This was my mother's phone originally. I worked on it like 8 months ago, so I couldn't even begin to recount the actual steps I took to get it unlocked/custom rom'd.
But I do know, it's currently showing S-OFF, hboot 1.40.1100, I've got TWRP on it, and CM 11(did that a few weeks ago to check out the latest features).
Phone has no active service through Sprint. I'm going to activate it on Ting(already checked the ESN, they say it will activate) Problem is, when I put my Galaxy s2 on Ting, I had to temp-boot the stock rom in order for the phone to do whatever it needs to do to activate service, and also if I wanted to update the PRL and whatnot. So my question is, does anyone know if that is necessary with this phone? And if so, is there an easy way to temp-boot into a stock rom to get the job done?
I came across the Boot Manager Lite app(which wouldn't load and I had to uninstall), but I assume that works with any rom zip that is flashable through cwm/twrp, which I can't seem to find one for stock.
Anyone have any ideas on the easiest way to do this? Or is it even necessary to be in stock to activate? Or if I have to go fully back to stock to activate and then back to custom, is it going to be a nightmare like I remember it being to unlock the thing originally? Any help on this is appreciated. Thanks guys.
*EDIT* Also, if anyone can give me a good answer/quick instruction, and has a Ting referral code, I'll be glad to use it when I activate. $20 for me, $20 for you. Win/Win Otherwise I'm using the code from a popular Youtuber, lol
**EDIT2** Think I may have just solved my own problem, If so, I'll post the solution, so that this thread is not a total waste.
Related
I guess I'll say what I did to end up here, first:
A few months back, I bought an unlocked HTC Hero (A626) from eBay. This evening, I decided it'd be a good idea to root the thing and install a nice 2.1 ROM.
2 hours later, I find myself with a locked phone. Or, at least, that's what it seems to be. My SIM is definitely *in* the phone, and it's quite adamant that it doesn't have one.
I *was* following the instructions at theunlockr.com about "rooting the hero in one click" - I downloaded the RUU downgrade for "unbranded European users" (though my phone is now in Canada... it *is* an unbranded European phone).
After some mess with drivers and HTC Sync, I finally got the 1.76 RUU to work (I was on 2.73 before)... until I ended up with error code 140; something about a device error.
Now, from my browsing, I'm fairly certain that I could get around this by making a Goldcard and retrying the downgrade and continuing with the root/upgrade.
What I want to know is: will this fix my phone? (making a goldcard, rooting and continuing with a custom rom, that is) Right now it's on radio 6.35.06.18, but I don't believe that changed since the RUU failed. The RUU seems to have locked the phone, and nothing else; every other piece of my data is still intact. If not, is there any way that I can make it work again?
Thanks very much; any help is appreciated
i seem to remember the 140 error when trying to apply the RUU. making a goldcard got me past it.
strange..from other ppl post on phone sim unlocking, rooting shouldnt affect the sim lock at all
krisrm said:
I guess I'll say what I did to end up here, first:
A few months back, I bought an unlocked HTC Hero (A626) from eBay. This evening, I decided it'd be a good idea to root the thing and install a nice 2.1 ROM.
2 hours later, I find myself with a locked phone. Or, at least, that's what it seems to be. My SIM is definitely *in* the phone, and it's quite adamant that it doesn't have one.
I *was* following the instructions at theunlockr.com about "rooting the hero in one click" - I downloaded the RUU downgrade for "unbranded European users" (though my phone is now in Canada... it *is* an unbranded European phone).
After some mess with drivers and HTC Sync, I finally got the 1.76 RUU to work (I was on 2.73 before)... until I ended up with error code 140; something about a device error.
Now, from my browsing, I'm fairly certain that I could get around this by making a Goldcard and retrying the downgrade and continuing with the root/upgrade.
What I want to know is: will this fix my phone? (making a goldcard, rooting and continuing with a custom rom, that is) Right now it's on radio 6.35.06.18, but I don't believe that changed since the RUU failed. The RUU seems to have locked the phone, and nothing else; every other piece of my data is still intact. If not, is there any way that I can make it work again?
Thanks very much; any help is appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont see the sim lock being the cause of no network since you started messeing about with it as the sim lock is held on a totally different part of the phone so any ru update wouldnt effect that or the networks would be nackered, have you tried putting thte recovery image on http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-hero-hero-modaco-com/291486/06-jan-installing-the-patched-recovery-image-on-your-device/ and flashing one using that?
This is not a sim-lock issue. sounds like a goldcard is needed, as this is the bootloader lock you are experiencing...
Ok, well, I suppose I'll try the goldcard, then - one more question; once I make the goldcard, can I ever use the SD card normally afterwards? I don't know if I want to use my 8GB Class 6 if it's unusable as storage, after this :/ .
(Also, apologies to the mods for posting in the Development forums - 'tis what happens when one is low on sleep and stressed by phone problems )
EDIT: Ok - from some reading, it sounds like it's best for me to go looking for the 2GB card that came with the phone, as it will "just be a goldcard after this". If anyone wants to confirm this, that would be excellent. Thanks for all the help, by the way
Ok - I decided I'd try out Flashrec instead (I guess I wasn't on 2.73....7, rather 5, which apparently has the exploit needed to make flashrec work), and I flashed Cyanogen's recovery image successfully - I can boot into recovery mode and I get the familiar screen .
I just want to be very clear about this: can I now flash a custom ROM (preferably without bricking my phone )? (I was thinking Villain 4 Beta2, but if anyone else has a better suggestion... I'm looking for a 2.1 ROM with Sense). I'm not really sure I want to flash the "improved" recovery-RA-HERO right now, as I cannot su (I think this is an issue with me not having it on the phone, as I get "permission denied" errors when I try to run it). Would it be a wise idea to flash a custom ROM with su *first*, and then maybe update my recovery image?
Thanks
All right, sorry about that - disregard my above post; I went ahead with the update. I'm now running Villain4beta2 (2.1 is so nice ). However, I still have the "No Sim card in phone" issue, even though I most certainly *do* have a SIM card in the phone. Does anyone have any idea what's happened? Even better, does anyone know how I can fix this? I'd get it unlocked again, but as some of you mentioned, it doesn't really make sense that a ROM update would sim-lock the phone... Also, I have no idea which carrier it would have been locked to (it shouldn't have been locked to a carrier, really... it's a stock white international phone), so wouldn't that make unlocking rather difficult/impossible?
...and disregard *that* post as well. Turns out the Hero is *really* picky with the SIM tray. It has to be locked entirely; you can use your fingernails and swipe to the left if it doesn't work. Anyway, it had nothing to do with SIM locks and everything to do with me being incompetent at putting in the SIM . So, consider this problem SOLVED.
If it is incapable of detecting any inserted sim I imagine that will make unlocking impossible, since aiui to unlock you need to have a sim inserted belonging to a carrier other than the one it is locked to, in order for the phone to prompt you for an unlock code.
Was the sim recognised & working previously? I know you've just rooted it, but I'd be inclined to try flashing with a stock RUU, if you haven't already. Just pick an old one so you can root it afterwards without the hassle of a gold card.
If it doesn't work with a stock ROM I'd suspect a hardware problem, but it is strange if it was working prior to you starting to update flash. There's no way at any stage you attempted to flash a CDMA Hero rom to your GSM Hero (which I assume it is as you said it was European)? It doesn't seem likely, but worth double checking I guess.
Lol. I've done that before. Didn't think to suggest it as I never imagined anyone else could be as incompetent as me Glad you got it sorted.
Heheh, I do believe you've met your match . Thanks, everything is working beautifully now
krisrm said:
...and disregard *that* post as well. Turns out the Hero is *really* picky with the SIM tray. It has to be locked entirely; you can use your fingernails and swipe to the left if it doesn't work. Anyway, it had nothing to do with SIM locks and everything to do with me being incompetent at putting in the SIM . So, consider this problem SOLVED.
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Click to collapse
haha you clown, well at least now you have the rec image and you can flash away till your hearts content!!
i want to unroot my phone. im gonna sell it to get the iphone on verizon i used the easyroot app that isnt on the market anymore.
Flash the Flashback21 ROM in this thread. I'd do the one without the radio if it were me.
doogald said:
Flash the Flashback21 ROM in this thread. I'd do the one without the radio if it were me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just got that..do you know of any i can leave it rooted if someone wants it rooted but make it seem like a fresh root?
danielahl137 said:
i just got that..do you know of any i can leave it rooted if someone wants it rooted but make it seem like a fresh root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the process that FlashBack21 goes through before it unroots insures that it can be re-rooted extremely easily - with any of the existing methods.
If you knew that a buyer was going to prefer a certain Rooted ROM - let's say for instance the ROM that you are already using - you could just perform a "Wipe data/factory reset" in Amon_RA, followed by a SD card wipe. That would "reset your rooted ROM". Or you could follow up FlashBack21 with a re-rooting by OneClick or Dummies - that leaves the main OS software on the phone untouched, but re-installs the Amon_RA custom recovery. Then the buyer can put whatever they want on the phone.
The only thing that will not do is de-activate your phone. But that is sort of irrelevant anyway, because if the buyer turned it on and dialed *228, it would just reactivate to your account anyway - you need to call Verizon when you hand over the phone and let them know you you don't want the phone associated with your account any longer.
If you are meeting the buyer, the logical place to make the transaction is right in the Verizon store - you can get the phone disassociated from your account, and the buyer can get it set up on his/her account right there. (If the buyer is smart, they will also first ask the VZW rep to check your ESN to make sure it is clean). That, and it's a safe place to conduct the transaction.
HTH
well cool...i didnt know that id have to tell verizon i dont have so thats good to know ...thanks that was a big help
danielahl137 said:
well cool...i didnt know that id have to tell verizon i dont have so thats good to know ...thanks that was a big help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
daniel,
It occurs to me that if a VZW rep is going to transfer the phone to a different account right there in the store, they will probably perform a factory reset on the handset right there on the spot to "unprogram" (deactivate) the phone, because that's the easiest way for them to get it ready for the next account. That won't work correctly with anything but the stock recovery on the phone.
Just use Flashback21 - rooting the phone is easy these days; let the new buyer do it.
bftb0
im just selling it to anyone on craigslist or anyone that wants to buy it even ppl on here that want a phone to test stuff. im gonna switch to blackberry i have so the phone wont be activated when i sell it.
This is my first android phone, so this is probably a really dumb question...
But from my over 6 years of experience with customizing smartphones (they where still called PDAs or Pocket-PCs back than hehe) I learned one important rule: Always back up everything you need to get it back to stock settings, in case you ever need to RMA it.
I just spend a full evening on research, but it seems like its really not possible to backup the system without voiding the warranty aka rooting the phone. Is that right? Since I have a very peculiar item to start with, a Huawei u8160 aka Vodafone 858 smart with a Swisscom branded Rom, its impossible to find that particular rom on the net. I guess I can always go with a Vodafone stock rom and return it directly to Huawei instead of Swisscom, but than again: will those roms be unrooted? If so, how did anyone acquire them?
Once I am sure I have no chance anyway, I can go on rooting the phone with a clear conscience. But if there is a chance to get that stock rom saved first, I would be a little more relaxed with future customization.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
The only way to backup your System is a custom-recovery. I'm sure, you will find it here on XDA.
This might help you get in the right direction
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17496969
OK, I will try to place the CWM recovery.img on the phone via fastboot.exe as described here.
Hope this works out In either case: Thank you for the hints!
Worked. I guess this didn't fullfill the whole idea of backing up everything before editing anything, since I have overwritten the stock-recovery. But whatever. Phone is rooted now and I am ready to dive in.
Cheers
Hey guys
Well the familar volume up/down button broken happened to me, phones not that old either
Had it repaired in the UK straight from Samsung, who's service is to be honest damm bloody good! Special Delivery pre paid envelope sent, and the return time was less than a week inc a Bank Holiday day, so that part of the service was great!
Now the not so good part lol
The phone was rooted by a mate I think who said he could "UNLOCK" the carrier for me, so I could use my simcard.... a nice little note from Samsung was packed in with my phone, telling me the fault had been repaired, and the very latest firmware had been installed to keep the device UP TO DATE :laugh::laugh::laugh:
Now of course, not only is the phone back to stock, its not accepting my simcard either!!
I have a few questions which im hoping someone might be able to help with
I looked at the Cyangenmod10 which I found by accident, it looks good and to be honest I hated my radio cutting out because I had turned over and the phone had too, so I wouldn't miss that specific feature, but would installing it "ROOT" the phone?
I need to be able to use my carrier. I may have come across some APK files which might need to be installed, and some of these need the phone rooted, Titanium Backup is another app I use which needs rooting and Superuser access I believe
Will all this be done if Cyangenmod10 is put on the phone?
Any help or info appreciated please
Flashing a custom rom will not unlock your phone!
And AFAIK, your phone needs to be rooted before trying to flash CM
So:
-first root your phone with CF-root by Chainfire
-then unlock your phone with GalaxSim Unlock by Spocky12
Pepperami1964 said:
Hey guys
I looked at the Cyangenmod10 which I found by accident, it looks good and to be honest I hated my radio cutting out because I had turned over and the phone had too, so I wouldn't miss that specific feature, but would installing it "ROOT" the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know that feature can be turned off in the Settings, right??
Cheers for the replies
Yes, I know it can be turned off, but to be honest coming from an iPhone 4s to this, The S3 is FAR superior, there are just a few things I am either not used to, or dont like, touchwiz being one lol
Ok well I will root, and unlock then have a think.... any views on CyanogenMod10 and is it easy to remove if its not liked?
I like the look of it from what I have seen, looks nice and clean, easy to use, just wanted to ask your opinions
Root
Backup apps with Titanium Backup Pro .
Backup EFS folder .
Backup current firmware with CWM recovery .
Try what you want and restore back .
jje
Well, I rooted it successfully after following the instructions, I then installed the Sim Unlock and it said it couldnt find busybox, so I installed that, then went back to sim unlock and it failed, all the things are in RED
I tried rebooting the phone, it turns on and asks for an unlock code, tried Sim unlock again, not working, any ideas?
Sorry for the noob talk, but here goes....
I have a SM-G900T, rooted it and installed SM-G900T1 5.1.x stock MetroPCS rom mistakenly thinking all MetroPCS phones were sim/carrier unlocked since you basically buy them outright. I thought this because after I rooted and flashed the MetroPCS stock rom and dropped in the original T-Mo sim, it did not prompt for an unlock code (I understand why now from reading other forum posts that this is because of the MVNO relationship between the two, etc.). So anyway...
I OTA'd to MetroPCS's 6.0.1 and lost root. No problem. Easily rooted again using the procedure @thisisapoorusernamechoice kindly posted (big thanks to them!). Now, all is good [except that nasty little "Set Warranty Bit : kernel" b.s. on the Sammy splash screen, and in download mode "Knox Warranty Void: 0x1 (2)"].
I'd like to give this phone to my friend living overseas. So whats my easiest and cheapest path to sim unlocking this phone? Clearly T-Mo and MetroPCS aren't going to give me the time of day. I tried the suggestions of @stkt2ya but had no success. Rooted, busybox, Region Lockaway, Galaxy_S_Unlock, all granted SU permission, etc. but no luck. Is there a nearly stock ROM I can flash that has the sim lock removed, or can someone point me in the direction of disabling it myself since I have root? I have some developer experience and could probably do it with relative ease if I knew where to look. I understand the sim unlock is probably in the radio, but I am not entirely clear on this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also, can I get rid of the "Set Warranty Bit : kernel" crap on the boot splash?
Thanks in advance for your help!
I'm assuming you turned the OEM unlock on in Dev options right? I've essentially put all the different carrier Sim cards in and have even done a factory reset with no issues so I'm not sure what's going on for you.
I'm still kind of a noob myself but just managed to do it on my own with the above mentioned software. Region Lock Away: unlock, reboot then with new SIM inserted relock. Then use that Galaxy unlock. I'm not sure but I'm thinking Busybox was important in there somehow and i was rooted, had all Knox and related stuff disabled etc. I'm not even rooted right now and don't care really as my life is pretty hectic at the moment. I'm responding here only because of the 'mention' email and the fact it seems you still need help. If this doesn't work for you i don't know what to say. Check all that stuff on the phone is as factory as can be, forget root for now and try the factory reset options, clear the del cache etc. maybe until you see 'hope' then proceed with the rest, maybe that will solve it for you. Sorry i can't be of more assistance.
Not sure about the OEM unlock in DEV options, I looked for it and didn't see an option. DEV mode is on though, I had to enable it to check off USB Debugging. The issue with the apps is that it says it fails writing to the SD. The SD is good though, confirmed. Kinda at a loss.
RegionLock Away: "An unexpected error occurred! #3"
Galaxy_S_Unlock: efs file saving (Step 1) "Error, Not Saved." (and thus can't continue to step #2)
I am doing this all with no sim in the phone. Could that be the issue?
Thanks again for the help.
Luke4903 said:
Sorry for the noob talk, but here goes....
I have a SM-G900T, rooted it and installed SM-G900T1 5.1.x stock MetroPCS rom mistakenly thinking all MetroPCS phones were sim/carrier unlocked since you basically buy them outright. I thought this because after I rooted and flashed the MetroPCS stock rom and dropped in the original T-Mo sim, it did not prompt for an unlock code (I understand why now from reading other forum posts that this is because of the MVNO relationship between the two, etc.). So anyway...
I OTA'd to MetroPCS's 6.0.1 and lost root. No problem. Easily rooted again using the procedure @thisisapoorusernamechoice kindly posted (big thanks to them!). Now, all is good [except that nasty little "Set Warranty Bit : kernel" b.s. on the Sammy splash screen, and in download mode "Knox Warranty Void: 0x1 (2)"].
I'd like to give this phone to my friend living overseas. So whats my easiest and cheapest path to sim unlocking this phone? Clearly T-Mo and MetroPCS aren't going to give me the time of day. I tried the suggestions of @stkt2ya but had no success. Rooted, busybox, Region Lockaway, Galaxy_S_Unlock, all granted SU permission, etc. but no luck. Is there a nearly stock ROM I can flash that has the sim lock removed, or can someone point me in the direction of disabling it myself since I have root? I have some developer experience and could probably do it with relative ease if I knew where to look. I understand the sim unlock is probably in the radio, but I am not entirely clear on this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also, can I get rid of the "Set Warranty Bit : kernel" crap on the boot splash?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so having root won't get you sim unlocked no matter what you do. Also no rom you flash could possibly sim unlock your phone. Also the OEM unlock the other user mentioned has absolutely nothing to do with sim unlock.
You have 2 options to sim unlock.
1. Call metro or tmo (I'm confused on which device you actually have. Since you say you have the g900t but flashed g900t1) and if you are the original owner, and had/have service on it for 90 days they will give you the unlock code and walk you thru it.
2. If the above doesn't work for your situation, Google g900t unlock code. You'll have to pay could be 99 cents like some metro phones or could be 40 bucks like some higher end metro phones. EBay is a good place to look for cheap unlock codes
Cool, I kinda just needed to know what direction was the path of least resistance. The IMEI is not good and the phone never belonged to me, so I'll look for the sim code. Thanks for spelling it out for me, I appreciate you help!
Ya eh. It's been so long since I've done that but will be attempting it again soon with a friends phone. All i do remember from this was what i had mentioned prior and because that took me a week or 2 of part time screwing around with it, trying this, trying that etc, i wouldn't for the life of me truly know at which point i finally succeeded... I have been messing around with an LG unit that proved to be much more of a challenge, especially considering i must have bricked it 3 or so times over. I can't wait to get going on these i•••things•••
Do you need to be on a stock ROM to sim unlock?