Database Develop

[Q] Carrier witholding Firmware from MVNO, am I out of luck? (HTC 8XT)

I am sorry if this is the wrong place or forum.
I have an HTC 8XT on an MVNO of Sprint. Sprint apparently seems to be withholding a firmware update that would allow this phone to update to 8.1, Sprint 8XTs are running 8.1, but not a single 8XT on my MVNO has gotten it yet.
The current firmware I have is 3030.00.10008.651.
According to HTC the latest is 3030.00.31009.651.
I have taken this phone off my MVNO and left it in a drawer for several months hoping that it would roll off whatever database it might be in. I tried to factory reset and then let it update it over wifi (I know Lumias can do that).
It still says no update found. I chatted with an HTC rep online and reading between the lines, he seemed well aware of Sprint's shenanigans. He hinted that ROMS were 'out there' and an updated ROM, even if it weren't the latest, might be enough to trigger an update. I started my Google Fu. Nothing.
Then I read the FAQ in this forum that said if I needed an HTC ROM I was out of luck.
I know enough about flashing and rooting to be dangerous to my phone . This is not my daily phone, but it's frustrating to buy a device that says "ready for 8.1" and then not be able to roam or send MMS. I'm willing to try some warranty voiding behaviors to update it.
All that to say, is there anything else I can try? Again, apologies if this is the wrong forum. I did try a thread search and saw some close topics, but nothing like this.
Thanks

Well, the simple question is "have you tried the Developer Preview program?" because that bypasses the MO gating when your phone gets updated. Developer-unlock your phone (you don't have to sideload anything, the app just checks to see if you're unlocked), install Preview for Developers from the Store (free app from Microsoft), run it, and enable the installation of preview releases. That *should* let your phone get any relevant updates.
If that doesn't work, then I can't help you any further; I'm not a ROM guy.

GoodDayToDie said:
Well, the simple question is "have you tried the Developer Preview program?" because that bypasses the MO gating when your phone gets updated. Developer-unlock your phone (you don't have to sideload anything, the app just checks to see if you're unlocked), install Preview for Developers from the Store (free app from Microsoft), run it, and enable the installation of preview releases. That *should* let your phone get any relevant updates.
If that doesn't work, then I can't help you any further; I'm not a ROM guy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
I have been enrolled in the Developer Preview and have never gotten an update on this phone. I think I got this phone shortly after 8.1 was pulled from the DP due to the WiFi issue. Then I read on some Sprint boards that those *with* the Developer Preview were having issues installing the 8.1 when it was rolled out, so I wiped the phone. It has been several weeks since I tried Developer Preview on this phone. I thought it was on to WP10 and it wouldn't help me much.
Still, can't hurt to try to install it one more time, but I am not hopeful.
Thanks again for your time.
Edit: I think in my earlier attempts I missed the registration and unlocking of my phone. Trying that now.
Edit 2: Now it seems that sometime in May, Microsoft shut down the process for unlocking 8.0 phones with SDK

You might try to unlock the phone with the Chinese utility, but I am not sure that developer preview program really checks if your phone is unlocked. Is there a new firmware for your model in navifirm?

Lanex777 said:
You might try to unlock the phone with the Chinese utility, but I am not sure that developer preview program really checks if your phone is unlocked. Is there a new firmware for your model in navifirm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone is made by HTC. Isn't navifirm exclusively Nokia?

bootloader unlock request reasons

For the people that have requested and successfully received their unlock code, would you mind sharing the reasons you submitted to xiaomi?

I just said it had vendor rom installed, for a different xiaomi phone, unlock came the next day, the hardest thing is getting your name to work first name only,

I received approval in three days
I told them that I was a Dev and wanted to be able to test my apps on the Mi Mix
Best
J

Said I had an brick... And need help

I was honest and said I wanted to install custom roms and I was fully aware of the risks involved.
Sent from my MIX using Tapatalk

I just said I wanted to install TWRP to do backups

I was also completely honest and said since I was from Scotland I wanted to be able to get rid of the Chinese crap and get a different ROM.
Got a text two days later and my request was accepted.

along these lines - do i need to be using the phone to get the unlock request?
i can't use this phone as my daily without root, so i have my sim in my old phone until i get unlock. any idea?

knives of ice said:
along these lines - do i need to be using the phone to get the unlock request?
i can't use this phone as my daily without root, so i have my sim in my old phone until i get unlock. any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you don't. I'm not getting mine for at least another week but my unlock request was accepted last week. I've logged on to the unlock application to make sure it works and it works completely fine, now all I have to do is get the phone.

I just put 'I want to root the phone'.
Sent from my Huawei Mate 9 using XDA Labs

Hope I can get away with 2 unlocking codes on 1 account in a week? got some fresh ideas anyway

I was very honest, just said I want to root to release full potential. Fingers crossed!!

SWBgHz said:
I just put 'I want to root the phone'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did u get it

I was granted the unlock privilege within a few minutes. It could mean that they don't screen the responses as clearly now or that I just managed to give a reason they agreed with. A fellow Lineage team member got his unlock similarly quick too.

I was the luckiest. My phone was bought brand new sealed, virgin, never been used. I was the first to break the seal.
Point is, when checking the menu, it appears my bootloader was already unlocked and ready to go!
All I had to do was install the drivers and software on my pc and simply flash TWRM recovery followed by any custom rom of my choice...
Was never any need for me to request any bootloader unlock.

kanej2006 said:
I was the luckiest. My phone was bought brand new sealed, virgin, never been used. I was the first to break the seal.
Point is, when checking the menu, it appears my bootloader was already unlocked and ready to go!
All I had to do was install the drivers and software on my pc and simply flash TWRM recovery followed by any custom rom of my choice...
Was never any need for me to request any bootloader unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because the seller opened the box to unlock it and flash the global rom most likely. Most of them do that if you read the seller's description in detail.

blunden said:
That's because the seller opened the box to unlock it and flash the global rom most likely. Most of them do that if you read the seller's description in detail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone was factory sealed in the box when it arrived, however, the ad clearly mentioned:
''Official Global ROM Support OTA Updates''
So it appears you were right. Clever how it was resealed in the box...

I just said that I want a Rom with Portuguese languaje for me the unlock process it takes no more than 30 minutes between to ask permisson into Xiaomi end their response.

Error while unlocking the bootloader

I am getting the following error while trying to Unlock the Boot loader. Any suggestions?

Go to developer options and add your account under mi unlock status.
Check if you have turned on USB debugging and oem unlock if not then turn on and then try again.
This is known issue with xiaomi devices and it's not fixed since it's introduced in 2016 till now.
The least waiting time is 3 days and it could be for week or even more days to get bootloader unlocked.
Many users gets issue despite adding all correct information so there's need of patience.

metelhammer said:
Go to developer options and add your account under mi unlock status.
Check if you have turned on USB debugging and oem unlock if not then turn on and then try again.
This is known issue with xiaomi devices and it's not fixed since it's introduced in 2016 till now.
The least waiting time is 3 days and it could be for week or even more days to get bootloader unlocked.
Many users gets issue despite adding all correct information so there's need of patience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done all of those, and I am still getting this error. Have been trying for more than a week now.
Tried with an older version (2. version), Modified version of Mi Unlock Tool and tried with new account. Everytime I get the same error.

part 1994 said:
I have done all of those, and I am still getting this error. Have been trying for more than a week now.
Tried with an older version (2. version), Modified version of Mi Unlock Tool and tried with new account. Everytime I get the same error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it looks like it's a error from their end, probably server error. As I've already mentioned they haven't fixed this issue from their end since long.
Moreover i think they are doing this on purpose to tackle some bad reseller's who put fake miui with bloatware and other stuff.
I would recommend you to use official mi unlock tool to prevent any issue.
There are some users I've seen in the past using beta ROM they were able to get bootloader unlock instantly but this was more than a year ago so I don't know if this will work now or not since I heard from someone(not sure though, since I don't use miui forum anymore) they have disabled flashing beta ROM from updater app, mostly for same reason to prevent unlocking bootloader.
If you still may want to flash beta ROM and try to unlock there's tutorial on miui forum 'how to flash beta/stable china/global rom' without unlocking bootloader in order to have beta ROM in your device and then unlocking bootloader.
But I would recommend you to wait and try again later with official mi unlock tool. since I haven't been on miui forum for long time and totally unaware if this will work now or not.
They may have changed the process how bootloader unlocks.
Do this with your all responsibility if you choose to do so.

Questions about new Mi9 360-hour bootloader unlock wait

Bought a new global 6gb/128 Mi9, it arrived yesterday.
Tried to unlock the bootloader and after doing everything the unlock tool wanted, I was presented with the 360 hour wait.
I've looked over the forums and couldn't really find much information about this, except the following:
Do not sign out of the Xiaomi account on the phone.
Do not reset/wipe/update the Mi9 or it resets the counter
I was thinking of leaving it in the closet for 15 days until I can unlock it, since unlocking wipes the phone.
However, I saw in another thread that there appears to be another check about "using the phone for the number of required hours."
What do I have to do to pass this check?

Yes you need to use or turn on your phone for specified hours (i dont know exactly). Waiting 360 hours is not enough if you just binded mi unlock then leave your phone off. Fortunately you can bypass the usage requirement by using older mi flash unlock. I'm using ver 3.xx and still cant unlock after 360h. I said i need to use my phone more and wait another ****in days. Then I use mi flash unlock ver 2.xx and unlocked successfully.
I guess miui tried to make this unlock process become more difficult so they can still making money by ads

Thanks for the information.
I found version 2.3.803.10 here, is that the version you used to avoid the "time used" limitation?
xiaomifirmware dot com/downloads/download-mi-unlock-2-3-803-10

Hello all
I will receive mine those days, from Netherlands (And I leave in France)
SO I assume I will have the EE version, not the global ? How can I make sure of it and download the right xiaomi.eu ROM ?
The goal for me is unlocking the bootloader, wait the 360 hours, unlock and wipe all, flash twrp, and finally flash the latest xiaomi.eu ROM, cause it seems awesome compared to the stock one.

xephyris said:
Thanks for the information.
I found version 2.3.803.10 here, is that the version you used to avoid the "time used" limitation?
xiaomifirmware dot com/downloads/download-mi-unlock-2-3-803-10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i used miflash_unlock-en-2.2.624.14

This reset my timer I lost 2 days, has anyone else experienced that?

xephyris said:
Bought a new global 6gb/128 Mi9, it arrived yesterday.
Tried to unlock the bootloader and after doing everything the unlock tool wanted, I was presented with the 360 hour wait.
I've looked over the forums and couldn't really find much information about this, except the following:
Do not sign out of the Xiaomi account on the phone.
Do not reset/wipe/update the Mi9 or it resets the counter
I was thinking of leaving it in the closet for 15 days until I can unlock it, since unlocking wipes the phone.
However, I saw in another thread that there appears to be another check about "using the phone for the number of required hours."
What do I have to do to pass this check?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's already a thread here with quite a lot of information about bootloader unlock waiting times why open another thread ? I suggest read all the comments in that thread also you can discuss things there on this topic, cheers.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/Mi-9/how-to/unlocking-bootloader-immediately-t3926424

vtec303 said:
There's already a thread here with quite a lot of information about bootloader unlock waiting times why open another thread ? I suggest read all the comments in that thread also you can discuss things there on this topic, cheers.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/Mi-9/how-to/unlocking-bootloader-immediately-t3926424
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at the timestamp for both posts. Cheers.

Don't need to, all the best.

Got my phone 6 days ago and need to wait a bit less than 24 hours now. Guess I got lucky.

In my case it said 360 hours, but I checked maybe 6 or 7 days later and it said 1 hour remaining. I was able to unlock the hour after. So maybe just keep an eye on it. I used the phone as my daily driver though.

Google Pixel 5 downgrade to install /e/os

Hi,
for my Google Pixel 5 I want /e/os/.
Two instructions how to accomplish this. To flash /e/os onto a Google Pixel 5, the smartphone need to have Android 12.
My Google Pixel 5 has Android 13 (I received a New Old Stock device in a unopened box with Android 13. So no tinkering
beforehand.)
I found this archive of Android 12 images - all for the Google Pixel 5 and all Android 12:
Factory Images for Nexus and Pixel Devices | Google Play services | Google for Developers
developers.google.com
How can I determine and choose the correct image to flash?
Cheers!
Etymotics

12.1.0 (SQ3A.220705.003.A1, Jul 2022) is going to be the latest android 12 build which should be compatible.

Hi noidea24,
thank you for your post and the information. That helps me a lot - I was confused by the shear amount of images.
Do you know a thread which may have the things I want to achieve as topic ? I tried to search with keywords
like "Google Pixel 5 /e/os" and similiar, but it looks like the search found all threads containing GOOGLE *and* all threads with PIXEL *and* all....and so forth. I would need a second search engine to skim through the results...\
Cheers!
Etymotics

What are you looking for specifically? There's not really much info on e/os on the pixel 5. It works well, but the development is slow. Why e/os over similar projects with updated android versions like Graphene, Calyx, Copperhead?

e/os is not daily drivable, recommend not to install.

e/os was recommended to me by Marcel Bokhorst, the author of XPrivacy.
But as it seems, I had bad luck with the phone I bought:
The "OEM unlock" is greyed out and I know of no way to unlock the bootloader.
It currently runs on Android13 and last update was Dec. '22.
My intention behind all this was to have a de-googled phone because I [CENSORED] this
tracking and spying and "owning" a device, which I cannot control to 100%.
Anything else I can do to achieve this?
PS: My phone may be is one of these [CENSORED] Verizon devices. It was originally packaged
and as it seems never used before...

Where did you buy your phone? Ebay? A retailer?
Is there a keyword "Locked" or "Unlocked" anywhere on the website?
If the product listing didn't mention anything about it being carrier locked, I suggest requesting a refund or a replacement.
The "OEM Unlock" greyed-out is most definitely due to it being a carrier locked device and you're out of luck.
Also, if you truly want a de-googled OS, I recommend Graphene OS. https://grapheneos.org/

Etymotics said:
e/os was recommended to me by Marcel Bokhorst, the author of XPrivacy.
But as it seems, I had bad luck with the phone I bought:
The "OEM unlock" is greyed out and I know of no way to unlock the bootloader.
It currently runs on Android13 and last update was Dec. '22.
My intention behind all this was to have a de-googled phone because I [CENSORED] this
tracking and spying and "owning" a device, which I cannot control to 100%.
Anything else I can do to achieve this?
PS: My phone may be is one of these [CENSORED] Verizon devices. It was originally packaged
and as it seems never used before...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to give you false hope but did you connect to wifi on your first time through setup? If you don't, OEM unlock will be greyed out, regardless.

Hi Alex,
(NOT meant as any form of criticism or complaint... )
...I am a little confused here.
Other posts (not necessarily on this forum...can't remember) say: "Pull out the simcard, disable Wifi and DON'T contact anything, only skip through the setup..."
At the moment I only have a simcard of the wrong size...but I enabled Wifi but did not update anything in fear of getting an even stronger patch to disable any form of tinkering.
But as I am still having a locked "OEM unlocking" and a locked bootloader I am open for any kind of tinkering to get
this damn thing freed.
Would these steps ok:
Start the phone,
Setup lockscreen, dark theme, etc..
enable Wifi and download all updates, install updates
Ok? Or what would you suggest?
Cheers!
Etymotics

Etymotics said:
Hi Alex,
(NOT meant as any form of criticism or complaint... )
...I am a little confused here.
Other posts (not necessarily on this forum...can't remember) say: "Pull out the simcard, disable Wifi and DON'T contact anything, only skip through the setup..."
At the moment I only have a simcard of the wrong size...but I enabled Wifi but did not update anything in fear of getting an even stronger patch to disable any form of tinkering.
But as I am still having a locked "OEM unlocking" and a locked bootloader I am open for any kind of tinkering to get
this damn thing freed.
Would these steps ok:
Start the phone,
Setup lockscreen, dark theme, etc..
enable Wifi and download all updates, install updates
Ok? Or what would you suggest?
Cheers!
Etymotics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're not going to lose data or your not afraid of it, I would:
Factory reset without sim card in
When phone reboots, start setup
Don't put sim in but do connect to wifi
Skip through setup if you want and check if oem unlock is available
I'm not sure of the instructions you have, maybe that's what people believe for Verizon phones but you're not sure if you have one, correct?
Here's my experience:
I have several pixels, all unlocked. If I flash back to stock firmware and skip through setup without connecting to wifi, OEM unlock is greyed out. If I connect wifi on the first time through, it's available.
I've also heard this in tech videos. However, it won't work with Verizon phones. But if yours isn't Verizon, this could be the reason you're not able to unlock.

Hi Alex,
thank you for all your help! By the way: Are there any definite proofs for "my smartphone is a Verizon one" ?
I will try what you wrote and will be back with the result.
Two things came into my mind:
- Shall I install updates/upgrades if offered?
- Would downgrading (if even possible) via Chrome and the "Flash" feature on the Google page with all these images help, if I have a Verizon jail?
Cheers!
Etymotics

Etymotics said:
Hi Alex,
thank you for all your help! By the way: Are there any definite proofs for "my smartphone is a Verizon one" ?
I will try what you wrote and will be back with the result.
Two things came into my mind:
- Shall I install updates/upgrades if offered?
- Would downgrading (if even possible) via Chrome and the "Flash" feature on the Google page with all these images help, if I have a Verizon jail?
Cheers!
Etymotics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There may be a way but I'm not entirely sure, perhaps Google well help. I do seem to remember something about the IEMI but that may have been older models.
I wouldn't upgrade anything after setup and it shouldn't offer anything during.
As far as I know, downgrading won't help but I don't think you could from the Google page, as it requires an unlocked bootloader

Hi Alex,
I will try, what you wrote without updating anything ... will be back then...

Hi Alex,
no...unfortunately it does not help to connect to wifi...the "OEM unlock" is still grayed out.
Now....I wanted a de-googled phone to keep my privacy...instead I got a phone which is the
exact opposite. Unfortunately the cost of that thing remains the same...
Anything else, I can try?
Cheers!
Etymotics

Last week-end, i was abble to downgrade a Pixel 5 from A13 to A12 following this page
Navigate this article:
Downgrading your Google Pixel smartphone to stable Android version
Method 1: Leave the beta program
Method 2: Manual downgrade
Using Android Flash Tool
Using Fastboot
choose method 2 : fastboot (at the end of the article)
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-...rom-beta-developer-preview-to-stable-android/
and install e-1.10-s-20230412278810-stable-redfin according to the official instructions https://doc.e.foundation/devices/redfin/install

Hi Piero-e
That sounds very interesting. Did you unlock your bootloader before starting the procedure?
Did you change the bootloader of you device to another one?
Cheers!
Etymotics

Yes, i first unlock the bootloader (using the WiFi connection to another phone)
And flash bootloader and modem,
Then unfortunately my computer don't find the flash-all command, so I used the Gogol online tool to flash the others partitions