Bought a hTC 10 that is LOCKED and S-OFF. Is this OK?

[Android Central Question]

When first started up, my hTC phone has a screen that says it is a "test device". When I put it in download mode, it reads "LOCKED" and "S-OFF". Is this what I want? I'm not a hacker, just a guy that wants a decent phone that isn't made of glass.

 

[belodion]

From whom did you buy it?

 

[Philip Cooke]

I bought it from ebay

 

[belodion]

Okay. I’m not an HTC expert and am not sure of the implications of LOCKED and S-OFF, so I’ll move the thread to the HTC 10 forum for comments from users.
I certainly don’t like the sound of TEST DEVICE, but for all I know this may be no cause for concern in HTCs.

Welcome as a new member.

 

[Philip Cooke]

OK, great. Thanks.

 

[tim_hobbs]

Locked and s off is a great position to be in if you want to mod your phone in any way. The previous owner would have paid $25 for s off from an app called sunshine, this is equal to and better than unlocking the bootloader as you can s on or off and the bootloader will still be classed as locked.
Read up on it.
If you decide to s on your phone it will remove the test device message and will be 100% stock. Do bear in mind that with s off you can still update to any ota without issue. To s on, run the sunshine app ( from Root Ninja ) and it should recognise that the phone is s off and that it was paid for ( the app is tied to the phone not the owner ) . You will be able to s off or s on at will. Keep the bootloader status as locked.
S off will permit you to flash different firmwares to your phone.
If you have no interest in root and s off, do as I suggest and read up on the sunshine app, install it, then let it set s on back for you.

 

[tim_hobbs]

A final note, if sunshine app does not reset from s-off to s-on ( I have never had to try this ) then you will need to use ADB commands.
However, before you attempt to s-on you need to make sure everything is 100% stock.
As you are S off I would leave it at that, just to be sure. The phone will be exactly the same except the test device message, you will also be fine for any updates ( that is if the phone is 100% stock ) .
If you're not sure if everything is 100% stock, you can flash an ruu which will definitely take you back to stock.