[Q] I unlocked the bootloader. Is it safe to leave it unlocked? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Now when my Nexus boots - I see a lock sign (which is in fact unlocked lock) at the bottom of the screen.
What are the consequences to leave it unlocked? Somebody can hack into my phone? Data erase by accident?
Thanks!

Well in case of warranty troubles when the service power on the phone and the first thing they see is that the bootloader is unlocked you may be denied warranty.

code777 said:
Well in case of warranty troubles when the service power on the phone and the first thing they see is that the bootloader is unlocked you may be denied warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! (that's a good argument to lock it)
And besides warranty?

bullka said:
Thanks! (that's a good argument to lock it)
And besides warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, nothing. With an unlocked boot loader, you can root your phone and have fun with it. If something goes wrong you can always relock. Not like its hard. Your phone is technically easier to hack, but only by you. The idea of rooting is that you can have software that isn't approved, but most is completely harmless
Sent from my Sensation using XDA

bullka said:
Now when my Nexus boots - I see a lock sign (which is in fact unlocked lock) at the bottom of the screen.
What are the consequences to leave it unlocked? Somebody can hack into my phone? Data erase by accident?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=24671746&postcount=11

There's no reason to lock it again.

Related

How to Unroot/Return to Stock

Screens developed a dead pixel and I need to return it (im presuming they''l take it back)
How do I unroot it and return it to how it was so I can take it back to the shop?
Stretlow said:
Screens developed a dead pixel and I need to return it (im presuming they''l take it back)
How do I unroot it and return it to how it was so I can take it back to the shop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check your warrant terms. Most probably if the dead pixel is not a result of rooting/installing 3rd party software then your warranty is valid for this issue.
mike1986. said:
Check your warrant terms. Most probably if the dead pixel is not a result of rooting/installing 3rd party software then your warranty is valid for this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been issued a fault code from phones4u for exchange I havent really changed anything barring rooting it, The only thing is when you switch it on when its unlocked there is an unlocked padlock icon on the spalsh screen
Do you think they'll check/ be bothered?
Download Titanium, remove superuser, then "fastboot oem lock"
I think that should work, then just factory reset to top it off
Stretlow said:
I've been issued a fault code from phones4u for exchange I havent really changed anything barring rooting it, The only thing is when you switch it on when its unlocked there is an unlocked padlock icon on the spalsh screen
Do you think they'll check/ be bothered?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fastboot oem lock will lock the bootloader back and remove the padlock from the splash screen.
bfroehlich said:
fastboot oem lock will lock the bootloader back and remove the padlock from the splash screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that.
If I do a factory reset it wont brick or anything will it?
Stretlow said:
Thanks for that.
If I do a factory reset it wont brick or anything will it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it wont
mike1986. said:
No, it wont
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
brilliant, they've given me a fault code from head office so shouldn't be something I shouldnt be able to blag
Ok so I did a factory reset and locked to bootloader and went to phones4u you...
all were willing to exchange it.
1 was closing.
1 didnt have any
1 had one and had been opened as a show phone so I refused it
and the final one had 3... all opened..
Why do they feel the need to open all the boxes ?
Finally got it exchanged this morning for a brand spanker.
Unlocked, Rooted
Just loading my music
Phew

[Q] Possible root without unlocking?

I've just bought my Galaxy Nexus for two days to replace my dead Nexus One.
The UI of ICS is so great but I miss the function from DEVs, like vibrate when the call made.
I have rooted my Nexus One without unlocking the bootloader and I would love to root my Galaxy Nexus without unlocking too.
Is there any DEV going to work on this?
I don't believe anybody is working on this since BL unlock is so simple, and there aren't really any disadvantages (that I know of). In order for root to occur without BL unlock, there would have to be an exploit found in the stock image. Is there a particular reason you don't want to unlock it? You have only had the phone two days, so I imagine your data loss won't be that big of an issue.
kekspernikai said:
I don't believe anybody is working on this since BL unlock is so simple, and there aren't really any disadvantages (that I know of). In order for root to occur without BL unlock, there would have to be an exploit found in the stock image. Is there a particular reason you don't want to unlock it? You have only had the phone two days, so I imagine your data loss won't be that big of an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unlocking BL void the warranty
Booker-T said:
unlocking BL void the warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And rooting doesn't? After all, it does allow for modification/deletion of system files. In any case, you can re-lock it just as easily.
Booker-T said:
unlocking BL void the warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Accidentally thanked you haha - missed the quote button.
You can lock it if you have to send it in or return it, you know. The lock command is just as simple as the unlock!
zombieflanders said:
And rooting doesn't? After all, it does allow for modification/deletion of system files. In any case, you can re-lock it just as easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting doesn't make the splash screen change (the lock under "Google"), so it can be easily unroot by deleting related files in the system and make it look like stock.
Are you sure a unlocked devices can lock again? Nexus One can't do this.
Booker-T said:
Rooting doesn't make the splash screen change (the lock under "Google"), so it can be easily unroot by deleting related files in the system and make it look like stock.
Are you sure a unlocked devices can lock again? Nexus One can't do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, "fastboot oem lock" will re-lock the bootloader and make the padlock go away. Here is the write-up by droid-life (I can't view it at work, so I hope it has the right info!)
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/1...the-bootloader-and-return-to-a-factory-state/
kekspernikai said:
Yes, "fastboot oem lock" will re-lock the bootloader and make the padlock go away. Here is the write-up by droid-life (I can't view it at work, so I hope it has the right info!)
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/1...the-bootloader-and-return-to-a-factory-state/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine one is the GSM one, I have searched on Googles, there is no GSM version re-lock tutorial there, so I doubt GSM version cannot re-lock.
And I don't have the stock image.
Booker-T said:
Mine one is the GSM one, I have searched on Googles, there is no GSM version re-lock tutorial there, so I doubt GSM version cannot re-lock.
And I don't have the stock image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the GSM factory image was pretty widely available?
http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/4/2610060/google-galaxy-nexus-factory-image-restore-phone
I am fairly certain people with the GSM variant have re-locked their phones, but I would check the Nexus android development section (GSM) for proof.
I've tested relocking and can confirm it works fine
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Booker-T said:
unlocking BL void the warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel like this is a myth. You're not using an exploit, or anything like that, you're using a manufacturer provided tool to unlock the bootloader. Taken from android.com:
On Nexus One, Nexus S, Nexus S 4G, Xoom, and Galaxy Nexus, the bootloader is locked by default. With the device in fastboot mode, the bootloader is unlocked with
$ fastboot oem unlock
The procedure must be confirmed on-screen, and deletes the user data for privacy reasons. It only needs to be run once.
On Nexus One, the operation voids the warranty and is irreversible.
On Nexus S, Nexus S 4G, Xoom, and Galaxy Nexus, the bootloader can be locked back with
$ fastboot oem lock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love a way to root without unlocking the bootloader -- coming from the Nexus One, which I easily rooted without ever touching the bootloader -- it didn't occur to me that rooting would require unlocking the bootloader. Of course, I wish now that I'd unlocked the bootloader right when I took the phone out of the box, which is, I see now, what everyone recommends. But I've more data on the phone than I want to deal with losing right now.
So if anyone following this thread turns up a way to root without unlocking the bootloader, please let us know!
You won't see this feature arrive until manufacturers start selling ICS phones with locked bootloaders (I'm looking at you HTC, LG, etc). Devs will then try to punch a hole through the OS instead of using simple fastboot commands, as the bootloader will be locked down.
I don't understand why you would wait though, just fastboot oem unlock, root, then fastboot oem lock. The only way your warranty is going to be voided is if you have a rooted rom, that padlock means nothing on the Galaxy Nexus. IF THEY SEE SUPERUSER, THEY KNOW YOU ROOTED. They don't give a **** about the splash screen

Help is needed urgently :(

There is a buyer for my Samsung Galaxy Nexus and he wants it asap, unlucky me i have the lock symbol on the display ( after unlocking bootloader and rooting ) can any one please help me in a way i can get rid of the lock symbol ??? and does the mobile remain rooted or root will be lost ??
I don't really see what you're asking... so are you referring to the the lock symbol on boot "open" or "closed"? Or a homescreen lockscreen?
And what do you want it to be? What do you want to do? Are you trying to restore to stock? You're not telling us.
martonikaj said:
I don't really see what you're asking... so are you referring to the the lock symbol on boot "open" or "closed"? Or a homescreen lockscreen?
And what do you want it to be? What do you want to do? You're not telling us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i first get my mobile when turning on it gives only google word, but after bootloader unlocked now it gives the google word and on the button of the screen ( open lock ) symbol....i just want to get rid of the symbol but remain rooted.... dont know if you know it is like the SGS2 with the yellow traingle
mrlove6 said:
when i first get my mobile when turning on it gives only google word, but after bootloader unlocked now it gives the google word and on the button of the screen ( open lock ) symbol....i just want to get rid of the symbol but remain rooted.... dont know if you know it is like the SGS2 with the yellow traingle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That just means the bootloader is unlocked. Why do you want it locked again? It makes no difference to the experience. It just allows you to flash things via fastboot and/or hack the phone. Relocking the bootloader is a bad idea if you intend to ever unlock it again, because that completely wipes the device.
If the person you're selling it to wants the phone back to stock, just locking the bootloader DOES NOT DO THAT. You need to flash the Google Images and then relock the bootloader.
martonikaj said:
That just means the bootloader is unlocked. Why do you want it locked again? It makes no difference to the experience. It just allows you to flash things via fastboot and/or hack the phone.
If the person you're selling it to wants the phone back to stock, just locking the bootloader DOES NOT DO THAT. You need to flash the Google Images and then relock the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know bro, but the buyer will not agree because of the warranty thing....etc
mrlove6 said:
i know bro, but the buyer will not agree because of the warranty thing....etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if its rooted then just relocking the bootloader isn't going to help him get a warranty. Turning the phone in rooted is just as bad.
Restore it to stock then relock the bootloader. That's the only way he'll have his warranty.
Just flash the stock images and then the command "fastboot oem lock"
Warranty Accepted!
Changing ownership of the device voids the warranty with most carriers. (At least in the US). Do some research before you spin your wheels.
Sent from GNexus w/CM-9 & franco.kernel
Download the galaxy nexus toolkit. Will do it easy
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium App

htc one m8 warranty

hi,
i have htc one m8(european version) for almost two weeks and i am very satisfied of him.
i want to root the phone and i know all the procedure to do this.
my question is, if i open the bootloader through the "htcdev" site, there is any chance that my carrier will know that i have open the bootloader and after that will cancel my warranty?
because, i read guides on the XDA how to unroot the su and how to flash the stock recovery but i am afraid that it is not enough to keep my warranty be maintained.
thanks
meido132 said:
hi,
i have htc one m8(european version) for almost two weeks and i am very satisfied of him.
i want to root the phone and i know all the procedure to do this.
my question is, if i open the bootloader through the "htcdev" site, there is any chance that my carrier will know that i have open the bootloader and after that will cancel my warranty?
because, i read guides on the XDA how to unroot the su and how to flash the stock recovery but i am afraid that it is not enough to keep my warranty be maintained.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your bootloader will show that you unlocked your phone. However as long as there is no issue with cpu etc meaning hardware that could have been damaged by overclocking etc there should be no issue at all.
you don´t loose your warranty in any case, only certain repair things might not be accepted.
jonas2295 said:
your bootloader will show that you unlocked your phone. However as long as there is no issue with cpu etc meaning hardware that could have been damaged by overclocking etc there should be no issue at all.
you don´t loose your warranty in any case, only certain repair things might not be accepted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thankes for the answer.
so as long as there is no problem with hardware and the phone itself,the warranty mantain.
but they can actually see that the bootloader is open in the phone or they dont care of it?
there is a guide how to lock the bootloader?
meido132 said:
thankes for the answer.
so as long as there is no problem with hardware and the phone itself,the warranty mantain.
but they can actually see that the bootloader is open in the phone or they dont care of it?
there is a guide how to lock the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just do the fastboot OEM lock command then it'll say relocked. However, if you're s-off there's a guide by scott1223 that let's you go back to locked instead of relocked. This way they won't be able to tell of you actually unlocked it or not.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708571
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
otariq said:
If you just do the fastboot OEM lock command then it'll say relocked. However, if you're s-off there's a guide by scott1223 that let's you go back to locked instead of relocked. This way they won't be able to tell of you actually unlocked it or not.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708571
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i understand.
after i do the lock bootloader with this guide, i will able to s-on the HTC an unroot without the bootloader?
my version of the stock recovery is 1.54.401.5.
what is useful most: the twrp OR cwm?(i saw that twrp will not work with the guide)

Should we unlock the Bootloader if no root planned

If you have no plans to root the phone is there any reason to unlock the bootloader?
It would probably break Safety net and Android pay. BUT if you're unlocked, you have ability to flash factory images. That could be beneficial something goes really bad and your device won't boot up. You're also less secure with it unlocked.
Sent from my marlin using XDA Labs
You can always lock and unlock the bootloader when you want.
I would say you should at least have the option checked on in the Developer settings.
So just in case something happened and you can't fully boot the phone. you can still get into it and unlock the bootloader and do what you need to do.
This happened to a friend of mine where something happened and couldn't fully boot and couldn't unlock bootloader cause the option was never checked.
I don't believe the unlock option stays enabled after it boots up.
I would argue why WOULDN'T you unlock the bootloader? Regardless of rooting, an unlocked bootloader is a safety net for when things go south. Phone decides to bootloop tomorrow? No big deal, flash the latest images via fastboot and start from scratch.
Sure there's the counter argument of the phone being much less secure and vulnerable in the hands of a person who is tech savvy and stole/found your device. I'm not worried about my phone being stolen so I ALWAYS unlock my bootloader.
Pain-N-Panic said:
I would argue why WOULDN'T you unlock the bootloader? Regardless of rooting, an unlocked bootloader is a safety net for when things go south. Phone decides to bootloop tomorrow? No big deal, flash the latest images via fastboot and start from scratch.
Sure there's the counter argument of the phone being much less secure and vulnerable in the hands of a person who is tech savvy and stole/found your device. I'm not worried about my phone being stolen so I ALWAYS unlock my bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or just flash the full OTA image without an unlocked bootloader.
mngdew said:
You can always lock and unlock the bootloader when you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does re-locking the bootloader wipe the phone?
foosion said:
Does re-locking the bootloader wipe the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it does. That's why you should unlock or lock the bootloader when flashing factory images.
mngdew said:
Yes, it does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
mngdew said:
That's why you should unlock or lock the bootloader when flashing factory images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand what you mean by this.
You have to unlock the bootloader to flash a factory image and you can eliminate the w flag so that flashing the factory image won't wipe the phone.
uicnren said:
or just flash the full OTA image without an unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true. If the phone goes into booploop due to a bad zip or whatever other reason you have a bricked device with no options to recover.
It's healthy for me to unlock my Bootloader ASAP on XDA!
Unlocking the bootloader was always the very first thing I did when I got a new phone. However, I use Android Pay all the time, and Google seems very determined to break AP for unlocked bootloaders with every new patch. Sure, someone usually finds a way to get it working again, but that sometimes takes time, and I simply use AP too much to deal with it. As long as AP won't work officially with an unlocked bootloader, mine stays locked unless I'm flashing an image, and even then, gets locked right after. Luckily, OTAs are posted by Google now, often at the same time as the Factory Images, so it hasn't really been an issue for me.
akenis said:
It would probably break Safety net and Android pay. BUT if you're unlocked, you have ability to flash factory images. That could be beneficial something goes really bad and your device won't boot up. You're also less secure with it unlocked.
Sent from my marlin using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you what actually is compromised when phone is unlocked?
uicnren said:
or just flash the full OTA image without an unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you flash with a locked bootloader?
painfree said:
Thank you what actually is compromised when phone is unlocked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Data?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...unlocking-your-android-phones-bootloader/amp/
Sent from my marlin using XDA Labs
painfree said:
If you have no plans to root the phone is there any reason to unlock the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you ever contemplate going onto the Verizon network, when you first boot up after placing VZN sim into the phone,
the ability to ever unlock again is eliminated. You could relock it, but it will have the Unlock option in Developer
Option greyed out forever after that. I would unlock it maybe because of Verizon thing, but also to be able to flash factory a image in case I ever mess up the phone.
michaelbsheldon said:
If you ever contemplate going onto the Verizon network, when you first boot up after placing VZN sim into the phone,
the ability to ever unlock again is eliminated. You could relock it, but it will have the Unlock option in Developer
Option greyed out forever after that. I would unlock it maybe because of Verizon thing, but also to be able to flash factory a image in case I ever mess up the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you have the Google version it should never grey out on you at least that's how it was with the first pixels. I have Verizon I've never had it grey out.
jt3 said:
Unlocking the bootloader was always the very first thing I did when I got a new phone. However, I use Android Pay all the time, and Google seems very determined to break AP for unlocked bootloaders with every new patch. Sure, someone usually finds a way to get it working again, but that sometimes takes time, and I simply use AP too much to deal with it. As long as AP won't work officially with an unlocked bootloader, mine stays locked unless I'm flashing an image, and even then, gets locked right after. Luckily, OTAs are posted by Google now, often at the same time as the Factory Images, so it hasn't really been an issue for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Android Pay is pretty convenient and I always told myself I didn't need it compared to unlock+root. Wish Google would allow AP with unlocked bootloader but I can understand why they don't from a security standpoint.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
foosion said:
Thanks
I don't understand what you mean by this.
You have to unlock the bootloader to flash a factory image and you can eliminate the w flag so that flashing the factory image won't wipe the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you unlock the bootloader, phone is wiped automatically.

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