Develop Bugs

[Q] Root/S-off/unlocked bootloader confusion

Hey everyone. Just got a new HTC one yay. I am coming from a moterola droid bionic where all i had to do was root, install recovery and flash whatever ROMs I wanted. All this s-off and unlocked boot loader stuff is confusing. Can someone explain to me what are the benefits of these options and which I should use. Sorry for the noob question. Thanks!

kalestar said:
Hey everyone. Just got a new HTC one yay. I am coming from a moterola droid bionic where all i had to do was root, install recovery and flash whatever ROMs I wanted. All this s-off and unlocked boot loader stuff is confusing. Can someone explain to me what are the benefits of these options and which I should use. Sorry for the noob question. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-OFF enables you to do whatever you want to your phone. If you run rumrunner it will give you s-off, root, and an unlocked bootloader.
Once run rumrunner, then you will want to flash a custom recovery to make a back up and install a new rom.
You should be familiar with adb commands before trying rumrunner.
Sent from the One and Only

kalestar said:
Hey everyone. Just got a new HTC one yay. I am coming from a moterola droid bionic where all i had to do was root, install recovery and flash whatever ROMs I wanted. All this s-off and unlocked boot loader stuff is confusing. Can someone explain to me what are the benefits of these options and which I should use. Sorry for the noob question. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, things were a bit simpler in Motorola land. Having come from the Droid 3, here is what I know so far.
You cannot permanently root the Stock build by default. This is due to some special write protection on the /system mount. I don't know the details but it is more than a remount command can take care of.
Unlocking the bootloader, most often associated with the htcdev.com site, allows you to flash a custom bootloader, and in turn flash custom roms that have root built-in and bypass the previously mentioned write protection. From what I can tell you still cannot flash the radio at this level.
S-Off is the big one. With S-Off you can do anything, including changing partition sizes, flashing radios, and all that fun stuff.
rumrunner is the program that unlocks the phone. It performs a S-Off, Bootloader Unlock, and roots the device in one package. Once you run it on your phone you will be able to load a custom bootloader and flash just as you would any other phone.
If anybody with more experience wants to correct me please do so. Like I said I am still learning the terms and technology.

Okay. Why would I do s-off instead of htcdev method? Is it so I could eventually flash new radio firmware? If so, what is the benefit of flashing new radio firmware? Thanks!

kalestar said:
Okay. Why would I do s-off instead of htcdev method? Is it so I could eventually flash new radio firmware? If so, what is the benefit of flashing new radio firmware? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For Verizon the htcdev method is not available. They closed it a few days after the phone was released. As of now we have two ways to unlock our phones
rumrunner - Full S-Off, Bootloader unlock, and Root
Java card - Costs money, gets you S-Off
The real short answer is just use rumrunner and you will be all set to flash

I have a question...i was one of the lucky ones to get unlocked/rooted on day one from HTC/dev...I us sally flash a few roms but I'm not a crack flasher..am i good with what i have OR should i as-Off using rumrunner?

bsbuggs said:
I have a question...i was one of the lucky ones to get unlocked/rooted on day one from HTC/dev...I us sally flash a few roms but I'm not a crack flasher..am i good with what i have OR should i as-Off using rumrunner?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fine with what you have, unless you want *FULL* control.

tech_head said:
Fine with what you have, unless you want *FULL* control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks thats what I though THANKS..
I have read quite a few posts as everyone is quite happy with s off finally here... I was concerned when I read a post that said you cannot flash a radio without s-off.

I ran rumrunner and have s-off and unlocked with ClockworkMod Touch Recovery 6.0.4.4. But when I ran root checker it says I do not have root. What do I need to do to get root?
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC One

jbh00jh said:
I ran rumrunner and have s-off and unlocked with ClockworkMod Touch Recovery 6.0.4.4. But when I ran root checker it says I do not have root. What do I need to do to get root?
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you flashed the supersu in recovery yet? That could be the reason.

jbh00jh said:
I ran rumrunner and have s-off and unlocked with ClockworkMod Touch Recovery 6.0.4.4. But when I ran root checker it says I do not have root. What do I need to do to get root?
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try that now.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC One
---------- Post added at 08:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------
Zynesterysdan said:
Have you flashed the supersu in recovery yet? That could be the reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That worked. I thought that was part of the rumrunner flash, but I guess I was wrong. Thanks man.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC One

I'm on the edge program. The only thing I seem to the missing is how to unroot, s-on, and relock the boot loader when I give this back to vz. Would that be flashing the ruu?
Sorry if this has been covered somewhere else.

emichroc said:
I'm on the edge program. The only thing I seem to the missing is how to unroot, s-on, and relock the boot loader when I give this back to vz. Would that be flashing the ruu?
Sorry if this has been covered somewhere else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out this thread - Return To Stock LOCKED and S-ON - I have not tried the method in there so I do not know if it works.

jbh00jh said:
Will try that now.
That worked. I thought that was part of the rumrunner flash, but I guess I was wrong. Thanks man.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rumrunners does do that. Something just went wrong during your process.

bsbuggs said:
I have a question...i was one of the lucky ones to get unlocked/rooted on day one from HTC/dev...I us sally flash a few roms but I'm not a crack flasher..am i good with what i have OR should i as-Off using rumrunner?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would s off. If you scree up something or flashing cm10 kills your baseband you won't be able to flash the decrypted ruu. As far as I know we don't have an official ruu to flash yet.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I had htcdev unlock from the first day and have flashed some roms so I'm no longer stock. Is there any stock rom that I can flash and use rumrunner to get s-off?

S-OFF + Root or Do I need to unlock bootloader via htcdev ?

Hi all,
Was just wondering;
I have a Rogers HTC M8 and want to install a custom ROM
Do I need to unlock bootloader via HTC, or is there another way now that we have S-OFF ?
And if there is, please do share
Thanks in advance, much appreciated

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708571
Maybe this holds your answers ?

Mr Hofs said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2708571
Maybe this holds your answers ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much
But it says I need to be S-OFF in order to proceed, and to get S-OFF I need root.
So how can I root in order to do it ? Would weak sauce work ?
Sorry, newB here when it comes to this

Go to firewater S-off website, the second method could let you s-off without unlock boatload and flash custom recovery as well as custom Rom.
[email protected] One

tommy0411 said:
Go to firewater S-off website, the second method could let you s-off without unlock boatload and flash custom recovery as well as custom Rom.
[email protected] One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi and thanks for the reply,
I tried the second method but the weaksauce wont work on my Rogers device, I get an error...
I am guessing the only other option is to use HTCdev ??

captiv123 said:
Hi and thanks for the reply,
I tried the second method but the weaksauce wont work on my Rogers device, I get an error...
I am guessing the only other option is to use HTCdev ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that's okay to do HTCdev unlock bootloader first then flash custom recovey and get root.
Then, flash custom rom.
Don't worry dude.

[Q] Unroot S-On HTC One M8

I planned on converting my One M8 to a GPE edition but I couldn't gain S-Off, so now I have a phone with root access and TWPR installed. In preparation for HTCs upcoming Lollipop OTA, I would Like to bring my device back to full stock so I can install the OTA. I can't seem to find a way to do this without having S-Off. Could someone help me please?
Thanks, Nathan

nathbullen said:
I planned on converting my One M8 to a GPE edition but I couldn't gain S-Off, so now I have a phone with root access and TWPR installed. In preparation for HTCs upcoming Lollipop OTA, I would Like to bring my device back to full stock so I can install the OTA. I can't seem to find a way to do this without having S-Off. Could someone help me please?
Thanks, Nathan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always flash to stock recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPPT5J8xG6w
Good luck!

L1nuz said:
You can always flash to stock recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will that remove my root user permissions too?
And do I need to relock the boot loader to install OTA's?
Thanks!

nathbullen said:
Will that remove my root user permissions too?
And do I need to relock the boot loader to install OTA's?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sakitech didn't mention anything about losing root or relock bootloader requirements to receive OTA updates after following his video.

L1nuz said:
sakitech didn't mention anything about losing root or relock bootloader requirements to receive OTA updates after following his video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, he didn't, but it was part of my original question!

nathbullen said:
No, he didn't, but it was part of my original question!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, sorry for not being clear xD
No, I don't think you will lose root and you don't have to relock bootloader afaik.
Even so.. you can always redo the process of rooting and unlock the bootloader after OTA update.. no biggie
but if you run stock rom and recovery.. it shouldnt affect root or if ure unlocked with OTA updates

I just reverted back to stock last night with s-on. you will have to relock your bootloader (I used a tool kit, but had to boot into the bootloader myself to get the toolkit relock it) and flash a stock RUU (exe or zip). I suggest using an exe to flash if available. I have a sprint HK edition so I used an RUU exe for that model, and all worked perfectly. I was able to install the OTA update they just released with no problem after I was back to stock.
sakitech's method should work too if you want to try and keep root and the bootloader unlocked

HTC one m8 s-OFF

I want to S-OFF my HTC m8 European version 4.16.401.10 lollipop 5.0.1
It's locked and not rooted
What I want S-OFF and relocked the boot loader as locked and flash TWRP
and custom Rom so I can back to get OTA update from HTC any time I want
I can use kit Kat way to S-OFF or there is anew for lollipop
Thank you
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda Forum

KARIM9377 said:
I want to S-OFF my HTC m8 European version 4.16.401.10 lollipop 5.0.1
It's locked and not rooted
What I want S-OFF and relocked the boot loader as locked and flash TWRP
and custom Rom so I can back to get OTA update from HTC any time I want
I can use kit Kat way to S-OFF or there is anew for lollipop
Thank you
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda Forum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way to S-OFF is to use SunShine @ http://theroot.ninja which will cost $25 respectively.

KARIM9377 said:
What I want S-OFF and relocked the boot loader as locked and flash TWRP
and custom Rom so I can back to get OTA update from HTC any time I want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not clear to me why you want s-off.
You only need stock ROM (no system files altered by root) and stock recovery to OTA. Relocking bootloader is not necessary. Its only necessary to relock bootloader to RUU (when s-on).

Sunshine doesn't work with Lollipop (yet) but keep checking their website for updates

EddyOS said:
Sunshine doesn't work with Lollipop (yet) but keep checking their website for updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I don't want to use sunshine, If there is away like firewater with kitKat use fast boot terminal/command* it was like this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/vomerguides-m8-bootldr-unlock-s-off-t2800727
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda Forum

Firewater doesn't work AT ALL, Sunshine is the ONLY way to S-OFF a phone but it's not compatible with Lollipop

KARIM9377 said:
Yes I don't want to use sunshine, If there is away like firewater with kitKat use fast boot terminal/command* it was like this one
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/vomerguides-m8-bootldr-unlock-s-off-t2800727
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
firewater was an online service. So it no longer works now that the developer stopped supporting it 3 months ago.
But I'm still not convinced you even need s-off. You haven't provided a valid reason that required s-off.
If you do need soff, you need to use sunshine. There is no other option to s-off.

redpoint73 said:
firewater was an online service. So it no longer works now that the developer stopped supporting it 3 months ago.
But I'm still not convinced you even need s-off. You haven't provided a valid reason that required s-off.
If you do need soff, you need to use sunshine. There is no other option to s-off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S-OFF it's more save to get back to locked on boot loader and with that you can get OTA UPDATE from HTC what I hope is to try flash viperM8 Rom and try it and then try sky Rom and see if I don't like them can back to stack with S-OFF
maybe I am wrong I don't know if
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda Forum

KARIM9377 said:
The S-OFF it's more save to get back to locked on boot loader and with that you can get OTA UPDATE from HTC what I hope is to try flash viperM8 Rom and try it and then try sky Rom and see if I don't like them can back to stack with S-OFF
maybe I am wrong I don't know if
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I already stated above, you do not need to lock the bootloader to OTA update, and you do not need s-off to OTA update. OTA update works fine with bootloader unlocked or otherwise.
You also do not need s-off to go back to stock. Just made a nandroid (or get one from the nandroid collection here) to restore stock ROM, and restore stock recovery (also in the collection).
With s-off you can make the bootloader say LOCKED instead of RELOCKED. But warranty service is typically the only time that is desired.
Yes, s-off will give you more recovery options. Such as being able to run RUU for any CID, or "downgrade" by RUU. And it lets you do things like flash radios or modified hboots. But of the things you mentioned, its not needed.

redpoint73 said:
As I already stated above, you do not need to lock the bootloader to OTA update, and you do not need s-off to OTA update. OTA update works fine with bootloader unlocked or otherwise.
You also do not need s-off to go back to stock. Just made a nandroid (or get one from the nandroid collection here) to restore stock ROM, and restore stock recovery (also in the collection).
With s-off you can make the bootloader say LOCKED instead of RELOCKED. But warranty service is typically the only time that is desired.
Yes, s-off will give you more recovery options. Such as being able to run RUU for any CID, or "downgrade" by RUU. And it lets you do things like flash radios or modified hboots. But of the things you mentioned, its not needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your advice I will root and flash TWRP recovery and backup the stack Rom and then flash custom Rom
Thank you for your help
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda Forum

Hi @redpoint73 can i ask you a question ?
I bought a second hand M8 and it already had S-OFF via sunshine.When i entered bootloader it says : Software status : Modified , (bootloader) UNLOCKED and S-OFF.
I asked the seller for the "unlock_code.bin" and he said that didn't have any.He said he simply ran sunshine to S-OFF.Didn't modified further.No custom recovery no root (although sunshine temp roots) no custom ROM.
So my question is this : performing S-OFF via sunshine will auto unlock your bootloader and say Software status : Modified ?

nighthawk696969 said:
Hi @redpoint73 can i ask you a question ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, that's what this forum section if for!
nighthawk696969 said:
I bought a second hand M8 and it already had S-OFF via sunshine.When i entered bootloader it says : Software status : Modified , (bootloader) UNLOCKED and S-OFF.
I asked the seller for the "unlock_code.bin" and he said that didn't have any.He said he simply ran sunshine to S-OFF.Didn't modified further.No custom recovery no root (although sunshine temp roots) no custom ROM.
So my question is this : performing S-OFF via sunshine will auto unlock your bootloader and say Software status : Modified ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually did s-off back when firewater was still working, before sunshine even existed. So I can't speak from personal experience, just what I've read on these forums. I believe that the sunshine app gives you the options to temp root, s-off, and unlock the bootloader (by means that bypasses HTCDev.com). So that is probably what the previous owner did.
With s-off there isn't ever a need to relock the bootloader, and therefore no need to unlock it again with the bin code. RUUs will run with bootloader unlocked when s-off. And you can change the hboot flag to LOCKED for warranty purposes with s-off.
If for some reason you want to relock and then unlock the bootloader again, you can just go through the HTCDev.com process to get a new bin code. But its not advised. As I don't see why you would ever want to relock (for the reasons just given). And once you go through HTCDev.com, HTC will have a record of you doing so (which they do not at this time).

Thanks you have been more than helpfull!
Another question and last one :
Can i dual boot with multirom a sense 6 rom and the GPe rom?
I have the latest firmware installed so from what i read GPe roms can run without any issues.
Thanks again!

nighthawk696969 said:
Thanks you have been more than helpfull!
Another question and last one :
Can i dual boot with multirom a sense 6 rom and the GPe rom?
I have the latest firmware installed so from what i read GPe roms can run without any issues.
!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea, I've never used MultiROM, and not that familiar with it. Hopefully, someone who knows will chime in. Or you can post to the MultiROM thread to possibly get a quicker answer.

Sunshine app on Android 7

does sunshine app work on Android 7 for US unlocked phones?
I am lookinh to convert it to verizon

ahgahg said:
does sunshine app work on Android 7 for US unlocked phones?
I am lookinh to convert it to verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Need to unlock bootloader, flash TWRP and root the phone first.

ahgahg said:
does sunshine app work on Android 7 for US unlocked phones?
I am lookinh to convert it to verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep I ran it on my sprint phone using the latest stock Nougat on Monday. Afterwards phone came back up with some weird encryption thing so I ended up ruu-ing but did achieve s-off.

henderjr said:
Yep I ran it on my sprint phone using the latest stock Nougat on Monday. Afterwards phone came back up with some weird encryption thing so I ended up ruu-ing but did achieve s-off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you henderjr

Tarima said:
Yes. Need to unlock bootloader, flash TWRP and root the phone first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Tarima

a) run shine app first to unlockboot loader and s-off
b)flash twrp
c)root now with supersu
above steps in order?

ahgahg said:
a) run shine app first to unlockboot loader and s-off
b)flash twrp
c)root now with supersu
above steps in order?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I'm pretty sure you need to be rooted first before s-off if you're on nougat.
So,
1) unlock bootloader
2) flash TWRP and root
3) s-off using sunshine (25$)

Can i use the sunshine app to unlock bootloader on android 7 instead of htcdev
then use the app to s-off

Can i use the sunshine app to unlock bootloader on android 7 instead of htcdev
then use the app to s-off
Tarima said:
No, I'm pretty sure you need to be rooted first before s-off if you're on nougat.
So,
1) unlock bootloader
2) flash TWRP and root
3) s-off using sunshine (25$)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ahgahg said:
Can i use the sunshine app to unlock bootloader on android 7 instead of htcdev
then use the app to s-off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?
As I mentioned, you need to unlock the bootloader and root before being able to use sunshine, so how can you use sunshine to unlock the bootloader if it's not already unlocked?
On Marshmallow you could do what you asked.

gotcha, I was trying to avoid using htcdev for unlocking bootloader
Tarima said:
?
As I mentioned, you need to unlock the bootloader and root before being able to use sunshine, so how can you use sunshine to unlock the bootloader if it's not already unlocked?
On Marshmallow you could do what you asked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ahgahg said:
gotcha, I was trying to avoid using htcdev for unlocking bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO way around it now. I just got my HTC 10 over the weekend and went through the whole learning process you are. I think my phone was out of commission more than it was up and running all Sunday. Luckily it's pretty hard to brick.