If you buy one of the new Nexus devices – the Nexus 9 or Nexus 6 – and plan to unlock its bootloader upon first boot, so that you can get to tinkering, understand that you may have to enable the “OEM unlock” command that would typically be used to accomplish that task. In Android 5.0 “Lollipop,” Google has added a check box under Developer Options that enables the OEM unlock command to work. If that box isn’t checked, then I would imagine you will see an error during the bootloader unlock process. (more…)
Tag: Bootloader
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Galaxy Note 4 Developer Edition Now Available for $699
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Developer Edition for Verizon that we first told you about last week is now available for purchase. For $699, you can own Samsung’s latest oversized device and have the opportunity to unlock its bootloader.
In case you were wondering, this is the same Galaxy Note 4 that has been available from carriers. You are still looking at a 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB RAM, and S Pen functionality. The only difference here is the unlockable bootloader that tinkerers tend to need in order to, well, tinker. (more…)
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A Verizon Galaxy Note 4 Developer Edition is Coming Soon
Motorola may have disappointed many of you when it decided against making a developer edition of the brand new Moto X (2nd gen) for Verizon, but Samsung is giving it us in the form of the Galaxy Note 4. That’s right, a Galaxy Note 4 Developer Edition that will work on Verizon’s network is officially “coming soon,” according to Samsung’s website. (more…)
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LG G3 “Bump” Gives You Fully Working TWRP Recovery on All Variants
If you own an LG G3 – we are talking any variant – and are into custom recoveries, ROMs, that sort of thing, then you should probably have already installed Bump. Created by Team Codefire, Bump allows you to boot into a full TWRP custom recovery and flash ROMs as you please, sort of like if you had a full bootloader unlock. As I just mentioned, this should work with all carrier variants (including Verizon’s), you just need to be rooted first (and work through a little adb with a recovery.img). (more…)
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Unlocking Xperia Z3 Compact Bootloader Worsens Low-Light Camera Performance, May Affect Other Apps
The message from most smartphone manufacturers seems abundantly clear – bootloaders are better locked. Even OEMs which ship so-called developer devices seem to do all that they can to dissuade the average user from flashing unauthorized firmware, whether by posting scary disclaimers or disavowing all responsibility for damage. Sony, it seems, has adopted a far harsher tactic for those who bravely unlock the Xperia Z3 Compact’s bootloader, which is to degrade the user experience. (more…)
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SunShine Bootloader Unlock Tool Released for Moto X, DROID Family
TeamAndIRC released their SunShine bootloader unlock for the original Moto X and the DROID family from last year (MAXX, ULTRA, and Mini), this afternoon. The unlock tool comes in the form of an .apk that is sideloaded onto your Motorola device of choice. Once installed and paid for ($25 per device), a quick run through of a compatibility check followed by an approval or two is all that it takes before your phone is unlocked. (more…)
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Dan Rosenberg Unlocks Moto X Bootloader, Says Almost All Snapdragon Devices are Vulnerable (Updated)
The Blackhat 2014 conference is taking place this week in Las Vegas, a conference which Dan Rosenberg, the man responsible for exposing numerous security exploits on Android devices, is speaking at. You may recall his previous work that unlocked the bootloader of a number of Motorola DROID devices, something that developers had attempted for years to try and accomplish without success.
When Rosenberg (@djrbliss) first popped up on the list of Blackhat conference speakers with a topic that was to conclude by discussing an unpublished security exploit “including a live demonstration of using it to permanently unlock the bootloader of a major Android phone,” we were certainly interested. His talk happened last night, and according to those at the conference, he successfully unlocked the bootloader of the Moto X on stage. (more…)
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Thanks to New Root Method, Bootloaders on RAZR HD and RAZR M can be Unlocked Again
Thanks to this weekend’s new root exploit/method/pile-of-awesomeness from geohot, we are hearing from a number of readers who own older Motorola phones (like the RAZR HD and RAZR M), that once rooted using towelroot, the previous bootloader unlock tool from djrbliss is working again. You may remember “Motopocalypse” from April of last year, an .apk file that really did finally end Motorola’s run at keeping their bootloaders locked. It was a glorious time, that’s for sure. (more…)