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I need a new phone with a physical keyboard. Was looking at the Droid4, which appears to have the best physical keyboard around, but am a bit of a newb at this stuff. My old HTC Dream (G1) is dying, and I need to figure this out sooner then later. Haha
Can it be unlocked to work on Rogers Wireless in Canada?
As of right now, no.
Dave Lister said:
As of right now, no.
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Thnx. Is it a case of no unlock? Or (lack of knowledge here) no GSM support?
Also, once an android device is rooted, is there an unlock app of some kind? Or?
demungtoe said:
Thnx. Is it a case of no unlock? Or (lack of knowledge here) no GSM support?
Also, once an android device is rooted, is there an unlock app of some kind? Or?
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Click to collapse
Currently GSM support is disabled in the firmware and AFAIK it will stay that way until Verizon releases an update to enable it.
Was a bit disappointing they do not have the global services available on the Droid 4. If your looking for a device with keyboard right now you may be able to pick up a used Droid 2 Global. I know those work up there as I had one when I was in Canada last year.
All I can say is, damn. I can't believe how messed up the mobile phone industry is. There is a device, I want to use it, so much so that I'm willing to pay the crazy $549.99 pricetag for it. However, they've decided that I'm not allowed to use it on my network. I hope chinese clones step up their game! Heh.
I was contemplating a droid3, however don't want to spend too much since I may want the droid4 once its actually usable.
I was contemplating picking up a motorola flipout for the meantime, cheap and weird looking!
Also, this probably isn't the right place for a question about this, but I'm at a loss as to what the heck unlock codes actually are (are they issued by the carrier? or hardware manufacturer?) and why there are numerous scammy websites selling them. Can anyone recommend a site I can do some reading about this on? About why I'll probably have to pay for one? I may need to know this if I pickup a different used phone.
The SIM Unlock codes are usually given by the carrier to their paid customers. Verizon will give them out if you have had an account in good standing for 6 months if I recall right.
As for sites to get the unlock codes, I cannot make any recommendations due to I have never paid for them. I have however seen on sites like deals extreme unlocker SIMs that go between the phone and the SIM but have no idea if or how well those work.
Also if you buy a used device you may be able to get one that has been SIM unlocked already. The SIM unlock is a one time task, even if the phone gets wiped or reset it will remain SIM unlocked.
I still keep my G1 as a spare. My next step from that was a TouchPro2 - it comes with WindowsMobile, but I'm running XDAndroid on it. It has an excellent keyboard. I think I still like the TP2 keyboard better than my D4's keyboard.
But, the TP2 has the exact same processor as the G1, and only a tiny bit more RAM. It has a much higher screen rez (800x480) but no faster hardware, so it is noticeably slow.
If I were you I'd look at picking up a used Droid3. I was considering the D3 as my next phone from the TP2, but waited instead for the D4 to come out. As it is, I'm finding that Verizon's 4G service is cutting out all the time on me, so it's still better as a 3G phone. And I'm heading off to Europe in a couple weeks, and will have to bring my G1 or my TP2 on the trip anyway.
Curses to Qualcomm, Motorola, and Verizon. Verizon for their stupid policies and selling a phone with full-featured hardware and intentionally crippled software. Motorola for their locked firmware that prevents end-users, who have legitimately paid for and *own* the damn hardware, from installing software on it as they see fit. Qualcomm for preventing end-users (again, who have legitimately paid for and *own* the hardware) from even seeing the specifications so that they can provide their own software.
demungtoe said:
All I can say is, damn. I can't believe how messed up the mobile phone industry is. There is a device, I want to use it, so much so that I'm willing to pay the crazy $549.99 pricetag for it. However, they've decided that I'm not allowed to use it on my network. I hope chinese clones step up their game! Heh.
I was contemplating a droid3, however don't want to spend too much since I may want the droid4 once its actually usable.
I was contemplating picking up a motorola flipout for the meantime, cheap and weird looking!
Also, this probably isn't the right place for a question about this, but I'm at a loss as to what the heck unlock codes actually are (are they issued by the carrier? or hardware manufacturer?) and why there are numerous scammy websites selling them. Can anyone recommend a site I can do some reading about this on? About why I'll probably have to pay for one? I may need to know this if I pickup a different used phone.
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Click to collapse
Bell sells the Motorola XT860, I'm currently using it unlocked on Rogers without a hitch. The only issue, I'm not sure if this phone will get official ICS support... The devs are hacking away at getting all of the cool ICS features up and running though
You can probably find an XT860 on Kijiji, Craigslist or even eBay for a lot cheaper than the full Bell price... heck they were giving them away on 3 year contracts during xmas. You might want to check out the Droid3 forums in the meantime to get some more info on XT860
Fwiw, i'm in Ireland now and popped an Irish SIM into the phone. Interestingly enough, you can swap the SIM while the phone is powered on, in Airplane mode. It still didn't work, but the phone didn't complain about any SIM lock. But when I rebooted the phone, it complained then.
There are properties in /system/build.prop for enabling world-mode. I turned these on, but looking at the radio logcat, it seems that our current libril-xxx.so just doesn't support any GSM commands.
The interesting thing is that the Motorola Atrix has the same Qualcomm MDM6600 radio modem as this phone. I'm going to look for an Atrix ROM and see if I can kang some libril files from there to see if I can get any further. (Btw, I wrote the multimode RIL for the XDAndroid ROM; this sort of investigation is my specialty...)
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
I hope they hurry with this. I want this phone now. Its ridiculous that users outside USA cannot use this phone.
Bump, any development?
HerrDarkShadow said:
Bump, any development?
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Look at the thread titled "Droid 4 for Hong Konger" in this forum for instructions on how to unlock GSM capability. This only came about a few days ago.
Dave Lister said:
Look at the thread titled "Droid 4 for Hong Konger" in this forum for instructions on how to unlock GSM capability. This only came about a few days ago.
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And it's still not stable from what I've read...
This phone is too early to jump into for me. I'll stick to my 4G Slide for now and check back on this device in a few months. Maybe development will pick up by then and they'll have the GSM thing sorted out
Bumping this again. Any news?
I'm in the same situation as OP. Need to upgrade phone (from a Desire Z) and want something with physical keyboard. Droid 4 seems like the best bet.
eksobr said:
Bumping this again. Any news?
I'm in the same situation as OP. Need to upgrade phone (from a Desire Z) and want something with physical keyboard. Droid 4 seems like the best bet.
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Click to collapse
The phone worked fine for me on Rogers when I had it. I did a bunch of tweaking in order to get all of the functions working, but this was back in ICS. Also, no LTE is available...
But you're much better off going full touchscreen, just get used to it... I think keyboard phones are going the way of the dinosaur
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
eksobr said:
Bumping this again. Any news?
I'm in the same situation as OP. Need to upgrade phone (from a Desire Z) and want something with physical keyboard. Droid 4 seems like the best bet.
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Click to collapse
danifunker said:
The phone worked fine for me on Rogers when I had it. I did a bunch of tweaking in order to get all of the functions working, but this was back in ICS. Also, no LTE is available...
But you're much better off going full touchscreen, just get used to it... I think keyboard phones are going the way of the dinosaur
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OK guys this is perfect timing.. and i dont have much support for th eextra tweaking issues we have in Canada, with some of these phones and roms..
Anyhow. Heres my story.. You will like the ending!!
Ive owned a Droid 3 (XT860-BELLMOBILITY) for over a year now.. I came from the original Milestone 1 from Telus Mobililty.
4 weeks ago I had my Droid 3 stolen from me in the laundry room of my condo.. Well it was more.. forgotten by me (i think it was lost there.. for sure!!) and some lucky sole got their hands on it.. I can now use google and its cached pages of kijiji to see that it wass posted the day of.. lol ive got the kid selling other goods so its only a matter of time before i force karma upon him
I took a risk, but being desperate QWERTYDROID junkies like we are, and bought an American Verizon Droid 3 (XT862)
--Keep in mind that i knew nothing about unlocking, rooting, restoring, and doing the whole ROM/Bootstrap/TWRP/SAFEBOOT etc.. Im 35, been into pc's since i was 15, but never into MAC or LINUX.
At this point ive bricked these phones and the next one i speak about dozens of times, while attempting to do the practice makes perfect sort of journey to see what works, what doesnt, what sometimes does, etc.. Its always ended up being able to use the original stock rom's with no problems. (sometimes bloatwear was anoying) but not much support for our radios and etc.
So i had a bit of trouble getting this verizon droid 3 up and running as verizon themselves gives us extra work by trying to secure the load up of the activation process. Either way.. it worked, and still does, and ive gotten a few roms working on it like all SteelDroid, CM10.1, MiniMoto, and possibly a couple others. but these were the ones that can and will work, with a bit of trial and error.
shoot gotta run for a few minutes. so i wanna post this so i dont lose it all.
PART 2 of this story to follow within an hour!! But ill give you a bit of a spoiler.
I am using a Droid 4 now.. as a poster said justr before me, he had many issues to get past, well so did I, but them came the huge hurdles to get over also..
Still have my droid 3 xt862 that was wanting to sell. though,, im still not for certain ready to part with it..
be back shortly sorry about this..
next part in next post
What happened????
Sent from my Galaxy S Relay
eksobr said:
Bumping this again. Any news?
I'm in the same situation as OP. Need to upgrade phone (from a Desire Z) and want something with physical keyboard. Droid 4 seems like the best bet.
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Click to collapse
As far as I'm aware, there shouldn't be any problem getting this to run on a GSM network outside the United States. If the phone is on ICS or JB the GSM is unlocked already. If you use any of the ROM's, there's a thread in the "Droid 4 Android Development" called "Enable GSM on any ROM Patch" which should fully enable it.
Sent from my XT894 using xda app-developers app
demungtoe said:
I need a new phone with a physical keyboard. Was looking at the Droid4, which appears to have the best physical keyboard around, but am a bit of a newb at this stuff. My old HTC Dream (G1) is dying, and I need to figure this out sooner then later. Haha
Can it be unlocked to work on Rogers Wireless in Canada?
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I have a Droid4, updated with android 4.1, and I can confirm you that it works with Rogers
It appears that there is a guy who is interning at Motorola that wants to get ahold of some bigwigs and help voice our frustration. Here is a link if you have any ideas, please share them!
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/xty65/i_am_interning_at_a_major_fortune_500_company_who/
Why wouldn't they? They'll only lose the majority of the tech-geek community to other brands
DoubleYouPee said:
Why wouldn't they? They'll only lose the majority of the tech-geek community to other brands
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Some speculate that they hold a special contract with Verizon. This contract basically says: keep your bootloaders unlocked and you will be our flagship phone company. You will be in all our ads.
I just hope someone could post a convincing argument for that intern to use to further our cause.
jesusishere said:
Some speculate that they hold a special contract with Verizon. This contract basically says: keep your bootloaders unlocked and you will be our flagship phone company. You will be in all our ads.
I just hope someone could post a convincing argument for that intern to use to further our cause.
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Why would they need to have a locked bootloader to have that contract?
VZW always said it ws for the "health" of the network. That rooted devices would cause it harm.
Well, one, the Nexus is unlocked so where is the concern there? and 2. I haven't heard of any gnex causing harm to the network.
I'm guessing its because when we all found wifi tether on the OG, the network suffered. lol
Here is the reason boot loaders are locked...
...and are likely to remain locked. It's because they don't want you messing with it. Read throughout the various Android forums and you will find over and over again people talking about how they screwed up their phone and got the carrier to replace it for them. I've seen some practically bragging about how they've screwed Verizon and got them to replace the phone 3 and 4 and more times. As long as this keeps happening, they will resist allowing unlocked boot loaders.
About the only way it will ever happen is if they went to a scheme like Asus has with it's transformer series tablets. Basically they lock it. But they also provide an unlocking tool. This unlocking tool basically has warnings all over it that say that if you do it, your warranty and any claim to support are void...and we do not want to hear from you. But even then on the Transformer Prime forum on XDA you hear people complaining about problems with their unlocked device and seeking advice on how to re-lock it so they can screw the company into taking it back (Asus also made unlocking an irreversible process).
For the manufacturers and carriers there is just no incentive to unlock them. By locking them they cede the enthusiast market to a large extent but that market is a drop in the bucket compared to the market as a whole.
vbhokiefan said:
VZW always said it ws for the "health" of the network. That rooted devices would cause it harm.
Well, one, the Nexus is unlocked so where is the concern there? and 2. I haven't heard of any gnex causing harm to the network.
I'm guessing its because when we all found wifi tether on the OG, the network suffered. lol
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Well nowadays all data plans are being metered anyways. If I buy 2GB per month why does Verizon care if its used on my laptop instead of my phone for example. There was a recent FCC lawsuit against Verizon for separate tethering charges because it went against some agreement they had when they bought the 4G spectrum.
ratman6161 said:
...and are likely to remain locked. It's because they don't want you messing with it. Read throughout the various Android forums and you will find over and over again people talking about how they screwed up their phone and got the carrier to replace it for them. I've seen some practically bragging about how they've screwed Verizon and got them to replace the phone 3 and 4 and more times. As long as this keeps happening, they will resist allowing unlocked boot loaders.
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Simple, unlocking your bootloader voids the warranty and the user would agree to this before running the factory bootloader unlock program. There would also have to be an easy way to tell if the bootloader had been unlocked on a bricked phone.
spunker88 said:
Simple, unlocking your bootloader voids the warranty and the user would agree to this before running the factory bootloader unlock program. There would also have to be an easy way to tell if the bootloader had been unlocked on a bricked phone.
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From a Verizon point of view, this remains problematic. The issue is that a user with a hardware problem that lost warranty support is likely to still be angry at Verizon for not supporting the phone; even somebody with a software issue who gets no help could express anger at Verizon and decide to leave the network for another carrier (where the cycle start again, probably.) It's a matter of control - it's hard enough supporting a ton of phones, it makes it even harder when you cannot even predict what's on the phone. And from Verizon's point of view, their brand is strong enough that they feel that they can exert this control without angering enough users to matter.
(Still, the reasons I listed above are easily solved if the OEMs provide all of the tools required to bring a phone back to stock...)
doogald said:
From a Verizon point of view, this remains problematic. The issue is that a user with a hardware problem that lost warranty support is likely to still be angry at Verizon for not supporting the phone; even somebody with a software issue who gets no help could express anger at Verizon and decide to leave the network for another carrier (where the cycle start again, probably.) It's a matter of control - it's hard enough supporting a ton of phones, it makes it even harder when you cannot even predict what's on the phone. And from Verizon's point of view, their brand is strong enough that they feel that they can exert this control without angering enough users to matter.
(Still, the reasons I listed above are easily solved if the OEMs provide all of the tools required to bring a phone back to stock...)
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+1
ratman6161 said:
...and are likely to remain locked. It's because they don't want you messing with it. Read throughout the various Android forums and you will find over and over again people talking about how they screwed up their phone and got the carrier to replace it for them. I've seen some practically bragging about how they've screwed Verizon and got them to replace the phone 3 and 4 and more times. As long as this keeps happening, they will resist allowing unlocked boot loaders.
About the only way it will ever happen is if they went to a scheme like Asus has with it's transformer series tablets. Basically they lock it. But they also provide an unlocking tool. This unlocking tool basically has warnings all over it that say that if you do it, your warranty and any claim to support are void...and we do not want to hear from you. But even then on the Transformer Prime forum on XDA you hear people complaining about problems with their unlocked device and seeking advice on how to re-lock it so they can screw the company into taking it back (Asus also made unlocking an irreversible process).
For the manufacturers and carriers there is just no incentive to unlock them. By locking them they cede the enthusiast market to a large extent but that market is a drop in the bucket compared to the market as a whole.
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I don't really like this argument though, because most of those bricks are CAUSED by the locked bootloaders and other "security" put into place. These phones are just computers with radios inside. I've never bricked my (desktop or laptop) computer, and neither have most people, because computers have been designed such that the process that brings the computer up (the BIOS) is simple, reliable, and will load anything you tell it to, negating the need to mess with it.
The OG Droid was borderline software unbrickable, because you could leave the stock bootloader in place, and the stock bootloader was able to get you back home (SBF) by itself. If all phones were built like this today, and manufacturer's had a utility to restore the phone back to stock available on their website, the people returning devices due to softbricking would probably go way down, because a softbrick would be no big deal.
Few things I want to get straight, I in no way shape or form tampered with this device. I am an AT&T employee and came across this while setting a customer up with his new S5. This is how it came brand new sealed out of the box. Also, I understand the photo is blurry. This is due to the fact that the screen did not stay up long. I snapped as fast as I could before I had to take it back because it was actually extremely buggy and kept freezing. Just felt the need to to share with the guys. Looks like some are being missed in the lock down lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
bnicsk8guy said:
Few things I want to get straight, I in no way shape or form tampered with this device. I am an AT&T employee and came across this while setting a customer up with his new S5. This is how it came brand new sealed out of the box. Also, I understand the photo is blurry. This is due to the fact that the screen did not stay up long. I snapped as fast as I could before I had to take it back because it was actually extremely buggy and kept freezing. Just felt the need to to share with the guys. Looks like some are being missed in the lock down lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
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Can you tell what software version its running?
That doesn't mean the bootloader is unlocked. It simply means that the devices scanning utility (SysScope it was called on the S4) detected a change to a file. In the case of the phone you had, it sounds like it was probably do to a faulty board or failing software in a bad unit. The S4s are known to show "custom" for absolutely no reason at all or because of something on the SD card. It usually reverted back to official after a couple of reboots. I'm not trying to be confrontational by asking this, but how can you be an AT&T employee and not know this? Like I said, this question is not a personal attack, but I am wondering if AT&T gives any training on how these devices work in real life and not just on the shelf. Either way, I promise you the bootloader is still locked on that device. The unlocked symbol and custom have nothing at all to do with the bootloader.
Mine shows that also
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
pingfl00d said:
Mine shows that also
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Me too. Still not exactly sure what it means unless it's the developer options being enabled.
Edit: Just checked and it's not the developer options...and mine doesn't have the unlock icon anymore actually. I think scott14719 is probably right.
nizbot said:
Me too. Still not exactly sure what it means unless it's the developer options being enabled.
Edit: Just checked and it's not the developer options...and mine doesn't have the unlock icon anymore actually. I think scott14719 is probably right.
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I'm right. If you want more information about it you can search the AT&T S4 forum for relevant threads. There really is a lot of information about it that might answer a lot of potential questions.
scott14719 said:
That doesn't mean the bootloader is unlocked. It simply means that the devices scanning utility (SysScope it was called on the S4) detected a change to a file. In the case of the phone you had, it sounds like it was probably do to a faulty board or failing software in a bad unit. The S4s are known to show "custom" for absolutely no reason at all or because of something on the SD card. It usually reverted back to official after a couple of reboots. I'm not trying to be confrontational by asking this, but how can you be an AT&T employee and not know this? Like I said, this question is not a personal attack, but I am wondering if AT&T gives any training on how these devices work in real life and not just on the shelf. Either way, I promise you the bootloader is still locked on that device. The unlocked symbol and custom have nothing at all to do with the bootloader.
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AT&T provides training that is optional for new devices, but there is an article released with relevant information to sell the phone. They do not train employees to check bootloaders, for root, for knox warranty, etc. None of my coworkers know what a bootloader is or what it means to be locked or unlocked. Edit: No training provided by AT&T mentions root, jailbreak, bootloaders, etc etc.
To be on topic, after I switched to ART, the Custom unlocked pad came up, when I switched back to Dalvik, the Custom unlocked padlock went away.
I am also an AT&T COR store employee and none of my coworkers know about that kinda stuff. Not a lick of training is given on that.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'll try not to take offense to that....lol. No AT&T does no training for these things. And to be honest with you I am usually pretty knowledgeable when it comes to these things. I have been out of the Samsung scene for a while ( Due to me using my more developer friendly Nexus 5 or my new HTC One M8) so I am now unfamiliar with how these devices handle certain things. I have yet to do anything like change my runtime on the device do to the fact that it only made minor performance changes to my Nexus 5. If I would have I probably would have gotten the same boot screen and then eventually thought nothing of it. Just had a little moment of excitement while on the job lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
bnicsk8guy said:
I'll try not to take offense to that....lol. No AT&T does no training for these things. And to be honest with you I am usually pretty knowledgeable when it comes to these things. I have been out of the Samsung scene for a while ( Due to me using my more developer friendly Nexus 5 or my new HTC One M8) so I am now unfamiliar with how these devices handle certain things. I have yet to do anything like change my runtime on the device do to the fact that it only made minor performance changes to my Nexus 5. If I would have I probably would have gotten the same boot screen and then eventually thought nothing of it. Just had a little moment of excitement while on the job lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
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Definitely no offence intended. I just wish AT&T, Bestbuys, etc... would do a better job of training the people that they expect to sell these devices. Most people don't know the everyday quirks of most devices unless they are given an oppertunity to learn about them.
scott14719 said:
Definitely no offence intended. I just wish AT&T, Bestbuys, etc... would do a better job of training the people that they expect to sell these devices. Most people don't know the everyday quirks of most devices unless they are given an oppertunity to learn about them.
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Careful what you wish for!! Last thing I need is someone checking whether my Knox has been tripped or my bootloader unlocked when I do a return :laugh:
As AT&T employees you better get ahold of some higher ups, and let them know they are going to lose lots of customers due to the lock down on their bootloaders of their devices. Many people are ready to switch.
pcidiot said:
As AT&T employees you better get ahold of some higher ups, and let them know they are going to lose lots of customers due to the lock down on their bootloaders of their devices. Many people are ready to switch.
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they don't care and anything this guy says will most likely anything this guy says will be ignored
cyberace1985 said:
they don't care and anything this guy says will most likely anything this guy says will be ignored
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Seems to me they should care, they could lose 100's if not 1000's over the next 4 years.
pcidiot said:
Seems to me they should care, they could lose 100's if not 1000's over the next 4 years.
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But in the grand scheme of things 100 to thousands isn't that big of a loss. for an example with the s5 I can almost guarantee we are just a small subset of s5 owners the largest portion will never know what root is or have any idea what to do with it. The money they take from the larger portion will cover the expected returns from the 1% who are upset and or mad that they locked the BL.
cyberace1985 said:
But in the grand scheme of things 100 to thousands isn't that big of a loss. for an example with the s5 I can almost guarantee we are just a small subset of s5 owners the largest portion will never know what root is or have any idea what to do with it. The money they take from the larger portion will cover the expected returns from the 1% who are upset and or mad that they locked the BL.
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Click to collapse
Your right partially but grand scheme of things = all of their devices that are locked not just s5's. I am just saying that, they are always seeming to pull more customers in with new deals so gaining customers is important to them. So not losing customers should also be important in the same aspect no matter what the percentage is. If they don't care then shame on them.
pcidiot said:
Your right partially but grand scheme of things = all of their devices that are locked not just s5's. I am just saying that, they are always seeming to pull more customers in with new deals so gaining customers is important to them. So not losing customers should also be important in the same aspect no matter what the percentage is. If they don't care then shame on them.
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They would love to get everyone 100% satisfied but realistically its impossible so they shoot for the highest number of satisfied people
pcidiot said:
Seems to me they should care, they could lose 100's if not 1000's over the next 4 years.
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Click to collapse
No they won't. Who are they going to switch to? Tmobile? Tmobile will be locking down their bootloader as soon as they get the chance. Only reason why they haven't already is because they need as many customers as they can get. Same reason they kept downloader booster...even though they can't afford to keep it. Not to mention, the average user doesn't give a crap about bootloaders or download boosters.
I got the custom message after applying ART.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
cyberace1985 said:
But in the grand scheme of things 100 to thousands isn't that big of a loss. for an example with the s5 I can almost guarantee we are just a small subset of s5 owners the largest portion will never know what root is or have any idea what to do with it. The money they take from the larger portion will cover the expected returns from the 1% who are upset and or mad that they locked the BL.
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You are right I seen an older couple at the att store buying both s5's and it looked like they did not know anything about root. Etc. They are buying the device because of its features and camera. Not saying older people don't mess with the bootloader or anything.
MOTO X SLAPPED
And I've spent the past 1-2 hours reading around 50-ish threads and several hundred posts, and while I'm sure I already know the answer to this question I'm still going to ask it outright.
The specifics:
AT&T XT1058 pure stock Moto X running Android KitKat 4.4.4 as up to date as possible.
Is it rooted? NO
Is the bootloader unlocked? NO
Now, based on those two facts, and after reading all about SunShine (which is pretty awesome so thanks for that one, jcase and the crew that developed it), it seems if I want root then my only potential option at this point in time is "The Chinese Guy" if he's still in business to get a proper bootloader unlock which of course opens this device up entirely to whatever I might care to do.
Honestly the only reasons I care about root access would be for Titanium Backup (since I did purchase that in the past so it's like if I can't make full use of the app itself (because it requires root access to really do everything it's capable of doing) the money was more or less just given away for nothing, and a few other apps that require root level privilege (ES File Explorer root access, a few Wi-Fi tools, that's about it).
Of course, having the fully unlocked bootloader would let me play around with ROMs, kernels, and whatever I damned well please.
So the actual question I hinted at with the beginning of this post is:
For the moment, am I correct in the belief that my only option at all at this time meaning today and into the immediate foreseeable future to do anything with this device is "The Chinese Guy" ... if I want to be able to do more things with the device?
This is my second Moto X, the first one was the trial offer I took advantage of for a penny and I did enjoy the device while I had it, so when I got the chance to get one for free earlier today (traded a laptop for it that was also given to me) I jumped at it.
I understand that with 4.4.4 on it I can't roll back to any previous version, sadly, and that since SunShine requires root to even test the device (the temp root thing, ain't happening) that's a dead end leaving "The Chinese Guy" again as the only potential.
Just looking for a confirmation, that's all.
Thanks...
Yes, on the XT1058 from ATT with 4.4.4 on it, that is the latest rom/update, you can't downgrade (without risk of bricking the phone) and the China Middleman is the only hope of unlocking your bootloader and/or rooting. (to be clear, I mean the China Middleman doesn't actually root your phone, but once bootloader unlocked you will be able to root)
And yes, having an unlocked bootloader is the only way to flash any rom that isn't the stock Moto rom for the ATT XT1058.
And yes, Sunshine wont work since you can't even temp root 4.4.4.
I am not aware of any new root processes for 4.4.4 with locked bootloader coming, or ways to make Sunshine work on 4.4.4. If something newer is coming, it either wasn't announced yet, or I missed the announcement.
That being said, since it sounds like you got this phone used, rather than new.. who knows what the original owner did to it.. If it was someone who followed these boards, there is a SLIGHT chance they were trying to be tricky, and upgraded only parts of your phone to 4.4.4. Boot into FastbootAp/Bootloader mode, and check the version (second line from the top). If it is 30.B7, you're fully on 4.4.4 and you are stuck. If your bootloader is not 30.B7, then you might have a chance to downgrade your rom safely, and then use sunshine (post the version if its not 30.B7)
Thanks for the info, and yes the bootloader is 30.B7 (2014-06-23). Oh well... it is most definitely used but still in excellent condition (just some cosmetic scrapes and scuffs on the rubberized corners of the back cover). It's a good phone, a solid one, so I'll hang on to it for the time being, just need to get the carrier unlocked for use with T-Mobile but that'll be after the first of November.
It's a Moto X for free, I suppose I really shouldn't complain.
Just hit up jcase on IRC, who makes Sunshine. He's currently working on supporting XT1058 with 4.4.4 -- I have the same one, with the same bootloader. Wait a bit. Looks like he usually publishes stuff every few months. I think we may have an early Christmas gift. Well, it will cost us $25, though.
If he's able to do it then I'll look into it at that time, I may just offload this for a profit, not really sure at the moment. The camera is really depressing, was just outside taking some images here in downtown Las Vegas because we have this huge music festival this weekend (www.lifeisbeautiful.com) and the picture quality is just utterly abysmal - I tried the latest updated Motorola Camera app, Focal, Google Camera, and several others and they all just can't make the actual physical camera do anything decent. Exposures are always wrong, focus is seemingly permanently soft, there's no sharpness at all to most anything regardless of the lighting conditions, etc.
I could ramble on forever but, again it was free so I guess I'll shut up.
I had no idea that I posted something illegal my bad
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
I used the Chinese guy to unlock, and haven't looked back. I still run Stock w/ Root, and was worth the $45 to not worry about it anymore. If your gonna keep it, get the unlock code.
Well that Chinese middleman isn't responding to contacts by anyone at the moment so that's a dead end and this one was built on 11-11-2013 so he'd probably not be able to get me one anyway. I just got the carrier unlock code last night and used it without issues. I put it on craigslist along with the Motorola Skip I had and never used, maybe someone will want it. It's still a great phone, but for me, the lack of being able to root it or most anything else makes it basically not something I really need these days. I have a "dumbphone" that works fine and has done so for many years.
Thanks for the info and suggestions, peeps...
So I understand that we have locked bootloader but it seems that these forums are dying. This is the first LG phone ive ever owned but it really feels dead even compared to my Galaxy note 3. It's like nobody is even trying to do anything with it and its made me quite sad. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to make this phone feel fun and different like I remember doing to my Galaxy s2 or s3? I miss the good old days when a new rom came out every week and new exploits came out almost instantly.
Since there is no official unlock method, it's very tough to develop. Even if there was a workaround to unlock, these money hungry CDMA carriers lock us out of fastboot and adb, so it wouldn't be possible either way. I really wish I would've waited for the new Nexus phones or the OnePlus Two.
ironbesterer said:
Since there is no official unlock method, it's very tough to develop. Even if there was a workaround to unlock, these money hungry CDMA carriers lock us out of fastboot and adb, so it wouldn't be possible either way. I really wish I would've waited for the new Nexus phones or the OnePlus Two.
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The one plus 2 isn't for CDMA, but yeah, the nexus phone would have been great.
EmSeeMAC said:
The one plus 2 isn't for CDMA, but yeah, the nexus phone would have been great.
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Wasn't saying it was. I'm saying I wish I would've waited for it. I didn't want a carrier phone to begin with, but the G4 made me want it. Big mistake
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
I know how you feel. I had mine since release and though I think its an all around great phone root for the most part has done me justice. I just think the general idea of bootloader locking is bull**** and should be illegal. I would love a nexus phone but I will not buy into googles push to cloud storage and their services. I can deal with no removable battery but non expandable memory is a no go. Honestly if/when we get android M on the G3 and we get a custom rom I will go back to it provided the bluetooth issues are ironed out. But thats just my 2 cents
kangta05 said:
I know how you feel. I had mine since release and though I think its an all around great phone root for the most part has done me justice. I just think the general idea of bootloader locking is bull**** and should be illegal. I would love a nexus phone but I will not buy into googles push to cloud storage and their services. I can deal with no removable battery but non expandable memory is a no go. Honestly if/when we get android M on the G3 and we get a custom rom I will go back to it provided the bluetooth issues are ironed out. But thats just my 2 cents
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Bootloader unlock, illegal... Really? Please don't be that guy. We bought the phone, we should be able to do what we want to it. That's like buying a car and it being illegal to change your own oil.
You might want to read that again. Where did I state that UN locking it should be illegal. I said the whole boot loader locking thing is bs ie we should not be locked out from it.
I called LG and talk to a tech who told me if I send my phone to them they would unlock my bootloader but it would void my warranty and of course I already knew that but I was just shocked that they said yes instead of telling me no.