HTC, after announcing that all of their phones released after September of this year would have unlockable bootloaders, has updated their dev site to reflect that statement. Oh but wait, they went even deeper than that and even included the Thunderbolt and Incredible 2, two devices released long before September. Talk about making a statement to both the developer crowd and other manufacturers in the game.

We were led to believe that this was all up to the carriers, but HTC seems to have either found a way around that, doesn’t care what the carrier’s think, or produced a carrier accepted bootloader unlocking tool that everyone is willing to accept. No matter what, we are loving it.

I think all that’s left to be said now is, ”Doesn’t Motorola owe us an explanation?” A solution? Something?

And go get yourself unlocked if you haven’t already at HTCDev.com.

Cheers to everyone who sent this in!

HTC Thunderbolt and Incredible 2 Receive the Bootloader Unlock Treatment From HTCDev.com is a post from: Droid Life

AlphaRev and Unrevoked have joined forces and are making it very easy to own an HTC device. For quite some time now, the Unrevoked team has been the way to go when rooting select HTC devices. Owners of the DROID Incredible2 running Gingerbread, and the HTC Thunderbolt can now enjoy full S-Off support, plus a much easier rooting process. We know that the Thunderbolt owners are getting sick and tired waiting for the Gingerbread update, so why not take it upon yourself?

If you have been looking to root your Inc2, or Thunderbolt, now is the time. Feel free to head over to their site to get the full list of instructions. Be aware, you take the plunge at your own risk. We are pretty sure you won’t regret it though.

Via: Phandroid

Cheers Pete, Zane!

DROID Incredible2 Running Gingerbread And Thunderbolt Receive S-Off, Thanks To Unrevoked is a post from: Droid Life

You ready, DROID Incredible 2 owners?  The AlphaRevX team released their beta 2 S-OFF tool last night that should take your phone from locked sad panda all the way to unlocked and rooted happy cheetah.  There is something you should be aware of though – the tool is currently only available for Linux users.  They had initially released a Windows version, but after a number of users ran into bugs, they decided to pull it for now to make it more stable and reliable.  As soon as the Windows version is back up, we’ll be sure to update this post.

Head over to the AlphaRevX site now to download.  

Oh, an we thought we’d share this benchmark from reader Nic who used a virtual Linux drive of some sort to get the tool to work on his Windows machine.  He then loaded up CM7 with S-OFF, perm-root, Clockwork Recovery and an overclocked 1.8GHz kernel that  produced this benchmark.  And now you know why we love this phone so much…

Cheers Jordan, Giorgio, Nic and Nick!

AlphaRevX Beta 2 Released for Incredible 2, Time to Get Your Root On [Linux Only] is a post from: Droid Life

Since root and S-OFF have been achieved on the DROID Incredible 2, we’re starting to see the first batch of ROMs appear for it which includes CM7 and MIUI.  As the two most popular on the planet (arguably), this should be taken as a good sign that the development community is ready to accept this device into the family.

We’ve said this a number of times now, but it truly is one of our top 2 devices of 2011 from Verizon (our review).  We were worried about it initially with the discovery that it had a locked bootloader, but all that has changed now even if it does lack 4G LTE.

If you are brave enough to attempt to flash one of the new ROMs, you can find full instructions on how to root and get you going through the CyanogenMod Wiki.  (And a MIUI link)

DROID Incredible 2 Gets Treated to CM7 and MIUI is a post from: Droid Life

If anyone has a DROID Incredible 2 and wants Gingerbread (Android 2.3) early, then you are in luck.  The full RUU has been leaked for all non-rooted users, but recommendations suggest that if you want root in the near future, that you should hold off from flashing it.  Apparently, the root method that is still unreleased by AlphaRevX, will not work on GB, so you are better off waiting for them to release their method (which we’re hoping is soon) and then upgrading to 2.3 with the rooted files we’ve included below.  

Download (non-rooted):  Gingerbread RUU

*To upgrade using the RUU, simply plug your phone into your computer and run the .exe file.

Download (rooted):  ROM | Radio

Instructions (rooted):

1.  First, we have to wait for root instructions.
2.  Then you can simply flash the ROM in Clockwork Recovery just like you normally would.
3.  Then you apply the radio, but it must be renamed to PG32IMG.zip.
4.  After renaming, you’ll drop it on your SD card and boot into the bootloader to allow it to flash.

Via:  Android Police

Full Gingerbread RUU for the DROID Incredible 2 Leaks, Rooted Version Too is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

The AlphaRevX team who unlocked and perm-rooted the Incredible S has apparently found a similar method that works on the Incredible 2.  This marks a pretty significant day for folks who shelled out for the Inc follow-up, since up until now there has only been a temp-root that would wipe each time you rebooted your phone.  With S-OFF achieved though, they should have perm-root in no time (might already) and then the fun can really begin.

Stay close, as we’ll post up instructions the minute they drop.

Update:  Our man jcase with @TeamAndIRC assures us that the phone in the video has perm-root and Clockwork Recovery on it.

Via:  XDA

DROID Incredible 2 Receives S-OFF, Permanent Root is Next (Updated) is a post from: Droid Life