Hi,
I recently unlocked my bootloader and installed a custom recovery TWRP.
I am now looking to return my device to 100% stock, but I am currently experiencing a couple of issues flashing the factory image
I get the following message: "Device not unlocked cannot flash or erase"
I have also tried flash oem unlock and it just reboots the boot and returns to custom recovery
Any Idea's guys?
It would appear that your bootloader somehow got locked again. I'm on mobile right now but go into the Android development forum and find the mod tampering bit and flash that in your custom recovery and then proceed to unlock the bootloader. After that, proceed with your fastboot back to stock commands.
Sent from my One using Tapatalk
Hi,
I recently got a brand new s6 G920A AT&T version from an authorized reseller. To my surprise the firmware on it is very old - 5.0.2 with sw version G920AUCU1AOCE
I have heard that this firmware was a pre-release/developer/engineering version of s6 and has unlocked bootloader. Is that true?
How do I find if the bootloader is locked or unlocked in my samsung s6 or for that matter in *any Samsung* phone? Is it possible to check using Odin or some other tool on whether the bootloader is unlocked?
Please let me know your thoughts or ideas! If the above is true, I could perhaps extract the unlocked bootloader and share it with everybody else!!
Thanks!
Alright Interesting...
Use ADB:
=========================================
1. Make to go to about device and tap build number 7 times.
2. Go to developer options (Above About Device)
3. Check usb debugging and oem (Just in case)
4. Connect your phone to your computer via usb cable (Of Course)
5. Download ADB Fastboot if you haven't already =====> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
6. Install it and after that it should be set-up
6. Type the command fastboot devices
7. Then type fastboot oem device-info (BTW I am sorry for letting you know now but i think you might need to be in downloading mode or something to use the commands)
8. It should tell you if it is unlocked or not
==============================================
Method 2:
1. Boot up the phone normally then open the phone application and go to the dialer
2. *#*#7378423#*#*
3. Then service info --> configuration
4. Then it should say one of the following:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Bootloader unlock allowed --Yes >> This means that your Bootloader is Locked
2. Bootloader Unlocked - Yes >> This means that your Bootloader is unlocked
I hope i was helpful to you, if not then i'm sorry to have wasted your time.
Thanks @ROOT67! Let me try both options out and get back on this thread.
ROOT67 said:
Use ADB:
=========================================
1. Make to go to about device and tap build number 7 times.
2. Go to developer options (Above About Device)
3. Check usb debugging and oem (Just in case)
4. Connect your phone to your computer via usb cable (Of Course)
5. Download ADB Fastboot if you haven't already =====> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
6. Install it and after that it should be set-up
6. Type the command fastboot devices
7. Then type fastboot oem device-info (BTW I am sorry for letting you know now but i think you might need to be in downloading mode or something to use the commands)
8. It should tell you if it is unlocked or not
==============================================
Method 2:
1. Boot up the phone normally then open the phone application and go to the dialer
2. *#*#7378423#*#*
3. Then service info --> configuration
4. Then it should say one of the following:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Bootloader unlock allowed --Yes >> This means that your Bootloader is Locked
2. Bootloader Unlocked - Yes >> This means that your Bootloader is unlocked
I hope i was helpful to you, if not then i'm sorry to have wasted your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both the methods did not work! Please see for details below.
ROOT67 said:
Use ADB:
=========================================
1. Make to go to about device and tap build number 7 times.
2. Go to developer options (Above About Device)
3. Check usb debugging and oem (Just in case)
4. Connect your phone to your computer via usb cable (Of Course)
5. Download ADB Fastboot if you haven't already =====> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
6. Install it and after that it should be set-up
6. Type the command fastboot devices
7. Then type fastboot oem device-info (BTW I am sorry for letting you know now but i think you might need to be in downloading mode or something to use the commands)
8. It should tell you if it is unlocked or not
==============================================
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could not put it in fastboot mode. Do we know if the Samsung s6 supports fastboot mode? If so, how to put it in fastboot mode?
Also as a side note, in developer mode under settings, I could find check box for USB debugging but not for OEM. There was another post which said that OEM checkbox was added under developer options only after bootloader lock was introduced in 5.1.1 firmware. Not sure if this is true.
Method 2:
1. Boot up the phone normally then open the phone application and go to the dialer
2. *#*#7378423#*#*
3. Then service info --> configuration
4. Then it should say one of the following:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Bootloader unlock allowed --Yes >> This means that your Bootloader is Locked
2. Bootloader Unlocked - Yes >> This means that your Bootloader is unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I dial this number, nothing happened. Is there a different number for Samsung s6?
It's not a pre-release/developer/engineering firmware. It's just a really old firmware which released for public officially.
jilebi said:
Both the methods did not work! Please see for details below.
I could not put it in fastboot mode. Do we know if the Samsung s6 supports fastboot mode? If so, how to put it in fastboot mode?
Also as a side note, in developer mode under settings, I could find check box for USB debugging but not for OEM. There was another post which said that OEM checkbox was added under developer options only after bootloader lock was introduced in 5.1.1 firmware. Not sure if this is true.
When I dial this number, nothing happened. Is there a different number for Samsung s6?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No other number is available that i know of, like the person above stated it is a old firmware version and with that said i would highly try to prevent any updates from installing. I would love to help you out, but since i have no idea as to what would be needed to tell if the bootloader is unlocked, but i do know since Samsung is against us rooting and using our devices the way we want, it is safe to assume the bootloader is locked and because you have at&t variant. Your best bet to get your device bootloader information is to look around on the XDA forums.
Do you have any details on whether the bootloader was locked or unlocked for this old version? How can one test or check if bootloader is locked?
forumber2 said:
It's not a pre-release/developer/engineering firmware. It's just a really old firmware which released for public officially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jilebi said:
Do you have any details on whether the bootloader was locked or unlocked for this old version? How can one test or check if bootloader is locked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All AT&T branded nearly-new (including S6) Samsung devices has a non-unlockable locked bootloader.
There's no way to test that.
here are a couple of test scenario that i can think of. let me know your thoughts on them
- if the device is rooted, load a custom recovery like TWRP. next, try to boot into custom recovery. if it boots into custom recovery, bootloader is unlocked. if not, try to restore factory recovery using odin.
- if the device is rooted, load a custom ROM. next, try to boot into custom ROM. if it boots into custom ROM, bootloader is unlocked. if not, try to restore factory ROM using odin.
Will these test scenarios work? If not, what are the potential issues you see?
forumber2 said:
All AT&T branded nearly-new (including S6) Samsung devices has a non-unlockable locked bootloader.
There's no way to test that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jilebi said:
here are a couple of test scenario that i can think of. let me know your thoughts on them
- if the device is rooted, load a custom recovery like TWRP. next, try to boot into custom recovery. if it boots into custom recovery, bootloader is unlocked. if not, try to restore factory recovery using odin.
- if the device is rooted, load a custom ROM. next, try to boot into custom ROM. if it boots into custom ROM, bootloader is unlocked. if not, try to restore factory ROM using odin.
Will these test scenarios work? If not, what are the potential issues you see?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- There's no custom recovery or custom kernel for SM-G920A, because of the reason I've wrote above.
- Installing a custom ROM doesn't require an unlocked bootloader unless the ROM doesn't require custom kernel. (Custom ROMs for SM-G920A don't require custom kernel (except leaked engineering/debugging kernel from Samsung for disabling dm-verity))
forumber2 said:
- There's no custom recovery or custom kernel for SM-G920A, because of the reason I've wrote above.
- Installing a custom ROM doesn't require an unlocked bootloader unless the ROM doesn't require custom kernel. (Custom ROMs for SM-G920A don't require custom kernel (except leaked engineering/debugging kernel from Samsung for disabling dm-verity))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it. Thanks. That makes sense.
Here is another option. For making custom recovery, my understanding is that partition info is needed. If the device is rooted e.g. using Pingpong (which works for this Android version), then one can get a partition info and compile TWRP for G920A. If so, can one try to install custom recovery like TWRP and verify if bootloader is locked? It feels to me that this may work. Do you see any flaws?
One possible flaw is that if bootloader is locked, it will prevent recovery from loading. So the phone will be without a working recovery. In that case, can factory recovery be re-installed using Odin?
Also, will any of the above steps trigger the KNOX flag?
jilebi said:
Got it. Thanks. That makes sense.
Here is another option. For making custom recovery, my understanding is that partition info is needed. If the device is rooted e.g. using Pingpong (which works for this Android version), then one can get a partition info and compile TWRP for G920A. If so, can one try to install custom recovery like TWRP and verify if bootloader is locked? It feels to me that this may work. Do you see any flaws?
One possible flaw is that if bootloader is locked, it will prevent recovery from loading. So the phone will be without a working recovery. In that case, can factory recovery be re-installed using Odin?
Also, will any of the above steps trigger the KNOX flag?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to get partition info, and compile TWRP. All S6 variants are using same partition name scheme and there are no difference on TWRP builds between S6 variants (except kernel and DTB).
The bootloader won't allow you to flash any custom recovery image (via Odin or in Android OS). If you could flash it, It won't boot it up anyway.
I don't have any idea about the KNOX trigger on AT&T variant devices, but I think it won't increase anyway.
forumber2 said:
You don't have to get partition info, and compile TWRP. All S6 variants are using same partition name scheme and there are no difference on TWRP builds between S6 variants (except kernel and DTB).
The bootloader won't allow you to flash any custom recovery image (via Odin or in Android OS). If you could flash it, It won't boot it up anyway.
I don't have any idea about the KNOX trigger on AT&T variant devices, but I think it won't increase anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I perhaps misunderstood from your last post that since custom recovery is not available for G920A it implied its partition info was different from other variants. If it is the same partition structure for all variants, then I guess we can use the TWRP for the G920F international version for which bootloader is unlocked.
Now that we agree that TWRP is available for use on G920A, the next question is how to load it. My thought is that if the device is rooted that means one can use dd at root shell prompt to write TWRP to the recovery partition, without using Odin or the current bootloader. Do you agree?
Not sure I understand why you say that if one could flash TWRP it would not boot anyways. If bootloader is unlocked (which is what we are testing here), then it should boot, right?
jilebi said:
Sorry, I perhaps misunderstood from your last post that since custom recovery is not available for G920A it implied its partition info was different from other variants. If it is the same partition structure for all variants, then I guess we can use the TWRP for the G920F international version for which bootloader is unlocked.
Now that we agree that TWRP is available for use on G920A, the next question is how to load it. My thought is that if the device is rooted that means one can use dd at root shell prompt to write TWRP to the recovery partition, without using Odin or the current bootloader. Do you agree?
Not sure I understand why you say that if one could flash TWRP it would not boot anyways. If bootloader is unlocked (which is what we are testing here), then it should boot, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A custom recovery is not available for G920A, because no one could try any custom recovery on G920A due to locked bootloader.
Yes you can write the recovery image via dd at root shell prompt.
And yes, If bootloader is unlocked, it will boot it up.
Sorry to ressurect this old thread, but can you (or anybody else who is knowledgeable) answer the following?
1. Since custom recovery is not available for G920A, which of the Tmobile/Sprint/International versions of TWRP custom recovery would you recommend to use for testing if bootloader is unlocked, using either ODIN or dd method?
2. If bootloader is unlocked, you are suggesting below that it should boot up. However, if it is locked, then will the phone still boot up? i.e. if one does not go into recovery mode, will it still boot up or does the bootloader check if both recovery and kernel are signed and if it finds that the recovery is unsigned, will it also prevent the signed kernel from booting up?
Thanks!
forumber2 said:
A custom recovery is not available for G920A, because no one could try any custom recovery on G920A due to locked bootloader.
Yes you can write the recovery image via dd at root shell prompt.
And yes, If bootloader is unlocked, it will boot it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I own a BLU STUDIO X PLUS (There are no forums here for this device).
NOTE:
I never enabled "Enable EOM Unlocking" in Developer Settings (as the option does not exist)
I never unlocked bootloader via fastboot
When I run "fastboot getvar unlocked", the result is null
I made a TWRP and flashed with SP Flash Tools.
I then proceeded to port several ROMs to my device (which all booted but with camera issues, expected).
However, my question is: Is my bootloader unlocked, or am I really lucky that the ROM booted?
I ask because I know that the bootloader must be unlocked when flashing any custom ROM. I find it odd that I never, ever tampered with the bootloader, but still managed to flash several ROMs.
Alando123 said:
Hi, I own a BLU STUDIO X PLUS (There are no forums here for this device).
NOTE:
I never enabled "Enable EOM Unlocking" in Developer Settings (as the option does not exist)
I never unlocked bootloader via fastboot
When I run "fastboot getvar unlocked", the result is null
I made a TWRP and flashed with SP Flash Tools.
I then proceeded to port several ROMs to my device (which all booted but with camera issues, expected).
However, my question is: Is my bootloader unlocked, or am I really lucky that the ROM booted?
I ask because I know that the bootloader must be unlocked when flashing any custom ROM. I find it odd that I never, ever tampered with the bootloader, but still managed to flash several ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some devices do not have locked bootloader, they can be flashed without needing to unlock bootloader.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
This is the case, I have a problem with the Flash ROM, now the phone can go into fastboot, but there is no Recovery, and the phone's bootloader is locked.
You're going to have to give a bit more detail if you want help from this community.
For example:
What phone variant do you have?
What did you have on your phone when it was running properly? i.e stock android, locked bootloader, rooted etc.
What 'Flash ROM" do you mean a factory image or custom ROM?
What had been trying to do to your phone i.e upgrade from Android 9 to 10 by sideloading an image?
Had you previously unlocked the bootloader?
I'm not saying that I will ultimately be able to resolve your issues but the more info you give the more likely someone here will.
Now,my pixel 3 can not work,the bootload is locked.when I select recovery by fastboot,The phone noticed me can not find vaild operating system,the device will not start.
I used to unlock the bootloader, it is because I locked the bootloader that this situation has occurred.
Can you unlock the bootloader again in fastboot?
wangdaning said:
Can you unlock the bootloader again in fastboot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I lock my devices bootload,then this devices auto wipe data, so I think oem unlock is not open.And I can not unlock bootload.
I factory reset my phone through TWRP after unlocking bootloader, rooting and bricking trying to get read write access.
But my bootloader is still unlocked and now preventing me from updating OTA update to Android 11.
As long as you remain unlocked you will not get updates. Just download the 11 stock ROM and fastboot it. You will be updated.
boltjuice said:
I factory reset my phone through TWRP after unlocking bootloader, rooting and bricking trying to get read write access.
But my bootloader is still unlocked and now preventing me from updating OTA update to Android 11.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get the firmware with LSMA
Rescue and Smart Assistant (LMSA)(Motorola/Lenovo Only)
Rescue and Smart Assistant LMSA: Lenovo's Motorola Smart Assistant (PC) For Lenovo and Motorola Devices Only Rescue and Smart Assistant (LMSA) is an official tool installs on PC. Can help to manage smart device (include all Lenovo android phone...
forum.xda-developers.com
I just downloaded it and ran the rescue but it just flashed the rom and is still unlocked.
Is there an option to re-lock bootloader with that tool?
What is your carrier and where did you get your phone? Not every bootloader can be unlocked.
Carrier is metro PCS. Model # XT2113-2
I did a factory reset. But I still get the message bootloader is unlocked when it boots.
I just want to re-lock it and revert it back to stock.
ADB code: fastboot oem lock
didnt work. Just made my phone not boot with error "no valid operating system could be found."
ADB code: fastboot oem unlock
restored it to booting again with same bootloader is unlocked message.
Any way to re-lock this?
boltjuice said:
Carrier is metro PCS. Model # XT2113-2
I did a factory reset. But I still get the message bootloader is unlocked when it boots.
I just want to re-lock it and revert it back to stock.
ADB code: fastboot oem lock
didnt work. Just made my phone not boot with error "no valid operating system could be found."
ADB code: fastboot oem unlock
restored it to booting again with same bootloader is unlocked message.
Any way to re-lock this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Re locking is not advisable, can be tricky with Moto devices
Re-Locking see Post #4
I'm a little unclear what state your device is in atm.
I just downloaded it and ran the rescue but it just flashed the rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but then you write
I just want to re-lock it and revert it back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"it just flashed the rom" implies to me that the moto rescue software flashed a stock image so you now should be back to stock (I'm not sure what was downloaded tho). Regardless of how you flash (moto's rescue tool or by using fastboot with the device booted into the bootloader), I'd recomend using an image specific to MetroPCS (assuming the device was originally a metroPCS device and not something else like retus) and not one older than the last stock version flashed to your device.
It might help to boot your device into the bootloader, and then record the output of
Code:
fastboot getvar all
the lines with `ro.build.fingerprint` (perhaps also ro.carrier) in them will tell you what bootloader is currently running on your device and should help you figure out what the last stock version was flashed to your device.
HTH
notmyrealhandle said:
I'm a little unclear what state your device is in atm.
but then you write
"it just flashed the rom" implies to me that the moto rescue software flashed a stock image so you now should be back to stock (I'm not sure what was downloaded tho). Regardless of how you flash (moto's rescue tool or by using fastboot with the device booted into the bootloader), I'd recomend using an image specific to MetroPCS (assuming the device was originally a metroPCS device and not something else like retus) and not one older than the last stock version flashed to your device.
It might help to boot your device into the bootloader, and then record the output of
Code:
fastboot getvar all
the lines with `ro.build.fingerprint` (perhaps also ro.carrier) in them will tell you what bootloader is currently running on your device and should help you figure out what the last stock version was flashed to your device.
HTH
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I factory reset the phone. Everything gets reset except for the unlocked bootloader does not re-lock... which prevents me from OTA update to Android 11.
Ok. If I understand correctly, your post with "it just flashed the rom" means a factory reset (and no flashing an image via moto's rescue tool or fastboot) - my misunderstanding.
As I mentioned to you in my reply to your PM, I don't use stock other than to initially get the bootloader unlocked, test a few things, and occasionally verify that my device still works on stock.
Others posting in this thread have offered helpful and safe suggestions - consider following these. I do a fair amount of "risky" tweaking with custom roms so please be cautious about the following suggestions/observations. (Apologies if my comments below seem basic - it looks like you've tried some fairly sophisticated tweaking of your own but it's hard to judge others skill level in a forum.)
Based on your comment:
made my phone not boot with error "no valid operating system could be found."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect your phone wont boot after re-locking due to prior modifications to it's OS, the evidence of which can survive a factory reset. Re-locking enables android to verify that certain parts of the OS have not been modified and if it detects a difference, the device won't boot.
If you insist on re-locking your device now, I think the only way to accomplish that is to re-flash your device with the correct factory (aka stock) image some of which are available on lolinet. This is much more than a "factory reset." The instructions linked by sd_shawdow above should help with this:
Re-Locking see Post #4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Choosing the correct factory image is important. For example, I have a XT2113-2 RETUS. At one point early on when I was playing with this device, I tried flashing the TMO variant which is also a XT2113-2 model. My device did not boot until I re-flashed a RETUS variant. It's possible I just made a mistake while trying to flash the TMO variant I can't be certain at this point. If your phone was originaly (meaning new out of the box) a MetroPCS variant, make sure you flash a MetroPCS image.
Android also has roll back protection to prevent reverting to an older image that might have security flaws. The roll back "index" can be written to persistent storage on your phone that not only will survive factory resets but likely also survives flashing factory images. Motorola's implementation of roll back protection does not seem consistent with what I've read online from android/google. I'm pretty sure I had the most recent Android 10 RETUS bootloader on my device but I was able to flash an older factory image and then relock the device while on stock. (As I mentioned in my PM, I have not tried re-locking stock android 11). This observation may be the result of a motorola bug specific to RETUS so don't count on this working for you. Flash an image that is the same as or newer than the newest factory image you've ever had on the device.
Moto's rescue tool apparently can select and download an image for you making the process of image selection easier. I have not used this tool so I don't know how smart it is. Trust your knowledge about what you've done with the device since you owned it.
Lastly, it looks like the OEM unlocking toggle issue I and others have observed upon upgrading to Android 11 is resolved by connecting the device to your carrier and waiting several days. If you don't mind the wait, it's probably safe to flash android 11 (by using an image form lolinet and fastboot or by using the moto rescue tool - not via ota) while the device is unlocked and then re-locking the device.
Sorry about the long post.
HTH.
EDIT: I prefer not to be PM'd. Please just communicate (with me) in the open.
I was on Lineage 19.1 on my 5g ace. When I heard about the version 11 software for Retail US, I went to the lolinet mirrors to download the firmware for my phone.
Make sure oem unlocking in the developer options menu is off. If you can't turn it off you will need to root your phone.
Make sure USB debugging is on and you allow access for the pc your using.
Start adb and verify it sees your phone. If so, type...
reboot bootloader
Verify fastboot is authorized
Use Motoflash Pro to flash the version 11 firmware to my phone. Motoflash can be downloaded from the one 5g ace telegram channel. When it is done close Motoflash Pro and then from your pc use adb to run:
fastboot oem lock
Your phone will ask you if you want to relock bootloader. Choose Yes
Now reboot to the stock recovery and then use power + Volume up to access the recovery menu.
Navigate down to factory reset and select. It will warn you ... Blah blah blah. Now choose reboot system.
Moto boot logo should appear and then setup should begin.
Hopefully this helps someone.