Develop Bugs

[Q] Will be possible in future S-OFF?

Hello Dear XDa'er
I bought myself the HTC one X and I wanted to ask if possible in the future would be S-OFF? I dare not htcdev on the way because of the warranty.
Thank you for your answers.
Ps: sorry for my bad English

FordSierra88 said:
Hello Dear XDa'er
I bought myself the HTC one X and I wanted to ask if possible in the future would be S-OFF? I dare not htcdev on the way because of the warranty.
Thank you for your answers.
Ps: sorry for my bad English
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only time will tell

FordSierra88 said:
Hello Dear XDa'er
I bought myself the HTC one X and I wanted to ask if possible in the future would be S-OFF? I dare not htcdev on the way because of the warranty.
Thank you for your answers.
Ps: sorry for my bad English
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-Off is not guaranteed to come at any time. It may do, but as far as I know Revolutionary has been stumped at the latest HBoots.
Also, illegitemate S-Offing is not going to rescue your warranty necessarily, and neither is using HTC-Dev going to totally break your warranty:
http://htcdev.com/bootloader/ said:
Please understand that you will not be able to return your device to the original state and going forward your device may not be held covered under the warranty for all claims resulting from the unlocking of the bootloader. HTC bears no responsibility if your device is no longer usable afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their point is that they won't repair under warranty anything that breaks as a result of unlocking the bootloader.
There isn't any hard-and-fast rule here, and people have reported different experiences, but it's better than nothing!

Sorry to ask this... i consider myself not a noob on android, rooting etc, but for some reason S-OFF has passed me by... what is S-OFF?

torespen said:
Sorry to ask this... i consider myself not a noob on android, rooting etc, but for some reason S-OFF has passed me by... what is S-OFF?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-Off is (in my understanding) essentially full control over all partitions (including CID which controls network lock etc.), radio partitions, etc.
HTC-Dev provides a semi S-Off bootloader state, allowing you to write to all system partitions EXCEPT the above (and possibly others that I've forgotten about).
The advantages of full S-Off are: able to carrier-unlock phone for free, able to update radio without flashing official HTC ROMs, able to revert to S-On fairly simply.
With HTC-Dev, although you can "re-lock" your bootloader, the phone reports as "re-locked" rather than "locked".
(I may be making all of this up but it is my understanding based on my research).

qpop said:
Their point is that they won't repair under warranty anything that breaks as a result of unlocking the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would mean that your warranty would remain identical, only bricked devices wouldn't be repaired. (If you limit yourself to installing roms, that is)

H-Cim said:
That would mean that your warranty would remain identical, only bricked devices wouldn't be repaired. (If you limit yourself to installing roms, that is)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem being if you read through their examples about overclocking etc and killing your cpu. It's very easy to say that some hardware has failed due to custom rom etc.
Now I have a nooby question too. I come from a desire which was prior to bootloader-gate (oh sigh, i did one of those). AFAIK our bootloader was unlocked from the factory so we could flash stuff straight up. S-OFF was pretty easy as well so we could do whatever we wanted pretty much
AFAIK, without unlocking bootloader, the best we can do is flash stock roms and attain root (once a stock bootloader method is available) but we can't get into custom roms/kernels without unlock? I'm pretty much at the point where I want to start tinkering with things... but just wonder if it's worth waiting, or if I should just go and htcdev unlock my phone now
I am a little wary of the warranty implications above, that is the only reason i hesitate.
M.

The S stands for Security

mattman83 said:
I am a little wary of the warranty implications above, that is the only reason i hesitate.
M.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too

H-Cim said:
That would mean that your warranty would remain identical, only bricked devices wouldn't be repaired. (If you limit yourself to installing roms, that is)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, possibly. As mentioned above, it's possible that the manufacturer could argue that, e.g. screen issue was due to overclock of CPU, overheating of glue holding screen resulting in the problem.
In reality I doubt that would happen, as (in the UK at least) under warranty it falls on the manufacturer to prove that the problem was due to a non-warranty problem. The CPU won't "remember" that it's been overclocked, and so with a factory reset I can't see how they could tell.
mattman83 said:
Problem being if you read through their examples about overclocking etc and killing your cpu. It's very easy to say that some hardware has failed due to custom rom etc.
Now I have a nooby question too. I come from a desire which was prior to bootloader-gate (oh sigh, i did one of those). AFAIK our bootloader was unlocked from the factory so we could flash stuff straight up. S-OFF was pretty easy as well so we could do whatever we wanted pretty much
AFAIK, without unlocking bootloader, the best we can do is flash stock roms and attain root (once a stock bootloader method is available) but we can't get into custom roms/kernels without unlock? I'm pretty much at the point where I want to start tinkering with things... but just wonder if it's worth waiting, or if I should just go and htcdev unlock my phone now
I am a little wary of the warranty implications above, that is the only reason i hesitate.
M.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think since HTCDev started there has been far less S-On rooting, for two reasons. First of all, why bother? We can attain mostly-S-Off "legitimately" so why waste energy working out how to root S-On. Secondly, the lock-down of the OS has got better with every iteration, and, at least on recent phones, no hack has been discovered (again, there's less incentive to try due to HTCDev).
xmoo said:
The S stands for Security
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
D'oh, meant to type that and forgot. Lol

qpop said:
I think since HTCDev started there has been far less S-On rooting, for two reasons. First of all, why bother? We can attain mostly-S-Off "legitimately" so why waste energy working out how to root S-On. Secondly, the lock-down of the OS has got better with every iteration, and, at least on recent phones, no hack has been discovered (again, there's less incentive to try due to HTCDev).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Point taken
So basically it's harder to do than ever and less incentive to do than ever. Solution... go do htcdev I actually signed up for the site a while reading the thread, just waiting for the (apparently very slow) confirmation email. No work tomorrow due to good friday so I suspect my phone might get some ARHD love
I think warranty laws in australia are similar to what you say. Using non-genuine ink in printer they can't void your entire warranty, only if they can prove the ink was the issue. Slightly different issue, it's not like you've just hacked your printer firmware to increase print speeds or something... but I get what you mean.
M.
Edit - signed up again on different email and got activation stuff immediately - silly. Noticed they need to update the unlock page though... first step "remove and reinsert the battery" heh
Edit 2 - all done

xmoo said:
The S stands for Security
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it stood for 'Safety'
Sent from my 'HTC One X' using XDA Premium

Excellent explanation and discussion by qpop and mattman on S-off thing. All I needed to know as new HTC user.
Sent either from my Arc or One X using xda premium

For those waiting for S-OFF by Revolutionary, it looks like you are very unlikely to get it. Baadnewz just asked in the #alpharev channel if the One would get S-OFF:
[19:46] <baadnewz> IEF you have any plans for ONE ? :B
[19:46] <baadnewz> (kick incoming)
[19:47] <burgd> To Krait or not To Krait
[19:56] <_anonymous> you got one bnz?
[19:58] * gabryel48 ([email protected]) has joined #alpharev
[20:13] * baadnewz is now known as baad_away
[20:17] * zookii ([email protected]/zookii) Quit (Quit: Leaving)
[20:20] * zookii ([email protected]/zookii) has joined #alpharev
[20:20] <@IEF> baad_away: One X is pretty unlikely, we focus on qualcomm stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a real shame that. I guess now it's either HTCDev or nothing.

Odd reply, the XL (or X 4G) is going to be the far less popular device, I don't know why you would intentionally look at something that's going to get that much less usage?
M.

Evil-Dragon said:
For those waiting for S-OFF by Revolutionary, it looks like you are very unlikely to get it. Baadnewz just asked in the #alpharev channel if the One would get S-OFF:
That's a real shame that. I guess now it's either HTCDev or nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a shame.. Guess I'll roll with S-ON in a few days if there's no word of any further progress.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Well according to Paul over at Modaco, S-Off is being worked on.
http://android.modaco.com/topic/352...s-mac-and-linux/page__p__1932154#entry1932154

f3nd3r said:
Well according to Paul over at Modaco, S-Off is being worked on.
http://android.modaco.com/topic/352...s-mac-and-linux/page__p__1932154#entry1932154
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, anyone know if it will be possible to go from S-ON to S-OFF?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Might as well reply here, then.
The One X is a completely different architecture (nvidia tegra), with it's own set of restrictions/security measures. Therefore, it felt it was not wise to get peoples' hopes up, and simply said it's 'unlikely'. There's really no point in asking for 'plans', you don't plan on finding exploits.
mattman83 said:
Odd reply, the XL (or X 4G) is going to be the far less popular device, I don't know why you would intentionally look at something that's going to get that much less usage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's One S and One XL which run on Snapdragon S4. Who says it will be 'far less popular' ? Because you say so?
If you knew a bit about architectural differences and our focus on Qualcomm-chipset phones in the past, then maybe you wouldn't find the reply so odd. I find your reply superficial. Does that help the discussion? Nope.

Sorry if I offended, that was not my intention. I'm a huge fan of what you've done in the past (being a Desire user). I do appreciate the difference between the phones and I get that even though the UI is basically identical, alot of the underlying parts are vastly different.
I also get that you do have more experience with the qualcomm since that's where you've focused in the past (and also the provider HTC have used most - the tegra is a little different for them).

Why not pool money for Java cards instead of phones for developers!?

Why not pool money for Java cards instead of phones for developers!?
I mean think about it. Its a sure proven method of getting s-off and unlocks. Instead of trying to pay for developers new phones and expecting them to hack their way to unlocking and s-offing our devices. Just pool money for java cards to trusted developers and send our phones to them in the same manner sonic is. I understand the risk of shipping. My idea could be wrong thats why im asking for input. What are some of your thoughts on this idea.

jmotyka said:
Why not pool money for Java cards instead of phones for developers!?
I mean think about it. Its a sure proven method of getting s-off and unlocks. Instead of trying to pay for developers new phones and expecting them to hack their way to unlocking and s-offing our devices. Just pool money for java cards to trusted developers and send our phones to them in the same manner sonic is. I understand the risk of shipping. My idea could be wrong thats why im asking for input. What are some of your thoughts on this idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust plays a major role, along with time without a phone. The more phones in the hands of developers, the quicker someone will come up with a way to circumvent our problem with bootloader and s-off to be made available to the public.

We'd still need to ship our phones out. I dont have a backup smartphone (I sell all of mine in order to buy the next one) so I can't send mine out, as much as I want too

And I'm pretty sure java cards are more expensive than the phone
Sent from HTC One using xda-developers app

megaorange1 said:
And I'm pretty sure java cards are more expensive than the phone
Sent from HTC One using xda-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2-3 phones covers one card depending ;P

jmotyka said:
Why not pool money for Java cards instead of phones for developers!?
I mean think about it. Its a sure proven method of getting s-off and unlocks. Instead of trying to pay for developers new phones and expecting them to hack their way to unlocking and s-offing our devices. Just pool money for java cards to trusted developers and send our phones to them in the same manner sonic is. I understand the risk of shipping. My idea could be wrong thats why im asking for input. What are some of your thoughts on this idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is a great thought.
but the fact would still remain.
it's the same process that sonic is doing..
and for a hell of a great price... (from sonic)
If we were to purchase these cards rather than dev phones. what happens when we get that 4.3 update with a new hboot, ppl will take that OTA and then wonder why they lost root. and that $1300 java card is now essentially worthless (correct me if I am wrong please)
but either way, if we buy these cards, the devs now have no way of finding the exploits for a future software s-off..
also you would still need to send your phone out..
I for one have 100% faith in sonic.
His mother works at the USPS,
and with $600 insurance on the phone going both ways, I am not too worried.
I wrapped my phone up nicely in the box the phone came in then wrapped some bubble wrap around that and am now on my way to the post office to send sonic my phone.
The guy is just trying to make this community more successful and he took the initiative to buy the card, and we owe this man a huge amount of gratitude.
Sonic thank you again for everything you are doing for us,
it's not easy having to do all these phones for everyone,
when a DEV gets s-off their work is done, they sit back let the users mess with it, we are sending our devices to him which takes time to be careful with the phones, and then s-off each phone. and all this was done very professionally IMHO, with the website, and it only works out better with his Mother working at the main Post Office.
thank you again Sonic, can't wait to get my phone back!

andybones said:
this is a great thought.
but the fact would still remain.
it's the same process that sonic is doing..
and for a hell of a great price... (from sonic)
If we were to purchase these cards rather than dev phones. what happens when we get that 4.3 update with a new hboot, ppl will take that OTA and then wonder why they lost root. and that $1300 java card is now essentially worthless (correct me if I am wrong please)
but either way, if we buy these cards, the devs now have no way of finding the exploits for a future software s-off..
also you would still need to send your phone out..
I for one have 100% faith in sonic.
His mother works at the USPS,
and with $600 insurance on the phone going both ways, I am not too worried.
I wrapped my phone up nicely in the box the phone came in then wrapped some bubble wrap around that and am now on my way to the post office to send sonic my phone.
The guy is just trying to make this community more successful and he took the initiative to buy the card, and we owe this man a huge amount of gratitude.
Sonic thank you again for everything you are doing for us,
it's not easy having to do all these phones for everyone,
when a DEV gets s-off their work is done, they sit back let the users mess with it, we are sending our devices to him which takes time to be careful with the phones, and then s-off each phone. and all this was done very professionally IMHO, with the website, and it only works out better with his Mother working at the main Post Office.
thank you again Sonic, can't wait to get my phone back!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IIRC they can't "patch" JavaCards since its a bootloader function and is used internally by HTC in a lot of phones. However, if they somehow got ahold of mine/someone else's CardID, they could "disable" the card so no phones read it as valid via an OTA or something.
Either way, this wouldn't really help devs unless they cracked the many levels of cryptology on that card and found out how to clone it to a normal SD.

Sonic2756 said:
IIRC they can't "patch" JavaCards since its a bootloader function and is used internally by HTC in a lot of phones. However, if they somehow got ahold of mine/someone else's CardID, they could "disable" the card so no phones read it as valid via an OTA or something.
Either way, this wouldn't really help devs unless they cracked the many levels of cryptology on that card and found out how to clone it to a normal SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on your side 100%!
leaving house now to drop off phone to USPS!
so excited!!

Sonic2756 said:
IIRC they can't "patch" JavaCards since its a bootloader function and is used internally by HTC in a lot of phones. However, if they somehow got ahold of mine/someone else's CardID, they could "disable" the card so no phones read it as valid via an OTA or something.
Either way, this wouldn't really help devs unless they cracked the many levels of cryptology on that card and found out how to clone it to a normal SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is understandable. But i feel i would rather send my phone to you ( which i did) and have you use the javacard rather than sending it somewhere to get jtaged. The HTC one is one of the most difficult phones to take apart. Almost all tear down videos of the htc mentioned that they had broken at least one or two to finally get it done right.
On the subject of the javacard, what are the possibilities of someone cloning a javacard as appose to cracking the htc ones bootloader? Is one easier than the other?
Has anyone heard if the REVONE developers are working on our phones?

VZW was out of stock when I called to get a replacement because of my camera, so I'm debating on just waiting for the 4.3 to fix my camera or keep calling til they have stock again.
If I read all this correctly, if I send out my phone for S-Off and accepted the OTA for the sake of the camera issue, will I keep S-Off? If I have root when the OTA comes I know I'd lose that, but as long as I could keep S-Off I'd be able to re-root, correct?

PizzaSauce said:
VZW was out of stock when I called to get a replacement because of my camera, so I'm debating on just waiting for the 4.3 to fix my camera or keep calling til they have stock again.
If I read all this correctly, if I send out my phone for S-Off and accepted the OTA for the sake of the camera issue, will I keep S-Off? If I have root when the OTA comes I know I'd lose that, but as long as I could keep S-Off I'd be able to re-root, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is technically possible for them to get rid of S-OFF, but I don't believe that they ever have, nor given any indication that they ever will. And yes, so long as you have S-OFF, you will be able to re-root.
Sent from my HTC One

[Q] Cant get s-off ??

Did the firewater method for S-off and it keeps saying " device has been patched by HTC, your out of luck!!!." is there any way to get by this? im new to HTC devices so im a little thrown off

elvisp0129 said:
Did the firewater method for S-off and it keeps saying " device has been patched by HTC, your out of luck!!!." is there any way to get by this? im new to HTC devices so im a little thrown off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe htc patched the last update, so would need to downgrade but not sure how you can downgrade when s-on.

There is a Bounty thread for a fix. Check my signature.

Someone correct me, cause I'm sure I'm wrong, my idea can't be right because it seems too easy/logical...
If HTC is the one who patched out firewater, wouldn't the next stop on the logic train be to assume that they want you to s-off on the HTCdev site so they can note the warranty voided??
I've been s-off since before this device even hit the market locally, so firewater worked fine...I'm just throwing darts to try and help.
Thoughts?

Exactly, it's not that easy. HTCDev will only let you unlock the bootloader, which is enough for many things, but is not the same as S-OFF. HTC doesn't provide any official way to the public for setting the device to S-OFF.

AGKdrOId said:
Someone correct me, cause I'm sure I'm wrong, my idea can't be right because it seems too easy/logical...
If HTC is the one who patched out firewater, wouldn't the next stop on the logic train be to assume that they want you to s-off on the HTCdev site so they can note the warranty voided??
I've been s-off since before this device even hit the market locally, so firewater worked fine...I'm just throwing darts to try and help.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that way, but I don't use logic when it comes to large corporations.

Black Antitoon said:
HTC doesn't provide any official way to the public for setting the device to S-OFF.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They should though... Why deny it just so that people go with "questionable" means to exploit a system in order to do the things they want to do with the device they paid a crap load of money for.
One would think by now that companies would realise that they'll never be "fully" in front when it comes to "battles" like these, whenever they implement a new security measure, there's already someone out there with the skills to exploit it! If they exploited it by "unofficial" means, then logically they would want to cover their tracks as well leading to a form of fraud i.e hiding flags/banners that show that you did S-OFF and Unlocked, it causes problems for other users if they were to buy a device like that(2nd hand for example) or even if you handed it in as such to HTC and they refurb and resell a device that says it's one thing where in fact it's something entirely different.
Why not grant unlocked bootloader, S-OFF AND Root access on all devices and sell it as is? You can put plenty of security warnings up to warn someone about the potential danger and/or damage they can cause if they don't use it properly.
Software related issues and/or bricks can be covered seperately with warranty(perhaps a small increase in price to cover it, if it's software related, HTC can fix it easy), hardware problems on the other hand won't necessarily come about because some wanna be couldn't read a ROM installation thread properly.
It's silly if you ask me. You should be able to buy the device with the ability to have an unlocked bootloader, root access and S-OFF, out of the box! You should then be well aware that IF something happens as a result of your own negligence that you'll have to pay a bit more to get it fixed, period. There should be a warning and agreement, if you agree to those terms then you can't cry to anyone if you mess up.
But that's my opinion though.
End of rant.

BerndM14 said:
It's silly if you ask me. You should be able to buy the device with the ability to have an unlocked bootloader, root access and S-OFF, out of the box! You should then be well aware that IF something happens as a result of your own negligence that you'll have to pay a bit more to get it fixed, period. There should be a warning and agreement, if you agree to those terms then you can't cry to anyone if you mess up.
But that's my opinion though.
End of rant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you - in principle. The problem is that you expect users who click that "I agree" button to actually accept responsibility for their actions if they sc*** up. And often they don't.
I have seen it again and again in the Asus Transformer forums. You can download an apk from Asus to unlock the bootloader but that app also phones home and voids your warranty (which is clearly explained in the agreement). Quite a few users who mostly didn't bother to do enough research blamed Asus for providing a tool to unlock the BL, but then refused to support them if they bricked their device. Some sent it in for warranty repair and some actually succeeded - probably because the tech did not pay attention to the unlocked bootloader - basically making Asus pay for a mistake they made. These things happen and people just tend to try to find someone to blame for their own shortcomings.
So I do understand that they make it difficult - and I do agree: They can't win this game... Someone will find a way

berndblb said:
I agree with you - in principle. The problem is that you expect users who click that "I agree" button to actually accept responsibility for their actions if they sc*** up. And often they don't.
I have seen it again and again in the Asus Transformer forums. You can download an apk from Asus to unlock the bootloader but that app also phones home and voids your warranty (which is clearly explained in the agreement). Quite a few users who mostly didn't bother to do enough research blamed Asus for providing a tool to unlock the BL, but then refused to support them if they bricked their device. Some sent it in for warranty repair and some actually succeeded - probably because the tech did not pay attention to the unlocked bootloader - basically making Asus pay for a mistake they made. These things happen and people just tend to try to find someone to blame for the own shortcomings.
So I do understand that they make it difficult - and I do agree: They can't win this game... Someone will find a way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. The main issue is the common person not doing research on these things and even IF they do some reading they don't even read properly. Most of the problems they encounter are self-made problems.
Perhaps giving an option in store for those things would be better then, like I said they could even "increase" the price a bit for the warranty/insurance IF you choose to go with an unlocked, rooted and S-OFF'd device...Oh well, pure speculation though, it's not like it'll ever happen.
Oh and you have an awesome name Bernd :good:

BerndM14 said:
Oh and you have an awesome name Bernd :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree! So do you! Also German immigrant? :victory:

berndblb said:
I agree! So do you! Also German immigrant? :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no... Parents are Germans and came to South Africa, I was born here.

[Q] Impossible to root Verizon M9?

Hi, I just got an HTC One M9 (Verizon) a few days ago, and like my previous phones I want to root it.
After a few hours of research, I have come to the conclusion that to root I need to unlock my Bootloader. VZW blocks the ability to unlock the Bootloader via HTC's official method (error 172), however this can be overcome by using S-OFF.
So I looked into the Sunshine app, but two problems. One, cost. I'm not paying $25 for a one time use app. Two, it says my phone needs root access to enable S-OFF.
So to my understanding, to root my phone I need an unlocked Bootloader, and to unlock the Bootloader I need S-OFF, and for S-OFF I need to be rooted.
Is this correct? Did VZW really screw over their users this hard? Not to mention the lack of regular power saver, a few other features, and that ugly checkmark with the "4GLTE" text on the phone.
If anyone knows of a reliable way to root a VZW One M9, please let me know. I did quite a bit of searching but every method I've tried doesn't work for VZW.
Edit: this thread should probably be under the Q&A section, if a mod could move it please I would appreciate it.

Right now you're only option is to find someone with a javacard, or to buy a javacard yourself. The javacard will provide S-Off, and we will also unlock your bootloader and root the device for you as well.
You'd either need to meet up with the javacard owner, or ship them your phone.
There are a few of us around the Verizon community, so send me a PM with your location and I'll try to hook you up with the closest option.

bschram said:
Right now you're only option is to find someone with a javacard, or to buy a javacard yourself. The javacard will provide S-Off, and we will also unlock your bootloader and root the device for you as well.
You'd either need to meet up with the javacard owner, or ship them your phone.
There are a few of us around the Verizon community, so send me a PM with your location and I'll try to hook you up with the closest option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the offer but I'm not willing to spend money/ship my phone somewhere to obtain root.
I will wait a bit then reconsider, I'm sure after some more time there will be an exploit. Shame on Verizon for making it so tough so customize our own devices. All I want is an ad-blocking program (Ad-away).

chiknnwatrmln said:
Thanks for the offer but I'm not willing to spend money/ship my phone somewhere to obtain root.
I will wait a bit then reconsider, I'm sure after some more time there will be an exploit. Shame on Verizon for making it so tough so customize our own devices. All I want is an ad-blocking program (Ad-away).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are waiting for sunshine, make sure you don't update your firmware when 5.1 is released in the next month or so.
However if you are waiting for a free root method, you will probably never see one on this phone.

chiknnwatrmln said:
Thanks for the offer but I'm not willing to spend money/ship my phone somewhere to obtain root.
I will wait a bit then reconsider, I'm sure after some more time there will be an exploit. Shame on Verizon for making it so tough so customize our own devices. All I want is an ad-blocking program (Ad-away).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're probably gonna be SOL, it's either sunshine (if/when) it happens, or Java card, which requires either shipping it or driving/meet. I personally drove to York, PA to get mine done. If you want an ad blocker w/o root, try nochromo. It's a chrome based web browser with adblock script built in, works pretty well.

bschram said:
If you are waiting for sunshine, make sure you don't update your firmware when 5.1 is released in the next month or so.
However if you are waiting for a free root method, you will probably never see one on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:/ I'll probably fork out for Sunshine eventually.
Never getting a VZW phone again.
aer0zer0 said:
You're probably gonna be SOL, it's either sunshine (if/when) it happens, or Java card, which requires either shipping it or driving/meet. I personally drove to York, PA to get mine done. If you want an ad blocker w/o root, try nochromo. It's a chrome based web browser with adblock script built in, works pretty well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a shot, ty.

M9 Verizon, S-on, and Nougat - unlock with sunshine?

I've done a ton of research on how to unlock bootloader on my verizon M9 (f*** you verizon), and it seems only feasible option is sunshine and 25 bucks. That being said, I updated to nougat before wanting this, and I'm reading that sunshine may not be able to s-off the phone with this latest verizon update. I tried to downgrade to marshmallow v. 3.37.605.7 using RUU 0PJAIMG_HIMA_WL_M6[email protected]60105_CNV_1.26_002_release_469809_signed_1.zip and it fails using the SD card fat 32 method. Am I doing it wrong?
1) Can sunshine s-off with latest nougat update?
2) If not, is there any way to downgrade to a version that sunshine can s-off?
3) Am I screwed? No custom roms for me?

If you can't downgrade, Sunshine can't get temproot and thus can't s-off.
The device is old (the community has moved on long ago) so it isn't a priority for the sunshine team; when j asked, the reply was something to the effect of it not being on the radar. Hard to blame them; dev time is limited, and they can help more people focusing on other phones.
You can supposedly send it to someone with an HTC Java card or XTC2 Clip, but I can't verify that. I can verify that Kingo and similar do nothing for you. So no, no custom ROMs, no root, and you're stuck with Verizon and Google's bloatware. but
Also, be warned batteries on the M9s are dying (like, nearly all of them; if you don't have a newer battery, yours will soon), and some of them fail spectacularly if you try to charge them during/after actual death
(If you do like I did and change phones and carriers, confirm before you buy; I thought "huh, T-Mobile is good about rooting, and I've heard great things about how easy unlocking Samsungs are." It turns out one of those two has turned on us, probably Samsung, though I'm still not clear on why.)

VerizonSucksman said:
Also, be warned batteries on the M9s are dying (like, nearly all of them; if you don't have a newer battery, yours will soon), and some of them fail spectacularly if you try to charge them during/after actual death
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say "some of them fail spectacularly" do you mean the battery or the phone?
I'm having battery issues but am afraid to try to change it out myself. The video looks complicated.

feralicious said:
I'm having battery issues but am afraid to try to change it out myself. The video looks complicated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, it's not as bad as it looks. I've replaced two screens and that repair job requires some extra steps. As long as you have a backup phone I'd say give it a shot.

Exokan said:
Honestly, it's not as bad as it looks. I've replaced two screens and that repair job requires some extra steps. As long as you have a backup phone I'd say give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found a place that will do it for only about $25 more than it would cost me to get the battery and tools to do it myself, so I'll let them do it.