[HTC Pico (Explorer)] thewisenerd:
Unlocking bootloader!

Ok, so, you want to unlock your bootloader, and root your device; and not to forget the fact that you are on a linux machine. Please note that this tutorial is made specifically for linux machines, and it WILL NOT work on windows, though the steps are pretty similar.

Now, that you are a linux user, you MUST have the courage to boldly tamper around with your system files and all the stuff, and most importantly, have knowledge about the command line.

The operating system that I would be using for this tutorial is Ubuntu 11.10. This can be done even in Ubuntu 12.10 without any hassles.

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Some basic terminology I will be using in this tutorial:

1. machine: your PC, or laptop

2. device: your htc explorer

That's it!

So, now, let's get to work.

First, we have to set up ADB and fastboot for our machine. Contradicting the fact that you have to download the massive Android SDK tools and set them up, ITS NOT REQUIRED (if you are just going to root your device). You can simply install them using “aptitude”.

Open up the command prompt, and run the following commands, one by one.

Don't copy-paste them, or, you will never get to experience linux fully.

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

sudo apt-get install android-tools-fastboot

Remember that it may ask for your password. Just type in your password and hit “enter”. IT WILL NOT SHOW YOUR PASSWORD!

ADB and Fastboot set up, now, you have to head over to https://www.htcdev.com/register/ and register yourself as a user there.

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Make sure you give a working mail id, because they are going to send you an email with an Unlock_code, with which we will be unlocking the bootloader of your device.

After registering yourself as a user and logging into your account, head over to https://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/.

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There, you will be given some terms and conditions which you will have to accept. Among all, the most important one is that, you will be losing your warranty.

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So, you will be faced with the HTC's instructions on unlocking the bootloader. We will be skipping most of the steps, because this is Linux. The steps are different, and I will be saying them shortly. Skip to page 3 of the instructions( http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/unlock-instructions/page-3 ) and scroll down to the end.

If you can see a similar image in your browser, you are at the right place.

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Open up the Terminal in Linux.

Here, we are going to type in some commands which will help us unlock the bootloader.

Before that, take out the battery of your device, and insert it again. Now, switch on the mobile by pressing down the “Power Button + Volume Down Button” key combination.

If you see a screen similar to the one below, you are doing it correctly.

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You can navigate through the four options using the “Volume Up” and “Volume Down” keys. Below are the screenshots, which shows you the option “Fastboot” and “Recovery” highlighted.

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Now, make sure that “Fastboot” is highlighted, and press the “Power” button to select the option. Now, connect your device to your machine using the USB cable. If you see “Fastboot USB” at top, like in the image below, you are doing it correctly.

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Now, in your machine, you had opened up the terminal (remember?).

Let us make a new directory to avoid confusion. Type in the following commands to make a new directory, and navigate to that directory.

mkdir android

cd android

The above commands make a directory named “android” in your home folder, and the next command “cd android” changes the directory i.e. Navigates into the folder which had been created.

Now, in the terminal, type the following command:

fastboot devices

If you can see a similar image, then, your device is connected properly, and is also identified by your machine.

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Now, type in the following command.

fastboot oem get_identifier_token

You will see the following image below.

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Now, select the data and copy it, by right-clicking on the screen.

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Now, execute the following command.

gedit

It will open up “GEdit” which is similar to notepad in linux. We now paste the data which we copied using “Control + V” key combination. We need to edit this data, so that it can be recognised by the server.

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Delete all the <bootloader> text, so that it looks like the following below. If all the lines end at the same place, then, you have done it correctly.

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Now, press “Control + A” and copy the following data. We have to paste this data into the browser window which was open.

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Click on the submit button, and an Unlock_code will be sent to your email address. You can close the Gedit program which was open.

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Copy-paste the “Unlock_code.bin” file into the “android” folder, which is in your home directory. Note that this file is small, very small, only 256 bytes of data, yet, is essential.