Sorry im a bit of a Noob and was wondering what benefit i would get from being S-Off
To be honest 25 for sunshine to get S-Off is a bit extreme but thats why im asking the question, im not here to start moaning about the cost, if i find that s-off is worth it i will get it.
Thanks
What may be worth doing is rooting the phone and purchasing sunshine if and when soff is needed to restore the tamper flag in the bootloader for warranty purposes. If you dont need to send it back dont bother paying for soff. Obviously if you want soff for other reasons then its worth it but only you would know this. Personally were both **** out of luck as its the only method to gain soff on the latest m8's. I will more than likely be getting it as i want root only but to have son bl locked and tamper flags removed whilst retaining root. For this reason alone its worth it to me but i hear ya. Still not to happy about paying it but theres no other choice atm unfortunately.
Im still not happy the bootloader has to be unlocked just to gain root. Ive always rooted my phones whilst keeping everything else stock, but again its tough **** until devs find an exploit, if they are even searching for one, who knows.
bornnslippy said:
Sorry im a bit of a Noob and was wondering what benefit i would get from being S-Off
To be honest 25 for sunshine to get S-Off is a bit extreme but thats why im asking the question, im not here to start moaning about the cost, if i find that s-off is worth it i will get it.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best part of S-Off for me is that I can always be running the newest firmware, and therefore the newest ROMs. I never have to wait for my carrier to update (for example AT&T just got Lollipop a few weeks ago but S-Off users updated in January with WWE firmware)
This ^^^^
I got s-off in the beginning. So I've never had to worry about official updates, or finding firmware for my exact model (which is Telus... So harder to find). I did SuperCID, so I can flash firmware anytime, even downgrade firmware. I can use new roms, or old roms... Covert to GPE if I wanted... Etc.
Do you need it to fully enjoy the phone? No. But if you like having total control... Then yes you do.
$25 wasn't a big deal for me, for complete freedom. :good:
It depends where you live, what carrier your on, & if you want to tinker with your phone. I'm in the US, on Verizon, & want to stay up to date on firmwire & the latest android. Finally, I want full access to my device, so that's why I paid $25 no question !!!!!
Last thing does s-off void your warranty
Thanks
bornnslippy said:
Last thing does s-off void your warranty
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Not exactly. But unlocking your bootloader technically does. But with s-off, you can reverse everything you've done, including the red tampered banner, and return your device to its stock state.
sjpritch25 said:
It depends where you live, what carrier your on, & if you want to tinker with your phone.
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Click to collapse
And specifically what you want to tinker with. But otherwise I agree.
If you own a version that gets relatively quickly updated (GPE, Dev Edition, many WWE versions) its probably not that necessary. But on AT&T for instance, we had to wait a few months (after other variants) to get the "official" 4.4.4 and 5.0 firmwares (hboot, radio, etc.). Meaning we couldn't properly run most custom ROMs for a while without s-off.
I did s-off when I got the phone about a year ago. So I've fortunately never had such limitations. I've been running LP since January, where folks on AT&T with s-on had to wait until April for the proper firmware.
Plus, with s-off you can flash modified hboots, manually flash different radios, and "fully convert" to other versions (other CIDs, of Google Play Edition).
Related
Recently been looking into purchasing a new HTC One for myself, but after reading up on it, I see that there are a ton of S-Off and stock issues flying around. I guess I have a few clarifying questions then...
If I buy the phone today, is S-Off still possible?
Is S-Off risky?
Can I return to 100% complete stock yet if I need to or not? If yes, how?
Really I'm wondering if it's worth it to even purchase this phone as I don't want to be without flashing ROMs but at the same time, I resell my phones after awhile so I'm going to need to go back to 100% stock eventually. Sorry if these questions have already been asked, my xda search function is a bit broken. Thanks for reading this far.
Edit - Did some more searching and found the HTC One m8 now has the RUU's? Could someone also explain this? I'm new to HTC devices, coming from a nexus 5 here.
Nobody knows at all...?
Sent from my HTC M8
DinoSoup said:
Recently been looking into purchasing a new HTC One for myself, but after reading up on it, I see that there are a ton of S-Off and stock issues flying around. I guess I have a few clarifying questions then...
If I buy the phone today, is S-Off still possible?
Is S-Off risky?
Can I return to 100% complete stock yet if I need to or not? If yes, how?
Really I'm wondering if it's worth it to even purchase this phone as I don't want to be without flashing ROMs but at the same time, I resell my phones after awhile so I'm going to need to go back to 100% stock eventually. Sorry if these questions have already been asked, my xda search function is a bit broken. Thanks for reading this far.
Edit - Did some more searching and found the HTC One m8 now has the RUU's? Could someone also explain this? I'm new to HTC devices, coming from a nexus 5 here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably, it will be. But it's not for certain. If your phone comes with the stock 1.12 software, then you can do it. But there's also a possibility of your phone being one of those unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones. If it comes with the latest 1.57 software installed, it won't be possible.
That being said, if it comes with 1.12, which it probably will, and you unlock the bootloader, root, and S-Off, you can always go back to 100% stock with no trace at all of it ever being rooted if you want to return it for warranty, exc.
IF it is one of the unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones, and you unlock your bootloader, root, and try to S-Off, but can't, then you can re lock the bootloader, run the stock RUU, and the only trace of it being unlocked and rooted would be that in the bootloader, it would say "Relocked" instead of "Locked."
Remember that if the phone comes with the 1.12 software, NEVER accept the OTA update. If you do accept the update, you will never be able to S-Off.
But again, chances are you will probably get the 1.12 software and be able to S-Off your phone. Hope this helped.
XxKINGxX2580 said:
Probably, it will be. But it's not for certain. If your phone comes with the stock 1.12 software, then you can do it. But there's also a possibility of your phone being one of those unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones. If it comes with the latest 1.57 software installed, it won't be possible.
That being said, if it comes with 1.12, which it probably will, and you unlock the bootloader, root, and S-Off, you can always go back to 100% stock with no trace at all of it ever being rooted if you want to return it for warranty, exc.
IF it is one of the unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones, and you unlock your bootloader, root, and try to S-Off, but can't, then you can re lock the bootloader, run the stock RUU, and the only trace of it being unlocked and rooted would be that in the bootloader, it would say "Relocked" instead of "Locked."
But again, chances are you will probably get the 1.12 software and be able to S-Off your phone. Hope this helped.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a ton, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Final question - how do I go about getting to stock. I found the RUU and stock files but I don't know at all what to do. After I know that, I'll be ready to root!
Sent from my HTC M8
DinoSoup said:
Thanks a ton, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Final question - how do I go about getting to stock. I found the RUU and stock files but I don't know at all what to do. After I know that, I'll be ready to root!
Sent from my HTC M8
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Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply,
To get to complete 100% stock, you have to download and run the RUU. It's a simple EXE file. There are a bunch of Youtube videos on how to run RUUs. Before running the RUU, you have to re-lock the bootloader. But, to go to 100% stock, you first have to to reset the tampered flag, LOCK, not re-lock the bootloader (there is a thread on how to make the bootloader say LOCKED, not Re-Locked) and then S-ON. After that, run the RUU file, and it will take you back to complete stock. Like you never unlocked the bootloader or rooted.
But, I would do everything except S-ON. If you go to S-ON and run the RUU, you will not be able to go back to S-Off again. The RUU will install the 1.57 software, and that version isn't supported by Firewater.
The only thing you really have to do is a simple re-lock of the bootloader before running the RUU. But, doing what I said would make the phone look like it was never rooted. Again, I would do everything I said except going back to S-ON.
I just successfully achieved completely stock with S-On. I gave my details here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55374644&postcount=2
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 $25 for sunshine (firewater wouldn't work for me either) and it was so easy I can't even put it in words. Takes like 2 minutes. I recommend it. S-off makes a huge difference. But only if you know what youre doing. Read up on the dangers of obtaining s-off before you do it. Entering the wrong command in a terminal session with s-off could lead to a very expensive paperweight.
Sent from my M8
It's looking like I'm going to be getting the M8 from T-Mobile this weekend! I usually root my phones and would appreciate some clerification before I make the purchase.
I'd like to unlock the bootloader and install a custom rom, most likely Cyanogenmod. It sounds like it should be something that I could do without too much issues. Just looking for verification.
Also, I've had instances where I've broken or had other issues with my phones and have had to have them replaced. I usually get the insurance due to my increased chances of something happening to the phone. So, how easy is it to unroot to send back for replacement? I read that it might not be possible?
I'm coming from a S4 on Verizon and I know big red likes to lock things down. From what I understand, T-Mobile is more "root" friendly. Thanks in advance for the help!
TMOBILE HTC M8 have just one probleme at the moment is the S-OFF , the methode described by firewater doesn't work for him so you will pay 25$ to get the s-off (sunshine app) ; and for unrouting ,locking , and back to s-on it's verry easy when you are s-off for assistance reasons there is a lot of explanations in this forum :fingers-crossed:
spybit2008 said:
TMOBILE HTC M8 have just one probleme at the moment is the S-OFF , the methode described by firewater doesn't work for him so you will pay 25$ to get the s-off (sunshine app) ; and for unrouting ,locking , and back to s-on it's verry easy when you are s-off for assistance reasons there is a lot of explanations in this forum :fingers-crossed:
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I did come across that post. I don't mind paying $25 if that goes me going.
ned4spd8874 said:
It's looking like I'm going to be getting the M8 from T-Mobile this weekend! I usually root my phones and would appreciate some clerification before I make the purchase.
I'd like to unlock the bootloader and install a custom rom, most likely Cyanogenmod. It sounds like it should be something that I could do without too much issues. Just looking for verification.
Also, I've had instances where I've broken or had other issues with my phones and have had to have them replaced. I usually get the insurance due to my increased chances of something happening to the phone. So, how easy is it to unroot to send back for replacement? I read that it might not be possible?
I'm coming from a S4 on Verizon and I know big red likes to lock things down. From what I understand, T-Mobile is more "root" friendly. Thanks in advance for the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far on mine, I have unlocked the bootloader through HTCDEV (which is free), installed TWRP, achieved S-Off through Sunshine (didn't even try firewater) flashed the GPE RUU for full Google Play Edition conversion (pretty cool to be able to do this), decided to go back to sense (which took some work). I am no developer, but I can follow directions pretty well and I am pretty comfortable with Terminal on my Mac. The most challenging part was reverting back to sense as it had a lot of steps. I'd say all of it is pretty easily done. The only thing I haven't tried to do is set S-On and reset the factory lock on the bootloader so it doesn't advertise that its been relocked. I have no reason to do this yet.
I personally think the relocked thing is a little ridiculous if you don't want us to unlock the boot loader why do they make it so easy hey at least there not as bad as Samsung
sent from my m8 gpe
So I got my M8 yesterday and am wondering how long I can hold off rooting it. I usually like to wait a little bit to make sure the phone is okay before going through the process. One thing the sales guy told me that I found interesting is that they unlock the phone once it's paid for. So, if I unlock it using the methods found here, that should still be okay, correct?
Hello guys,
I got a bit confused about all rooting and unlocking and S-OFF... I have htc one m8 european version. I got sick of waiting for lolipop update and was thinking of turning my device to Developer Edition Sense. On Nexus 5 there was easy unlocking bootloader/relocking for gettings warranty back .... Do you guys have any suggestions what to backup and save? I heard there were problems of returning back to complete stock. I was thinking of unlocking my bootloader, then installing TWRP and rooting. Then S-OFF and changing CID number and installing developer rom. But as I was reading firewater doesn't work any more? Can any one suggest what to backup so I can return to complete stock and S-on if I need to get it to complete factory for any reasons? I would like to get everything stock backuped even my old CID .... I would just like to change it to Developer Edition and get OTA first. And is there the only way to S-OFF with sunshine which is 25$?
On Nexus 5 this was quite easier...
Sorry for bad English and thank you for your answers
Basically what you want to do after unlocking the bootlooader and TWRP is create a backup without root
From there if your lucky and haven't updated past 4.4.3 than use Sunshine as it is well worth every penny to gain S-OFF
You then want to use a Dev edition "backup,firmware, stock recovery,MID,CID that all match"
If you want to go back to your stock condition than you will have the TWRP backup you made before you converted to Dev edition, the backup will not restore your MID,CID as that needs to be manually changed every time the same and only way it can be done.
Most people are having trouble going back to stock from GPE edition cause of the partition size and steps involved.
Now I to own a Nexus 5 and well it only comes one version of android so there is no need of changing firmwares or
S-OFF
Ok thank you there is quite a lot of work with this... and a higher change of bricking ... My phone is updated to 4.4.4 to there's that. I'll think about it, because you never know about warranty.
Sorry for bad English
Mariborcan said:
Ok thank you there is quite a lot of work with this... and a higher change of bricking ... My phone is updated to 4.4.4 to there's that. I'll think about it, because you never know about warranty.
Sorry for bad English
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can S-off, the chances of bricking actually go way down, because you have more options to fix things. Yes, it is potentially dangerous if you don't know what you are doing and can't follow directions, but an M8 with S-off is pretty close to a Nexus device in terms of what you can do with it.
That said, it is important to remember that it is *not* a Nexus device. If you get S-off, don't ever go S-on unless you are bone stock root and have a very good reason.
I'm going to pick up a new m8 this afternoon because I can get a great deal on it from my carrier right now. I will eventually want to add TWRP recovery and play with all the ROMs out there as I have with my old HTC Sensation, but first I plan to stick with the stock experience.
Can I S-Off, Unlock, and Root and still get the stock OTA updates after? From my reading it sounds like my first task should be S-Off before any OTA upgrades happen or it's unlikely I will be able to get S-Off until the new version of Sunshine comes out. Is this correct?
Thanks!
Firehawk989 said:
I'm going to pick up a new m8 this afternoon because I can get a great deal on it from my carrier right now. I will eventually want to add TWRP recovery and play with all the ROMs out there as I have with my old HTC Sensation, but first I plan to stick with the stock experience.
Can I S-Off, Unlock, and Root and still get the stock OTA updates after? From my reading it sounds like my first task should be S-Off before any OTA upgrades happen or it's unlikely I will be able to get S-Off until the new version of Sunshine comes out. Is this correct?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get S-Off, you won't need to get the stock OTAs. That's the beauty of S-Off. You'll have the newest firmware way before you carrier does.
FIrst thing I did was unlocking, flashing recovery and did a nandroid. Then root and custom roms and stuff. Still S-On
Firehawk989 said:
I'm going to pick up a new m8 this afternoon because I can get a great deal on it from my carrier right now. I will eventually want to add TWRP recovery and play with all the ROMs out there as I have with my old HTC Sensation, but first I plan to stick with the stock experience.
Can I S-Off, Unlock, and Root and still get the stock OTA updates after? From my reading it sounds like my first task should be S-Off before any OTA upgrades happen or it's unlikely I will be able to get S-Off until the new version of Sunshine comes out. Is this correct?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have mentioned, if you are buying a new stock device, S-Off right away. Unlock bootloader, flash custom recovery, install SU, then try to S-Off before flashing any ROMs. The S-Off method works best on the stock ROM.
Excellent, this is the info I needed. Thanks!
Also as for the uproar about Sunshine not being free, at least you get what you pay for. Worked flawlessly the first time to unlock the bootloader and S-Off without having to go through a long process of adb and fastboot commands and so forth. No *Tampered* flags in the bootloader or any other ill effects so far either, so seems worth it to me at this point. Note that this was with a new device that was still on 4.4.3 which may have helped.
However, I do see how some people feel like there should be a free DIY option as well, as I probably would have just taken the time to unlock and S-Off the old fashioned way if it was possible. Did that with my HTC Sensation back in the day.