So I just ordered a Pixel 3a today and it's the T-mobile locked version. Now I think I might have messed up because I just read that the T-mobile version cannot be bootloader unlocked or even flash factory images (or beta?). This honestly didn't even cross my mind because I thought Pixel devices were always fully open and is a main reason why I wanted it.
My question is if there is anyway to bypass this restriction and run the Google factory image? When I got a T-mobile OnePlus 6T there was a tool that allowed me to flash the factory image and then enable bootloader unlocking. I've been searching online but finding conflicting information that is outdated from a year ago.
Edit: What happens if you adb sideload an image with the bootloader locked as described here? https://developers.google.com/android/ota
My pixel 3a is the T-Mobile version. I was able to unlock the bootloader with zero issues. What seems to be the hangup on your end? I've talked to a few people who have had similar issues, and they stated that OEM unlocking was unavailable in the developer options menu. Is this where youre getting stuck? Or does the problem occur in fastboot when you actually attempt the unlock?
If the issue lies in the developer options menu, there's a workaround that I'll have to find for you. But i *think* what is happening is when you do a factory reset, it installs the generic image -- but as soon as it boots up, the Tmobile Sim causes carrier specific settings/software to be overlayed and effectively blocking the "OEM unlock" setting from being toggled. Without researching it, I believe the solution to your problem is to remove the sim card, then do a factory reset. Boot it up, go through the setup without the SIM physically installed. This should theoretically keep the the option to enable OEM locking available to be turned on.
I bought mine through T-Mobile, used it for 3 months and then asked to have it sim unlocked, which they did. At that point, I installed the verizon Sim card, did a factory reset, and the option to unlock the bootloader became available. So the method I laid out above, should work for you. If not, I'll actually dig around and get ya set up.
Let me know how it turns out, k?
Related
Alright, so, last weekend I got a new Samsung Galaxy J7 with Android 6.0.1. The first thing I did was rooting it. It was all going fine until I accidentally unticked the "OEM Unlock" option on Developer Mode, so when I rebooted it, it had an FRP Lock.
I used a Latin American firmware to be able to boot it again. At boot, there was this "entel" logo, and this seemed to have changed my IMEI because my phone always said Network Unavailable. I didn't check the IMEI prior to rooting it, but I noticed the printed one and the one shown on the phone weren't the same... but this isn't the real problem.
Originally, the phone was unlocked (no specific carrier/operator holding it), and I somehow "fixed" the Network Unavailable thing by erasing the efs folder on root... well, it was a longer process than just deleting it, I backed up the folder and copied some files (some might know what I'm talking about). After that, the IMEI was the same than the printed one, but, my phone is now network SIM locked!
I have to input a code to unlock it. I did some googling and apparently only the carrier can give it to you, so I tried 3 different carrier SIM cards to see if any of them were the carrier's, but none of them worked as accepted,and I don't know what carrier could it be... I'm even worried it may be a Latin American one (from Chile or Argentina maybe since that's where the firmware used was from) and I won't be able to get it.
I know there are websites to get a code, but I don't want to pay so much and risk getting scammed.
I tried to see if "entel" was a carrier to unlock it, but it didn't help.
Also, when I try to choose a network on Mobile Networks settings, the only available one is AT&T (which I don't use/have a SIM of), but when I accessed their website to unlock, it said my IMEI wasn't registered as theirs apparently.
Then, I also tried using Samsung's Smart Switch application on PC with the Device Initialization option, but when I try to use the firmware from that I get a SW REV. Check Fail.
I might be wrong, but I feel that since messing with the system files/root was what changed it, maybe I can fix it the same way with no unlock code or carrier help.
So, does anyone have advice, or know some other way to reset it? Or do I really have to go get it fixed/unlocked somewhere?
frostx said:
Alright, so, last weekend I got a new Samsung Galaxy J7 with Android 6.0.1. The first thing I did was rooting it. It was all going fine until I accidentally unticked the "OEM Unlock" option on Developer Mode, so when I rebooted it, it had an FRP Lock.
I used a Latin American firmware to be able to boot it again. At boot, there was this "entel" logo, and this seemed to have changed my IMEI because my phone always said Network Unavailable. I didn't check the IMEI prior to rooting it, but I noticed the printed one and the one shown on the phone weren't the same... but this isn't the real problem.
Originally, the phone was unlocked (no specific carrier/operator holding it), and I somehow "fixed" the Network Unavailable thing by erasing the efs folder on root... well, it was a longer process than just deleting it, I backed up the folder and copied some files (some might know what I'm talking about). After that, the IMEI was the same than the printed one, but, my phone is now network SIM locked!
I have to input a code to unlock it. I did some googling and apparently only the carrier can give it to you, so I tried 3 different carrier SIM cards to see if any of them were the carrier's, but none of them worked as accepted,and I don't know what carrier could it be... I'm even worried it may be a Latin American one (from Chile or Argentina maybe since that's where the firmware used was from) and I won't be able to get it.
I know there are websites to get a code, but I don't want to pay so much and risk getting scammed.
I tried to see if "entel" was a carrier to unlock it, but it didn't help.
Also, when I try to choose a network on Mobile Networks settings, the only available one is AT&T (which I don't use/have a SIM of), but when I accessed their website to unlock, it said my IMEI wasn't registered as theirs apparently.
Then, I also tried using Samsung's Smart Switch application on PC with the Device Initialization option, but when I try to use the firmware from that I get a SW REV. Check Fail.
I might be wrong, but I feel that since messing with the system files/root was what changed it, maybe I can fix it the same way with no unlock code or carrier help.
So, does anyone have advice, or know some other way to reset it? Or do I really have to go get it fixed/unlocked somewhere?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever get anywhere with this? I am trying to switch carriers from t mobile to boost on the Sm-j700f and I need to unlock it
(I accidentally posted this in an unrelated discussion so sorry if it appears twice!)
Alright, so, last weekend I got a new Samsung Galaxy J7 (SM-J700M) with Android 6.0.1. The first thing I did was rooting it. It was all going fine until I accidentally unticked the "OEM Unlock" option on Developer Mode, so when I rebooted it, it had an FRP Lock.
I used a Latin American firmware to be able to boot it again. At boot, there was this "entel" logo, and this seemed to have changed my IMEI because my phone always said Network Unavailable. I didn't check the IMEI prior to rooting it, but I noticed the printed one and the one shown on the phone weren't the same... but this isn't the real problem.
Originally, the phone was unlocked (no specific carrier/operator holding it), and I somehow "fixed" the Network Unavailable thing by erasing the efs folder on root... well, it was a longer process than just deleting it, I backed up the folder and copied some files (some might know what I'm talking about). After that, the IMEI was the same than the printed one, but, my phone is now network SIM locked!
I have to input a code to unlock it. I did some googling and apparently only the carrier can give it to you, so I tried 3 different carrier SIM cards to see if any of them were the carrier's, but none of them worked as accepted,and I don't know what carrier could it be... I'm even worried it may be a Latin American one (from Chile or Argentina maybe since that's where the firmware used was from) and I won't be able to get it.
I know there are websites to get a code, but I don't want to pay so much and risk getting scammed.
I tried to see if "entel" was a carrier to unlock it, but it didn't help.
Also, when I try to choose a network on Mobile Networks settings, the only available one is AT&T (which I don't use/have a SIM of), but when I accessed their website to unlock, it said my IMEI wasn't registered as theirs apparently.
Then, I also tried using Samsung's Smart Switch application on PC with the Device Initialization option, but when I try to use the firmware from that I get a SW REV. Check Fail.
I might be wrong, but I feel that since messing with the system files/root was what changed it, maybe I can fix it the same way with no unlock code or carrier help.
So, does anyone have advice, or know some other way to reset it? Or do I really have to go get it fixed/unlocked somewhere?
I found these directions on a website. It seemed legit.
Recently updated, etc. I don't know if we can post links to other site.
Any comments?
Remove Google account and PIN/Fingerprint from your device.
Eject sim card from your device.
Factory reset your device. Skip everything in the setup wizard.
Go to Developer Options and enable USB debugging.
Connect your phone to computer.
Open terminal in adb directory and type adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.phone
Restart your device.
Connect to WiFi, open Chrome and go to any website. (nobody knows why we do this??)
Go to Developer Options and enable OEM unlocking.
Reboot into bootloader and via terminal run fastboot oem unlock or fastboot flashing unlock
Nobody here has said anything about it, so give it a try and report back if it works. I don't have the Verizon model, so I am just saying test it. Worst case you have to factory reset to get your phone working again.
There have been posts like that, and they always end up being someone getting a refurb that is unlockable but think they uncovered a secret and other folks end up going through the same process and waste time factory resetting their phones. I don't have a horse in this race since I am using a Google unlocked phone, but unless you are board wait it out until there is repeatable confirmation. FWIW, there are also a lot of trolls who like to post that crap to get people to waste their time and efforts.
Was doing a factory reset anyway and have a VZW Pixel 3 so I decided to give it a shot.
Didn't work.
I actually got a refurbished Pixel 3 two of them actually and they're both OEM unlockable and they are Verizon models weird
Forgot to post pictures or screenshots but I just thought it was odd because it's a Verizon model I believe.
Hi, I bought a refurbished Pixel 3. I tried to unlock bootloader by: starting the device, skipping all set-up, enabling developer options, trying to enable "OEM unlocking". But it is greyed out with message "Connect to the Internet or contact your operator".
Then I tried to connect to wifi, still same message. Then I inserted a SIM card, still same message. I also rebooted a couple times, still nothing. Doing "adb reboot bootloader" shows that the bootloader is locked.
So what does this mean? I looked up online that some phones are from Verizon so they will not be able to be unlocked. Is this the case? How can I check this? If the bootloader is not unlockable I'm just going to return it x) which will be a pain in the a** since I'll have to pay return shipping and everything.
Thanks for any help!!
andrepd said:
Hi, I bought a refurbished Pixel 3. I tried to unlock bootloader by: starting the device, skipping all set-up, enabling developer options, trying to enable "OEM unlocking". But it is greyed out with message "Connect to the Internet or contact your operator".
Then I tried to connect to wifi, still same message. Then I inserted a SIM card, still same message. I also rebooted a couple times, still nothing. Doing "adb reboot bootloader" shows that the bootloader is locked.
So what does this mean? I looked up online that some phones are from Verizon so they will not be able to be unlocked. Is this the case? How can I check this? If the bootloader is not unlockable I'm just going to return it x) which will be a pain in the a** since I'll have to pay return shipping and everything.
Thanks for any help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The IMEI will tell you if it is a Verizon phone. I believe Verizon IMEIs begin with 35. Google "IMEI lookup" and you'll find plenty of sites that will give you information on that phone.
dcarvil said:
The IMEI will tell you if it is a Verizon phone. I believe Verizon IMEIs begin with 35. Google "IMEI lookup" and you'll find plenty of sites that will give you information on that phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I tried that, it is indeed a Verizon model. Do you know if there is any way around this to unlock the bootloader? I guess I'll have to google around a bit to figure out if it's hopeless or not x)
There is no way to unlock a Verizon phone.
Hmm well I'm getting quite mixed signals here:
- imei.info says "Pixel 3 128GB, US VZ, Just Black"
however:
- ro.oem_unlock_supported is 1
- and bootloader screen says "Product revision: MP1.0(ROW)", not "(VZW)"
- box says "ESIM" rather than "SIM"
and also in some threads users report being able to unlock verizon phones... So it's all very strange x)
Pretty much same here. Did you figure out something?
me too
Ok, so a brief update here, the results of my search over the last couple of days:
Most likely, your Pixel 3 cannot be unlocked, it has been locked by Verizon when activated on their network and we don't have a way to undo this OEM lock. If you bought it re-furbished or second hand, and OEM Unlocking is grayed out, the most likely is that there is nothing to do.
Relevant / connected threads:
- https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/oem-unlocking-grayed-out.3860023/page-21
- It can be unlocked before it has activated on verizon: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...branded-pixel-3-how-is-this-possible.4267273/
- Some (unsuccessful) attempts are discussed at https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/bounty-unlock-bootloader-vzw-pixel-3-xl.3856605/page-113 and
Use 'fastboot oem citadel' to unlock bootloader? (Verizon Pixel 3)
I unfortunately have a Pixel 3, from Verizon (when I bought it it was not described as a phone issued by Verizon had I known it I wouldn't have bought it). I'm trying to accomplish The impossible by finding some way to unlock the bootloader...
forum.xda-developers.com
- This post pretends that it can be undone, but this has not been confirmed / applies only to very speecific cases:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/sc2w1r
- https://support.google.com/pixelpho...ixel-3-verizon-flashed-3xl-system-image?hl=en
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/rsrnu0
Last month, I decided that I wanted to try rooting my Samsung galaxy s21 + 5g (model name SM-g996u), and I got as far as unlocking the network before I hit a snag. In all of the tutorials I have looked at concerning how to root my device, they all keep saying that I need to OEM Unlock my phone under the developer settings. However, as the title of this post would indicate, that setting is not present in the development settings. I have just about lost my damn mind trying to find and enable this setting via online tutorials, and I keep coming across the same suggestions: configure date/time setting so that it is not automatically set, manually set the date back a couple of months, go to dev settings and disable auto-update system setting, disable 'Download updates automatically' setting in software update (this is the only step I was not able to follow because that setting appears to have been removed from more updated version), and restart the device. I even tried removing my sim card, resetting my phone, and retrying the previously outlined steps. Nothing has worked. Is there anyone out there that can help me with this? Any info would be great.
Is device leased from a carrier, e.g Verizon? AFAIK by default this phone has OEM Unlock option in Android's Developer Options.
[Android][UNSAMLOCK] Bootloader Unlock for Samsung US/Canada Devices
This thread is @svetius approved Important notice: Do not update to April 2023 security update (XXXXXXXXXXWCX) or later. Examples: G998USQS6EWCA, N986USQU4HWD1. Samsung has patched the bootloader unlock again on those updates. NOTE: The OneUI...
forum.xda-developers.com
whiggs2 said:
Last month, I decided that I wanted to try rooting my Samsung galaxy s21 + 5g (model name SM-g996u), and I got as far as unlocking the network before I hit a snag. In all of the tutorials I have looked at concerning how to root my device, they all keep saying that I need to OEM Unlock my phone under the developer settings. However, as the title of this post would indicate, that setting is not present in the development settings. I have just about lost my damn mind trying to find and enable this setting via online tutorials, and I keep coming across the same suggestions: configure date/time setting so that it is not automatically set, manually set the date back a couple of months, go to dev settings and disable auto-update system setting, disable 'Download updates automatically' setting in software update (this is the only step I was not able to follow because that setting appears to have been removed from more updated version), and restart the device. I even tried removing my sim card, resetting my phone, and retrying the previously outlined steps. Nothing has worked. Is there anyone out there that can help me with this? Any info would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This device(all of the US models) doesn't have the OEM unlock option. As far as I know, these devices have to be unlocked via a paid service from a 3rd party.
jwoegerbauer said:
Is device leased from a carrier, e.g Verizon? AFAIK by default this phone has OEM Unlock option in Android's Developer Options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Device has been paid off. It is also network unlocked as well. The device was originally leased from Tmobile. I am aware that the setting is supposed to be in developer settings. I am telling you, it is not showing up for me.
whiggs2 said:
Device has been paid off. It is also network unlocked as well. The device was originally leased from Tmobile. I am aware that the setting is supposed to be in developer settings. I am telling you, it is not showing up for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I'm wrong but the fact that the client have covered the contract, doesn't mean that the carrier do that, if a special petition was not presented to them, then, they don't care about. If the device came with a firmware that came with that feature disabled, so it, also, ends its "normal" life with the same featured included (or not) in the firmware by default.
But you could make advantage from the network unlocked condition, switching to a different firmware it would be possible, and, the option may appear.
SubwayChamp said:
May I'm wrong but the fact that the client have covered the contract, doesn't mean that the carrier do that, if a special petition was not presented to them, then, they don't care about. If the device came with a firmware that came with that feature disabled, so it, also, ends its "normal" life with the same featured included (or not) in the firmware by default.
But you could make advantage from the network unlocked condition, switching to a different firmware it would be possible, and, the option may appear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen that suggestion mentioned before online, though I have not really found any good tutorials on how to go about doing that. Any suggestions?
Droidriven said:
This device(all of the US models) doesn't have the OEM unlock option. As far as I know, these devices have to be unlocked via a paid service from a 3rd party.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This - The 'U' devices do not have OEM unlock by default.
whiggs2 said:
I have seen that suggestion mentioned before online, though I have not really found any good tutorials on how to go about doing that. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may be just a kind of starting point, to have in mind, but that need more research though, I did it in my GN8 but with your device, things may be different.
There are some things you have to check, in the download screen, KG has to be completed, not prenormal or checking, also search for the CSCs that are compatible for your device, this is one of the tutorial, kind of, that I followed https://www.getdroidtips.com/guide-...ocked-firmware-galaxy-note-8-sm-n950u-n950u1/