Does Unlocking bootloader also wipe your data?

[zAlbee]

Hey folks. Got a Dev edition here, which as I understand is easy to unlock. Question is must I lose my data when doing so? And if yes, how can I backup before unlocking? If I had root, I would run titanium backup, but given that I can't get root until I unlock, this seems like a chicken and egg problem....

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[KidJoe]

Yes, doing the. Mfastboot oem unlock will factory reset the phone. You will lose apps and data. I am not familiar with a way (while not rooted) to back up everything and restore after unlocking such that everything is the same.

 

[Darth]

I may be wrong.....just going from memory of what I've read, but I think an app called helium can backup without root. Then you'd need to transfer the backup off the phone, cause everything is gone when you unlock. Pics too.

 

[zAlbee]

Hm. Can anyone confirm this happens for sure? On the Galaxy Nexus, people said the same thing but it turned out that if you just typed fastboot oem unlock without flashing any partitions that no data was actually erased. I just can't understand why unlocking would be linked to erasing.

Thanks!

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[Darth]

Hm. Can anyone confirm this happens for sure? On the Galaxy Nexus, people said the same thing but it turned out that if you just typed fastboot oem unlock without flashing any partitions that no data was actually erased. I just can't understand why unlocking would be linked to erasing.

Thanks!

Sent from my XT1053 using XDA Free mobile app

Unlocking erases everything. On any device I've owned. The x for sure.

Why? Dunno. Lol

 

[donslade]

Unlocking the bootloader will reset the phone back to factory fresh condition as stated. When I unlocked my Moto X it was factory reset. Same for when I unlocked the bootloader in my Nexus 10, Droid Razr M, Incredible and Eris. I think this is the normal behavior.

There are ways to back up your data and apps even without an unlocked or rooted phone. There is a toolkit in this forum somewhere for the Moto X that will do that as well as a market app (Helium?). I used the toolkit here:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/development/tool-moto-x-toolkit-v1-2-1-t2477132

But I did that while at 4.4, before the OTA update to 4.4.2.

 

[panchowatkins]

Any tool to recover files from a recently formatted device by unlocking the bootloader? thanks.

 

[SaurusM3]

No. "Format" means "Blotto Everything". That's exactly what happens.

 

[Aykoke]

IMO seems to be a commercial "feature" more than a technical limitation. The simply want to discourage you to unlock the bootlader. All along the process, there is a warning message telling you that unlocking the bootloader will make the phone less secure. A subliminal message from Xiaomi : Blessed be the freely included uninstallable without root - and by extention unlocking the bootloader... D'oh!- bloatware package ! Or go to hell with your data if you dare to spit on it!