yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[HTC Rezound] scotty1223:
ok,weve had s-off for a couple days now,and ive see quite a few questions on various threads that make me wonder why the posters even wanted s- off int he first place,other than following the crowd like lemmings. lots of "what do i do now,why is my hboot this or that..."

i feel all the new rooters need to see this:

please be careful!

you can now have complete control of your phone. you can chage whatever you want since its not doing ANY security checks at all. as such you have a much greater responsibility to know what your flashing and why,and that your files are 100% unmolested and uncorrupt.

please be aware that a bad bootloader or radio flash can and will brick your phone,possibly beyond recovery.

you do not any longer have the s-on safety net of htcdev.

im seeing alot of flip-flopping bootloaders around,and most folks dont even know why they want the eng hboot.please think about this.its risky-flashing a a new bootloader is prolly THE biggest risk you can take on your devices,as without a bootloader NOTHING will load. i.e.,you have a brick. if your current bootloader suits your needs(ie boots youre phone and supports the fastboot commands you regularly use) then why are you changing it? :confused:

s-off is awsome,i know :D but again,i just want all the noobs that have been asking various question to realize the the seriousness of having this privelege is. have fun flashing roms and slpash screens,but be extremely cautious/careful with the important parts of your device.

-make sure you know what your flashing,and why

-make sure you have an md5 summer and use it.

-if you just asked "whats an md5??" then learn it ;)

-make sure you are comepletely comfortable with all procedures for things you do.

last and not least,please ask any questions BEFORE your phone makes a short lil buzz,shuts off,and wont come back on :eek:
[HTC Rezound] Marcismo55:
A nice friendly reminder. I appreciate it Scotty and I think this should be stickied to avoid people bricking phones.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW
[HTC Rezound] punman:
Someone had to say it.

I am of the opinion that if you cannot fully support your device on your own and do more than basic troubleshooting, you should not take the risks associated with modifying your firmware. I see posts from people who obviously can't handle basic troubleshooting and I am sure after the S-OFF announcement and instructions there are definitely some bricked phones out there, which Verizon is going to replace on their dime.

So I echo the OP ... Please be careful, and accept the consequences of your actions.
[HTC Rezound] MrSmith317:
Great post Scotty. I'm glad you took the time to write that. Hopefully people will read it.
[HTC Rezound] k_flan:
Checking md5 is super important.
[HTC Rezound] trickster2369:
Scotty, excellent info for everyone, not just the noobs, as some people don't realize they are still noobs.

Mods, this should be stickied when you get a chance.
[HTC Rezound] CharliesTheMan:
Thank you for writing up this excellent post.

Something else that I think should be mentioned is that Verizon/HTC should not be eating the costs of these phones. If you decide to jump voltage on your phone and get stuck in a boot loop and then screw it up trying to fix it, then you need to step up and take responsibility, as the poster above mentioned. You don't have to tell Verizon you were s offing your phone, just tell them you tore it up. They will help you save some money one way or another if you talk to them, and if there's not an option for that hit up craigslist.

For those of you who may be reading this considering the pros and cons, I would wait until you actually need s off to do the process. And when and if you do it, don't do it when you are in a hurry. It's a short process but if you hit a snag and need to start over you do not want to be rushing or not paying attention.
[HTC Rezound] scotty1223:
thanks for the posts,guys. i agree 100% if you screw up your own device trying to s-off it,or doing something stupid after,man up and pay for it. its not vzw or htcs fault.

CharliesTheMan,i espeically like your firmware download,i was planning to do something similar :D folks are so used to slapping on a new set of radios,they dont realize how important the rest of the firmware can be. the sensation guys have been using similar downloads for quite some time.

great guide,its exactly what we needed :cool:
[HTC Rezound] Clay333:
A great way to check MD5 checksums is with AFV Android File Verifier. It works great and you do not have to check each file with a PC. I always download all of the files I flash from my phone, so using AFV make things much simpler.
[HTC Rezound] scotty1223:
I agree completely. If you download right to your phone,AFV is a great app. I also very highly recommend it.
[HTC Rezound] jackpot08:
Very helpful thank you. I'm one of those people who don't know what eng boot is lol
[HTC Rezound] con247:
It is unfortunate that the stock hboot blocks fastboot commands unless you htcdev.com unlock again. That is the reason for the patched hboots. The S-OFF team I believe is working on a patched 2.11 hboot so the engineering hboot won't need to be used. So it will basically be the same as the 2.21 patched hboot they have for ICS.
[HTC Rezound] JeramyEggs:
Alright, so I am on gingerbread hboot, and have all of the files I need to s–off. After I get s-off, what steps do I need to take? I know this has been discussed, I and I am confident in my abilities, just want to do it right. Any help would appreciated. Thanks....
[HTC Rezound] luis86dr:
Great info as always Scotty. People should know exactly what their getting into with S-Off and the consequences along with it. Going to add this to my FAQ.

Sent from my Htc Rezound

Follow me on twitter @lmrtech
[HTC Rezound] nbhnohome:
I'm just curious. How could flashing wrong Radio brick the Phone ? Is there a technical reason for it :) ?

I've been flashing Radio on the Samsung Vibrant like crazy with all the radio even from AT&T without a hitch. :cool:

Thank you
[HTC Rezound] teckels:
Thanks Scotty, the main reason I did it was because I jammed something up and needed to do a fresh install anyway. I then assumed all of the upcoming roms will be prepared with s-off assumption. (not the best reason but I got through okay) I need to do my research on MD5 so I will take your advice. Best of luck to everyone else trying to get where they want to be, even if they don't need to be.
[HTC Rezound] k_flan:
Think of the radio like the bios on a main board. We've turned off the security check that makes sure the file is good. I beleive there is no signature check at all, so a corrupted download will still flash. A bad radio will leave you with a paper weight.
[HTC Rezound] Clancya:
I am S-On with the GB firmware. If I don't S-Off, will I have problems down the road flashing new ROMs? I can I still flash the ROM, then fast boot the kernal?
[HTC Rezound] nbhnohome:
I though that Hboot (Bootloader???) acts as Bios. Anyway, be safe better than feeling regret :)

Thanks
[HTC Rezound] mjh68:
Being technical here maybe, but a bad radio would technically just make you not have reception or data correct ? As long as your HBoot wasn't corrupted, you could flash the radios back. Big danger is if your flashing a different or corrupted Hboot right ? I am just trying to understand myself so not being argumentative just trying to get it straight with the way I understood it .
[HTC Rezound] brando56894:
I've seen so many people post threads or responses that are like "alright I have S-Off, now what do I do?", why attempt something if you don't even know the benefits of it?

Some people need to learn the hard way, while others need to just learn.
[HTC Rezound] liquid4life:
This is my understanding too.
[HTC Rezound] k_flan:
I beleive the radio is lower than hboot. I think of the radio closer to firmware and hboot closer to a boot manager. I'm not an expert, perhaps I'm wrong.
[HTC Rezound] tpulu:
I agree. Something else that's bothering me is the amount of people that are having trouble with the procedure. Seems like they aren't taking the time to research before attempting the s=off procedure. Honestly, the directions on the unlimited.io site are more than enough, yet questions I see in these threads lead me to believe that these people either didn't understand the directions, or just plain didn't read them. Makes me think the majority of these people are 12 year olds that are going to brick their phones and waste their parent's hard earned money. As a parent , this pisses me off lol
[HTC Rezound] brando56894:
That's probably half of the problem, then there's people like me who are tech savvy (I have an BA in IT) but are still having problems since the error messages aren't helpful. I can only run ControlBear once through before it won't detect my phone again. The only way to get it to work again was RUU. At least that was my problem on v0.1, I'm gonna try the latest one later.
[HTC Rezound] scotty1223:
no shame in that. :) we were all in those shoes at one point. the important thing is that you try and learn about things you dont know instead of blindly flashing.

just thot id point out that its quite acceptable to unlock your hboot with s-off, a few may be confused on this. unlocking 2.10,2.11,or 2.21 will give access the only fastboot commands most new rooters are used to using(fastboot flash,fastboot boot). as we know,you can run an ruu at any time and be locked again.

also,i dont mean to come across as being "anti eng hboot". i myself always use an eng hboot when available,and when not,i use an unlocked htcdev hboot.

i just want folks to realzie its ok to not need them if you never use the extra commands along with them,as they do not boot your phone any better ;)

correct-no signiture checks at all. if you rename your recovery image "radio" and flash it,it will. :eek:

the radios are not stored in flash memory. this is why the secure flag is not easily accessible,and s-off has been such a long time coming. a bad radio flash can corrupt the radios to the point that they cannot be fixed,other than being reflashed with speical equipment at htc,just like a bad hboot flash. it may be possible for the sensation unbricking tool to fix bad radio flashes,but im pretty sure is better to just be very careful what you flash ;)

i dont know how bad a download would need to be corrupted to make the phone unfixable. ive flashed evo radios on my incredible,hero radios on my eris. ive run many different ruus on my sensation that all contained different radios for different locations and cariers. none of that made the phones unuseable.

if you really,truly need proof of concept,take an old phone and flash a similar phones opposite frequency radio on it. for example,flash a gsm hero radio on your sprint cdma hero and report back what happens :eek::D
[HTC Rezound] mjh68:
hehe no thanks I will take your word :D
[HTC Rezound] RoryHe:
Hey im 17 and it's on my parents dime, i research stuff before i do anything though. I mean everything is spelled out in the directions really.

Haha for the s-off procedure i had a wire ready and did all the right stuff then on the wire trick part i didn't get it for a while so i thought the wire wasn't good or something so i was running around the house looking for another wire to use. :D

I see what you mean though sometimes when im in the Q&A section of the forum i just don't understand if people are really that dumb or their are way to many trolls.

Makes me cry for humanity
[HTC Rezound] NilsP:
I promise to be careful :D
[HTC Rezound] luis86dr:
I have a feeling S-Off is going to do more harm then good for those users who like to jump into things. Hopefully this thread puts some fear into those fingertips before flashing.

Sent from my Htc Rezound

Follow me on twitter @lmrtech
[HTC Rezound] scotty1223:
you better be! i like your rom :D
[HTC Rezound] LunaticSerenade:
My problem is that I like to tinker...with everything!

I'm also sometimes overconfident. But thats just a character flaw lol.
[HTC Rezound] Mobile_Jedi:
Good post...every noob with a rezound should read it..........+¹ for s- off

Sent for my vigorous rezound
[HTC Rezound] 1heffer:
Thanks for the post Scotty, I just have one question. I just got s-off. Now what do I do?

I kid, seriously though, I wish I would have read this beforehand. I ran into a snag and had to let my baby sit all day until I had time to get back to it.
[HTC Rezound] pwned3:
This should be a required read before doing it
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] zbuh:
My 9100G has since day one this known problem (screen to much sensible - flickers when finger is touching the screen)

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1072471

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1161262

I'm currently with SuperAtmos Kernel, but is still has this issue.

Is it possible to fix it directly on kernel, or must be with some kind of a daemon running...

Either way, it would be nice to have this fixed... it's a very annoying situation, when you are reading with the finger down, and the screen is contentiously flickering .

EDIT: Found this on the Market: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vital.tst.n7000

seems to minimize the problem...
[XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] negreadanut:
what it's beter Generic or Branded Firmware?or what is the difference?
[XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] petric1:
I prefer stock it is clean and hassle free.Branded firmwares has some apps localized or free as a gift.It is up to you.
[XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mugsyfied:
I couldn't wait to get rid of the branded firmware. I only want apps that I choose.
[XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] xperia_2011:
branded firmwares doesn't have genuine functions or apps or settings that are available from generic firmware. generic firmware is pure form of factory apps and settings. it has nothing pre-installed in it for example the apps that are available from your cell phone provider.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] justen7723:
Just wondering what people were using before they moved to the gnexus. What was your last phone???

I had the o.g. Samsung epic

Even though I was already on 4.0 contract was up so time to change. :p
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Epix4G:
On a Wednesday I get my phone and I am coming from a o.g. Epic touch 4g ....but I'll get the galaxy s3 when it launches too
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ericksoncl23:
Touch Pro 2 then HTC Hero. I'm on Sero still :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
You name it...I'm coming from it..The Photon, OG Evo, E4GT, Epic 4G, NS4G and iPhone 4s.. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] heyredy141:
From nexus one. I don't think i will buy anything but nexus line. Timely updates are very important to me.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] CruzECO13:
HTC Hero, HTC Evo 4G, NS4G, E4GT
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rican408:
droid, evo4g, ns4g, e4gt....
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] nimda79:
Been running on my Touch Pro2...switching between stock rom, energy rom, even android running from sd card...will be nice to have a phone w/ more than 528Mhz of power :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] justen7723:
Thats y I moved to the nexus line
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] wparkins:
You'll like this one... blackberry bold 9700. :eek:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] latinoboi30:
I am coming from the o.g epic 4g
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kwurky:
Coming from a N900 which I used for two whole years. Sold the N900 for US$190 after getting the Nexus last December.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sinistr0:
From the Galaxy S I9000B. But i also have tested the S2 and tge Nokia N9 with meego.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] vennstrom:
Milestone > Nexus S > Signature

Powered by Galaxy Nexus™
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] shakuyi:
evo 4g
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stuu.f:
Xperia X10

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] justen7723:
Nice, it was almost hard to leave the epic I loved the development over there, its been exciting. But the fun is just beginning here!!!!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] novo2393:
Galaxy s2. Got contract in june last year (for 2 years) but as s2 broke so many times they replaced it with nexus :) my wife got nexus on day of release after i spent 3 full days in stores trying to preorder one then 6 hours on launch to find one. Safe to say i got mine alot easier lol
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] .Bedo:
Samsung moment. Not looking back.....
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] iBustCh3rries:
E4GT! Nice to see you hear epix
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] malibu_23:
Nexus s 4g

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jakdillard:
iPhone 4s and that ***** Siri, I'm so glad our relationship is over
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] axne1:
Evo & 3vo now

Google :D

sent from a Android device :)

I'm always on!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] globen:
E4GT
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Naezor:
E4GT - Which I really liked.. but I love my GNex.

Felt so awesome to get a phone on Launch day (Was a carrier employee for ten years and this is my first time being a customer)!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Ne0tr0n:
htc desire

served me well for 2 years :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Wordlywisewiz:
Evo 4g that got replaced by insurance for an evo 3d that I hated!

Big upgrade!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] shrumhead:
Evo 4g :-)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] journeyman73:
GS2
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jgalan14:
Iphone 4S but undecided about the phone camera fault more then anything else
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jcarlm:
On my last two year contract I went from a evo 4G to a Nexus S 4G to ET4G. And now I'm home on the Galaxy Nexus.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brie987:
Nokia 6300...G1...Sammy Vibrant...Google Nexus (as of yesterday) Quit a journey.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ChongoDroid:
Milestone, nexus one, Atrix, galaxy s2, galaxy nexus.

Throw a Xoom in there and that's my Android history pretty much
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jeNova-:
HTC Wildfire, HTC HD2 (With Android), Sony xperia mini pro -> HTC HD2, Iphone 4S, Galaxy Nexus.

Dont have my Gnex yet, but gonna buy it in the next few days.

Need a new phone since my iphone 4s got stolen, but im quite hyped for the Gnex tho.

And alltho I liked iOS with jailbreak I'm pretty excited of getting a Android phone again.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ZafarHSayed:
Me too! I still miss BBM but this phone is just too awesome :p
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] axne1:
Let's not do whole device history...

I can take over the thread!

I'm finally happy now :)

sent from a Android device :)

I'm always on!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] thos25:
Had an og EVO, then EVO 3D. But I left Sprint earlier in the month for a gsm Nexus.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tahde:
My Evo3D line was available for upgrade. Replaced it with my GN. I'm all Samsung right now. NS4G, ET4G and now my GN.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] randpost:
OG Droid - Droid X - Inc 2 - X2 - Charge - Bionic - Rezound - GN
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] justen7723:
Crazy how people had a hard time getting there phone, I walked in to sprint on April 23 and picked one up no problem wasn't pre ordered or anything. Guess it was just waiting for me to cone in and pick it up.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] variance:
someone said phone history?

counting only smart phones....

Blackberry 6560

Sprint PPC-6700/HTC Mogul/Touch Pro/Touch Pro 2/Nokia N900

Epic 4G --> Galaxy Nexus

6 years of QWERTY phones.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LAYGO:
Evo 4G running Cynaogen. I miss a lot of features of it, but at least I'm already rooted.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] theexister:
HTC Legend - Sold

HTC TyTN II - Sold

Nokia 6170 - Damaged
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LAYGO:
I didn't have a problem getting it either. Well, having one in stock for me to get vs getting it out the door. First a bill, then they wouldn't let me upgrade & I was just shy by 8 days! My girls' line was due for an upgrade, so I bought it on hers, then they swapped it to my line. If she wants a phone soon, we'll just do the same thing . . . on my line/upgrade.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bossing:
Big upgrade

Evo 4G
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] icanrule:
I'm coming from an Acer liquid Metal that I bought last April. I'm only upgrading because the voice and camera quality has sucked since day 1. I'm hoping I can finally use my phone to do those 2 things.

I'm also wondering what people do with there old phones. Does it still serve some purpose in people's lives? Do people find that old phones make good backup phones?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Culex316:
Let's see how "timely" these updates are on a Sprint Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] fr0st:
Epic touch 4g. :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xxBrun0xx:
I had a Droid RAZR, and I must say, the gnex is worlds better. Love it so far! :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ckoadiyn:
LOL probably better then vzw and gf had EVO 3d tried.the.et4g for a week hated it n got gn

But I'm the one who plays w the phones so yeah posting in her place.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] CrazyDelta:
HTC Hero
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stellar:
Can I use a upgrade from one of my family's lines to get a GNex and and then just take the nexus off that line and activate to mine and then put a dumbphone back on to the line that originally upgraded for the GNex? I'm fiending for this phone and my line isn't upgrade eligible yet :/ My dad on the other hand can upgrade soon and he has no interest in smartphones maybe my plan can work?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ckoadiyn:
Maybe but I think you have to keep it on that line for 30day min I may be wrong.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stellar:
Hmmmm, well I read a post a page back and some dude did the same thing with his girl but maybe its because it wasn't a family line... :/
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ckoadiyn:
Perhaps I'd say give it a shot can't hurt right?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] tyea:
NS4G . Missing the 4G.

Sprint GN, Tapatalk2
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stellar:
Yeah i'll just wing it, anyone else have any insight on my question a few posts above?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BeerChameleon:
You can without any strings attached my step mom uses my dads upgrade to get an iphone u just can't use an aircard number for a phone upgrade
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ckoadiyn:
Wasn't sure as I haven't tried last time did something like that used the airave upgrade to get 3d at bestbuy
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stellar:
Aircard = Airave right?

We don't have anything like that on sprint so I guess that means that I can use another upgrade and use that phone on my line? Also I can put a dumbphone back on that upgraded line?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ckoadiyn:
I'd say so and aircard are the cards for laptops n stuff but either or can't use it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BeerChameleon:
Aircard= hotspot card that you stick into the computer for internet anywhere that has 3g/4g coverage :rolleyes:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] IanCoves:
My last phone was HTC Magic (the second device to run Android [1.5 stock]). I was running a gingerbread ROM in the end that ran quite smooth with basic apps... old school Android, and well in need of an upgrade, I hung out for the Nexus and am more than happy with it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] RagnaParadise:
HTC Hero that went through plenty of torture, both physically and well... in terms of ROM flashing. :D Didn't own any other device cause it worked fine for me on Gingerbread. Didn't regret switching to Galaxy Nexus either :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stellar:
So final conformation. I CAN use a phone that my dad gets with HIS upgrade on my phone plan? I can just take the phone off his line and activate it on mine and then put a flip phone back on his line?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] fyresoul:
I'm coming from my HTC Hero. It was pretty fast with AOSP on it, but man my Nexus is just so much faster.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jgalan14:
That's old school right there I remember that phone back in 09 was the hottest thing around
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Odinforce:
Galaxy S2, but the bigger screen and 720 resolution won the battle.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Pao23:
O.G. Evo.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jgalan14:
I agree also the ICS is really good stock
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] RevinEvan:
I've come from Motorola Razr flip phone, samsung instinct, iPhone 4 32gb, BB torch , HTC desire z, LG Optimus Black to now the Galaxy Nexus and I have to say its the best phone I've had so far. Can't wait for the next nexus and the s3.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] nsolo1717:
Had the Evo4g from 2 summers ago. It was still going strong with CM7 kanged nightlies.