So like most motorola phones the Atrix has a locked/encrypted bootloader; motorola has stated they will be announcing a plan for the bootloaders but most likely its just a PR stunt. I previously owned a Milestone and they were able to load custom roms (minus the radio/kernel) into the phone via a recovery mod.
Is there something stopping the atrix from having this same kind of recovery method to load this custom roms on?
with the original droid/milestone they were able to mod because there was a leak of the bootloader which they reverse engineered to allow custom stuff. That's what most of the devs here are trying to do, but it's more tricky if you don't have the source for the bootloader.
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Hi guys! I have a couple of questions. I just updated my Atrix to 2.3.4 by OTA update, so i created a brickable device, haven't i? I would like to know what i have to do know, i want to root the phone and unlock the bootloader to install custom roms, but im afraid to brick my new phone. I have read a lot the past two hours, but im still not sure about what to do now in order to unlock the phone and achieve root.
Also, the device will brick if i try to flash any 2.2 rom, no matter how i flash it (via CWM for example)? Or only if i flash a 1.8.3 SBF via RSDLite? Are there any other files that i have to avoid if i don't want to brick my phone?
Thanks for helping me out guys!
djluis48 said:
Hi guys! I have a couple of questions. I just updated my Atrix to 2.3.4 by OTA update, so i created a brickable device, haven't i? I would like to know what i have to do know, i want to root the phone and unlock the bootloader to install custom roms, but im afraid to brick my new phone. I have read a lot the past two hours, but im still not sure about what to do now in order to unlock the phone and achieve root.
Also, the device will brick if i try to flash any 2.2 rom, no matter how i flash it (via CWM for example)? Or only if i flash a 1.8.3 SBF via RSDLite? Are there any other files that i have to avoid if i don't want to brick my phone?
Thanks for helping me out guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you unlock the boot loader, do not flash any sbf prior to 4.5.91. In fact after you unlock the boot loader, there's no need to flash a sbf at all, b/c you can just flash a fruitcake to return to stock.
As far as picking a ROM, it doesn't really matter... any ROM that requires a unlocked boot loader (which they all do), it is at least based off of gingerbread Android 2.3.4+
Use the pudding unlock sbf to unlock your boot loader. Most rooms include root. See my sig for further info.
Sent from my CM7 Atrix 4G
Swiftks said:
After you unlock the boot loader, do not flash any sbf prior to 4.5.91. In fact after you unlock the boot loader, there's no need to flash a sbf at all, b/c you can just flash a fruitcake to return to stock.
As far as picking a ROM, it doesn't really matter... any ROM that requires a unlocked boot loader (which they all do), it is at least based off of gingerbread Android 2.3.4+
Use the pudding unlock sbf to unlock your boot loader. Most rooms include root. See my sig for further info.
Sent from my CM7 Atrix 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your fast response! So, if i use the auto-unlocker on that thread, it wont brick my device right? Thanks for pointing me that, it seems very usefull. Now, this leads me to the next question, i also have to SIM Unlock my Atrix, because its locked to ATT and im trying to use it outside the US, so i need to SIM unlock it, i have seen several threads of users reporting problems SIM unlocking the phone, should i wait for the SIM Unlock code before proceding to unlock the bootloader? I have already ordered one, the guys should email it any time now, it will take less than 24hrs, and no less than 2hrs (which have already passed).
Thanks for your answers guys!
EDIT: Couldn't resist, unlocked the bootloader and achieved root. It was super easy with the automated batch. I hope i don't run into problems when i try to SIM unlock the phone lol
Okay, so I ordered a USED Thunderbolt on ebay last week and it should be here tomorrow. I'm not entirely new to rooting and such as I have a droid 2 global now, but that's motorola which seems to be fairly different from HTC. Anyway I've been reading threads and have come up with a few questions.
For instance if my phone is rooted when I get it, how can I get back to stock. I won't know how it was rooted, and some guides say it matters, while others don't. Plus many guides say not to just flash an RUU over a rooted phone, but if it replaces the bootloader, radio, and system, why not. Isn't that basically like an SBF on a motorola phone? Can I then also do a data wipe from the hboot bootloader thing on my phone and end up with a perfect stock device without any risk? From what I understand some roots block this entirely on the phone though so maybe I can't. I'm not really sure how to know what is safe to do on a phone that I didn't previously own and would love a guide to how to check these things and what to do so I don't brick the phone.
Also I can't seem to find a functional link to any of the latest radios, does anyone have a working link, and do people recommend the leaked radio from the most recent leaked build, or an official radio? and if so what radio is official? the one ending in 906 seems to be the most recent that I think is official but I'm not sure, though I am almost certain the 916 one isn't official, it appears to have been released in january on rootzwiki, while the most recent leaked build was less than a week ago from what I understand, but I don't know if it has a new radio or not.
Aside from that I think I've got it all down. figure out how to get phone to most recent stock OTA update. get 4g lte sim card, activate, root using this method.
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/20864-tool-root-2116059-and-19-no-downgrade-or-data-wipe/
then if I don't have the most recent radio I can flash it in the hboot thing, and can use cwm to flash any rom I want and a recommended kernel (I'm thinking thundershed 1.5 for starters though wouldn't mind some recommendations. I love Cyanogenmod)
Does this sound about right?
Also I'm not sure how hboot on htc phones works aside from booting on power+vol down button, but does the hboot allow for clearing data and cache as well as flashing things? On my droid 2 global there is a bootloader than can only be used to flash sbf files to get back to stock ota, and then there is a motorola stock recovery on the phone that is used for flashing updated ota updates that are signed or wiping data/cache. Are these the same on htc or are there a 2 different ones on that phone as well? I do understand that no PC is required for the htc as the tool to flash an ruu is built into the phone even if it is an older one than what the phone is currently on right?
I buy the Motorola Atrix 4g with the Android 2.3.
So i read everything, and i sense if i try to unlock the bootloader i get a hardbrick, right?
So how can i unlock my bootloader to install Custom Kernels and Custom Roms?
Unlocking from 2.3 won't give you a hard brick. It either gives you an error when trying to flash pudding, or nothing happens at all. Though, you can try because no one knows which batch of Atrixes can't be unlocked.
You can only be hard bricked if you try to flash a Froyo SBF. NEVER ATTEMPT TO DO SO.
Sent from that Atrix.
I haven't exactly rooted 100 devices before. Most of the root utilities I've used were things like Z4Root where it's one click and done. I've recently become interested in flashing my Incredible 4G LTE. On top of that, I've already rooted my Nexus 7 using instructions like this here.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ne...ide-factory-image-restore-your-nexus-7-a.html
I'm curious if this guide, being that it's more of a manual way to do it since it involves running several commands (I ran this from my Linux desktop to root my N7) is anything like what it would be to root the Incredible manually, or any device. I guess the only device that would be different would likely be the bootloader step (grouper?) since HTC likely did their's differently than Google with the Nexus 7, no?
Just trying to get more insight on it, as I certainly don't want to brick anything but I'd like to get them done. :good:
It seems to me that we would first need a modified bootloader or /system to attempt to flash, but I doubt "fastboot erase ..." is allowed without dev unlock on the bootloader, and "fastboot flash ..." most likely needs a signed image.
Does anyone with more expertise on this topic have any input?
JaSauders said:
I haven't exactly rooted 100 devices before. Most of the root utilities I've used were things like Z4Root where it's one click and done. I've recently become interested in flashing my Incredible 4G LTE. On top of that, I've already rooted my Nexus 7 using instructions like this here.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ne...ide-factory-image-restore-your-nexus-7-a.html
I'm curious if this guide, being that it's more of a manual way to do it since it involves running several commands (I ran this from my Linux desktop to root my N7) is anything like what it would be to root the Incredible manually, or any device. I guess the only device that would be different would likely be the bootloader step (grouper?) since HTC likely did their's differently than Google with the Nexus 7, no?
Just trying to get more insight on it, as I certainly don't want to brick anything but I'd like to get them done. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What those tools do is use an exploit to write the su and superuser.apk to /system and/or a modified recovery for flashing ROMS and kernels on unlocked bootloader devices.
google has properly patched those exploits as they should as we don't want a malicious app installing Root and hacking data on just anyone's phone.
Some phones with locked bootloaders have had exploits to install custom recovery and/or hacked/leaked bootloaders in order to allow us to use the phone like it was unlocked. HTC fixed this issue with their latest phones.
Their bootloaders now do not run all of the adb commands until unlocked by HTC dev, which limits us a lot. They also made it so that even if we DID manage to find a software exploit and start flashing stuff, the locked bootloader would know, via a signature check, that something was modified... and refuse to boot (Bricked Phone).
HTC Dev unlock is not true unlock either. We still can't modify the HBOOT w/o triggering it to brick the phone. An unlocked HTC bootloader limits changing the kernel to HBOOT mode only, which means u need a PC and extra steps to finish flashing any ROM.
Some brilliant Dev's managed to use RUU files to update the kernel only, but that also causes issues. If one Dev uses a newer RUU, you can't use the another Dev's older RUU to flash a kernel because the unlocked HTC Bootloader doesn't allow you to "Downgrade" firmware. This leads to headaches with people ignoring the kernel step and screaming because their phone won't boot.
The ultimate Holy grail for is is what is known as "S-OFF"
This allows full access to the HBOOT Recovery and system for all of our awesome devs to work their magic. This was obtained (long after HTCDev unlock) with the Rezound only through a HARDWARE exploit. We needed root exploit (which we had on the GB stock ROM), and to physically short out a pin on the mainboard to ground at precise times while the SOFF program ran on your PC.
We have to wait for the less popular HTCDev unlock (which HTC Did give us on the rezound with a middle finger to verizon), or for some1 to find another Exploit that would bypass the signature check of the HBOOT and give us "S-OFF".
Either will give us Root, custom recoveries, and ROMs.
I am no dev, but this is my understanding of what's happening with these devices. This is my 9th android device, 5th HTC, but I am always learning more. Dev's feel free to correct me, or expand on anything I have written here ^^
Hey, I need to make up my mind this weekend on which phone I will be getting from Verizon. Can you name any phones that you know of that have a up-to-date root method and maybe even unlocked bootloaders (as of now)? Thanks!!!
I was wondering the same thing. It doesn't seem there are any new phones that have official methods of unlocking the bootloader. They are all exploits. My last phone that had an exploit was my S3, but since I have the protection plan it kept getting replaced with refubs. Last one had 4.4.2 installed and there is currently no exploit. I want to get a new phone to replace it so I can use custom roms, but don't want to go through the problem again.
Anyways, good luck.
Only way that is happening is if you order a Developer Edition model. They haven't been cool with unlocking their bootloaders for ages now.