Hi guys,
My brother purchased the htc one m8 from verizon shortly after release and got to experience the wonders of an easily unlock-able bootloader. Knowing verizon, phones are occasionally patched months after release to revert/nullify this functionality. Did this ever happen to the HTC one m8? I want to buy one, but not if it's going to be curbstomped like my galaxy s4. As an Android dev this is a crucial aspect of any phone I purchase.
Thank you very much for your time and potential response(s), have a wonderful day.
Being an htc device, there are 2 levels of "unlocking" if you will. There's an unlocked bootloader and there's s-off. At least for this phone, the 2 current exploits (firewater and sunshine) perform both functions with s-off giving you the deeper access to your phone. While ota updates can relock the bootloader, I understand that they will never turn s-on which means you will always have the ability to re-unlock if you feel compelled to take an ota rather than flashing it's comments once prepared by the devs.
Evangelosg said:
Hi guys,
My brother purchased the htc one m8 from verizon shortly after release and got to experience the wonders of an easily unlock-able bootloader. Knowing verizon, phones are occasionally patched months after release to revert/nullify this functionality. Did this ever happen to the HTC one m8? I want to buy one, but not if it's going to be curbstomped like my galaxy s4. As an Android dev this is a crucial aspect of any phone I purchase.
Thank you very much for your time and potential response(s), have a wonderful day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once its unlocked and s off, leave it that way. While updates can sometimes patch exploits used to do this, they never lock your bootloader or s on the device. So just never s on or relock....
cntryby429 said:
Being an htc device, there are 2 levels of "unlocking" if you will. There's an unlocked bootloader and there's s-off. At least for this phone, the 2 current exploits (firewater and sunshine) perform both functions with s-off giving you the deeper access to your phone. While ota updates can relock the bootloader, I understand that they will never turn s-on which means you will always have the ability to re-unlock if you feel compelled to take an ota rather than flashing it's comments once prepared by the devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it, thanks!
Also, new M8 devices have the original exploit fixed. So you'll need to spend $25 to get a new device S-Off'd (just a heads up).
And obviously if you ever need to get a new phone due to hardware issues it resets the process, so your point about Verizon is good. It's a constant game of cat and mouse.
Looking at it this way when I sell my M8, if ever, I will add 25$ to the price tag =] thanks @jcase and @beaups
Reading about Sunshine. Will this work on pretty much any Droid Maxx? I was going to buy a new or used device to mess around with. Root/bootloader unlock are very important to me, in that order. Sunshine seems to say it works on any Droid Maxx prior to 4.4.4, and then "some" 4.4.4 phones. Can anyone help me out before I make the purchase?
Free storage from Copy:
https://copy.com?r=cScoov
jackdubl said:
Reading about Sunshine. Will this work on pretty much any Droid Maxx? I was going to buy a new or used device to mess around with. Root/bootloader unlock are very important to me, in that order. Sunshine seems to say it works on any Droid Maxx prior to 4.4.4, and then "some" 4.4.4 phones. Can anyone help me out before I make the purchase?
Free storage from Copy:
https://copy.com?r=cScoov
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sunshine will not work on 4.4.4.
4.4.4 = no root (still a great phone IMO...I don't even miss root to be honest and I had a serious crack-flash addiction with all previous phones)
It worked on my Maxx 4.4.4. on 21.11.21..see my posts at this other thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-ultra/general/little-help-please-t2869859/page2
Of course to be safe, if the used Maxx you are purchasing is on an older version, even safer bet that Sunshine may work, just keep it as stock as possible when trying Sunshine.
^^ his was already rooted. Obtaining root is the kicker for Sunshine on a Maxx running 4.4.4
Which is exactly the phone I have. Sunshine doesn't work on it, China Middleman didn't have a code for it, so there's currently no way to unlock the bootloader or root it.
I did not do my homework before purchasing. It's a great phone, love the 3-day battery, but miss my unlimited hotspot. Guess you have a decision to make...
Currently running a Verizon g3 and have till tomorrow to return it. While I like it the heat and bad battery life are just something I can't deal with. I need a phone I can root to use my tasker automation profiles with. I've done some light research but trying to find out if a new M8 that comes with 4.4.4 is rootable or unlockable. I've never had an HTC device but really liked the smoothness of the M8. The LG is nice but this thing is like an oven.
Many (most?) but not all vzw 4.4.4 devices can be unlocked & s-off'ed with the current sunshine which I think costs a measly $25. There's talk of a new sunshine that will work on everything but it's release is still pending. Chances are it will work just fine right away and if not, you can all but count on having root soon with the new sunshine. Take the plunge, the m8 is quite a phone.
Thank you. Going today to swap it out. The $25 isn't a big deal if it works. All else fails I'll just sell the brand new m8 get a nexus 6.
Made the swap. Love the M8 already, but Sunshine wont unlock it and Weaksauce2 only temp roots
HTC One M8 on Verizon. Android version 5.0.1. I did a lot of research yesterday, and could not find any working solution to root the phone. It's hard to find anything on Google because generally the information will be outdated (from last year or the year before). So can someone fill me in on what exactly I'd need to do? This is my first smartphone and I've never rooted an Android device before.
ziddy5 said:
HTC One M8 on Verizon. Android version 5.0.1. I did a lot of research yesterday, and could not find any working solution to root the phone. It's hard to find anything on Google because generally the information will be outdated (from last year or the year before). So can someone fill me in on what exactly I'd need to do? This is my first smartphone and I've never rooted an Android device before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you are still S-On and locked then you are stuck without root for now.
BladeRunner said:
Assuming you are still S-On and locked then you are stuck without root for now.
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Click to collapse
This is what I was afraid of. How can I keep track of when there is an update to the situation?
ziddy5 said:
This is what I was afraid of. How can I keep track of when there is an update to the situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep checking these forums and/or follow @teamandIRC on twitter
Rooting the already updated HTC One M8
It's going to be difficult. I've been scouring the webs for weeks looking for the answer to that one. The Sunshine S-off didn't work for me. The only way I can find right now to do this requires finding somone that has purchaced the elusive "HTC java card" sometimes called the HTC S-off card. They can s-off your phone in a heartbeat. Wish I had one, I just can't see forking over 375.00 to get one.
So if your S-off there is a root method available ? I haven't found it if there is.
I'm running 5.0.1 Verizon S-off
Thanks in advance
jjmstang said:
So if your S-off there is a root method available ? I haven't found it if there is.
I'm running 5.0.1 Verizon S-off
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're already s-off then just install twrp and flash, reboot recovery and it should ask you if you want to install root
BladeRunner said:
If you're already s-off then just install twrp and flash, reboot recovery and it should ask you if you want to install root
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Click to collapse
It seems you have to be rooted to install TWRP........at least what found
You only have to be rooted to install it with their app. If you are s-off you can download it from their site and flash it with fastboot.
mpappas87 said:
You only have to be rooted to install it with their app. If you are s-off you can download it from their site and flash it with fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed this method and I have re-gained root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...ow-to-root-ota-pc-s-off-t3048604#post59750567
Now I'm going to try and flash the Dragon ROM with Sense 7
Thanks again for the help
same boat ; old filmware?
just received this HTC One M8 thru verizon, lollipop 5.0.1 after day 2 OTA update. I've been rooting every device i've owned since 08. Busy with daily tasks I haven't had a chance to sit and try unlocking bootloader until this weekend. I hit a wall when HTCdev returned an error after entering the identifier token \(^~^)/ . I did some reading, couldn't find anything.
I'm coming from a xt912 I've pretty much squeezed all I can get out of it since I got that brand new. I put CM12 on that just recently this HTC makes that the moto seem primitive. After bricking that (moto)spyder a few times flashing bad zips or doing things out of sequence I've put it thru the ringer and used RSDlite to just start from scratch. I have also found these device can put up with a lot and still bounce back. Geeze, I have three years of continuous text and data backed up on SD, lol . Something I haven't tried and wonder, does anyone know, is there any old VZW filmware for this M8 maybe 4.4.2 and try un locking from that point or Does the token id stay the same no matter what filmware?
Htcdev won't work on our phone because it's blocked by Verizon. Also, it's not possible to downgrade firmware or the OS without having s-off. At this time there's no way to get s-off on lollipop so you're pretty much stuck where you're at until an exploit is found by someone. Sunshine works for anything up to 4.4.4 but it won't work on a Verizon phone that's running 5.0.1. About all you can do right now is wait to see if Jcase and Beaups come up with a way to make it work on a Verizon phone too. I know that's not what you want to hear but that's how it is at the moment.
benjdevel said:
I've been rooting every device i've owned since 08. weekend. I hit a wall
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Click to collapse
Okay, glad I didn't spend too much time trying to figure this out, never rooted a device before
Gotcha . ...Stupid vzw ? I glanced at a procedure to unlock SIM. Have no idea if that would help anything. Havent tried it. Ill have to keep a watch out for something. Really compaired to that spider this thing is like a ferrari. Not too much bloatware. Lollipop rocks and knowing Im up to date for the most part calms me a little. I still dont like the idea of not having complete control of my device. I've already received a few notification marketing related from verizon that i could not close unless i looked at it. I did notice control over saving things to my ext sd i do like. I am a student just getting into the ist world.wish there was something i could help with. 5 classes is killing me at the moment though. I did also try to install an imsi catcher apk updates version and it seemed like it ran fine. I could of swore that app needed root access. I could be wrong with the newest version though.
Joint Java Card?
Same boat (Verizon, htc one m8) . . . For some reason I was thinking Lollipop was the update which was still able to be handled by Weaksauce 2. So I accepted the OTA, without thinking. -hadn't gotten around to s-off, etc., before this time around.
So, in some 2013 posts, I saw that some people had tried to pool resources and share a Java Card, etc. But sending phones to a "card keeper", is expensive, and unsafe (besides having to live without your phone for a few days.). jcase, on their company's IRC support channel, indicates that the card is more than just a simple microSD card, which one might be able to dd a filesystem image from (i.e. copy it for distribution). That's entirely possible, since all SD cards have micro-controllers for dealing with failed sectors, etc (check out "Bunnie's Blog"). Basically, the controller could make it tough/impossible to access part of the card, and can take care of decrimenting credits, encryption, signing, etc. Even if it were a basic SD card, the use of signed binaries, and external license/resource server, etc. could still make it tough . . . -although the card I found states it needs no internet connection. It would be much cheaper to send the card, rather than phones. But how to coordinate and pool the cost seems like it could be a pain?
So here's what I'm thinking about:
Someone (me?) could purchase a legit, new htc Java Card. After I use my 2 or 3 credits to s-off/unlock my phone, I could put the card on, say, ebay for maybe $5 less than what I bought it for. Then, another person could use some credits, then sell it again, for a little cheaper, etc. If we want to keep it "in-house", we could just send to each other and pay with PayPal or Google Wallet. But, with e-bay, one could just copy/build on the ad the first person started. Take a picture of your phone's screen, when the remaining credits are shown, and put it on the ad. With 2000 credits, my conservative estimate is that it could cost less than 72 cents, for each unlock. The $5 incremental discount might be close enough to cover re-shipping costs.
The Sunshine guys have, for free, helped many of us over the years. So I was planning to purchase their solution, if it worked for this situation. But their download page states that "Verizon 5.0.x users will have to wait until we update.". They indicate they could get us supported soon, but they also indicate that Lollipop is much more secure, with SELinux updated and better enforced., etc. So I am a little concerned about when that will actually happen. I see they've been posting updates for Motorola, and making sure people are able to pay them via PayPal, etc. But nothing yet for Verizon 5.0.x.
Does anyone know/recall how long after the last android update, someone came up with a root exploit? I'm just trying to get a rough guesstimate about the minimum time people will have to wait this time. -then add time because Lollipop is apparently significantly more secure. I guess I don't completely mind that my phone might be secure enough to not make it tougher for someone to get into the deepest parts of it, without specialized hardware (Java Card), if I were to lose it.
But, really, what Verizon and htc and others have done to these devices . . . They are, essentially, specialized computers. It would be like if Dell or another computer manufacturer sold you a computer, without allowing you access to your administrator account (and no clear/easy way to boot from another drive, to recover/fix things, etc.). That's crap.
I dunno. What do people think? I suppose I could just try it, and see.
Are new devices updated already? If I were to get a phone from verizon today will it already have the Lollipop update or would I get a still root-able device that I can deny the update?
libredroid said:
But, really, what Verizon and htc and others have done to these devices . . . They are, essentially, specialized computers. It would be like if Dell or another computer manufacturer sold you a computer, without allowing you access to your administrator account (and no clear/easy way to boot from another drive, to recover/fix things, etc.). That's crap.
I dunno. What do people think? I suppose I could just try it, and see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the idea of that Java card:good: and I completely agree with you on how wrong it is restricting administrative rights, especially considering these things are comparable to a new computer.
dimsumx said:
Are new devices updated already? If I were to get a phone from verizon today will it already have the Lollipop update or would I get a still root-able device that I can deny the update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No guarantees either way.
What is the status on SunShine for our device?
I got the Java Card.
@vazersecurity: still "Verizon 5.0.x users will have to wait until we update.", as of today.
I got the card, as previously proposed, and was able to get S-Off on my USA-Verizon HTC One M8 with the Lollipop OTA.
I needed to download and place two files in the root of the card (now done).
I then (CID changed) was able to use htcdev.com to unlock my bootloader, and ultimately gain root. I'm now happily running a current Cyanogenmod ROM. To regain some functionality from my camera, etc., I installed the htc camera, HTC Gallery, and Zoe apps from the Play store.
So I've already created a listing for the card on eBay. I assume the forum rules won't allow me to post the link. But I, honestly, always intended to use that as a way to make it more convenient to share with a community of people who wish to join in. -not to try and make any money off the card. Again, rather than have people ship phones to one person (with the shipping cost, and being without their phone), if figured it would be cheaper, and less disruptive, to ship the actual card. So, you'd purchase the card from the previous user, then re-list it for a bit less than what you paid for it. With the starting cost and credits, S-Off is about 30 cents, each. As the card credits get used up, it gets cheaper. Maybe each person would end up paying a few dollars for S-Off, when you factor in the shipping.
Maybe a moderator could chime in about whether it might be OK to post a link to this "community-intended" listing. -or suggest a better contribution/distribution method.
Also, since many users in our situations have been out of luck regarding S-Off, for a few months now, might a moderator or someone suggest/implement a way to post/place this information more prominently, in the forums?
Thanks.
I love this phone, nothing coming out is exciting. But, I need lollipop now. I'd like to install a recovery, make a backup, flash lollipop based Moto x Rom. If this phone was new, I would pay for sunshine without thinking, but I don't know if I want to invest money in a phone towards the end of its useful life.
So is there any other way to get lollipop?
Sunshine is pretty much the only method as there was no Droid Ultra/MAXX/Mini "developer edition" so Motorola (because Verizon says so) won't allow for bootloader unlocking even on these now 2+ year old devices, sadly. Realistically they could, it's just a damned code that every phone is capable of working with but Motorola just won't do it.
Sunshine is your only hope if you wish to use custom ROMs without hassles. It's just $25, I mean really, the cost of a good case for some other device, and then it would be open and you could do pretty much anything you want with it.
Consider yourself lucky you have one that can be unlocked, they're pretty rare these days. I'd say go for it if a custom ROM is your thing, I gave up on that crap long ago - pure stock with some mods (to get it rooted and use Xposed) are all I care about anymore for my MAXX.
br0adband said:
Sunshine is pretty much the only method as there was no Droid Ultra/MAXX/Mini "developer edition" so Motorola (because Verizon says so) won't allow for bootloader unlocking even on these now 2+ year old devices, sadly. Realistically they could, it's just a damned code that every phone is capable of working with but Motorola just won't do it.
Sunshine is your only hope if you wish to use custom ROMs without hassles. It's just $25, I mean really, the cost of a good case for some other device, and then it would be open and you could do pretty much anything you want with it.
Consider yourself lucky you have one that can be unlocked, they're pretty rare these days. I'd say go for it if a custom ROM is your thing, I gave up on that crap long ago - pure stock with some mods (to get it rooted and use Xposed) are all I care about anymore for my MAXX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I've been doing really good with stock firmware sms xposed. Bought the phone new and still on jb, but phone runs flawlessly compared to what I've been hearing from those that took the updates.
However, I need lollipop now because I have android auto in my car. I'm debating between paying to unlock it out getting a new phone, maybe the nexus.
It would be an easier decision if there was a stock lollipop update for the maxx.
mistermojorizin said:
It would be an easier decision if there was a stock lollipop update for the maxx.
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Click to collapse
So, hang on to that MAXX and see what happens, the rumor mill is hopping about a potential release of Lollipop for the Ultra/MAXX/Mini at some point, you never know what Verizon will do I suppose.
It's $25 for Sunshine so either fork it over and have some fun trying out stuff on the unlocked device or sell it and get something you can make use of now as required I suppose.
br0adband said:
So, hang on to that MAXX and see what happens, the rumor mill is hopping about a potential release of Lollipop for the Ultra/MAXX/Mini at some point, you never know what Verizon will do I suppose.
It's $25 for Sunshine so either fork it over and have some fun trying out stuff on the unlocked device or sell it and get something you can make use of now as required I suppose.
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Click to collapse
i bought sunshine. thanks for the advice