Develop Bugs

Boot loader downgrade?

I'm currently on 4.4.3 with the newest bootloader that firewater doesn't work on. My question is can the bootloader be downgraded to a version that fire water works on?
Yes I know about sunshine and feel that 25 bucks for one phone s-off is ridiculously expensive.I would be willing to pay for the program if it gave an unlimited amount of s-off..I do pay for all my apps and donate to the ones who comes up with s-off or any other unlocker I use ....

No because you have to be s-off to downgrade firmwares sunshine is worth it they worked hard to get it to work

Yes I agree but let's say u gotta send phone in or do insurance claim and u get another one that's another 25 to s-off again ...should at least give u certain amount of uses or something not just a one time deal

True

I understand that but from a practical standpoint I think too few people get phone replacements for them to track who has paid and who hasn't. Right now they probably use some unique identifying feature of the phone, maybe the MAC address, or the IMEI or something. That allows them to track each phone as having paid or not...but not each user.
Without investing in some complicated system, how could they track who has paid, allow that person to run the app, and, at the same time, prevent others who haven't paid from using it?
Besides, by the time that the vast majority of people need to get replacement phones, I am guessing that sunshine will be free. Someone else will have figured out how to get s-off.

S-Off as of January 2015

Would someone please point me in the right direction of a post / guide for performing S-OFF given current available resources? I just picked up a refurbished M8 ($1 !!!) and have already unlocked the bootloader and flashed TWRP. However all of the videos and guides I have seen involve obtaining S-OFF through using firewater (ran into an error due to an unrecognized character - the open parenthesis character to be exact - and I couldn't get to the part where you have to type "Yes" in the command window) and I really don't want to pay 25 bucks for the sunshine S-Off method. Any advice? Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere already, I couldn't find anything when I looked......

Firewater is no longer supported. Sunshine is the only S-off method for the M8.

frankp124 said:
Would someone please point me in the right direction of a post / guide for performing S-OFF given current available resources? I just picked up a refurbished M8 ($1 !!!) and have already unlocked the bootloader and flashed TWRP. However all of the videos and guides I have seen involve obtaining S-OFF through using firewater (ran into an error due to an unrecognized character - the open parenthesis character to be exact - and I couldn't get to the part where you have to type "Yes" in the command window) and I really don't want to pay 25 bucks for the sunshine S-Off method. Any advice? Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere already, I couldn't find anything when I looked......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only advice I have is to cough up the $25. It is worth it for the freedom it gives you.

Would anyone tell me if I flash latest 4.4.4 though .zip via recovery or run HTC RUU then I will loose S OFF? I want to flash ViperOne but needs 4.4.4 firmware cause of WiFi issues. Thanks

Once you get S-Off you will not lose it using RUU 's or custom ROM's no matter how many time's you flash
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

@scoot0073
Thanks, Yeah I just found out that S OFF and Unlocked Bootloader stays the same even if I run HTC RUU or flash stock firmware.zip :good:
Edit; I will only loose root. And, I will need stock recovery to run HTC RUU or custom recovery to flash .zip firmware

maheshpatel said:
@scoot0073
Thanks, Yeah I just found out that S OFF and Unlocked Bootloader stays the same even if I run HTC RUU or flash stock firmware.zip :good:
Edit; I will only loose root. And, I will need stock recovery to run HTC RUU or custom recovery to flash .zip firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to install the stock recovery to run a RUU. Also, firmware is flashed through the bootloader, not recovery.

xunholyx said:
The only advice I have is to cough up the $25. It is worth it for the freedom it gives you.
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Magnum_Enforcer said:
Firewater is no longer supported. Sunshine is the only S-off method for the M8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drat. Well thanks for the input guys, I guess I'll "spring" for sunshine..... It's just so disappointing to see things come to this. I see countless posts and threads on this site where dedicated devs/advanced users just want to lend a helping hand or make someone else's mobile phone experience a little better, asking for nothing but an optional donation in return. You are the people that make this world a better place!!!! I had the LG Optimus as my previous device and I remember paying a dollar for the FreeGee app, which did a similar thing. Now, $1 is essentially a small donation, I can deal with that and am happy to support my devs. But $25 ? come on now, that's just embarrassing. If I were 2-3 years older I would have the requisite comp sci experience to figure out how to S-OFF myself! Oh well. Can't blame the guy for just trying to make a quick buck.....or 25..................
Cheers.

frankp124 said:
Drat. Well thanks for the input guys, I guess I'll "spring" for sunshine..... It's just so disappointing to see things come to this. I see countless posts and threads on this site where dedicated devs/advanced users just want to lend a helping hand or make someone else's mobile phone experience a little better, asking for nothing but an optional donation in return. You are the people that make this world a better place!!!! I had the LG Optimus as my previous device and I remember paying a dollar for the FreeGee app, which did a similar thing. Now, $1 is essentially a small donation, I can deal with that and am happy to support my devs. But $25 ? come on now, that's just embarrassing. If I were 2-3 years older I would have the requisite comp sci experience to figure out how to S-OFF myself! Oh well. Can't blame the guy for just trying to make a quick buck.....or 25..................
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How many devices do you think they bricked before they cracked that exploit? Should they just write off thousands of dollars in lost devices so that you can have a "better" experience?
$1 Donation from 100 people out of the 50,000 that used it means nothing to them. That's then not even enough to replace one device that they bricked beyond repair. Then we're not even talking about the hours that they have to put in to actually do this and to write the codes etc to get the exploit...
Entitlement generation

frankp124 said:
Drat. Well thanks for the input guys, I guess I'll "spring" for sunshine..... It's just so disappointing to see things come to this. I see countless posts and threads on this site where dedicated devs/advanced users just want to lend a helping hand or make someone else's mobile phone experience a little better, asking for nothing but an optional donation in return. You are the people that make this world a better place!!!! I had the LG Optimus as my previous device and I remember paying a dollar for the FreeGee app, which did a similar thing. Now, $1 is essentially a small donation, I can deal with that and am happy to support my devs. But $25 ? come on now, that's just embarrassing. If I were 2-3 years older I would have the requisite comp sci experience to figure out how to S-OFF myself! Oh well. Can't blame the guy for just trying to make a quick buck.....or 25..................
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, to tell the truth you don't have to pay. All you have to do is try to find the exploits to gain S-Off on your own. I figure after less than a day (after your first brick), $25 will seem like a bargain.

BerndM14 said:
How many devices do you think they bricked before they cracked that exploit? Should they just write off thousands of dollars in lost devices so that you can have a "better" experience?
$1 Donation from 100 people out of the 50,000 that used it means nothing to them. That's then not even enough to replace one device that they bricked beyond repair. Then we're not even talking about the hours that they have to put in to actually do this and to write the codes etc to get the exploit...
Entitlement generation
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Click to collapse
Not trying to start a fight dude, just pointing out that in the past all the development software I've used was absolutely free. And I'm sure that over the last 7 years there have been millions of dollars of devices that have been bricked by devs trying to work on new ROMs, exploits, hacks, and the like. Times have changed I guess.... more challenging software to exploit and such.

It has already been discussed several times in several threads!!! the Sunshine developer team has the right to charge as much money as they want. they have selected an amount that they needed. its not about you and me or some other person who cant or wont pay that for S-off. i myself have not yet gotten S-off. so please refrain from posting such absurd logic about previous things being free and others points just to justify this.
If you cant afford $25 then just be practical and flash stuffs with caution like me. Sunshine is not something illegal that posting against it will eventually make it free!!!!! Happy Flashing!!!!

Not to mention, sunshine is actually pretty revolutionary.. Think about how hard it is to gain s-off now days, and then think about the fact that with Sunshine,they not only cracked it, BUT ALSO made it a 1-click method. Best $25 I ever spent, no question

Rantrave07 said:
It has already been discussed several times in several threads!!!
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Yeah, that horse has been beaten to death 10 times over, in pages and pages of threads!
If the OP got the phone for $1, than they get a s-off phone with "full freedom" for $26. Still a pretty awesome deal.
---------- Post added at 10:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------
frankp124 said:
However all of the videos and guides I have seen involve obtaining S-OFF through using firewater
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be aware that s-off is only needed for a few isolated things. Unfortunately, updating firmware manually to run the more recent ROMs is one of those things. And the most common reason for wanting s-off.
I gather from your device history that you are on AT&T. If the goal is to update firmware, your alternative is to stay with ROMs that match your firmware and wait for AT&T to roll out the 4.4.4 update (which will update the firmware). Since unfortunately, AT&T is one of the few versions that haven't had 4.4.4 rolled out. Hopefully that will happen soon. One source has reported the rollout was delayed twice in December due to issues incorporating VoLTE (voice over LTE).

[Q] What use is a free HTC 1 M8?

But seriously, I have a year-old review unit here and I don't use Sprint personally. So I can use it to play with Android distros, or as a very small tablet, or make it into a remote-control for my TV. What's the most amusement one can get from an off-the-air M8?
And is the Harmon-Kardon branding just advertising, or does it actually have better sound than other phones?

WyomingKnott said:
But seriously, I have a year-old review unit here and I don't use Sprint personally. So I can use it to play with Android distros, or as a very small tablet, or make it into a remote-control for my TV. What's the most amusement one can get from an off-the-air M8?
And is the Harmon-Kardon branding just advertising, or does it actually have better sound than other phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use it as a phone.
And yeah, it's just an advertisement. Only difference is some addition of their software which can be installed on other M8s too.

Why not just use it as the great phone that it is or is this just a wind up?

ashyx said:
Why not just use it as the great phone that it is or is this just a wind up?
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No wind-up, just that it's locked to Sprint, I have ATT, and so I'd have to SIM-unlock it before I could use it. It was a leftover review unit.

WyomingKnott said:
No wind-up, just that it's locked to Sprint, I have ATT, and so I'd have to SIM-unlock it before I could use it. It was a leftover review unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your sprint m8 is s-off,then you can sim unlock by following this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2718150

WyomingKnott said:
No wind-up, just that it's locked to Sprint, I have ATT, and so I'd have to SIM-unlock it before I could use it. It was a leftover review unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Review unit? Can you please link me the review?
And what phone do you use currently? It might be wworth to get it unlocked.
You can use it as a music player too. It's one of the best Android music phone.

Surely it would be well worth unlocking the phone, where else are you going to get such a top spec device for the small price of an unlock?
I paid a ton of money for this phone 12 months ago and it is still one of the best on the market.

@crazykas
Not s-off yet. I haven't found a method other than sunshine which is $25 and, from what I read, has a spotty reputation. A question: If I got it s-off, instead of that sim unlock (that article is in my list for the m8) should I change the CIM and (DIM?) so it thinks it's an ATT Developer phone? Would that let it use ATT?
EDIT: Now that I re-read this, the $25 isn't that much, and the worst that can happen is that I'm left with a brick that I didn't pay for! But do you know of any self S-off method?
@edios123
From Tom's Hardware.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/htc-one-m8-features-review,26384.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/htc-one-m8-samsung-galaxy-s5-comparison-review,26373.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/htc-one-m8-e8-android,3871.html
A year later they're just dust-gatherers.
I'm pretty happy with my current Galaxy S4, but it's great having a phone that I can load anything on to and not worry that if I brick it I'll be left without a phone or lose a couple of hundred dollars. For example, installing assorted versions of TWRP on this particular phone makes it hang permanently, power and display on, entering recovery. But it works with Clockwork Mod. Now I'm playing with CyanogenMod for the first time.

WyomingKnott said:
@crazykas
@edios123
From Tom's Hardware.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/htc-one-m8-features-review,26384.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/htc-one-m8-samsung-galaxy-s5-comparison-review,26373.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/htc-one-m8-e8-android,3871.html
A year later they're just dust-gatherers.
I'm pretty happy with my current Galaxy S4, but it's great having a phone that I can load anything on to and not worry that if I brick it I'll be left without a phone or lose a couple of hundred dollars. For example, installing assorted versions of TWRP on this particular phone makes it hang permanently, power and display on, entering recovery. But it works with Clockwork Mod. Now I'm playing with CyanogenMod for the first time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're using an S4, IMHO, you must upgrade to this phone. It's plenty fast (I bet miles better in performance than S4) for 2015. Only thing you'll miss is the pretty cool camera in your current phone.
Thanks for the links.

Smelly feet! SunShine doesn't work with CyanogenMod; it asks for a stock rom. Fortunately, lots of stocks to choose from. Back to stock, run Sunshine, S-OFF, back to Cyanogen. Here goes...
EDIT: Well, I gave up. I've flashed four different ROMs and had startup hang at four different places. CyanogenMod works fine. Since I can't get back to stock (some idiot forgot to do a backup before flashing Cyanogen, no excuse, I've been in this business for decades) and Sunshine won't run under Cyanogen, no S-off.
If anyone can point me to a back-to-stock or a ROM that I can load with Clockwork or RUU, it would make me happy. I've got the Harmon Kardon Sprint model, which may be a problem. I've tried roms from Bad Seed, the ND8_STOCK_DEODEXED_ROOTED rom, Renovate_5.0, and cm-11-20141112-SNAPSHOT-M12-m8 . I got so frustrated that I didn't keep page links for these, which I know I should put for reference. The only reason I want to go back to stock is that Sunshine seems to require it. I'm awfully glad that, as I've posted before, this is a don't-care device.
EDIT TWO: Anyone sick of my train-of-thought posting process can leave now. I left Renovate in its stuck mode for a while, and half an hour later it was on. Hurrah! Now to try Sunshine...

Update - it needed a recent RUU from HTC. Year-old firmware was slow with current ROMs and not compatible with TWRP at all. Recent RUU, good behavior. It's s-off, and I'll go for sim unlock tomorrow.

5.1 Update and s-off

The official 5.1 update is on it's way from Verizon next week. For those of us waiting patiently for jcase to release an s-off method, I'm thinking it might be better to avoid updating? I can only imagine the hboot will get an update with this 5.1 update. With that, it will probably undo all the work jcase has done up to this point.
Am I wrong to think this?
Is it harmless to take the update?

guitarist5122 said:
The official 5.1 update is on it's way from Verizon next week. For those of us waiting patiently for jcase to release an s-off method, I'm thinking it might be better to avoid updating? I can only imagine the hboot will get an update with this 5.1 update. With that, it will probably undo all the work jcase has done up to this point.
Am I wrong to think this?
Is it harmless to take the update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Harmless unless you want to meet up the next time I drive down to Delaware.

There is no sense in waiting on an update for a root exploit that may or may not ever come. S-Off already works on 5.1 but Verizon users are still waiting for a root exploit as before. Odds are you could be waiting a long time. Might as well enjoy the new software while you wait.

guitarist5122 said:
The official 5.1 update is on it's way from Verizon next week. For those of us waiting patiently for jcase to release an s-off method, I'm thinking it might be better to avoid updating? I can only imagine the hboot will get an update with this 5.1 update. With that, it will probably undo all the work jcase has done up to this point.
Am I wrong to think this?
Is it harmless to take the update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plenty of helpful members with Java Cards to get you S-Off now. Best if you can find someone in your area to meet with to avoid shipping the device.
Went that route a couple of months ago and been happily flashing custom Rom goodness ever since.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-one-m9/general/m9-java-card-t3063247

guitarist5122 said:
...it will probably undo all the work jcase has done up to this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's nothing (public) to undo. Unless by chance jcase discovered an exploit and HTC found it as well and fixed it....
It's starting to appear that many of these folks who can figure this sh*t out are losing interest in working on devices from Verizon and other carriers who go to extreme lengths to lock them down. I mean, my previous phone was a Galaxy S3 and Samsung / VZW locked them down tight. The S4 uses presumably the same security (my wife had one so I was a little up to speed on them). I haven't bothered checking the S5 or S6 but I'm confident they're not exploitable either.... Just to be clear, I'm not criticizing those folks if they're no longer trying. That's 150% their decision and choice !

hallstevenson said:
There's nothing (public) to undo. Unless by chance jcase discovered an exploit and HTC found it as well and fixed it....
It's starting to appear that many of these folks who can figure this sh*t out are losing interest in working on devices from Verizon and other carriers who go to extreme lengths to lock them down. I mean, my previous phone was a Galaxy S3 and Samsung / VZW locked them down tight. The S4 uses presumably the same security (my wife had one so I was a little up to speed on them). I haven't bothered checking the S5 or S6 but I'm confident they're not exploitable either.... Just to be clear, I'm not criticizing those folks if they're no longer trying. That's 150% their decision and choice !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surprisingly the SG6 is able to flash ROMs. no bootloader unlock, but still surprising considering how hard SG3/4 was locked down when I was on them.

andybones said:
Surprisingly the SG6 is able to flash ROMs. no bootloader unlock, but still surprising considering how hard SG3/4 was locked down when I was on them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So going forward, after our edge programs are eligible etc etc, what is the best alternative to have an unlocked bootloader and root even be an option without extreme measures? Pay off the edge program and go to T-Mobile and HTC? That way the bootloader can be unlocked from HTC? I'm very thankful to have my M9 rooted and unlocked but thinking ahead, what's the best course of action? Thoughts?

andybones said:
Surprisingly the SG6 is able to flash ROMs. no bootloader unlock, but still surprising considering how hard SG3/4 was locked down when I was on them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it the same as can be done on the S3 with a locked bootloader ? I'd have to go back to that forum to get the name as I don't remember it.... Safestrap ?
Looks like it's not Safestrap after all. I'm quickly scanning but don't see much details yet. I do see quite a few ROMs available though !

hallstevenson said:
Is it the same as can be done on the S3 with a locked bootloader ? I'd have to go back to that forum to get the name as I don't remember it.... Safestrap ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hated SS.
I'm not exactly sure how it's done I just have a buddy on SG6 on VZW and loves it, being able to mke ROM.
I do know it isn't SS
"ping pong root"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/root-pingpongroot-s6-root-tool-t3103016

andybones said:
I hated SS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never had to deal with it.... I rooted mine the same day I rec'd it ! Same with my previous phones - all rooted in less than (2) days. Well, except for my HTC Eris. That one took a couple of months after I got it before jcase came up with an exploit.
I had scott123 "free" my M9 the day after I rec'd it.

hallstevenson said:
Never had to deal with it.... I rooted mine the same day I rec'd it ! Same with my previous phones - all rooted in less than (2) days. Well, except for my HTC Eris. That one took a couple of months after I got it before jcase came up with an exploit.
I had scott123 "free" my M9 the day after I rec'd it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
only reason i had to use SS was cos my dad got a new phone and gave me his old sg3, and at this point it had 4.4.4 so bootloader couldnt be unlocked anymore and had to use SS, it was horrible imo

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.