Database Info

[Q] HTC Desire S stuck on yellow exclamation mark when updating to Android 2.5

Hi all,
I've been trying to update my HTC Desire S for a few days.
I want to update from Android 2.3.3 to 2.5 but I can't get it to work.
I will try to provide you with as much info as possible.
I have a rooted phone and I've also made backups of my ROM and apps using clockworkmod and titanium backup.
Now, if I try to update from within Android (I get a message sayin an OTA update is waiting for me) then it will reboot, but get stucked at the infamous white triangle with yellow exclamation mark.
Next thing I tried is booting in recovery mode and select apply update from zip file.
This gives me a whole list of errors, and I thought the update file was corrupt.
Note that every time the phone gets stucked I remove the battery, otherwhise I can't boot the phone again.
Now, I deleted the update from my sdcard and downloaded it again. Tried the same steps but nothing happened.
Last time I tried to get into recovery mode it got stuck at the pink T-Mobile logo. I'm looking at this screen for half an hour now.
To make a long story short:
- Update from 2.3.3 to 2.5
- Carriër: T-Mobile (NL)
- Phone: HTC Desire S
- ROOT: YES!
- HBOOT: 6.98.1002
- RADIO: 3805.06.02.03_M
I hope anyone is able to help me with this, right now I don't know what my phone is doing, and I cannot use it.
Best regards,
Marcoevich

Ok, I've removed the battery and managed to boot it again.
Now, I renamed the update file to update.zip and put it in the rood of my sdcard.
I got into recovery mode again, tried update from zip file on sdcard. Here's the error I got:
assert failed: check_cid(getprop("ro.cid"). "0000000" , "1111111" , "2222222" , "3333333" , "4444444" , "5555555" , "6666666" , "7777777" , "8888888" , "9999999" , "T-MOB003") == "t"
E:Error in /sdcard/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

If you can get into recovery again I would recommend trying to restore your back up. You should not try to apply an OTA update to a rooted phone at all, you could have got a 2.5 update from a thread here. Sorry I can't help more but as far as I know you really need to get into recovery and get the back up restored or try and flash a new ROM.

Yeah, try a custom rom out there. Saga3D v4 is based on official desire s sense 3 update. Official ota can't work because hboot needs to ne updated (new partition table), and revolutionary hboot (6.98.0002) can't be overwritten by ota. Plus official ota needs stock recovery. Clockworkmod, 4ext recovery won't work. So either restore your backup or try a custom rom
Sent from my Desire S with Virtuous Quattro

Ok thx. Didn't knew i couldn't apply an OTA over a rooted ROM. I thought I would only lose my root after update.
But I've done some research in the meantime. I think I'm gonna flash the latest coredroid ROM, that one looks very promising

Thx again for your help, but I got one more question.
First i'd like to test the original htc OTA. So a workaround for that is restore my backup from before I rooted the phone.
The only thing is, will I be able to go back to the rooted ROM afterwards? OR do I need to root it again?

Well that is a little more complicated. The problem applying ota isn't the rooted rom, it is the custom recovery. Ota needs stock recovery to work.
And if you restore stock recovery and apply ota, your only possibility to root will be using htcdev unlock and permanently losing your warranty. (Htc will register your serial number and will be able to say that you voided your warranty)
Better using a custom rom.
Sent from my Desire S with Virtuous Quattro

Lol, I didn't saw that one comming
If I go to the htcdev site, I get the idea that HTC supports software development, and that it will repair phones even if they are rooted. So what's the point here? Why can't I 'normally' root my phone after upgrade to android 2.5?

Ok, to make things more clear for myself and others, I've done a conversation with an employee of the Dutch customer care department. I've translated the conversation to English, so you can understand it.
Here you go:
You are now connected with Susan.
Susan: Dear Marcoevich, thank you for your contacting HTC customer support.
Susan: What is your question exactly?
Marcoevich: Hey susan
Marcoevich: I will explain
Marcoevich: I have a rooted Desire S with Android 2.3.3
Marcoevich: Now I get an OTA update to Android 2.5 and Sense 3.0
Marcoevich: that update should be easy to apply when I restore a backup from Before my root
Marcoevich: But if I then go back to a custom ROM it is another story
Marcoevich: according to my friends at xda-developers I should do that with the htcdev unlock tool.
Marcoevich: but then I will lose all my warranty
Marcoevich: is that right?
Susan: Yes, if the unit is rooted u will void the warranty on your device. I understand that you have done this already?
Marcoevich: It is. but I think I read somewhere that HTC supports software development, and will fix rooted phones since August last year
Susan: HTC repairs the phones as usual, but the costs will be payed by the customer.
Marcoevich: Ah I see.
Marcoevich: What's the difference between a normal root or unlock the recovery using the htcdev tool? Because according to xda-developers I am losing my full warranty
Susan: It is exactly the same. No mather how you root the phone, you always lose the warranty.
Marcoevich: Hmm ok sin..
Marcoevich: I have one more question
Marcoevich: it is possible to restore your phone using a backup from before you rooted it.
Marcoevich: Can anyone, after I do this, see afterwards that it was a rooted phone?
Susan: I can give no answer. If a technician can see that the device has been rooted, it will be outside warranty. It is up to the repairers from Dynafix to determine this eventually.
Marcoevich: ok fine Thanks for your time!
Susan: Can I help you with anything else today?
Marcoevich: No, I understand now, I think
Marcoevich: thanks for your help!
To make a long story short: No matter how you root it, you will always lose your full warranty.
That's good to know
Edit: One more question remains: If I restore my phone with a backup from BEFORE I rooted it, will someone be able to see that it was a rooted phone?
Thanks in advance!
Marcoevich

Marcoevich said:
To make a long story short: No matter how you root it, you will always lose your full warranty.
That's good to know
Edit: One more question remains: If I restore my phone with a backup from BEFORE I rooted it, will someone be able to see that it was a rooted phone?
Thanks in advance!
Marcoevich
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I understand it, no.
If you root it using htcdev they will have a record that you accepted their terms and conditions and rooted the phone thus voiding your warranty. If you have rooted using another method (Revolutionary for example) they have NO record that the phone was ever rooted.
You SHOULD be able to either restore your back-up (I'm not sure if this will bring it right back to stock, how did you make the back-up if it wasn't rooted?) or alternatively flash the stock rom you originally had from this site. There are threads on doing this right, and it will return your phone to stock, no one will be able to tell it was once rooted and you can then also download and apply the OTA update. I'm not quite sure why you might want to do that though as there are roms available here based on the ota update already, and much more exciting roms available as well. You should try some of these first before losing root with the ota update.
Also in future or for others reading this with similar situations: as Floatshow said I think the problem is partly caused by the revolutionary hboot being changed to 6.98.000, which the phone sees as higher than the ota roms hboot - to avoid this kind of problem it might be best to flash a new hboot - there are threads on this in the development section.
Good luck!

Thank you 4myphone! You explained it very clear
I made a backup using ROM Manager of my stock ROM. I hope the hboot etc is included in such a backup?
Thx for your explanation, I understand it now and if I ever have to send my phone to HTC I will use this site to return my phone to stock. I'm glad that it's possible
Best regards,
Marcoevich

Good question! I don't know if the hboot is part of the backup, it certainly doesn't change when you switch roms. I'd guess that restoring a back up would not change the hboot but I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Let me know if you test it

Nope. The hboot would NEVER be included in the recovery backup.

[Q] Unlocked/Rooted 1.82 Upgrade

So if we are unlocked and rooted on 1.82 as well. If I was to upgrade to 1.85 it will make it so I will not have root again.. But once unlocked always? Or would we have to Re-root, Re-unlock etc all over again. Also have the CWM installed and working aswell.
Sorry for the noobish Questions.

thcue said:
So if we are unlocked and rooted on 1.82 as well. If I was to upgrade to 1.85 it will make it so I will not have root again.. But once unlocked always? Or would we have to Re-root, Re-unlock etc all over again. Also have the CWM installed and working aswell.
Sorry for the noobish Questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite so noobish...I'm a bit hazy on the matter as well and I've been following the 1.85 RUU, unlocking, and rooting threads very closely.
What I understand is that from 1.82/rooted/unlocked you must first relock the bootloader to be able to use the 1.85 RUU. After that you must root using one of the 2 known methods (both are a bit complicated) and then do the unlock process again but your modified CID should still be modified so you don't have to go through hex editing again.
Take that with a grain of salt, I may be wrong.

So with that said. We might just hold off till a rom hits the site vs. upgrading to 1.85. I already been though 20 or so flashing etc redoing apps etc it's a good 1-2hr getting everything back to normal after a wipe.
So once we start getting hit with ROMS are the fixes/patches imported into them or 'Based' of a certain ROM then forcing us to update the RUU then redo everything once again. Ugh my brain is about to explode. However being with iPhone from the start and figuring everything out this brings back all the command-line fun like old times once again!
To the Dev's Thanks for you hard work keep it up and Monster Energy will name a drink after you!

thcue said:
So with that said. We might just hold off till a rom hits the site vs. upgrading to 1.85. I already been though 20 or so flashing etc redoing apps etc it's a good 1-2hr getting everything back to normal after a wipe.
So once we start getting hit with ROMS are the fixes/patches imported into them or 'Based' of a certain ROM then forcing us to update the RUU then redo everything once again. Ugh my brain is about to explode. However being with iPhone from the start and figuring everything out this brings back all the command-line fun like old times once again!
To the Dev's Thanks for you hard work keep it up and Monster Energy will name a drink after you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROMs are usually based on Android versions, not individual stock builds. Right now they are based on builds because they are just scripts that run and replace parts of the system. You won't have to worry about the RUU anymore either, it will just be a tool to return you to stock in case things go awry. If you want good examples of ROMs and how installing them works and such, I suggest going to the Samsung Captivate dev forum and looking there. I had that device and it turns 2 years old this year.

stnguyen09 said:
Not quite so noobish...I'm a bit hazy on the matter as well and I've been following the 1.85 RUU, unlocking, and rooting threads very closely.
What I understand is that from 1.82/rooted/unlocked you must first relock the bootloader to be able to use the 1.85 RUU. After that you must root using one of the 2 known methods (both are a bit complicated) and then do the unlock process again but your modified CID should still be modified so you don't have to go through hex editing again.
Take that with a grain of salt, I may be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To add a little clarity. You got an unlock token already you don't need another. My process was I was on 1.73 and rooted that and unlocked. Then to go to 1.85 I relocked ran the ruu. After that I used my token to unlock again and was able to install cwm recovery and with that I pushed root to the phone. So I'm unlocked and rooted on the latest release.

Thanks for the quick lesson on hows its done. saves me the time of reading through the who thread in the dev section.

Ahh so what your saying is..
Now that we used a Token for the HTCdev site we could..
Relock, upload to 1.85, Reroot, and then back to the HTCdev site and use the token we used before to unlock?
Hope all that made sense.

No you just rerun the unlock command using the unlock.bin file you already have.

-Digs in his pockets-
Wait? Whaat?
Haha I have that where? In the recovery though fastboots?

Don't over think it. You just unlock again running the fastboot command you used to unlock the first time.

Very Confused, need assistance.

First one. I am a Noob, nice Video by the way. And I have searched all over this forum and between thinking I had a regular HTC ONE X, and then finding the AT&T One X Page, It just got all confusing for me. Here is my issue.
I have a AT&T HTC One X, Its great, It was on 1.85 Version, I had used the 1.85 Method to Root the Device, but I could not Unlock it, but that was ok, because all I needed was Wifi Tethering, and Titanium Backup. Then the OTA update game. and of course like a Noob, I clicked yes, Not thinking...
Now the bootloader still says that the phone is Tampered. and Locked. (it never said unlocked., I know that is not possible yet for the AT&T HTC One X) And of course the Check Root app says I am not rooted, and Wifi-Tethering does not work anymore, etc.
If its suppose to be back to normal now, since i did the OTA update, why does it still say Tampered?
And is there any way to Re-Root at the stage I am at, or do I have to wait till the next rooting option becomes available?
Thanks for suffering through this Noobs questions. Hopefully someone is nice enough to help out. Or at least explain it to be. I am fine if I have to wait and then Re-Root it later. I'm not not sure if I am still good.

Flash at&t ruu to remove tampered flag.

Unfortunately if you never unlocked there is no way to root your phone now. As stated, you can run an RUU to remove the tampered flag but there's no need, don't worry about it. Just sit tight until a new root exploit is found.

_MetalHead_ said:
Unfortunately if you never unlocked there is no way to root your phone now. As stated, you can run an RUU to remove the tampered flag but there's no need, don't worry about it. Just sit tight until a new root exploit is found.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they mean you need this... http://dl3.htc.com/application/htc_one_x_RUU_2.20.502.7_att_us_08022012.exe

Thanks for the quick responses, I assumed as much, in having to wait for the new 2.20 Rooting Method. Now the link above that he posted, the RUU, I just need to download that, and run it. (I tried running an RUU a few weeks back because I thought, "Oh maybe I can run the 1.85 RUU, and revert back to 1.85 And then Re-Root.) So, run the RUU, and then it will remove the Tampered flag, but it will also erase all data currently on phone, if I am not mistaken?
And is the above RUU, the proper one for the AT&T HTC One X phone that I have?
And btw I am a little pissed that other countries got a 32gb version. Guess I should blame AT&T for that one...

thruxus said:
Thanks for the quick responses, I assumed as much, in having to wait for the new 2.20 Rooting Method. Now the link above that he posted, the RUU, I just need to download that, and run it. (I tried running an RUU a few weeks back because I thought, "Oh maybe I can run the 1.85 RUU, and revert back to 1.85 And then Re-Root.) So, run the RUU, and then it will remove the Tampered flag, but it will also erase all data currently on phone, if I am not mistaken?
And is the above RUU, the proper one for the AT&T HTC One X phone that I have?
And btw I am a little pissed that other countries got a 32gb version. Guess I should blame AT&T for that one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I yanked that link from the HTC website for the AT&T phone. As for the tampered thing, I don't know... Couldn't hurt. You'll probably lose your data.
http://www.htc.com/us/support/htc-one-x-att/

thruxus said:
First one. I am a Noob, nice Video by the way. And I have searched all over this forum and between thinking I had a regular HTC ONE X, and then finding the AT&T One X Page, It just got all confusing for me. Here is my issue.
I have a AT&T HTC One X, Its great, It was on 1.85 Version, I had used the 1.85 Method to Root the Device, but I could not Unlock it, but that was ok, because all I needed was Wifi Tethering, and Titanium Backup. Then the OTA update game. and of course like a Noob, I clicked yes, Not thinking...
Now the bootloader still says that the phone is Tampered. and Locked. (it never said unlocked., I know that is not possible yet for the AT&T HTC One X) And of course the Check Root app says I am not rooted, and Wifi-Tethering does not work anymore, etc.
If its suppose to be back to normal now, since i did the OTA update, why does it still say Tampered?
And is there any way to Re-Root at the stage I am at, or do I have to wait till the next rooting option becomes available?
Thanks for suffering through this Noobs questions. Hopefully someone is nice enough to help out. Or at least explain it to be. I am fine if I have to wait and then Re-Root it later. I'm not not sure if I am still good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually a bootloader unlock was easy with 1.85 by just getting SuperCID, but since you OTA'd to 2.20 without unlocking your bootloader you now are stuck with a non-rootable, non-unlockable phone for the time being.
It still says Tampered because you rooted in the first place. Run the 2.20 RUU that was posted and it will get rid of the tampered flag. You will want to back up the contents of your SD card first.
Also, please post questions in Q&A, not in general. If you read the huge NOOB post in every section it says this.

[Q] HTC OneX Rogers rooting help

Hello community!! I have been reading through the site for a couple of days now, and I'm still confused which rooting method to use since the At&t, and Rogers are mixed together. Sometimes the techniques used are interchanged, sometimes not. Well my question, or problem is is that I am trying to root the Rogers HTC OneX, running the latest installed updates, which are;
Android version
4.1.1
HTC Sense version
4+
Software/build numer
3.17.631.2
HTC SDK API level
4.63
Kernel version
3.4.10-g240d4d5
I'm trying to achieve root because I want to remove bloatware from my phone.I do not know how to achieve root to do this, I don't mind temporary root, aslong as it keeps the changes I made during that root session. I've read around, and some of the posts that are relevant to my problem are outdate by almost 7 months, with users claiming they're having problems with the method given, and these links were directed from a page that was only edited a couple days ago, so it's a bit confusing, especially when At&t, and Rogers are always jumbled around interchangeably. Anyways,I'd love up-to-date instructions on how to succesfully root this phone. Do I need to unlock the bootloader first? If I have to unlock the bootloader, fine(I know..HTCDev), would someone also provide me a way to unroot aswell, and lock the bootloader back up for a smooth stock startup, incase I want to sell the phone some day? My goal is to get root, remove bloatware, and be able to restore to stock when needed.
This wonderful community's posts also helped me root my Rogers Samsung Galaxy S3!!!

Sent you a pm a little bit ago good job asking questions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33189590
Here is the oneclick method.
Now as for your software this could be tricky... This may or may not work cause you have the latest build from htc. The latest exploit developed is for 2.20. I cant think of any issues of trying this. I just simply may not take. Use at your own risk kind of thing though.
Sent from my HOX w/CM10.1

When i first started all this even after reading tones of posts i was so CONFUSED but all well its fine!
The one suggested above me might be confusing for you just use this!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1957193
Go to that site Download the SDK from the site they provide you then
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1859478
Go here and follow the How to Unlock the Bootloader (When your on HTC DEV.com skip to number 8 Just go to the SDK folder and press shift + right click in the folder click open Command windows here. and then follow the steps from 8) Make sure you are in Fastboot mood by turning off you phone then when its off hold Power + Volume down until the screen comes up and click bootloader then your good!

subarudroid said:
Sent you a pm a little bit ago good job asking questions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33189590
Here is the oneclick method.
Now as for your software this could be tricky... This may or may not work cause you have the latest build from htc. The latest exploit developed is for 2.20. I cant think of any issues of trying this. I just simply may not take. Use at your own risk kind of thing though.
Sent from my HOX w/CM10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried running that program(TOOL] HTC One X (Evita) All-In-One Toolkit V2.1 [1-22-2013] [PERM), but my CID keeps coming back ROGER001, instead of 11111111, therefore the included exploit does not work, But if I manually unlock it through HTCdev, can I resume the steps through that program? Thanks!!
PS: I found out my hboot version is 1.94.000

I unlocked my bootloader through the HTCdev site successfully. Now i'm stuck on actually granting myself root. I've used a couple of files thrown around here, but nothing seems to work. Even temporary root that keeps changes. Anyone?

Once you are bootloader unlocked. Install twrp I believe you need 2.3.3.1 on your firmware and then flash a superuser zip
Sent from my VENOMized HoxL

rrowe1980 said:
I unlocked my bootloader through the HTCdev site successfully. Now i'm stuck on actually granting myself root. I've used a couple of files thrown around here, but nothing seems to work. Even temporary root that keeps changes. Anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the second Site i sent you scroll down abit and you will see How to install TWRP custom recorvery do that and then you will be good. after that download SuperUser ZIp and install it ( once again scroll down on the page and look how to install a custom ROM) for the Custom ROM part there are better tutorials that you can find on this site but yeah.

subarudroid said:
Sent you a pm a little bit ago good job asking questions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33189590
Here is the oneclick method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
X-Factor exploit is not needed for the Rogers version (or any other carrier aside AT&T). And as the OP found out, don't think it works on his version, anyway.
For all other variants (besides AT&T) just unlock the bootloader via HTCDev.com, install TWRP custom recovery, and flash SU or a rooted ROM.

Good to know. Thanks! I hate att more every day. im moving to canada
Sent from my HOX w/CM10.1

So, I may have unlocked the bootloader for nothing! I also realized my hboot version was 2.14, NOT 1.94 like I thought. Will there be any harm in trying to flash TWRP, and root anyhow? Will this brick my device, or simply not take? If TWRP installs, and I push SU, and then I get undesired glitchy results, can I restore back to stock, or atleast an original Ruu? Thanks

You got is easy! Just flash recovery and superuser and your golden.
Sent from my HOX w/CM10.1

Then you get to enjoy all the sense based jb roms you can find.
Sent from my HTC One XL

954wrecker said:
Then you get to enjoy all the sense based jb roms you can find.
Sent from my HTC One XL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not very many sadly

Better than nothing, better than stock
Sent from my HTC One XL

954wrecker said:
Better than nothing, better than stock
Sent from my HTC One XL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are 100% right !

Hi there i have excatly same phone with excat software versions and everything and like you, i hate to be slave of Rogers and their useless apps all around in myphone. If you could achive the rooting your phone, would you please write the steps so i can fallow them. Your help is greatly appriciated in advance,
Thank you

moonchildproject said:
Hi there i have excatly same phone with excat software versions and everything and like you, i hate to be slave of Rogers and their useless apps all around in myphone. If you could achive the rooting your phone, would you please write the steps so i can fallow them. Your help is greatly appriciated in advance,
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I told him the steps read on page one. I helped him and it was solved.

Upgrading from 4.4.2

Hi,
I'm still on 4.4.2 and wish to backup, S-OFF, root, and upgrade to 5.x (open to trying a custom ROM). I'm completely new to this and have a couple questions:
In what order should things be done? My guess is the order listed above?
Can I just follow the instructions in the stickies (firewater, etc), or are they out of date?
If upgrading to a non-Sense ROM, will software (camera, sound, etc) work as well?
If you have any tips/suggestions/advice/things you wish you'd known, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

1.Go here.
Download APP/EXE version (which i did).
Follow the instruction & flash the exe ruu.If you encounter problem when flashing,just flash this latest hboot & reflash the app exe ruu.Do this only if you encount with any flashing error.
Let it reboot.That's all .
2.No matter which rom you are flasing SENSE or SENSLESS,just flash the latest firmware first.Then you can flash any rom.

Before you go loading RUUs I would recommend turning s-off first. For that you have to use sunshine. Firewater is discontinued and won't work even if you have the files. You would have to run sunshine BEFORE upgrading to lollipop because it hasn't (yet) been updated to work on the lollipop update. Hope this isn't too late of advice.

Caspid said:
Hi,
I'm still on 4.4.2 and wish to backup, S-OFF, root, and upgrade to 5.x (open to trying a custom ROM). I'm completely new to this and have a couple questions:
Can I just follow the instructions in the stickies (firewater, etc), or are they out of date?
If upgrading to a non-Sense ROM, will software (camera, sound, etc) work as well?
If you have any tips/suggestions/advice/things you wish you'd known, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Follow this xda thread to root http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z/general/guide-how-to-root-10-5-1-0-283-t2872873.
After rooting, install NUT's dual recovery. Then download pre-rooted zip for Android 5.0.2 from development section and flash through revovery.
Sent from my C6602 using xda Forums PRO

SurenderK said:
Hi,
Follow this xda thread to root http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z/general/guide-how-to-root-10-5-1-0-283-t2872873.
After rooting, install NUT's dual recovery. Then download pre-rooted zip for Android 5.0.2 from development section and flash through revovery.
Sent from my C6602 using xda Forums PRO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These instructions are for a different phone. It's the same for the M8?
cntryby429 said:
Before you go loading RUUs I would recommend turning s-off first. For that you have to use sunshine. Firewater is discontinued and won't work even if you have the files. You would have to run sunshine BEFORE upgrading to lollipop because it hasn't (yet) been updated to work on the lollipop update. Hope this isn't too late of advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What, really? Even for 4.4.2? I thought sunshine was only required for later versions.

Caspid said:
These instructions are for a different phone. It's the same for the M8?
What, really? Even for 4.4.2? I thought sunshine was only required for later versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I don't know what that guy is talking about. Steer clear of that advice.
The only way to unlock the bootloader of a Verizon m8 is sunshine and it also turns s-off which is sweet. Firewater worked for older versions, I actually used it myself many months ago. Shortly after sunshine released for the m8 they turned off the online part of Firewater. Sunshine does cost $25 but I donated more than that as a thanks for Firewater, it seems fair.
Once s-off you will be able to do pretty much whatever you want, flash recovery (which can then flash custom roms), upgrade firmware, downgrade firmware, flash radios, etc. However this also means that you can brick your phone if you don't know what you're doing. Definitely don't go following instructions instructions for another phone.
It you don't mind sense, flashing doddat's stock rooted RUU is a one step process and you're done.
If you want bloat removed, the ability to make nandroid, and the many features of custom roms then you need to flash TWRP recovery and you can go to town. If you want bloat removed then there are some pretty good sense based roms. I ran viper Rom for a while and was pretty happy. Then there's gpe and cm based roms. As far as I know most are pretty bug free.
Just be careful. Like I said, s-off allows you to do both awesome and detrimental things to your phone. Know what you're doing, how to do it, and most importantly how to undo it before you do anything.

cntryby429 said:
So I don't know what that guy is talking about. Steer clear of that advice.
The only way to unlock the bootloader of a Verizon m8 is sunshine and it also turns s-off which is sweet. Firewater worked for older versions, I actually used it myself many months ago. Shortly after sunshine released for the m8 they turned off the online part of Firewater. Sunshine does cost $25 but I donated more than that as a thanks for Firewater, it seems fair.
Once s-off you will be able to do pretty much whatever you want, flash recovery (which can then flash custom roms), upgrade firmware, downgrade firmware, flash radios, etc. However this also means that you can brick your phone if you don't know what you're doing. Definitely don't go following instructions instructions for another phone.
It you don't mind sense, flashing doddat's stock rooted RUU is a one step process and you're done.
If you want bloat removed, the ability to make nandroid, and the many features of custom roms then you need to flash TWRP recovery and you can go to town. If you want bloat removed then there are some pretty good sense based roms. I ran viper Rom for a while and was pretty happy. Then there's gpe and cm based roms. As far as I know most are pretty bug free.
Just be careful. Like I said, s-off allows you to do both awesome and detrimental things to your phone. Know what you're doing, how to do it, and most importantly how to undo it before you do anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So instead of making a new thread my question is similar to the guys above. I am on 4.4.2 but already have S-off and root, TWRP installed etc. I have had the phone since launch and have been happy enough to not worry about updating or changing anything too much.
Anyhow, I am now interested in updated, I read a few months ago that 4.4.2 should update to 4.4.3 before going to 4.4.4. Is this still the case if I only want to go to 4.4.4? Still the case if I go all the way up to 5.0.1?
Second, apologies if the answer is the same as above but I just want to be sure I am clear, I am s-off already, will I need sunshine moving forward for after I updated? Or since I am s-off already will I stay that way and be able to root without any additional steps after updating?

Resputan said:
So instead of making a new thread my question is similar to the guys above. I am on 4.4.2 but already have S-off and root, TWRP installed etc. I have had the phone since launch and have been happy enough to not worry about updating or changing anything too much.
Anyhow, I am now interested in updated, I read a few months ago that 4.4.2 should update to 4.4.3 before going to 4.4.4. Is this still the case if I only want to go to 4.4.4? Still the case if I go all the way up to 5.0.1?
Second, apologies if the answer is the same as above but I just want to be sure I am clear, I am s-off already, will I need sunshine moving forward for after I updated? Or since I am s-off already will I stay that way and be able to root without any additional steps after updating?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recall that idea of necessary incremental upgrades being passed around for my previous HTC device, the Rezound. I suspect that it's not true although I certainly don't know enough to support that statement. My suspicion is that if you were to flash any of the RUUs which were posted by dottat you will successfully boot any of our official software versions regardless of what version you're coming from. This presumes the prerequisite that you're s-off in order to permit downgrading (if you choose) and/or use of some of his s-off-required RUUs. With as full-proof as those RUUs seem to be, the worst case scenario is that your device bootloops requiring another RUU. I don't know that you're at all too much risk of bricking your phone provided you are flashing files that are meant for your exact model (be weary of flashing international/AT&T RUUs and such to a verizon phone) and are following instructions.
Regarding sunshine, as long as you don't issue specific fastboot commands to relock the bootloader or turn s-on, then you should have no further use for Sunshine. The only reason I can see someone taking updates incrementally is if they want to take them OTA. However, if you're s-off then I would highly recommend just using an RUU. None of the RUUs or firmware update zips will relock the bootloader or turn s-on. I can think of very few reasons to do either of those with the exception of returning to full stock for a warranty return. I believe that all of the RUUs will restore stock recovery, but since they don't relock the bootloader, you can always just flash back your custom recovery via fastboot or bootloader and re-root your stock rom. Alternatively, once you have a custom recovery you can flash any one of the many custom roms which will almost certainly come pre-rooted.