any idea which one? I pulled one off, ok 2, 3
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Is it bricked? Cannot flash stock Android to remove ArcaneOS
- Thread starter mayday175
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Is it a specific name of a chip? Is it contact points on the board? What exactly are we trying to find??
I did find this https://logi.wiki/index.php/Google_Pixel_Diode_Mode_Measurements but somehow no signs of JTAG.
All of this is on a completely different level of knowledge and expertise, when I read the article's,,, it does not compute,
,, My hats off to you!!Have you tried using pixelrepair.withgoogle.com to try reinstalling original rom on locked bootloaders?
Have not tried it myself. I'm still waiting on the phone with this software. The think is we also want to dump the ROM.
How did you get ahold of an FBI Device?
9to5google.com
Pixel 4a running custom ROM used by FBI for global operation to trap criminals
A new report today details that the FBI and international authorities used a Google Pixel 4a running custom software for this operation...
Is that flux on the chip? I would not expect to see flux on a oem device with no modifications.
I do not know, whatever it is,, it was on there when I was pulling the cover guards off, maybe some kind of coating after they install the chips and welds
Is it goopy almost like thick syrup? Flux is used to clean the solder joints before soldering a new chip. Makes me wonder if they just soldered on a new emmc with the FBI os on it.
I actually put it all back together already and am using the mb in this phone testing it, I really don't recall it being goopy rather a hard transparent coating
You know what ,,,I did not put that one back in I am actually waiting for a power switch but I rechecked the board and when I pulled the cover off again all that wetness was gone , there must have been condensation from something else ,, I get these damaged then rebuild them so my thinking is water got in at some point,, good eye!!
I'm wondering how you got this device. Please watch this youtube video to learn more.
Me again, I actually don't know what that is,, its not condensation,, its some type of substance that can be wiped
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You can get them of you look on Ebay or other websites.How did you get ahold of an FBI Device?
Pixel 4a running custom ROM used by FBI for global operation to trap criminals
A new report today details that the FBI and international authorities used a Google Pixel 4a running custom software for this operation...
I received my device (purchased from Ebay Australia). Will try to unlock the bootloader en dump the rom.
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6Ok... sorry for the delay. Yes, I can confirm the speculation going around... I accidentally bought an AN0M phone. And yes, I was fortunate enough to sell it again (and got most of my money back)... to a reporter at vice.com. And, BTW, I have bought myself another Pixel 4a... this time it is working properly.
Some background points before I finally figured out exactly what I had in my possession...
- Being unable to unlock/reset this phone, I started looking at my firewall logs to see what activity this phone was generating. I noticed the following:
- regular HTTPS requests to arcane.one. I couldn't find anything useful on or about that site.
- occasional HTTPS requests to time.grapheneos.org. This leads me to believe that ArcaneOS might be forked from GrapheneOS.
- intermittent HTTPS requests to anom.one. I couldn't find anything useful on or about that site, however the word anom led me to discover the joint FBI/AFP operation that had just hit the news a few days earlier.
- Now suspecting I had an An0m phone, I checked the calculator app... and yes, it loaded straight into the AN0M logon screen.
- At this point, I panicked and thought I could get into trouble if this device was being tracked... so I rang the police and described my situation. They said to take it to my local police station. I call my local station (being in a small rural town, it is usually unmanned) and was advised to contact the AFP (Australia Federal Police), since it was their operation to begin with.
- I called the AFP, explained again what had happened. The nice lady I spoke to confirmed that their activity with Operation Ironside had just finished and that, yes, they had supplied such phones to some of their informants. I left them my contact details and the details of the Gumtree seller who I purchased this phone from. I was hoping that maybe he would be a person of interest to the AFP, and that I would get some measure of payback for him scamming me in the first place.
- I waited a week, the AFP did not call back... so I sold the phone to vice.com, who had already contacted me about this thread.
- It occurs to me now why "ArcaneOS" was practically unheard of in the googleverse (until a few weeks ago). This was a state sponsored development and, of course, it was in the best interest of law enforcement authorities to keep the normally open-source Android code hidden to prevent this phone being tinkered with and the true purpose of this OS and app being discovered.
To everyone that helped and suggested ideas to restore this phone to normal... thankyou. Although nothing we tried worked in the end, I still appreciate the community assistance here.
To everyone that has contacted me directly to ask how to fix their Pixel phone... sorry, I cannot help you.
I suspect it would still be possible to restore this phone... you'd just need to know the right commands to do it. By that I mean, I assume the developers probably changed the normal fastboot commands to some other arbitrary words; something that would allow them to test, develop and repeatedly re-flash their phones, yet prevent us from doing likewise.
EDIT: I've added a photo of the AN0M logon screen. I did not see this originally and the calculator app was not available when I took my original set of photos... at that time I had recently done a factory reset on the phone. However, after some time a message popped up saying that Calculator was "Updated by your admin"... which seemed strange to me at the time, as this was not supposed to be a managed device.4I recently purchased a used Pixel 4a, and I now understand why the seller was offering such good price for it and why he refused to respond to me now I have it. This phone has ArcanseOS 10 installed, which has only 3 apps installed... Setting, Clock and Calculator. There is no Play Store app, no Phone app, nothing.
The only useful reference to ArcaneOS I can find in the Googleverse is this one... https://translate.google.com.au/tra...rueck-flashen.973774.html&prev=search&pto=aue where the OP describes his troubles with a Pixel 3. Through the rough translation, I see similar issues... can't enable developer mode, can't unlock bootloader, can't sideload apps.
Some random observations about this phone/OS...
- The phone is in good condition. I used the supplied pin code to unlock it and did a factory reset. Have done basic config with my Google Account, etc.
- In Settings > About Phone - the build number is not shown. I cannot tap on the build number 7 times to enable Developer Mode. I have tried tapping everything in About Phone 7+ times, but I have not been able to enable Developer Mode.
- When the phone powers on, the first thing shown is a message like "Your device is loading a differennt operating system".
- The installed OS is ArcaneOS 10. The system updater says that ArcaneOS 11 is available for download (but I don't want to do that in case it makes this thing even harder to fix).
- I tried sideloading open_gapps and a random developer shortcut app I found, but I can't seem to get them to load.
I'm no expert at this, so I've tried various commands that I found and got some of these results...
(note: some details, esp path names, have been edit for brevity)
>adb devices List of devices attached 09241JEC228869 sideload >adb shell error: closed >adb sideload open_gapps-arm64-10.0-stock-20210518.zip adb: sideload connection failed: no devices/emulators found adb: trying pre-KitKat sideload method... adb: pre-KitKat sideload connection failed: no devices/emulators found >adb sideload "by4a.setedit22_2018.10.31-18_minAPI11(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,x86,x86_64)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk" serving: 'by4a.setedit22_2018.10.31-18_minAPI11(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,x86,x86_64)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk' (~47%) adb: failed to read command: No error >adb shell settings put global development_settings_enabled 1 error: closed >adb root adb: unable to connect for root: closed >adb shell error: closed
>fastboot --version fastboot version 31.0.2-7242960 >fastboot devices 09241JEC228869 fastboot >fastboot flash bootloader sunfish-rq2a.210505.002\bootloader-sunfish-s5-0.3-7062598.img Sending 'bootloader' (8357 KB) FAILED (remote: 'Download is not allowed on locked devices') fastboot: error: Command failed >fastboot flashing unlock FAILED (remote: 'Unrecognized command flashing unlock') fastboot: error: Command failed
Any suggestions on how to unlock this device? Then I can flash it and restore it back to stock.
Thanks
PS. Please do not say "tap build number 7 times to enable Developer Mode/options". If you believe this is the solution, please re-read this post, and the linked/German post, then describe a different way of doing that task that doesn't rely on the build number being visible.4Thankyou for everyone's help with the unusual phone. I am no longer in possession of it and, for the time being, am unable to provide further details. I do have an interesting update to share, however I have made a commitment to keep this quiet for the time being. Once I have approval to tell you what I have recently learnt, I will...4If anyone else gets a phone running ArcaneOS, send me a message
Also, you're famous, OP: https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7b4gg/anom-phone-arcaneos-fbi-backdoor
XDA member unknowingly bought a Pixel phone with an FBI backdoor
The FBI reportedly sold backdoored Pixel...www.xda-developers.com
