yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cnsngr:
well i have installed 2.20.40.97 oem and i have oem recovery to yet when i look for ota it does not find anything nothing happens what did i do wrong then?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Not sure, I have 2.20.40.139 in order to hide the OTA the bootloader unlock has to be changing the certs or changing the update routine both of them are in the system folder.

ASUS is doing something fishy. May I ask why you unlocked the bootloader and stayed with stock?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cnsngr:
Well i was looking for new excitements for a while I used custom roms like cm or aosp based or even stock based now I'm bored and I only want the ota back I don't care about warranty so if there is a way I would be appreciated to know

ASUS_Z00AD cihazımdan Tapatalk kullanılarak gönderildi
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Of course this gives me a new idea about where to look for what asus is using for a flag to tell it the bootloader is unlocked. I can look in the system update app.

question you did try the app , and the system update in settings too correct?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cnsngr:
yes in order the get the ota i treid every choice only way i can update the software download the full system file from asus website and sideload it or put it in the memory and update manually other than that i think there is no way to get the ota.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
My phone's bootloader is unlocked, I returned to the original rom (the only modification is that it is rooted) and the system is still proposing me OTAs (actual system version 2.20.40.97, version proposed 2.20.40.139)

By the way thank you davepmer for your efforts to find a way to relock the bootloader !
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
have you tried removing root and allowing the update? Let me know if it works or if it fails.

Of course if it works that would remove OTA as a place to look.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
I tried and it failed.

What i exactly did :

- flash 2.20.40.97 from twrp recovery (to be sure to have all originals applications

-root for remplacing twrp by the original recovery

-unroot

-OTA

the update began then it stopped after the first quarter of the loading bar

Now the system does not propose the update anymore even when i force the search for it.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ultramag69:
OK, what I did is before installing the OTA, go to the pre-rooted image thread. Download the latest rom, Shakalaka has done the .139 rom for the 551ML and I believe the latest for the 550ML too so no need to OTA after, a MASSIVE thanks to Shakalaka again.

You flash it through fastboot with the command "fastboot flash system system.img". This will give you the latest update and it's pre-rooted...

When the next OTA arrives, reflash the rom using fastboot then download the OTA through the settings menu. As the system was pre-rooted it will flash the OTA fine but you will need to re-root the rom as OTA's get rid of root and custom recoveries...

Anything you have added, busybox or xposed, will be wiped out when you flash the rom so you will need to re-install.

I have the bootloader unlocked and always flash new OTA's this way. Never had a problem BUT you do need a clean install of the latest pre-rooted rom or bootloops will happen...
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scorpion90:
is this method confirmed?

is it works?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aarturek:
Hey i jest get my phone fron service i had cm but i used ASUS flash tool and flash RAW file and my bootloader was locked and back stock recovery and ROM. They just repair my zen

Wysłane z mojego ASUS_Z00A przy użyciu Tapatalka
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Zelota91:
This doesn't mean that your bootloader was relocked. Maybe Asus service doesn't check it.

No one is sure about bootloader relock.

Inviato dal mio ASUS_Z00AD utilizzando Tapatalk
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
It failed because twrp will not do oem updates, you need to return to the oem recovery to do an OEM OTA update

---------- Post added at 08:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:00 PM ----------

Just curious, but what was wrong with your phone that ASUS repaired?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aarturek:
Blinking LCD on top, sim2 sometimes lost signal what needs reboot, and speaker dead. They mount everything new.

Wysłane z mojego ASUS_Z00A przy użyciu Tapatalka
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
That's what I did after flashing the update (2nd step).

But I think it's an other problem cause ultramag69 can do the OTAs.

So the unlocked bootloader flag doesn't seem to be in relation with OTA's...

---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 PM ----------

I have similar problems, minus the blinking LCD, plus the first sim port completely out of order.

Maybe I'll try to send it to Asus too...
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aarturek:
Anyway still blinking maybe it is cuz of cm

Wysłane z mojego ASUS_Z00A przy użyciu Tapatalka
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Well, for anyone interested I disassembled the official unlock apk. From the limited java coding I have, very limited, the official unlock apk reports the zenfone's serial numbers back to ASUS. So for warranty it really wont matter if we find a way to relock the bootloader. if you used the offical apk to unlock ASUS has already voided the warranty.

Just for the record, it appears that the official apk is using the same method to unlock the bootloader as our unofficial method uses.

Just a hunch, but it could be that ASUS does not know how to relock the bootloader either. FYI I did take a peek inside the zenfone 2's bootloader img but it appears to be encoded.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ultramag69:
So, in other words, anyone using the official unlocker tool is a chump, considering how likely it was to have problems with official unlocker, and anyone who unofficially unlocked it still retains they're warranty (as long as they can relock).

Wonder if the service centers just run your IMEI through a database and don't actually bother to see if the bootloader is unlocked...
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Likely, in order to actually check to see if the bootloader is unlocked other than a white splashscreen, they would have to try to flash some unsupported img through fastboot. If it did flash, they just bootlooped your phone. if it did not flash you have warranty. But if it did they now damaged your phone and have to repair / replace it even if it was long out of warranty. Could be that some refurbished units being sent to people as warranty replacements have an unlocked bootloader. After all the general public would never know.

I had an ASUS transformer tablet. They had an official bootloader unlock for that as well, but to even download the app you had to give your tablets serial number. They voided the warranty when you downloaded the app.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
This is a long shot but they managed to lock and reset the tamper flag on the 1+1 & 1+2 bootloader using a hex editor. So maybe it's possible the same can be done for this device. I'm waiting for mine to ship so I can't check it out but if anybody's interested in trying you can see how they did it for oneplus here http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3275223
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Looks like the 1+1 & 1+2's bootloader is completely different than the zenfone 2. Makes sense though, the 1+1 and 1+2 are arm systems. the zenfone 2 is x86. if there is an unlock flag bit, it is not in that position. Doubt it would be in the bootloader (droidboot) image file since we can flash that and not relock or unlock.

I still think the best bet is in a partition that does not get written to even by the RAW image. My first guess is in the factory partition. Would love a image or a tgz of that folder off someone that has unlocked the bootloader
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
Yeah I didn't think it would be that easy. Perhaps it's located in the same partition as the imei number as that does not get flashed. If I read correctly either in 16 or 18. I seen officerjimlahey digging around in this area maybe he can assist you with what you need or I'm sure there's another person here who can. If nothing else when I get my phone Friday I'll help you get whatever you need.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
So just to be sure then zenfone2 doesn't have a /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/aboot path?

I'm no computer wizard and would have probably better understood this when I was 16 as I lost touch over the years but here is the link to the code that they pulled from the 1+1.

https://code.google.com/p/boot-unlo...egv11/bootunlocker/bootLoader_OnePlusOne.java
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
/factory is partition 12 /config is 14 both have the Mac addresses, I haven't found the imei address yet unless it is in hexadecimal in /factory

---------- Post added at 01:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:37 AM ----------

Not by that name, ZenFone 2 is /dev/block/by-name/fastboot partition 3, but we also have other partitions labled boot, partition 1, and boot-one-shot, partition 5. Fastboot seems to be the ZenFone bootloader
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
Well you seem to be knowledgeable on this type of stuff which is out of my league so I'm sure you'll nail it down as I believe you're on the right track. I would goto the dev section and ask one of the devs for a copy of their unlocked bootloader and I'm sure you will find what you're looking for. After all it should be there somewhere as it don't just magically work and Asus will never give out the exact location to limit warranty requests.

I would look into the boot partition first though or the boot-one-shot.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ImjuzCY:
I think it's in the factory partition as the command to unlock bootloader getprop ro.isn > /factory/asuskey suggest. We can start from the command to find clues

Can anyone with unlocked bootloader let us know what's the content of the file /factory/asuskey is? Mine is not yet unlocked
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] say99:
I tried to figure it out long ago, the string present in ro.isn gets copied in a the file asuskey, I tried pushing random variables and strings like 0 or 1 but it only unlocked the boot loader when the actual ro.isn string was present in asuskey, I am now on cm and can't test more on tht
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ImjuzCY:
I see. That means someone with locked bootloader will have different value in asuskey than unlocked right? I failed to unlock my bootloader in firmware version 160 but the ro.isn is copied into asuskey because I ran the command. So I would like to know what value is in asuskey for people who didn't even tried running the command. Anyone?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] say99:
asuskey gets deleted as soon as you reboot your bootloader, as far as I know there was a hole in the droid boot that allowed us to do this

I really can't imagine how did anyone figured it out and that to on that exact version lmao
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ImjuzCY:
So it means it's virtually impossible to relock the bootloader then. I was thinking that the person who figured out the way to unlock the bootloader must have a way to relock it if there is a way right? But there is no point of relocking bootloader anyway.

If you unlocked it with the unofficial way Asus won't care to find out if its unlocked if you flashed the black splashscreen. I tried for an RMA with unlocked bootloader, successfully got a replacement.

If you unlock it with the official way, even if you manage to relock it, Asus already have a list of imei of device with unlocked bootloader sent through the official bootloader unlocking app, so you won't get ota or successful RMA even if you relocked your bootloader.

In short, there is no point of relocking.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
If asuskey got deleted then maybe the key was the lock. Have you ever tried pushing the key back onto your device?

---------- Post added at 10:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------

The point is to further learn how our device actually works and in general just the pursuit of knowledge. Just because there is no big benefit doesn't mean it's a worthless thing to figure out as it might help you understand how something else works down the road.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] say99:
I did, it only unlocked it up, just type "getprop ro.isn" in termibal emulator you will get the key again copying it back in asuskey was of no use, it just unlocked it, nothing more
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
Ok well if I were you now I would try comparing the key you just unlocked with a key from a locked bootloader with a hex editor and see what values if any got changed (should be only 1 or 2 strings). If there is any difference, changing your values to the ones of the locked bootloader and pushing it to your device might relock it. Be aware you are in uncharted territory here and you could be risking temporary or permanent damage to your device but I'm sure you're aware of this. However if you succeed in locking it you will have made a ground breaking discovery in finding out how our device's bootloader works. Not to mention if ASUS ever gets picky and starts checking for unlocked bootloader saving many people's warranties.

P.S. I believe davepmer would help you out as he has a locked bootloader and wanted some help from a person with an unlocked bootloader. If nothing else after I get my main phone fixed I'll be up for experimenting on this phone but for now I can't risk it as I'm awaiting important calls.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vickysame:
so is there any way

i have some hardware issue. but my bootloader is unlocked. what do you guys suggest shall i take it to service centre as it is or shall i try any other way
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wojownikhaha:
[MENTION=4421030]vickysame[/MENTION]

Have you read this tutorial? bit.ly/1RJAF8A
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gfxed:
Hello guys,

I've tried this to relock the booloader " h t t p :/ / w w w .a s u s -z e n f o n e .c o m /2015/12/how-to-re-lock-bootloader-asus-zenfone-2.html"

After installing the droidboot, recovery, boot i can't even enter in the bootloader. I've got this... imagizer.imageshack . u s/a/img908/1583/cioYfB.jpg

But if i reboot in normal mode, there's no problem....

Sorry for links i can't post links bcs of 10 posts...
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hit85:
How I check bootloader lock or unlock my phone?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gfxed:
Can someone help me please? :((
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
I am just guessing but my bet is that you fastboot flash fastboot something besides dridboot.img

in simple terms you no longer have a bootloader Phone will still boot because all the other partitions are correct.

can you get into recovery, and is it the oem recovery?

try this http://xdaforums.com/zenfone2/general/guide-brick-soft-hard-bricked-zenfone-2-t3284256

---------- Post added at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 PM ----------

The locked bootloader has no /factory/asuskey file. to unlock you actually create the file and copy the contents of ro.isn to it. typing getprop ro.isn would normally just display the value of ro.isn the > is a linux command changing the output from the display to the file asuskey.

The official unlocker app uses the same method.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gfxed:
Thanks you for your help. But now i'm stuck on ASUS screen "4 color". When i try to flash via ADB, it can't find my device (wainting for devices...) the same with asus flash tool. But i can hear that my pc is recognizing my phone...

Ps: i can't even launch my phone now...
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ImjuzCY:
My guess is asuskey is the key to the lock. There's a component in the bootloader that waits for asuskey to unlock itself. Once asuskey with the right ro.isn is found, it unlocks itself and deletes the key. The component in the bootloader may only be a one way lock that you can only unlock it but not lock it. If this is the case, we will need to identify the component to look what we can do about it.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Still has to be something the boot loader changes to remember it is unlocked. Since we can flash nearly every partition and it still knows it is unlocked. Even flashing the boot loader it's self
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gfxed:
Help me please...... :crying::crying:
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
Agreed anything that can be unlocked can be locked it's not sorcery at work here. Just need to find where it runs the asuskey which allows the unlock.

---------- Post added at 03:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:28 AM ----------

If you want help you need to provide some information people can actually use to help you. Your posts are vague at best and you seem very inexperienced.

P.S. I looked at your pic from a few posts back. You hard bricked your phone. There are lots of threads on xda to recover hard bricked phones in the generals section. I recommend you go there for further assistance.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Did you check out the link I put in my last reply?

What I believe you did is flash something into the boot loader. If the phone will boot or enter recovery there is hope. Per that link, maybe some hope even if it won't boot
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] k1t4r0:
Guys... for some reason my cellphone doesnt connect to pc. tried everything and nothing so i´ll send it to warranty. Is there Any chance to relock bootloader WITHOUT using the USB?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Guys, I would like a list of files in a bootloader unlocked zenfone 2. I have the bootloader service binary. The binary has a section that compares the contents of /factory/asuskey with ro.isn. if it gets a ture compare it then has a rm -rf /factory/asuskey command. However it is also removing a /factory/asussignature file. In my locked bootloader zenfone 2 I do not have a /factory/asussignature file. wish I had an elf disassembler for x86
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] k1t4r0:
Dave, with your method, could be possible to relock without pc? only adb over wifi or terminal in twrp?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Well I don't have a method yet. Still looking for what gets changed. I have found the strings that the boot loader looks for to unlock. I have not found the sub routine that does the unlocking. So I still don't know what it changes
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
Where is the factory folder located ? Root ?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
easy way to get it is to go to an empty folder on your hard drive. Do a shift right click and open command prompt here. On your zenfone 2 go to settings developer options and enable usb debuging. Then do without the quotes "adb pull /factory" then enter. You may have to ok your computer on your phone. This should pull all the /factory folder and put it into the empty folder you are in.

Also could someone do a "adb shell" then "ls -la /factory" I am looking for any file or folder with a . as the start of the name.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i snort flour:
If it removes the asussignature file would it even be possible to pull it as it has been erased? Maybe it would be possible to bring it back if you did a getprop ro.isn like say99 did to get the asuskey file back but you might have to edit the binary to either not remove the file or just rename it and have somebody push that binary to their phone before unlocking their bootloader. I still have a locked bootloader and I'll be willing to work with you on this if everything goes to plan and I'll contact you on the 3rd of February.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] say99:
maybe I can make up a disassembler will inform you if I get it to work :)
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
When I get home this evening I will post a link to the droidboot excitable. That's what needs disassembled
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] say99:
alright :) pm me on telegram username : say99 when you home :)
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
This is the result of "ls -al /factory" on my unlocked phone :

http://hpics.li/e0a49d5

However I've pulled the content of the /factory folder, how can I transmit it to you?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Well I dont have telegram, but here is a link to the elf file to disassemble

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-5Ap0mTg_adMTdMOU9ubjBMbUU/view?usp=sharing

---------- Post added at 10:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:11 PM ----------

best would be to use winrar or winzip to make a zip of the folder contents and then post them on either google drive or 4 shared then post a link here
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
Allright. there is no confidential information like IMEI or something in this folder ?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
Phone serial number, wifi and bluetooth mac addresses. I have not found imei yet. If we could find it that would be a good place to look also. But I do know that imei is not in the /factory folder.

question, is your bootloader locked or unlocked?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] say99:
got it ;)
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
My bootloader is unlocked.

Is it a problem for you if I remove the files containing bluetooth and wifi mac adresses, as well as serial number, before posting the zip here ?

I know there are few chances someone could or will do something with it but I don't like the idea of sharing publicly those informations.

Or if you prefer I could modify those values, or post the link to you by pm but it would loose it's "community interest".
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] davepmer:
I know, but there is also a small chance that the thing changed is inside those same files. Just pm me the link. Fyi there is not much someone can do with your WiFi or bt mac addresses. The serial number worse anyone could do is void your warranty.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] totalpaco:
Ok it's done, good luck with your search !

By the way don't void my warranty I'm in a RMA procedure with Asus and I'm just about to send my phone [emoji12] .

Also I could see other usages for my mac adresses like help granting access to a secured network, wich would be using radius for example, where mac adress would be part of the (or the unique) authentification for example (wich is not the case acually ^^), or if my private wifi network is whitelisting mac adresses, or if someone wants to hack my bluetooth earset or speaker or smartwatch... [emoji33]

But of course this is really unlikely.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] yeonsha:
"unlocked" bootloader has a white colour on asus boot logo and it say words "provided by Android"..

meanwhile when your asus bootloader still locked it doesn't have a wite colour logo.. sorry my bad English..
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vickysame:
i flashed with stock recovery. though boot loader cant be locked again, service center took and and repaired the phone without asking any question.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] TheAndroidDeveloper:
Can you please tell me how did you flash stock recovery again or can you provide me the link of forum. I am on RR rom . I would flash the stock rom again . I have a faulty display so I need to go for screen replacement . And did you change your white splash screen to black ?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vickysame:
download firmware file from here

https://www.asus.com/support/Download/39/1/0/13/Lk0Sg1Ulh0Ph49Hl/32/

and then by adb install it(google it how to do it. its very simple). yes it will turn white into black.