[GUIDE] How to unlock your bootloader, install TWRP and gain root access
- Thread starter TheSt33v
- Start date
Is there any possibility that sunshine will be free for our device? I understand that the developer has put in a lot of effort and hence monetized the app. But for older devices like us, can this be done for free. I bought my turbo for 100$ at ebay. If I could pitch-in an extra 25$ I would have taken galaxy S6. At least for older devices can sunshine be made free?
Exynos (not Snapdragon) Galaxy S6? Otherwise you still have bootloader lock, wouldn't you? (I don't remember which year Samsung started locking down all the U.S. Snapdragon variants.)
Also Quark still has much bigger battery than Galaxy S6. Quark has slightly bigger Samsung AMOLED display than Galaxy S6. Same amount of RAM. Both have Qi wireless charging. So, it's not clear the early 2015 Galaxy S6 is superior to the late 2014 cutting edge Quark. I sold a 2015 LG G4 I won in a contest to buy another Quark, even though the G4 had a slightly faster Snapdragon. The complete Quark feature set was better.
I hate to say this, but you should have come to XDA to research before you bought, and factored the $25 Sunshine into the purchase price?
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
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It was a s6 active. I preferred that because of slightly better camera and water resistance.(with kids around).
Yes it was my bad that I didn't check the threads properly. I have had moto defy, atrix hd, G3 and within days I had them unlocked and used to try all the available roms. When I decided for droid turbo, I checked xda and saw that root is possible and custom roms are available. But didn't read the threads fully to find out it is via a paid app. My point is, at least for older devices (more than 3 years) it can be made free, to help the users who get them via swappa or refurbished ones.
Yes it was my bad that I didn't check the threads properly. I have had moto defy, atrix hd, G3 and within days I had them unlocked and used to try all the available roms. When I decided for droid turbo, I checked xda and saw that root is possible and custom roms are available. But didn't read the threads fully to find out it is via a paid app. My point is, at least for older devices (more than 3 years) it can be made free, to help the users who get them via swappa or refurbished ones.
Bumping this up because for some reason people keep posting in the OTHER thread that doesn't have the actual detailed instructions to unlock the Droid Turbo bootloader, install TWRP and root. Then they keep asking how to do it, when this thread is clearly visible. I don't understand. So, now it's at the top.
NO, there's no other way to unlock the 2014 Verizon Droid Turbo Bootloader except by using the paid Sunshine app. Please stop asking. Without Sunshine you would have NO way to unlock the bootloader, just like the owners of the 2015 Verizon Droid Turbo 2 (Kinzie) cannot unlock their bootloaders. With Sunshine you CAN unlock your bootloader, install TWRP and have permanent root -- plus access to all the custom ROMs.
NO, there's no other way to unlock the 2014 Verizon Droid Turbo Bootloader except by using the paid Sunshine app. Please stop asking. Without Sunshine you would have NO way to unlock the bootloader, just like the owners of the 2015 Verizon Droid Turbo 2 (Kinzie) cannot unlock their bootloaders. With Sunshine you CAN unlock your bootloader, install TWRP and have permanent root -- plus access to all the custom ROMs.
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Need a bit of help please. I have the Droid Turbo and rooted it 2 years ago with Sunshine and use BHB27's Oreo ROM, phone still works awesome. So I got this phone for my son. Went to root it, been a while since I did mine so I found this thread and tried following the directions. It has the MCG24.251-5-5 Build Number. Phone had Marshmallow 6.0.1, tried using Sunshine with the auto#initroot trick, it didn't work. The thread with the auto#initroot said I needed Magisk, so I tried to install it and when the img wrote to the phone it bricked my phone. After trying MANY things I finally got a stock Verizon Marshmallow ROM installed using RSDLite. The ROM I have installed is QUARK_VERIZON_6.0.1_MCG24.251-5-5_cid2_subsidy-DEFAULT_CFC.xml, at first it would only start to boot and show the android logo and vibrate, if I went into bootloader mode and used the auto#initroot file it would boot. But then I have no wi-fi and cannot enable wi-fi (the phone has no SIM card yet, was waiting to install Oreo before I got service on it). So since I cannot enable wi-fi I cannot get Sunshine to work. At least that's why I think Sunshine is not working. So now I can use the auto#initroot trick, boot the phone and when I run Sunshine the app starts and stays blank.
Is there anything you can think of that I can do? How can I get wireless working? Can I install a different Verizon ROM? It's getting frustrating, been working on this for 2 days. When I rooted my phone it was straightforward and I had no issues.
Thanks for any advice.
Is there anything you can think of that I can do? How can I get wireless working? Can I install a different Verizon ROM? It's getting frustrating, been working on this for 2 days. When I rooted my phone it was straightforward and I had no issues.
Thanks for any advice.
Maybe ask the Sunshine team for help on their website? You open a support ticket.
Problem also is auto#initroot changed from when we first started having to use it for Droid Turbo. Now it's been developed by the dev to be a "permanent" temporary root system, whereas in the beginning it was a novelty (root until reboot) -- which let Sunshine have more privileges to unlock the bootloader so you could get actual permanent root with TWRP.
Back then, you used auto#initroot just for temp root and did NOT use Magisk whatsoever UNTIL AFTER Droid Turbo bootloader unlock with Sunshine. Because Magisk interfered with Sunshine. Now, I don't know if that's the problem here or if things have changed in the last several months since I've been paying attention to the LG V30 forums. Sorry I don't have a complete answer but
1) ask the Sunshine team
2) try without Magisk?
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Check these two posts:
To factory reset phone, should get radio (WiFi) working: https://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/g...d-turbo-6-0-1-mcg24-251-t3639618/post76416418
And then to properly sunshine root: https://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/g...d-turbo-6-0-1-mcg24-251-t3639618/post75531045
Thanks, I got it all straight. I was able to install a factory ROM via RSDLite (FYI, only version 6.24 work with Windows 10), then able to root with Sunshine. Something else that needs to be changed in the original post about rooting this device, you have to use the old version of Magisk that this post links to, I tried the latest version and that is when all the problems occurred. Thanks again for your help.
getting stuck in a bootloop after step 11, never see twrp load. have to get into bootloader and use initroot to reboot to get it out of the loop. stock droid turbo, used sunshine successfully, did a data wipe in fastboot, no joy..
Tried twrp flash from fastboot and app, both say successful, but bootloops upon attempting to boot into recovery.
Any suggestions about how to get into twrp?
thx..
Tried twrp flash from fastboot and app, both say successful, but bootloops upon attempting to boot into recovery.
Any suggestions about how to get into twrp?
thx..
Hi! After Section 2, step 10, I get a message in cmd: error: cannot load 'TWRP.img': No such file or directory. What am I doing wrong? I have downloaded TWRP file, renamed it and place it in C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot. If I reboot, I get a dead little greeny saying "no command"
Thanks!
Thanks!
Oh my! How dumb I was! Ok, I renamed it to TWRP and it goes through, but then when I select Recovery Mode and press Power Button it only shows for a split second the message "Warning Bootloader Unlocked... etc" and goes back to Fastboot info.
Any help really appreciated! Thanks beaups!
Are you sure you flashed the correct TWRP? Did you remove the temproot? fastboot oem config fsg-id " "
(that's quote space quote at the end of the command)
The TWRP I downloaded from the link provided in the instructions, first post of this thread. If remove the temproot you mean using auto#initroot and selecting 0 within 3 seconds I did that. I also entered fastboot oem config fsg-id " " and next flashed the TWRP. I do get some messages "not found" but in the end "sending recovery" and "writing recovery" is OKAY and finished.
I still didn't have success with Recovery Mode and flashing TWRP. Thanks!
I should add that the phone boots regularly after a few seconds of "Warning Bootloader Unlocked... etc" but I haven't been able to flash TWRP on it
---------- Post added at 11:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 PM ----------
Oh, whatever! The TWRP from the link on the first post here, didn't work (at least not for me), but I used another one from this link
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=457095661767143958 which was quoted on this thread https://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/general/root-unlock-droid-turbo-6-0-1-mcg24-251-t3639618/page6 and it worked like a charm
---------- Post added at 11:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 PM ----------
Oh, whatever! The TWRP from the link on the first post here, didn't work (at least not for me), but I used another one from this link
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=457095661767143958 which was quoted on this thread https://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/general/root-unlock-droid-turbo-6-0-1-mcg24-251-t3639618/page6 and it worked like a charm
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58There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive guide on this, so I thought I would provide one.
READ THIS FIRST
DO NOT TAKE ANY OTA UPDATES!!!
Please consider the following:
- Ask yourself these two questions: "Why do I want to unlock my bootloader? Why do I need root access?" If the answer to either one of those is "I don't know," don't do it. Both of these actions weaken the security of your phone, and there's no reason to do that if you're not sure why.
- This guide is for the Droid Turbo, model XT1254. It is not for the Droid Turbo 2, and it is not for any phone that is not named Droid Turbo.
- Standard XDA rules apply. I'm not responsible for anything you do, and neither is anyone else other than you.
- I'm assuming that you are running a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, I can't help you. If you're running Linux, you shouldn't need help.
- This method is not free. It costs $25 (USD). If that's not okay with you, don't do this.
- Once your bootloader is unlocked, you CANNOT safely re-lock and unlock it again. See this thread for what happens when you try to do that: http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/help/relocked-bootloader-bricked-t3306081#post65095391
Still here? Cool.
Section 0: Installing Firmware Version MCG24.251-5
1. Go to Settings -> About phone -> Build number. If it says SU4TL-44, SU4TL-49 or MCG24.251-5, skip to section 1 of this guide. If it says MCG24.251-5-5, you need to take an extra step to unlock your bootloader. I'll explain later. For now, just skip to section 1 of this guide. If it says anything else, keep reading.
Flashing MCG24.251-5 using this method will erase all of your data. Back up any important files/information before proceeding.
2. Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2317790.
3. Download and install the Motorola Device Manager from here: https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/88481
4. Download the MCG24.251-5 firmware package from here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=889764386195901169
5. Extract the contents of the MCG24.251-5 firmware package to the installation directory of Minimal ADB and Fastboot (C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot on any 64-bit installation of Windows).
6. Power off your phone.
7. Hold down the volume down button and power on your phone. Release the volume down button when you see that the phone has booted into bootloader mode. You'll see a dead green android.
8. Plug the phone into your computer.
9. Open the Minimal ADB and Fastboot shortcut on your desktop. This will open a command prompt.
10. Type "fastboot devices" and press enter. If it displays your device's serial number, you're ready to go. If it displays nothing, your computer is not recognizing your device properly.
11. Navigate to the installation directory of Minimal ADB and Fastboot and double click on FlashAll.bat. This will flash MCG24.251-5 to your device and erase all of your data.
12. Use the power button to select Start in the bootloader menu to boot normally.
13. Set up your phone at least to the point where you can install apps if you want to.
For now, just try to ask someone nicely to help you out with this. I'll try to get this done before the end of the day.
Section 1: Unlocking the Bootloader
1. Download Sunshine from here: http://theroot.ninja/download.html
2. Move the apk file to a convenient location on your phone. If you downloaded it with your phone, it's in your downloads folder already, so leave it there.
3. Use any file browser on your phone to navigate to the folder that contains the Sunshine apk file. Tap on it to install it.
4. If a message comes up and says that you need to enable installation of apps from unknown sources, follow the instructions on that message to enable it.
5. Enable Wi-Fi on your phone if it is disabled. Even if you aren't connected to a Wi-Fi network, it still needs to be on.
6. !!!DO THIS STEP ONLY IF YOU'RE ON MCG24.251-5-5!!! Follow the instructions here to obtain temporary root: https://xdaforums.com/g4-play/development/root-autoinitroot-motorola-bootloader-t3639316/. DO NOT perform the uninstall step.
7. Open your app drawer and start Sunshine.
8. Follow the instructions.
9. !!!FOR MCG24.251-5-5 ONLY!!! Sunshine will reboot your phone automatically, and it will go into a bootloop. This is normal. Don't panic. Hold down the volume down button until the phone goes into bootloader mode. Plug your phone into the computer, start Minimal ADB and Fastboot (see Section 0 for link if you didn't have to install it before this point), and enter the command fastboot oem config fsg-id "". This will disable the temporary root exploit. Reboot your phone normally, and everything should be happy again.
10. If, when your phone reboots, you see a "Warning: The bootloader is unlocked" message, you have successfully unlocked your bootloader. If you do not see this message, open Sunshine again and follow the directions again. If you're on MCG24.251-5-5, you'll have to gain and uninstall temproot again at the appropriate times.
Section 2: Installing TWRP
Team Win Recovery Project is arguably the most important tool to have on a bootloader-unlocked phone. This is how you install it:
1. Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2317790. If you already did this in section 0, you don't have to do it again.
2. Download the latest TWRP .img file from here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=39562
NOTE: The TWRP file that you download should have a .img extension. Make sure you can see this. If you don't see .img at the end of the filename, Google how to make file extensions visible on your version of Windows and do it. If you do not do this, you may run into trouble later.
3. Download and install the Motorola Device Manager from here: https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/88481. If you already did this in section 0, you don't have to do it again.
3. Rename the file that you downloaded in step 2 to TWRP.img
4. Copy TWRP.img to the directory that you installed Minimal ADB and Fastboot to. The default location on an installation of 64-bit Windows is C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot.
5. Turn off your phone.
6. Hold the volume down button and press the power button to boot into bootloader mode. You should see a green android lying on his back with his chest open, and some information about your phone. Poor little guy...
7. Plug your phone into your PC.
8. Double click on the Minimal ADB and Fastboot shortcut that's on your desktop. It will open a command prompt.
9. Type "fastboot devices" without quotes and press enter. If it gives you your phone's serial number, you're good to go. If it gives you nothing, your device is not detected. This can happen for several reasons, and I won't discuss them here. However, if you followed these directions and all of your hardware is functioning properly, you should be good to go.
10. Type "fastboot flash recovery TWRP.img" without quotes and press enter. It should tell you that the flash was successful. You might see some "not found" errors. These are normal and can be ignored.
11. Highlight "Recovery mode" on your phone using the volume up and down buttons.
12. Press the power button to boot into TWRP.
13. TWRP will boot, and it will ask you if you want to allow write access to the system partition. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALLOW THIS. Check the box that says to never ask this question again.
14. Select Reboot, followed by System to boot the phone normally.
Section 3: Gaining Root Access
If you intend to install a custom rom, these steps are not necessary. Custom roms almost always come with root access built in. Refer to the thread of your custom rom of choice for installation instructions.
If you do not want a custom rom, and you simply want root access on the stock Droid Turbo rom, continue reading.
1. If you are on the stock marshmallow rom, build MCG24.251-5 or higher, download the latest version of both Magisk and Magisk Manager to your phone: https://xdaforums.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445.
NOTE: You need to be on marshmallow to use Magisk to root your phone. The Magisk thread says it supports lollipop and higher, but it only supports lollipop for some stock Samsung roms. This does not apply to you. If you want to root your phone on lollipop, you'll need to use SuperSU. I won't go into that here because I don't think there is a lot of demand for it, but if you need help with that, reach out to someone here. It's not difficult.
2. Install Magisk Manager the same way you installed Sunshine.
3. Turn off your phone.
4. Hold the volume down button and press the power button to boot into bootloader mode. You should see a green android lying on his back with his chest open, and some information about your phone. Andy, what have they done to you?
5. Use the volume up and down buttons to highlight "Recovery mode."
6. Press the power button to select Recovery mode.
7. Select Install from the TWRP main menu.
8. Select the most recent version of Magisk (the .zip file, NOT the Magisk Manager .apk file) that you downloaded.
9. Swipe the bar at the bottom of the screen to flash this zip file.
10. When it finishes, select Wipe Cache/Dalvik and swipe the bar at the bottom of the screen.
11. Select Reboot System
Section 4: Passing Safetynet using Stock, Unrooted Marshmallow
If you are running stock marshmallow with an unlocked bootloader, you will fail safetynet verification (and be unable to use Android Pay). Installing Magisk is the only recommended method, as of this writing, to bypass this limitation. If you completed Section 3, you shouldn't have any trouble. Understand, however, that there is a constant game of cat and mouse going on between Google and Magisk's developer, so sometimes Google will update safetynet to beat Magisk. If that happens, wait for Magisk Manager to tell you that a new version of Magisk is available, and it will install the new version for you. That's your best bet for passing safetynet again.
If you really want to pass safetynet, but you really don't want to be rooted, you can disable root (Superuser access) in the Magisk Manager settings.
Section 5: Miscellaneous
Here are some links to stuff you can flash now that your bootloader is unlocked:
Official LineageOS 12.1 (Android 5.1.1): http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/orig-development/moto-maxx-xt1225-droid-turbo-xt1254-t3260253
Official LineageOS 13.0 (Android 6.0.1): http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/orig-development/moto-maxx-xt1225-droid-turbo-xt1254-t3353298
AOSPExtended (Android 7.X): https://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/general/rom-aospextended-rom-v3-1-t3555361
Unofficial LineageOS 14.1 (Android 7.X): http://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-t3494646
crDroid (Android 7.X): http://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-crdroid-android-t3491257
Android Open Kang Project (Android 7.X): http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-aokp-7-x-quark-t3504629
Resurrection Remix (a great LineageOS-based rom, Android 5.1.1): http://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-resurrection-remix-5-5-5-t3197643
Resurrection Remix (Android 6.0.1): http://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-resurrection-remix-t3316232
Resurrection Remix (Android 7.X): https://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-resurrection-remix-t3511109
Computerfreek274's optimized stock rom (Android 6.0.1): http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/development/computerfreekunlocked1-0-t3255945
MoKee Open Source Project (Android 6.0.1): http://xdaforums.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-mokee-opensource-project-t3188936
Bliss Rom (Android 6.0.1): http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-bliss-rom-6-4-team-bliss-t3422937
Android Open Kang Project (Android 6.0.1): http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-android-kang-project-t3422456
Android Open Kang Project (Android 7.X): https://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-aokp-7-x-quark-t3504629
Change the splash screen (the bootloader unlocked warning message) that you see when you first start your phone: http://xdaforums.com/droid-turbo/themes-apps/custom-boot-logos-accepting-requests-t3262873
Xposed framework and installer (make sure to use the sdk22-arm version if you're running a lollipop rom, sdk23-arm if you're running marshmallow. Not available for nougat yet.): http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
Alternative Material Design Xposed Installer that provides additional features: http://xdaforums.com/xposed/material-design-xposed-installer-t3137758
Pon-3 Audio Mod (modified and improved Viper4Android. It makes your phone sound better.): http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2530976
Other modded Viper4Android versions that are better than PON-3: http://xdaforums.com/android/software/viperaudio-viperatmos-3-8-sq-driver-t3289075
Theme your TWRP with different colors: http://xdaforums.com/android/themes/theme-twrp-3-0-0-0-dark-stock-colors-t3310235
More TWRP themes: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=66276401&postcount=2889
Android N Emojis: http://android.wonderhowto.com/how-to/get-android-nougats-all-new-emojis-right-now-0170328/
Section 6: Troubleshooting
Issue: When you try to boot TWRP, you see a screen that says "no command." TWRP does not boot.
Solution: The screen you are seeing is the stock Droid Turbo recovery menu (the menu that you're trying to replace with TWRP). If you see this after flashing TWRP, one of two things happened:
-You did not boot into the recovery menu immediately after flashing TWRP, and it was therefore replaced by the stock recovery menu.
-When you flashed TWRP, the process did not complete successfully.
The solution to both of these problems is to repeat section 2 and follow the instructions more carefully.
Issue: When TWRP asked you if you wanted to allow write access to the system partition, you selected no. Now you cannot flash anything.
Solution: At the main TWRP menu, select Mount. Uncheck the box that says "Mount system partition as read-only."
Issue: Fastboot says "cannot load TWRP.img" when you try to flash it.
Solution: This error indicates that Fastboot cannot find TWRP.img. The most common source of this problem is that you did not make your file extensions visible, and so when you renamed the TWRP file to TWRP.img, you actually renamed it to TWRP.img.img (including the hidden .img file extension that you didn't realize was there). Google how to enable file extensions on your version of Windows, follow those instructions, and if this is the issue you will see it.7I need a person competent with both adb/fastboot and has a droid turbo on MCG24.251-5-5 that has not been unlocked yet.
We are ready to release a new sunshine build for the latest turbo firmware, I just need someone to test.
Please email jcase@cunninglogic.com if you can test.
If you are NOT competent with adb/fastboot, or cant follow directions, please just wait until release, dont contact me7At the request of @ChazzMatt, I've updated the guide to warn people about the file extensions thing. I've also updated the miscellaneous section with the new ROMs on the block and some other nifty Androidy things.6
1) It's your fault for buying a bootloader locked phone if you don't want a bootloader locked phone. Even if you are on Verizon there is another Quark (the Moto XT1250 sold by other U.S. CDMA/LTE carriers) that has the exact same radio bands, same FCC ID as the Droid Turbo XT1254 -- and runs on Verizon with a Verizon LTE SIM card. If you are not on Verizon there's also the the Moto XT1225 which doesn't have CDMA bands, but has more LTE bands and more HSPA bands. Both the other Quarks (XT1250, XT1225) are easily unlocked for FREE with code from Motorola website.
Just like many carriers sell the LG G4, many carriers sell/sold the Quark. And just like Verizon's version of the LG G4 has specific model number to differentiate it from AT&T, Sprint, T-mobile's versions, the model numbers of the Quark are XT1254, XT1250, XT1225. Where Verizon is different -- to falsely claim "exclusive" -- Verizon called their Quark a "Droid Turbo" while for other carriers it was called the Moto Maxx/Moto Turbo. But a Quark is a Quark, just like an LG G4 is an LG G4 (except for radio bands).
The only "exclusive" Verizon had was really the locked down bootloader.
However if you check prices on eBay/Swappa for good condition used phones, you will find for some strange reason the XT1254 (Verizon model) is much less (sometimes half) the price of the XT1250/XT1225. Why? Well, on the XT1225 it comes with 64GB internal storage, and more LTE/HSPA bands. But the XT1250 (identical in every aspect to the 32GB XT254) is also worth more money. WHY? I suspect due to their (XT1250/XT1225) easily unlocked bootloader vs the locked down bootloader of the XT1254.
BUT, you can now UNLOCK the XT1254 bootloader! :good: In fact if you factor in $25 for Sunshine when buying an XT1254 , you still come out ahead -- even if you buy a 64GB XT1254. Even with Sushine $25 unlock for some reason Droid Turbo prices are lower than other Quark prices (which have free bootloader unlock from Motorola), even allowing for the 64GB XT1225 internal memory.
- 32GB XT1254 are recently going for $130 on eBay.
- 64GB XT1254 are recently going for $150 on eBay.
Add in $25 Sunshine and it's still much less expensive than the 32GB XT1250 or the 64GB XT1225, for some reason. You are getting a good deal -- even with Sunshine.
Here's recent Swappa prices for Moto XT1225:
https://swappa.com/buy/moto-maxx-unlocked
i bought the phone instead of S5 and didnt research on it because most phones are easy to modify, this one is clearly 1 in a million with its stupid lock. Lastly i dont understand why you are so heated up about it, i said Verizon should give it for free to the owners of the phone because its not a 'state secret'. Chill out please, im not denying Sunshine's work
Most Verizon phones are NOT easy to modify.
By the way, the Verizon version of the Galaxy S5 (a 2014 phone) was bootloader locked until March 2016. Whereas the T-mobile version of the Galaxy S5 came unlocked from the factory.
Verizon is to blame. It's their policy to lock down bootloaders even if the manufacturer does not want to.
________
2) "Amateurs" could not find exploits to unlock the bootloader. It took a full year to find the first bootloader unlock exploit (November 2015). Verizon blocked that in May 2016 and Sunshine team found another in July 2016.
Believe me, a lot of people were looking and one person even pledge a "bounty" of $500. But bounties never work. People "forget" to pay. A model like Sunshine works because if you really care about it, you will pay, and it helps recoup costs. I know they bricked at least one phone (maybe more) during this process and had to buy another. Plus LOTS of time.
___________
Conclusion: You are blaming the wrong people.
- First, blame yourself for buying a bootloader locked phone. Research before you buy.
- Second, blame Verizon for locking their bootloaders when other carriers don't.
Thankfully we have devs like Sunshine team to overcome Verizon stupidity. - Ask yourself these two questions: "Why do I want to unlock my bootloader? Why do I need root access?" If the answer to either one of those is "I don't know," don't do it. Both of these actions weaken the security of your phone, and there's no reason to do that if you're not sure why.
