Hello everyone,
I was hoping someone here can help point me in the right direction. I am trying to downgrade my stock t-mobile one m8 from lollipop back to kitkat. I have been very unimpressed with lollipop on this phone, as it has significantly hurt the experience of my phone. While I like some things, the loss of lock screen widgets to be replaced by notifications was a pretty big blow to me. While I could almost like the new notifications, I do not like how I constantly have my wifi calling notification on my lock screen. Sure I could disable it, but then it's disabled when my phone is unlocked too, and I do like to know if wifi calling is on and working. Same goes for things like Pandora.
I could almost live with that, but then HTC decided to remove Zoe video creation out of the gallery and made it standalone. Now it's a watered down version of itself, that forces me to have to upload my vids to htc before I can even save a copy of my own locally generated content. :/ That is some major BS. So, the last gallery app to have zoe vids built in, is only for kitkat. That pretty much sealed the deal for me to go back.
I have done some research, and I have downloaded the RUU that would take me back to 4.4.4. Only problem is my hboot is now newer, so the RUU fails with error 140. I see mention of having to s-off my phone to unlock the bootloader, to downgrade it, but I haven't found any explicit instructions for the m8 on t-mo.
Is this the best way to accomplish what I want? Can someone please point me in the right direction? I've been searching, but I'm still unsure what is going to be needed. I may be ok with staying with lollipop, if I can get the older version of gallery working on it. Anyone know if that's been done?
Thanks in advance!!
Running a previous RUU ("downgrade") is in fact only possible with S-off, as it seems you have already figured out.
S-off by sunshine ($25 US). Its an APK, and self-explanatory. You don't need any more additional guide.
You only need s-off to run a previous RUU ("downgrade"). Unlocked bootloader is not necessary. Although if you choose to pay for sunshine, you might research bootloader unlock and what that means, and see if you want it (since sunshine can also unlock the bootloader).
http://theroot.ninja/
I ran sunshine to see if my device would at least pass the pre-test. Says I need to pre-root my phone. Is there a preferred method to use? I see most of the methods require unlocking the bootloader, but doesn't sunshine take care of that if I want? I really just need temp root to get this to s-off, and then run the RUU. I do not really want to root it after I get this back to 4.4.4, unless I really need to to be able to install the older gallery app, or prevent an auto update to lollipop or something.
Thanks again!
I'm actually not that familiar with the details of sunshine, since I did s-off long ago using the (no longer working) firewater method. I do know there used to be a temp root option in sunshine. But Android 4.4.4 and 5.0 s-off was just added to sunshine version 3.x a few weeks ago. It seems HTC had patched the previous sunshine (version 2.x) exploit, so I'm guessing they patched the temp root as well. So since its asking for the phone to be rooted already, I gather from this that the temp root method does not work for those Android versions.
If that is the case, my previous statement that you don't need to unlock the bootloader is not completely correct (for your Android version). As the only way to root then would be to unlock the bootloader via HTCDev.com; than root by a few different methods (install TWRP and flash SU/SuperSU is probably the most straight-forward).
But perhaps some folks more familiar with the most up-to-date sunshine info can chime in and confirm.
Related
Recently been looking into purchasing a new HTC One for myself, but after reading up on it, I see that there are a ton of S-Off and stock issues flying around. I guess I have a few clarifying questions then...
If I buy the phone today, is S-Off still possible?
Is S-Off risky?
Can I return to 100% complete stock yet if I need to or not? If yes, how?
Really I'm wondering if it's worth it to even purchase this phone as I don't want to be without flashing ROMs but at the same time, I resell my phones after awhile so I'm going to need to go back to 100% stock eventually. Sorry if these questions have already been asked, my xda search function is a bit broken. Thanks for reading this far.
Edit - Did some more searching and found the HTC One m8 now has the RUU's? Could someone also explain this? I'm new to HTC devices, coming from a nexus 5 here.
Nobody knows at all...?
Sent from my HTC M8
DinoSoup said:
Recently been looking into purchasing a new HTC One for myself, but after reading up on it, I see that there are a ton of S-Off and stock issues flying around. I guess I have a few clarifying questions then...
If I buy the phone today, is S-Off still possible?
Is S-Off risky?
Can I return to 100% complete stock yet if I need to or not? If yes, how?
Really I'm wondering if it's worth it to even purchase this phone as I don't want to be without flashing ROMs but at the same time, I resell my phones after awhile so I'm going to need to go back to 100% stock eventually. Sorry if these questions have already been asked, my xda search function is a bit broken. Thanks for reading this far.
Edit - Did some more searching and found the HTC One m8 now has the RUU's? Could someone also explain this? I'm new to HTC devices, coming from a nexus 5 here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably, it will be. But it's not for certain. If your phone comes with the stock 1.12 software, then you can do it. But there's also a possibility of your phone being one of those unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones. If it comes with the latest 1.57 software installed, it won't be possible.
That being said, if it comes with 1.12, which it probably will, and you unlock the bootloader, root, and S-Off, you can always go back to 100% stock with no trace at all of it ever being rooted if you want to return it for warranty, exc.
IF it is one of the unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones, and you unlock your bootloader, root, and try to S-Off, but can't, then you can re lock the bootloader, run the stock RUU, and the only trace of it being unlocked and rooted would be that in the bootloader, it would say "Relocked" instead of "Locked."
Remember that if the phone comes with the 1.12 software, NEVER accept the OTA update. If you do accept the update, you will never be able to S-Off.
But again, chances are you will probably get the 1.12 software and be able to S-Off your phone. Hope this helped.
XxKINGxX2580 said:
Probably, it will be. But it's not for certain. If your phone comes with the stock 1.12 software, then you can do it. But there's also a possibility of your phone being one of those unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones. If it comes with the latest 1.57 software installed, it won't be possible.
That being said, if it comes with 1.12, which it probably will, and you unlock the bootloader, root, and S-Off, you can always go back to 100% stock with no trace at all of it ever being rooted if you want to return it for warranty, exc.
IF it is one of the unlucky "Whelp, this sucks..." phones, and you unlock your bootloader, root, and try to S-Off, but can't, then you can re lock the bootloader, run the stock RUU, and the only trace of it being unlocked and rooted would be that in the bootloader, it would say "Relocked" instead of "Locked."
But again, chances are you will probably get the 1.12 software and be able to S-Off your phone. Hope this helped.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a ton, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Final question - how do I go about getting to stock. I found the RUU and stock files but I don't know at all what to do. After I know that, I'll be ready to root!
Sent from my HTC M8
DinoSoup said:
Thanks a ton, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Final question - how do I go about getting to stock. I found the RUU and stock files but I don't know at all what to do. After I know that, I'll be ready to root!
Sent from my HTC M8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply,
To get to complete 100% stock, you have to download and run the RUU. It's a simple EXE file. There are a bunch of Youtube videos on how to run RUUs. Before running the RUU, you have to re-lock the bootloader. But, to go to 100% stock, you first have to to reset the tampered flag, LOCK, not re-lock the bootloader (there is a thread on how to make the bootloader say LOCKED, not Re-Locked) and then S-ON. After that, run the RUU file, and it will take you back to complete stock. Like you never unlocked the bootloader or rooted.
But, I would do everything except S-ON. If you go to S-ON and run the RUU, you will not be able to go back to S-Off again. The RUU will install the 1.57 software, and that version isn't supported by Firewater.
The only thing you really have to do is a simple re-lock of the bootloader before running the RUU. But, doing what I said would make the phone look like it was never rooted. Again, I would do everything I said except going back to S-ON.
I just successfully achieved completely stock with S-On. I gave my details here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55374644&postcount=2
So I have totally been off the scene for quite sometime and now finding the time and interest to be involved in this again, but where to start really? I feel so lost and out of the loop. Read through a lot of the posts and done my research for root and s-off. After reading I see that 4.4.3 has been causing some issues. I have my Verizon M8 running Stock. No root. 4.4.3. Where the heck do i begin?
What do I need to do for root since Weaksauce no longer works?
How do I gain root access and what programs am I needing that are up to date and functioning properly.
S-off? Firewater? Understand I need temp root, but I want permanent root.
Interested in TWRP for sure for custom recovery and flashing.
Can I get some help for a returning lost person? I wanna know exactly what programs I am going to need that are up to date. I want to flash custom roms etc of course (already have one in mind) but would like to know what the best android L themed one would be.
Looking forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks for the help and time you took to read this.
You don't need S-OFF necessarily, but you either have to unlock your bootloader on htcdev site, or use Sunshine to unlock and S-OFF for 25 bucks.
Those are your 2 options.
Then you can flash custom recovery and ROOT.
I'm going to pick up a new m8 this afternoon because I can get a great deal on it from my carrier right now. I will eventually want to add TWRP recovery and play with all the ROMs out there as I have with my old HTC Sensation, but first I plan to stick with the stock experience.
Can I S-Off, Unlock, and Root and still get the stock OTA updates after? From my reading it sounds like my first task should be S-Off before any OTA upgrades happen or it's unlikely I will be able to get S-Off until the new version of Sunshine comes out. Is this correct?
Thanks!
Firehawk989 said:
I'm going to pick up a new m8 this afternoon because I can get a great deal on it from my carrier right now. I will eventually want to add TWRP recovery and play with all the ROMs out there as I have with my old HTC Sensation, but first I plan to stick with the stock experience.
Can I S-Off, Unlock, and Root and still get the stock OTA updates after? From my reading it sounds like my first task should be S-Off before any OTA upgrades happen or it's unlikely I will be able to get S-Off until the new version of Sunshine comes out. Is this correct?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get S-Off, you won't need to get the stock OTAs. That's the beauty of S-Off. You'll have the newest firmware way before you carrier does.
FIrst thing I did was unlocking, flashing recovery and did a nandroid. Then root and custom roms and stuff. Still S-On
Firehawk989 said:
I'm going to pick up a new m8 this afternoon because I can get a great deal on it from my carrier right now. I will eventually want to add TWRP recovery and play with all the ROMs out there as I have with my old HTC Sensation, but first I plan to stick with the stock experience.
Can I S-Off, Unlock, and Root and still get the stock OTA updates after? From my reading it sounds like my first task should be S-Off before any OTA upgrades happen or it's unlikely I will be able to get S-Off until the new version of Sunshine comes out. Is this correct?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have mentioned, if you are buying a new stock device, S-Off right away. Unlock bootloader, flash custom recovery, install SU, then try to S-Off before flashing any ROMs. The S-Off method works best on the stock ROM.
Excellent, this is the info I needed. Thanks!
Also as for the uproar about Sunshine not being free, at least you get what you pay for. Worked flawlessly the first time to unlock the bootloader and S-Off without having to go through a long process of adb and fastboot commands and so forth. No *Tampered* flags in the bootloader or any other ill effects so far either, so seems worth it to me at this point. Note that this was with a new device that was still on 4.4.3 which may have helped.
However, I do see how some people feel like there should be a free DIY option as well, as I probably would have just taken the time to unlock and S-Off the old fashioned way if it was possible. Did that with my HTC Sensation back in the day.
Hi Everyone! I have a HTC One M7 with Verizon and am looking to unlock bootloader, S-OFF, as well as root mainly. I have tried Sunshine which tells me I have to root first. I have also tried, Kingroot, Moonshiner and most of all of the other programs.Upon looking up this I found I need to unlock my bootloader. To do this I need to S-OFF. I didn't catch HTCDEV in time to unlock the bootloader since Verizon blocked it so I would appreciate anyone who could help me root, unlock the bootloader and S-OFF. Thanks! I forgot to add, I am running HBOOT 1.6.1.
mnorris298 said:
Hi Everyone! I have a HTC One M7 with Verizon and am looking to unlock bootloader, S-OFF, as well as root mainly. I have tried Sunshine which tells me I have to root first. I have also tried, Kingroot, Moonshiner and most of all of the other programs.Upon looking up this I found I need to unlock my bootloader. To do this I need to S-OFF. I didn't catch HTCDEV in time to unlock the bootloader since Verizon blocked it so I would appreciate anyone who could help me root, unlock the bootloader and S-OFF. Thanks! I forgot to add, I am running HBOOT 1.6.1.
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Click to collapse
If you're on lollipop, pretty much only things I can think of that have worked are Kingroot (You have to try it MULTIPLE MULTIPLE TIMES) , N if that doesn't work on the latest version, try older versions (I remember old versions working for a few ppl, I believe it was like version 4.5 or 4.50.-something). The way kingroot works, u have to run it like sometimes 10-20-30 times of it saying failed, and eventually it works. I successfully did it on 2 of my friends m7's... (Not my own, I Sunshined back on 4.4.2)
Then, when/if u get kingroot to work, run sunshine...
Alright I'll keep trying kingroot
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
Any other ideas? Kingroot just keeps rebooting my phone. If not rebooting it fails regardless. Ran at least 40 times
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
mnorris298 said:
Any other ideas? Kingroot just keeps rebooting my phone. If not rebooting it fails regardless. Ran at least 40 times
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Only other way for a vZw m7 is to find somebody who has a Java card, and make arrangements to ship / drive your phone to them, and they'll b able to S-off, bootloader unlock, & root it within 5 mins. Java cards from what I understand r VERY expensive, but over in the vzw M9 thread, there's a whole thread that's just/only for the topic of arranging to get your phone unlocked with a Java card owner, as Sunshine still to this day has never worked for the VZW variant of the M9. I know there are some VERY reputable and well known devs over there who would be willing to hook u up and have been doing it for others on xda for over a year now, (for quite cheap I understand) -although I highly recommend tossing em a donation at least for their troubles.... Maybe @dottat can point u in the right direction
mnorris298 said:
Any other ideas? Kingroot just keeps rebooting my phone. If not rebooting it fails regardless. Ran at least 40 times
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Danngg.. I wonder if this is a result of Google's continuous security updates? When I ran Kingroot to temp root before running Sunshine, it rooted on like... the first or second try... this was also after I'd foolishly tried every single root exploit that were designed in the days of Android 1.x and Gingerbread, which might have weakened some security if it didn't break it completely.. The binaries are called psneuter and gingerbreak, if you wanna give it a shot. There's also Rumrush, Firewater, Towelroot... probably others that I can't think of. None of them are likely to give you root, but if you use all of them and then use Kingroot, maybe Kingroot will work. I would personally do that sooner than running Kingroot and having my phone reboot 300 times...
So, I guess all you can do is keep trying.
I have verizon htc one m7 and i want to root it i have tried
Kingoroot
Kinguser
Firewater
Rumrunner
Rootgenius
Etc
Android kitkat 4.4.3 htc6500lvw plz help
mnorris298 said:
Hi Everyone! I have a HTC One M7 with Verizon and am looking to unlock bootloader, S-OFF, as well as root mainly. I have tried Sunshine which tells me I have to root first. I have also tried, Kingroot, Moonshiner and most of all of the other programs.Upon looking up this I found I need to unlock my bootloader. To do this I need to S-OFF. I didn't catch HTCDEV in time to unlock the bootloader since Verizon blocked it so I would appreciate anyone who could help me root, unlock the bootloader and S-OFF. Thanks! I forgot to add, I am running HBOOT 1.6.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not help you with the s-off and unlocking bootloader but Ican tell you how to root your phone.
Install WeakSauce2.apk, and superuser in that order and you are done.
solve it?
Did you find a way to do s-off? because I can't do it, It rooted but I can do the s-off
sandraf said:
Did you find a way to do s-off? because I can't do it, It rooted but I can do the s-off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did it as follows. I used KingRoot and obtained its form of root. Then I ran Sunshine, which requires that you first are rooted. Sunshine reboots mid-process, losing root. So I ran KingRoot again, obtaining root. Then I ran Sunshine and it took up where it had rebooted, and got s-off. Then I found a script to eliminate the KingRoot temporary root. It did not exactly fit my file system, so I by hand made all of the changes indicated in the script (some of the changes in the script were not really important, some referred to files I did not have, etc., but I was able to change the important ones.) When I rebooted, I got the SuperSu pop-up to update, which I did, and ended up with a Verizon M7 with unlocked bootloader, s-off, and rooted.
mozhno said:
I did it as follows. I used KingRoot and obtained its form of root. Then I ran Sunshine, which requires that you first are rooted. Sunshine reboots mid-process, losing root. So I ran KingRoot again, obtaining root. Then I ran Sunshine and it took up where it had rebooted, and got s-off. Then I found a script to eliminate the KingRoot temporary root. It did not exactly fit my file system, so I by hand made all of the changes indicated in the script (some of the changes in the script were not really important, some referred to files I did not have, etc., but I was able to change the important ones.) When I rebooted, I got the SuperSu pop-up to update, which I did, and ended up with a Verizon M7 with unlocked bootloader, s-off, and rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What script did you find? Do you mind sharing it? So that I try your method... because I too have the same htc6500lvw and have tried all of the above methods using KingRoot and sunshine. :good: thanks I'm advance
Maonela said:
What script did you find? Do you mind sharing it? So that I try your method... because I too have the same htc6500lvw and have tried all of the above methods using KingRoot and sunshine. :good: thanks I'm advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are two sites I had left in my bookmarks:
http://zidroid.com/how-to-get-ride-and-replace-kinguser-with-supersu-app/
https://androidmtk.com/replace-kinguser-with-supersu
You could probably find more.
The only way this worked for me was to read the script and figure out what the critical replacements are. You should note that the critical steps involve files that have the immutable bit set, and the scripts show a two step process of first changing the immutable bit, and then deleting the file. I did these by hand, since some of the files that needed replacing were not in the sub-folders indicated in the scripts.
HI, fellow m7vzw user here. Let me share my experience. Around mid 2015 last year HTC released an update for lollipop that patched kingroot to be used to root its device. But all hope is not lost as you can doengrade back to the version of lollipop that is vulnerable to Kingroot exploit. I discussed this method last year around October with some other htc one m7 vzw owners. One of them pointed out that as a failsafe in case something went wrong with htc's firmware, it can be downgraded back ONE version to avoid that faulty firmware. For example if they release a version in January, February and March (March firmware being faulty as example). You can downgtade back to the previous firmware using fastboot and the required firmware files. We never tried to downgtafe again from Febraury to January because when we were already rooted and s-off after one downgrade ???.All files on links for the files are located on the Verzion HTC one forum..... i'll try to find the post containing proof for you.
---------- Post added at 07:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:49 PM ----------
Sorry for the long post btw. Here's the link to the thread that taught me how to downgrade. http://forum.xda-developers.com/ver...-3-s-users-t2919442/post64629850#post64629850 Today im happily S-off and running santod's GPE 5.1.1 cfw. Good luck! !
I previously owned an HTC One M8 which I rooted using the weaksauce/firewater method. I recently banged up the phone and bought a Samsung Galaxy G5 which I also rooted (took forever) but I didn't like it so I bought and just received a new (used) Verizon HTC One M8 (HTC6525LVW) running Android 5.0.1 which I would like to root.
I've googled, checked the forums and have found a ton of information so I'm looking for some very high level guidance. I'm up for just about anything including downgrading my version of Android but I'm not sure of the best move. I'm only interested in root. Any other benefits are fine but my goal is to get root access so I can run my ad blocker, titanium backup etc.
I don't need any sort of step by step instructions just an indicator of the best method and I'll do all the rest. Thank you for the help!
Verizon version doesn't allow unlocking the bootloader via HTCDev.com. So I think kingroot is your only choice. You can probably find more info on the VZN M8 forum sections.
Although it costs money, you might also consider going S-off with Sunshine, which also unlocks the bootloader. Then you can go back and root the usual way with TWRP. You still need Kingroot to get Sunshine working, though.
jshamlet said:
Although it costs money, you might also consider going S-off with Sunshine, which also unlocks the bootloader. Then you can go back and root the usual way with TWRP. You still need Kingroot to get Sunshine working, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't remember if kingroot is temp or perm root (or if its both, whether both work on the M8). If its perm root, then the need to spend money on sunshine s-off is somewhat wasted money. If temp, then you're right that temp root by kingroot, then sunshine s-off, unlock bootloader and SuperSU to root, is the way to go. As temp root will likely not fulfill the needs of the OP (reason they want root).
redpoint73 said:
I can't remember if kingroot is temp or perm root (or if its both, whether both work on the M8). If its perm root, then the need to spend money on sunshine s-off is somewhat wasted money. If temp, then you're right that temp root by kingroot, then sunshine s-off, unlock bootloader and SuperSU to root, is the way to go. As temp root will likely not fulfill the needs of the OP (reason they want root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, redpoint73...
When I tried Kingroot myself around a year ago on my M8, it most definitely was temporary, and left my bootloader with the SOFTWARE MODIFIED flag set and no root! This concerned me at the time, because the Marshmallow OTA was waiting in the wings, and I suspected that this might interfere with the OTA.
It all got sorted out in the end, thanks to @ckpv5 and his seemingly massive collection of Nandroid backups, whereby I was later able to restore back to unmodified stock Lollipop before Marshmallow rolled out.
I should have known better really than to look for easy shortcuts for rooting.
Anyhow, I ended up rooting it the old fashioned way, via fastboot and HTCdev.com...
...which I appreciate isn't an option for the OP.
I subseqently remember reading that Kingroot was only useful on the M8 when running Sunshine to gain S-OFF ('cos Sunshine required temp root).
Although eventually I S-OFF'ed myself later (I was going to change my CID, but in the end I never bothered), I still keep an eye on the Sunshine thread, and I understand that Sunshine now temp roots for you, effectively doing away with the need for Kingroot.
Anyway, just some thoughts...
Rgrds,
Ged.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Labs
GedBlake said:
When I tried Kingroot myself around a year ago on my M8, it most definitely was temporary, and left my bootloader with the SOFTWARE MODIFIED flag set and no root!
Anyhow, I ended up rooting it the old fashioned way, via fastboot and HTCdev.com...
...which I appreciate isn't an option for the OP.
I subseqently remember reading that Kingroot was only useful on the M8 when running Sunshine to gain S-OFF ('cos Sunshine required temp root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Good info, all around (didn't want to quote the whole post, and clutter up the thread).
A lot of this, I was aware of; but I usually leave it up to the user to research and learn on their own (although certainly nice of you to post the info).
I have seen a number of users that had the same issue (kingroot didn't actually root, but tripped the SOFTWARE MODIFIED flag in bootloader). But it did seem to work for others, for no apparent rhyme or reason that I saw.
GedBlake said:
I still keep an eye on the Sunshine thread, and I understand that Sunshine now temp roots for you, effectively doing away with the need for Kingroot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw sunshine provided temp root off and on; the usual cat and mouse game, where the devs tried to update it, as HTC patched the root exploits. I do believe you are right, that the current sunshine version does temp root on Lollipop (which the OP is on), but I don't think will temp root Marshmallow.