Database Develop

Google does NOT care if you root your Nexus!

I've seen a lot of people fretting about being able to RMA their nexus after unlocking/rooting/trying different ROMS & kernels. Likewise there are conversations about & guides about how to reset the device to hide the fact it has ever been unlocked. This is all an absolutely unnecessary worry.
So, to put everyone at ease I share with all XDA'rs the answer I got from Google when I asked "Hey guys, will rooting wreck my warranty?" I think you will all find this to utterly unambiguous.
Thank you for contacting Google!
Warranties and RMA are still covered *regardless* if a device was rooted.
We are not trying to prevent customers from unlocking the bootloader and installing a new operating system that allows for "rooting".
Android has always provided customers the ability to do that on Nexus devices, and encouraged other OEMs to do the same. So in that sense we are not against "rooting."
This being said, we can't guarantee full advertised/promised functionality if the source code for the Android OS has been modified as the functionality may have changed.
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There you go folks, it's a developer's device so use it to it's full potential. This appears to be Google boilerplate so you're looking at an off-the-cuff response from some random support staffer. (I couldn't import the pretty formatting.)
Think any other brand/manufacturer would have a similar answer to the same question?
Hope this gives everyone a nice warm feeling -- and I suppose I should sign off begging you to hit the 'thanks' button. :angel:
EDIT: Just to clarify, this about Google's North American policy - it appears that they follow this throughout Europe as well, and that European law probably reinforces this. Still, it can't hurt for anyone to check with Google themselves. Also, as per the thread title, this is about Google. If your warranty is held by anyone else this info may have no relevance at all.

NotFromMountainView said:
I've...
Hope this gives everyone a nice warm feeling -- and I suppose I should sign off begging you to hit the 'thanks' button. :angel:
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Is this real? I know they don't care, but would they really say it in writing? Do you have the actual email?

aooga said:
Is this real? I know they don't care, but would they really say it in writing? Do you have the actual email?
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Yes, I just cut & pasted the actual response as I got it -- but lost the *bullet point formatting. Other than that I omitted the Dear [my name] & the rest of the boilerplate about contacting Google for any other follow-up or other questions.
I understand your question it sounds almost too good to be true.

This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

NotFromMountainView said:
Yes, I just cut & pasted the actual response as I got it -- but lost the *bullet point formatting. Other than that I omitted the Dear [my name] & the rest of the boilerplate about contacting Google for any other follow-up or other questions.
I understand your question it sounds almost too good to be true.
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Cool. Good to know.

They provided us with the tools to unlock/lock our bootloader and set up a website to show us exactly how to do it. I think it couldn't be anymore obvious that they don't care that you stuck some binaries on the /system partition so you could run Titanium Backup

NotFromMountainView said:
I've seen a lot of people fretting about being able to RMA their nexus after unlocking/rooting/trying different ROMS & kernels. Likewise there are conversations about & guides about how to reset the device to hide the fact it has ever been unlocked. This is all an absolutely unnecessary worry.
So, to put everyone at ease I share with all XDA'rs the answer I got from Google when I asked "Hey guys, will rooting wreck my warranty?" I think you will all find this to utterly unambiguous.
There you go folks, it's a developer's device so use it to it's full potential. This appears to be Google boilerplate so you're looking at an off-the-cuff response from some random support staffer. (I couldn't import the pretty formatting.)
Think any other brand/manufacturer would have a similar answer to the same question?
Hope this gives everyone a nice warm feeling -- and I suppose I should sign off begging you to hit the 'thanks' button. :angel:
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Click to collapse
Sorry little edit. Its not advertised as a developers device. Nowhere in google's ads or their nexus page does it says "developer". I'd still be wary of RMA with root if you highly modified system apps and such.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

monkeypaws said:
Sorry little edit. Its not advertised as a developers device. Nowhere in google's ads or their nexus page does it says "developer". I'd still be wary of RMA with root if you highly modified system apps and such.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
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It never hurts to be wary. And it anyone managed to overclock the device so astronomically that it burst into flames there may be some pushback from Google. But the email is, as I said, unambiguous.
As to the suggested edit, I never said anything about advertising, but certainly you can tap 7 times and be rewarded with "Congratulations, you are now a developer!" That, as well as well as crachel's point seem to weigh towards it being referred to as a developer's device -- at least casually.

yup. ive always told people that if its a hardware issue, google will rma it, even if its rooted. but if its a software issue, most likely they wont. google themselves looked for a way to give us the means to unlock our bootloaders, and fastboot oem unlock is the gift they gave us with the nexus one
i myself have sent in devices that are still rooted, with custom roms, to get rma'd. google never gave me issue.

simms22 said:
yup. ive always told people that if its a hardware issue, google will rma it, even if its rooted. but if its a software issue, most likely they wont. google themselves looked for a way to give us the means to unlock our bootloaders, and fastboot oem unlock is the gift they gave us with the nexus one
i myself have sent in devices that are still rooted, with custom roms, to get rma'd. google never gave me issue.
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simms22: My guess is that if there's any question of the problem actually being a custom OS issue just re-flash/reset to stock & any remaining hardware issues will be dealt with by Google. My key point was that nobody need worry about resetting any flag that it had been unlocked at some point. From your experience & what they've said and done I think it would take some phenomenally destructive code before they'd even raise the issue.

NotFromMountainView said:
simms22: My guess is that if there's any question of the problem actually being a custom OS issue just re-flash/reset to stock & any remaining hardware issues will be dealt with by Google. My key point was that nobody need worry about resetting any flag that it had been unlocked at some point. From your experience & what they've said and done I think it would take some phenomenally destructive code before they'd even raise the issue.
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when the nexus one just came out, there was a big name google developer that stopped in xda and helped us out every once in a while. i wish i could remember his name. sometimes we even got "leaked" code directly from google. that would never have happened if google cared that we had root.

simms22 said:
when the nexus one just came out, there was a big name google developer that stopped in xda and helped us out every once in a while. i wish i could remember his name. sometimes we even got "leaked" code directly from google. that would never have happened if google cared that we had root.
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That is just great! And just one more reason that I find it really hard to become overwrought over rattling buttons.
An obvious extension of this is that on support calls (or email) one can mention root/kernel/ROM without fear. Heck, Google might even want to know how mods perform.

But this is till the time we can RMA it which google is handling but when our warranty will expire we will have take it to Lg service center and I doubt that they will also give the same reply.
Policies for both of them must be different.

LG will most likely not be so understanding regarding rooting in country`s where there you can`t buy a Nexus in the Play store but in a shop.

gee2012 said:
LG will most likely not be so understanding regarding rooting in country`s where there you can`t buy a Nexus in the Play store but in a shop.
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LG wont be understanding, period. Its only google that will except rooted devices.

If you bought another/extended warranty from your carrier or if your carrier import and service your phone then I think you have to keep hands in yr pockets they may not have a user friendly policy as Google's seems to ...

simms22 said:
LG wont be understanding, period. Its only google that will except rooted devices.
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What do you think could be the reason Google doesn`t offer Nexus devices in all country`s instead of in selected country`s only?
Besides the obvious $$ reason for LG making more money

gee2012 said:
What do you think could be the reason Google doesn`t offer Nexus devices in all country`s instead of selected country`s only?
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there could be many, most likely legal though. maybe even something with taxes or the currency being used in that country.

Hi,
I asked too about root, unlocked bootloader/custom rom (custom Android Kit-Kat software) and warranty LG/Google, the French support is light and evasive (even if I detailed all the points):
Google traduction D):
Thank you for contacting the Google team about your Nexus 5. My name is and I'm Rozenn your contact today.
I understand your desire to rooter your phone because it is of course one of the benefits of owning the Nexus 5 and the android system.
However, if you need to claim warranty, we will ask you to return the phone to the Android version of Kitkat.
Also, be aware that we can not guarantee the functionality of the device if it is Roote.
If your phone is a concern and you need to claim warranty, from the moment he received no trace of shock or been in contact with water, simply contact us. If we can not resolve your concern, we will offer you an exchange. Your product is guaranteed for 2 years.
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But the general idea seems the same as the reply from Google in the OP, less detailed.

viking37 said:
Hi,
I asked too about root, unlocked bootloader/custom rom (custom Android Kit-Kat software) and warranty LG/Google, the French support is light and evasive (even if I detailed all the points
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If I'm not mistaken there's an European law about that. Basically if we have bought a device in Europe the manufacturer must repare our device even if the software has been modified. (Instruction no. 1999/44/CE of E.U.)

PLEASE HELP ME! my phone is "rooted" with 3 third-party apps my BF installed!

PLEASE HELP ME! my phone is "rooted" with 3 third-party apps my BF installed!
I noticed that my nexus 6 was acting funny, and since my boyfriend purchased this phone for me- he set the entire thing up. The day it arrived, he plugged my phone into his laptop and started typing away at what looked like a black screen and a boxy white font with a bunch of rom codes etc(at this point, i was totally clueless and oblivious to what he was doing)...
Then, he would sporadically bring up specific texts that i had sent, and at times would randomly pinpoint specific addresses and times and asked me about them(mind you, they were my friends homes) which left me to wonder "how the hell did he even know about that text or specific location unless my phone is hacked??"
so, i took my phone to a specialist who confirmed that my phone was rooted with a custom ROM along with 3 third-party apps "kernel adiutor", "pure nexus", and "xda labs".
Once i called tech support for my phone, they said they couldn't help me because they're third party apps that are not legal to use in the first place.
long story short, his mom confirmed recently that he in fact has my phone hacked. can somebody please give me insight on the apps he installed and the purpose they serve?? what kind of access/capabilities does he have now that my phone is rooted even if i restore my phone???

Kernel Auditor Xda labs and pure nexus are not phone hacking apps Xda lab is app by xda community and Kernel Auditor is for tweaking the kernel and i think Pure Nexus is a Custom Rom for the Nexus
If you want to get rid of this you can ask service centre to flash Stock Rom of Nexus phone
Sent from my SM-A9000 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Download a factory image from here: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
Follow the instructions on the webpage. Doing this will wipe your phone and put it back to 100% stock.
Also lol @ this:
vneedshelpASAP said:
Once i called tech support for my phone, they said they couldn't help me because they're third party apps that are not legal to use in the first place.
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You have a very *very* serious problem.
As khanboyz007 says, the apps you mention are entirely pukka, totally normal, nothing suspicious.
But...
If you can't trust your boyfriend so much that you have to post for help from anonymous strangers, then your problem is far deeper than your Nexus 6. From the technical side of your description, he's done nothing at all wrong, but from reading between the lines you don't trust him, and *that's* a dealbreaker.
Why are you asking us instead of him? Give him a chance to explain. Maybe there's nothing more sinister than you (clearly without any technical knowledge... sorry...) don't have your phone password-protected and he's just looked at your texts - in itself a breach of trust, but still not justifying posting in a public forum to strangers.

dahawthorne said:
You have a very *very* serious problem.
As khanboyz007 says, the apps you mention are entirely pukka, totally normal, nothing suspicious.
But...
If you can't trust your boyfriend so much that you have to post for help from anonymous strangers, then your problem is far deeper than your Nexus 6. From the technical side of your description, he's done nothing at all wrong, but from reading between the lines you don't trust him, and *that's* a dealbreaker.
Why are you asking us instead of him? Give him a chance to explain. Maybe there's nothing more sinister than you (clearly without any technical knowledge... sorry...) don't have your phone password-protected and he's just looked at your texts - in itself a breach of trust, but still not justifying posting in a public forum to strangers.
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I wouldnt say that at all. If he can tell where she has been and what text she is sending then he installed one of the many monitor apps onto her phone which is illegal.
My advise would be to completely wipe your device. Flash a stock rom and dont let him touch your device.
As for your personal life no one can or has any right to say anything about that. Do what you think is best.

If he knows the locations you've been at its possible he has your google+ share location set where it's shared with him. Or possibly he had set up an email for you on it and is signing into it to track your location. As far as the apps you mentioned they are %100 percent legal, most carrier don't know anything about rooting or custom Roms and will not give you adequate advice. But as they said, you can just flash the stock image, make your own Gmail to sign in or make sure to change your Gmail password. After you do make sure that that you put a password on your device that he doesn't know.

"then he installed one of the many monitor apps onto her phone"
Isn't that what I said...? No trust. This isn't in any way a technical question - it's about their relationship.
And since I've seen your many posts here over the years I know you've got a fair amount of life experience, in which case I can assume that you know of Occam's Razor - the simplest explanation is likely to be the correct one, and the simplest explanation here is not that he's installed a monitoring app but is simply looking at the phone. I stand by my comments.
"no one can or has any right to say anything about that"
Yes, I agree, it would be none of my business - *if* she hadn't asked for my advice (as well as yours).
If she has so little trust in her partner, and has asked for advice (technical or otherwise), then the answer has to be "Look very carefully at your relationship".
(P.S. To avoid the inevitable "sexist" comments, yes, I've assumed it's a female poster, but I'm aware that there are alternatives).

To be honest I think it might be a moot point as he is most likely part of this forum and has seen this post.

Then he's got the message...

Or this is just a prank. Like I'm getting private messages from people who haven't even posted yet to fix their phones.

istperson said:
Or this is just a prank.
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Yes, that same thought had occurred to me. I give the benefit of the doubt unless there's a clear sign that it's a joke, and this one does come close to the edge...
A lot of effort for a not-funny joke though. It would be good if the OP provides some feedback - I do get very fed up with people asking for advice, which is given maybe by half a dozen people who have taken the time and trouble to provide it, only for the OP to vanish into the ether without so much as a "thank you" button press.

Step one, flash the phone back to stock using the links provided eariler posts.
Step two, dump the loser - he is too controlling, and this will never change...

Now that the personal advice has been given, let's bring this thread back to troubleshooting device issues, not relationship issues . Thanks for your cooperation.

vneedshelpASAP said:
.... my boyfriend purchased this phone for me- he set the entire thing up.
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Your friend has set up your phone the same way as he should do for himself.
There nothing wrong with rooting and the apps you mentioned.
My idea is that ask him very friendly to flash the latest official stock Rom.
Tell him that you prefer the official rom of Google.
Because you want official support when there is something wrong. And you don't need root acces because you only use 'normal' apps.
As everything there are disadvantages.
A rooted phone allows you to install layers. That makes it possible to choose dark themes. And that's important when you need a better battery life.

I Bet he's using Cerberus. Go into your settings>apps, select to include system apps. You'll be looking for a app name: system framework. If you see this He is tracking you using Ceberus, . This app/service is pretty awesome. I was able to track my phone down, see the texts sent, turn the mic on and listen to where my phone was at. .
Like everyone said flash a new rom. clean slate. Then dump dude, there should be no need for that crap.
Here's the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus&hl=en

vneedshelpASAP said:
I noticed that my nexus 6 was acting funny, and since my boyfriend purchased this phone for me- he set the entire thing up. The day it arrived, he plugged my phone into his laptop and started typing away at what looked like a black screen and a boxy white font with a bunch of rom codes etc(at this point, i was totally clueless and oblivious to what he was doing)...
Then, he would sporadically bring up specific texts that i had sent, and at times would randomly pinpoint specific addresses and times and asked me about them(mind you, they were my friends homes) which left me to wonder "how the hell did he even know about that text or specific location unless my phone is hacked??"
so, i took my phone to a specialist who confirmed that my phone was rooted with a custom ROM along with 3 third-party apps "kernel adiutor", "pure nexus", and "xda labs".
Once i called tech support for my phone, they said they couldn't help me because they're third party apps that are not legal to use in the first place.
long story short, his mom confirmed recently that he in fact has my phone hacked. can somebody please give me insight on the apps he installed and the purpose they serve?? what kind of access/capabilities does he have now that my phone is rooted even if i restore my phone???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to me, a "specialist", it sounds like he did you a favor, by rooting your device, and adding apps that you will need to control your own phone. your "own" i say because otherwise you are just using someone elses device, that you happened to pay for with your money. so, instead of posting a pissy thread, id do a little more research on how to control your own phone, and then tell him thank you.
oh, btw, just because the apps arent from the play store, it does not make them illegal to use, at all. you can use whatever app you want, from wherever you want, LEGALLY.

I'm coming round to istperson's point of view - this thread is beginning to look more and more like an elaborate pointless hoax, and not a very funny one.
There are far too many of these threads where people ask a question and then disappear without the courtesy of a sign-off or even a "thank you". Very discouraging, and makes me less keen on spending my time here trying to help timewasting ingrates...

I'm gonna close this thread for now. If the OP has anything else to add they can contact me again to reopen it.
Not all apps are legal. It really depends on where you are living. As an example. Things like keyloggers, call recorders (depending on local laws) screen recorders and things of this nature are completely legal in some countries like China, while being completely illegal in other places in the world.
Also installing tracking software of any kind on someone's device is also illegal.
We have to remember that many people search for help on something, reg to the forum to get the answer and dont come back until they have another issue. This is becoming far more common as of late.

I need help

Hello, I have never posted in this forum before but I really need help, My cousin died a few months ago and ever since we have been trying to bypass his pattern lock, We have tried everything from dusting the phone to see if we could possibly get the pattern somehow that way to watching all his old climbing videos to see if he maybe opened his phone on camera. We are out of options and we do not want to format his phone due to the unknowing of how he died, it does not make sense and we wanna see if he had anything that can help us figure this all out. Is there anything we can do to get past the pattern lock on his phone, currently the phone is in airplane mode because he was living in the USVI and signal and wifi sucked there so at night he would put his phone in Airplane mode.
Thank you for the help.

chrisfisher864 said:
Hello, I have never posted in this forum before but I really need help, My cousin died a few months ago and ever since we have been trying to bypass his pattern lock, We have tried everything from dusting the phone to see if we could possibly get the pattern somehow that way to watching all his old climbing videos to see if he maybe opened his phone on camera. We are out of options and we do not want to format his phone due to the unknowing of how he died, it does not make sense and we wanna see if he had anything that can help us figure this all out. Is there anything we can do to get past the pattern lock on his phone, currently the phone is in airplane mode because he was living in the USVI and signal and wifi sucked there so at night he would put his phone in Airplane mode.
Thank you for the help.
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You say you never posted here before and yet right next to your name it says you've made 30 posts so far and it doesn't lie.. Now regarding the phone, we don't help people bypass passwords/patterns/fingerprint or iris scans or any security at all and the reason we don't help with that is because too many people lie and they're just trying to get a stolen phone unlocked.. If your story is legitimate the phone carrier will help you unlock the phone itself so long as you can prove your story..

MrMike2182 said:
You say you never posted here before and yet right next to your name it says you've made 30 posts so far and it doesn't lie.. Now regarding the phone, we don't help people bypass passwords/patterns/fingerprint or iris scans or any security at all and the reason we don't help with that is because too many people lie and they're just trying to get a stolen phone unlocked.. If your story is legitimate the phone carrier will help you unlock the phone itself so long as you can prove your story..
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Ok so I have not posted since 2011 and forgot I even did, Thanks for being the big man for pointing that out, as to the carrier helping, NO they wont, even with the death certificate and proof of being the father he can not get any help other than a factory reset and that is not what he is looking for, we need the phone to be like it is. Another question would be is there a way to take it out of Airplane mode seeing we do know his login information?

chrisfisher864 said:
Ok so I have not posted since 2011 and forgot I even did, Thanks for being the big man for pointing that out, as to the carrier helping, NO they wont, even with the death certificate and proof of being the father he can not get any help other than a factory reset and that is not what he is looking for, we need the phone to be like it is. Another question would be is there a way to take it out of Airplane mode seeing we do know his login information?
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Nope not possible to get it out of airplane mode when the screens locked because if that were possible then a thief could just turn the GPS off and keep the phone hidden.. You're pretty much going to have to read around and search Google..

chrisfisher864 said:
Ok so I have not posted since 2011 and forgot I even did, Thanks for being the big man for pointing that out, as to the carrier helping, NO they wont, even with the death certificate and proof of being the father he can not get any help other than a factory reset and that is not what he is looking for, we need the phone to be like it is. Another question would be is there a way to take it out of Airplane mode seeing we do know his login information?
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No help will be provided here, in short this post will be closed by some moderator, legitimate owner ALWAYS can get help from carriers, no matter what, these stories about not getting solutions or help when providing legal proof of ownership are a total lie

winol said:
No help will be provided here, in short this post will be closed by some moderator, legitimate owner ALWAYS can get help from carriers, no matter what, these stories about not getting solutions or help when providing legal proof of ownership are a total lie
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I have no idea why people think we're stupid on here! I know for a fact just like you do that the carrier will help them if they can prove it..

winol said:
No help will be provided here, in short this post will be closed by some moderator, legitimate owner ALWAYS can get help from carriers, no matter what, these stories about not getting solutions or help when providing legal proof of ownership are a total lie
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No it's not a lie, The help they provide is doing a factory reset on the phone and we want to keep the data, I know of plenty of programs that will remove the pattern lock but none of them will work on the Note 8. I understand people not helping out because of the security risk and the potential of it being a stolen phone.

chrisfisher864 said:
No it's not a lie, The help they provide is doing a factory reset on the phone and we want to keep the data, I know of plenty of programs that will remove the pattern lock but none of them will work on the Note 8. I understand people not helping out because of the security risk and the potential of it being a stolen phone.
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That is hard to proof what you say is a lie or not. We can all say things here but doesn't mean it's the truth or not.
As said before you won't get any help here on bypassing the FRP. (You'll understand if you lost your phone and someone else is trying to unlock your phone, would you want us to help that thief to unlock your phone and get your important files/banking info?)
Only thing I'll say is try a Samsung service center or even getting the police/lawyers to help.

chrisfisher864 said:
No it's not a lie, The help they provide is doing a factory reset on the phone and we want to keep the data, I know of plenty of programs that will remove the pattern lock but none of them will work on the Note 8. I understand people not helping out because of the security risk and the potential of it being a stolen phone.
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The thing is we don't know 100% whether it's a lie or not because everyone and I mean everyone who asks us to help them get around the security seems to have some sort of crazy story in order to try to make us think it's legit and they all say the same thing, "I'm not lying." So try to see it from our side.. I don't want to be the person who causes someone else's stuff to be compromised or personal stuff taken or whatever.

MrMike2182 said:
I have no idea why people think we're stupid on here! I know for a fact just like you do that the carrier will help them if they can prove it..
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So just to be clear, Who does he need to talk to when he goes in? He has all his information and the death certificate. I am going to assume that is the information he will need to prove that he is his dad and that was his son. The only store he has been into so far is in WA and they told him the only thing they could do is a factory reset and like I said we want to keep all data.
And just to be clear not one person said your stupid so not sure why you said that, so many people do not come to places like this to get help because of people like you, there is no reason to act like a smart butt for no reason, we are going through a hard time and just trying to find some answers and all I am doing is asking questions, I can not help the fact that the store he went to told him they will only do a factory reset, that does not turn into anyone lying or anything.

chrisfisher864 said:
So just to be clear, Who does he need to talk to when he goes in? He has all his information and the death certificate. I am going to assume that is the information he will need to prove that he is his dad and that was his son. The only store he has been into so far is in WA and they told him the only thing they could do is a factory reset and like I said we want to keep all data.
And just to be clear not one person said your stupid so not sure why you said that, so many people do not come to places like this to get help because of people like you, there is no reason to act like a smart butt for no reason, we are going through a hard time and just trying to find some answers and all I am doing is asking questions, I can not help the fact that the store he went to told him they will only do a factory reset, that does not turn into anyone lying or anything.
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Don't go into the stores call the carrier and talk to them and ask for a manager or a level 3 or 4 technician.

MrMike2182 said:
Don't go into the stores call the carrier and talk to them and ask for a manager or a level 3 or 4 technician.
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Thank you.

chrisfisher864 said:
So just to be clear, Who does he need to talk to when he goes in? He has all his information and the death certificate. I am going to assume that is the information he will need to prove that he is his dad and that was his son. The only store he has been into so far is in WA and they told him the only thing they could do is a factory reset and like I said we want to keep all data.
And just to be clear not one person said your stupid so not sure why you said that, so many people do not come to places like this to get help because of people like you, there is no reason to act like a smart butt for no reason, we are going through a hard time and just trying to find some answers and all I am doing is asking questions, I can not help the fact that the store he went to told him they will only do a factory reset, that does not turn into anyone lying or anything.
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Again, no matter what you say, or your sad or bad situation, NOBODY HERE will help you bypass security locks of any kind, it is just like this, ethical forum rules, you know,

If you have proof that you are a relative of the owner of the device and have their death certificate. You could take the device to Samsung and ask them to unlock it for you. However Samsung will probably ask allot of questions and request that you provide official documentation to prove that you are a relative of the deceased person who owned the device.
However nobody in this forum will provide you with any assistance on unlocking the device. As we do not know if the device was obtained illegally.

Honestly I'm not sure even the carrier or one of their techs can bypass the screenlock. If anyone can, it would have to be Samsung.
Remember a couple years ago, the terrorist couple in California who killed several people? The FBI confiscated their iPhones as evidence, and they couldn't bypass the screenlock. The carrier couldn't do it. They went to Apple, who said they could but refused the court order. The FBI finally got a hacker to do it for them.
Not sure if Samsung is as picky as Apple, but if Apple wouldn't unlock an iPhone to potentially prevent more terrorist action, I doubt Samsung will do it to view some family member's videos.
Not trying to be cold about it, but it's a fact.

iceepyon said:
If you have proof that you are a relative of the owner of the device and have their death certificate. You could take the device to Samsung and ask them to unlock it for you. However Samsung will probably ask allot of questions and request that you provide official documentation to prove that you are a relative of the deceased person who owned the device.
However nobody in this forum will provide you with any assistance on unlocking the device. As we do not know if the device was obtained illegally.
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I don't think Samsung will do that period and even if they did do that, they're absolutely going to factory reset the phone and he doesn't want them to delete anything and unfortunately that just seems suspicious that someone would want or have a need for another person's personal information.. There's no getting around the fact that it seems suspicious even if he is being honest so I'm certain that they'd factory reset it either way.

MrMike2182 said:
I don't think Samsung will do that period and even if they did do that, they're absolutely going to factory reset the phone and he doesn't want them to delete anything and unfortunately that just seems suspicious that someone would want or have a need for another person's personal information.. There's no getting around the fact that it seems suspicious even if he is being honest so I'm certain that they'd factory reset it either way.
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I don't think it's suspicious he wants to get into a deceased loved ones phone. When my first wife died, it was a blessing to have her password for her phone. Knowing one of the last things she saw was a text from me, etc.
---------- Post added at 03:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 PM ----------
That said, there's no way to prove his story is legit. And I doubt Samsung or anyone will break into the device

Mr. Orange 645 said:
I don't think it's suspicious he wants to get into a deceased loved ones phone. When my first wife died, it was a blessing to have her password for her phone. Knowing one of the last things she saw was a text from me, etc.
---------- Post added at 03:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 PM ----------
That said, there's no way to prove his story is legit. And I doubt Samsung or anyone will break into the device
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Yeah I get that and totally understand but Samsung isn't going to feel sorry or anything all they're going to be thinking about is protecting themselves from a lawsuit you know.

MrMike2182 said:
I don't think Samsung will do that period and even if they did do that, they're absolutely going to factory reset the phone and he doesn't want them to delete anything and unfortunately that just seems suspicious that someone would want or have a need for another person's personal information.. There's no getting around the fact that it seems suspicious even if he is being honest so I'm certain that they'd factory reset it either way.
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If he has offical documents proving that he is the relative of the deceased. I am sure that Samsung would be more than willing to help him unlock the device for them. Seeing as Samsung has at hand.
MrMike2182 said:
Yeah I get that and totally understand but Samsung isn't going to feel sorry or anything all they're going to be thinking about is protecting themselves from a lawsuit you know.
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Even if Samsung does take him to court. If the court finds that the documents proving that he is a relative of the decease are genuine. They will order Samsung to do as he asked ASAP. I doubt that Samsung will take him to court if he does have the official documents at hand.

iceepyon said:
If he has offical documents proving that he is the relative of the deceased. I am sure that Samsung would be more than willing to help him unlock the device for them. Seeing as Samsung has at hand.
Even if Samsung does take him to court. If the court finds that the documents proving that he is a relative of the decease are genuine. They will order Samsung to do as he asked ASAP. I doubt that Samsung will take him to court if he does have the official documents at hand.
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I'm pretty sure that you read my message wrong.. Anyhow, all I can say is good luck with that, haha! No one's going to order Samsung to do anything!

Sad news for Galaxy s9 G960U users wanting root.

I have looked around the internet and finally found over on a sprint forum some sad news about rooting. So in the case most of you are unaware, the US models for the Galaxy s9 have had their OEM Unlock(Bootloader unlock) option disabled. I finally found the reason why on an old post back from the Galaxy s8. Please don't harp on me that its a different phone because its the concept discussed that actually gives the real reason why vendors like sprint have disabled the option!
"Link to below quote: community.sprint.com/t5/Samsung-Board/OEM-Unlock-option-is-gone/td-p/965240"]https://community.sprint.com/t5/Samsung-Board/OEM-Unlock-option-is-gone/td-p/965240:
"Quoted from Community manager, seawolf's post!"
Re: OEM Unlock option is gone
First of all, wow @zahale! its my job to be somewhat aware of our current population and to keep an eye out for knowledgeable posters (we like to try to make those people Advocates, like @DJ_Damjano and @Fireguy_6364). I have run across several of your comments in this space lately and you're definitely above the curve when it comes to technical device knowledge and experience. I'm kind of following you around now just to learn Smiley Wink
I was pretty sure I knew why Sprint locks down developer options but I put the question to some of my device folks in conversation yesterday. The explanation probably won't be something you like, but hopefully, it'll be something you can understand. Unfortunately, as with many things, knowing why also won't change anything but you asked a fair question and I wanted to try to give you a fair answer.
Sprint locks things like boot loaders down to control the average customer experience and to prevent a novice user from accidentally damaging the device or negatively affecting performance. While technically such a change isn't Sprint's fault, I can tell you from experience from when I was in customer service that most customers think it is and correcting the problem, if its possible, can be a challenge at best.
Unfortunately, this is an all or nothing kind of situation. We either leave it open for everyone or we lock it down for everyone. Since we can't customize the experience based on user knowledge, we try to optimize it for the novice, which means some of the more advanced setting areas on the phone are locked down.
This is clearly important to you and I can understand why. With this particular phone there isn't anything we can do on our end to unlock the developer options for one individual. When you are ready to upgrade again, you might want to look for factory unlocked versions of the phones you like or OEMs that leave theirs unlocked (although that's harder to verify). In this case, the developer options are not locked down in the factory unlocked versions of the S8 and S8+.
SeaWolf
Sprint Community Manager & Customer Advocate
Captain of the Vicious Cream-puff
I encourage you to post your questions on the community, give Kudos when earned and always mark the correct answer as "Accepted Solution".
Like SeaWolf states, it is just easier after your contract is done to just buy a OEM unlockable version. They do this for customer based reasons to make a novice experience for all users so that new users can't brick their phone on accident messing with settings. Sorry all but OEM unlocking will never be an option for g960U users.

All US (snapdragon) model S9s have a locked bootloader, it has been the case for a long time since at least the S7....

*Detection* said:
All US (snapdragon) model S9s have a locked bootloader, it has been the case for a long time since at least the S7....
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Yes we already know this, but this post is an update on the reason why its that way. I have looked everywhere and even asked around but no one gave me a reason why they made it this way. I finally found this post and was just sharing it for news so that people can finally understand and get an update.

WatchersGrim said:
Yes we already know this, but this post is an update on the reason why its that way. I have looked everywhere and even asked around but no one gave me a reason why they made it this way. I finally found this post and was just sharing it for news so that people can finally understand and get an update.
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but the info is nothing new plus its just a thread of people living in the stone age mixing up sim unlock with oem unlock and then complaining about it.
US snapdagon device's bootlaoder arent unlockable its a very very well know fact. any other device destined NOT for American soil can have its BL unlocked and probably be rooted.( so thats any device made for the rest of the world). surely this info has been plastered all over xda...

https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...s-recoveries--other-development/root-t4041815
root is out

I have been rooting and modding various and sundry devices since 2011. I find, for my purposes, the s9 doesn't need it. Of course YMMV

Samsung Note 8 eng boot file?

My girlfriend forgot the pattern to her note 8. I had bought it for her barely two days before this. She's not at all tech savvy. Thinking she would fix before i found out, (I may occasionally poke fun at her forgetfulness), she googled the problem and was advised to do a factory reset. After the reset of course the frp kicked in. It would be a cake walk except her fogetfullness also kicked in. We've practically begged google to grant her access to her account again to no avail.
I've been working on bypassing it. I've done this for her a couple times in the past actually with other types of phones with success. You all are probably aware Samsung is a whole different ballgame. After a week this is what I know, or at least what I'm fairly sure is accurate from all the reading I've done.
1. The firmware is N950U1UES8DTF2.
2. I need usb debugging enabled to have a hope.
3. There currently is no combo file for this bootloader version.
4. There may be an option with an eng boot file flashed onto the phone?
Anyone know more about this and perhaps where I could download it or even how to make one. I've tried a couple different softwares that claim entering the ap from stock firmware will create the adb enable file. The two i tried this with however, did nothing when i flashed the resulting file with odin.
I'll take any advice anyone has. Maybe there's another route to enable usb debugging that I haven't explored? Hopefully there's something out there as I'm not a man of great means and two hundred and fifty is a great lot to lose on a phone.
Thanks in advance.

Pattern is easy removed with wipe data in stock recovery

jadams7256 said:
My girlfriend forgot the pattern to her note 8. I had bought it for her barely two days before this. She's not at all tech savvy. Thinking she would fix before i found out, (I may occasionally poke fun at her forgetfulness), she googled the problem and was advised to do a factory reset. After the reset of course the frp kicked in. It would be a cake walk except her fogetfullness also kicked in. We've practically begged google to grant her access to her account again to no avail.
I've been working on bypassing it. I've done this for her a couple times in the past actually with other types of phones with success. You all are probably aware Samsung is a whole different ballgame. After a week this is what I know, or at least what I'm fairly sure is accurate from all the reading I've done.
1. The firmware is N950U1UES8DTF2.
2. I need usb debugging enabled to have a hope.
3. There currently is no combo file for this bootloader version.
4. There may be an option with an eng boot file flashed onto the phone?
Anyone know more about this and perhaps where I could download it or even how to make one. I've tried a couple different softwares that claim entering the ap from stock firmware will create the adb enable file. The two i tried this with however, did nothing when i flashed the resulting file with odin.
I'll take any advice anyone has. Maybe there's another route to enable usb debugging that I haven't explored? Hopefully there's something out there as I'm not a man of great means and two hundred and fifty is a great lot to lose on a phone.
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately you're going to have to figure this out for yourself because we do not help people and guide them on how to defeat the FRP and other protections.. You're basically saying she forgot her pattern and then after factory resetting it you're saying she forgot her password to?! That just doesn't sound right and there's a reason why Google refused to help you.. If it really is your phone you can take it to your cellphone carrier or Samsung and they'll fix it.

MrMike2182 said:
Unfortunately you're going to have to figure this out for yourself because we do not help people and guide them on how to defeat the FRP and other protections.. You're basically saying she forgot her pattern and then after factory resetting it you're saying she forgot her password to?! That just doesn't sound right and there's a reason why Google refused to help you.. If it really is your phone you can take it to your cellphone carrier or Samsung and they'll fix it.
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Click to collapse
And figure it out I shall. For your information there are people with a tendency to forget quite a bit. Its hard for her but she makes up for anything she lacks not being a judgemental, small minded ass. Maybe try applying some common sense next time you're plotting out a withering retort genius. Its a carrier unlocked, as some of the more knowledgeable members can most likely glean from the firmware. Bought from ebay to use with her service. What do carriers say when you ask for their support with a handset not purchased from them and therefore not covered under warranty by their company? Yeah. And I guess youve never forgotten a google password and had to deal with their **** or you would have hesitated before letting that drivel roll from your tongue. I lost an email address there permanently once that was quite clearly 'mine'. They just wouldnt allow me access again because i forgot to change my recovery number when I changed my phone carrier.
Now despite your quite clear insinuations the phone is most definitely mine. The situation is just as described. And I guess what I really should have asked for is a question and answer type group comprised of individuals intelligent enough to know that in the case where frp keeps someone from using their own property on account of the fading memory of a loved a one, there must exist a way to continue using said property.
I hope you aren't representative of all your peers that are members here. I hope children make less assumptions in their judgement of others.

jadams7256 said:
And figure it out I shall. For your information there are people with a tendency to forget quite a bit. Its hard for her but she makes up for anything she lacks not being a judgemental, small minded ass. Maybe try applying some common sense next time you're plotting out a withering retort genius. Its a carrier unlocked, as some of the more knowledgeable members can most likely glean from the firmware. Bought from ebay to use with her service. What do carriers say when you ask for their support with a handset not purchased from them and therefore not covered under warranty by their company? Yeah. And I guess youve never forgotten a google password and had to deal with their **** or you would have hesitated before letting that drivel roll from your tongue. I lost an email address there permanently once that was quite clearly 'mine'. They just wouldnt allow me access again because i forgot to change my recovery number when I changed my phone carrier.
Now despite your quite clear insinuations the phone is most definitely mine. The situation is just as described. And I guess what I really should have asked for is a question and answer type group comprised of individuals intelligent enough to know that in the case where frp keeps someone from using their own property on account of the fading memory of a loved a one, there must exist a way to continue using said property.
I hope you aren't representative of all your peers that are members here. I hope children make less assumptions in their judgement of others.
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Let's see if anyone helps you then! With your attitude and name calling I can see I made the right choice and everyone else is going to see your attitude too and they're not going to want to help you. Being a little 6 year old name caller and crybaby isn't going to persuade anyone to help you. If you're too dim to understand that the FRP is there to protect stolen phones, and you're too dim to see that it seems suspicious when you say she forgot the pattern and then forgot the password right afterwards that's your problem!

jadams7256 said:
And figure it out I shall. For your information there are people with a tendency to forget quite a bit. Its hard for her but she makes up for anything she lacks not being a judgemental, small minded ass. Maybe try applying some common sense next time you're plotting out a withering retort genius. Its a carrier unlocked, as some of the more knowledgeable members can most likely glean from the firmware. Bought from ebay to use with her service. What do carriers say when you ask for their support with a handset not purchased from them and therefore not covered under warranty by their company? Yeah. And I guess youve never forgotten a google password and had to deal with their **** or you would have hesitated before letting that drivel roll from your tongue. I lost an email address there permanently once that was quite clearly 'mine'. They just wouldnt allow me access again because i forgot to change my recovery number when I changed my phone carrier.
Now despite your quite clear insinuations the phone is most definitely mine. The situation is just as described. And I guess what I really should have asked for is a question and answer type group comprised of individuals intelligent enough to know that in the case where frp keeps someone from using their own property on account of the fading memory of a loved a one, there must exist a way to continue using said property.
I hope you aren't representative of all your peers that are members here. I hope children make less assumptions in their judgement of others.
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Click to collapse
As Stated before we will not help you to bypass the FRP Protection!
There is no way to prove what you say is the truth or total LIE!
You are the one that needs common sense! Ask yourself this, if my phone was stolen would you want someone to come to site like xda and ask for a work around FRP on your phone without giving proof and giving some sob story?

Wow! 2 posts and hes already bold enough to lash out. Sounds like a little spoiled petulant kid. Take your attitude elsewhere little child....