Database Develop

[Q] Any reason to re-lock & unroot, plus couple of noob questions

Hi - so I recently installed AR HD 11.5, but I'm wondering now that I've done that is there any compelling reason to re-lock the bootloader? What about un-rooting... any reason to do that after I've done what I needed to whilst being rooted?
Finally, a couple of noobish questions... 1) what's the difference between unlocking the bootloader & S-ON/S-OFF? I guess I was thinking they were one and the same thing, but some of the reading I've done imply they are in fact different things. If someone could please provide a brief explanation I would appreciate it. 2) why are some people concerned about being able to flash the latest OTA update if they have a custom ROM installed? I mean, won't any custom ROM pretty quickly catch up or even surpass the latest available OTA update? For example, that's one of the reasons I chose to go with AR HD because it's already using 4.2.2 instead of 4.1.2 that came with my phone.
Thanks in advance

Drvylyne said:
Hi - so I recently installed AR HD 11.5, but I'm wondering now that I've done that is there any compelling reason to re-lock the bootloader? What about un-rooting... any reason to do that after I've done what I needed to whilst being rooted?
Finally, a couple of noobish questions... 1) what's the difference between unlocking the bootloader & S-ON/S-OFF? I guess I was thinking they were one and the same thing, but some of the reading I've done imply they are in fact different things. If someone could please provide a brief explanation I would appreciate it. 2) why are some people concerned about being able to flash the latest OTA update if they have a custom ROM installed? I mean, won't any custom ROM pretty quickly catch up or even surpass the latest available OTA update? For example, that's one of the reasons I chose to go with AR HD because it's already using 4.2.2 instead of 4.1.2 that came with my phone.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. sOFF permits various additional commands like fastboot flash etc.
In short you get even more freedom
Search on google :- ''why do we need to sOFF'' there is a link on ARHD blog that explains this in detail
2. The answer to your 2nd question is very simple.
To get back to full stock- as if you havent done anything to it(no root sOFF unlock etc.) So as to gain warrenty
Hit thanks if i helped you
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

prunzzz said:
1. sOFF permits various additional commands like fastboot flash etc.
In short you get even more freedom
Search on google :- ''why do we need to sOFF'' there is a link on ARHD blog that explains this in detail
2. The answer to your 2nd question is very simple.
To get back to full stock- as if you havent done anything to it(no root sOFF unlock etc.) So as to gain warrenty
Hit thanks if i helped you
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some more reading on S-Off as you suggested and it doesn't sound necessary or really worthwhile to me. As long as I can put a custom ROM on, as I've already done, then I don't see the need for S-Off as it sounds like it's just inviting trouble if you don't know what you're doing (which I admittedly don't).
Also, I don't see why anyone would ever want to go back to full stock. I read that even if you unlock and put a custom ROM on your phone that it is still covered under warranty and that it's up to the manufacturer and/or carrier to prove that the act of doing one of those things is what actually caused the phone to malfunction thus requiring warranty repair.

Drvylyne said:
I did some more reading on S-Off as you suggested and it doesn't sound necessary or really worthwhile to me. As long as I can put a custom ROM on, as I've already done, then I don't see the need for S-Off as it sounds like it's just inviting trouble if you don't know what you're doing (which I admittedly don't).
Also, I don't see why anyone would ever want to go back to full stock. I read that even if you unlock and put a custom ROM on your phone that it is still covered under warranty and that it's up to the manufacturer and/or carrier to prove that the act of doing one of those things is what actually caused the phone to malfunction thus requiring warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
90% of people have no need for s off...since HTC let us install kernels via recovery ...now barely any people need s off... I think in Europe it doesn't matter if you unlocked and etc..you're still covered... Here in the states ...they can be a holes

I used S-Off to convert my AT&T One software to Developer edition software, then returned it to S-On. Now running totally stock developer version software, eliminates AT&T bloat and hoping I get updates a bit sooner than I would have with AT&T version.

With S-OFF you can flash kernels from the phone. S-ON you would have to do it maunally via fastboot.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Drvylyne said:
I did some more reading on S-Off as you suggested and it doesn't sound necessary or really worthwhile to me. As long as I can put a custom ROM on, as I've already done, then I don't see the need for S-Off as it sounds like it's just inviting trouble if you don't know what you're doing (which I admittedly don't).
Also, I don't see why anyone would ever want to go back to full stock. I read that even if you unlock and put a custom ROM on your phone that it is still covered under warranty and that it's up to the manufacturer and/or carrier to prove that the act of doing one of those things is what actually caused the phone to malfunction thus requiring warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you got the answer of your 1st question
Now the answer for 2nd one is very simple, though what you said about warrenty is right,
But still many times its always better to have a full stock for warrenty or replacement (by "better" i mean you dont have to prove anything to the service center)
Hit THANKS if i helped you
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

squabbi said:
With S-OFF you can flash kernels from the phone. S-ON you would have to do it maunally via fastboot.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong I believe with updated HTC dev for the one...HTC unlocked that for us

Basically don't S off if you don't know what it does. It bypasses security checks and allows access to all phone partitions that if applyed wrong could brick your phone. Just flashing roms doesn't require s off
Example of mistake
Fastboot flash hboot recovery.img
This would brick your phone if you had s off, s on would deny write access!!
IF YOUR recive HELP FROM SOMEONE BE GRATEFUL AND HIT THANKS!!!
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

a box of kittens said:
Wrong I believe with updated HTC dev for the one...HTC unlocked that for us
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh sorry. I was basing that off the One X. I S-OFF'd my One because I thought that without S-OFF I couldn't flash a kernel.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Q] Can anyone confirm if the new update blocks any S-Off or TempRoot hacks?

So, my still rooted and S-On Sprint HTC M8 just received a notification that an update is available.
I AM going to eventually root and s-off this thing, but I am going to be going on a few trips soon so I figured it would be best to wait until after just in case something goes wrong so I won't be out of a phone while not at home.
Just wanted to know if anybody can confirm if the current firewater S-Off and/or Weaksauce temproot methods still work if you install these on an unmodified Sprint M8.

Cyber Akuma said:
So, my still rooted and S-On Sprint HTC M8 just received a notification that an update is available.
I AM going to eventually root and s-off this thing, but I am going to be going on a few trips soon so I figured it would be best to wait until after just in case something goes wrong so I won't be out of a phone while not at home.
Just wanted to know if anybody can confirm if the current firewater S-Off and/or Weaksauce temproot methods still work if you install these on an unmodified Sprint M8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're rolling the dice there. Even if you find one that can be S-Off'd with the new firmware on it that doesn't necessarily mean that the next person will get the same result as we have seen phones that are identical in software and firmware both fail and succeed at obtaining S-Off. In short, I think the it's always great to get a sampling of results but I do not believe we would be able to make any accurate conclusions, regarding S-Off anyway, from the data.
I suppose I am interested in knowing whether even a single M8 with the new firmware is able to S-Off with firewater but that's just the curiousity inside me.^^

slimbrady said:
I think you're rolling the dice there. Even if you find one that can be S-Off'd with the new firmware on it that doesn't necessarily mean that the next person will get the same result as we have seen phones that are identical in software and firmware both fail and succeed at obtaining S-Off. In short, I think the it's always great to get a sampling of results but I do not believe we would be able to make any accurate conclusions, regarding S-Off anyway, from the data.
I suppose I am interested in knowing whether even a single M8 with the new firmware is able to S-Off with firewater but that's just the curiousity inside me.^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'm about to give up on achieving S-Off. Being that I don't tinker with my device the way that I messed around with my previous device, I might be throwing in the towel. I'm possibly even giving up root. This is my first device that truly didn't need to be rooted.
But then again....there's free tethering....

AarSyl said:
This is my first device that truly didn't need to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The whole **** with how KitKat limits your SD card access alone is enough to get me to root.

Cyber Akuma said:
The whole **** with how KitKat limits your SD card access alone is enough to get me to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Riiight....forgot about that.
Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

Go root or go home. (Sorry, couldn't resist)
If you're already at home....well...you're cheating and you should feel bad....so bad that you might as well root anyway because things can't get much worse for you!

Just to let you all know....
Went back to a stock Rom, locked my bootloader, then received the .13 update(could only find .9 stock to use) then the .15 update and was able to unlock my bootloader again with the same .bin file I received from HTCDev, flash a custom Rom, and restore my root with no problems at all.
Tried Firewater again for the heck of it and it actually chugged one bottle....but then whelped me again! =/

slimbrady said:
Just to let you all know....
Went back to a stock Rom, locked my bootloader, then received the .13 update(could only find .9 stock to use) then the .15 update and was able to unlock my bootloader again with the same .bin file I received from HTCDev, flash a custom Rom, and restore my root with no problems at all.
Tried Firewater again for the heck of it and it actually chugged one bottle....but then whelped me again! =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For next time, I don't think you need to lock the bootloader to receive the OTA.

rhe12 said:
For next time, I don't think you need to lock the bootloader to receive the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm well I'd done everything else except for that and it failed so locked it and it worked. Maybe it was just a fluke but either way only took a couple seconds to both lock and unlock again. =)
Edit: Yeah pretty sure you do have to lock it if you're stuck S-On like I am. S-Off most definitely doesn't need to though.

slimbrady said:
Just to let you all know....
Went back to a stock Rom, locked my bootloader, then received the .13 update(could only find .9 stock to use) then the .15 update and was able to unlock my bootloader again with the same .bin file I received from HTCDev, flash a custom Rom, and restore my root with no problems at all.
Tried Firewater again for the heck of it and it actually chugged one bottle....but then whelped me again! =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has the new radio helped your reception?
I can't s-off either. Big pain to go stock to get OTA's.

Wait, I admit I haven't kept up much on S-Off news, so you mean it's random if your M8 will be able to S-Off or not?

im also failed when want to s-off
how i want to unlock gsm my sprint harman kardon edition if cannot s-off ?
is there any method to unlock gsm without s-off ?

comstar said:
Has the new radio helped your reception?
I can't s-off either. Big pain to go stock to get OTA's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I noticed that in certain areas I actuallly start picking up the Spark network where I never exceeded 3G speeds in the past so that is somewhat exciting. Didn't really have any reception issues persay previously but I would say it has been slightly improved overall.....or at least it seems that way to me. Could just be towers too I suppose but meh =)
Cyber Akuma said:
Wait, I admit I haven't kept up much on S-Off news, so you mean it's random if your M8 will be able to S-Off or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much....We've discounted "batches" being the case by virtue of serial number comparisons and, as far as I am aware, no one has been able to identify any kind of pattern to it.
You would think that the newer the phone the less likely you could s-off with it...and perhaps that is the case....but we've seen people as recent as this week go in and get one, take it home and firewater s-off with it while I've had mine for much longer and can't...maybe the ones people are getting were sitting around for a long time I guess...All pretty much educated (or not educated) guessing at this point.

[Q] [S-OFF] HTC One M7 S-Off question?

Hey everyone, i am new to this XDA developers site, but have many years of experience with android devices, my latest one though, well is the htc one, i would like to know, is there any risk to using the ''Firewater'' S-OFF Command, i am just wondering this because i would like to unlock the full capability of this wonderful device, and i only have it a week or two, so i would not like to damage the device by only having it 2 weeks, i love it, but would like to unlock the full potential of it, and i also love sense and stock android, so would be seriously interested.
Bottom Line, Is there any risk of using the ''Firewater'' S-OFF Tool?
Thanks very much,
Ir1shwall3.

Ir1shWall3 said:
Hey everyone, i am new to this XDA developers site, but have many years of experience with android devices, my latest one though, well is the htc one, i would like to know, is there any risk to using the ''Firewater'' S-OFF Command, i am just wondering this because i would like to unlock the full capability of this wonderful device, and i only have it a week or two, so i would not like to damage the device by only having it 2 weeks, i love it, but would like to unlock the full potential of it, and i also love sense and stock android, so would be seriously interested.
Bottom Line, Is there any risk of using the ''Firewater'' S-OFF Tool?
Thanks very much,
Ir1shwall3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, no risk, either it will work or it wont, if it fails then there is a new one called Sunshine s-off which apparently works on the M7 but you have to pay for it, try firewater first.

I'm still not persuaded, I'm afraid it will harm it and damage my device, maybe I'll do it in the future, but thanks very much for your reply, I gave you a thanks on your answer?
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Free mobile app

Ir1shWall3 said:
I'm still not persuaded, I'm afraid it will harm it and damage my device, maybe I'll do it in the future, but thanks very much for your reply, I gave you a thanks on your answer?
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
like I said, it wont hurt it at all, it will either work or it wont, read the s-off thread if you don't believe me, ive ran it 50 times to try and get s-off and ended up doing it by java card because firewater failed. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2632351
that was before sunshine came about, if I was still s-on, I would hesitate to pay for and run sunshine right now.

Ir1shWall3 said:
Hey everyone, i am new to this XDA developers site, but have many years of experience with android devices, my latest one though, well is the htc one, i would like to know, is there any risk to using the ''Firewater'' S-OFF Command, i am just wondering this because i would like to unlock the full capability of this wonderful device, and i only have it a week or two, so i would not like to damage the device by only having it 2 weeks, i love it, but would like to unlock the full potential of it, and i also love sense and stock android, so would be seriously interested.
Bottom Line, Is there any risk of using the ''Firewater'' S-OFF Tool?
Thanks very much,
Ir1shwall3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
having S-Off etc is the best ever i have done on my htc couldnt imagine now to have s-on again its the ultimate lol.
firewater works however it did take quite some trys back-then before it succeeded, i did alot of reading before i decided
wanting having s-off, pros/cons but conclusion now and after the reading before s-off was a no-brainer (for me)
i remember having the same thoughts to about the bricking but after reading through many topics here and other sites
i wasent that scared of it mostly nervous if it worked or not xD as the guy above says, either it works or not. for me it took many tries to as said, but ones having s-off
you wont look back i believe i guess its a preference since we all have our personal favorite if wanting s-on or off.
i would "advice" reading more through about using firewater getting inputs, i had same thoughts as you with using it at first as long with rooting etc
and i never knew or tried those things actually before i joined this awesome forum and started to use it regular. i see you are quite into the android
from your text to thats good advantage and should help as well with choosing to use or not
im aware of my low post count xD but i dont post/reply just to get posts up, only if im able to give input there may help in some way
either way, wishing you goodluck if you decided to go for it!
hah as Seanie280672 says to it might take alot of tries, its just keep going eventually it should succeed

Thanksks for the information, so it will not brick or will there be very little chance of bricking?
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Free mobile app

Ir1shWall3 said:
Thanksks for the information, so it will not brick or will there be very little chance of bricking?
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just remember s-off actually means security off and opens up the nand to full write, its no longer protected.
therefore if you try to flash something that's not for your particular device, it will no longer fail with an error, it will flash and brick your device, s-off itself doesn't brick, the user bricks by flashing the wrong things, so make sure you know what you are doing before you go s-off, if you don't really need it, or don't know what you are doing then don't bother, there's so many users on here that don't actually know how to even identify their correct RUU for instance, and that's simple stuff, but downloading the wrong one and flashing parts of it that don't belong to your phone = a brick, but again, that's the user, not s-off.
on the other hand however, s-off can help you out a lot, take a look at the below thread, he flashed the wrong software whilst s-on and has knackered his phone up, if he was s-off then it would be easily fixable with a simple downgrade of HBOOT, but because he's s-on he now has a brick: http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one/help/help-active-cmdline-overflow-1025-bytes-t2841484

S-off is complete control of your phone. Which is the dangerous part. The process to s-off is simple and will not brick you. Just be sure to remember your model ID (like mine is M7_wlv) because all ruu files will state what model number it is and for what firmware.
The reason to want s-off? Search your specific device's ruu files and see if there is one for your version or high that is officially signed by HTC. If there is none, you will want s-off to downgrade or flash the unsigned ruu. As S-on, you cannot downgrade firmware or flash unsigned ruus
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Free mobile app

Guys I have an international HTC one with latest ota update and h -boot(1.57.0). If I decide to leave it s-on will I be able to change os from sense to cm. I'm worried that my phone might get a kernel problem since I always had to flash the boot img to get another Rom working...just want to know if I'll be able to flash all Rome below or above my current firmware?

yasir4abbas said:
Guys I have an international HTC one with latest ota update and h -boot(1.57.0). If I decide to leave it s-on will I be able to change os from sense to cm. I'm worried that my phone might get a kernel problem since I always had to flash the boot img to get another Rom working...just want to know if I'll be able to flash all Rome below or above my current firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can flash any custom rom as long as its for your phone, even if your s-on, you just have to be HTC Dev unlocked, just make sure its for your phone and read the OP and instructions, the guy who bricked his recently flashed CM11 designed for a completely different phone and the kernel messed one of his partitions up, he didn't read the details and instructions, it couldn't be fixed because he wasn't s-off, the fix only works if your on HBOOT 1.44 and you cant downgrade that without s-off.

yasir4abbas said:
Guys I have an international HTC one with latest ota update and h -boot(1.57.0). If I decide to leave it s-on will I be able to change os from sense to cm. I'm worried that my phone might get a kernel problem since I always had to flash the boot img to get another Rom working...just want to know if I'll be able to flash all Rome below or above my current firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, as long as the software is for your device it will be perfect, but you'll need to know the actual model number of your device, mine is m7_ul, but yours might be just m7, so be weary of what yours is, the best way of finding this out is going into the bootloader and looking at the first characters on the first line, i'm good at all this stuff, its that im just weary of making my device an expensive piece of metal and glass, if you need help, you can always send me a message

Ir1shWall3 said:
Yeah, as long as the software is for your device it will be perfect, but you'll need to know the actual model number of your device, mine is m7_ul, but yours might be just m7, so be weary of what yours is, the best way of finding this out is going into the bootloader and looking at the first characters on the first line, i'm good at all this stuff, its that im just weary of making my device an expensive piece of metal and glass, if you need help, you can always send me a message
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's not completely true, a custom rom built for M7_UL will work just fine on the M7_U, they are the same device, just one has LTE and the other doesn't, just means those parts of the rom wont be installed.
the only rom's you cant use are HTC ONE M7 custom rom';s built for Spirint and Verizon devices.

Seanie280672 said:
that's not completely true, a custom rom built for M7_UL will work just fine on the M7_U, they are the same device, just one has LTE and the other doesn't, just means those parts of the rom wont be installed.
the only rom's you cant use are HTC ONE M7 custom rom';s built for Spirint and Verizon devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah right! I guess the ul has 4G? You learn something new everyday!

[Q] No OS, Locked S-On need to get Stock sense on there

Initial Disclaimer
I am tech savvy, but I am an Android newbie. So yes, I mess things up. Sort of a natural part of life I guess. I have read as much information as I can and decifered as much of that as I can.
I am in no way asking a question out of pure laziness, I simply cannot find a solution to my problem.
Phone Specs
HTC One (M7)
CDMA-Sprint as the carrier
OS-
HBOOT-1.56.0000
Radio-1.00.20.1100
The Story
Okay so I had Sprint a while back, hated it and recently decided to switch my HTC One to Expo Mobile. Problem is I had Viper OS and it would not update so all I had was Talk/Text. So I figured I'd get stock android back on the device. this is when things started going awry. The phone <was> unlocked. S-On. I found some guides to install the factory RUU on the device and was told to lock it. Well now I have no OS and a locked device. No RUU I try is working and I have tried several Sprint RUUs. I am getting Error 155, so I imagine my version of HBOOT is incompatible? Anyway I haven't been able to find a way to root it without an OS installed.
Currently showing Tampered, Relocked and Security Warning. I can mess with it in Fastboot but ADB won't see the device at all. Again, I am a phone newbie so any help would be much appreciated. Am I totally boned or do I have options.?
Anyway, I wouldn't bother you guys if it was something I could possible understand enough to fix it. Seems like messing with it in the first place was a bad idea, although a learning experience.

Sanemon said:
Initial Disclaimer
I am tech savvy, but I am an Android newbie. So yes, I mess things up. Sort of a natural part of life I guess. I have read as much information as I can and decifered as much of that as I can.
I am in no way asking a question out of pure laziness, I simply cannot find a solution to my problem.
Phone Specs
HTC One (M7)
CDMA-Sprint as the carrier
OS-
HBOOT-1.56.0000
Radio-1.00.20.1100
The Story
Okay so I had Sprint a while back, hated it and recently decided to switch my HTC One to Expo Mobile. Problem is I had Viper OS and it would not update so all I had was Talk/Text. So I figured I'd get stock android back on the device. this is when things started going awry. The phone <was> unlocked. S-On. I found some guides to install the factory RUU on the device and was told to lock it. Well now I have no OS and a locked device. No RUU I try is working and I have tried several Sprint RUUs. I am getting Error 155, so I imagine my version of HBOOT is incompatible? Anyway I haven't been able to find a way to root it without an OS installed.
Currently showing Tampered, Relocked and Security Warning. I can mess with it in Fastboot but ADB won't see the device at all. Again, I am a phone newbie so any help would be much appreciated. Am I totally boned or do I have options.?
Anyway, I wouldn't bother you guys if it was something I could possible understand enough to fix it. Seems like messing with it in the first place was a bad idea, although a learning experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I Spoke Too Soon
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658910 seemed to resolve everything
Now I am stuck at the activation screen for Sprint

[Q] Customization Options

I just got my M8 a couple weeks before Christmas and just yesterday decided to root it. Well, after rooting it, I found out there's no way to achieve S-OFF anymore. Sure, I could use the other method, but I don't want to pay $25 to do something to my phone that I should already be able to do. No other phone that I know of on XDA has to pay to achieve S-OFF. Since firewater can't be found/isn't usable, and the other method is $25, what are my options, if any? I want to load custom ROMs and kernels because the stock version seemed just as laggy as my M7.