[Q] N00B S-Off/Unlock Root questions

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sean67854

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2013
79
10
I have been around Android since the OG droid and have rooted all of my phones, but S-Off is new to me. I understand that S-Off allows everything else (unlock/root). I also know that historically when you are rooted you don't want to take OTA updates.

My questions are:
  • Does S-Off prevent you from taking OTAs?
  • Can OTAs change S-Off status?
  • Are there any self-contained resources explaining S-Off that I could read to be less dumb about it?
 

Mike02z

Senior Member
Feb 3, 2012
1,953
795
Greenville, SC
OnePlus 9 Pro
I have been around Android since the OG droid and have rooted all of my phones, but S-Off is new to me. I understand that S-Off allows everything else (unlock/root). I also know that historically when you are rooted you don't want to take OTA updates.

My questions are:
  • Does S-Off prevent you from taking OTAs?
  • Can OTAs change S-Off status?
  • Are there any self-contained resources explaining S-Off that I could read to be less dumb about it?

I would never take an OTA but I don't think it can change your status back to S-On

Just Google "S-Off Explained" but here is in xda link on the subject---> http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=26732440&postcount=1

I also advise if you're new at this to read all you can before flashing anything. You can brick your device more easily with Security Off.
 

123421342

Senior Member
Nov 21, 2012
1,445
319
I have been around Android since the OG droid and have rooted all of my phones, but S-Off is new to me. I understand that S-Off allows everything else (unlock/root). I also know that historically when you are rooted you don't want to take OTA updates.

My questions are:
  • Does S-Off prevent you from taking OTAs?
  • Can OTAs change S-Off status?
  • Are there any self-contained resources explaining S-Off that I could read to be less dumb about it?

s-off by itself wont, OTA afaik won't touch s-off status. It requires stock recovery though, you are honestly better off just waiting for custom roms to come out with these changes. S-off literally means the phone does not care what you do to it anymore.
 

schnob

Senior Member
Jan 22, 2013
390
124
Bozeman
Sorry to temporarily hijack the thread but:
Another noob so S-Off and HTC devices here: When I try to push firewater I get this: cannot stat 'firewater' : No such file or directory. If su is required for this step why is this step listed before su?
adb reboot <--important!!!!
adb wait-for-device push firewater /data/local/tmp
adb shell
chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/firewater
su
/data/local/tmp/firewater
 
Last edited:

sean67854

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2013
79
10
I usually don't do much to my phones until they are quite old/out of support. The only thing I really need is WiFi tether and that has been solved even without S-Off.

Thank you for the link, after reading that, I guess I did understand what S-Off in and of itself was, but I guess I don't understand how it relates to a bootloader unlock.

My most recent experiences are with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7, neither of which had security and only needed a simple adb command to unlock the bootloader.

Does S-OFF in general, and also for the M8 specifically, require you to do anything further? Can I do S-Off when I get the M8 and then just leave it totally stock after that?

Does running the S-Off exploit wipe your handset like unlocking the bootloader on my Nexuses (Nexi?) does?
 

oneandroidnut

Senior Member
Jun 5, 2013
4,542
916
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
I usually don't do much to my phones until they are quite old/out of support. The only thing I really need is WiFi tether and that has been solved even without S-Off.

Thank you for the link, after reading that, I guess I did understand what S-Off in and of itself was, but I guess I don't understand how it relates to a bootloader unlock.

My most recent experiences are with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7, neither of which had security and only needed a simple adb command to unlock the bootloader.

Does S-OFF in general, and also for the M8 specifically, require you to do anything further? Can I do S-Off when I get the M8 and then just leave it totally stock after that?

Does running the S-Off exploit wipe your handset like unlocking the bootloader on my Nexuses (Nexi?) does?
no will not wipe and yes you can do s-off and leave totally stock
 

mopperx2

Senior Member
Oct 21, 2007
102
18
Phoenix, AZ
twitter.com
Sorry to temporarily hijack the thread but:
Another noob so S-Off and HTC devices here: When I try to push firewater I get this: cannot stat 'firewater' : No such file or directory. If su is required for this step why is this step listed before su?
adb reboot <--important!!!!
adb wait-for-device push firewater /data/local/tmp
adb shell
chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/firewater
su
/data/local/tmp/firewater

put firewater in your adb directory or add the path to the command adb wait-for-device push C:\users\username\Downloads\firewater /data/local/tmp
 
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BladeRunner

Senior Member
Jan 15, 2012
1,455
393
put firewater in your adb directory or add the path to the command adb wait-for-device push C:\users\username\Downloads\firewater /data/local/tmp

You also either need to rename your downloaded file to firewater or type the entire file name

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 

commandocon

Senior Member
Mar 6, 2014
109
19
anyone have time to walk me through this on the phone pm me , i have sdk installed , drivers installed , firewater downloaded and dont have a clue how to use adb :D lol
 

sean67854

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2013
79
10
Am I correct in thinking that S-Off is a completely separate thing from unlocking the bootloader? I understand that the firewater exploit that just came out for the M8 will do both, but in general they are separate? And it's unlocking the bootloader that will wipe your phone?
 

oneandroidnut

Senior Member
Jun 5, 2013
4,542
916
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Am I correct in thinking that S-Off is a completely separate thing from unlocking the bootloader? I understand that the firewater exploit that just came out for the M8 will do both, but in general they are separate? And it's unlocking the bootloader that will wipe your phone?
no neither will this s-off method also unlocks bootloader and doesnt wipe anything
 

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  • 1
    Sorry to temporarily hijack the thread but:
    Another noob so S-Off and HTC devices here: When I try to push firewater I get this: cannot stat 'firewater' : No such file or directory. If su is required for this step why is this step listed before su?
    adb reboot <--important!!!!
    adb wait-for-device push firewater /data/local/tmp
    adb shell
    chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/firewater
    su
    /data/local/tmp/firewater

    put firewater in your adb directory or add the path to the command adb wait-for-device push C:\users\username\Downloads\firewater /data/local/tmp
    1
    Is it possible to flash a custom splash screen post S-OFF? Secondly, is it possible to flash a mod in hboot? If so, what's the filename expected (e. g. PH98IMG.ZIP for Rezound)?

    Beamed from the holodeck of my Nexus 7 FHD.

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2708607 as for hboot im sure there will be just give it time