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I have the Verizon Dev Edition Moto X. Understanding that I won't void my warranty if I unlock the bootloader, it has been stated in many threads that even if you re-lock the bootloader it still will give you a warning boot screen (unlocked BL) because there are flags that are permanently changed on the phone once you unlock it.
That being said, I am very non-committal, so I first want to just root the phone and install safestrap. I have seen a ton of tools out there that root your device, however I am confused as to which one I should run (e.g. slapmymoto, pwnmymoto, etc). I am on the latest firmware (4.4), so I think it requires you to downgrade? Any words of sage advice is appreciated...
Also, any changes I make to my phone, I can always RSDLite my way back to 100% stock correct?
STEyeAndroid said:
I have the Verizon Dev Edition Moto X. Understanding that I won't void my warranty if I unlock the bootloader, it has been stated in many threads that even if you re-lock the bootloader it still will give you a warning boot screen (unlocked BL) because there are flags that are permanently changed on the phone once you unlock it.
That being said, I am very non-committal, so I first want to just root the phone and install safestrap. I have seen a ton of tools out there that root your device, however I am confused as to which one I should run (e.g. slapmymoto, pwnmymoto, etc). I am on the latest firmware (4.4), so I think it requires you to downgrade? Any words of sage advice is appreciated...
Also, any changes I make to my phone, I can always RSDLite my way back to 100% stock correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would start here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2536200
I don't know why the unlocked bootloader warning screen would stay set if you relocked it, but you can change that screen to display whatever you want. See here for details:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2417961
Since you have the dev edition, you should be able to unlock, install TWRP, and root without slapmymoto or pwnmymoto. I did it all AFTER installing the latest OTA, and I had no trouble.
I have not used RSDLite, but that is the way I understand it.
STEyeAndroid said:
I have the Verizon Dev Edition Moto X. Understanding that I won't void my warranty if I unlock the bootloader, it has been stated in many threads that even if you re-lock the bootloader it still will give you a warning boot screen (unlocked BL) because there are flags that are permanently changed on the phone once you unlock it.
That being said, I am very non-committal, so I first want to just root the phone and install safestrap. I have seen a ton of tools out there that root your device, however I am confused as to which one I should run (e.g. slapmymoto, pwnmymoto, etc). I am on the latest firmware (4.4), so I think it requires you to downgrade? Any words of sage advice is appreciated...
Also, any changes I make to my phone, I can always RSDLite my way back to 100% stock correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell or trade your dev edition. Installing SafeStrap on that phone is such a waste of time and energy.
Or read more. There are ways to remove the boot logo screen.
Can anyone confirm whether or not unlocking the boot loader sets a permanent flag?
STEyeAndroid said:
Can anyone confirm whether or not unlocking the boot loader sets a permanent flag?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears to. And the statement about still receiving the unlocked bootloader warning after re-locking the bootloader is correct.
However, since the warranty of the Dev Edition is not voided, just unlock the bootloader, root, and then get rid of the message by replacing the logo.bin
STEyeAndroid said:
Can anyone confirm whether or not unlocking the boot loader sets a permanent flag?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bought a dev edition, it doesn't matter if the flag is set or not.
i really need help trying to figure how to root my AT&T Motorola Moto x. i tried to downgrade but couldnt succeed and i tried unlocking bootloader as well and couldnt succeed either. if anyone can help me please reply! thank you.
Sorry for the long answer, but I think you're going to need this info....
The Moto Maker and Retail Moto X from ATT and Verizon have locked bootloaders and can't have their bootloaders unlocked. Moto doesn't give out the bootloader unlock codes for them. There was a Chinese site selling the codes but it got shut down.
Since you couldn't downgrade successfully, I'm going to guess that you have 4.4.2 on your phone?
Due to changes in the bootloader, GPT.BIN and other parts included with 4.4.2, under certain circumstances when trying to downgrade from 4.4.2 to 4.4 or lower, you could either brick your phone, or set it up to brick in the future when you take an upgrade. So it is suggested you just stick with what is on your phone once you get on 4.4.2!! i.e. do NOT attempt to downgrade from 4.4.2 to anything lower.
I don't know what state your phone is in now, but if you had 4.4.2 on your phone, and you tried to downgrade, but didn't brick, do NOT take any OTA's!!! That will definitely brick your phone. For now, you'll likely get HAB Check errors, and other things if you try to reboot into bootloader or recovery. If you try to go under Settings -> Security you likely be "kicked back" to the settings screen instead. If you are experiencing these or similar issues, when the ATT 4.4.2 SBF gets leaked and posted to -> http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=0 you'll want to download it and flash your phone with it to get back to a stable/consistent foundation.
As for rooting the X with a locked bootloader... (like the ATT Moto X, or non-Developer Verizon X)
If you want usable root on the X you need two parts 1. Root Exploit, and 2. An Exploit that allows for disabling Write Protection.
When Write Protection is enabled (the phone's default state with locked bootloader, or the state you are in after you take the 4.4.2 OTA), any changes made to /system, or the like, (including, but not limited to, App installs, file modifications, deletions, renames, etc) are not permanent and are lost at power off/on.
Even if you have root, but lost Write Protection, any apps you've installed that need to write to system can't permanently save their changes (you have to re-do every time your phone powers off/on), and any Root type app, or app that gets installed to /system after WP is enabled will be lost at power off/on.
MotoWpNoMo was used on 4.4. and below to Disable Write Protection. Part of the 4.4.2 update patches the exploit that MotoWpNoMo used, so it wont work on 4.4.2.
SlapMyMoto/RockMyMoto/etc, used on 4.4 and lower to Root, involved downgrading the rom to use an exploit in 4.2.2 to gain root. But with 4.4.2 you can't downgrade the rom safely, without risk of bricking your phone, so you can't use these anymore.
JCASE has already posted he has an exploit to use to gain root on 4.4.2, but due to job and family, wont release it or a process making use of it until the fall. Who knows what ROM Moto will push out by then, and if they will have patched the exploit already. BUT before you get mad at JCASE for waiting so long, that doesn't address a Write Protection dis-abler. I've not seen any talk about work on that for locked bootloaders (when you unlock the bootloader, like on Dev Editions, the write protection is disabled). So JCASE could release his Root exploit, he or someone could develop that process, but it would be kind of useless without the ability to disable write protection since all your changes would be lost as soon as you power off/on.
Trust me, *IF* or when a Root and Write Protection bypass is out for 4.4.2, you will see threads on it. Until then, you have to sit tight.
Now, if you have 4.4 on your phone, you can root and disable write protection by using SlapMyMoto and MotoWpNoMo, but then you must NOT take the 4.4.2 OTA update, as you will keep root, but write protection will become enabled again. You can use a root capable file explorer (like Root Explorer) to navigate to /system/priv-app and rename the 3C_OTA.APK to 3C_OTA.APK.BAK to prevent the OTA update prompts.
If you are on 4.4 rooted with write protection disabled, you might want to check out the SafeStrap discussions over at Rootzwiki.com. That might at least afford you a way to run 4.4.2.
Hello,
I got my Moto X few days back from America, its Verizon model (I live in Europe)
its not developer edition and bootloader is locked
...and first issue i noticed is when i try to reset to factory with power UP + DOWN volume i couldnt get recovery.. when i go to recovery settings i see moto logo and then verizon picture.. there is no "dead android" and phone boots normaly.
...second thing there was android 4.4 on it and i got notifications to update it, so i was like why not, lets do it... and after i decided to update, phone keeps rebooting itself, and i dont know what to do it stays awake like 10-20sec and reboot again. Cant belive i bricked it that way!
Phone seems that its not rooted or anything, but idk maybe it was and then back to stock.. Is there any solution?
Thanks in advance to any1 who can help me slove the problem
Cheers
Resurrecting A Bricked Moto X
drvoje said:
Hello,
I got my Moto X few days back from America, its Verizon model (I live in Europe)
its not developer edition and bootloader is locked
...and first issue i noticed is when i try to reset to factory with power UP + DOWN volume i couldnt get recovery.. when i go to recovery settings i see moto logo and then verizon picture.. there is no "dead android" and phone boots normaly.
...second thing there was android 4.4 on it and i got notifications to update it, so i was like why not, lets do it... and after i decided to update, phone keeps rebooting itself, and i dont know what to do it stays awake like 10-20sec and reboot again. Cant belive i bricked it that way!
Phone seems that its not rooted or anything, but idk maybe it was and then back to stock.. Is there any solution?
Thanks in advance to any1 who can help me slove the problem
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/how-to-resurrecting-bricked-moto-x-t2629057
Is there any way to try to delete chache or factory reset before flashing to stock rom
drvoje said:
Is there any way to try to delete chache or factory reset before flashing to custom rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its not the developer edition for Verizon, the bootloader is likely locked, so you can NOT flash custom roms (unless you, or a previous owner, got a bootloader unlock code from the China Middleman and used it)
Did you buy the phone used, or new? If used, then it is possible that it was rooted using RockMyMoto, SlapMyMoto or the like... and the boot loop while trying to install an update could be due to that. If so, erasing cache will stop the boot loop. This can be done from stock recovery, or when in Bootloader/FastbootAP mode.
How to Boot into recovery -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-EnterStockRecovery.htm
If that doesn't work, try bootloader/fastboot....
How to get a working AndroidSDK/PlatformTools/ADB/Mfastboot setup -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/ADB.htm
How to boot the phone into fastboot mode -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-BootloaderMode.htm
from your PC, do a mfastboot erase cache
to reboot the phone, mfastboot reboot
Optionally, you could do a mfastboot erase userdata before rebooting, to remove all data, apps, etc.
If erasing cache fixes the boot loop, you might just want to try using RSDLite and reflashing the STOCK rom, recovery, etc. (Download the Verizon 4.4.4 SBF from -> http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=0 then follow -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/guide-moto-x-return-to-100-stock-using-t2446515 ) It would undo anything that was done to root your device, and put you back to factory fresh. The only reason not to, would be if you care about rooting and disabling write protection..
With a locked bootloader, If your phone is still on 4.4 (aka 4.4.0), and still has that older bootloader and gpt.bin, you could use SlapMyMoto to root, and MotoWpNoMo to disable write protection. Just don't take any updates. You could cause a bootloop, but more importantly it will re-enable write protection with no way to disable it again (unless you can unlock the bootloader).
Once your phone is on 4.4.2 or above, you can't properly downgrade the ROM, bootloader and gpt.bin to use the exploits used by SlapMyMoto/MotoWpNoMo. There is a TowelPieRoot which is a temp root that works on 4.4.2. Temp root in the fact that it doesn't survive power off/on, so it needs to be redone each time. Also it doesn't disable write protection, so any changes made to /system or the like are also lost at power off/on (aka hard boot).
Once on 4.4.4, you can't properly downgrade the ROM, bootloader and gpt.bin, and there are no exploits to root, and no way to disable write protection.
If you can use the China Middleman thread to get a bootloader unlock code, then you don't need to worry about the exploits, and you can then root and disable write protection just as if you had a developer edition. Also JCASE may be updating their Sunshine tool to use the exploit found by Dan Rosenberg to unlock the bootloader on the Moto X, but there is no exact date yet of when it will be available (so far "next few weeks" has been said, but nothing more specific), and there is discussion around will it work for those who took the 4.4.4 update or not (no confirmation yet either way).
KidJoe;55503494
If that doesn't work said:
[*]How to get a working AndroidSDK/PlatformTools/ADB/Mfastboot setup ->
[*]How to boot the phone into fastboot mode ->
[*]from your PC, do a mfastboot erase cache
[*]to reboot the phone, mfastboot reboot
[/list]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did this with mfastboot image and worked like charm
bdw now i will need some time reading what is best to do with my unlockable bootloader verizon phone, if u have any sugestions please let me know.
and tnx for the help again mate
drvoje said:
bdw now i will need some time reading what is best to do with my unlockable bootloader verizon phone, if u have any sugestions please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said its a verizon phone, but not the developer edition..
So at this point, the only way to unlock the bootloader is the China Middleman thread (in the general section). When JCASE updates Sunshine for the X (in the coming week or two), you can try that.
Otherwise, there isn't anything you can do.
and for stock android update? which one is the best for moto x? now it is 4.4.0
shall i rsd lite it to 4.4.2 or 4.4.4 or just stay current one?
bdw i need to rsd lite frimware anyway if i plan to use OTA update again perhaps when android L come? For now i just keep ignoring them
and yes its NOT developer edition phone
drvoje said:
and for stock android update? which one is the best for moto x? now it is 4.4.0
shall i rsd lite it to 4.4.2 or 4.4.4 or just stay current one?
bdw i need to rsd lite frimware anyway if i plan to use OTA update again perhaps when android L come? For now i just keep ignoring them
and yes its NOT developer edition phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THe best depends on what you want to do.
Like I said before. IF you have 4.4 (aka 4.4.0) on the phone, and NEVER had anything newer on there (not 4.4.2 or 4.4.4), then stay there, look at SlapMyMoto and MotoWpNoMo to root and disable write protection.
Once you get 4.4.2 on there, you can root, but its temp root, and write protection can NOT be disabled.
4.4.4 you can't root.
Other than that, I can't say I really find too much difference. The camera is better in 4.4.4, but the battery isn't performing as well lately (could be a recent app update).
can i do this on my phone now - without fear of bricking it:
from my pc to run mfastboot again
then to clear chache
then to delete all user data
then to use rsd lite and flash Android 4.4
Blur_Version.140.45.5.ghost_verizon.Verizon.en.US even i alrdy have 4.4 now?
..because i dont know what is done to my phone before and i want to make sure its like "new" device
i know i can not downgrade, but can i flash same frimware? just to make sure thats all stock again
bdw Im stll unable to enter recovery after fastboot :/ is it that because of locked bootloeader? or because it was rooted with any method? i cant find superuser
and then to wait for solution to unlock bootleader?
Thanks in advance
You can always re-flash the same rom that is on your phone.
You just never want to down grade, or flash something older than what is on your phone.
As for not being able to enter Stock Recovery... early versions of the RockMyMoto and such did a trick which made it so that when you picked boot to recovery, it booted to regular system with write protection disabled. If that was used on your phone before you purchased it, that could be the issue. Using RSDLite and flashing back to 100% stock will undo that.
But You never answered if you got the phone new or used.
IF new, then you have some other issue (either you're not doing it right, or there is something wrong with the phone).
If used, you don't know what was done before you received it. Someone might have rooted, etc.. then just removed SuperSU to appear non-rooted when selling, rather than flashing back to stock.
thanks for the reply...
yes phone is used before but same like new... and what i found that phone was rooted by some method.. i made this screenshots, look in attachment..
bdw i dont see super su anywhere in apps? how to remove?
and i got everything rdy to flash it, i was just waiting you to conform if its doable...
and what did u mean by this:
"With a locked bootloader, If your phone is still on 4.4 (aka 4.4.0), and still has that older bootloader and gpt.bin, you could use SlapMyMoto to root, and MotoWpNoMo to disable write protection. Just don't take any updates. You could cause a bootloop, but more importantly it will re-enable write protection with no way to disable it again (unless you can unlock the bootloader)."
is that what happened to me?
and have question about one more thing
my country does not support lte and in my region 3g is bad... i have stable signal all the time but i would like to use edge only (GSM), can i do that using some widgets and if can which ones?
drvoje said:
thanks for the reply...
yes phone is used before but same like new... and what i found that phone was rooted by some method.. i found this screenshot in phone, look in attachment..
bdw i dont see super su anywhere in apps? how to remove?
and i got everything rdy to flash it, i was just waiting you to conform if its doable...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean you don't see a SuperSU icon in the app drawer, then they probably un-installed SuperSU before selling it rather than completely unrooting. If you mean you have an icon in the app drawer, but don't see it to uninstall under Settings -> Apps.. I don't know why that would be.
drvoje said:
and what did u mean by this:
"With a locked bootloader, If your phone is still on 4.4 (aka 4.4.0), and still has that older bootloader and gpt.bin, you could use SlapMyMoto to root, and MotoWpNoMo to disable write protection. Just don't take any updates. You could cause a bootloop, but more importantly it will re-enable write protection with no way to disable it again (unless you can unlock the bootloader)."
is that what happened to me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that could be what happened to you. There are many reports of locked bootloader users who used those older root processes who then upgraded using the OTA from 4.4 to 4.4.2 that encountered bootloops and other issues. It was often recomended to reflash to 100% stock.
And what I meant is that if you are on 4.4 (aka 4.4.0) with all its parts, it is vulnerable and the older exploits can still be used to root and disable write protection without unlocking your bootloader. Search for SlapMyMoto for more details. Some people tried to be cute and mix/match parts which caused issues. Mostly the issues around downgrading are caused by GPT.BIN and Motoboot.IMG parts, their versions, if they've been upgraded and no longer match the rest of the rom on the phone, etc. (and that is a LONG story...)
drvoje said:
and have question about one more thing
my country does not support lte and in my region 3g is bad... i have stable signal all the time but i would like to use edge only (GSM), can i do that using some widgets and if can which ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can TRY using something like LTE On/Off to open the hidden menu and set for GSM Auto (PRL) or LTE GSM Auto(PRL). I'm not sure which would work best.
Oh, and as for unlocking the bootloader, I've mentioned the China Middleman and JCASE's Sunshine so there are the links to read up if you want to do it.
The China Middleman is just like if you got the code directly from Moto. I don't know what the Jcase tool is like yet.
thanks again!
so i dont see a SuperSU icon in the app drawer - uninstalled probably and that is why i can not enter stock recovery
I am still on android 4.4 didnt do anything yet...
what u recommend me to do? to rsd lite it to 4.4 again? right?
than i will root my device
and about bootloader, my device is 9.2013, so i will wait JCASE's Sunshine and support him
ps. wiget works gr8 :good:
Just want to write some words, i just took jcase tool which is very easy to setup (made for noobs like me) and i got bootloader UNLOCKED on my verizon NON developer edition phone
and now i RSD lite to 4.4 stock rom
would like to hear from KidJoe what is best to do with my moto x now thanks
Now you can update to 4.4.4,whichever methods you want, and still root it. Done. ?
drvoje said:
Just want to write some words, i just took jcase tool which is very easy to setup (made for noobs like me) and i got bootloader UNLOCKED on my verizon NON developer edition phone
and now i RSD lite to 4.4 stock rom
would like to hear from KidJoe what is best to do with my moto x now thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow [mention]@KJ[/mention] 's advice and update to 4.4.4, and follow the Dev Edition or Unlocked Bootloader guides to rooting (flash the latest TWRP and root.)
I have a locked BL VZW XT1060 on 4.4.2 stock
It was/is rooted.
It has SuperSU installed but without binaries installed.
A little history:
Originally on 4.2.2 then OTA to 4.4.
Downgraded to 4.2.2 and applied SlapMyMoto.
I believe I took OTA to 4.4 with the intention to sit tight there.
I accidentally took OTA to 4.4.2.
This is where it gets weird.
Root was still intact but write protection was temporary, meaning after reboot, I lose it.
This was fine as it allowed me to temporarily disable write protection and enable the native hotspot.
Then, one day I was updating some apps on my phone, I noticed that I completely lost the ability to disable to write protection. I tried uninstalling all to the app updates to no avail.
What are my options to get WiFi tether/Hotspot back?
Sunshine, unlock the bootloader, and have a fully unlocked device. Anything else and you'll likely run into issues similar to what you have now.
Sent from my Moto X
What the guy above me said.
@slingblade01 what you described is exactly what happens.
The vulnerability which MotoWpNoMo exploited to disable write protection was patched in 4.4.2, so if you have a LOCKED Bootloader, and updated from 4.4 you could keep root, but write protection became enabled with no way to disable it again.
If you don't care about upgrading past 4.4.2, you can search for TowelPieRoot, and gain temp root to.
Otherwise, as @imnuts and @nhizzat say, If you are still on 4.4.2, and have its bootloader, then you can use Sunshine to unlock the bootloader, after witch your phone will be just like a Developer Edition, or other edition with the bootloader unlocked.
In other words, once you unlock using Sunshine, you may root by following -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/moto-x-qa/instructions-unlocking-rooting-dev-ed-t2649738 Just please be sure to use the latest TWRP fastboot IMG file and Installable ZIP of SuperSU. Once completed, you will have root with write protection disabled.
And it does not matter what Stock ROM or Android version is on your phone (Android 5 has some changes, so stay tuned) , once your bootloader is unlocked, you can always root or re-root it. (You just can't take OTA with custom recovery on there!!).
For Sunshine discussion see -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/request-help-exploit-moto-x-bl-t2828471
and -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2792487
and most importantly....
http://theroot.ninja/
Sunshine will check if its compatible with your phone first, if it is, it will charge you $25 before proceeding to unlock you. Unlike using the bootloader unlock code from Moto or the middleman, using Sunshine to unlock your bootloader is not destructive.
Once your bootloader is unlocked via Sunshine, do NOT attempt to re-lock it. because if you do relock it, you wont be able to unlock it again!! BTW, there is no need to relock anyway. It doesn't impact taking OTAs, etc.
Thank you and last question.
Thanks, that was the answer I was expecting but wanted professional opinions first.
Before I use Sunshine, do I need to do any prep work first, such as disable/remove root (remove SuperSU)?
Thanks again.
slingblade01 said:
Thanks, that was the answer I was expecting but wanted professional opinions first.
Before I use Sunshine, do I need to do any prep work first, such as disable/remove root (remove SuperSU)?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I have a developer edition, I got my bootloader unlock code from moto, and haven't tried Sunshine.
From my brief reading/following of the Sunshine thread, I don't think you have to un-do anything. But I would consider flashing back to stock to remove any traces of SlapMyMoto and the like AFTER you unlock via Sunshine.
Hi, after some months playing (and loving) my Moto X, I decided it's time to start flashing roms and messing around with it. I used to do this a lot on my Xperia phones, since it was simple. However, Motorola's phones are kind of hard to even root, so for the first time ever, I find myself in the need of unlocking the bootloader because my career will most likely ignore the 5.0 update for the Moto X.
I'm currently using a Xt1058 with 4.4.2. The update for 4.4.4 was just released TODAY, but I'm afraid I won't be able to unlock the bootloader if I update it. So I was wondering if it's possible to unlock the bootloader on 4.4.2 and then flash a 4.4.2/3 ROM from either T-Mobile or generic Brazil (since I heard those update quickly) in order to ensure my update to 5.0. So here are my questions:
1) Is it possible to unlock the BL with my current settings?
2) Is it simple? I've never unocked a BL before.
3) Is it easy (and possible) to flash ROMs from other careers? Will I need to manually install Lollipop if I do that, or will I just get an OTA update?
4) Will I lose all my data?
5) If I mess something up during the process, can it get fixed?
6) Can I unlock bootloader on 4.4.4 and just update my phone via OTA?
1. Sunshine. Google it.
2. Possibly since you never have before
3. Not worth it for your reasons
4. Yes
5. Maybe
6. No