I hope you like stories because I like telling them.
So, I've been trying to get this phone to work for several weeks now and I'm hoping someone here can help. The backstory is going to make me sound really stupid, but here you go. I bought this phone initially to replace my old Nokia Lumia 710 which is still *functioning*, but lets be honest it needs to be replaced. It cost me $150 if I remember correctly. Well, it worked fine for about a week and then I dropped it and shattered the screen through the LCD layer. I backed up the contents while there was still enough LCD fluid for me to see what I was doing before the whole screen went black.
I then proceeded to take the phone to a repair place where they charged me $200 dollars to replace the screen. Yes, I know I could have just as easily bought one brand new, but the half-off sale was over and I've always been one to fix things instead of replacing them. Of course maybe that will change with this experience. Anyway, when they finally got it back to me and when I turned it on it said there was a software update available. So, I followed the standard procedure and allowed it to download and restart. . . but it got stuck in a loop on the restart. At this point I knew very little about the phone, so I left it at home to die and switched the SIM card back to my Nokia.
Later that day I researched how to 'reset' it, which gave me the instructions for how to put it into bootloader/download mode, and I thought "Well, it still works, I bet they can fix this at the phone repair place". So I charged it, brought it there and showed them that it still worked -sort of- and they told me they would fix it in a day for $30.
A week later they called and said "We can't fix this thing, take it back free of charge". It didn't make any sense to me because the internet made it sound like a 'soft brick' was easy to fix. So I took it back and decided to try fixing it on my own. I downloaded the HTC drivers and got to work. The first thing I found was the HTC official RUU.exe and I tried using it to fix the phone. However, it returned with a 'signature error', which I researched and as far as I can tell it's because the official RUU is nougat and my firmware has the key for marshmallow.
I looked for a RUU.exe that was a marshmallow version, but HTC took down all the downloads that I found links to and no ones seems to have saved it anywhere. Instead I found directions to update manually using a combination of ADB/fastboot/htc_fastboot. I set them up to work on the command line and they all recognize that the phone is connected. I downloaded a marshmallow RUU.zip and tried to flash it, but it failed with the message "main version NOT ALLOWED". I searched around and supposedly it's because the only zips I could find are lower versions than the broken version installed on mine. (something about s-on?)
I then thought that maybe I could update the firmware and then use the official RUU to get it working again. From what I could tell getting a TWRP recovery on there would give me enough access to the phone to allow firmware to be updated. I searched all over for ways to install TWRP, but it failed to flash also. Supposedly I need the bootloader unlocked.
I got an account on HTCDev and started following the directions but the command:
fastboot oem get_identifier_token
Returns an error "last byte is 0x00, disable unlock"
So I guess I can't unlock the bootloader either. . .
The current state of the phone is:
Software Status: Official
Locked
S-ON
Which seems to be the worst case scenario for trying to fix it. Also, just some other info, the OS version is 1.55.617.4
and it's a USA Unlocked version, if that wasn't already described by the OS version. . .
Oh and it's encrypted.
So yeah, I'm giving up today. I already ordered a new phone, however I still think it would be really satisfying to get it working again. You guys are the pros and I am in posession of the most defiant piece of non-functional silicon to ever exist, so if you can tell me how to beat it into submission I will be very happy. Thanks!
-Corneilius
Corneilius said:
I hope you like stories because I like telling them.
So, I've been trying to get this phone to work for several weeks now and I'm hoping someone here can help. The backstory is going to make me sound really stupid, but here you go. I bought this phone initially to replace my old Nokia Lumia 710 which is still *functioning*, but lets be honest it needs to be replaced. It cost me $150 if I remember correctly. Well, it worked fine for about a week and then I dropped it and shattered the screen through the LCD layer. I backed up the contents while there was still enough LCD fluid for me to see what I was doing before the whole screen went black.
I then proceeded to take the phone to a repair place where they charged me $200 dollars to replace the screen. Yes, I know I could have just as easily bought one brand new, but the half-off sale was over and I've always been one to fix things instead of replacing them. Of course maybe that will change with this experience. Anyway, when they finally got it back to me and when I turned it on it said there was a software update available. So, I followed the standard procedure and allowed it to download and restart. . . but it got stuck in a loop on the restart. At this point I knew very little about the phone, so I left it at home to die and switched the SIM card back to my Nokia.
Later that day I researched how to 'reset' it, which gave me the instructions for how to put it into bootloader/download mode, and I thought "Well, it still works, I bet they can fix this at the phone repair place". So I charged it, brought it there and showed them that it still worked -sort of- and they told me they would fix it in a day for $30.
A week later they called and said "We can't fix this thing, take it back free of charge". It didn't make any sense to me because the internet made it sound like a 'soft brick' was easy to fix. So I took it back and decided to try fixing it on my own. I downloaded the HTC drivers and got to work. The first thing I found was the HTC official RUU.exe and I tried using it to fix the phone. However, it returned with a 'signature error', which I researched and as far as I can tell it's because the official RUU is nougat and my firmware has the key for marshmallow.
I looked for a RUU.exe that was a marshmallow version, but HTC took down all the downloads that I found links to and no ones seems to have saved it anywhere. Instead I found directions to update manually using a combination of ADB/fastboot/htc_fastboot. I set them up to work on the command line and they all recognize that the phone is connected. I downloaded a marshmallow RUU.zip and tried to flash it, but it failed with the message "main version NOT ALLOWED". I searched around and supposedly it's because the only zips I could find are lower versions than the broken version installed on mine. (something about s-on?)
I then thought that maybe I could update the firmware and then use the official RUU to get it working again. From what I could tell getting a TWRP recovery on there would give me enough access to the phone to allow firmware to be updated. I searched all over for ways to install TWRP, but it failed to flash also. Supposedly I need the bootloader unlocked.
I got an account on HTCDev and started following the directions but the command:
fastboot oem get_identifier_token
Returns an error "last byte is 0x00, disable unlock"
So I guess I can't unlock the bootloader either. . .
The current state of the phone is:
Software Status: Official
Locked
S-ON
Which seems to be the worst case scenario for trying to fix it. Also, just some other info, the OS version is 1.55.617.4
and it's a USA Unlocked version, if that wasn't already described by the OS version. . .
Oh and it's encrypted.
So yeah, I'm giving up today. I already ordered a new phone, however I still think it would be really satisfying to get it working again. You guys are the pros and I am in posession of the most defiant piece of non-functional silicon to ever exist, so if you can tell me how to beat it into submission I will be very happy. Thanks!
-Corneilius
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are still several option to fix this phone.
might want to try flashing a newer ruu that is still Marshmallow version like this one https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=24459283995314374 or his one https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=24399994186368579
htc_fastoot oem rebootRUU
htc_fastboot flash zip 2PQ9IMG_HIA_AERO_UL_M601_SENSE7GP_1.56.617.1_signed.zip
htc_fastboot reboot
and there is still the possibility to update your firmware to 2.xx.617.x using a singed firmware.zip file making your phone accept the new ruu signature implemented in Nougat ruu.
Btw you can't unlock your BL because the "allow oem unlock" option was not previously turned on from the "developer option" (this requires a booting OS).
Sweet, you found a Marshmallow ruu!
I'll try it, thanks!
-Corneilius
Related
Hi all, any help would be much appreciated.
I'm from Canada and bought the HTC One S from Expansys a few days ago. It was compatible with my Rogers network, however, I JUST switched over to Bell and unfortunately, this version of the phone, while unlocked, is not compatible with Bell's network. As a result, Expansys has agreed to let me return the phone, however, during the short time that I was using it, I had rooted and installed a custom rom (WITHOUT backing up the stock; boneheaded move, I know). The phone seems to be the European version from France, so I was thinking of restoring to this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1543588 however, I remember reading an article on Rootzwiki about how our phones are marked once we unlock the bootloader. Is there a way to remedy this? I'm afraid Expansys will reject my return if they notice that I've "tampered" with it and would like to return it fully to stock, unrooted, completely original everything.
Again, if anyone can direct me how to proceed, I would be so grateful. I have two weeks to send my phone back.
Thanks guys!
Thanks
I would love to know the answer to this as well. Kinda in the same boat...My main concern is removing CWM..Anyone have any info on this?
xflatlinex said:
I would love to know the answer to this as well. Kinda in the same boat...My main concern is removing CWM..Anyone have any info on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on all my readings thus far, it seems removing the "tampered" message is not possible yet.
In order to remove CWM and revert back to stock, I recommend hasoon2000's All-In-One Toolkit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1604677
There is an option to flash the stock recovery.
ayato kamina said:
Hi all, any help would be much appreciated.
I'm from Canada and bought the HTC One S from Expansys a few days ago. It was compatible with my Rogers network, however, I JUST switched over to Bell and unfortunately, this version of the phone, while unlocked, is not compatible with Bell's network. As a result, Expansys has agreed to let me return the phone, however, during the short time that I was using it, I had rooted and installed a custom rom (WITHOUT backing up the stock; boneheaded move, I know). The phone seems to be the European version from France, so I was thinking of restoring to this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1543588 however, I remember reading an article on Rootzwiki about how our phones are marked once we unlock the bootloader. Is there a way to remedy this? I'm afraid Expansys will reject my return if they notice that I've "tampered" with it and would like to return it fully to stock, unrooted, completely original everything.
Again, if anyone can direct me how to proceed, I would be so grateful. I have two weeks to send my phone back.
Thanks guys!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can just do the following:
Remove root - can be easily done via superSU app from the settings menu, where is mentiones full unroot
Flash stock recovery
Relock bootloader.
After that if you want, just find the correct RUU file for your phone it it will flash it. The word tempered will go away, but it will just say "relocked"
I don't think that expansys will access the bootloader to check....Most employees are not tech savvy...As long as they power the phone on, without problems....you should be fine.
you will always see the brand relocked. untill we have al full s-off it wil be like this always.
just flash the correct ruu it came with,
if the phone works normal they wont have a reason to look at the bootloader.
Hi
This is my first post here, and I'm hoping somebody could help me with some questions I have.
I have recently bought a "new" HTC one s on ebay, which may seem to have been a bad idea. I have later discovered that it is not a z520e (snapdragon s4), but the cheaper z560e (snapdragon s3) version, or villec2 running android 4.0.3.
Anyway, I have tried to upgrade the phone to the latest android version, using the built in phone function. However, this did not work and I got an error message telling: "We have determined that your phone may be running modified version of its system software...". In other words, I have the feeling that the phone is tampered with. Maybe the seller have unlocked in a way that makes it impossible to upgrade. Is there anything I can do to check this? And is there anything i can do to upgrade to android 4.1.1. ? I have tried a factory restore (phone function) with no luck. Or is the update only available to Asia?
Any information is very appreciated. I would like to know what the seller have done with this phone, information which I can use against the seller. Thanks!
staldor said:
Hi
This is my first post here, and I'm hoping somebody could help me with some questions I have.
I have recently bought a "new" HTC one s on ebay, which may seem to have been a bad idea. I have later discovered that it is not a z520e (snapdragon s4), but the cheaper z560e (snapdragon s3) version, or villec2 running android 4.0.3.
Anyway, I have tried to upgrade the phone to the latest android version, using the built in phone function. However, this did not work and I got an error message telling: "We have determined that your phone may be running modified version of its system software...". In other words, I have the feeling that the phone is tampered with. Maybe the seller have unlocked in a way that makes it impossible to upgrade. Is there anything I can do to check this? And is there anything i can do to upgrade to android 4.1.1. ? I have tried a factory restore (phone function) with no luck. Or is the update only available to Asia?
Any information is very appreciated. I would like to know what the seller have done with this phone, information which I can use against the seller. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When the phone is off, press and hold volume down then press power button (don't hold).
This will let you enter bootloader.
Top of the screen if it says unlocked, that is why you cannot update.
I'm guessing you do not know about fastboot commands/ adb commands and are not interested in learning to root and load custom ROMs to your phone.
But if it is unlocked and you want to relock it you just need to type in a command prompt: fastboot oem lock
that is assuming that the stock recovery hasn't been changed. (which isn't hard to flash)
In this guide you would want to download that fastboot.rar file
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2175411
As this is a question, I've moved this thread to the Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting section.
In future, please remember to ask any questions in this section rather than in General.
Thanks
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
tivofool said:
When the phone is off, press and hold volume down then press power button (don't hold).
This will let you enter bootloader.
Top of the screen if it says unlocked, that is why you cannot update.
I'm guessing you do not know about fastboot commands/ adb commands and are not interested in learning to root and load custom ROMs to your phone.
But if it is unlocked and you want to relock it you just need to type in a command prompt: fastboot oem lock
that is assuming that the stock recovery hasn't been changed. (which isn't hard to flash)
In this guide you would want to download that fastboot.rar file
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2175411
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, sorry for the posting in the wrong category.
You have right that i have no experience rooting android phones. However, i managed to jailbrake an iPhone 1st gen in the old days.. Anyway, my main concern is to try to find out what this phone is running, and if I should send it back or not. I paid 260 usd, so I would like the phone to be ok/not too much tampered version.
I got into fastboot / Hboot, and it says unlocked. What does unlocked actually means? I also got some red text when i started the phone afterwords telling that it was some non officially software that were not allowed to be distributet (went a bit fast).
I guess this is the reason why I cant update. Is there some more information I can take out of this Hboot? (I tried to find a hboot guide.) Any ideas why the seller sold me an unlocked phone? And is there something i should make sure of before I decide to keep the phone? I might send it back if there is some tampered things here.
Thanks again for you feedback!
staldor said:
First of all, sorry for the posting in the wrong category.
You have right that i have no experience rooting android phones. However, i managed to jailbrake an iPhone 1st gen in the old days.. Anyway, my main concern is to try to find out what this phone is running, and if I should send it back or not. I paid 260 usd, so I would like the phone to be ok/not too much tampered version.
I got into fastboot / Hboot, and it says unlocked. What does unlocked actually means? I also got some red text when i started the phone afterwords telling that it was some non officially software that were not allowed to be distributet (went a bit fast).
I guess this is the reason why I cant update. Is there some more information I can take out of this Hboot? (I tried to find a hboot guide.) Any ideas why the seller sold me an unlocked phone? And is there something i should make sure of before I decide to keep the phone? I might send it back if there is some tampered things here.
Thanks again for you feedback!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC allows to unlock the bootloader from their website. You are sent an unlock bin code. Unlocked means you can root the phone, you can put on a custom recovery to make backups of your phone and put custom ROMs on it.
If yours said unlocked, and right below that if it did not say tampered, then i believe you still have the stock recovery.
you just need to download fastboot files to your pc then you can lock your bootloader.
you go back into bootloader and plug your phone into computer (phone will change from fastboot to fastboot usb)
from your fastboot folder you hold down shift and right click the mouse, choose the option to open a command prompt.
from there you just type
fastboot oem lock
tivofool said:
HTC allows to unlock the bootloader from their website. You are sent an unlock bin code. Unlocked means you can root the phone, you can put on a custom recovery to make backups of your phone and put custom ROMs on it.
If yours said unlocked, and right below that if it did not say tampered, then i believe you still have the stock recovery.
you just need to download fastboot files to your pc then you can lock your bootloader.
you go back into bootloader and plug your phone into computer (phone will change from fastboot to fastboot usb)
from your fastboot folder you hold down shift and right click the mouse, choose the option to open a command prompt.
from there you just type
fastboot oem lock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
Yes, i cannot see any "tampered" below the *** unlcoked *** line in HBOOT.
I tried the recovery in the HBOOT but got a red triangle. I guess i need to to this from an PC (I have macbook at home, or do I need the Andorid SDK on my computer maye..), and download the right android image etc. I also guess the factory reset will not help me either (probably the same function I can choose from the settings menu in android.).
Now my question is if I should try to change it to a z520e. I guess i will get some more battery life with the snapdragon s4. But not sure how much, and if its worth the hassles with return shipping etc.
Anyways, thank you very much for the information!
first of all, i have searched a lot about the issue i am having, i have not found a single one as mine.
XT1033 with locked bootloader
It started with 5.0.2 ota update, the update file was downloaded and flashing was smoothly done, after the final restart it stuck in a boot loop (on the moto logo white coloured). i straight away went to service center and they told me that my motherboard was the issue, needs to be changed for almost the cost of the phone itself.
then i thought of trying somethings from here (xda), found [5.0.2][Restore to Stock][XT1033] Asia Retail [Dual Sim][4.4.2/4.4.2][LockBootloader] i tried flashing stock firmware from this thread not flashing the "mfastboot.exe oem lock begin" and "mfastboot.exe oem lock" part. And the phone started!!!! i was laughing about the motherboard thing
Used it for about 15 days with no bug, no issues, no random reboots, the again one day it simply went into bootloop again, i was sure that there was a hardware issue, but then again i went through the same procedure and it was again working, this same process has happened for about 4-5 times on the last month.
i would like to know:
1. Is it a hardware issue? (service center people will surely make me buy a new motherboard)
2. Is it some kind of issue with the lollipop, downgrading to kitkat will help?
3. any permanent solution (or will i have to format the phone every 10 days?)
any help is very much appreciated.
kaliyaakakallu1 said:
first of all, i have searched a lot about the issue i am having, i have not found a single one as mine.
XT1033 with locked bootloader
It started with 5.0.2 ota update, the update file was downloaded and flashing was smoothly done, after the final restart it stuck in a boot loop (on the moto logo white coloured). i straight away went to service center and they told me that my motherboard was the issue, needs to be changed for almost the cost of the phone itself.
then i thought of trying somethings from here (xda), found [5.0.2][Restore to Stock][XT1033] Asia Retail [Dual Sim][4.4.2/4.4.2][LockBootloader] i tried flashing stock firmware from this thread not flashing the "mfastboot.exe oem lock begin" and "mfastboot.exe oem lock" part. And the phone started!!!! i was laughing about the motherboard thing
Used it for about 15 days with no bug, no issues, no random reboots, the again one day it simply went into bootloop again, i was sure that there was a hardware issue, but then again i went through the same procedure and it was again working, this same process has happened for about 4-5 times on the last month.
i would like to know:
1. Is it a hardware issue? (service center people will surely make me buy a new motherboard)
2. Is it some kind of issue with the lollipop, downgrading to kitkat will help?
3. any permanent solution (or will i have to format the phone every 10 days?)
any help is very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replacing the motherboard is a very bad idea as you can buy a new phone from that money
You can try unlocking the bootloader and flashing a custom ROM
PS- After unlocking BL You can take a backup is your data partition with a custom recovery and then no worries of data loss
So this is not a hardware issue??
kaliyaakakallu1 said:
So this is not a hardware issue??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't tell you that now because it may be after all a hardware issue
Now
Is your phone in warranty?
Do you have any problem in unlocking the bootloader?
sjandroiddeveloper said:
I can't tell you that now because it may be after all a hardware issue
Now
Is your phone in warranty?
Do you have any problem in unlocking the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, the phone is not in warranty.
And about unlocking the boot loader, one option for me was to get a new moto g 2014 with exchange offer on flipkart (i am from india and flipkart is reducing about Rs 3000 for this phone). So i am not sure that if i unlock the boot loader will they accept it??
is there a way to relock it and make it stock?
kaliyaakakallu1 said:
no, the phone is not in warranty.
And about unlocking the boot loader, one option for me was to get a new moto g 2014 with exchange offer on flipkart (i am from india and flipkart is reducing about Rs 3000 for this phone). So i am not sure that if i unlock the boot loader will they accept it??
is there a way to relock it and make it stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can lock the bootloader again but that's I think not gonna help because when you unlock your device you need to get the unlock code from Motorola only, so they after all know that you unlocked it once
And buying a second gen moto g is not a good deal at current time as the internals are almost same on both devices and besides you are getting only Rs 3000 off that's not a big amount on money considering that you may still be able to save your device
sjandroiddeveloper said:
Yes you can lock the bootloader again but that's I think not gonna help because when you unlock your device you need to get the unlock code from Motorola only, so they after all know that you unlocked it once
And buying a second gen moto g is not a good deal at current time as the internals are almost same on both devices and besides you are getting only Rs 3000 off that's not a big amount on money considering that you may still be able to save your device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the suggestion.
as soon as i get home, i will look into unlocking bootloader and installing some custom rom, can you recommend any particular rom that you are using, need it as a daily driver (stable one) .
kaliyaakakallu1 said:
thanks for the suggestion.
as soon as i get home, i will look into unlocking bootloader and installing some custom rom, can you recommend any particular rom that you are using, need it as a daily driver (stable one) .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And please think before talking any step
I said "you may be able to save your device" and not "you will surely be able to save your device"
Don't blame me if custom ROMs are not able to solve your problem
These things don't always have a desired output
Now if you are ready for some customs things my suggestions to you
* Use either philz touch latest or TWRP from xda ( and not from TWRP's official site)
* For ROMs , if you still want to stick with Motorola's stock ROM you can try custom recovery flashable zip made by @lost101
He made both normal variants and optimised ones
*Or if you wanna use custom ROMs try CM 12.1 latest nightly
*Read properly how to flash everything
*If while flashing anything you see any error in logs report back ( it may be able to tell if there's a hardware fault)
OG Pixel from Verizon, had it for years, battery has been really ****ty lately. So I had to send my phone in to get a new battery, and the cost was similar to go thru google store, so I did. Wiped the phone, restored to stock android, but left bootloader unlocked. Got the phone back today and version of android was downgraded and bootloader was locked.
How ****ed am I and what are my recourses? Tried google support, they're nearly useless.
If you never booted the device yet you can try "fastboot flashing unlock" and it will just re-unlock. Other than that I don't think you will ever see a unlock status on that phone. This is why I do my repairs myself.
Fastboot flashing unlock was unsuccessful, but I suspect that was because the phone was booted up for "troubleshooting" with Google "support."
I assume then there's no way to return it to the post-flash pre-boot state without some closely guarded hardware and software?
Before updating in any way... Search Verizon unlock Pixel and see if that process will unlock. If you allow update past a certain level stuck with no options then if Verizon locked.
Oh, would never allow an update. I'm not crazy. Tried the unlock method with uninstalling the phone app before you get internet access the day I got it, still no dice. Thanks tho.
I just did a credit card chargeback as they sent me back my device in an unusable condition and refused to compensate for it. We'll see how it shakes out in a few weeks probably. Bought a refurb Pixel 3 in the meantime and it was already unlocked, so all is well.
Thanks for the replies though.
-N
n8lee said:
Fastboot flashing unlock was unsuccessful, but I suspect that was because the phone was booted up for "troubleshooting" with Google "support."
I assume then there's no way to return it to the post-flash pre-boot state without some closely guarded hardware and software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you tell me what security patch you are on? If you are somewhere around Android 9 patch (potentially Android 10 early patches) you can re-unlock. If you try ticking the OEM unlock option in Dev options or if i heard correctly the phone wont boot? If you know your exact version you can try flashing it through recovery, or trying "fastboot unlock" after ticking the oem unlock. Also remember those old workarounds of removing android.phone and such? Yeah try those. Good luck. We'll try and get you unlocked again.
I got the Unlock Code from Moto with no problem, but can't get the phone to take it. FAIL, over and over again. I've tried several times, rebooted the phone, powered off, even tried an FDR. I keep getting a 'FAIL" message trying to push the code to the phone.
Just got the phone (used) today and I do have Unlock enabled in Dev Options. CID is 0x0032, obviously unlockabled since I did get the code from Moto. Twice. I redidthe Unlock request with a new string and got the same code again. Nothing is working. I've unlocked 15 or more Moto phones and never had anything like this happen before.
Using "fastboot oem unlock UNIQUE_KEY [20-character unlock code string]". Copied it, typed it manually, etc etc. FAIL FAIL FAIL.
Frustrating. Any clues/suggestions?
- - - - -
Edit to add: This phone has (I presume) the newest firmware on it, QZKS30.Q4-40-95-9 (RETUS), which has not been uploaded to lolinet yet.
Could this newest update be the problem? If so, can I safely roll back to 95-6 or even something older?
= = = = = = = = =
SOLVED. There was apparently an issue with the first phone I tried. Bought a second XT2113-2 relatively cheap (64GB) which came with the same 40-95-9 firmware, and it took the unlock code without a hitch.
I recall that I experienced something similar to this as well. A little bit of searching lead me to believe my issue was an older stock firmware bug. My stock firmware was initially from Jan 2021 and I did ota updates until it got to about Aug 2021 and then the phone unlocked. Can't say for sure that the deviced just needed time to "phone home" before allowing unlocking tho (I've read rumors).
If there is a ota update available, try that. I do know that I am able to relock/unlock on the 40-95-6 (Feb 2022) RETUS stock firmware.
notmyrealhandle said:
I recall that I experienced something similar to this as well. A little bit of searching lead me to believe my issue was an older stock firmware bug. My stock firmware was initially from Jan 2021 and I did ota updates until it got to about Aug 2021 and then the phone unlocked. Can't say for sure that the deviced just needed time to "phone home" before allowing unlocking tho (I've read rumors).
If there is a ota update available, try that. I do know that I am able to relock/unlock on the 40-95-6 (Feb 2022) RETUS stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying. This phone has 40-95-9 firmware (March 1, 2022) which looks to be the latest OTA.
I have wondered if I'm stuck in another one of the newer Moto's (or Android's) mysterious holding patterns. Maybe it'll work in a few days. I will certainly post here if that's the case. . . . But why give me the Unlock button plus the Unlock Code, but then hold me back from actually pushing it to the phone? That wouldn't make a lot of sense.
This is the exact message returned by the bootloader every time:
(bootloader) usage: fastboot oem unlock < unlock code >
FAILED (remote failure)
I believe I'll try reflashing the 40-95-9 firmware, downloaded this morning via Rescue and Smart Assistant.
Reflashing firmware didn't help.
Edit to add:
I should probably stress, I flashed the entire firmware with no problems at all.
Should that suggest that this bootloader unlocking failure is not a hardware problem? . . . because if broke hardware is a possibility, I would definitely want to return this phone to the seller.
Moondroid said:
Reflashing firmware didn't help.
Edit to add:
I should probably stress, I flashed the entire firmware with no problems at all.
Should that suggest that this bootloader unlocking failure is not a hardware problem? . . . because if broke hardware is a possibility, I would definitely want to return this phone to the seller.
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Click to collapse
Two other things you can try:
1. make sure you are using an up to date fastboot exe (I'm using fastboot version 33.0.1-8253317 on ubuntu linux).
2. Try from both the bootloader mode and fastbootd mode on the device - I forget how to get to fastbootd from stock `adb reboot fastboot` might do it.
EDIT I'm pretty sure you want to be in the bootloader mode. Just thought I'd mention it as fastbootd was new to me and some fastboot commands seem to like the device to be in one mode or the other.
HTH
notmyrealhandle said:
Two other things you can try . . .
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Still nothing.
I found some newer adb & fastboot utils (2021 vs 2018) and tried those. That just changed the error message a teensy bit (replaced "remote failure" with a couple of bare quote marks).
I also uninstalled & reinstalled my Motorola drivers before trying the newer adb & fastboot. That didn't help either.
Trying to boot twrp gives me a "permission denied" error.
So all I can think to try now is to run another firmware reinstall via LMSA (Rescue and Smart Assistant), just to see if that hiccups anywhere as much as anything. (I manually flashed all the files the first time.)
I think it's past time for me to say something like "this doesn't just suck, it SUPER-sucks." Moto gave me the phreaking Unlock code, but the phone won't let me use it.
Moondroid said:
Moto gave me the phreaking Unlock code, but the phone won't let me use it.
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It will only work 48 hours after the unlock email is sent, as per this thread <https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/oem-unlocking-grayed-out-on-moto-g-play-2021.4259833/page-2>
I recently went through this myself. It was really baffling because the customer service / tech support would not tell me anything about it. Maybe it's some kind of hyper secret security measure?
Just keep the phone online and wait it out.
slipchicken said:
It will only work 48 hours after the unlock email is sent, as per this thread <https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/oem-unlocking-grayed-out-on-moto-g-play-2021.4259833/page-2>
I recently went through this myself. It was really baffling because the customer service / tech support would not tell me anything about it. Maybe it's some kind of hyper secret security measure?
Just keep the phone online and wait it out.
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I tried the unlock code 5 minutes after I got it. Why would I wait 48 hours? Lol . . .
If this is another "time-delay" thing it doesn't make any sense at all. OEM Unlock was already enabled, the phone gave me an unlock string to send Moto, and I got the unlock key from Moto with no delays at all. Within an hour after unboxing the phone I was trying to push an unlock code to the phone.
I also tried getting another code from Moto, generated a new string and all, but the second code Moto sent me was exactly the same as the first. I did try it (again) on the phone but got the same "FAILED" message as before.
This is just nuts. Unless the latest OTA 95-9 is in fact the culprit. Moto's unlock-code process might still send unlock codes that possibly will no longer work after a certain point? Hopefully I'll get a definitive answer on this aspect soon.
Moondroid said:
Moto's unlock-code process might still send unlock codes that possibly will no longer work after a certain point? Hopefully I'll get a definitive answer on this aspect soon.
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I meant that it will only start working once 48 hours have passed. Leaving internet active may be a requirement, and a restart may be a requirement too.
For instance if you get the first code email at 8:00am on June 7th, the code will only work after 8:00am on June 9th.
EDIT: Also I have tried manually changing the time in the phone's settings and it didn't work. I had to wait the full 48 hours for it to start working.
I do agree however that it is absolutely nuts of Motorola to do this without any sort of explanation. That's why I assume it's some kind of secretive or misguided anti-theft measure.
slipchicken said:
I meant that it will only start working once 48 hours have passed. Leaving internet active may be a requirement, and a restart may be a requirement too.
For instance if you get the first code email at 8:00am on June 7th, the code will only work after 8:00am on June 9th.
EDIT: Also I have tried manually changing the time in the phone's settings and it didn't work. I had to wait the full 48 hours for it to start working.
I do agree however that it is absolutely nuts of Motorola to do this without any sort of explanation. That's why I assume it's some kind of secretive or misguided anti-theft measure.
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I was in that thread you quoted and I don't remember anything about having to wait AFTER getting the unlock code. Wait for OEM Unlock to show as enabled in Dev Options, yes, I'm thoroughly familiar with that. But I have never-never-never had to wait for an unlock code to work after receiving it from Moto. If that's in there somewhere please point more specifically? because I've unlocked a whole bunch of Moto phones and as I said, I've never heard of being able to enable OEM Unlock, getting the unlock code from Moto and then having to wait to use it.
See bottom of top post. The phone had some kind of problem that wouldn't allow it to accept the unlock key.