I just unlocked the bootloader to install twrp and maybe magisk i wanted to also try the Android P dev preview. but i know having a unlocked bootloader is a security risk also your get that warnign message at boot which makes booting up longer,is there a way to lock and unlock without losing data if im root.
Unlocking and locking wipes all data by design.
Telperion said:
Unlocking and locking wipes all data by design.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way to make the device secure with it having a unlocked bootloader?
With an unlocked bootloader, anyone can install a factory image, which wipes all your locks and your google account (and, therefore, defeats FRP), which is what makes it insecure. The only way to avoid that is to have a locked bootloader (and USB debugging off). (And I've seen reports here that unlocking the bootloader, installing TWRP and Magisk, then locking the bootloader, results in a hard brick (meaning buying another phone, because Google won't replace it)
Run with the unlocked booloader, don't ever leave the phone off your person and have "insurance" that replaces stolen (and possibly lost) phones.
Related
I read that the reason Android wipes your data and apps when you unlock the bootloader is to protect this info from unauthorized access. That seems a little odd, since unlocking the bootloader requires unauthorized access to do - i.e., if you can run adb to do the unlock, you can use adb to get at the data that unlocking wipes to 'protect' you from the unlocker. Doesn't make any sense.
That said, are there other more real security considerations to unlocking your bootloader, or to flashing a custom recovery module? As long as I consider my lockscreen password to be 'secure enough', are there best practices to make sure that somebody without this password can not access my unlocked phone through the usb or recovery options?
Also, if I root my phone (or tablet, in this case), does that grant root access to all users in the new Android 4.2 multi-user world. Or is only user '0' granted root? Again, what are the security implications?
Just received my Solar Red U11. Is there any reason not to unlock the bootloader right away?
I'm not planing on rooting it or installing any custom ROMs anytime soon, but I'm also not 100% sure I'm gonna be keeping the phone (few things I need to see if I can get used to).
Should I just unlock it now so I don't have to (potentially) wipe my device at a later date?
Thanks!
techboy10 said:
Just received my Solar Red U11. Is there any reason not to unlock the bootloader right away?
I'm not planing on rooting it or installing any custom ROMs anytime soon, but I'm also not 100% sure I'm gonna be keeping the phone (few things I need to see if I can get used to).
Should I just unlock it now so I don't have to (potentially) wipe my device at a later date?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you decide to unlock at a later date you can back up your stuff to your computer unlock then put it back.all the other stuff is your choice, me, mine is unlocked out of the box.
it only wipes your internal, not the ext_sdcard
At some point, one of the future updates could prevent you from unlocking it. That would eliminate the
ability to modify your phone's software. If you'll never do that, probably doesn't matter if unlockable.
The only downside is the orange reminder splash screen that is displayed on boot-up.
Aldo101t said:
if you decide to unlock at a later date you can back up your stuff to your computer unlock then put it back.all the other stuff is your choice, me, mine is unlocked out of the box.
it only wipes your internal, not the ext_sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aldo, how do you back up data & /or app settings of 3d party apps fm a device w/locked Bootloader & no root?
Also, what & how much boot delay is there if you unlock bootloader - I saw someone post a pic that shows the screen in text mode & a warning abt startup not beginning for 5 seconds.
Also, please clarify, HTC gave warnings about losing the Fingerprint capability if you unlock the bootloader; I just want root,so I can run Titanium B/U & some root-needed apps- put really like the Fingerprint feature- was that an old warning? The posted HTC warning says you can'telock the bootloader- but I just saw someone talk abt re-locking their bootloader bc they want to sell the device as clean.
Any help much appreciated, TIA oldwolf
Boot loader won't effect your fingerprint scanner....never heard of had that.
The warning about losing fingerprint scanner functionality on HTCDev refers to the One Max (2013), and only to that device AFAIK.
Negative effects of unlocked bootloader
Has anybody found HTC U11 losing OEM applications, sound and camera quality or other pre installed applications after unlocking the bootloader? Also please tell me whether the unlocking procedure is same for Android oreo udate.
Thanks.
sudheersharma said:
Has anybody found HTC U11 losing OEM applications, sound and camera quality or other pre installed applications after unlocking the bootloader? Also please tell me whether the unlocking procedure is same for Android oreo udate.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to developer options ( on setting) and allow unlocked bootloader ,,,ok finish
Unlocking the bootloader has no adverse effects. You can still update ota. If the bootloader is ever unlocked there is no reason to relock it unless you are returning the phone to the store.
Hey, i have android 10 stable installed in my phone. Just before i updated my phone (while i still was on 9.0.9), i also unlocked my bootloader, nothing else, no twrp or root. Now i would like to relock my phone again, because google pay is not working anymore, and im not willing to root my phone, because updating problems all the time etc. so can i relock my bootloader just by using command "fastboot oem lock" on fastboot mode? or do i have to do something else before that? also, is there possibility to brick phone somehow? if so, is there a way to fix it, while using OOS with android 10? i know this is stupid question but i hope someone could anwer it. Its not first time, when something is changed due new android update, and all previous guides are wrong.. =/
only reason i unlocked my phone, was that when i had oneplus 1, it bricked somehow oneday, and only way to get it back working, was empying whole phone, but there was possibility to recover data, if bootloader is unlocked, but i didnt have that, so i lost everything.. so i unlocked this one, to prevent that problem, but now i have new, because Android Pay is not working..
I think you can use "Fastboot oem lock" as always, but it will wipe all your data (It's no way to skip that). I think it won't brick your phone
Yes, it won't brick your phone, just wipe your data.
Relocking succeed, thank you..
I opened up the developer options on my Moto G Stylus and went under OEM Unlocking and selected the allow the bootloader to be unlocked option. That was either last week or a few weeks ago because I wanted to root it and put a custom rom on it. I didn't rooted it yet because I'm not sure what roms are good, I only had cyanogin mod roms on my other phones and I'm not sure which rom is the safest and best to use so I still use the stock rom. I turned on Pandora to play music before I went to sleep. When I woke up my phone was in some kind of recovery mode and said something like the operating system failed to boot. Two options were available, 1- to try booting again, and 2-factory reset the phone which would erase all data. I selected 1, and my phone booted up. Could this be because the bootloader is unlocked? Does having the bootloader unlocked leave it suspectable to being hacked? Could my phone have been hacked?
Switching OEM Unlocking is not enough to unlock, you then must on motorola unlock webpage paste code from your phone and, wait for unlock code in email, via fastboot with this unlock code doing finaly real umlocking...
k3dar7 said:
Switching OEM Unlocking is not enough to unlock, you then must on motorola unlock webpage paste code from your phone and, wait for unlock code in email, via fastboot with this unlock code doing finaly real umlocking...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would selecting the bootloader option to be unlocked in the developer options make my phone more vulnerable to be hacked?
A few hours later my phone did the same thing and went into recovery mode saying that my phone could not load the OS and might be infected or something. I had the same options to either try to load the OS again or factory data reset the phone. How could this happen?
I factory data reset my phone this time. I just hope I don't have some kind of malware.
Mine was hacked like this. Changed stuff so it won't boot back to original. Got into system files and remote control my phone. Is there a way to get back to original without computer? It's useless now
I've been planning to unlock my bootloader to install TWRP and GSI's on this device but I've seen the warning message you get every time you restart the device. I have plans to sell this device in the future, so I would like to know if there is a way to relock the bootloader or remove the warning message on startup. Thanks.
Yes you can relock the bootloader, the process is done the exact same way that you use to unlock it. The warning message will be removed and you will only be able to flash stock binaries.
But for Samsung phones specifically there is something to note, there is something called an "E-Fuse" that will be "tripped" when the bootloader is unlocked for the first time. There is no way to revert the phone back to a pure factory state after this happens. The feature is called Samsung Knox and it prevents a few (Samsung based) features from working.
You can read a bit here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Knox
I know about tripping Knox. I don't really care about not being able to use Secure Folder or S Health so it's not an issue for me. My main concern is to remove the obnoxious warning when booting the device as it can be intimidating to a non savvy potential buyer. Anyways thanks for the reply.