yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
If wallet isn't activated I'm assuming you wont have to take the extra precautions before you re-ROM or wipe to protect wallet from being permanently bricked? :eek:

I may want it in the future but I'm not sure how useful it would be here in NC at this time.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] XBIRDIE98:
Edit: Sorry, Off-topic.

The kinds of off-topic questions being asked would probably be better suited in the Q&A form or a Wallet discussion thread.

My Apologies for this.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] msedek:
Well i ve got my phone from Amazon in january its a native yakju and came with ICL53F.. By that time i used the market enabler to be able to download wallet and get my 10$ thinking i would be able to buy some apps with it lol..

Well it was activated.. Then i unlocked/rooted and the phone wiped when unlocked with wallet activated..

When 4.0.4 OTA came (never got the 4.0.3) i got the red exclamation android (didnt know that changing recovery would block me from install OTAs) so i flashed 4.0.2 factory image and got my OTA...

I got the IMM76D and had droping signal issues so my next move was flashing AOKP Milestone 4.. In milestone 4 i redownloaded wallet and i thought i had my 10 dollars card there.. But I had to reactivate my account.. And got my 10 $ card again..

Well after some time the app updated and started telling me that the wallet service its not available in my country etc etc so i uninstalled the app..

After some time i wiped everything and installed aokp m5 and reinstalled wallet lol and i still got my 10$ card.. So i dont really understand whats that SE error you all. Talk about as you seen i ve done dissasters with my phone and wallet and it does still works..

What worries me not in my case cuz I got no warranty, but for all those guys with play store phones its that "relocked" word in the bootloader since that way Google knows you unlocked your phone and voided warranty

So for me its makes no difference if it says locked or relocked but for everyone else if googles does this a RULE in next releases.. Al those with warranty if they want to keep it they gotta stay stock and locked

Galaxy Nexus AOKP m5 Franco kernel m3
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Guys, let's try to keep this on topic of figuring out why some devices don't wipe when unlocking the bootloader. From what we've seen so far, it doesn't seem like Wallet has anything to do with it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
Sorry Efrant, I'd love to know myself but it sounded like a conclusion was reached that it wasn't going to be possible to make that determination without google explicitly telling us the answer. It's good to hear that it's not over.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
No, no conclusion yet.

Here are the facts so far:

1) Whether you flash yakju or takju on a Play Store-bought GNex, it makes no difference: when you unlock, the bootloader does not wipe.

2) We are unsure if there are any hardware differences between a GNex bought on the Play Store or one bought elsewhere (but it seems unlikely).

3) There are some partitions that are flashed at the factory (that are not typically flashed by a user) like the 5 mentioned above: misc, dgs, efs, param and metadata.

4) The misc, dgs, and metadata partitions seem to be the same across all Gnex devices, but the param and efs partitions are different. (The efs contains your IMEI number, so it makes sense that that one would differ, but the param.... ??)

5) Based on what has been reported here, Google Wallet does not seem to be a factor.

Mystery still not solved.

Would be interesting if someone would be able to either:

1) Figure out what the difference is in param; or

2) If someone flashes the param from a Play Store GNEx on a non-Play Store GNex (or vice-versa) and see if it makes a difference if it changes the bootloader wiping "power"...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] XBIRDIE98:
I'm assuming mskip's MD5s were from a non-Play Store device as this wasn't explicitly stated. Therefore, do we actually know the MD5s from a Play Store Device? It could be a difference between those 3 partitions the we noted were the same.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Yes my md5's are from a non google store phone that wipes on unlock.

If someone can dump the param partition from a playstore nexus that doesnt wipe on umlock then I will flash it to my device tonight and see if it makes any change to unlocking.

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Oops, I thought yours were form a Play Store device. In that case (i.e., if yours mine and mskip's are all non-Play Store devices), you are correct. It could be anyone of those 5 partitions.

What's interesting is that your param and mskip's were the same, but mine was different...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Any of you Play Store GNex owners willing to dump the partition for us?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Archpope:
I'm willing to do it tonight when I get off work, but I don't know how.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Assuming you have root, open a command prompt in the same directory as your adb.exe file and type the following:

adb shell

su

dd if=dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/param of=/sdcard/param.img

exit

exit

adb pull /sdcard/param.img
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
I believe these instructions for dumping it were on Marks 1:40pm post

Edit: deleted, just use Efrant's instructions
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Archpope:
Here you go:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18280058/param.img

EDIT: I don't know if this matters, but I did re-lock my bootloader. It has been unlocked twice, however, and it didn't wipe anything either time.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] XBIRDIE98:
A more specific theory

To Archpope: Are your dgs, metadata, and misc the same as ours? (This is just to help narrow it down. :) )

To efrant and mskip: Did your phone originally ship with yakju? Mine was a UK model.

I have a feeling that param might be different based on source - for example, takju-shipping is not the same as yakju-shipping is not the same as yakjuzs-shipping, and so on. If so, this just might be it. :D

A quick reference: (I'll edit it/post a new one with more info if we find the information out. :) )

My phone: UK, yajku-shipped: 4f95db221d90a1b9e70d4c22035b68c5

Archpope's phone: USA, takju-shipped: 015eb3e069f9ea64427e5802e6afa4ba

efrant's phone: Canada, yakjuux-shipped: 1C89EC3D50DF3091D4A54BDBAE951B1E

mskip's phone: unknown?, probably yakju-shipped since its the same as mine: 4f95db221d90a1b9e70d4c22035b68c5

Also, to everyone else: Can you post the MD5 of your param.img and the shipped firmware of your Nexus? This might be the correlation that gives us an answer.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Archpope:
Product Name: Tuna

Variant - Maguro 16GB

HW Version - 9

Bootloader Version - PRIMELA03

Baseband version - I9250UGLC1 (was I9250KKLA2 when I bought it)

Signing - Production

Lock State - locked

I'm not sure if that's what you wanted. I can get you more info if you need it, but I'm not a dev so I would need you to tell me how to get it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Good catch. I never even thought about that. Mine was Canadian, so yakjuux shipped.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] XBIRDIE98:
To pull them and calaculate, run this, based on efrant's directions to you:

adb shell
su
dd if=dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/misc of=/sdcard/misc.img
dd if=dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/metadata of=/sdcard/metadata.img
dd if=dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/dgs of=/sdcard/dgs.img
exit
exit
adb pull /sdcard/misc.img
adb pull /sdcard/metadata.img
adb pull /sdcard/dgs.img
md5 misc.img metadata.img dgs.img

For your reference:

To get the md5 of a file, do this in your terminal:

md5 param.img

That's how I got the MD5 checksum of your param.img - just replace param.img with the name of a different file to check it.

Also, an explanation of all this md5 stuff, if you're unsure what it's about:

If you've noticed this on a ROM/radio/etc thread, it's used to check that you downloaded the file without it getting corrupted.

In other words, it makes sure you and the poster have exactly the same file, using some complex math. :)

(It's good to know how to use it if you like to flash stuff - I learned the hard way with my HTC Glacier and a bad recovery image.)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Archpope:
I took the three files and zipped them together.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18280058/dmm.zip

MD5s:

dgs.img: b5cfa9d6c8febd618f91ac2843d50a1c

metadata.img: fcd6bcb56c1689fcef28b57c22475bad

misc.img: b5cfa9d6c8febd618f91ac2843d50a1c

I hope I did it right. Should dgs and misc be the same?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
Is there any info that would be useful on an unrooted, locked device?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] spaceman860:
When you re-locked your bootloader did you check to see if it said locked or re-locked since you have a play store GN

Sent from my Gnex {GSM}
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Yeah, it looks like the dgs and misc should be the same, based on what we've seen so far. Not sure why that is yet, but obviously they are the same image.

Thanks for your param dump. If I have time later today, I will flash it to my device, re-lock and unlock to see if it makes a difference. (Just need to find time to backup all my files currently on my device... :D )

---------- Post added at 09:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 AM ----------

Locked on unlocked, rooted or not, it makes no difference. We just need the MD5 hashes of the param partitions for various shipped builds. (Although you would not be able to dump that partition without either root or an unlocked bootloader...)

Currently we have:

yajku-shipped: 4f95db221d90a1b9e70d4c22035b68c5

takju-shipped: 015eb3e069f9ea64427e5802e6afa4ba

yakjuux-shipped: 1c89ec3d50df3091d4a54bdbae951b1e

Not this is related to the build that was ORIGINALLY shipped on your device. It does not matter what you flash it to afterwards.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
I've got a stock yakjuzs but it's still locked and unrooted. So unless I unlook and root how can this help without being able to dump it?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Not much you can do at this point.

If you want, you can dump that partition with just a temporary root shell. If you follow my instructions here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=23290676 up to, and including step 6, it will give you temporary root access (that will disappear as soon as you close the window) and you can dump it then.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] XBIRDIE98:
To efrant and NCguy: Can you post the dump your of param partition? - I'll try and add mine and Archpope's to create an archive of these partitions and which build they shipped with. Hopefully we can make it so that you can turn your nexus hardware into any regional version you desire. Sort of like flashing yakju/takju to make it a different region. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
I certainly will. I'm away from a computer at the moment, but will do later.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
I'm away also but will attempt it later this afternoon.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
samsung/yakjuzs/maguro:4.0.2/ICL53F

Bootloader Version - PRIMEKK15

Baseband version - I9250XXKK6

Lock State - locked (stock, never unlocked)

MD5s:

dgs.img: B5CFA9D6C8FEBD618F91AC2843D50A1C

metadata.img: FCD6BCB56C1689FCEF28B57C22475BAD

misc.img: B5CFA9D6C8FEBD618F91AC2843D50A1C

These appear to mirror Archpope's MD5's. Do you need the files uploaded in this case?

Efrant, instructions were flawless which was not unexpected :) BTW, if I decide to later do the entire root exploit do I start over at the top now?

Update: Forget the question Efrant, I ran the whole exploit while I was at it and know I have root :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Archpope:
It just said locked. First I deliberately unlocked it, and the open lock symbol on the boot screen appeared. Then, I re-locked it for no good reason. Later, I flashed my radio back to XXLA2 to see if that resolved an issue I was having with texting, and doing that re-unlocked the bootloader, as evidenced by the reappearance of the open lock symbol. So, I re-re-locked it. Each time, the words it used were "locked" in white and "unlocked" in red. And again, all data was intact.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Don't need those images, but your param.img may be useful, if you could upload that.

As for your question, you can start at step 6, if you want to root again, as the files are still in the temp location (i.e., data/local/tmp) unless you deleted them.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Attached is my param (from yakjuux-shipped device).

MD5 as posted before: 1c89ec3d50df3091d4a54bdbae951b1e
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Now flashing archpope's param.img file for testing, will post results after locking/unlocking/testing.

MArk.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Hmmm. Seeing the size of the uploaded zip files (which are quite small), leads me to believe that there is not much in the image. I quickly looked at it in a hex editor, and it seems (as I should have known, given how dd works) that it is padded with a bunch of zeros. After removing them, the file is only 4.14KB.

Now I'm starting to get out of my league here (I'm not a coder). Maybe the attached file may help someone - it is my para.img file with all the trailing zeros trimmed off. Not sure if someone could disassemble it, or if it is even possible?

I still haven't had a chance to back up my device so that I can try flashing Archpope's param. mskip, did you have a chance to do it?

EDIT: mskip, disregard my question to you. Just saw your post! :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Flashed archpope's param.img to the param partition on my UK gsm model. Was originally yakjuux but now on AOKP. Flash went without any problems.

Original param md5: 4f95db221d90a1b9e70d4c22035b68c5

New param md5 after flash: 015eb3e069f9ea64427e5802e6afa4ba

Note: Flash seemed to relock the bootloader..

Unlocked the Bootloader,

Rebooted the system,

Systems rebooted once and then went into the Setup Wizard,

Device has been fully wiped (all data, installed apps, virtual sd card), :(

Pulled param image from phone and checked md5: 4e01cb7d4a57abf5524abce583666b33

Flashed my original param.img file back to param partition,

Rebooted system,

Systems rebooted once and then went into the Setup Wizard,

Device has been fully wiped (all data, installed apps, virtual sd card),

Pulled param image from phone and checked md5: 4f95db221d90a1b9e70d4c22035b68c5 (back to original),

Retested the complete procedure and flashing archpope's param.img file does in fact re-lock the bootloader (doesnt re-lock it when I flash my image) and the md5 on my phone changes to the same as archpope's BUT once I enter fastboot and unlock the bootloader and reboot the system the system is wiped and I end back at the wizard..

Also AFTER unlocking the bootloader (with archpopes param image flashed), rebooting the system and pulling the param.img, the md5 CHANGES from:

015eb3e069f9ea64427e5802e6afa4ba (before unlock) to

4e01cb7d4a57abf5524abce583666b33 (after unlock).

Wierd..

I point worth noting. The md5 seems to change on the param.img file depending on whether the unit is locked or unlocked. On my device with my original param.img flashed I have 2 md5's:

4f95db221d90a1b9e70d4c22035b68c5 (phone unlocked)

c7e1e2e4d700b163039361b7d0f42d77 (phone locked)

Verified by locking and unlocking several times.

Deductions: Locking and unlocking definitely modifys this image in some way but im not sure how. Not much more I can deduce from this test..

Feedback?

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Another thing I just thought of.. Im asuming that the image I flashed was pulled with the phone 'locked' which is why the bootloader changed to locked when flashed. I wonder if there would be a different outcome if the image was pulled from a 'no-wipe' phone with the blootloader unlocked already?

Maybe no difference but just thinking out loud (the voices in my head get too loud sometimes).

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Awesome work mskip. Thanks! (I'm all out of thanks for today... :( )

So, at least it is confirmed that unlocking/re-locking the bootloader modifies that file.

Archpope said that he dumped the image while his bootloader was locked. Maybe, if he dumped the image while he was unlocked, and we flashed that, it would not re-lock the bootloader. Just a thought.

Archpope, could you re-dump with your bootloader unlocked?

EDIT: Ninja'd by mskip! Great minds think alike! :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Worth a shot :). At least we now know that flashing that partition doesnt do it any damage. (bit worried about that before doing it but ohh well lol).

LOL :D

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
archpope, any chance you could re-dump the param partition, but with your bootloader unlocked this time? It would be much appreciated. Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Raftysworld:
Been following this thread and thought I'd help. Rooted and unlocked takju from the Play Store which did NOT wipe upon unlock. I pulled these (including param.img) from my device while the bootloader was unlocked.

b5cfa9d6c8febd618f91ac2843d50a1c misc.img

50138a293120201efb921cf452f1195b metadata.img

b5cfa9d6c8febd618f91ac2843d50a1c dgs.img

4117d45764f47db6b09c9dd525ad7d74 param.img

Archive of the four images is attached.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Great thanks!

mskip, would you be able to test this param out?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Archpope:
Just unlocked and posted param.img here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18280058/param_unlocked.img

FWIW, I also checked misc, metadata, and dgs. Their MD5s are the same. But, the two different param.img files are exactly the same size (no surprise) but different MD5s:

param.img: 015eb3e069f9ea64427e5802e6afa4ba

param_unlocked.img: 4e01cb7d4a57abf5524abce583666b33

I'm mostly helping because I love a good mystery :D

EDIT: It looks like my MD5s were the same as efrant's. So while param.img does change, it seems it's likely not responsible for what makes the bootloader wipe the data.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Testing now :)

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Ok so I basically cloned my device with all the google play images available (dgs.img, metadata.img, misc.img, param.img from raftysworld) and then to top it off I also flashed the stock takju image. Relocking and then unlocking the bootloader STILL results in a full wipe of the data partition..

Im stumped the only thing left which I can conclude is that either the bootloader checks the serial or IMEI or that there is some kind of hardware mod to block the wipe on unlock. Im trying to work through the logical process in my head but I keep hitting walls :(

I really dont think there is anything we can do to clone the no-wipe function of the google play phones. It would be interesting to see what happens if someone with a google play phone flashes the above images from a 'wipe on unlock' phone and also flash a yakju image and then relocks/unlocks. I have proved that it is safe to flash these images without bricking your phone so as long as the person backed up there images first then there are no risks invloved.

Im updating the ToolKit to add full partition backup (apart from the data partition as it includes the virtual sd card) but im adding this as a pull option so it goes straight to pc. Should be finished by tomorrow as I have to test everything.

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
Is there a way to spoof the IMEI for testing?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
I don't believe that it's related to serial or IMEI -- if that were the case, there would have to be a list stored locally on the device for it to work.

I think we either missed something (quite probable) or there is a hardware difference (less probable).

I'll give it some additional thought.

Brainstorming from anyone is welcome! :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Here is a brainstorming thought for discussion:

Have a look on your device in: /dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0

The partitions are listed by name (in /by-name) and by number (in by-num). Now, that said, there also seems to be two additional partitions(?) that are not listed in either /by-name or /by-num, namely mmcblk0boot0 and mmcblk0boot1. I'm not sure what these partitions are, or if they are even partitions. Any thoughts? BTW, please do NOT try to flash those partitions -- I have no idea if it would brick (and I mean brick) your device.

Wonder if we can bring someone else on-board? Anyone know Chainfire? Wonder if he'd be willing to throw in his two cents?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Raftysworld:
Hmmm, on my Play Store nexus I seem to see three separate partitions in addition to the 13 that are listed in by-name and by-num

shell@android:/dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0 $ ls
by-name
by-num
[B]mmcblk0
mmcblk0boot0
mmcblk0boot1[/B]
mmcblk0p1
mmcblk0p10
mmcblk0p11
mmcblk0p12
mmcblk0p13
mmcblk0p2
mmcblk0p3
mmcblk0p4
mmcblk0p5
mmcblk0p6
mmcblk0p7
mmcblk0p8
mmcblk0p9

Does your Nexus have mmcblk0?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Yes it does, but I don't believe that is a separate partition. I think that is the entire on-board memory.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Raftysworld:
Yeah you're right, I totally overlooked the naming convention :o
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] harveydent:
Late reply; Just to confirm that it probably isn't Wallet: I didn't have wallet activated before unlocking. And I used Mskip's GNex Toolkit v.6 to unlock (Thank you mskip! been a fan since your SPB shell modding days)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Thanks those were great days lol I still get messages asking to bring out new ProPlus packs and update the existing ones. I guess there are still some people who just wont give up Windows Mobile :D

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Hmmm. Looks like we were on the right track with param. I just saw this: https://plus.google.com/101637761999487954252/posts/VwgcPER2dzd
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] spaceman860:
I was reading the same thing looks like we have a winner :D

Efrant you're right Adam comments" As for unlocking, unlocking is handled by a switch in the settings partition PARAM. My method of unlock effectively kills an ant with an atomic bomb by replacing the entire partition and avoiding the wipe."

Sent from my Gnex {GSM}
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NCguy:
So theoretically could one run this app(glados control) against any stock rom to unlock without wipe and then proceed with Efrant or Marks methods on an unlocked device?

Assuming of course that Efrant and Mark will probably incorporate the same unlock without wipe capability into their methods over time.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Although i haven't read up on it yet, what AdamOutler has figured out is a way to unlock the bootloader without using the "fastboot oem unlock" command (I would guess by flashing a modified param.img). Doing it this way eliminates the data wipe.

Although to do this, you need root, so for those with locked bootloaders, you would still have to root via mempodroid. So still not much use for those with a locked bootloader and running 4.0.4.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
mskip, would you have a moment to flash the param files in the attachment to see if they unlock (without wiping) and lock? Thanks.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Sorry for the delayed reply it was my wifes birthday yesterday so I didnt go online (much) and have been out most of today.

Anyway I am a bit busy tonight and cant mess with my phone but I will find the time tomorrow to lock it and flash the unlock param image. Does it need to be locked using the lock image or is that just both versions from the same phone?

Where are the files from? Modified in any way?

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] efrant:
Start off as you say: with your device locked, flash the unlock param and see if it unlocks (and if it does, see if it is with or without a wipe). These aren't my images: they are ones that CASUAL and GLaDOS Control use. All credit goes to AdamOutler if they do work.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mskip:
Ok will post back tomorrow with results :)

Mark.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] segv11:
Could we build our own: use a rooted shell and dd to dump the params position from an unlocked phone, then "fastboot oem lock", reboot into Android, dump params again into a different filename.

Then (on the same phone that made the files) try flashing (with fastboot and/or with shell+dd) each of the dumps and rebooting into the bootloader to check the lock state.