Develop Bugs

[Q] Can I overclock with a locked bootloader?

Is it possible for me to Overclock my xperia play with a locked bootloader? It is rooted but the bootloader is locked.
Thank you. It is a simlocked R800A running UK generic android 2.3.4.

Overclocking requires a custom kernel, which in turn requires an unlocked bootloader.

speedyink said:
Overclocking requires a custom kernel, which in turn requires an unlocked bootloader.
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But when I had a Motorola Milestone we had locked bootloaders and we still got overclock.

I was wondering the same thing today after rooting with zergrush. IIRC on my HTC Dream (G1) I could over clock freely after gaining root access.
Is there anything us 'locked bootloaders' can do for overclocking?

The problem with comparing those phones to the PLAY is, those other phones have the recovery separate from the kernel. Since you can't flash the kernel through recovery because it IS the kernel, you have to go a different route and flash the kernel through the bootloader.
Long story short, you can't flash a custom kernel if the kernel is already running

It is doable to OC with a locked bootloader, you'll need some dev to make the OC mudules and then you can move them to the right place on your phone with rootexplorer and enable them with terminal emulater/adb shell. I've made a request thread a long time back cuz i'd rather stay out of unlocking, well wich i ended up doing anyway for other reasons.
I did it this way to start with on my HTC Dsire HD before i got S-off and custom recovery installed.
Thread i started:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1077471
Regards Dousan...

Modules can be done but its too much work and can be unstable... if there was no unlock option then it was fine... but since it's possible to unlock bootloader better flash custom kernel...
Sent from my LT15i using XDA App

DooMLoRD said:
Modules can be done but its too much work and can be unstable... if there was no unlock option then it was fine... but since it's possible to unlock bootloader better flash custom kernel...
Sent from my LT15i using XDA App
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Unlocking the bootloader for the R800x can be a pain since it requires that you pay for it to be done. Sony Ericsson & VZW really piss me off that the ability to do so was taken away.

CrimsonSentinel13 said:
Unlocking the bootloader for the R800x can be a pain since it requires that you pay for it to be done. Sony Ericsson & VZW really piss me off that the ability to do so was taken away.
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I think VZ is to take the full blame for that one. They are the ones who wants to mess with the phone to begin with? I don't understand the model you have in the states. Different setups for different carriers. Makes no sense to me. One standard like the rest of the world has pretty much and you wouldn't have any problem.

CrimsonSentinel13 said:
Unlocking the bootloader for the R800x can be a pain since it requires that you pay for it to be done. Sony Ericsson & VZW really piss me off that the ability to do so was taken away.
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We also have the same problem here with the r800a in Canada.

speedyink said:
Overclocking requires a custom kernel, which in turn requires an unlocked bootloader.
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Incorrect.
If a module was created it can be implanted into hw_config

Wasn't the point of Android to make phones that people could customize? These cell providers are taking away the true founding image of the Andriod: customization. It's utter bullsh*t in my book. Why does it matter what we do with the phone after we buy it? It's not like these companies are losing any money off of it (or are they...?)

R800x and unlocked bootloader questions

I have been rethinking my position on unlocking my bootloader but I have a few questions before I take the plunge. Please, only people with R800x experience reply so I don't make my decision on faulty info. Thanks!
1. What kernels work with the R800x? I know of 1 besides stock, and it's DoomLord's.
2. Is the stock kernel for the R800x easily available to return to stock? Update: my kernel is 2.6.32.9-perf [email protected] #1
3. What ROMS will become available that I can't use now? I'm mainly interested in ICX and CM versions. But what else might I want to consider?
4. If I unlock and later Verizon releases an official ICS for the R800x, can I put everything back to stock and relock to get the update?
5. If I relock the BL, do I have to pay to unlock it again?
Those are all the questions I know to ask for now. If there are other things to consider (besides warranty issues), please let me know. Thanks, as always, for your help.
Sent from my R800x using XDA App

Reloacking is normalling a one way thing. The only exception is possibly the test point unlock.
Contact Jinx13 on these forums. I know he charges $24 to do the unlock, but I believe it's possible to relock, just have to ask him.

DooMLoRD kernel works, as does the Darkforest kernel, KeiranFTW has a separate kernel for his DarkforestMIX, and there's the CM7 kernel.
The stock kernel is included in the .ftf file for 2.3.3, as far as restoring to it on its own, I'm not sure. I believe KeiranFTW has a tool that can pull things out of .ftf files.
Roms that will be newly available are... well, for right now, it's just CM7 and DarkforestMIX. It's easier to flash Darkforest 3 with an unlocked bootloader, but not necessary.
If you use the test point method (which I'm sure is the only one available for the r800x), I've been assured that any ota updates and such will be allowed, even if you keep your bootloader unlocked.
As far as re-doing the unlock, you'd have to ask the guy who does it, but my guess is not. I believe it's pay-per-use, not pay-per-phone. If you go to unlock-bootloader.com , the guy that does the unlocks, Alejandrissimo, has a contact section where you can email him questions. I believe you can pm him here, too, though.
I unlocked my bootloader last weekend, and I'm very glad I did. This is just because I can use CM7 on this phone, which really fills in gaps that I thought were missing. But hey, YMMV as far as enjoyment with the unlock.

ICS for locked bootloaders

Could it be possible?

No.

Could you explain me why? -.-

arturodelac said:
Could you explain me why? -.-
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Because ICS requires an ICS kernel, which can only be flashed by using fastboot on an unlocked bootloader.
Flashing ICS on a locked bootloader will only reward you with a brick.

arturodelac said:
Could you explain me why? -.-
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Cause you need a Kernel that is made for ICS, and as long as your bootloader are locked you are going to be without ICS, simple as that.

arturodelac said:
Could you explain me why? -.-
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Because ICS requires a different kernel, which requires you to unlock your bootloader to flash.
________________________
Sent from my Xperia Play

I have heard that droid2global has an ics rom, and it's bootloader remains locked. It's got a bootstrap, but I didn't think that allowed a custom kernel.
Seriously though, just get your bootloader unlocked.
Sent from my Xperia Play using XDA

I fear for my warranty, and my old x8 could run a half assed ics with a locked bootloader, wished more developers cared for locked bootloaders

why would you want a half assed ics, and why would devs want to make a half assed ics for you.., we haven't got a working kexec yet, and that would likely be your only real option, the rest involve messy workarounds to try and patch together a working rom from gb kernal, and its not worth the devs doing so.
im sure those of us that do have unlocked bootloaders would rather the devs work on stuff to move forward the xplay community as a whole, than spend months of time trying to make a gb kernal work with ics because you want to keep your warranty....

Cm7

Hey I've just been reading posts on the forums and I had to ask, I since the play now supports recovery on locked bootloaders does that make custom roms possible? Specifically will any version of CM7 or 9 work on my bootloader LOCKED R800a (previously carrier locked to Telstra australia) sorry im completely over stock but don't have the money for a bootloader unlock right now
Sent from my R800a using XDA

nogggin1 said:
Hey I've just been reading posts on the forums and I had to ask, I since the play now supports recovery on locked bootloaders does that make custom roms possible? Specifically will any version of CM7 or 9 work on my bootloader LOCKED R800a (previously carrier locked to Telstra australia) sorry im completely over stock but don't have the money for a bootloader unlock right now
Sent from my R800a using XDA
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Nope, never will either. Have to be able to flash a custom kernel which isn't possible without unlocking the bl. There's a thread around here talking about doing some backdoor crap to try and get around the bl, but it'll never happen due to lack of support for the xperia line in general. I'd say save that money up, it's so worth it

agraceful said:
Nope, never will either. Have to be able to flash a custom kernel which isn't possible without unlocking the bl. There's a thread around here talking about doing some backdoor crap to try and get around the bl, but it'll never happen due to lack of support for the xperia line in general. I'd say save that money up, it's so worth it
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Hmm okay, I thought I read in another thread that there were some roms that didn't require a custom kernel...

A couple of ROMs don't require a custom kernel like: Gin2ics, NXT and others.
However all Cyanogenmod ROMs require custom kernels.

[Q] In need of guidance :)

Hello, and sorry for bugging everyone, but I have somewhat of a problem. I'll just start from the beggining.
First of all I own a SGS II, so I'm used to flashing roms and kernels custom stuff and all...on that. My girlfriend is the one who owns a Xperia Arc S (LT18a, US version if it's relevant or not). And for the live of me, I can't summon the courage to flash it, the process being somewhat different than the flashing of a S2. That's just idiot proof in my opinion, can't go wrong. I'm seeing all over the place guides and stuff for flashing a Xperia Arc S, and don't really know wich one is good/bad etc. So...the actual questions :
1. Where can I find the stock firmwares for Xperia Arc S ? I was hopping on a website something like sammobile for samsung, where I can find every release etc.
2. She now has 2.3.4 (I think not 100% sure) build 4.0.2.A.0.62 and from what I heard that cannot be rooted, or it involved something like unlocking the bootloader or something like that, safe to say that kinda freaked me out a bit.
3. I'm guessing that this build 62 is like on my samsung, where different stock rom's are differentiated by letters (eg. XXLPG, XWLPQ etc) so, someone please confirm that.
4. Is there any noticeable difference between these gingebread builds, cause if build 62 can't be rooted, I'll downgrade to previous build that can be more easily rooted.
5. I really need a idiot proof guide to flashing this thing. She has no warranty on it and I really don't want to mess it up
6. And last (finally, I know ) some links for safe versions of flashtool (equivalent of odin from what I understand) and firmwares, stuff I need to root it etc.
I apologise for such a long post but this stuff is pretty overwhelming for me. Also I apologise for spelling errors (english is not my first language)

Wow, the things we do for love...
OK, here's a quick run-down of how it works.
Firstly the bootloader thing: -
The bootloader is where the "kernel" sits. If you unlock the bootloader then you can pretty much put anything on the phone.
You can flash a custom kernel, and from there on you can use ClockworkMod recovery the same way you do on your Samsung.
(
custom kernels have ClockworkMod recovery built into them since the XPERIA doesn't have a "/recovery" partition for the standard ClockworkMod recovery.
If that didn't make sense then here's a translation "There's no special space for CWM recovery on Sony phones! So custom kernels have CWM recovery built in for easy access."
When one of these kernels starts up the phone there's a point where the hardware buttons light up, and the LED flashes purple. If you press "volume down" at this point then the kernel starts up ClockworkMod recovery instead of booting the phone.
Most roms come with their own kernel that you can use like this. The XPERIA is different to the SGS phone because you can't flash a kernel from the phone itself. You need an unlocked bootloader and fastboot to flash a kernel.
)
So unlocking the bootloader is a good idea, but only after you've made a backup of all your stuff off the memory card.
Here's a really good thread that brings together all sorts of pieces of information that you might need to root the phone - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1653188
OK, so that's the unlock thing, and the kernel thing. Once the kernel has CWM recovery built in you can pretty much flash any rom you feel like flashing. There are already some JellyBean roms out that are fast and usable if you're prepared to read up on them and experiment a bit.
Next thing is the "BaseBand". This is the driver for the "cell phone radio". The part of the hardware that's actually responsible for behaving like a phone
Here's a thread where you can get all of the different base-band versions: - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1688049
Personally I know that base-bands 72 and 77 both work perfectly. Since they are the 2 newest versions you can choose which-ever one you want. The newer basebands give much better signal strength on the phone, and the call quality is really good.
Good luck with the experimenting - hope you enjoy.

Are you looking to upgrade her arc to ics? It is much easier to find the resources if that is the case
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium

navras1719 said:
I can't summon the courage to flash it, the process being somewhat different than the flashing of a S2. That's just idiot proof in my opinion, can't go wrong.
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So is flashing on the Arc/S, so long as you can read.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1304634

Thanks for taking the time to answer such a long and frankly, annoying post Seems I got a bit of homework, manny things to read, so...coffee and patience Hope everything will add up nicely

jman2131 said:
Are you looking to upgrade her arc to ics? It is much easier to find the resources if that is the case
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
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Not really, from what I hear ICS dumbs down the phone sort of speak. Now I really can't say, but I would test it out a bit, as long as I learn how to go back to GB.
Another thing that I'm a bit concerned is that all the stuff I find are for LT18i and my gf's phone is a american model LT18a. Will this be a problem ? Or that's just to differentiate the hardware stuff in them ? I hope flashing a LT18i firmware doesn't screw anything up

navras1719 said:
Not really, from what I hear ICS dumbs down the phone sort of speak. Now I really can't say, but I would test it out a bit, as long as I learn how to go back to GB.
Another thing that I'm a bit concerned is that all the stuff I find are for LT18i and my gf's phone is a american model LT18a. Will this be a problem ? Or that's just to differentiate the hardware stuff in them ? I hope flashing a LT18i firmware doesn't screw anything up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, the differentiating factor is the hardware. the lt18i and lt18a roms are the same as far as I know. ICS does tend to be more resource heavy especially on the arcs but downgrading back to GB is basically the same method as flashing the ICS, just with another rom.
And also, in response to your first post, you can downgrade to the rootable build of GB, root that, and then flash the build 62 kernel back onto your phone so it's rooted and of the desired build
There's a lot of flashing guides on youtube regarding the arc s. I did a quick search and this one seemed pretty accurate and straight to the point.

Ok I pretty much understood the whole shabang, my last question is about the bootloader, if I unlock it once that's it ? I can flash whatever I want and not need to reunclock it...sort of speak. I read that for warranty reasons it can be relocked but that's not the case for me. Also for flashing a stock rom is it necessary to unlock the bootloader or that's just for rooting ?
Oh and almost forgot...if I understood right...I can downgrade...root...then upgrade to 62 and it will still be rooted ? On my samsung if it'a rooted and I flash abother stock rom...bye bye root, so pretty weird for me. Thank you again, I can't stress enough how helpfull you guys were.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

unlocking the bootloader allows a whole lot more things to be done with the arc, but does make some apps defunct such as track id and music facebook like (which many can do without). flashing and/or rooting a stock rom doesn't need an unlocked bootloader because it's stock and yep, you can downgrade/upgrade, root, and then go back to what build you want by flashing a kernel only

jman2131 said:
unlocking the bootloader allows a whole lot more things to be done with the arc, but does make some apps defunct such as track id and music facebook like (which many can do without).
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That only applies if you use the official method to unlock, use SETool and you'll retain DRM.
Sent from my CM9'd Ray

XperienceD said:
That only applies if you use the official method to unlock, use SETool and you'll retain DRM.
Sent from my CM9'd Ray
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Thanks for the clarification. I never knew much about bootloaders and all that

XperienceD said:
That only applies if you use the official method to unlock, use SETool and you'll retain DRM.
Sent from my CM9'd Ray
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If you could help me out with a SETool link and a basic set of instructions that would be awsome
LE: From what I've seen there are 2 versions of SETool and one's free the other is not. Can the free version be used to unlock the bootloader or do I have to get the full version ? Or even simpler, is there anyway to unlock it (LT18a) free and without losing DRM ?

XperienceD said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1304634
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So basically from what I read there, no way for free unlock and retain DRM.

navras1719 said:
So basically from what I read there, no way for free unlock and retain DRM.
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Follow the instructions up to the point just before patching and tell me what it says please?

if you unlock the bootloader NEVER UPDATE OVER THE AIR this will brick the phone.
The're 2 ways to unlock bootloader
1 via Sony web site but this only works for non branded phones,
2 is to pay if you use a service with setools this will unlock bootloader and make phone SIM free.
Xda member jinx13 offers this service contract him for more info.
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium

zolaisugly said:
2 is to pay if you use a service with setools this will unlock bootloader and make phone SIM free.
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If SETool can unlock any handset I'm not sure why the S1Tool wouldn't, has anyone confirmed in the thread it doesn't work for the Arc S?

XperienceD said:
If SETool can unlock any handset I'm not sure why the S1Tool wouldn't, has anyone confirmed in the thread it doesn't work for the Arc S?
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Since my bootloader was opened the setools has been upgraded to setools2 which now covers more phones but not sure which.
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium

XperienceD said:
Follow the instructions up to the point just before patching and tell me what it says please?
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I'm sorry but what are you refering to ? The process that involves opening the backcover under the battery ?
Some additional info, it's not carrier branded, not sim locked...and using the service code in the dialer says bootloader unlockable : yes
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Should have had this done already.
Sent from my CM9'd Ray