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I want to try some custom ROMs on my M8. Before I do this I want to do a full back up. From everything I've read Titanium is by a long shot the most popular so I see no reason not to go that route. However, from what I've read rooting the M8 will wipe my phone, but I can't use Titanium until I'm rooted. So it seems I'm stuck, and wondering what the best way is to proceed.
Thanks,
Ryan
Ryan_Mc said:
I want to try some custom ROMs on my M8. Before I do this I want to do a full back up. From everything I've read Titanium is by a long shot the most popular so I see no reason not to go that route. However, from what I've read rooting the M8 will wipe my phone, but I can't use Titanium until I'm rooted. So it seems I'm stuck, and wondering what the best way is to proceed.
Thanks,
Ryan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting by itself won't reset your phone, using the HTC unlock token to unlock the bootloader will. However, if you can S-off, you can also unlock your bootloader without tripping the factory reset. Once your bootloader is unlocked, you can install a custom recovery and backup your (unrooted) OS image - then use that recovery to install su.
Unfortunately, the prerequisite to all of that is getting S-off. If you can't, or won't, do that, then yeah - as soon as you unlock the bootloader your /data partition will get nuked. It's a safety measure to prevent someone from stealing your phone, unlocking the bootloader, and bypassing the OS protections to get the data on it. Fortunately, it only happens when you unlock. If you subsequently leave the bootloader unlocked, it won't happen again.
Hi guys forgive me but I have owned Galaxy for a long time and I am thinking about making the switch because you can get such good deals on used M8's these days.I know on the version of S5 that I have that the bootloader is totally locked and there is no hope of root or custom ROMS ever as far as I can tell.
Browsing around here it seems as though Downgrade/Root/Custom Roms are still possible.
Is that a correct statement? I just wanted to verify before I spend the cash.Otherwise I'll probably just keep what I have.
Thanks!
Official bootloader unlock is available via HTCDev.com for this device (except for a couple versions, like Verizon). You don't need to "downgrade" anything, and if fact you should not.
Once bootloader unlocked, you can install custom recovery (TWRP) and root or flash custom ROMs all you like.
Some partitions are still write protected with the bootloader unlocked, such as bootloader and radio. But there are only specific reasons to tinker with those. If you want access to the protected partitions, you can pay for s-off using an XDA user created sunshine app ($25). But as mentioned, you don't need s-off to flash ROMs, or most other mods.
Thanks very much for the detailed reply.That answers everything.
Hey all,
so i have (hopefully) read all those "I'm new to HTC"-threads and an almost infinite amount of additional threads all around the internet and especially here on xda in the htc 10 forum. I think i have figured it out so far, coming from a Galaxy S5 it's quite confusing sometimes as there i would have to get my hands on odin, flash twrp and from there on everything is super easy.
CID/MID
The CID of my device (HTC__034) shows me my device is unbranded and the region is europe. This is like the CSC over at samsung where DBT would be an unbranded german device?
The MID is an identifier for the model, it's model specific and should be the same throughout all regions and carriers (read this on some german android wiki site). It's like SM-G900F over at samsung?
Bootloader
The bootloader is locked by default. To be able to install a custom recovery, root, flash custom roms, etc. pp. i need to unlock the bootloader either over at htcdev (where they will store the information about me unlocking the bootloader) or through sunshine which will also S-OFF my device. Once the bootloader is unlocked, no more OTA updates except installing them "by hand"
S-ON/S-OFF
S-OFF is not needed to flash custom roms, but i may be stuck on some firmware version if it won't get updated anymore. To change firmware version i would need to S-OFF my device.
Also, to flash a radio i would need S-OFF. Is this radio you are all talking about what the modem is over at samsung?
S-ON is default, S-OFF is a sunshine exclusive, XTC2Clip won't work here anymore
Custom recovery
unlock bootloader and if wanted, S-OFF, fastboot install twrp
Root
flash supersu, systemless supersu or magisk and systemless phhsuperuser through twrp
Flashing roms
unlocked bootloader and custom recovery needed, then just flash this baby
Nice work, due diligence is rare these days
You got it all very close, your shouldn't have any trouble.
don't worry about S off
create an account at the HTC Dev website
on Dev site, select unlock bootloader and follow step by step
once bootloader is unlocked, "fastboot flash recovery twrp.img"
reboot into recovery and CREATE FULL BACKUP... save it somewhere safe...
at this point you are safe and don't need to worry about bricking your phone!
you are also now done with the computer, from this point on you can switch roms as much as you like with just your phone.
to install rom, save file to your phone, wipe system, dalvik/cache, then install new file, all from within twrp
Let me know if you need any help
---------- Post added at 01:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------
Also just to clarify, it is basically the same thing as your s5, but you are replacing Odin with fastboot and adding the one step of unlocking your bootloader first. Don't worry about rooting at first because most custom roms will have it already rooted, so installing the rom will also root... Good luck
S1CAR1US said:
You got it all very close, your shouldn't have any trouble.
don't worry about S off
create an account at the HTC Dev website
on Dev site, select unlock bootloader and follow step by step
once bootloader is unlocked, "fastboot flash recovery twrp.img"
reboot into recovery and CREATE FULL BACKUP... save it somewhere safe...
at this point you are safe and don't need to worry about bricking your phone!
you are also now done with the computer, from this point on you can switch roms as much as you like with just your phone.
to install rom, save file to your phone, wipe system, dalvik/cache, then install new file, all from within twrp
Let me know if you need any help
---------- Post added at 01:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------
Also just to clarify, it is basically the same thing as your s5, but you are replacing Odin with fastboot and adding the one step of unlocking your bootloader first. Don't worry about rooting at first because most custom roms will have it already rooted, so installing the rom will also root... Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, thanks for the answer, just a few more questions^^
S-OFF + unlocked bootloader -> this is what i have on my S5 right now. enabling me to flash and/or **** up everything.
for example take a firmware (bootloader, modem, rom) for s7 and brick my s5 or repartition with a pitfile or whatsoever if i want to
i am able to up-/downgrade firmware from (if it's there) nougat down to marshmallow and back up to nougat
S-ON + unlocked bootloader -> will only give me the possibility to flash new system partition (aka rom), a custom recovery, gain root access and (read about this) flash a kernel. but this won't allow me to update firmware, so as long as i'm on mm, no nougat for me except i relock my bootloader and flash a nougat RUU (check for right MID and CID).
2.1 do i have this right (about the firmware up-/downgrades)?
2.2 the RUUs are basically stock firmware?
S-OFF + locked bootloader
what is up with this configuration? have read it gives me the same options as S-ON and bootloader unlocked?
S-OFF would also allow me to relock bootlader without relocked flag, so it looks as if i never unlocked the bootloader?
AOSP-roms
what configuration do i need to flash aosp roms as soon as there are mor than alpha/beta builds? is S-ON + unlocked bootloader sufficient?
peteter said:
First of all, thanks for the answer, just a few more questions^^
S-OFF + unlocked bootloader -> this is what i have on my S5 right now. enabling me to flash and/or **** up everything.
for example take a firmware (bootloader, modem, rom) for s7 and brick my s5 or repartition with a pitfile or whatsoever if i want to
i am able to up-/downgrade firmware from (if it's there) nougat down to marshmallow and back up to nougat
S-ON + unlocked bootloader -> will only give me the possibility to flash new system partition (aka rom), a custom recovery, gain root access and (read about this) flash a kernel. but this won't allow me to update firmware, so as long as i'm on mm, no nougat for me except i relock my bootloader and flash a nougat RUU (check for right MID and CID).
2.1 do i have this right (about the firmware up-/downgrades)?
2.2 the RUUs are basically stock firmware?
S-OFF + locked bootloader
what is up with this configuration? have read it gives me the same options as S-ON and bootloader unlocked?
S-OFF would also allow me to relock bootlader without relocked flag, so it looks as if i never unlocked the bootloader?
AOSP-roms
what configuration do i need to flash aosp roms as soon as there are mor than alpha/beta builds? is S-ON + unlocked bootloader sufficient?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best way is "S-OFF - LOCKED".
You have the same advantages as with "S-OFF - UNLOCKED", but with "S-OFF - LOCKED" you can go easily back to stock ("S-ON - LOCKED").
You can flash everything AND you can up-/ or downgrade your firmware. So AOSP roms are no problem for you
Never RELOCK your phone.
So the best way is: Unlock your phone with HTC Dev > Flash TWRP > Flash SuperSu > Install sunshine and choose inside the app "S-OFF - LOCKED".
If you want to go back to stock, just flash a RUU.zip and do the s-on command. Thats it.
But, if you still have a firmware version that's compatible with temp root, you don't need to unlock through HTC first. If you're going to spend the Sunshine money anyway, and if your FW version is compatible, go with Sunshine since the beginning.
Also, when you first run TWRP and it asks you if you want to make system writable, say NO. That way, you are able to backup everything untouched and get back to stock in case you want to take OTAs. There are guides that show you how to do it if you decide to stay stock + root/xposed.
Thank you all, so the way would be
download and install sunshine -> done
let sunshine run its tests (temproot etc) -> done and working
(from here on to be done)
pay 25$ and choose S-OFF + LOCKED -> done
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img -> done
i could also do this fastboot boot recovery twrp.img command and then also backup stock recovery? -> no longer available
boot up twrp, no to writable system -> done
nandroid backup (system image, boot) -> done
do what i want, flash custom-rom, aosp-rom, keep stock-rom, flash magisk and systemless phhsuperuser, flash supersu systemless or standard supersu, xposed and whatever makes me hit install in recovery -> done done done
also, never ever RELOCK in case i would S-OFF and UNLOCK
in case i missed something, please enlighten me else i'm of to gain freedom
dastinger said:
But, if you still have a firmware version that's compatible with temp root, you don't need to unlock through HTC first. If you're going to spend the Sunshine money anyway, and if your FW version is compatible, go with Sunshine since the beginning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I forgot the sunshine temproot. I got my phone from repair last week with latest firmware and it wasn't working. I had to use HTC Dev to unlock first.
peteter said:
Thank you all, so the way would be
download and install sunshine -> done
let sunshine run its tests (temproot etc) -> done and working
(from here on to be done)
pay 25$ and choose S-OFF + LOCKED
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
i could also do this fastboot boot recovery twrp.img command and then also backup stock recovery?
boot up twrp, no to writable system
nandroid backup
do what i want, flash custom-rom, aosp-rom, keep stock-rom, flash magisk and systemless phhsuperuser, flash supersu systemless or standard supersu, xposed and whatever makes me hit install in recovery
also, never ever RELOCK in case i would S-OFF and UNLOCK
in case i missed something, please enlighten me else i'm of to gain freedom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After your nandroid backup you have to reboot TWRP and allow writable system, or you can't flash anything a ROM
Not anything. You can still flash Magisk, Systemless Root, Systemless Xposed or a custom kernel. Basically, you can flash anything that doesn't mess with system. A ROM, for example, will need writable system ofc.
Once again, thanks a lot guys, installed twrp which is now asking me for a password. am i right that i have to enter my decrypt password?
EDIT: Just hit cancel worked
peteter said:
Once again, thanks a lot guys, installed twrp which is now asking me for a password. am i right that i have to enter my decrypt password?
EDIT: Just hit cancel worked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-10/how-to/psa-htc-10-s-off-s-lock-unlock-t3371264
I got OTA updates with S-OFF I understand it's the recovery that will block OTA. What I did was S-OFF and HTC DEV unlocked bootloader I have not changed either one since. What I was doing to get latest firmware(for US UNLOCKED or developer edition) was flash a stock pmewl RUU not modify it and take OTAs to get the latest firmware. If you have the m10h in the USA, your LTE is crippled. You may want to convert to TMOUS or US unlocked. LTE will turn on at that point, however you won't get the full AWS spectrum. I use WCDMA(3.5G or HSDPA+) exclusively, unless I'm somewhere it won't work, like southern Denver, even then it's crippled. I quickly came to the conclusion that I need a PME with full AWS spectrum. I did have the device converted to US unlocked and on nougat within hours, nougat at the time was not available for my device out of the box. Another thing I sometimes go into recovery and find if didn't mount data partition. Simply re-flashing encryption compatible TWRP fixes this. Either a backup or image flash from TWRP. Or re-flash TWRP using TWRP app or dd from a terminal.
From my experience, whenever TWRP asks for a password that means data did not mount! The latest TWRP from twrp.me the official one is working fine for me.
The only problems I had were in trying to return to a fully stock condition.
Which is useful to do in case you maybe sell the phone after upgrading or something. And it very much depends on where you got your phone on how successful that attempt will be. For instance, my contract allows me to upgrade every two years, but the CID they use (H3G__001), despite the phone basically being unlocked, is not supported anywhere in the form of RUU. I had to S-OFF in order to be able to change the CID to HTC__001 which is the WWE CID but you can also change a significant amount of other stuff.
The other thing that being S-OFF makes easy is updating or rolling back firmware versions and different revisions of android require different firmwares (for instance between Marshmallow and Nougat)
Although, some of it has the potential to brick your phone, which being S-ON prevents. So it depends just how far you want to go and if you'd rather have that saftey net. But beyond that, you do not need S-OFF to install and run custom roms, or recoveries, etc.
Good points. It is risky to S-OFF, last time I flashed a write value to the safety state of an HTC modem was the Evo 4g, locked to Virgin Mobile when I got it. I had to cut a small section of a wire from an ethernet cable after flashing the unlock binary. Using that cable to ground contact points(at the risk of bricking) I read how to bypass some safety and get into diag mode writing some hex value to something else using fastboot.
I got into Android(and Linux) by hacking the HTC Touch Pro 2 and a laptop to flash it with. That was a Microsoft Phone. Using Haret, and installing Android Donut system/kernel images on the sdcard, you could boot into the Android Linux kernel and everything was loaded. It was slow, no cellular connection, it booted as a proof of concept.
Unpractical for daily use, I just kept Windows with the earliest version of the Sense interface, compulsively flashing every new Energy ROM. Then came the HTC HD2, the last Microsoft Phone(before Windows Mobile), my first practical Android phone. Started off booting Froyo using the same sdcard install and Haret psuedo bootloader method. Dark Forces group eventually formatted the EEPROM of the HD2 using a Linux friendly file system and moved Android from the sdcard to the internal memory. Adopting Linux kernel and vendor sources from the HTC Desire, the XDA community hacked together a fringe device.
I had a few HD2s running Android on a foreign device. Even bricked a couple of them flashing European radios. Only to restore them by buying the same not bricked devices with busted screens on eBay.
You can do things with an HTC, not possible otherwise using other Armel hardware . I mean try writing low level binary states to the modem of an Nexus device, not only to re define the locality of where the device was manufactured to function, but even downgrade firmware versions and the respective security patches.
Won't happen, not without Jtag and a few years of bricking devices while you earn an unrequited masters in computer science, as I imagine the phreakers/developers behind Sunshine must have.
My point, if I have one, is the raw potential before the OP and the device we're taking about.
To even look up a device on XDA demands a degree of user autonomy not encouraged by many manufactures. Like those that resort exclusively to advertising and pandering to made for TV "group think" expectations and attitudes of what a device is capable of. Only what is most profitable to most manufactures will work easily on the device without risk of destruction.
End users intolerant of bloatware and advertising, or limiting personal driving, shopping, usage and locality data to services they chose or at least use and know about. Those are examples of what's outside the stock ROM box.
The communications service industry as a whole will lose profits if they don't buy the majority of these inherently open devices and tailor them to fit, for the most part, their ends. I mean yeah, KNOX is secure, and that's a great cover story to isolate open development. Groups of independent developers, builders, and users can take technology in a direction different and less predictable than what is otherwise a profitable direction.
I like to imagine this fora as a nail in the coffin of computer hardware and software development that unnecessarily limits experimentation and inflates security risks to homogenize those capable individuals under the same or similar payroll. Focusing them on profit over communal benefit, as if we can't have both.
I've watched the video guides about Sunshine S-off but I'm still a bit confused. I currently have a non-rooted, S-ON HTC 10 with a locked bootloader (in other words it's factory new). I want to upgrade to Nougat when it becomes available in the EU, but since I want to have an "S-off LOCKED" + rooted phone I was told that doing the Sunshine method while still being on MM is the best thing to do. To do this, as far as I'm concerned I have to follow these steps:
1.) Download, run and purchase Sunshine.
2.) Select the S-off LOCKED option and start the process.
3.) This is where things become confusing. According to the videos I've watched, now my phone should be encrypted. Since I don't have TWRP, should I use the original recovery program's factory reset option?
4.) Flash TWRP, just like you had your bootloader unlocked. (If I flash TWRP on MM, will I still be able to use it on Nougat?)
5.) Wait for the Nougat OTA and install it. (The update should come automatically, right?)
6.) Root it.
After rooting, I would still get the OTA updates, right? (since I have my bootloader locked)
I would be grateful if someone could verify these steps. Thanks in advance!
bence.szij said:
I've watched the video guides about Sunshine S-off but I'm still a bit confused. I currently have a non-rooted, S-ON HTC 10 with a locked bootloader (in other words it's factory new). I want to upgrade to Nougat when it becomes available in the EU, but since I want to have an "S-off LOCKED" + rooted phone I was told that doing the Sunshine method while still being on MM is the best thing to do. To do this, as far as I'm concerned I have to follow these steps:
1.) Download, run and purchase Sunshine.
2.) Select the S-off LOCKED option and start the process.
3.) This is where things become confusing. According to the videos I've watched, now my phone should be encrypted. Since I don't have TWRP, should I use the original recovery program's factory reset option?
4.) Flash TWRP, just like you had your bootloader unlocked. (If I flash TWRP on MM, will I still be able to use it on Nougat?)
5.) Wait for the Nougat OTA and install it. (The update should come automatically, right?)
6.) Root it.
After rooting, I would still get the OTA updates, right? (since I have my bootloader locked)
I would be grateful if someone could verify these steps. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a lot of questions unanswered.
1. Why do you want S-OFF? Most people don't need it.
2. Do you want Nougat 2.28 full firmware, or only Nougat Android?
3. You need stock recovery to flash an OTA.
4. Current TWRP will not work on Nougat 2.28 firmware, and I think it won't work until HTC release official Kernel source.
5. If you want only the Android Nougat OS, while staying on MM 1.95 Firmware in order to be able to flash TWRP...then why not just flash Viper, ICE or LeeDroid custom ROM?
6. If you do flash custom N ROM, I believe that there are bugs due to using MM firmware. Something to do with Camera and Sound. It's all very complicated.
Summary: Describe what you want and we'll be able to tell you exactly what you need to do.
Kyuubi10 said:
There is a lot of questions unanswered.
1. Why do you want S-OFF? Most people don't need it.
2. Do you want Nougat 2.28 full firmware, or only Nougat Android?
3. You need stock recovery to flash an OTA.
4. Current TWRP will not work on Nougat 2.28 firmware, and I think it won't work until HTC release official Kernel source.
5. If you want only the Android Nougat OS, while staying on MM 1.95 Firmware in order to be able to flash TWRP...then why not just flash Viper, ICE or LeeDroid custom ROM?
6. If you do flash custom N ROM, I believe that there are bugs due to using MM firmware. Something to do with Camera and Sound. It's all very complicated.
Summary: Describe what you want and we'll be able to tell you exactly what you need to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the anwser!
I'll try to anwser your questions (and ask new ones) as precisely as I can.
1.) I want S-OFF because that way the bootlocker can stay locked, and as I've heard you can go S-ON again with Sunshine. That way I don't really have to worry about the "relocked" state and warranty loss. Otherwise the HTCDev method would be perfectly fine for me.
2.) I didn't know that you can use the Nougat OS without upgrading your firmware. Could you please explain the differences between "Nougat 2.28 full firmware" and "Nougat Android"? I tried to do a research but I've failed
3.) So basically if I have TWRP the only way to install system updates is to flash them manually? Also if I stay with stock recovery while being S-off LOCKED will I get the OTAs? And what if I unlock the bootloader?
4.) When do you think HTC will release official Kernel source? Weeks? Months?
5.)- 6.) When I bought my phone in July, I decided not to root it immediately. I've planned to root after installing Android N, and since the EU release is near I've started researching on the process. The only reason I want to S-off now, while being on MM, is that Sunshine might not work after installing the Nougat OTA (I need Sunshine to protect my warranty). I'm not in a hurry, my goal is to have a phone with Nougat, TWRP, root and xposed (maybe an N version of Viper). I don't want to have a buggy phone. If running Nougat/Viper on an older firmware would cause bugs, I'd rather wait with the whole process until the OTA arrives, then install it and unlock my bootloader with HTCDev instead of achieving the "S-off LOCKED" state with Sunshine, even if this means warranty loss.
I hope I could explain things better this time.
bence.szij said:
Thanks for the anwser!
I'll try to anwser your questions (and ask new ones) as precisely as I can.
1.) I want S-OFF because that way the bootlocker can stay locked, and as I've heard you can go S-ON again with Sunshine. That way I don't really have to worry about the "relocked" state and warranty loss. Otherwise the HTCDev method would be perfectly fine for me.
2.) I didn't know that you can use the Nougat OS without upgrading your firmware. Could you please explain the differences between "Nougat 2.28 full firmware" and "Nougat Android"? I tried to do a research but I've failed
3.) So basically if I have TWRP the only way to install system updates is to flash them manually? Also if I stay with stock recovery while being S-off LOCKED will I get the OTAs? And what if I unlock the bootloader?
4.) When do you think HTC will release official Kernel source? Weeks? Months?
5.)- 6.) When I bought my phone in July, I decided not to root it immediately. I've planned to root after installing Android N, and since the EU release is near I've started researching on the process. The only reason I want to S-off now, while being on MM, is that Sunshine might not work after installing the Nougat OTA (I need Sunshine to protect my warranty). I'm not in a hurry, my goal is to have a phone with Nougat, TWRP, root and xposed (maybe an N version of Viper). I don't want to have a buggy phone. If running Nougat/Viper on an older firmware would cause bugs, I'd rather wait with the whole process until the OTA arrives, then install it and unlock my bootloader with HTCDev instead of achieving the "S-off LOCKED" state with Sunshine, even if this means warranty loss.
I hope I could explain things better this time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're thankful press the thanks button, it would mean much more than saying you're thankful. It is there for a reason.
By seeing your answers my best advise will be, you don't need to S-OFF.
HTC explicitly states in their full T&C that your warranty is not completely void when you unlock bootload.
Your warranty just becomes conditional, which means that if you brick your device your warranty is void.
Or if any damage to the phone comes as a direct effect of you unlocking your bootloader, then warranty is void.
If the damage/fault is unrelated to you unlocking your bootloader then your warranty should still be AND will be valid.
Has been this way since I first joined the HTC bandwagon with the OneX.
Now regarding waiting for N before rooting. I also advise against this.
When the N sources are released you will be jumping into mostly BETA releases.
These tend to have a few bugs early on, I'd advise to root now while on M which is very stable and full of awesome features.
Wait around until N has some stable ROMs and Kernels.
Answering your other questions:
2) The firmware on your phone is your: "Bootloader, Radio, OpenDSP etc..." These are the deepest software on your phone, and for security and to avoid bricks should stay stock, unless you really know what you are doing. Firmware is not made by Google, but instead by the OEM. This is unique to the hardware on your phone. Android is made by google, and it can be divided into Kernel and OS/ROM.
3) S-OFF I don't know, but if you are S-ON with stock system and stock recovery you should always be able to install OTA even if you have unlocked bootloader.
4) I believe January.
Enjoy root and xposed on MM...get familiar with what is possible and learn as much as possible on a stable configuration.
Once you've learned a bit more about what root is capable of then move on to N when N is stable.
I suggest to learn how to use RUU.exe/RUU.zips before moving to N though.
Kyuubi10 said:
If you're thankful press the thanks button, it would mean much more than saying you're thankful. It is there for a reason.
By seeing your answers my best advise will be, you don't need to S-OFF.
HTC explicitly states in their full T&C that your warranty is not completely void when you unlock bootload.
Your warranty just becomes conditional, which means that if you brick your device your warranty is void.
Or if any damage to the phone comes as a direct effect of you unlocking your bootloader, then warranty is void.
If the damage/fault is unrelated to you unlocking your bootloader then your warranty should still be AND will be valid.
Has been this way since I first joined the HTC bandwagon with the OneX.
Now regarding waiting for N before rooting. I also advise against this.
When the N sources are released you will be jumping into mostly BETA releases.
These tend to have a few bugs early on, I'd advise to root now while on M which is very stable and full of awesome features.
Wait around until N has some stable ROMs and Kernels.
Answering your other questions:
2) The firmware on your phone is your: "Bootloader, Radio, OpenDSP etc..." These are the deepest software on your phone, and for security and to avoid bricks should stay stock, unless you really know what you are doing. Firmware is not made by Google, but instead by the OEM. This is unique to the hardware on your phone. Android is made by google, and it can be divided into Kernel and OS/ROM.
3) S-OFF I don't know, but if you are S-ON with stock system and stock recovery you should always be able to install OTA even if you have unlocked bootloader.
4) I believe January.
Enjoy root and xposed on MM...get familiar with what is possible and learn as much as possible on a stable configuration.
Once you've learned a bit more about what root is capable of then move on to N when N is stable.
I suggest to learn how to use RUU.exe/RUU.zips before moving to N though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again!
I guess I'll do as you said and do it now. I have only one more question left then: let's say I unlock my bootloader with HTCDev, install TWRP, then root my phone and flash xposed. A few months later Nougat becomes stable and I decide to upgrade. In that case, I would be still using my current firmware, so N based roms would contain bugs, which I don't want. How can I upgrade my firmware in a situation like this?
bence.szij said:
Thanks again!
I guess I'll do as you said and do it now. I have only one more question left then: let's say I unlock my bootloader with HTCDev, install TWRP, then root my phone and flash xposed. A few months later Nougat becomes stable and I decide to upgrade. In that case, I would be still using my current firmware, so N based roms would contain bugs, which I don't want. How can I upgrade my firmware in a situation like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome, it's a pleasure to help.
An easy way of getting root is by flashing a custom ROM which already comes with root
I believe that quickly by Feb you should already have a stable N release.
Now to upgrade firmware... That's what the RUU part of my previous answer is for.
HTC are really rooting friendly, so much so they gave us a way to easily and quickly going back to stock. That is called an RUU.
You can search that more in detail to learn about it.
But to update firmware you have two ways, the fast way through RUU, or the slow way by flashing stock ROM via TWRP, then fastboot flash stock recovery and then flash the OTAs.
By doing RUU or via OTA method will update your firmware.
Keep in mind if you plan to use Android Pay or Pokemon Go, this may effect some your decision if you want to go s-off locked status or unlocked bootloader. Everything @Kyuubi10 said is good info, that's just something I would factor into consideration. There may be ways around having an unlocked bootloader and using Android Pay, I'm not the expert there because I don't want google having more of my financial information than they already have. But if you do use it or plan too, that might be something you need to take into consideration before you go unlocked and s-on.
I'm not talking you out of unlocking or anything, I just want you to know in case it's something you need to further consider.
CharliesTheMan said:
Keep in mind if you plan to use Android Pay or Pokemon Go, this may effect some your decision if you want to go s-off locked status or unlocked bootloader. Everything @Kyuubi10 said is good info, that's just something I would factor into consideration. There may be ways around having an unlocked bootloader and using Android Pay, I'm not the expert there because I don't want google having more of my financial information than they already have. But if you do use it or plan too, that might be something you need to take into consideration before you go unlocked and s-on.
I'm not talking you out of unlocking or anything, I just want you to know in case it's something you need to further consider.
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Actually... I believe you can go unlocked and use android pay.
As long as you don't have root.
You can even have customROM and custom Kernel, but as long as you have no root, and no xposed you should be able to use Android Pay and Pokemon Go.
E.g. MultiROM with 1 rom non-rooted should be possible.
But I may be wrong, so don't quote me.
bence.szij said:
Thanks again!
I guess I'll do as you said and do it now. I have only one more question left then: let's say I unlock my bootloader with HTCDev, install TWRP, then root my phone and flash xposed. A few months later Nougat becomes stable and I decide to upgrade. In that case, I would be still using my current firmware, so N based roms would contain bugs, which I don't want. How can I upgrade my firmware in a situation like this?
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You're lucky!
HTC released N sources yesterday!!
Will probably get a stable release by mid January.
Kyuubi10 said:
You're lucky!
HTC released N sources yesterday!!
Will probably get a stable release by mid January.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the info! I've unlocked the bootloader yesterday and I'm planning to flash TWRP and SuperSU tonight?
bence.szij said:
Thanks for the info! I've unlocked the bootloader yesterday and I'm planning to flash TWRP and SuperSU tonight?
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Don't worry about flashing SuperSU, usually it'll be included in the Custom ROM...if you want to use Custom ROM.
Or even TWRP gives you the option to enable SuperSU, if you wish to stay with stock ROM.
I've successfully flashed my first ROM. My purpose in doing so was to get the monthly Android security updates, and more broadly have my phone as secure as practical. In that vein, can I safely relock the bootloader? Should I? I am aware that many (most?) people here choose to keep the bootloader unlocked, and I respect that choice, but I'm seeking maximum security.
Searching here at XDA I see conflicting guidance. Some folks say that re-locking the bootloader with a custom ROM installed is begging to be bricked, while others say they have re-locked with no trouble. So what is your advice, why is that your opinion, and do you speak from experience?
I have not rooted the phone, nor do I plan to. I'm running AICP 8.1 on Nextbit Robin and don't plan to make any changes other than receive OTA updates. Should I make future changes beyond that I would not be bothered by the very minor inconvenience of having to unlock then relock it.
I too want to simply flash the stock recovery and lock my bootloader, but from what I've read to update the ROMs we need an unlocked bootloader. So that needs to be unlocked again does that mean everytime I lock-unlock I will be wiping my data all over? Thats would be a pain.
So this is an experiment I want to run from quite long and might do it sometime next month maybe. I will be wiping-unlocking-flashing-locking and see again if I can unlock without wiping my data and lock again, this way I can know for sure if this is doable because most online answers are weirdly confusing.
javelinanddart found that locking the bootloader on the Robin results in similar behavior as on the Nexus devices. The phone will check and make sure that the key used to sign the recovery partition remains the same as it was when your device got relocked, so as a result, TWRP should still work, and updating to a new version of TWRP would work too since it's (presumably) signed with the same key. System partition checking is handled by the kernel itself (dm-verity), but all the custom roms for the Robin have that disabled, so that wouldn't be a problem.
I've also been running custom roms with my bootloader locked and haven't run into any issues with flashing roms with TWRP.
I will be honest though, since TWRP lets you do so much to your phone, relocking your bootloader wouldn't really help security wise. You can pull up a damn root shell right in TWRP, for crying out loud.
@jabashque
Wait so are you saying despite locking the bootloader I can still go in custom recovery? Whats the point then?
I mean for me why I a considering locking the bootloader is so that if I lose my phone no one can access my data. As of now with custom ROM anyone has free access to my data via TWRP/custom recovery.
/root said:
@jabashque
Wait so are you saying despite locking the bootloader I can still go in custom recovery? Whats the point then?
I mean for me why I a considering locking the bootloader is so that if I lose my phone no one can access my data. As of now with custom ROM anyone has free access to my data via TWRP/custom recovery.
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I suppose you could flash Lineage recovery instead, which was designed to be an OEM-grade recovery and doesn't include the ability to pull up a root shell or use adb.
Grab that here: http://downloads.codefi.re/jdcteam/javelinanddart/ether/ether-lineage-recovery-20180310_170949.img
Personally, I locked my bootloader so that I could actually see my custom splash screen without having to press the power button to dismiss the warning message.
EDIT: the build of Lineage recovery I linked still has adb shell access enabled it seems; I was wrong on that. Also, I haven't tried flashing another rom's system partition that's been signed with different keys.
jabashque said:
I suppose you could flash Lineage recovery instead, which was designed to be an OEM-grade recovery and doesn't include the ability to pull up a root shell or use adb.
Grab that here: http://downloads.codefi.re/jdcteam/javelinanddart/ether/ether-lineage-recovery-20180310_170949.img
Personally, I locked my bootloader so that I could actually see my custom splash screen without having to press the power button to dismiss the warning message.
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So for an OTA update do I have to wipe all data to unlock again? I am on Omni btw.
I only unlock my bootloader to flash a cool splash screen then relock it. Even if the bootloader is locked I can still flash custom ROMs using ADB sideload. Works like a charm every time. I'm running the AEX custom ROM with Android 8.1.0
akeemk said:
I only unlock my bootloader to flash a cool splash screen then relock it. Even if the bootloader is locked I can still flash custom ROMs using ADB sideload. Works like a charm every time. I'm running the AEX custom ROM with Android 8.1.0
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But you still locking it while on TWRP isn't it? Which means anyone has access to shell via TWRP defeats the purpose of security provided by a locked bootloader, isn't it?
/root said:
But you still locking it while on TWRP isn't it? Which means anyone has access to shell via TWRP defeats the purpose of security provided by a locked bootloader, isn't it?
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I guess that's why Nextbit never had a problem with us unlocking the phone's bootloader.