[how to] lock/unlock your bootloader without htcdev(s-off required)

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scotty1223

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Jan 3, 2011
2,813
3,056
READ THIIS!
*this thread is for m8. it will NOT work on m7,or any older device. please check the general forum for your particular device for a similar thread.


this thread will let you unlock your bootloader without htcdev,or let you change your hboot watermark from relocked or locked back to stock.


advantages
-no hassle with htcdev,tokens,or unlock codes
-no submitting your phones personal info to htc
-the ability to get back to 100% stock without any visual traces or records of having been s off or unlocking your bootloader.

you do NOT need to downgrade your hboot. this simple adb command works without any scary hboot downgrades.

*you must be s off.
*you must have superuser installed

read this:
this will not work if your s on. its not a way to magically unlock

the usual disclaimers:
use this info at your own risk. if it melts your phone into a little pile of aluminum goo,its not my fault.

credits
-beaups for schooling me on echo comand protocol
-strace for originally discovering the location of the lock status flag(check out this thread for more info)
-kdj67f for fearlessly testing on vzw m7_wlv and putting up some screenshots in post 2. thanks!
-matthew0776 for fearlessly testing for sprint m7_wls
*i dont have m8. let me know if it works and ill add you to the credits.

IF you are an advanced user with adb/fastboot set up and some basic knowlede of the cmd window,you can skip to #2
1)set up adb(windows 7 and older)


-download this file
-install drivers: if you have htc sync installed,you should allready have drivers. if not,you can install htc sync,or install these modified htc drivers from revolutionary (driver mirror)
-unzip your miniadb_v1031.zip file. this is native funtionality in windows 7. you otherwise may need a utility such as "7-zip" to extract,or unzip it. place the unzipped folder onto the root of your C drive on your PC. root means the top level,not inside any folders. so just copy and paste,or drag and drop the folder onto C with everything else that is there. you may want to rename it to "miniadb_m7" since youll be putting some device specific files in here.
-open a command window. on windows 7,click the start bubble in the lower left and type "command" in the search box. xp i believe is similar or the same. doing this should open a small black command window.
-change to your miniadb_m7 directory. type the following at the prompt in your cmd window:

cd c:\miniadb_m7

your command promt should change to "c:miniadb_m7>" provided you: 1)unzipped the miniadb_v1031 zip file,and 2)put the folder on your c drive,and 3)entered the name of the folder correctly ("miniadb_m7" in this case)

-now make sure usb debugging is checked in developer options(you will need to turn it on first),and plug your phone into your PC with a usb cable
-make sure your phone is being recognized- type:

adb devices

if your drivers are installed correctly,this should return your phones serial number. you should hear the "found device" noises when you plug your phone in. if it starts installing drivers,wait for it to finish before typing the adb devices command.

if you get your serial number back,then enter this command:
adb reboot bootloader

this should take your phone to the "fastboot" screen,wich is white with colored letters. this is one mode of your bootloaders interactive modes. at the top youll see fastboot devices as confirmation youre in fastboot.

now enter:
fastboot devices
again,this should return your phones serial number. you should hear the "found device" noises when you plug your phone in. if it starts installing drivers,wait for it to finish before typing the adb devices command.

if you get your serial number back,you can enter the following to boot back to the phones OS:
fastboot reboot

and now,youve installed adb/fastboot and tested youre phones drivers. if at either spot,you have trouble and dont get your serial number back,there is some sort of connection issue. use these steps to troubleshoot:
troubleshooting connectivity issues:
-try a reboot of the PC
-try different usb cables and ports
-dont use a usb hub
-dont use usb 3.0
-make sure nothing capable of comunicating with the phone is enabled and running. htc sync,pdanet,easy tether,and even itunes have all been known to cause issues.
-windows 8 has been known to have issues. try a windows 7 or older machine

failing the above,
-i use these drivers for fastboot and adb(donwload and run as admin): http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe (mirror)

failing that,try manually updating the drivers in the following manner:
-put the phone in fastboot mode(select fastboot from the hboot menu)
-open device manager on the PC
-plug in phone,watch for it to pop up in device manager.
-update drivers with device manager,pointing the wizard to the extracted
driver download folder from above

note that you can check the connectivity of the phone,and make sure drivers are working by in the following manner:
-open cmd window. change to directory containing adb/fastboot utilities

-adb with the phone in the booted OS,usb debug enabled,enter:
adb devices in a cmd window

-fastboot with phone in fastboot,enter:
fastboot devices in cmd window

in either case,a properly connected phone with working drivers installed should report back the phones serial number.

this process,in your cmd window,should look something like this:
Code:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Scott>[COLOR="red"]cd c:\miniadb_m7[/COLOR]

c:\miniadb_m7>adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
FAxxxxxxxxxx    device


c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb reboot bootloader[/COLOR]

c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
FAxxxxxxxxxx    fastboot

c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot reboot[/COLOR]
rebooting...

finished. total time: 0.037s

c:\miniadb_m7>


2)reset your "lock status flag"

to LOCK your bootloader,enter the following:

adb devices

adb shell

su (if needed to get a # prompt)

echo -ne '\x00\x00\x00\x00' | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 bs=1 seek=33796
(i would very strongly recomend you copy/paste this)

exit
(exit a second time if you need to to get back to a normal > prompt)

adb reboot bootloader

verify you are now locked
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

to UNLOCK your bootloader,enter the following:

adb devices

adb shell

su (if needed to get a # prompt)

echo -ne "HTCU" | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 bs=1 seek=33796
(i would very strongly recomend you copy/paste this)

exit
(exit a second time if you need to to get back to a normal > prompt)

adb reboot bootloader

verify you are now unlocked



*i have tested this on my gsm htc one. if someone wants to test on vzw,ill add you to the credits :)





(yes this is m7. i dont have an m8 yet)

other useful threads:
remove tampered banner: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2708565
change mid without an eng bootloader: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2708581
 
Last edited:

Sloth

Inactive RC / Retired Forum Moderator
Apr 23, 2012
10,699
11,300
Xda-Dev,NV

Granite1

Senior Member
Dec 27, 2010
249
84
Pittsburgh, PA
Thanks for working on this Scotty!

Also, thanks for getting the Sprint info to Scotty BD. :)

Both of yinz, thanks and thanked.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk
 

scotty1223

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Jan 3, 2011
2,813
3,056

unfortunately,no. it does show that the partition the flag is located in is in the same spot(pg1fs is p2) but i need to see that partition if you want me to verify the flag is in the same spot(it prolly is,but is not always across variants)

in a root shell(# prompt):

dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0p2

then upload the image and pm me a link.
 
Last edited:

Sloth

Inactive RC / Retired Forum Moderator
Apr 23, 2012
10,699
11,300
Xda-Dev,NV
unfortunately,no. it does show that the partition the flag is located in is in the same spot(pg1fs is p2) but i need to see that partition if you want me to verify the flag is in the same spot(it prolly is,but is not always across variants)

in a root shell(# prompt):

dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0p2

then upload the image and pm me a link.
Check PM :)
 
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ak074

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May 11, 2011
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boe323

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2012
1,952
392
Burton on Trent
How the hell do you get into the bootloader ...just received my m8 today on crappy voda ....not spending money on phones anymore I must of spent at least 3grand over the years, anyway ....I press down vol and power but doesn't do anything ....it will reboot with up vol and power ..that's all I can do. Do I need to turn of quickboot and enable debugging before I can load the bootloader ?....oh yes ...do we have s-off for international model ? ...because its staying in the box if I cant s-off and get supercid.
 

teonagode

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2012
418
72
Ajdovscina
How the hell do you get into the bootloader ...just received my m8 today on crappy voda ....not spending money on phones anymore I must of spent at least 3grand over the years, anyway ....I press down vol and power but doesn't do anything ....it will reboot with up vol and power ..that's all I can do. Do I need to turn of quickboot and enable debugging before I can load the bootloader ?....oh yes ...do we have s-off for international model ? ...because its staying in the box if I cant s-off and get supercid.

Try without quick boot,because as long as that is turned on the phone dosent really turn off but goes into some cind of standby mode like windows OS .

Sent from my HTC One X using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 
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scotty1223

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Jan 3, 2011
2,813
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Power and vol up till rhe phone turns off to reboot. When the screen turns off,move from vol up to vol down.

Or turn off fastboot and power off for a few seconds. Then power vol down

Sent from my HTC PG09410 using Tapatalk 2
 
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wgergely

Member
Apr 13, 2011
6
0
Silverdale, WA
A couple questions:

1). Does this actually change you back to locked the way <fastboot oem lock> would? or is it just changing the header text?
2). I see references to the Sprint M8 and this is in the M8 forum, but would if foul anyting up to try it on a Verizon M8 with the 3.16 HBoot?

Thanks for the clarification.
 

scotty1223

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Jan 3, 2011
2,813
3,056
A couple questions:

1). Does this actually change you back to locked the way <fastboot oem lock> would? or is it just changing the header text?
2). I see references to the Sprint M8 and this is in the M8 forum, but would if foul anyting up to try it on a Verizon M8 with the 3.16 HBoot?

Thanks for the clarification.

1) actual lock

2) it will work on vzw m8

Sent from my HTC One VX using Tapatalk
 

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  • 86
    READ THIIS!
    *this thread is for m8. it will NOT work on m7,or any older device. please check the general forum for your particular device for a similar thread.


    this thread will let you unlock your bootloader without htcdev,or let you change your hboot watermark from relocked or locked back to stock.


    advantages
    -no hassle with htcdev,tokens,or unlock codes
    -no submitting your phones personal info to htc
    -the ability to get back to 100% stock without any visual traces or records of having been s off or unlocking your bootloader.

    you do NOT need to downgrade your hboot. this simple adb command works without any scary hboot downgrades.

    *you must be s off.
    *you must have superuser installed

    read this:
    this will not work if your s on. its not a way to magically unlock

    the usual disclaimers:
    use this info at your own risk. if it melts your phone into a little pile of aluminum goo,its not my fault.

    credits
    -beaups for schooling me on echo comand protocol
    -strace for originally discovering the location of the lock status flag(check out this thread for more info)
    -kdj67f for fearlessly testing on vzw m7_wlv and putting up some screenshots in post 2. thanks!
    -matthew0776 for fearlessly testing for sprint m7_wls
    *i dont have m8. let me know if it works and ill add you to the credits.

    IF you are an advanced user with adb/fastboot set up and some basic knowlede of the cmd window,you can skip to #2
    1)set up adb(windows 7 and older)


    -download this file
    -install drivers: if you have htc sync installed,you should allready have drivers. if not,you can install htc sync,or install these modified htc drivers from revolutionary (driver mirror)
    -unzip your miniadb_v1031.zip file. this is native funtionality in windows 7. you otherwise may need a utility such as "7-zip" to extract,or unzip it. place the unzipped folder onto the root of your C drive on your PC. root means the top level,not inside any folders. so just copy and paste,or drag and drop the folder onto C with everything else that is there. you may want to rename it to "miniadb_m7" since youll be putting some device specific files in here.
    -open a command window. on windows 7,click the start bubble in the lower left and type "command" in the search box. xp i believe is similar or the same. doing this should open a small black command window.
    -change to your miniadb_m7 directory. type the following at the prompt in your cmd window:

    cd c:\miniadb_m7

    your command promt should change to "c:miniadb_m7>" provided you: 1)unzipped the miniadb_v1031 zip file,and 2)put the folder on your c drive,and 3)entered the name of the folder correctly ("miniadb_m7" in this case)

    -now make sure usb debugging is checked in developer options(you will need to turn it on first),and plug your phone into your PC with a usb cable
    -make sure your phone is being recognized- type:

    adb devices

    if your drivers are installed correctly,this should return your phones serial number. you should hear the "found device" noises when you plug your phone in. if it starts installing drivers,wait for it to finish before typing the adb devices command.

    if you get your serial number back,then enter this command:
    adb reboot bootloader

    this should take your phone to the "fastboot" screen,wich is white with colored letters. this is one mode of your bootloaders interactive modes. at the top youll see fastboot devices as confirmation youre in fastboot.

    now enter:
    fastboot devices
    again,this should return your phones serial number. you should hear the "found device" noises when you plug your phone in. if it starts installing drivers,wait for it to finish before typing the adb devices command.

    if you get your serial number back,you can enter the following to boot back to the phones OS:
    fastboot reboot

    and now,youve installed adb/fastboot and tested youre phones drivers. if at either spot,you have trouble and dont get your serial number back,there is some sort of connection issue. use these steps to troubleshoot:
    troubleshooting connectivity issues:
    -try a reboot of the PC
    -try different usb cables and ports
    -dont use a usb hub
    -dont use usb 3.0
    -make sure nothing capable of comunicating with the phone is enabled and running. htc sync,pdanet,easy tether,and even itunes have all been known to cause issues.
    -windows 8 has been known to have issues. try a windows 7 or older machine

    failing the above,
    -i use these drivers for fastboot and adb(donwload and run as admin): http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe (mirror)

    failing that,try manually updating the drivers in the following manner:
    -put the phone in fastboot mode(select fastboot from the hboot menu)
    -open device manager on the PC
    -plug in phone,watch for it to pop up in device manager.
    -update drivers with device manager,pointing the wizard to the extracted
    driver download folder from above

    note that you can check the connectivity of the phone,and make sure drivers are working by in the following manner:
    -open cmd window. change to directory containing adb/fastboot utilities

    -adb with the phone in the booted OS,usb debug enabled,enter:
    adb devices in a cmd window

    -fastboot with phone in fastboot,enter:
    fastboot devices in cmd window

    in either case,a properly connected phone with working drivers installed should report back the phones serial number.

    this process,in your cmd window,should look something like this:
    Code:
    Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
    Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.
    
    C:\Users\Scott>[COLOR="red"]cd c:\miniadb_m7[/COLOR]
    
    c:\miniadb_m7>adb devices
    * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
    * daemon started successfully *
    List of devices attached
    FAxxxxxxxxxx    device
    
    
    c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]adb reboot bootloader[/COLOR]
    
    c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot devices[/COLOR]
    FAxxxxxxxxxx    fastboot
    
    c:\miniadb_m7>[COLOR="red"]fastboot reboot[/COLOR]
    rebooting...
    
    finished. total time: 0.037s
    
    c:\miniadb_m7>


    2)reset your "lock status flag"

    to LOCK your bootloader,enter the following:

    adb devices

    adb shell

    su (if needed to get a # prompt)

    echo -ne '\x00\x00\x00\x00' | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 bs=1 seek=33796
    (i would very strongly recomend you copy/paste this)

    exit
    (exit a second time if you need to to get back to a normal > prompt)

    adb reboot bootloader

    verify you are now locked
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________

    to UNLOCK your bootloader,enter the following:

    adb devices

    adb shell

    su (if needed to get a # prompt)

    echo -ne "HTCU" | dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 bs=1 seek=33796
    (i would very strongly recomend you copy/paste this)

    exit
    (exit a second time if you need to to get back to a normal > prompt)

    adb reboot bootloader

    verify you are now unlocked



    *i have tested this on my gsm htc one. if someone wants to test on vzw,ill add you to the credits :)





    (yes this is m7. i dont have an m8 yet)

    other useful threads:
    remove tampered banner: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2708565
    change mid without an eng bootloader: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2708581
    7
    Finally got it!

    Yes it is possible. Having a locked bootloader will NOT prevent you from flashing a recovery, firmware, or an ruu.

    Files just need properly packed as a zip file, you cannot use the fastboot flash command.

    Sent from my One using Tapatalk

    Dear scotty1223, StuMcBill, Brds7t7, skulldreamz, miggsr, EddyOS, David Cogen from "The Unlockr" site, the always available Mr. Hofs and all the others that I may have forgotten to refer,..

    THANK YOU ALL for your excellent support .. my HTC is finally stock (firmware and stock recovery) with my bootloader locked :D:D:D


    Let me just make a quick summary for future reference for all other users that may also need to bring their HTC One m8 fully stock and that may find some of the (maybe noob) problems that I found..


    Initial state: Unbranded HTC One m8 CID HTC__102 (s_off) with locked bootloader and with mikes1986 firmware ("Android Revolution HD 8.1 by mike1986")..

    Main objective: return device to full stock firmware like if it was coming directly from store....


    1. Used the excellent step by step tutorial from "The Unlockr" site in here..

    2. Downloaded the Stock nandroid and stock recovery for my CID (in this specific case, I downloaded "1.12.401.17 - TWRP Thanks to MaximN97" and "stock recovery 1.12.401.17") from Mr. Hofs thread

    3. After flashed the stock nandroid accordingly with the tutorial, I had trouble in flashing stock recovery... received error:
    "writing 'recovery'
    FAILED (remote: not allowed)
    finished. (...)"

    4. Mr. Hofs told me that was due to locked bootloader...

    5. Unlocked the bootloader following Scotty1223's post

    6. Flashed stock recovery flawlessly (following the above tutorial)..

    7. Ignored every HTC system updates that I was already getting notified in the device (not sure if it would have any impact);

    8. Tried to lock bootloader through the same post from Scotty1223, but no "# prompt" appeared when I was working with adb.. this was when I understood that this situation happened due to the fact that supersu had "disappeared" after flashed stock firmware (was unrooted)....

    9. Downloaded supersu from Google Play... although, when I ran it.. I received the message that it "wasn't possible to install the binary (bla (...) bla (...)".. spent several days trying to understand how could I solve that, since, without supersu I couldn't lock the bootloader...

    10. After lots of time spent and some posts...I finally got it... downloaded twrp's img (got it from here.. and placed it in fastboot directory and followed StuMcBill's tip

    11. When I was rebooting system in TWRP it told me that system was unrooted and if I wanted to install supersu.. I've installed it... after system reboot.. I ran supersu.. it asked for the binary update (again the fuc**** binary)... therefore,.. I downloaded the SuperSU v2.02 update from here (CWM / TWRP / MobileODIN installable ZIP), placed it in a directory from phone's SD card..and once again ran TWRP without flashing it, thru StuMcBill's tip... selected Install option in TWRP, selected the directory where I've placed SuperSU v2.02 update and installed it....

    12. After system reboot, Supersu was already working :highfive::highfive: ..locked the bootloader thru scotty1223's post already referred..

    13. Reboot system,.. uninstalled supersu, thru its uninstall option.. and .. ended all this long journey :D :cool: :cool:

    Hope that this could help anyone with the same problems.


    Thank you and my apologies for the long post.

    Best regards,
    SkElEtIkO
    4
    @scotty1223 will this royally mess anything up if I try this on my Sprint M8?

    Possibly. If the flag is in a different spot,and you overwrite something important. You can dump p2 and p6 and I can take a look,if you'd like.

    Sent from my HTC PG09410 using Tapatalk 2
    3
    A couple questions:

    1). Does this actually change you back to locked the way <fastboot oem lock> would? or is it just changing the header text?
    2). I see references to the Sprint M8 and this is in the M8 forum, but would if foul anyting up to try it on a Verizon M8 with the 3.16 HBoot?

    Thanks for the clarification.

    1) actual lock

    2) it will work on vzw m8

    Sent from my HTC One VX using Tapatalk