The LG G6 H870 for the European market and the USA carrier-free US997 can now be officially unlocked through LG's developer unlock program.
Your H870 is from outside Europe? You have a H871/2/3/etc or H870K/DS/etc? That's not a European H870, won't work. Your US997 tied to a carrier? Won't work.
Please read the FAQ and use the thread search feature before asking questions.
This thread is a work in progress and actively being updated.
LG Developer Unlock Site Here
- European LG G6 H870 or USA carrier-free US997
- Computer w/ADB & Fastboot. ADB/Fastboot for Windows here. ADB/Fastboot for Linux/OS X here.
- Basic knowledge of ADB, Fastboot and Windows command prompt or Linux/OS X terminal.
- Device IMEI. This 15-digit code can be found on your box, the settings menu or by dialing *#06#
- LG developer account -- sign up for free by clicking the "Start Unlocking the Bootloader" button at the bottom of the LG site HERE.
Directions:
LG's official bootloader unlock directions can be found
here but I've still rewritten the steps out below while revising some things and also adding steps for TWRP and root.
1. Enable USB-Debugging on your phone. USB-Debugging is required for the adb commands to work. To enable USB-Debugging, go to Settings >> About phone >> Software info and tap Build number until it says you are now a developer. Return to the previous screen, select Developer Options and enable USB-Debugging (this option may be greyed out if you have your USB cable plugged into your phone).
2. Enable OEM unlock on your phone. To enable OEM unlock, go to Settings >> Developer options and toggle/turn on
Enable OEM Unlock.
3. Open CommandPrompt or Terminal and enter the following ADB command to reboot into the bootloader:
If ADB is not detecting your device try switching your phone's USB mode from Charging to MTP or PTP. If using Windows please make sure you've installed LG's USB drivers. You can download them
HERE.
Alternatively, you may be able to boot into fastboot without ADB by powering off the phone then power the phone on while holding Volume UP (USB cable will need to be removed otherwise it may boot into LG Download Mode)
4. Once in the bootloader, use the following fastboot command to obtain Device ID:
Fastboot command will return a string. This is the Device ID which is needed to generate your unique unlock key.
Example :
Code:
$ fastboot oem device-id
(bootloader)-----------------------------------------------------------------
(bootloader) Device-ID
(bootloader) CD58B679A38D6B613ED518F37A05E013
(bootloader) F93190BD558261DBBC5584E8EF8789B1
(bootloader)-----------------------------------------------------------------
To generate your unlock key, you will need to paste together the 2 lines of output into one continuous string without "(bootloader)" or spaces. In the example above, the Device ID would be:
CD58B679A38D6B613ED518F37A05E013F93190BD558261DBBC5584E8EF8789B1
5. Copy Device ID and IMEI into the LG Developers Bootloader Unlock site and hit the confirm button. In a few moments the unlock.bin will be emailed to you. Download unlock.bin to computer.
6. While the phone is still in fastboot enter the following command to unlock the bootloader:
This will unlock your bootloader AND factory reset your device wiping all data!
You can use the LG Backup app or LG Bridge to backup and restore your data before unlocking the bootloader.
Code:
fastboot flash unlock unlock.bin
7. You can now reboot the phone and boot into your bootloader unlocked device! Enter:
8. Want TWRP or root?
For TWRP you will need to download the TWRP H870 image. Current unofficial TWRP build is available
HERE. (thanks to @Rashed97)
For root you will need to download either
SuperSU or
Magisk and then flash either of the zips using TWRP.
Reboot back into the bootloader
(you'll have to first re-enable USB debugging since data was wiped after the bootloader unlock)
or power off again.. unplug the USB cable then power on the phone while holding Volume UP.
9. Flash TWRP:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
After flashing TWRP unplug the USB cable and power off the phone (hold volume down + power button).. continue holding until phone reboots...
As soon as you see the LG logo on the screen.. let go of the power button then quickly press it again (never letting go of volume down).
Keep holding until you see the Factory Reset screen. Click thru the factory reset screens using the volume buttons to move up/down and power button to select. Choose "Yes" twice until it boots into TWRP. Despite what the screen says it won't actually factory reset/wipe your data... as long as you've installed TWRP. If stock recovery is installed it WILL wipe data.
For TWRP to "stick" you must 1st boot into TWRP and not boot back into Android until after doing
one of the following...
10. Now you can flash your root zip of choice.
Feel free to back up first.. but otherwise.. time to install SuperSU/Magisk. Reboot into system when finished.
Have fun and be careful.
FAQ:
Q: I have an H870 but it is not a European H870... can I unlock the bootloader?
A: No, this official unlock program is ONLY for the H870 model for countries in Europe just like LG did for the LG G4 and G5.
But... for about a 10 day span G4 devices from SE Asia worked with the official site and users received unlock.bin files.. despite that variant never showing up on the supported list. So you never know what can happen until you try and submit your device-id/IMEI into the LG Developer Bootloader Unlock site. :good:
Q: Will more devices be added?
A: Impossible to say what will happen in the future.. we must wait and see. The LG G5 bootloader unlock program was originally only open to the European H850 but months later the H840 G5SE and the USA RS988 G5 were added to the program.
Q: I can't get my phone to show up with ADB or Fastboot, watdo?
A: Make sure ADB/Fastboot is properly setup for your OS... udev rules setup in Linux..
LG USB drivers installed for Windows... OS X/MacOS just works. Also, confirm USB debugging is enabled.
ADB still not working?... try changing the phones USB modes.. from maybe charging to MTP.. or MTP to PTP.
Q: What happens to warranty if I unlock or root?
A: YMMV I suppose. The official LG site claims that warranty is void if damage is caused by the unlock. On the T-Mobile G6 there is now a bootloader unlock counter. I will assume this counter is also on the H870/US997, so it will be hard to hide the fact that you unlocked the bootloader. Please share any unlocked bootloader LG G6 warranty replacement stories in this thread.
Q: Can I re-lock the bootloader?
It IS possible to re-lock the bootloader with the the command:
fastboot oem lock
You'll have to boot back into the bootloader (adb reboot bootloader) to issue the fastboot command.
Re-locking the bootloader WILL wipe data just like the unlock process. Use LG Backup app/LG Bridge or another backup method first if you want your data.
Flashing a KDZ in LGUP or LG Bridge will NOT relock the bootloader.
DO NOT re-lock the bootloader if you have a modified boot/system img... restore them to stock first or you will not be able to boot into android after the lock and need to flash a KDZ in download mode.
Q: So many words... yudodat?
A: Here is a video on how to unlock the G4... up until the 6minute mark it is step-by-step 100% the same as G6. Only slight difference is when you get to the TWRP/root steps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O64GfQORCaE
