So, it seems that HTC is now refusing warranty service if you are S-off, regardless of the rest of the state of the phone itself. I have, while reading about this, heard rumors of an unlock counter that would reveal how many times you have locked/unlocked the boot loader, presumably so that even if you managed to "lock" (as opposed to "relock"), a record would still exist that the phone was previously "unlocked". That seems a bit much, since there is already a "relocked" status, but you never know.
Now, if this exists, I would imagine this is probably part of what using the HTCdev token does (in addition to factory resetting the phone). It would make sense that directly writing to the lock locations would bypass such a counter, but it would still be useful information to know.
It wouldn't be unprecedented either. I recall my Samsung Galaxy S2 has a counter that keeps track of how many times certain things are flashed (like the recovery partition), requiring tools like triangle away after a while.
Has anyone looked into this?
jshamlet said:
So, it seems that HTC is now refusing warranty service if you are S-off, regardless of the rest of the state of the phone itself. I have, while reading about this, heard rumors of an unlock counter that would reveal how many times you have locked/unlocked the boot loader,
presumably so that even if you managed to "lock" (as opposed to "relock"), a record would still exist that the phone was previously "unlocked". That seems a bit much, since there is already a "relocked" status, but you never know.
Now, if this exists, I would imagine this is probably part of what using the HTCdev token does (in addition to factory resetting the phone). It would make sense that directly writing to the lock locations would bypass such a counter, but it would still be useful information to know.
It wouldn't be unprecedented either. I recall my Samsung Galaxy S2 has a counter that keeps track of how many times certain things are flashed (like the recovery partition), requiring tools like triangle away after a while.
Has anyone looked into this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't recall reading anything like that on these M8 forums, if there was something like that surely the developers here would have picked it up by now and shared such information , in the least to warn people to not do it unless they're prepared to accept the fact that there are such counters...
I know the S3 also had a counter like the S2. That aside, where's the link to the article(?) you read about the S-OFF issue?
I just got my device back from service. I left it s-off, no problem. Warranty covered.
I bookmarked it on my computer at work so I'll have to try to find it again. Gist of it was that a guy sent a phone in converted to stock, including S-on, and HTC refused warranty repair because they had evidence that it had been tampered with. I'm trying to find the thread again, as it may simply be the guy had used HTCdev at some point.
jshamlet said:
I bookmarked it on my computer at work so I'll have to try to find it again. Gist of it was that a guy sent a phone in converted to stock, including S-on, and HTC refused warranty repair because they had evidence that it had been tampered with. I'm trying to find the thread again, as it may simply be the guy had used HTCdev at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that would make sense if he bricked his device by gaining S-OFF and stupidly flashed something like he shouldn't have i.e something from another device. If it's hardware related then I can't see how they can refuse a warranty repair on the basis of tampering with software unless they can prove that unlocking bootloader and getting S-OFF causes a screen to crack for example.
But like I said before, you probably can't under estimate huge companies and their greedy nature along with the lies, fraud and general corruption that follows it.
Related
Yes, it looks like a very common question, but I used to own HTC-Wildfire once.
After installing custom ROMS, I have problems with battery malfunction. Untill now, I cannot fix it even if I brought a new battery.
I had purchased HTC One X, before I have found that the official ROM is not the best. I would like to try CUSTOM ROMS, but I'm afraid that it will make my mobile phone out of warranty.
However, I heard that after unlocking bootloader, we can lock it again and install an official ROM but the status of the phone will show " re-lock " instead of lock.
That means someone will know that I used to unlock it.
What do you think about this? Can I do it and also make it restore as untouched when my phone need fixing?
Thank you in advance.
KhSom
It will show re-lock, and I guess this is the purpose.
khom27820 said:
Yes, it looks like a very common question, but I used to own HTC-Wildfire once.
After installing custom ROMS, I have problems with battery malfunction. Untill now, I cannot fix it even if I brought a new battery.
I had purchased HTC One X, before I have found that the official ROM is not the best. I would like to try CUSTOM ROMS, but I'm afraid that it will make my mobile phone out of warranty.
However, I heard that after unlocking bootloader, we can lock it again and install an official ROM but the status of the phone will show " re-lock " instead of lock.
That means someone will know that I used to unlock it.
What do you think about this? Can I do it and also make it restore as untouched when my phone need fixing?
Thank you in advance.
KhSom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
khom27820 said:
Yes, it looks like a very common question, but I used to own HTC-Wildfire once.
After installing custom ROMS, I have problems with battery malfunction. Untill now, I cannot fix it even if I brought a new battery.
I had purchased HTC One X, before I have found that the official ROM is not the best. I would like to try CUSTOM ROMS, but I'm afraid that it will make my mobile phone out of warranty.
However, I heard that after unlocking bootloader, we can lock it again and install an official ROM but the status of the phone will show " re-lock " instead of lock.
That means someone will know that I used to unlock it.
What do you think about this? Can I do it and also make it restore as untouched when my phone need fixing?
Thank you in advance.
KhSom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your phone will still be in warranty in case of any hardware defects however should you break your phone as a result of flashing firmware then HTC will not assist you.
Yes, I believe that ANY rooting (and therefore ROM changes) voids the warranty of ANY phone however there are ways of unrooting your phone so that it appears completely unrooted.
Here's one method that may work: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900875
However if you use a program such as superoneclick, ginerbreak, etc then an unroot feature is often included.
I believe that these methods don't leave an obvious trace, thus allowing a warranty claim to be made.
dr9722 said:
Your phone will still be in warranty in case of any hardware defects however should you break your phone as a result of flashing firmware then HTC will not assist you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That means if something wrong to my phone such as the screen is broken, I can still claim it, right?
If it is, I will begin to unlock my phone and install other ROM doubtlessly.
dr9722 said:
Your phone will still be in warranty in case of any hardware defects however should you break your phone as a result of flashing firmware then HTC will not assist you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to send my HOX back to the shop because of a dodgy touchscreen. Of course, I had already installed ARHD so I was faced with the same issue. I reinstalled the proper RUU and relocked my bootloader. The shop accepted my RMA after finding the defect and told me that they had sent the phone to the HTC Service Center. So as of now the phone is wherever that is awaiting repair. The jury is still out as to whether they will investigate if the bootloader is relocked. I don't think it will be an issue, but I will report back as soon as I get word!
Cheers,
Mathieu
ps - I will change my signature as soon as I get my HOX back...
HTC will still honor warranty claims even if your phone was unlocked via HTCdev. The lcd on my One X decided that it would display the screen whenever it wanted to and not when I did. I called HTC and opened a ticket, shipped it to them, paid their slightly frustrating $20 USD handling fee, and now it's in repair with nothing else I need to pay.
This is with a unbranded HTCdev unlocked phone that had at least 4 different ROMs flashed as well as 2 kernels.
As far as your question of dodging the RE-LOCKED screen:
Until someone finds a way to S-OFF, we're stuck with it. But believe me that RE-LOCKED looks a whole lot better in HTC's eyes than TAMPERED.
If all you want to do is flash ROMs, just do it the HTC provided way.
Unless you manage to fry your phone by overclocking to 2.5ghz or overvolting, you'll be fine if the phone breaks.
Hi guys,
Just an update. I just received an email in which I was informed that my HOX has been repaired/replaced (I wonder which it is?). So either they didn't check the bootloader (or any secret log files of what has been installed) or they just didn't care. It would seem to have gone well...
I've been curious about how the Bootloader is locked down and why it's so difficult/impossible to unlock. How does the mfg get the initial load onto the device when it's manufactured?
I read that this bootloader has some 2048 encryption and that it's impossible to crack. However, I feel like there should be a way to alter the systems firmware from a PC or some kind of connection to the device.
Buchez said:
I've been curious about how the Bootloader is locked down and why it's so difficult/impossible to unlock. How does the mfg get the initial load onto the device when it's manufactured?
I read that this bootloader has some 2048 encryption and that it's impossible to crack. However, I feel like there should be a way to alter the systems firmware from a PC or some kind of connection to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way I read it somewhere is this,
There are efuses built into the processor/motherboard/memory/whatever that the new bootloader "blows" when it is installed. These efuses are necessary pathways for the older bootloaders, hence why they won't install. I don't believe the new bootloader is "locked" per say, it just prevents earlier versions from being installed. There is also a guide somewhere on these forums to recover your device from a brick if you tried to downgrade the bootloader. The new bootloader also doesn't prevent you from installing earlier roms, as long as they are flashable from recovery. Just do not try to use Odin to revert to an earlier rom. That's what causes the bricks, and although there is a procedure to recover, it doesn't sound easy and you end up back on MJB when you're done anyway. Hope that helped.
To whoever wrote the original post I referred to above, my apologies for not giving credit.
Thanks for the reply.
I'm pretty solid with flashing ROM's and such. I have been wondering if it would be possible to use a regular PC and some cool software to reset or reformat the firmware on the system.
Here is a link to the article I was reading:
http://rootzwiki.com/news/att-locks-down-its-galaxy-s-iv-bootloader/
Say I have brand new S3 hardware right off the factory floor. How does that system get injected with the software? When the factories get damaged or "Bricked" units back and refurb them, how do they do that. I know that you can use the SD card trick to jump your phone back to life, but there has to be some master way to do this
Buchez said:
Thanks for the reply.
I'm pretty solid with flashing ROM's and such. I have been wondering if it would be possible to use a regular PC and some cool software to reset or reformat the firmware on the system.
Here is a link to the article I was reading:
http://rootzwiki.com/news/att-locks-down-its-galaxy-s-iv-bootloader/
Say I have brand new S3 hardware right off the factory floor. How does that system get injected with the software? When the factories get damaged or "Bricked" units back and refurb them, how do they do that. I know that you can use the SD card trick to jump your phone back to life, but there has to be some master way to do this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have an S3, I'm on the S3 section because my mom broke her phone, so this is speculation based on when I owned an Optimus G:
There are qualcomm tools that can fix a lot more than Odin and Fastboot can, apparently, and manufacturers have access to those. When I had an Atrix 4G someone told me they replace the entire board when eFuses are burned incorrectly, but that sounds really expensive. Anyway, just my 2 cents, i'm out~
The question is pretty much straight
Why does HTC S-On the devices when they allow us to unlock bootloader?
HTC says that the main idea of unlocking bootloader is that you can unleash our own phone.
Why can't they just S-OFF the devices when unlocking the bootloader ?
Can anyone fill me in
Thanks
MJ999 said:
The question is pretty much straight
Why does HTC S-On the devices when they allow us to unlock bootloader?
HTC says that the main idea of unlocking bootloader is that you can unleash our own phone.
Why can't they just S-OFF the devices when unlocking the bootloader ?
Can anyone fill me in
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-off opens up access to pretty much everything and so allows more control. With that are the risks of totally bricking your device. Staying S-on still gives you some protection from mucking things up and the freedom to flash roms/recoveries/kernels.
I agree though, as people are responsible for their actions and so must know the consequences of modding their devices, they should just give another level of access to remove s-off. The warranty is void once you unlock the bootloader anyway.
More info around s-off/NAND/partitions etc:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2619392
gsmyth said:
S-off opens up access to pretty much everything and so allows more control. With that are the risks of totally bricking your device. Staying S-on still gives you some protection from mucking things up and the freedom to flash roms/recoveries/kernels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I simply voided my phone's warranty without any use.
Damn it HTC.
MJ999 said:
Now I simply voided my phone's warranty without any use.
Damn it HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you unlock it? Do you have s-off?
MJ999 said:
Now I simply voided my phone's warranty without any use.
Damn it HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use sunshine to get s-off.
MJ999 said:
The question is pretty much straight
Why does HTC S-On the devices when they allow us to unlock bootloader?
HTC says that the main idea of unlocking bootloader is that you can unleash our own phone.
Why can't they just S-OFF the devices when unlocking the bootloader ?
Can anyone fill me in
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can still unleash some of your phone by just unlocking, which is probably why they gave the option. You can still flash a custom recovery, you can still root, you can still flash custom ROMs.
S-OFF you can flash different firmwares, you can resize partitions, you can convert to other models. Why would the majority want these? And by the looks of some of these threads, why would even some of the majority of "flashers" need it? Root + Custom Recovery + Custom ROM should be enough to satisfy most.
S-ON then just protects the phone from more serious changes that might lead to more serious damage if *you* don't know what *you're* doing.
BerndM14 said:
You can still unleash some of your phone by just unlocking, which is probably why they gave the option. You can still flash a custom recovery, you can still root, you can still flash custom ROMs.
S-OFF you can flash different firmwares, you can resize partitions, you can convert to other models. Why would the majority want these? And by the looks of some of these threads, why would even some of the majority of "flashers" need it? Root + Custom Recovery + Custom ROM should be enough to satisfy most.
S-ON then just protects the phone from more serious changes that might lead to more serious damage if *you* don't know what *you're* doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This
When you are S-on/BL locked, your carrier (or HTC/Google) is your system administrator. The carriers take this a bit further, and even manage some of your apps. In a lot of ways, you are a guest on the system, even though you "own" it. However, assuming you just want to use it to make phone calls and post to facebook, for most people this is fine. (my wife's phone isn't even rooted)
When you are BL unlocked, you take over some parts of that sysadmin job, and can now replace parts of the operating system and manage your own apps. You can also disable external control of your device by rooting and turning off certain services. However, the truly critical stuff, the stuff that could keep your phone from booting, are outside of your control. You are now no longer a guest, but you aren't exactly an owner either.
When you S-off, you are taking on the job of being the system administrator entirely. You are 100% responsible for what happens to your phone. Your '44, your Magnum rounds, your foot. Be careful.
gsmyth said:
How did you unlock it? Do you have s-off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I unlocked my bootloader.
No, I don't have S-OFF
KJ said:
Use sunshine to get s-off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BerndM14 said:
You can still unleash some of your phone by just unlocking, which is probably why they gave the option. You can still flash a custom recovery, you can still root, you can still flash custom ROMs.
S-OFF you can flash different firmwares, you can resize partitions, you can convert to other models. Why would the majority want these? And by the looks of some of these threads, why would even some of the majority of "flashers" need it? Root + Custom Recovery + Custom ROM should be enough to satisfy most.
S-ON then just protects the phone from more serious changes that might lead to more serious damage if *you* don't know what *you're* doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know about it, but I just want the H/K Mod, I don't think I need to spend 25 bucks for just the mod.
If anything better comes up, I will try sunshine
and during the meantime some devs might also find another way to S-Off hopefully.
But @BerndM14 don't you think HTC should have asked to you choose S-On or S-OFF when unlocking the bootloader or so ?
MJ999 said:
I unlocked my bootloader.
No, I don't have S-OFF
I know about it, but I just want the H/K Mod, I don't think I need to spend 25 bucks for just the mod.
If anything better comes up, I will try sunshine
and during the meantime some devs might also find another way to S-Off hopefully.
But @BerndM14 don't you think HTC should have asked to you choose S-On or S-OFF when unlocking the bootloader or so ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wont' hear any arguments from me about that, I've made a post about that ages ago in which I stated that manufacturers should give you the option to have your phone rooted, unlocked and in HTC's case S-OFF, if it's a warranty issue then why not just a bit more for warranty purposes, but we still need the choice. Will they ever do something like that? I doubt they'll do anything like that any time soon but it would be nice and I've said so a long time ago already.
Especially as far as development on the devices are concerned. I don't see why they would share the Kernel source to allow developers to develop for the phone while at the same time expecting the developer to just hack away at the device in order to get the necessary permissions to develop for the device!
BerndM14 said:
You wont' hear any arguments from me about that, I've made a post about that ages ago in which I stated that manufacturers should give you the option to have your phone rooted, unlocked and in HTC's case S-OFF, if it's a warranty issue then why not just a bit more for warranty purposes, but we still need the choice. Will they ever do something like that? I doubt they'll do anything like that any time soon but it would be nice and I've said so a long time ago already.
Especially as far as development on the devices are concerned. I don't see why they would share the Kernel source to allow developers to develop for the phone while at the same time expecting the developer to just hack away at the device in order to get the necessary permissions to develop for the device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank the GPL for that last one. Android is essentially a very custom distro of Linux, and the Linux community has already shown that they will go after violators. It's how the Linksys WRT54G became the WIFI router to own. IOW, they release it because they have to, but they don't have to make it easy, or usable.
We have seen with the Samsung and LG devices that it is possible to lock down a device fully such that it won't boot anything that isn't cryptographically signed. They will do as little as necessary to comply with the license, without giving us the ability to actually use that knowledge. After all, what good is kernel source if you don't have a signing key the CPU will accept?
That is the primary reason I chose the M8. It was one of the few flagship phones that is still able to be fully owned.
Hi,
My wife HTC m9(UK, Vodaphone, latest stock ROM, No root) was turned off last night to charge.
When booted up it does the below. It does not load into the OS. Every boot loops into the below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8n21CQX7535cjF4MnZqV2E1dGM/view?usp=sharing
It says the software has been modified?
My wife was very insistent that I never root or change ROMS on her phone.
Does anyone have a fix or is this send off for replacement?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Ca1v
ca1v said:
Hi,
My wife HTC m9(UK, Vodaphone, latest stock ROM, No root) was turned off last night to charge.
When booted up it does the below. It does not load into the OS. Every boot loops into the below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8n21CQX7535cjF4MnZqV2E1dGM/view?usp=sharing
It says the software has been modified?
My wife was very insistent that I never root or change ROMS on her phone.
Does anyone have a fix or is this send off for replacement?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Ca1v
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happens if you try to boot to Download Mode? I guess you see the black screen that is mentioned in Q7, right? If that's the case there isn't much you can do...
Download mode seems to be working (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8n21CQX7535cEFhTlpnajF5anM/view?usp=sharing)
If this is the case, can you point me in the right direction to get resolved?
Many thanks for the help
Flippy498 said:
What happens if you try to boot to Download Mode? I guess you see the black screen that is mentioned in Q7, right? If that's the case there isn't much you can do...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download mode seems to be working (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8n...ew?usp=sharing)
If this is the case, can you point me in the right direction to get resolved?
Many thanks for the help
Interesting. Your video in post 1 shows a security warning. That means that the OS got deleted. This is only possible if you unlock the bootloader and delete it manually via TWRP or if the EMMC gets broken. Since the phone's S-ON and its bootloader is locked and not unlocked or relocked I assumed that the latter happened*.
As long as the download mode is working you can restore the system with the help of a RUU. Instructions can be found in the thread I linked in my last post. Be aware that all data on the phone is going to get erased.
* Well, it is possible to get the phone's status back to S-ON and locked with S-OFF but you said you never tinkered with that phone...
Flippy498 said:
Interesting. Your video in post 1 shows a security warning. That means that the OS got deleted. This is only possible if you unlock the bootloader and delete it manually via TWRP or if the EMMC gets broken. Since the phone's S-ON and its bootloader is locked and not unlocked or relocked I assumed that the latter happened*.
As long as the download mode is working you can restore the system with the help of a RUU. Instructions can be found in the thread I linked in my last post. Be aware that all data on the phone is going to get erased.
* Well, it is possible to get the phone's status back to S-ON and locked with S-OFF but you said you never tinkered with that phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thought I'd bring to your attention that apps are now being written that will try to obtain root without you knowing. The reason is that they can steal any information they want and sell it to corporations for as little as 4 pence/6c a record.
It is possible that it is a failed root by an app.
"I'm safe, I only download my apps from google playstore" - nope, you're not.
"I only use signed apps and the checksum is always correct" - nope, checksum can be matched with padding.
"I only use external sources to update genuine apps" - nope, see the Google playstore comment above.
"I have all my security and privacy set to super strict, I have my apps verified by google" - nope, still not secure because alerts are only written when the malicious/bad code is found.
Be warned, my fellow xda'ers. There is a whole new breed of security breach and it is terminal to root as a whole. Apps like kingoroot etc are issuing the wrong type of people with the wrong type of information and they are using it for the wrong purposes.
Google will stuggle to put a lid on these types of apps because they attack the hardware for access to software (a simple memory buffer overflow attack), inject a few lines of code and you're in, permanently. It will eventually result in a total lockdown at the manufacturer and bye bye root access, roms, mods etc, you'll get what you're given.
How do we prevent this?. We don't and we can't. We just have to sit back and watch as the world takes our privacy while bricking our devices one by one just to "try" to earn a poxy 4p.
Beamed in by telepathy.
@shivadow: I'm actually not sure what you're trying to achieve with your post. Malicious apps that can root your device without letting the user know about that exist since several years now. (Click here for a random example from 2011) Smartphones aren't completely safe and they never were. Everyone who's claiming the opposite either doesn't know what he/she is talking about or is simply lying.
To name just a few more android security flaws/exploits that emerged in the past: rageagainstthecage, gingerbreak, heartbleed, stagefright, the master key vulnerability, the futex bug, rootnik...
All of these have more or less been used for manipulating android phones. There is no absolute security. Android is still as secure/insecure as it's always been.
In addition, several OEMs are already trying to prevent their customers from rooting their phones since several years. Samsung's KNOX is a perfect example. (I don't want to discuss whether they're successful. That's a whole different topic.)
But let's get back to the deleted OS of the OP's phone: I've never heard about failed root attempts that erase a complete system partition. Therefore, I highly doubt that a malicious app caused all the trouble. Failed root attempts may cause a bootloop but they don't wipe your phone. Just think about the following: How should the dev of such app gain money if the app deletes OSes? Without OS there is no information you can steel and if you have no information you could sell/abuse/whatsoever you don't gain any money. Oh and not to forget that most apps on the play store already collect more than enough data from your phone they can sell afterwards without having to root it.
I meant failed root could be the cause, if the op didn't then who did?. If no-one modded it then dead nand is the only player..
I agree with every thing else but I don't trust those apps that try to gain root in the background to steal data and I think it's too easy for them to bugger your phone just for the sake of making a few coins. Face it, if I was doing it, once I had what I wanted I wouldn't care about the device. Sod the gracious exit and all that jazz.. No evidence, no conviction.
Maybe I'm being ott but my questions and points are still valid.
This is a proper "who dunnit" because I doubt it died of its own accord.
Knox is for businesses btw. If knox is triggered, which is very easy to do, the business is advised not to buy the device as it "may" have been compromised. But if no company secrets are being held on the device then it's still good to use. Knox protection was counteracted by supersu. In a nutshell, unless you run a company knox is of no concern to the everyday user.
Just thought I'd chuck that in there, I'm versed in the arts of the s3 i9300. I moved from that phone to this m9.
Beamed in by telepathy.
i have an option of buying a soft bricked m8, that says tampered relocked, unknown history of what was done to it, but im thinking have a go at trying to get it running again, i cannot get past any of the screens it's s-on as well, cannot go into phone settings, so i cannot do anything there.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/charvel_375/htc m8 broke.jpg?t=1515544191
So what is the question? Do you want to know if it's worth the risk/effort of buying? If we think it can be recovered? Or what exactly to do to recover it?
sorry i should have been more specific, answer.. can it be fixed, if so how, as i said i cannot get into the phone settings, i dont know if USB debugging is checked.
bluefender said:
can it be fixed, if so how, as i said i cannot get into the phone settings, i dont know if USB debugging is checked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You typically don't need debugging enabled, to get the phone running. You don't need debugging to use fastboot, and it's fastboot that is critical to get the phone running.
Whether or not the phone can be fixed, is not definite with the information provided so far. A lot of times, no boot just means the ROM is corrupt or otherwise damaged, which is fairly easy to fix by a tool called RUU. Or alternately by unlocking the bootloader, putting custom recovery TWRP on the phone, and using that to flash a stock ROM or custom ROM.
"Tampered" and "relocked" (versus "locked") means that the previous owner did at least try to do some mods (unlocked bootloader, custom recovery, custom ROM and/or root). Whether those attempted mods resulted in the current condition is another question we can't answer (only the previous owner can answer). It could be as simple as a botched root attempt, such as wrong version TWRP or wrong version SuperSU (also easily fixed). Or it could be the simple act of the previous owner locking the bootloader, which by definition renders the phone unable to boot (again, RUU is one possible solution) and the person just didn't know that.
On the other hand, it's possible that the current condition is caused by a hardware failure, such as emmc failure, and you won't be able to flash a ROM, and the phone is pretty much shot (needs new motherboard, etc.). But there is really no way of determining hardware vs. software failure without trying to recover it. Although my gut tells me, this is a pretty easy software fix, and that the current condition is mostly a matter of the previous owner lacking the proper knowledge.
What are the conditions of the sale? Are you buying it "as is" whether you can fix it or not? Or is the person going to let you mess with it, before decided whether to buy it? If you fix it easily, is there a possibility they change their mind, and going to want to keep it?
thanks for the info, buying as is, owner puts his arms up and says no idea, buy as is no returns, possible guilt of not rooting correctly ? who knows.
bluefender said:
buying as is, owner puts his arms up and says no idea, buy as is no returns, possible guilt of not rooting correctly ? who knows.
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That would be my guess, not rooted correctly, or tried to return to stock, and botched it.
The bet, if I had to make one, would be that it can be recovered (software issue). But as I said, no sure bet there. Might be worth a chance, depending on how much he is charging, and how much that amount of money means to you.
in the end i passed on it, as found out the phone has been doing the rounds, internal chip was dead iv been told.