How to S-Off/Unlock/TWRP/Permanent Root Verizon HTC One M8 using MacBook

[buckifvr]

This post is a Step-by-Step Guide for attaining S-Off, Unlocking Bootloader, and Installing TWRP Custom Recovery on a Verizon HTC One M8. Doing this constitutes permanently Rooting your Verizon HTC M8. I in no way take any credit for process. All the credit and thanks go to jcase, beanups, firewater, and Team Win Recovery Project. I wrote this Guide to consolidate the information, and to make it easier for a Novice user, using a MacBook.

On the Verizon HTC M8

1. Make sure any pattern lock, password lock or facial lock are turned off. (slide up to unlock is okay)

2. Disable “Fast Boot”

a. Setting>Power>Uncheck Fast Boot

3. Enable “USB Debugging”

a. Settings>About>Software Information>More>Tap 6-8 times on Build Number to enable Developer Options
b. Settings>Developer Options>Check USB Debugging

4. Download jcase’s “Weaksauce” Temporary Root Exploit at [Root] WeakSauce APK - 1.0.1 - xda-developers. The downloadable file is located at the bottom of https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html?hl=skInstall “Weaksauce” app which can be found in the Downloads Folder

5. Download and install “SuperSU” or “SuperUser”

6. Reboot Device and wait until it says that “Root is activated”

On the Mac

1. Download and install HTC Sync Manager

a. HTC Sync Manager
b. Close the HTC Sync Manager after the program is installed

2. Download and install the Android SDK

a. https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html?hl=sk
b. Select “Downloads for Other Platforms” at the bottom of the page
c. Under ADT Bundle, Select “Mac OS X 64 bit” to download
d. In the downloads folder, select the “adt-bundle-mac-x86_64-20140321” folder
e. Go to SDK>Platform Tools>adb
f. Right click adb and select Get Info>Where and copy where the adb file is located
g. Open a Terminal Window and type “cd [paste where the file is located]”, Enter
h. Connect the phone to the Mac using a USB cable
i. Then type “./adb devices” and the Mac should detect the phone

3. Download Firewater

a. firewater s-off

4. Copy “Firewater” from the Downloads folder to the adt-bundle-mac-x86_64-20140321>SDK>Platform Tools folder

5. Open Terminal Window

6. Copy and enter the following commands to the terminal window

a. ./adb reboot (this command is very important)
b. ./adb wait-for-device push firewater /data/local/tmp
c. ./adb shell
d. su
e. chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/firewater
f. /data/local/tmp/firewater (6 beers will be chugged)

7. Type “Yes” to agree to the Terms and Conditions

8. Confirm S-Off and Unlock Bootloader was achieved

a. Go to adt-bundle-mac-x86_64-20140321>SDK>Platform Tools>adb>right click Get Info>copy Where file is located
b. Open Terminal
c. Type “cd [paste Where file is located], enter
d. Type “./adb reboot-bootloader”, enter – the screen on the phone should show that the bootloader is unlocked and that we have S-Off.

TO FLASH TEAM WIN RECOVERY PROJECT (TWRP v2.7.0.2) – Fast Boot Method

1. Download TWRP Recovery .img file

a. TeamWin Projects - TWRP 2.7 - HTC One m8 2014 Verizon | TeamWin

2. Copy the .img file from Downloads to “adt-bundle-mac-x86_64-20140321>SDK>Platform Tools”

3. Turn off phone

4. Reboot phone while holding the [Power] and [Volumn Down] simultaneously

5. Select “fast boot”

6. Connect phone to Mac using a USB cable (Screen should say FASTBOOT USB)

7. Go to “adt-bundle-mac-x86_64-20140321>SDK>Platform Tools>fastboot>right click Get Info>copy Where file is located”

8. Open Terminal

9. Type “cd [paste Where file is located], enter

10. Type “./fastboot devices”, enter (the phone should be detected and identified)

11. Type “./fastboot flash recovery recoveryfilename.img”, enter (the recovery should install on the phone.

12. Select hoot

13. Select Boot into Recovery – Should see TWRP Recovery on screen.

Now you are ready to flash ROMs. Please post any comments. Good Luck!

 

[Mooncatt]

I'm new to HTC phones and only rooted my Droid Bionic before (only to install a few extra apps, no real system changes), so a lot of this is still new to me. Can you explain, and/or point me to where I can learn about what each of those items are? Like s-off, custom recovery, etc. Bonus points if you have instructions for a Windows computer.

I tried to look on here and getting some vague ideas on what's what with rooting on this phone, but there doesn't seem to be any "beginner" info. It seems like it's assumed we already know a fair bit when it comes to this section. It's not really a criticism, it's just everyone has to start somewhere and I chose here. Thanks in advance.

Btw, I'd be using the Verizon version M8.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I'm new to HTC phones and only rooted my Droid Bionic before (only to install a few extra apps, no real system changes), so a lot of this is still new to me. Can you explain, and/or point me to where I can learn about what each of those items are? Like s-off, custom recovery, etc. Bonus points if you have instructions for a Windows computer.

I tried to look on here and getting some vague ideas on what's what with rooting on this phone, but there doesn't seem to be any "beginner" info. It seems like it's assumed we already know a fair bit when it comes to this section. It's not really a criticism, it's just everyone has to start somewhere and I chose here. Thanks in advance.

Btw, I'd be using the Verizon version M8.

Not sure what S Off is myself, but here is some info on Custom Recoveries:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...recoveries-versus-stock-there-difference.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...00292-guide-how-use-your-custom-recovery.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...-how-flash-custom-recovery-clockwork-mod.html

 

[torifile]

There are several good YouTube videos that you can watch to see how to do this. I would recommend watching them as you walk through the process. I did it myself last night and I got through without any major problems. I'm rocking cyanogenmod 11 right now.

 

[Mooncatt]

Not sure what S Off is myself, but here is some info on Custom Recoveries...

I finally had some time to look into this a bit more, and I was mistaken. I thought S-off was a way of preventing tripping the flag that you've been rooted so you can revert back stock in case of a warranty claim and no one would be the wiser. Here's what I found from an AC article. S-OFF for HTC One M8 paves way for further hackery | Android Central

If you're unfamiliar with the intricacies of S-OFF, it's a property which disables hardware write protection on HTC devices, letting you tinker around with stuff on the internal flash that you wouldn't normally be able to modify. Many preproduction devices come with S-OFF, but most retail models are S-ON, meaning "security on." S-OFF is not to be confused with bootloader unlocking, which opens up the device in a more limited manner, allowing custom recovery images and ROMs to be loaded.

 

[GarnerMjolnir]

Huge thanks to you Buckifvr. I have been trying to find instructions on how to s-off my Htc one m8 using a mac. I just completed the process, didn't work the first time through but I figured out my mistake. I am backing up my Htc with twrp as we speak! You rock man!

 

[buckifvr]

Huge thanks to you Buckifvr. I have been trying to find instructions on how to s-off my Htc one m8 using a mac. I just completed the process, didn't work the first time through but I figured out my mistake. I am backing up my Htc with twrp as we speak! You rock man!

You're welcome, I am glad it was helpful. Enjoy your M8. If you are looking for a stable fast custom Rom, I recommend CleanROM 1.4

 

[edularios]

Do you have this tutorial for Windows users?? I've been looking for an easy tutorial and this is explained easily!

 

[benny3]

Do you have this tutorial for Windows users?? I've been looking for an easy tutorial and this is explained easily!

This is for windows but its a bit outdated

 

[Jatin Agrawal]

try searching for a techie with JAVA card, its a kind of programmable gold card, i got my s-off on verizon m8 5.0.1 today

nd happily loading my viper rom