Database Develop

[Q] After Update to 5.1, Re-lock Bootloader?

Due to organizational requirements the bootloader needs to be locked. So, here go the questions:
After flashing factory image (5.1.0 (LMY47E), is it safe to re-lock bootloader?
And when, after the final reboot and before setup?
And, will the command, fastboot oem lock, wipe EVERYTHING off the phone, like fastboot oem unlock does?
And does the Developer options setting, "OEM unlocking", need to be turned on prior to the lock?
Thanks

No one has proven that locking the bootloaders does not cause a "brick". We have seen people lock after 5.1 and get a bootloop. This becomes a brick because they cannot unlock to fix it. We don't know if the update causes the loop or the lock does.

By the way, this was a completely stock Nexus 6 (5.0.1), no root, no apps other than Google. Before the factory image flash, the "OEM Unlocking" setting in Developer Options was persistent during power on/off. Now, with 5.1 the setting turns itself off during power on/off.
So, should I re-lock the bootloader and satisfy organizational requirements and risk a boot loop or proceed unlocked? Kinda feel like a "deer in the headlights" !

clairez said:
By the way, this was a completely stock Nexus 6 (5.0.1), no root, no apps other than Google. Before the factory image flash, the "OEM Unlocking" setting in Developer Options was persistent during power on/off. Now, with 5.1 the setting turns itself off during power on/off.
So, should I re-lock the bootloader and satisfy organizational requirements and risk a boot loop or proceed unlocked? Kinda feel like a "deer in the headlights" !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well its your choice. I recommend not locking it. However, if you do lock it and end up bricked, at least we know its the locking that causes the loop and not the flash but.... Is it worth it?

If your organization is supplying the device ( or the money for the device) you have no business unlocking it. At my organization people are fired for such things.
If they are not compensating you somehow then I don't see how they can make requirements on your device.
Sent from my Nexus 6

And if it is the unlocking/locking that causes the boot loop (hard brick) then any flashing operation that requires unlocking the bootloader will require that the system remain unlocked forever. A penalty that will afflict a portion (large?) of the Nexus 6 community. Was this an issue before 5.0? Makes one wonder if this is by design or accidental.

DebianDog said:
If they are not compensating you somehow then I don't see how they can make requirements on your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes we totally can. If you work for my company and decide you would rather use your own device for corporate email and data, that data is ours. You may use your own device but we will manage it. If it gets stolen, we will wipe it. You will adhere the same policies for corporate owned data as you will with a phone supplied by us. You will have lock screen, you will be unrooted. You will keep your bootloaders locked. Or you can use this sh*tty Nokia.

My hardware, but if I want to utilize it in the organization, then I must abide by their rules.
This post was not meant to be an organizational ethics discussion, just a request for guidance. If anyone can give me input on the original questions, I would greatly appreciate it. Especially the wipe side effect of the lock operation. Do not want to spend a lot of time configuring the device if it will be erased.
Thanks in advance

clairez said:
My hardware, but if I want to utilize it in the organization, then I must abide by their rules.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Absolutely.

rootSU said:
No one has proven that locking the bootloaders does not cause a "brick". We have seen people lock after 5.1 and get a bootloop. This becomes a brick because they cannot unlock to fix it. We don't know if the update causes the loop or the lock does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a little thinking out loud here. Wouldn't it be safe to have OEM Unlock checked under dev options, lock the bootloader, if you happen to bootloop OEM Unlock is still checked so you could still unlock? And then upon first boot OEM Unlock would get unchecked.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Konfuzion said:
Just a little thinking out loud here. Wouldn't it be safe to have OEM Unlock checked under dev options, lock the bootloader, if you happen to bootloop OEM Unlock is still checked so you could still unlock? And then upon first boot OEM Unlock would get unchecked.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safe? No.. The flag resets at boot. Boot loop partially boots and it could be enough to reset the flag "at first boot"
Pretty much everything is an unknown here. We do t even know where the "enable OEM unlock" flag is set. Is it in the BL or one of the various partitions? What effect would setting the flag and wiping the OS have? We just don't know.

rootSU said:
Safe? No.. The flag resets at boot. Boot loop partially boots and it could be enough to reset the flag "at first boot"
Pretty much everything is an unknown here. We do t even know where the "enable OEM unlock" flag is set. Is it in the BL or one of the various partitions? What effect would setting the flag and wiping the OS have? We just don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. That's why more heads are better than one. I still think my theory would work, but yet I wouldn't be willing to risk my N6 on it, wouldn't suggest others do either.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

clairez said:
Due to organizational requirements the bootloader needs to be locked. So, here go the questions:
After flashing factory image (5.1.0 (LMY47E), is it safe to re-lock bootloader?
And when, after the final reboot and before setup?
And, will the command, fastboot oem lock, wipe EVERYTHING off the phone, like fastboot oem unlock does?
And does the Developer options setting, "OEM unlocking", need to be turned on prior to the lock?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Unsure at this point. If everything is stock (including recovery), I would suspect that it would be OK, but it has not been verified yet.
2. After you flash the bootloader, radio, boot, system and recovery images, and format data and cache, then would be the time to re-lock and then boot into Android.
3. Yes. But based on what I gather, the process of wiping on an N6 (when unlocking or locking the bootloader) is done via the stock recovery. So, if you have a custom recovery when you lock, I suspect that it will give you a boot loop.
4. I don't know.

Update - Success
I re-locked the bootloader and the device is working normally, no boot loop. I will continue testing over the next few days and then share what I learned.
Thanks for the help ...

Upgraded to 5.1, booted system OK
rechecked the OEM unlock option and rebooted to fastboot and locked bootloader.
No bootloop or other issues noticed.
Hope this helps.

clairez said:
I re-locked the bootloader and the device is working normally, no boot loop. I will continue testing over the next few days and then share what I learned.
Thanks for the help ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. And you were 100% stock?
Perhaps the loop isn't caused by the lock itself then. Good to know, though still people need to be cautious

androiduser2011 said:
Upgraded to 5.1, booted system OK
rechecked the OEM unlock option and rebooted to fastboot and locked bootloader.
No bootloop or other issues noticed.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few question, for understanding:
Rooted?
Stock or TWRP recovery?
Encrypted?
Thanks

rootSU said:
No one has proven that locking the bootloaders does not cause a "brick". We have seen people lock after 5.1 and get a bootloop. This becomes a brick because they cannot unlock to fix it. We don't know if the update causes the loop or the lock does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happened to me literally tonight. I tried to lock the boot loader which was successful, from there the device would start to root into teamwin recovery. So from there I tired to flash a fully stock rom but the bootloader was locked. And then because you need permission from the OS to unlock the bootloader I was stuck. What I did is from the locked bootloader I ran the stock oem flash from a fresh download and check from wugs with the force flash enabled (make sure everything is right) miracles of miracles it worked and came back to me.
I learned my lesson. Never shall my bootloader be relocked unless my phone is out of my possession. I'm spending the rest of the time making sure that nobody can get to my data. I love the phone, but that data is my life.

So basically, we need to confirm that being 100% stock will safely allow the relocking of the bootloader on 5.1 per official instructions from Google. If it can be determined that having TWRP recovery installed is the cause of bricks then users can be instructed to be sure stock recovery is installed before relocking. My own thoughts are that this is a bug of sorts with the new security features of lollipop and I'm sure the talented folks here will get it figured out. I'm 100% stock on LMY47D that I sideloaded. Not sure I can afford to risk my 6 but I offer any assistance I can to help get this figured out.

Evolution_Freak said:
So basically, we need to confirm that being 100% stock will safely allow the relocking of the bootloader on 5.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of the "bricks" happened after fully flashing stock, i.e they had stock recovery. They had a locked bootloader, an OS that didn't boot and a recovery that couldn't flash anything. If they had TWRP installed, they could format data and flash a rom.zip no problem.

Did I soft brick or hard brick my P4XL?

Eager to try out Android 11, I sideloaded the ota zip of the latest Developer preview on my Pixel 4 XL. I have the Verizon version, so my bootloader is locked and I was unable to get it to unlock. So, I figured the ADB sideload method would be perfect.
Everything went smoothly until after the OTA was installed:
I just get a screen that says "Can't find a valid operating system. Device will not start." -- this screen appears for recovery and rescue mode.
The only thing I do have access to is Fastboot. Device appears when I type in "Fastboot devices", but I'm guessing that it doesn't matter since my bootloader is locked and I can't flash anything?
Google support was no help and just send me the address of a repair shop.
Does anyone know if I'm totally F'd in this situation?
Thanks

Nevermind I'll keep looking

Can you change slots? fastboot --set-active=a
It tells you what slot you are on in the bootloader screen. It won't hurt anything. You can always change it back. It's the only thing I know to try.

You can get a stock image and flash it from the stock recovery; dont recall how that procedure is done but there is a guide floating around here as it comes up every once in a while. Usually a Verizon owner...

Are you able to unlock the bootloader (activated before sideload)? So flash unlock and then the factory Image. If you can't unlock your bootloader you are stuck and best option is to open a warranty case by Google...

Try this - https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/
You may need to use a VPN if it says not supported in country. Never used it before but worth exploring.

Pixel 5 Android 12 Developer Preview 3 OTA Sideload failed at 94% and now it says "Can't find valid operating system. The device will not start."

I tried to install Android 12 Developer Preview 3 on my Pixel 5 via OTA Sideload but it failed at 94% with the message 'adb: failed to read command: No error' on cmd and 'Install from ADB completed with status 0' on phone.
After this when I try to boot, I get the following message: 'Can't find valid operating system. The device will not start.' (attached image)
I'm able to access the bootloader but when I tried going into recovery mode through the bootloader, it shows the same message: 'Can't find valid operating system. The device will not start.'
Seems like the recovery is corrupted as well.
Unfortunately I had not enabled OEM unlocking in the developer options before trying to install the Developer Preview, which is now not letting me unlock the bootloader.
Please help me fix the issue or help me find a way to unlock the bootloader without enabling OEM unlock.
Thanks in advance.

I had the same thing happen to me just now. Have you managed to figure anything out?

Nothing from my side, since bootloader is locked I can't flash the system image and I can't unlock bootloader because my OEM unlock is turned off in developer settings and the Recovery and Rescue mode are also corrupted.
I contacted Google support and their only solution was to bring it in for service as my device is still under warranty.

I'm in the same boat here with a Pixel 4a 5G. Got to 94%.
First time I've experienced an issue while sideloading. . .
Contacted google support and they are shipping me a refurbed replacement... disappointed, to say the least.

Not sure what to make of this, it's developer preview and now beta. Issues will possibly occur and it warns you of such.

**Possible Fix**
I would believe this might be due to the boot_a & boot_b when trying other custom ROMs or OTA updates.
I used the fastboot/ADB files from the lineageOS ROM page and used the command: fastboot flashing unlock
to unlock the bootloader again, this then allowed me to go back into the rescue mode and use googles online image reinstall and got me back onto the stock ROM. Hope this helps some people

leddra3k said:
**Possible Fix**
I would believe this might be due to the boot_a & boot_b when trying other custom ROMs or OTA updates.
I used the fastboot/ADB files from the lineageOS ROM page and used the command: fastboot flashing unlock
to unlock the bootloader again, this then allowed me to go back into the rescue mode and use googles online image reinstall and got me back onto the stock ROM. Hope this helps some people
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an additional this let me get my phone back to loading the custom ROM I was on, to then reenable debugging mode, I then rebooted back into fastboot mode and used Googles online factory restore mode to flash stock ROM back on and I was back up and running

leddra3k said:
**Possible Fix**
I would believe this might be due to the boot_a & boot_b when trying other custom ROMs or OTA updates.
I used the fastboot/ADB files from the lineageOS ROM page and used the command: fastboot flashing unlock
to unlock the bootloader again, this then allowed me to go back into the rescue mode and use googles online image reinstall and got me back onto the stock ROM. Hope this helps some people
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I had mentioned earlier: I had NOT enabled OEM unlocking in the developer options before trying to install the Developer Preview.
So this method does not work for me. It will be helpful if I can find a way to force unlock the bootloader somehow.
Thank you for your reply. Hope your method helps someone else resolve their issue.

k7nanjappan said:
As I had mentioned earlier: I had NOT enabled OEM unlocking in the developer options before trying to install the Developer Preview.
So this method does not work for me. It will be helpful if I can find a way to force unlock the bootloader somehow.
Thank you for your reply. Hope your method helps someone else resolve their issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might not work but have you tried plugging the phone into the computer using the pixel online factory recovery and tried the first step of the process which is a prompt to unlock the boatloader?

k7nanjappan said:
As I had mentioned earlier: I had NOT enabled OEM unlocking in the developer options before trying to install the Developer Preview.
So this method does not work for me. It will be helpful if I can find a way to force unlock the bootloader somehow.
Thank you for your reply. Hope your method helps someone else resolve their issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to state what should be obvious here - you should not attempt to use pre-release firmware with a locked bootloader, because you will ne severely limited on what you can do to recover if something goes wrong.
Unlocking the bootloader is not possible if OEM Unlocking is not enabled.
leddra3k said:
This might not work but have you tried plugging the phone into the computer using the pixel online factory recovery and tried the first step of the process which is a prompt to unlock the boatloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly are you referring to? The Android Flash Tool requires an unlocked bootloader to start with, and does not unlock the bootloader itself.

V0latyle said:
I'm going to state what should be obvious here - you should not attempt to use pre-release firmware with a locked bootloader, because you will ne severely limited on what you can do to recover if something goes wrong.
Unlocking the bootloader is not possible if OEM Unlocking is not enabled.
What exactly are you referring to? The Android Flash Tool requires an unlocked bootloader to start with, and does not unlock the bootloader itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you not aware of the Google online tool for their Pixel phones? https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/carrier_selection
This has additional flashing options within the 'online' version of fastboot/adb, and found that when trying locally downloaded adb/fastboot it didnt work. But when using the online version it allowed me to unlock the phones boatloader.

leddra3k said:
Are you not aware of the Google online tool for their Pixel phones? https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/carrier_selection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am aware. However, this tool does not function like adb and is not meant for flashing factory images like the Android Flash Tool is. The Pixel Repair Tool works specifically from Rescue Mode.
leddra3k said:
This has additional flashing options within the 'online' version of fastboot/adb, and found that when trying locally downloaded adb/fastboot it didnt work. But when using the online version it allowed me to unlock the phones boatloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like your Platform Tools may be out of date. Current version is 31.0.3, Aug '21.

(HELP) Pixel 5 bootloop after reversion to stock from beta

Hey Everyone,
I'm looking for help. I tried reverting my pixel 5 to stock from beta and am stuck at the boot screen with " your device is corrupt. It cannot be trusted and may not work properly."
I've spent days fiddling with it, and cannot get anywhere with the google repair website because it's saying my bootloader is locked. I don't understand how I purchased it unlocked. Anyway, I cannot get into the settings to unlock the bootloader. It's been a long time since I've been a tinkerer but I do have all the software downloaded to do so. I cannot get my PC to recognize the phone in the command prompt window to try and sideload a software install.
Has this happened to anyone and is there a solution out there somewhere?

Sean Hicks said:
Hey Everyone,
I'm looking for help. I tried reverting my pixel 5 to stock from beta and am stuck at the boot screen with " your device is corrupt. It cannot be trusted and may not work properly."
I've spent days fiddling with it, and cannot get anywhere with the google repair website because it's saying my bootloader is locked. I don't understand how I purchased it unlocked. Anyway, I cannot get into the settings to unlock the bootloader. It's been a long time since I've been a tinkerer but I do have all the software downloaded to do so. I cannot get my PC to recognize the phone in the command prompt window to try and sideload a software install.
Has this happened to anyone and is there a solution out there somewhere?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buying it "unlocked" means you bought it free of a carrier, such as Verizon, who lock the bootloader, and can't be unlocked.
But you still need to unlock the bootloader, it comes locked, for security reasons. So if you never unlocked it, it's locked.
I haven't installed beta 12 yet.
Do you have the latest SDK tools? (adb, fastboot, etc)
I was under the impression though, that you can't downgrade with a locked bootloader. But not sure.

Sean Hicks said:
Hey Everyone,
I'm looking for help. I tried reverting my pixel 5 to stock from beta and am stuck at the boot screen with " your device is corrupt. It cannot be trusted and may not work properly."
I've spent days fiddling with it, and cannot get anywhere with the google repair website because it's saying my bootloader is locked. I don't understand how I purchased it unlocked. Anyway, I cannot get into the settings to unlock the bootloader. It's been a long time since I've been a tinkerer but I do have all the software downloaded to do so. I cannot get my PC to recognize the phone in the command prompt window to try and sideload a software install.
Has this happened to anyone and is there a solution out there somewhere?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This probably isn't of any help now, but going forward, it may be. In Developer options, you can enable 'OEM unlocking'. As you can see now, it may well be a very good idea to enable that **before** you start messing with the phone, because if something does go wrong (as it has for you), then you can (hopefully) still get to fastboot and do 'fastboot flashing unlock'.
So, knowing this, you may want to keep an eye out for some tool or something that will allow you to possibly turn on oem unlocking (because your device won't boot).
Another thing to try is switching slots and see if the other slot boots? If you can get to fastboot try; fastboot --set-active=(a or b), then fastboot reboot. (If you don't know which slot is active, do 'fastboot getvar all', in the output it will tell you which is current.
cheers

Your bootloader being locked should not affect your ability to restore factory images/OTAs from Google. They are signed by Google and will pass the signature checks. You should try to download the latest factory image (either 11 or 12beta) and flash it via recovery => adb sideload.

Question Help, i did something stupid.

Hello
Hoping somebody can help getting my phone up and running again.
I wanted to unroot my phone, because i was having issues with danish "MitId". And was a bit sloppy with it.
First i tried using SuperSU to remove root. Because i didnt feel like setting everything up again. Didnt work.
Then I locked the OEM Lock in developer settings. Not thinking this would be a fatal error.
Got home from work, and said to myself. Jusk lock the bootloader and the phone will reset itself.
But this is not the case, when you have been stupid enough to lock the OEM lock.
Now I am stuck on "No valid operating system could be found. The device will not boot"
I can get in to fastboot by pushning power+vol down. But cannot flash anything since the phone thinks the OEM Lock is locked on it.
Does anyone know of a solution for me. Or is it going to the shop tommorow and say that my phone is going this. And hope they will sort it for me?

Can't you fix stuff by using https://flash.android.com/ ?

No, unfortuantly not. It fails:
Device Unlock Disabled​For security reasons, you need to enable "OEM unlocking" in order to flash your device. See the device preparation instructions for more information.

Pearsondk said:
No, unfortuantly not. It fails:
Device Unlock Disabled​For security reasons, you need to enable "OEM unlocking" in order to flash your device. See the device preparation instructions for more information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try sideloading the full OTA. You don't need an unlocked bootloader for that.

Unfortuatly not, if I try to enter recovery mode. The phone just goes back to the screen saying "No valid operating system could be found. The device will not boot"
ADB is not available to me

If you can't sideload the OTA, I'm afraid there is not much else you can do with a locked bootloader except try to RMA it.

Can you get into recovery at all. Even if it's the stock you can attempt a sideload of the stock OTA.zip from Google. You may also try if your on boot slot A
fastboot --set-active=b
On b use
fastboot --set-active=a
Try to see if the other boot slot has an a bootable OS.
*****I apologize I just saw it's actually still locked****"
Contact U-break I-fix if I typed that correctly. The third party warranty repair center for Google's warranty. I believe they can attempt to switch the boot slot with a locked bootloader with the equipment they use to reflash these devices. If anything it's under warranty get the RMA and if the bootloader is locked on it trade someone or sell it and use it to make buying a new cheaper..

JovialQuestion said:
Can you get into recovery at all. Even if it's the stock you can attempt a sideload of the stock OTA.zip from Google. You may also try if your on boot slot A
fastboot --set-active=b
On b use
fastboot --set-active=a
Try to see if the other boot slot has an a bootable OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I can get into fastboot and that is it.
But everything I try in fastboot gets rejected, since it says the phone is locked.

Does the bootloader screen on the phone have the option to boot into Rescue. This has a ADB connection but I am not sure if adb sideload works

Really mad that Google intentionally locks phones this way, turning them into completely functional, but useless piece of junk. I guess that's late stage capitalism for you xD

JovialQuestion said:
Does the bootloader screen on the phone have the option to boot into Rescue. This has a ADB connection but I am not sure if adb sideload works. Use the volume keys and power button to select it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kofa1 said:
Really mad that Google intentionally locks phones this way, turning them into completely functional, but useless piece of junk. I guess that's late stage capitalism for you xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google is not responsible for phone's with locked bootloaders. They make the device with the specifications the carrier that sells it stipulates. Google themselves allows the unlock.

Lughnasadh said:
If you can't sideload the OTA, I'm afraid there is not much else you can do with a locked bootloader except try to RMA it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Iam guessing the same. Phone doesnt want to do anything.
And since i cant get into the phone to oem lock i am stuck. Live in Denmark, so by law I havnt voided the warrenty by rooting.

Pixel warranty is always valid even if you unlock and root. Google doesn't void the warranty. Go to Google pixel support page. Find warranty and act as if your submitting a RMA and it will tell you after you enter the device IMEI how long your warranty is valid for

Delete

If that were true. Android flash tool https://flash.android.com/welcome
Would work as it's the same process for the browser to flash the very same file. Motorola allowed signed factory img on locked. Google had never allowed that in fastboot as far as I am aware

DroidRommer said:
All you need to do is go here Factory pixel firmwares and scroll down to pixel 7 panther assuming you're not on the pro (cheetah)
-select the latest version for your model whether that's Verizon or whatever if you have the carrier unlocked one like myself just choose the Feb firmware that doesn't have a carrier name at the end of the firmware number (you should have your phone plugged into your PC and in fastboot mode) click flash and follow the steps. These are Googles factory images so it doesn't matter if your bootloader is unlocked or not as long as you choose the latest version and the correct version for your phone. Tbh you can't really brick the pixel 7 as long as you have a PC and are able to put the phone in fastboot mode (holding the volume down and power button while powering on)
-Anytime you run into some kind of bootloop issue or wanna get rid of root flashing the stock firmware from this website will factory reset and revert your phone to the way it was the very first time it was pulled out of the box and powered on. If you have already tried this and you know forsure you did everything correctly then I must admit I have never had this happen and I'm someone who flashes custom roms and goes back to stock to get the latest security update just to turn around and flash another custom rom right after lol. If you need any help or advice feel free to pm me whenever. I have been rooting phones for a long time and have to say that the Google pixel is by far the most user friendly phone I've ever owned when it comes to custom rooms, rooting etc. You can ALWAYS go back as long as you know what steps to take. Sorry for the rant especially if you already figured it out.
Happy Customizing!
DROIDROMMER
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their bootloader is locked. You cannot flash a factory image like that with a locked bootloader. They also turned off OEM Unlocking in the developer settings. If they had left this enabled they would be able to use Android Flash Tool as that tool will unlock your bootloader if OEM Unlocking is enabled.

Kofa1 said:
Really mad that Google intentionally locks phones this way, turning them into completely functional, but useless piece of junk. I guess that's late stage capitalism for you xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This wouldn't be Google, they basically encourage you too unlock the bootloader and root if you want as they give you all the tools you need and factory firmware options to go back if you make a mistake. Tbh if you are able to unlock and root the phone to start then you can go back. Even with a locked bootloader you can always flash the latest factory image on googles dev website, you just can't downgrade firmware or install different carrier firmware without the unlocked bootloader. If we really wanna poke at some phone developers I vote Samsung as I have had multiple people ask me to root their phones and if it's a US snapdragon version it cannot be done its so frustrating lol thanks for letting me vent, have a great day if you have the the carrier unlocked dev edition of the pixel 7 and ever need any help feel free to pm me. I have been rooting and romming pixels for a long time
Edit: I was not aware you couldn't flash the stock firmare using googles dev page without oem unlock. I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I thought I had every possible bad scenario happen to me by now but apparently I learned something new today.

DroidRommer said:
This wouldn't be Google, they basically encourage you too unlock the bootloader and root if you want as they give you all the tools you need and factory firmware options to go back if you make a mistake. Tbh if you are able to unlock and root the phone to start then you can go back. Even with a locked bootloader you can always flash the latest factory image on googles dev website, you just can't downgrade firmware or install different carrier firmware without the unlocked bootloader. If we really wanna poke at some phone developers I vote Samsung as I have had multiple people ask me to root their phones and if it's a US snapdragon version it cannot be done its so frustrating lol thanks for letting me vent, have a great day if you have the the carrier unlocked dev edition of the pixel 7 and ever need any help feel free to pm me. I have been rooting and romming pixels for a long time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude. You cannot flash factory images of any kind on any Google phone with the bootloader in locked status. Please stop giving false information on here. If you want to talk up Samsung do it on a Samsung post. Let's not confuse everyone please

DroidRommer said:
Even with a locked bootloader you can always flash the latest factory image on googles dev website, you just can't downgrade firmware or install different carrier firmware without the unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To use Android Flash Tool, you have to have OEM Unlocking enabled in Developer Options for it to be able to unlock the bootloader.
To flash the factory image in fastboot you must have an unlocked bootloader.

Lughnasadh said:
Their bootloader is locked. You cannot flash a factory image like that with a locked bootloader. They also turned off OEM Unlocking in the developer settings. If they had left this enabled they would be able to use Android Flash Tool as that tool will unlock your bootloader if OEM Unlocking is enabled.
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Okay my bad you are right fortunately I have never had this happen. And like someone else said if he can't get into recovery then he can't sideload a factory ota... sorry I'm at a loss on this one. Some custom roms use "fastboot update file.zip" would that do anything in this case or would that command not even work with a locked bootloader I'm assuming. I apologize for trying to act like a know it all I've just never heard of this happening