Develop Bugs

How to security lock the bootloader on gnex?

Hi fellow gnex users.
I don't know if this topic of security has been discussed on here, but I can't find it anywhere. My question is pretty much summed up in the title.
I really would like to be able to lock my bootloader so that if I ever lost it after all the usual precautions have been taken, I could then prevent somebody just booting into recovery, flashing a rom and having it away with my phone.
I can do it on my laptop and would love to be have that peace of mind. Anyone got any ideas?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

No possible... yet.
Something like this was done for the Nexus One by dla5244 called Blackrose. Basically a modified bootloader which, among other things, can disallow fastboot commands. However, I don't think it will be as effective on a Samsung device, as they have download mode, which by-passes the bootloader anyway.

S-Off: Food for thought.....

I wanted to just add a comment to a thread somewhere expressing a valid point in regards to s-off.....but it should almost be said in all of them so here it is.
A lot of people have growing concerns regarding s-off ever being re-accomplished with the new hboot versions (1.54 etc). People say that when the VZW S4 can't even get unlocked, how do we expect this to ever happen for HTC? An extremely large oversight that people are missing here is that yes, the VZW S4 community is very large. And with regards to unlocking the bootloader, you could also include the AT&T crowd into the mix as its kinda a dual deal. But these are the only two carrier devices being effected by the bootloader issue. Both carriers xda communities combined. However, when it comes to s-off for our device, you're not just involving VZW users. Or just adding another carrier to the mix. You literally have EVERY HTC One around the globe effected by this circumstance. So not only do you have vzw devs working on it, but at&t, tmo, sprint, rogers, bell, etc etc etc etc etc.....all of am around the globe. There are FAR FAR FAR more people interested in this than there are people for other bootloaders for other devices. This is the advantage of owning a worldwide single-product release.
So yes, I say there is a significantly larger hope for s-off being achieved than most people give credit for.
EXAMPLE - look at how many devices were effected by moonshine/revone and tell me how many phones/carriers were obtainable through this....:good:

TechSavvy2 said:
I wanted to just add a comment to a thread somewhere expressing a valid point in regards to s-off.....but it should almost be said in all of them so here it is.
A lot of people have growing concerns regarding s-off ever being re-accomplished with the new hboot versions (1.54 etc). People say that when the VZW S4 can't even get unlocked, how do we expect this to ever happen for HTC? An extremely large oversight that people are missing here is that yes, the VZW S4 community is very large. And with regards to unlocking the bootloader, you could also include the AT&T crowd into the mix as its kinda a dual deal. But these are the only two carrier devices being effected by the bootloader issue. Both carriers xda communities combined. However, when it comes to s-off for our device, you're not just involving VZW users. Or just adding another carrier to the mix. You literally have EVERY HTC One around the globe effected by this circumstance. So not only do you have vzw devs working on it, but at&t, tmo, sprint, rogers, bell, etc etc etc etc etc.....all of am around the globe. There are FAR FAR FAR more people interested in this than there are people for other bootloaders for other devices. This is the advantage of owning a worldwide single-product release.
So yes, I say there is a significantly larger hope for s-off being achieved than most people give credit for.
EXAMPLE - look at how many devices were effected by moonshine/revone and tell me how many phones/carriers were obtainable through this....:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boy I hope you're right lol

Didn't really think about it this way, +1 for I hope you're right.

The problem is that when the bootloader isn't locked down, there's very little reason for people to really get S-OFF

S-off shouldn't be our concern. Unlocking the bootloader should be our main concern, along with root. In all honesty, s-off isn't even necessary and most people don't even know what it actually does. It could cause more harm than good.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

S-Off is fun though, I used to love being able to flash radios whenever I wanted on my Thunderbolt without an RUU. Flashing custom splash screens was fun too.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 4

All I want is the Google Edition rom, or as close as we can get to it.
If s-off isn't necessary for that, then I'm not concerned about s-off. I mean I hope it happens for the people who want it though
Sent from my HTC One.

josh995 said:
All I want is the Google Edition rom, or as close as we can get to it.
If s-off isn't necessary for that, then I'm not concerned about s-off. I mean I hope it happens for the people who want it though
Sent from my HTC One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install newts Google edition with an unlocked bootloader, s-off not necessary.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

do you need s-off for boot animations? I want that google play edition animation

crazyg0od33 said:
do you need s-off for boot animations? I want that google play edition animation
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Click to collapse
Nope. Just root. Splash screens need s-off.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

S-OFF is nice if we can't get an unlocked bootloader through HTCDEV. At this point, I'll take what I can get. I am waiting to pull the trigger on the phone now that HTC shut off the unlocking option. There might be a step where we can:
1- get s-off
2- unlock bootloader / load custom recovery
3- disable s-off (s-on again)
squabbi has built a nice AIO toolkit and I suspect when something is found for our hboot (or another attack vector is found) the toolkit can be modified to include the verizon version. I think once we (verizon people) can change the CID, we will be able to unlock the bootloader and it will be a non-issue.
Maj

MajikUF said:
S-OFF is nice if we can't get an unlocked bootloader through HTCDEV. At this point, I'll take what I can get. I am waiting to pull the trigger on the phone now that HTC shut off the unlocking option. There might be a step where we can:
1- get s-off
2- unlock bootloader
3- disable s-off (s-on again)
squabbi has built a nice AIO toolkit and I suspect when something is found for our hboot (or another attack vector is found) the toolkit can be modified to include the verizon version. I think once we (verizon people) can change the CID, we will be able to unlock the bootloader and it will be a non-issue.
Maj
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we got s-off then the bootloader wouldn't even matter.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

antp121 said:
If we got s-off then the bootloader wouldn't even matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated my #2 to add flashing custom recovery.. I currently have my rezound s-off, but I never liked it being s-off. I always prefer being s-on for extra protection. (a phone condom if you will)

Take from a someone who owed a ONE from various carriers, S-off is overrated.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

MajikUF said:
I updated my #2 to add flashing custom recovery.. I currently have my rezound s-off, but I never liked it being s-off. I always prefer being s-on for extra protection. (a phone condom if you will)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I remember when I screwed up my rezound. Then I fixed it, put up a guide and got hated on lol
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 08:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------
shook187 said:
Take from a someone who owed a ONE from various carriers, S-off is overrated.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This^ I tell everyone this. They think they need s-off when really they are just too lazy to flash a boot img.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

antp121 said:
Yeah. I remember when I screwed up my rezound. Then I fixed it, put up a guide and got hated on lol
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 08:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------
This^ I tell everyone this. They think they need s-off when really they are just too lazy to flash a boot img.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about aroma kernels? It is not overrated. Sometimes a boot img cannot be extracted and like I said it makes aroma flashing impossible (maybe TWRP dumlock supports it not sure). Even so, its nice knowing the carrier can never lock my device or unroot it. And as of now, no one else can unlock their device. So no, S-off is not overrated. Just so everyone knows, s-off will not be achieved until the newest hboot is cracked. I am not sure if its possible but if it is, it will probably take a few months. Good luck to everyone working on it

S-Off is kind of a big deal. You can remove that tampered flag when you unlock your boot loader. Hell you can unlock your phone without losing all your data and flagging that tampered line. Most people enjoy peace of mind of being able to relock the bootloader without tampered so the factory warranty and other securities are still available to them.

Syn Ack said:
S-Off is kind of a big deal. You can remove that tampered flag when you unlock your boot loader. Hell you can unlock your phone without losing all your data and flagging that tampered line. Most people enjoy peace of mind of being able to relock the bootloader without tampered so the factory warranty and other securities are still available to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As much as I want s-off, these are definitely not the reasons why.... I'm contempt with what I'm doing to my warranty.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Syn Ack said:
S-Off is kind of a big deal. You can remove that tampered flag when you unlock your boot loader. Hell you can unlock your phone without losing all your data and flagging that tampered line. Most people enjoy peace of mind of being able to relock the bootloader without tampered so the factory warranty and other securities are still available to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But there is also a risk you could ruin your phone if you do something wrong. I enjoy s-off but people need to understand what they are truly doing to their phones before they do something they can't undo.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

shook187 said:
Take from a someone who owed a ONE from various carriers, S-off is overrated.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take it from someone whom also owned a HTC One that was s-off on other carriers.... you are completely wrong.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Why is it so easy to unlock but not root?

I wonder why google has made it so simple to unlock the bootloader on the Google Play version of the Pixel phones while at the same time they are supposedly pushing so hard to make achieving root more difficult with Android 7?
Is there any benefit of having an unlocked bootloader without root access? If so what is it?

Flashing factory images instantly is one benefit.

norcal61 said:
I wonder why google has made it so simple to unlock the bootloader on the Google Play version of the Pixel phones while at the same time they are supposedly pushing so hard to make achieving root more difficult with Android 7?
Is there any benefit of having an unlocked bootloader without root access? If so what is it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root was achieved on Nougat when it was in beta. It's the new partition layout of the pixel that makes the current method unusable. But the guy behind SU gets one soon and will figure it out. Things change. They aren't making it harder. If they wanted to make it harder they would lock the bootloader down like Verizon.

Gizmoe said:
Root was achieved on Nougat when it was in beta. It's the new partition layout of the pixel that makes the current method unusable. But the guy behind SU gets one soon and will figure it out. Things change. They aren't making it harder. If they wanted to make it harder they would lock the bootloader down like Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how valid they are but I've read several articles claiming the Google is purposely trying to make it more difficult for devs to accomplish root. If that is true it doesn't make any sense that the bootloader isn't locked down right outta the gate. Idk. Just hope we get root for these things soon. I spent forever on at&t with both a galaxy s 4 and a note 4, waiting for ever for root, which as far as I know never came. If it did it wasn't until after I moved on. I hope that doesnt happen with the pixels.

norcal61 said:
I don't know how valid they are but I've read several articles claiming the Google is purposely trying to make it more difficult for devs to accomplish root. If that is true it doesn't make any sense that the bootloader isn't locked down right outta the gate. Idk. Just hope we get root for these things soon. I spent forever on at&t with both a galaxy s 4 and a note 4, waiting for ever for root, which as far as I know never came. If it did it wasn't until after I moved on. I hope that doesnt happen with the pixels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you have the google store version it's just a matter of time. I'm guessing by December. When the layout of a device changes as drastically as the pixel it takes the devs behind the exploits to rewrite code. Chain fire stated somewhere I read that he was only waiting for it to ship to him and then he will start coding for it. Also devs like beanstown are getting one in November and then purenexus Roms will follow. Beans stated specifically he was not getting the device if those rumors were true and he is getting the device. It means that google is releasing the source. They all ready released kernel source as I see despair has a kernel in the dev section. This all means that it can and will be done. Just be patient. Google store devices get all the attention. The pixel will be no different.

Everything will be fine, most odd the devs don't even have the phone yet. Chainfire will figure it out, once we figure out out the partition layouts, its just a matter of time before we can flash twrp, which allows us to flash su.. . All in time my good friends. Blame Google for their slow shipping times

Skipsoft made it sound like Root was already available but wasn't getting enabled/released until after TWRP is released.
I sort of thought that was weird.
After reading this thread, I'm bummed out.
Didn't realize we were still waiting on Chainsoft, et.all. to get the phone still.
My XL arrived today and there are a few dozen apps I can't install until after Root is available.
Ugh.

http://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-root-chainfire-724857/

Pixel news in general getiing better and better. Unlocked VZW bootloader, root and tmo giving you $325 back, all we need is some in stock ahem...gooooogle..

Bootloader Unlocking and Rooting on the Pixel XL

Hello, I have a pixel xl that was purchased from the Google store and is currently on 7.1.1. In developer options their is a option for oem unlocking. Does turning on this option simply unlock the bootloader? Also, if that is the case, is there a step by step guide to rooting the phone? I am considering rooting but haven't done it in many years so just want to be extra cautious so i don't screen up the phone. I have poked around a little in these forums but have been confused and just want to make sure i get the correct procedure for my pixel and circumstances. Now, is it my understanding that with rooting i can no longer take ota updates, right? What if i just turned on the oem option, could i take ota updates then? Just trying to understand all my options. Also, if that is the case where i can no longer take ota updates, are the ota updates filtered and pushed out timely by the xda community? The developers do a awesome job especially the fact that the pixel is so different but I'm just trying to weigh all my options.
If i do end up rooting, i have used the Google support a few times already, would you advise if i have any issues and need to contact them, telling them that my phone is rooted or no?
Also, i would like to see the volume louder, is there a mod or anything that can be done for this?
Thank you for any and all feedback regarding my questions.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

jreink01 said:
Hello, I have a pixel xl that was purchased from the Google store and is currently on 7.1.1. In developer options their is a option for oem unlocking. Does turning on this option simply unlock the bootloader? Also, if that is the case, is there a step by step guide to rooting the phone? I am considering rooting but haven't done it in many years so just want to be extra cautious so i don't screen up the phone. I have poked around a little in these forums but have been confused and just want to make sure i get the correct procedure for my pixel and circumstances. Now, is it my understanding that with rooting i can no longer take ota updates, right? What if i just turned on the oem option, could i take ota updates then? Just trying to understand all my options. Also, if that is the case where i can no longer take ota updates, are the ota updates filtered and pushed out timely by the xda community? The developers do a awesome job especially the fact that the pixel is so different but I'm just trying to weigh all my options.
If i do end up rooting, i have used the Google support a few times already, would you advise if i have any issues and need to contact them, telling them that my phone is rooted or no?
Also, i would like to see the volume louder, is there a mod or anything that can be done for this?
Thank you for any and all feedback regarding my questions.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, extra steps are required. Read up on the guides in this forum including ones for ADB and fastboot. Also mskip's toolkit. Be sure you understand what you are doing before embarking on your exciting journey.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Question Unlock/Root questions

What's up guys? It's been quite a while since I've been on here. I've switched back to Android from iOS. Picked up a Oneplus 9 Pro today. Trying to figure out what in the **** is going on in Android now. Seems things have changed drastically since I was last here (Oneplus One)! I feel like I'm in /r/jailbreak! I have a T-Mobile Oneplus 9, so I guess I have to submit to Oneplus to be able to unlock the bootloader??? I've done it, but do I really have to wait one to 2 weeks for them to reply before I can root!? Is this how Android has become now?

RobbieL811 said:
What's up guys? It's been quite a while since I've been on here. I've switched back to Android from iOS. Picked up a Oneplus 9 Pro today. Trying to figure out what in the **** is going on in Android now. Seems things have changed drastically since I was last here (Oneplus One)! I feel like I'm in /r/jailbreak! I have a T-Mobile Oneplus 9, so I guess I have to submit to Oneplus to be able to unlock the bootloader??? I've done it, but do I really have to wait one to 2 weeks for them to reply before I can root!? Is this how Android has become now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome back.
I'll just address the bootloader thing.
Normally, you can unlock instantly the bootloader, no need to wait for anything or request for anything. But in your case, T-Mobile, well, provider locked, so you need to request an unlock from them AFAIK.

ekin_strops said:
Welcome back.
I'll just address the bootloader thing.
Normally, you can unlock instantly the bootloader, no need to wait for anything or request for anything. But in your case, T-Mobile, well, provider locked, so you need to request an unlock from them AFAIK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the tool below to get my bootloader unlock code, but I had to submit that to Oneplus, and their website says they'll get back to me in 1-2 freaking weeks!? I just thought that was quite a while to unlock my bootloader...
One+_TooL with Grayed out Oem_Unlock (Bootloader Unlock) enabler & Engineer Decrypt
Here is my latest version of My Oneplus Tool . This tool can do almost everything for you. I have added a method to switch the Oem_Unlock switch on Sim locked devices. It will ungray the switch so you can flip it and bootloader unlock. It still...
forum.xda-developers.com

RobbieL811 said:
I used the tool below to get my bootloader unlock code, but I had to submit that to Oneplus, and their website says they'll get back to me in 1-2 freaking weeks!? I just thought that was quite a while to unlock my bootloader...
One+_TooL with Grayed out Oem_Unlock (Bootloader Unlock) enabler & Engineer Decrypt
Here is my latest version of My Oneplus Tool . This tool can do almost everything for you. I have added a method to switch the Oem_Unlock switch on Sim locked devices. It will ungray the switch so you can flip it and bootloader unlock. It still...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't heard of any way around the wait time. This whole mess is the reason I bought this phone from OnePlus even though I have T-Mobile. Last phone I bought from T-Mobile and I had the same frustrated reaction you're having now. Hopefully they get back to you faster than expected.

terlynn4 said:
I haven't heard of any way around the wait time. This whole mess is the reason I bought this phone from OnePlus even though I have T-Mobile. Last phone I bought from T-Mobile and I had the same frustrated reaction you're having now. Hopefully they get back to you faster than expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. It’s very frustrating! I guess I should’ve done my homework a little better! I probably wouldn’t have gone this route!