Apologies in advance for being dumb.....
I'm currently on an S4. Things are simple. I root. I install TWRP recovery. I flash whatever ROM I want. I flash back to full stock if I want to. Real easy.
I've been considering the HTC One M9, and reading up for a couple weeks now. I'm confused about some things....hoping someone can help clear things up.
First off, FYI - I'm Verizon.
I just read a page that explained the difference between root, unlocked bootloader, and s-off:
http://www.pocketables.com/2012/08/the-difference-between-root-s-offon-lockedunlocked-bootloader-in-the-htc-evo-series.html
I should clarify the *typical* reasons I don't stay stock with my S4 and previous phones:
Handful of apps I use that need root.
Benefiting from various things that custom ROMs give me - debloat, etc.
Hotspot
Now let's see if I can ask my questions correctly:
Can the HTC One M9 be rooted without unlocked bootloader and/or s-off? If for example I just wanted to be able to run apps that require root.
Unlocked bootloader - This is where I get confused with s-off. I know I can't use HTCDEV. And the folks that are shipping their phones to people with the special cards are looking to get s-off it seems. Can someone clarify if there will likely be a software method to unlock bootloader (without necessarily chasing after s-off)?
s-off: Given the reasons stated above that I typically don't stay stock, do I care about s-off? It sounds like with an unlocked bootloader I can do custom recovery and ROMs, and s-off just allows me to access additional stuff I wouldn't typically want to mess with...is this correct?
In all 3 scenarios above, is there the ability to return phone to full stock?
I'm due for an upgrade, and wanna get the phone, but worried I won't be able to do what I want with it, or be in a situation where I can't get a repair/replacement if something ever happens to it.
Thank you so much in advance for any insight someone can provide....
crackface said:
First off, FYI - I'm Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon does not allow the M9 to be unlocked. In order to do anything with that device, you will need to purchase a java card or find someone with one.
Go to the Verizon M9 forum for more information.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-one-m9
You might want to check other Verizon phones, but I highly doubt that the M9 is the only phone that verizon prevents from being unlocked. So you might be in the same boat no matter which device you choose.
jollywhitefoot said:
Verizon does not allow the M9 to be unlocked. In order to do anything with that device, you will need to purchase a java card or find someone with one.
Go to the Verizon M9 forum for more information.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-one-m9
You might want to check other Verizon phones, but I highly doubt that the M9 is the only phone that verizon prevents from being unlocked. So you might be in the same boat no matter which device you choose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops! Can a mod by chance move this to the Verizon specific forum? I thought that's where I was...
Bootloader boots the os.
Root gives special permissions to allow changes to root but certain parts of the device are locked (modem, radio etc).
S-off (secure off) gives full access to root and partitions. Allows permanent changes to modem, radio etc.
Non of these are needed by the average user and this point is made clear when said average user doesn't understand and cannot get their head around it.
Htc is not like samsung. Samsung openly support flashing devices by not locking the bootloader in the first place but on the flip side samsung roms are blatanly the fastest for their devices over custom roms.
Sent from a stolen HTC M9
shivadow said:
Bootloader boots the os.
Root gives special permissions to allow changes to root but certain parts of the device are locked (modem, radio etc).
S-off (secure off) gives full access to root and partitions. Allows permanent changes to modem, radio etc.
Non of these are needed by the average user and this point is made clear when said average user doesn't understand and cannot get their head around it.
Htc is not like samsung. Samsung openly support flashing devices by not locking the bootloader in the first place but on the flip side samsung roms are blatanly the fastest for their devices over custom roms.
Sent from a stolen HTC M9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So my apologies in advance if I'm sounding like an idiot here....as with Verizon's announcement I'm now rushed to possibly purchase this phone at discounted rate.
I know with s-off I need to send it off to a friend of these forums with a donation. But I don't think I need s-off (not sure I need to flash radio and whatnot)...as I just want root and ability to flash custom recovery and a custom ROM. Can I do those things without having s-off (my reading tells me no, but want to be sure)? Or can root be acquired and ability for custom recovery without s-off? Or is there somewhere I can read that answers these questions in details?
And is there an ability to return to stock if I run into problems?
Sorry if these questions are redundant to my previous questions or prevailing answers provided.
Thanks for any info.
crackface said:
So my apologies in advance if I'm sounding like an idiot here....as with Verizon's announcement I'm now rushed to possibly purchase this phone at discounted rate.
I know with s-off I need to send it off to a friend of these forums with a donation. But I don't think I need s-off (not sure I need to flash radio and whatnot)...as I just want root and ability to flash custom recovery and a custom ROM. Can I do those things without having s-off (my reading tells me no, but want to be sure)? Or can root be acquired and ability for custom recovery without s-off? Or is there somewhere I can read that answers these questions in details?
And is there an ability to return to stock if I run into problems?
Sorry if these questions are redundant to my previous questions or prevailing answers provided.
Thanks for any info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your only choice is s-off. You cannot unlock your bootloader via HTC dev as Verizon blocks us. So the only way to do what you want is s-off. When I s-off someone's phone I also unlock the bootloader manually and flash twrp and supersu.
Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk
dottat said:
Your only choice is s-off. You cannot unlock your bootloader via HTC dev as Verizon blocks us. So the only way to do what you want is s-off. When I s-off someone's phone I also unlock the bootloader manually and flash twrp and supersu.
Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Verizon M9 S-OFF, but I could not unlock bootloader. Plz tell me how could I unlock bootloader.
Related
...hope this isnt a pointless thread, but I felt these are a valid set of questions... might be wrong though... >_<
In any case, I've just been informed that the HTC now officially unlocks the DHD bootloader through their website.
Now, my questions...
Does anyone know the difference between the Official HTC bootloader unlock procedure versus the Radio and ENG-HBOOT procedure posted by jkoljo?
Also, note that the HTC way looks like its just one procedure... whilst jkoljo's are distinctly two (one for Radio and one for HBOOT)... if the HTC procedure is initially used, would you still need to do either of jkoljo's? ie the Radio S-Off one... assuming the HTC way gives you only Eng-HBOOT S-OFF?
Hell, do you still need to downgrade with the HTC bootloader unlock?
Lastly, I've already used jkoljo's procedure and now fully Radio & HBOOT S-Off'ed... is there any point of doing the HTC unlock bootloader procedure? Would it actually give me a negative result if I actually go through the HTC procedure now with the current state of my phone?
Anyways, thanks for reading through my musings... and here's hoping someone with the knowhow answers well... ^_^
/Peace
I would like to no this to, but do we really need to worry now we are rooted ?
Yes me 2. What are the pros and cons of them?
...from reading the FAQ on the HTCdev about it.
...according to its FAQ
It seems you're still S-ON after their procedure. This is to apparently secure the radio as well as the SIM-Lock...
So me thinks we might still need jkoljo's ENG-S-OFF procedure afterwards...
...Although, with HTC leaving that lock... I'm a bit dubious about advocating their procedure now as opposed to jkoljo's as well as the Advanced Ace Hack kit. The latter of which is actually the most effective imho, though it still needs jkoljo's ENG-S-OFF procedure...
Do not try to unlock the bootloader of your phone.
it's not locked.
If someone can clarify this: for me the DHD bootloader has never been locked!?!
I was planing to go for sensation when HTC launched it but kept my DHD as sensation was locked and it was not possible to put custom ROM.
From my first HTC, the first thing I always do was removing Sense... (HD, HD2 then DHD). As far as I know Sensation was the first with locked bootloader.
if someone can explain... i'll be more than happy
truc007 said:
Do not try to unlock the bootloader of your phone.
it's not locked.
If someone can clarify this: for me the DHD bootloader has never been locked!?!
I was planing to go for sensation when HTC launched it but kept my DHD as sensation was locked and it was not possible to put custom ROM.
From my first HTC, the first thing I always do was removing Sense... (HD, HD2 then DHD). As far as I know Sensation was the first with locked bootloader.
if someone can explain... i'll be more than happy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root is different from unlocking bootloader eg the Motorola Milestone has root but the bootloader is still locked. This still allows you to load partially customized ROMs but prevents loading custom kernels for one thing.
My question though would be:
What exactly is the point in HTC's bootloader unlocker? Say you go from a stock phone, upgraded froyo to GB all the way. You dont have s-off or eng-off or anything, what would the benefit be to now unlock the bootloader "officially"?
Does it supply a recovery with nandroid backup or allow GB to be rooted or anything like that?
The benefit would be that you lose your warranty because HTC saves your serial, which wouldn't happen if you do it yourself.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk
Exactly...and thanks to AAHK it's not really difficult to get Root, S-Off and CWM on our phones
DN41
Wonder why HTC went through "all the trouble" to do a bootloader unlocker for Desire HD now anyway? its like p#ssing on the ashes AFTER the house burnt down, surely they know there's a dozen ways to get there that are far less involved than their convoluted scheme. *shrugs*
I did this just because there's no major action on ICS and no action on rcmix runny, so i needed to do something to my phone.
Its a real convoluted process.
you need to restore to stock and update to the latest ruu before you can then install the new hboot to then unlock.
The only difference is now i have locked, then unlocked at the top of the bootloader screen.
still needed to re root the stock rom to install 4ext to nandroid the stock and restore ICS.
Really not worth the effort trying ifyou already have a custom recovery and s-off.
Unless you want the latest possible date to show off...
But if you unlocked the bootloader, what is the best way to get root access?
I want to use eg Titanium backup
Pibroens said:
But if you unlocked the bootloader, what is the best way to get root access?
I want to use eg Titanium backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the stickies in the dev forum like this one.
If you have S-OFF, obviously you can skip to the next steps, which is to root.
Make sure you read, read, read so you don't miss anything important.
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.
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.
Okay guys, I just have a couple of quick (I hope) questions in regards to rooting an HTC One M7 on Verizon Wireless.
I've done a lot of research and I am genuinely confused about everything and really just need a few questions answered. I've done my research and done my googling but I still need some help.
I haven't rooted a phone in probably well over 2-3 years. The last phone I rooted was a HTC Evo on Sprint which was a breeze. I've had my HTC One for a little over a year now I believe. I'm getting kind of bored of it and I saw that CyanogenMod has come a long way since I last used it. Through my research I have found that the Verizon HTC One M7 is kind of difficult and complicated to root and I apparently need to S-OFF as well, which I have no experience with. My phone has been kept up-to-date (I know that's a bad thing in this case) and I'm running Android 4.4.3, software number 5.28.605.2, baseband version 1.13.41.0702. I'm not sure what out of that information is relevant but there you have it.
What I'm wanting to do is unlock/root/whatever my phone, install CWM recovery, and CM11. Now from the research I have done it appears that if I purchase SunShine S-Off (which looks like my only option) it will s-off, root, and unlock everything that is necessary to install the custom recovery and ROM.
So my questions are this:
I'm terrified of freezing/boot-loops because this is the first phone I'd be rooting without the ability of popping the battery out for a hard restart. Is it safe to modify this phone? Are there usually any issues?
Will SunShine do everything that I need to go from a stock Verizon HTC One to being able to flash CWM and CM11?
Are there any good tutorials on doing this with the latest updated Verizon HTC One M7? A lot of the tutorials I find seem to be outdated.
If the answer to the second question is yes, then all I need to do is purchase SunShine, follow install instructions for CWM, and follow install instructions for CM11, correct?
Thanks for your time and putting up with my stupid questions.
sector2112 said:
Okay guys, I just have a couple of quick (I hope) questions in regards to rooting an HTC One M7 on Verizon Wireless.
I've done a lot of research and I am genuinely confused about everything and really just need a few questions answered. I've done my research and done my googling but I still need some help.
I haven't rooted a phone in probably well over 2-3 years. The last phone I rooted was a HTC Evo on Sprint which was a breeze. I've had my HTC One for a little over a year now I believe. I'm getting kind of bored of it and I saw that CyanogenMod has come a long way since I last used it. Through my research I have found that the Verizon HTC One M7 is kind of difficult and complicated to root and I apparently need to S-OFF as well, which I have no experience with. My phone has been kept up-to-date (I know that's a bad thing in this case) and I'm running Android 4.4.3, software number 5.28.605.2, baseband version 1.13.41.0702. I'm not sure what out of that information is relevant but there you have it.
What I'm wanting to do is unlock/root/whatever my phone, install CWM recovery, and CM11. Now from the research I have done it appears that if I purchase SunShine S-Off (which looks like my only option) it will s-off, root, and unlock everything that is necessary to install the custom recovery and ROM.
So my questions are this:
I'm terrified of freezing/boot-loops because this is the first phone I'd be rooting without the ability of popping the battery out for a hard restart. Is it safe to modify this phone? Are there usually any issues?
Will SunShine do everything that I need to go from a stock Verizon HTC One to being able to flash CWM and CM11?
Are there any good tutorials on doing this with the latest updated Verizon HTC One M7? A lot of the tutorials I find seem to be outdated.
If the answer to the second question is yes, then all I need to do is purchase SunShine, follow install instructions for CWM, and follow install instructions for CM11, correct?
Thanks for your time and putting up with my stupid questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sunshine will unlock boot loader and gain S_off. I used it on my Vzw m7, best investment I ever made. After using sunshine all u have to do is flash custom recovery and then SuperSu
xxxxxxx
bdizzle1686 said:
Sunshine will unlock boot loader and gain S_off. I used it on my Vzw m7, best investment I ever made. After using sunshine all u have to do is flash custom recovery and then SuperSu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do i flash custom recovery? any instruction / link ? tks
**subscribed**as I'm in the almost exact same scenario as OP.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2416431
Adb reboot bootloader.
Fastboot flash recovery *name-of-image*.img
Fastboot reboot (or select recovery to be in twrp from bootloader menu and press power button)
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Free mobile app
If there is http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader, doesn't that mean every device after 2011 has an unlockable bootloader?
I know something is wrong because devs in this forum are working for a 4.4.4 bootloader unlock solution. What's the situation then? Does the htcdev tool only work for certain devices/models?
Just a sidenote, I own a s4, so forgive me if this is a dumb question.
I think you are referring to s-off?
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
badboy47 said:
I think you are referring to s-off?
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, sorry, I read a bit more and I really mean s-off. What are the advantages of this? I'm just confused why developers are hacking htc to gain access to s-off or whatever if the bootloader can already be unlocked via the htc dev website. In the s4 forums, only a unlocked bootloader is necessary for a custom recovery and roms.
Raymondlikesroot said:
yes, sorry, I read a bit more and I really mean s-off. What are the advantages of this? I'm just confused why developers are hacking htc to gain access to s-off or whatever if the bootloader can already be unlocked via the htc dev website. In the s4 forums, only a unlocked bootloader is necessary for a custom recovery and roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many advantages of being s-off; depends on what you want to do with your phone. For starter there is a great blog detailing what is s-off and what it does.
First you must know that this concept is applied especially on HTC’s Android featured smartphones, being like a carrier restriction over your phone’s internal system. This restriction is keeping you away from changing the main settings, or from customizing, optimizing and improving the operating system that runs on your device. That’s why if you have a phone which has S turned On you will not be able to root it, or to do other stuffs with its system. The main problem is that most of the smartphones are being delivered with S-On, so you will have to change this aspect afterwards Continue reading...
That guide you linked to is a bit misleading, at least as far as current HTC devices are concerned. You may want to consider reading the first post of the link below, instead. You can obviously root & flash a custom ROM to a device that's S-on, but there are obvious limitations that don't exist once a device is S-off. I've had 4 different HTC devices over the years and I was able to root and flash a custom ROM to all of them while still S-on.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1680928
OP, I also suggest reading my bootloader guide for the M8. It's specific for Sprint as far as software and firmware information goes, but the general info is universal at least as far as the M8 is concerned. That guide can be found in the second link in my sig.