Droid MAXX - Bootloader unlocked - Root away!

[stang6790]

Okay...I'd like to jump on this bandwagon as well. LOL I'm currently rooted now and running 4.2.2....there are updates for apps coming out that are only for 4.4 that I can't get. What exactly do I need to do? I don't understand some of the steps.

Thanks!

Here is what I did, this is the xda thread where I got most of my information Verizon Moto Maker bootloader unlock now available via Chinese middle-man - xda-developers. Looking through the thread there were several different options for getting the unlock code, this is the guy I got my code from MOTOX XT1060 Verizon?? BL??????/????BLXT1080 XT1060 XT1058-?Ա???. You can get your code 1 of 3 ways, by creating an account on the taobao site and purchasing but that seemed very complicated getting the payment setup, you can also go to ebay and search for taobao and you can find someone who will make the purchase for you for a small fee, but the easiest option and the one I chose to use was to send a Paypal payment for $40 directly to his email address and in the notes I said I wanted to purchase the unlock code for my Droid Maxx xt1080 and included my email address and IMEI. I also sent a follow up email to verify he received my payment and info. I received my unlock code about 16 hours after paying. I am now unlocked, rooted and have TWRP recovery installed.

 

[phathands]

Go take a look at XDA 43 page thread:
Potential Bootloader Unlock for Non-Dev Edition - xda-developers

My reasoning for jumping on the bandwagon was:
1. I have to provide my IMEI number to someone. In China. After I've done the research I concluded for myself that there is NOTHING they can do with that number to hurt me or cheat me out of money. NOTHING. If IMEI was important, manufacturers would not stick a label with it on the OUTSIDE of every box.
2. The worst that could happen - I lose $40 bucks

That was all for the negatives. Positives:
1. This method might not survive for long
2. Unlock is permanent - so, any feature updates (if there will be any) will not un-root
3. Easy root - all there is to it installing the SuperSU app - that's it - rooted.
4. Keeping everything stock - I'm pretty happy with the Maxx version of Android, minus the bloat
5. Free native tether.
6. Moving (selected) apps to system partition
7. If anything else cool comes around - I know I can try and run it

How do you get the native tether on 4.4 ? I thought that option disappeared with the update? Referring to the entitlement hack.

please back away from the screen

 

[stang6790]

How do you get the native tether on 4.4 ? I thought that option disappeared with the update? Referring to the entitlement hack.

please back away from the screen

There is a new way to do it, it's a little different but works great. Obviously you must be rooted. Here is where
I got the instructions. [MOD][ROOT]Native Tether for Kit Kat 19.5.3 - xda-developers

 

[psychoD33x]

Questions for anyone that's unlocked the bootloader. Does it wipe your phone clean? If so, is there a way to back up and restore stuff such as messages? Some stuff I'd rather not lose. Loved moto migrate for that

Posted via Android Central App

 

[T-Rob]

Questions for anyone that's unlocked the bootloader. Does it wipe your phone clean? If so, is there a way to back up and restore stuff such as messages? Some stuff I'd rather not lose. Loved moto migrate for that

Posted via Android Central App

Yes, your phone will be wiped cleaned. All of my stuff is saved in my Google account...with the exception of texts.


Thanks,
Chief

 

[T-Rob]

Okay...got my unlock code, but still have some questions.

The process of unlocking is very simple:
1. Get the unlock code: Check
2. Restart your phone into fastboot: I loaded adb and fastboot on my laptop. When I open the command prompt and run "adb version", the box opens and close. Not sure if it installed properly.
3. Run: fastboot unlock oem XXXXXXXXX (< your code)
4. Install custom recovery: fastboot flash recovery YYYYYYY.img (<recovery image file name)Where do I get this? I just want the factory ROM or is this the recovery program like TWRP? I downloaded that...do I need to put it on my phone before I start this process?
5. adb reboot recovery
6. Reboot system and TWRP will ask you to install SuperSU
7. Update binaries
8. Done. Stock and rooted.

Questions are in red...any help would be appreciated. Are there any step-by-step instructions out there or videos?

Thanks!

 

[doogald]

Questions are in red...any help would be appreciated. Are there any step-by-step instructions out there or videos?

(Just a note that I have not done this on the Maxx, but have on other Moto phones...)

This looks about right: [RECOVERY] TWRP 2.6.3.1 for Official 4.4 OTA for unlocked bootloader - Moto X Hacks, Root and Exploits - RootzWiki

So, download that TWRP file (twrp-2.6.3.1-ghost-4.4.img) into the same folder on your computer (not the phone) as the fastboot.exe command.

Just a note that there is a thread on xda-developers.com that says that TWRP 2.7 does not work on the Droid Maxx, so the download in the link should be good.

 

[T-Rob]

Yeah, that's the one I already downloaded. So, out it in the same folder as the fastboot.exe...got it.

Thanks,
Chief

 

[stang6790]

Okay...got my unlock code, but still have some questions.

The process of unlocking is very simple:
1. Get the unlock code: Check
2. Restart your phone into fastboot: I loaded adb and fastboot on my laptop. When I open the command prompt and run "adb version", the box opens and close. Not sure if it installed properly.
3. Run: fastboot unlock oem XXXXXXXXX (< your code)
4. Install custom recovery: fastboot flash recovery YYYYYYY.img (<recovery image file name)Where do I get this? I just want the factory ROM or is this the recovery program like TWRP? I downloaded that...do I need to put it on my phone before I start this process?
5. adb reboot recovery
6. Reboot system and TWRP will ask you to install SuperSU
7. Update binaries
8. Done. Stock and rooted.

Questions are in red...any help would be appreciated. Are there any step-by-step instructions out there or videos?

Thanks!

Make sure you have the Motorola drivers installed, they can be found here https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/88481
I used the Minimal Adb and Fastboot which I downloaded from the link in this thread Bootloader Unlock Beginners Guide (x,mini,ultra,maxx) - xda-developers
The recovery that doogald linked was the one I installed. I had a little trouble getting the recovery to install, I think it was something about the Motorola fastboot binary file that it says you have to have.
This link gives some pretty good instructions on the whole process, obviously skip the part about obtaining your unlock code. [HOW TO] Unlock your Moto X Developer Edition, install TWRP, and how to flash images

 

[T-Rob]

Got it...thanks!

Thanks,
Chief

 

[phathands]

(Just a note that I have not done this on the Maxx, but have on other Moto phones...)

This looks about right: [RECOVERY] TWRP 2.6.3.1 for Official 4.4 OTA for unlocked bootloader - Moto X Hacks, Root and Exploits - RootzWiki

So, download that TWRP file (twrp-2.6.3.1-ghost-4.4.img) into the same folder on your computer (not the phone) as the fastboot.exe command.

Just a note that there is a thread on xda-developers.com that says that TWRP 2.7 does not work on the Droid Maxx, so the download in the link should be good.

Has anyone done this on a Mac?

please back away from the screen

 

[doogald]

Has anyone done this on a Mac?

If you look on the third post of the item I linked above (here), you'll see that somebody did it on a Mac.

Mac instructions are pretty close. You put that TWRP image file in the same folder as the fastboot file, start the Terminal, do a cd command to change to the directory of the fastboot (and the twrp image). (So, if fastboot is in a folder called "android-sdk" in your home folder, you'd enter the command cd ~/android-sdk. "~/" is a shortcut to your home folder). Then run this command:

./fastboot flash recovery twrp-2.6.3.1-ghost-4.4.img [edit: wrong filename; it's actually called "fastboot-mac"]

./fastboot-mac flash recovery twrp-2.6.3.1-ghost-4.4.img

Don't forget the ./ at the start of the command. Mac OS (and other *nix OSes), unlike Windows, will not run executable files in the current folder unless the folder is explicitly in the path environment for the shell. The ./ tells the shell that it can find the file in the current folder. (You also don't have to worry about installing drivers to the Mac, like you do with Windows.)

 

[phathands]

If you look on the third post of the item I linked above (here), you'll see that somebody did it on a Mac.

Mac instructions are pretty close. You put that TWRP image file in the same folder as the fastboot file, start the Terminal, do a cd command to change to the directory of the fastboot (and the twrp image). (So, if fastboot is in a folder called "android-sdk" in your home folder, you'd enter the command cd ~/android-sdk. "~/" is a shortcut to your home folder). Then run this command:

./fastboot flash recovery twrp-2.6.3.1-ghost-4.4.img

Don't forget the ./ at the start of the command. Mac OS (and other *nix OSes), unlike Windows, will not run executable files in the current folder unless the folder is explicitly in the path environment for the shell. The ./ tells the shell that it can find the file in the current folder. (You also don't have to worry about installing drivers to the Mac, like you do with Windows.)

Awesome. I'm on a deployment right now and only have my one computer (normally have a PC as well at home). Also limited time and access to dig through XDA, etc.

Thanks for breaking it down for me!

 

[doogald]

Awesome. I'm on a deployment right now and only have my one computer (normally have a PC as well at home). Also limited time and access to dig through XDA, etc.

Thanks for breaking it down for me!

Sorry, I was doing that off memory and just realized that fastboot on the Mac is actually called fastboot-mac (at least that's what it's called on my Mac.) So, the command is:

./fastboot-mac flash recovery twrp-2.6.3.1-ghost-4.4.img

 

[drvier8]

May be a bit of a newbie question, but I've not rooted a phone until it was past the point of getting manufacturer updates (original droid and then my razr). If I unlock the bootloader and root, will the phone no longer take updates? Would I have to return it to locked/unrooted state?

 

[mustang02]

May be a bit of a newbie question, but I've not rooted a phone until it was past the point of getting manufacturer updates (original droid and then my razr). If I unlock the bootloader and root, will the phone no longer take updates? Would I have to return it to locked/unrooted state?

With an unlocked boot loader, you can flash the updated fxz without issues. Normally taking an ota while rooted can cause issues or if you've changed system files it won't install.

 

[drvier8]

With an unlocked boot loader, you can flash the updated fxz without issues. Normally taking an ota while rooted can cause issues or if you've changed system files it won't install.

So flash the update just like any other ROM? I've been flashing ROMs on my Razr, so I know how to do that. Where do you get the updated fxz? Thanks

 

[mustang02]

This site will have it once it is released.


http://sbf.droid-developers.org/

 

[drvier8]

This site will have it once it is released.


Motorola Firmwares

Thank you.

 

[doogald]

This site will have it once it is released.


Motorola Firmwares

Just FYI, in the past it's usually a few weeks after an update has been released that the updates show up there.