrap.
I don't think you made a discovery, I think you just came across what wasn't stated bluntly, simply because it wasn't necessary information to tell people. As for your quest to find a way to root.... I'm just going to say, have fun.
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The title is not misleading at all. It does exactly what I described. Gives you the ability to downgrade the Kernel. and the Kernel only. I clearly mentioned this in post #3 that this still leaves the bootloader locked. then in later posts went on to mention that it looks like we are still SOL. Take it how you want, sorry for actively trying to find a solution...
KennyG123 said:
In regards to the OP's statement - Verizon could care less about the rooting community and allowing you to do what you want with your "owned" devices. Verizon and AT&T locked the phones down tight as they should because this is a portable personal computer with all your financial information being transferred back and forth. Tightening the security of the phone against hackers trying to steal all your information and identity had the unfortunate side effect of making root near impossible currently. The device performs exactly as advertised on the box and in the specifications. Your analogy of a radio stuck on country is a poor one. Think more like you bought a car and it will not go 200 miles an hour. There is nothing preventing you from purchasing a car that can, or replacing the engine to do so which would have other downfalls such as gas mileage going to crap. In the same analogy you can purchase a T-Mobile motherboard, swap it out, be able to root, but not get certain LTE bands. Verizon has not targeted you at all...you can blame the hackers constantly trying to get information off the phones. Verizon and AT&T took steps to try to prevent that and of course increase profits by being rated the most secure phones out there. Verizon never gave you the keys to root...ever! So they are not keeping this info from you. Just like every device that took a little time to find root, it is up to you and the developers to find away around it.
This is the same as saying Acme safe company is trying to keep you from being rich because they made their safes more secure.
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I'm not worried about my phone being hacked. I have nothing to hide. I do not bank online or make purchases online. If there is fraudulent activity on my bank account, my credit union will inform me. This is besides the fact. I could care less if I made a "bad" analogy. I'm not sitting here thinking "Hmmm I wonder if anyone will have a problem with this statement" when writing up a comment. Your paragraph is nothing but slander "Something XDA strongly discourages". A simple "I don't think this will work, and here's why" would of been suffice.
On a side note. I'm leaving Verizon so you won't have to worry about me trying to find root and help you guys out anymore.
Sharpie603 said:
The title is not misleading at all. It does exactly what I described. Gives you the ability to downgrade the Kernel. and the Kernel only. I clearly mentioned this in post #3 that this still leaves the bootloader locked. then in later posts went on to mention that it looks like we are still SOL. Take it how you want, sorry for actively trying to find a solution...
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It is misleading because you mark it as solved as if it was a puzzle that nobody else can figured out, like you had new information to provide. If I'm not mistaken, the kernel was never locked, and you can use any Odin to push a different kernel. It was never a question if the kernel was locked. So you didn't do anything except state what was redundant. The people who confirm that the bootloader is locked say so because it means you can't downgrade. They didn't say you can still downgrade the kernel because it's absolutely meaningless. That's like saying, the bootloader is locked, but you can still Odin and flash any file you want even if it doesn't work.
There are countless people like you in other threads who claim they're trying to find a way to root. Neither you nor I are smart enough to come up with an exploit, as I have detailed countless times before. So why don't we leave that up to the developers?
Sharpie603 said:
I'm not worried about my phone being hacked. I have nothing to hide. I do not bank online or make purchases online. If there is fraudulent activity on my bank account, my credit union will inform me. This is besides the fact. I could care less if I made a "bad" analogy. I'm not sitting here thinking "Hmmm I wonder if anyone will have a problem with this statement" when writing up a comment. Your paragraph is nothing but slander "Something XDA strongly discourages". A simple "I don't think this will work, and here's why" would of been suffice.
On a side note. I'm leaving Verizon so you won't have to worry about me trying to find root and help you guys out anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter if you don't care yourself, because you are not everyone. You are a single person. If you were everyone, obviously Verizon wouldn't make money off you, and wouldn't secure their phones. But this is flawed reasoning yet again.
A bad analogy shows you have flawed reasoning. It doesn't matter if you care or not, you don't have a problem with stating things that don't make sense, then by all means, continue (which I don't even have to say, because you do indeed continue).
Slander? Are you serious? You acknowledge the reason for his post, which claims you have a bad analogy, and explains why Verizon does what it does. Then you make an insane, baseless claim that says xda discourages root. Yet XDA was where the original root method was released in detail, with the newsworthy 18k bouty.
Why does he need to explain why it wouldn't work, when you yourself have already done that? It's the same when you responded to me. You answer your own question but then argue against people when they confirm with your latter findings that it doesn't work?
I don't understand why people like you are so happy to see 1 posters support you, but then immediately get hostile when anyone with any knowledge comes in to speak. You running from Verizon doesn't solve any problems and shows you weren't invested to begin with, which is fine, since you wouldn't have accomplished anything anyway. Unless you're claiming to be smarter than those who found the original root.
You want to know why it won't work? All these people have similar ideas to yours, they either want root, or want to "try" with little to no knowledge at all about what they are doing.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62378933&postcount=19
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62380538&postcount=23
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/help/vz-replacement-s5-oe1-t3190365
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...g5-verizon-t3192598/post62746265#post62746265
Spartan117H3 said:
It is misleading because you mark it as solved as if it was a puzzle that nobody else can figured out, like you had new information to provide. If I'm not mistaken, the kernel was never locked, and you can use any Odin to push a different kernel. It was never a question if the kernel was locked. So you didn't do anything except state what was redundant. The people who confirm that the bootloader is locked say so because it means you can't downgrade. They didn't say you can still downgrade the kernel because it's absolutely meaningless. That's like saying, the bootloader is locked, but you can still Odin and flash any file you want even if it doesn't work.
There are countless people like you in other threads who claim they're trying to find a way to root. Neither you nor I are smart enough to come up with an exploit, as I have detailed countless times before. So why don't we leave that up to the developers?
It doesn't matter if you don't care yourself, because you are not everyone. You are a single person. If you were everyone, obviously Verizon wouldn't make money off you, and wouldn't secure their phones. But this is flawed reasoning yet again.
A bad analogy shows you have flawed reasoning. It doesn't matter if you care or not, you don't have a problem with stating things that don't make sense, then by all means, continue (which I don't even have to say, because you do indeed continue).
Slander? Are you serious? You acknowledge the reason for his post, which claims you have a bad analogy, and explains why Verizon does what it does. Then you make an insane, baseless claim that says xda discourages root. Yet XDA was where the original root method was released in detail, with the newsworthy 18k bouty.
Why does he need to explain why it wouldn't work, when you yourself have already done that? It's the same when you responded to me. You answer your own question but then argue against people when they confirm with your latter findings that it doesn't work?
I don't understand why people like you are so happy to see 1 posters support you, but then immediately get hostile when anyone with any knowledge comes in to speak. You running from Verizon doesn't solve any problems and shows you weren't invested to begin with, which is fine, since you wouldn't have accomplished anything anyway. Unless you're claiming to be smarter than those who found the original root.
You want to know why it won't work? All these people have similar ideas to yours, they either want root, or want to "try" with little to no knowledge at all about what they are doing.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62378933&postcount=19
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62380538&postcount=23
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/help/vz-replacement-s5-oe1-t3190365
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...g5-verizon-t3192598/post62746265#post62746265
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Click to collapse
Listen I came here thinking I found a way. In no way was trying to start a war among like minded individuals. All you are doing is trying to ream me out for what? For a mistake I made, thinking I had a solution? Way to be professional. Sorry for cluttering the forum. Sorry for everything I have done thus far. Sorry for bothering you sir. Sorry for not being as knowledgeable as you are. I'm sorry for everything! F*ck
Sharpie603 said:
Listen I came here thinking I found a way. In no way was trying to start a war among like minded individuals. All you are doing is trying to ream me out for what? For a mistake I made, thinking I had a solution? Way to be professional. Sorry for cluttering the forum. Sorry for everything I have done thus far. Sorry for bothering you sir. Sorry for not being as knowledgeable as you are. I'm sorry for everything! F*ck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is, you just assume things without actually comprehending what people say. That's why you believe this is apparently a war. Ream you out? You miss the entire point, repeatedly. All it is is people telling you why your statements don't make any sense.
Sharpie603 said:
I'm not worried about my phone being hacked. I have nothing to hide. I do not bank online or make purchases online. If there is fraudulent activity on my bank account, my credit union will inform me. This is besides the fact. I could care less if I made a "bad" analogy. I'm not sitting here thinking "Hmmm I wonder if anyone will have a problem with this statement" when writing up a comment. Your paragraph is nothing but slander "Something XDA strongly discourages". A simple "I don't think this will work, and here's why" would of been suffice.
On a side note. I'm leaving Verizon so you won't have to worry about me trying to find root and help you guys out anymore.
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Click to collapse
As stated that is just YOU. 99.9% of people do not want their phone hacked or their identity stolen.
How is stating the facts slander? And I think I would know best what is encouraged here and what isn't. Now you are just lashing out for no reason and making no sense.
I guess we can close this as you wished. Thanks for trying.

Calling all of you with unlocked bootloaders!

Hey guys, I'm a rookie coder/reverse engineer who is going to try his hand/luck at cracking the V20 variants with locked bootloaders. I'm with US Cellular and was disappointed when I upgraded this past weekend to a locked-out V20. I'm digging through the internals, decompiling some system apps, and scratching my head in attempts to find a root exploit somewhere. I'm trying multiple methods, but of course I'm only one man, and a busy one at that. These things take time, as I'm sure other developers could vouch for...
...which brings me here to you guys. If you would, please, provide me with the information you used to unlock your bootloader:
- IMEI (settings > about phone > status > imei or dial *#06#).
- device-id (found with fastboot oem device-id). Just copy-pasting the terminal/command prompt output is fine.
- and most importantly, the unlock.bin that LG emailed to you.
You can post/upload everything in this thread or email it to me at [email protected] (mods, this is not my primary email, so don't worry about spam/private info disclosure). If it's not inconvenient, throw "LG V20" somewhere in the title so I can sort out what I need from the other junk. The bigger sample size, the better, so don't be afraid to contribute just because other people have.
With enough time, effort, and of course luck, I may be able to find a way to generate my own .bin files, and ultimately generate .bin files for the locked bootloader variants.
Thanks so much in advance!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/g4/help/unlock-technical-steps-to-make-unlocked-t3165391/page9
Look at post #88
Unlock.bin has already been reversed engineered.. And useless unless some one leaks the private key..
Darn, thanks for the sad news... oh well. Of course, I've already learned that nothing is ever easy in this field.
Guess I'm off to try some other things, but I'll stick around in case I find anything interesting.
I'm even more of a rookie, so I'm a little confused. Isn't "onlocking the bootloader" the same as "Enable OEM Unlock" option in the developer setting? My question is can I then use ( www (dot) installandroidrom (dot) co (dot) uk/2016/11/how-to-root-lg-v20-without-pc.html (can't post URL's Grrrrrrrr) ) this to get root access? Mine is the H915 (canadian) version, so that may have a baring on both these statements.
I'm really looking forward to hopefully some day maybe with a little luck, getting full control over the product I own.
whatsgnu said:
I'm even more of a rookie, so I'm a little confused. Isn't "onlocking the bootloader" the same as "Enable OEM Unlock" option in the developer setting? My question is can I then use ( www (dot) installandroidrom (dot) co (dot) uk/2016/11/how-to-root-lg-v20-without-pc.html (can't post URL's Grrrrrrrr) ) this to get root access? Mine is the H915 (canadian) version, so that may have a baring on both these statements.
I'm really looking forward to hopefully some day maybe with a little luck, getting full control over the product I own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OEM unlock only is for using the phones cell service on carrier's other than the one the phone was designed for. It's not the same as a bootloader unlock or root though. Nor are root and bootloader unlock the same thing.
imucarmen said:
OEM unlock only is for using the phones cell service on carrier's other than the one the phone was designed for. It's not the same as a bootloader unlock or root though. Nor are root and bootloader unlock the same thing.
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Click to collapse
Hmm. That doesn't seem to jive with "OEM Unlock is a protective in Android Lollipop and later that is usually a step that users need to enable in order to officially unlock the bootloader of their device" which I read on other sites.
whatsgnu said:
Hmm. That doesn't seem to jive with "OEM Unlock is a protective in Android Lollipop and later that is usually a step that users need to enable in order to officially unlock the bootloader of their device" which I read on other sites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right OEM unlock is for bootloader unlock..
But the oem unlock present in developer option in our phones do not work..
Consider this it is a door to bootloader unlock but lg and carries have not jus locked but jammed the door..
It gets ticked but doesn't do anything in system and bootloader levels..
adds08 said:
You are right OEM unlock is for bootloader unlock..
But the oem unlock present in developer option in our phones do not work..
Consider this it is a door to bootloader unlock but lg and carries have not jus locked but jammed the door..
It gets ticked but doesn't do anything in system and bootloader levels..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's more like the OEM Unlock switch is a mere door knob towards opening the door to the free lands of unlocked bootloaders. But the carrier's like AT&T, VZW, and Sprint placed not just a simple lock - but 5 locks all of different arrangements to make it super hard to get it unlocked. That knob ain't going to do you any good until you figure out the 5 locks first.
But yeah that switch was just there to give us a false sense of happiness that they might have given us a chance.
has anyone tried dirty santa? if you do im not responsie if anything goes wrong lol

Can someone explain why unlocking hardlocked bootloader is such a hard task?

People are hacking things left and right to effortlessly gain root or remove pattern locks on their Androids and thanks to devs of this wonderful resource they're not spending a dime in the process, but for some reason unlocking a hardlocked bootloader, an age-old problem, has no other method but the one costing $30. I'd love if someone could explain to me what makes it such a conundrum to figure out and why aren't more people trying to come up with a free solution for everyone.
Hi @4qx.
For devices that have OEM Unlocking grayed out (so you can't unlock the bootloader), there can never be a single solution that would work for every device. Different device manufacturers have their own ideas about security and contain proprietory code specific to that manufacturer, and it's further refined as new models from the same manufacturer come out.
Sometimes a device-specific vulnerability is found and can be taken advantage of to gain root. Sometimes the manufacturer makes a very specific but easy-to-find mistake on one particular version of Android on a single device that lets users officially unlock their bootloader, but that mistake is corrected with the next update for the device.
Even though you might not hear of someone working to root particular devices, it doesn't mean that no one is trying. It's common and expected that attempts that involve vulnerabilities would be kept as secret as possible so that a manufacturer can't patch them before developers can take advantage of what they found.
So the combination of different manufacturers, different models, different variations of models, different Android versions, and different manufacturer or device-specific security makes it near impossible to find a way to root all devices without exception.
Lastly, the easiest and universal method to start the path to being rooted is to have a device that lets you unlock the bootloader officially - preferably with no penalties like some manufacturers do. Anyone who buys devices that you can unlock the bootloader officially probably has no interest in finding a way to root other ways since it's so easy to do with an unlocked bootloader.
Edit: Also, regarding "free for everyone", it takes developers time to achieve what they do, so finding a way to root a device usually isn't a way to make money to live, so they do what they can when they can.
give it a try
https://github.com/bkerler/edl#for-generic-unlocking
If you're citizien of EU and bought an Android device in the territory of EU you never will have troubles with unlocking a phone's bootloader and rooting phone's Android.
Huawei will stop providing bootloader unlocking for all new devices
Earlier this month, we wrote about Huawei and Honor users not being unable to access the page for generating bootloader unlock codes. Now, they will stop providing unlock codes completely.
www.xda-developers.com
You shouldn't post here if you've NO knowledge about current legal situation in EU.
I am from germany too and can tell you Vodafone still sells Huawei devices. There are other brands with non-unlockable bootloader (Google, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo). OEMs tend to lock down their devices entirely for reason
aIecxs said:
give it a try
https://github.com/bkerler/edl#for-generic-unlocking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless I misinterpret what it says, it seems to be for enabling OEM unlocking. I was referring to unlocking a hardlocked bootloader.
Sorry maybe I didn't get you right. kindly share definition / example or at least descripe what you mean with "hardlocked bootloader"?
roirraW edor ehT said:
For devices that have OEM Unlocking grayed out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was talking about something different, though I appreciate the info.
@aIecxs check this out. Some Xperia models, mostly Japanese ones, have unlockable OEM but are not allowed to have their bootloader unlocked.
Fairly enough there exist quit few devices where manufacturer provides official unlock code, but carrier locked down bootloader by ignoring, disabling or hiding OEM unlock toggle or other device specific methods. I feel "hardlocked bootloader" is a good way to differ from "non-unlockable bootloader" where bootloader is locked from manufacturer entirely (like Huawei)
If you can have it unlocked for £23 obviously XZ1C is unlockable, so if you can find sony leaked prog_ufs_firehose_8998_ddr.elf I would give it a try at least. Björn Kerler is a leading reverse engineer in scene and did good job to oppo rooting.
(you can check /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/* if devinfo or config exist and decide if it's worth a try)

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