Develop Bugs

[Q] Anybody know how to unlock bottloader/s-off for KitKat??

So, I've got root with Weaksauce. and I've tried to S-off with Firewater, but it just stops working around the second bottle. I've tried looking for a way to unlock the bootloader, but haven't found anything for verizon. I'm not even sure if I need bootloader unlocked though. I just want to flash a custom Sense 6 or Google edition ROM to my phone, but having Verizon and being stupid and doing the OTA KitKat update, I'm finding it insanely difficult.
Any advice you have, or links, would be very highly appreciated.

Linktolegend said:
So, I've got root with Weaksauce. and I've tried to S-off with Firewater, but it just stops working around the second bottle. I've tried looking for a way to unlock the bootloader, but haven't found anything for verizon. I'm not even sure if I need bootloader unlocked though. I just want to flash a custom Sense 6 or Google edition ROM to my phone, but having Verizon and being stupid and doing the OTA KitKat update, I'm finding it insanely difficult.
Any advice you have, or links, would be very highly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure the advanced users are going to ask you for more information (logs, screen prints, etc). I am also assuming that you have the M7VZW and not another phone (like AT&T's or a global phone).
I'll start with that you should be sure that you installed weaksauce properly and have root.
With Firewater, I found the instructions on the firewater site to be more than adequate to get S-Off next.
http://firewater-soff.com/instructions/ I followed the normal rooted device method.
From there, I installed the custom recovery (TWRP 2.7.0.0) Make sure you use Santod040's version if you are installing one of his ROM's.
I used the fastboot instructions on the TWRP site.
http://teamw.in/project/twrp2/164
I also found this guide on installing the recovery to be invaluable
http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-flash-a-custom-recovery-like-CWM-or-TWRP-on-Android_id53914
With the custom recovery, I created a backup first and then did a wipe. From there, I installed the ROM using TWRP. It was all good from there.
In addition to the above, GrayTheWolf's videos were a big help.
Hope this helps.

The rooting of the M8

Hello all,
I have some questions about rooting my phone, the HTC One M8. If someone gets a new phone like this one, backs it up after initial setup, roots and does s-off, and then does a second backup (optional).......... is there any reason why that person should need to worry about anything going wrong? I'm replacing my phone and want to know that as long as I back it up before rooting and s-off, I should never have to worry, right?
Also, once you root a phone, you can still get new OTAs right? The rooting doesn't stop that, right? Just a simple yes or no is fine.
Kindly please answer both. I appreciate all those who can shed some light! It seems that rooting is ok as long as you do it (and S-OFF) BEFORE receiving any OTAs, or that's what I think.
Thank You,
RockStar2005

RockStar2005 said:
Hello all,
I have some questions about rooting my phone, the HTC One M8. If someone gets a new phone like this one, backs it up after initial setup, roots and does s-off, and then does a second backup (optional).......... is there any reason why that person should need to worry about anything going wrong? I'm replacing my phone and want to know that as long as I back it up before rooting and s-off, I should never have to worry, right?
Also, once you root a phone, you can still get new OTAs right? The rooting doesn't stop that, right? Just a simple yes or no is fine.
Kindly please answer both. I appreciate all those who can shed some light! It seems that rooting is ok as long as you do it (and S-OFF) BEFORE receiving any OTAs, or that's what I think.
Thank You,
RockStar2005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
part of rooting is a custom recovery which can block ota's from installing. sometimes the updates can manually be flashed or you can just revert to a stock recovery temporarily but changes to your system can also block the install. as far as the backups it's what ever your comfortable with - I never bother with backups of the stock software and I've never needed one.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

lampel said:
part of rooting is a custom recovery which can block ota's from installing. sometimes the updates can manually be flashed or you can just revert to a stock recovery temporarily but changes to your system can also block the install. as far as the backups it's what ever your comfortable with - I never bother with backups of the stock software and I've never needed one.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thank Lampel!
RockStar2005

I have questions pertaining to Rooting the HTC One M8 aswell.
I moved from Samsung's Galaxy line of phones and have always Rooted without hesitation. Reasons being, I have become comfortable with the way they work and am confident I can return it to Stock (no modded counters on it or whatever), if I need to bring it back to my carrier for some reason.
Now I just got my M8, and definitely want to Root it, but all the new terms for HTC phones confuse me a little. Things I need to know before going forward with Rooting are:
1) What is "S-Off"/'S-On"? And what does it mean?
2) If I Root, can I bring it back to Stock where it will look like I did nothing to it so I can return to the store if I need to?
3) I know there are risks when Rooting, but are there things that become "broken" or don't work because of Rooting? Examples would be like Sony's Xperia devices, the Bravia Engine stops working, and so does the Camera (for some models). Those things become "broken" as a security feature for Sony. Did HTC do anything similar?
4) Anything else you might think I need to know before Rooting?
Thanks in advance!

leo9891 said:
1) What is "S-Off"/'S-On"? And what does it mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not 100% certain on the other questions but maybe I can help with your first question.
Security-ON / Security-OFF. These settings seem specific to HTC. When you purchase a new phone, it will be S-On. This basically means that there are specific areas of your phone that you won't be able to touch, even with root access. However, you can alter the system, boot, and recovery partitions with root access and S-On. S-Off will allow access to the radio and other partitions that you won't be able to access with S-On. S-Off also allows you to change the splash screen. You can check your S-on/S-off status by booting into fastboot (power off phone, press volume down and power until you see the white fastboot screen).
It is my understanding that in order to get S-Off on newer HTC One M8's, Sunshine (http://theroot.ninja/) can be used but it does cost $25. The htcdev.com site has more information on S-On/S-Off along with warnings of why you may not want to go with S-Off here: http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/about_unlock_process.

janderia said:
I'm not 100% certain on the other questions but maybe I can help with your first question.
Security-ON / Security-OFF. These settings seem specific to HTC. When you purchase a new phone, it will be S-On. This basically means that there are specific areas of your phone that you won't be able to touch, even with root access. However, you can alter the system, boot, and recovery partitions with root access and S-On. S-Off will allow access to the radio and other partitions that you won't be able to access with S-On. S-Off also allows you to change the splash screen. You can check your S-on/S-off status by booting into fastboot (power off phone, press volume down and power until you see the white fastboot screen).
It is my understanding that in order to get S-Off on newer HTC One M8's, Sunshine (http://theroot.ninja/) can be used but it does cost $25. The htcdev.com site has more information on S-On/S-Off along with warnings of why you may not want to go with S-Off here: http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/about_unlock_process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your reply, took a day or two after i posted to grab the concept of S-Off/S-On. I'm used to Samsung devices where all you needed was root, and you can do anything.

[Q] Dumb question about firmware & S-OFF

I've been rooting and flashing ROMs on Android devices for years, but I'm new to HTC (coming from the Galaxy Nexus/toro). On all my other devices, I've merely unlocked the bootloader, rooted, installed custom recovery, and flashed ROMs (e.g. CM11) to stay "current." I'm getting the sense that the M8 doesn't quite work like that (but I'm not sure).
I'm currently rooted, have TWRP, and S-ON (more on that in a minute). I've been using Venom's Viper One ROM since I got the phone in early July. Venom just released a new version of the ROM, but that has led to my realization that HTC and/or the M8 is a different animal that my other Android devices.
I've combed through countless threads trying to figure this out but to no avail--so I figured I'd ask it here. Do I have to be S-OFF to keep my firmware up to date? If so, is there any other way besides Sunshine to obtain S-OFF on the T-mobile M8? I tried Firewater and for whatever reason it reports it can't and never will work on my device.
It's not that I mind paying the $25 for Sunshine, but I'm not 100% clear why I need S-OFF since none of my other (non-HTC) devices required such a thing. I'd be willing to purchase it if I for sure needed it, but I'm confused if it is required to keep my rooted M8 "current" so I can keep on flashing ROMs without incident (the new version of Viper One supposedly doesn't work as well on the non-current firmware which I have).
If anyone here can ELI5 (Explain Like I'm 5) about S-OFF and whether or not I need it I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

zerozed99 said:
I've been rooting and flashing ROMs on Android devices for years, but I'm new to HTC (coming from the Galaxy Nexus/toro). On all my other devices, I've merely unlocked the bootloader, rooted, installed custom recovery, and flashed ROMs (e.g. CM11) to stay "current." I'm getting the sense that the M8 doesn't quite work like that (but I'm not sure).
I'm currently rooted, have TWRP, and S-ON (more on that in a minute). I've been using Venom's Viper One ROM since I got the phone in early July. Venom just released a new version of the ROM, but that has led to my realization that HTC and/or the M8 is a different animal that my other Android devices.
I've combed through countless threads trying to figure this out but to no avail--so I figured I'd ask it here. Do I have to be S-OFF to keep my firmware up to date? If so, is there any other way besides Sunshine to obtain S-OFF on the T-mobile M8? I tried Firewater and for whatever reason it reports it can't and never will work on my device.
It's not that I mind paying the $25 for Sunshine, but I'm not 100% clear why I need S-OFF since none of my other (non-HTC) devices required such a thing. I'd be willing to purchase it if I for sure needed it, but I'm confused if it is required to keep my rooted M8 "current" so I can keep on flashing ROMs without incident (the new version of Viper One supposedly doesn't work as well on the non-current firmware which I have).
If anyone here can ELI5 (Explain Like I'm 5) about S-OFF and whether or not I need it I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With HTC devices like our m8, s-off is needed in order to change firmwares and radios manually. It is very different than with nexus devices, that are definitely the easiest to tinker with. I paid the $25 for sunshine (firewater wouldn't work for me either) and it was so easy I can't even put it in words. Takes like 2 minutes. I recommend it. S-off makes a huge difference. But only if you know what youre doing. Read up on the dangers of obtaining s-off before you do it. Entering the wrong command in a terminal session with s-off could lead to a very expensive paperweight.
Sent from my M8

[Q] Question About GPE RUU

Next weekend, I am going to get an HTC One M8 from T-Mobile. I would really like to change it to a GPE but I need to get a phone through T-Mobile so they will pay off my ETF from Verizon.
I would have liked to ask this question directly in the development thread, but I'm not allowed to so I will just include a link.
I have found a couple videos to help me with this online and it seems pretty simple. I've been running a rooted GNex with Shiny Custom Rom. Although I started using the Wugfresh toolkit, I've since learned fairly basic ways of using ADB. I say all this so you know I'm not really a green beginner. My question is this:
[RUU] M8 Google Edition Conversion. 4.4.4 - RUU Zip Non-Rooted & Pre-Rooted
If I use this thread and the directions here, along with a few videos, will this work on a T-Mobile version. I'm going to be new at this GSM thing and want to make sure that this RUU file will work. Thanks!

Hi and welcome to xda!
This guide you linked in your post will work on your T-Mobile device, as long as you S-Off it as a first step. To do this I would personally use SunShine. Even though it costs 25$, it's the best you could do, as it unlocks the bootloader without any data loss and without HTC knowing (as they would if you're going to use HTCDev to accomplish it). In addition you don't need to be rooted, as SunShine temproots to get the job done. Thus you could flash a custom recovery right after S-Off, backup your full stock ROM (just in case you got to go bak to stock Sense for warranty purposes) and head to the guide behind your link.
I wouldn't use any videos, as there is realy everything mentioned in the guide mentioned, that you need to convert. As long as you follow it step by step you'll also come to learn the most important things of what you do. This will make live easier if you got to go back. And if something goes wrong during the conversion process, you would be able to give a much more precise information about where and what. I'm just writing it, as many questions here seem to start with a "I followed a video guide and something went wrong", which realy doesn't help anybody to understand where the problem first occured, not to mentioned that we can't help anybody who starts a post in this way, without further questioning what he did and in which order. And as you're telling you're already familiar with adb/fastboot the job should be quiet easy for you to accomplish .

Thanks for the response. I appreciate it. I know my username has switched but I was originally having trouble with it.
So I'm curious about the sunshine thing. I pay $25 and then run the app. The app will unlock the bootloader and give me s-off which will enable me to convert to a gpe htc one m8?

dbroer91884 said:
Thanks for the response. I appreciate it. I know my username has switched but I was originally having trouble with it.
So I'm curious about the sunshine thing. I pay $25 and then run the app. The app will unlock the bootloader and give me s-off which will enable me to convert to a gpe htc one m8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's right. It will accomplish both, bootloader unlock, as well as S-Off. After this you could goon and start the conversion by following the guide I linked in my last response.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app

[Q] Couple of Verizon M8 Questions. Need Help.

So I have totally been off the scene for quite sometime and now finding the time and interest to be involved in this again, but where to start really? I feel so lost and out of the loop. Read through a lot of the posts and done my research for root and s-off. After reading I see that 4.4.3 has been causing some issues. I have my Verizon M8 running Stock. No root. 4.4.3. Where the heck do i begin?
What do I need to do for root since Weaksauce no longer works?
How do I gain root access and what programs am I needing that are up to date and functioning properly.
S-off? Firewater? Understand I need temp root, but I want permanent root.
Interested in TWRP for sure for custom recovery and flashing.
Can I get some help for a returning lost person? I wanna know exactly what programs I am going to need that are up to date. I want to flash custom roms etc of course (already have one in mind) but would like to know what the best android L themed one would be.
Looking forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks for the help and time you took to read this.

You don't need S-OFF necessarily, but you either have to unlock your bootloader on htcdev site, or use Sunshine to unlock and S-OFF for 25 bucks.
Those are your 2 options.
Then you can flash custom recovery and ROOT.