yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZenFone 2 General] fenixx1:
Why do you insist on this topic? why do you fall on the game proposed by ASUS? Whats the importance of having an official/unofficial unlocker for a phone that is not the main focus fo the ASUS mobile division? really, i get daily in this forum and sometimes i dont get your point, really. It's because you want to add numbers to your posts count? because, it's getting tiring and boring all this talking about a thing that has no meaning, nor transcendence. The real problems eith the ZF2 are not related with this trivial matter. it's getting ridiculous and silly. You are only embarrassing yourselves, even if you ignore what i'm saying. The thing is buggy, like most developments fro this phone, so why insist in the same issue? talking nonsense and tech garble over a thing thats simply broken, rushed.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
We get it, you're unhappy with your device and ASUS. I attempted to use their unlock tool (so did others) and it failed. That was my risk to take. Now I and others are trying to find a way to fix what broke. If it has no meaning for you, get out of this thread and let us discuss the issue here and come to a solution. You're not adding anything of value to the discussion.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
Our point is, since you seem to have not read the problem. That our bootloader stands in unlock limbo, multiple people have this issue. Since when does this forum not try to help each other? If you would like to not see it, then unsubscribe, offer a real solution vice just complaining about our conversation, or resist the urge to look like a troll looking for attention. Yes it is buggy, yes we chose to use the official unlock, but it is broken, and our phones are not working properly. It may or may not have voided our warranty with out completing the unlock process.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
I managed to get 'fastboot devices' to return showing my device, but even having a command ready on the command line to push as soon as soon as it booted (I was going to try flashing TWRP) failed. Since I still have stock recovery I am well and truly stuck.

Hopefully [MENTION=6922370]ASUS_Khang[/MENTION] has news soon!
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
That's really weird. My cache clearing looked to have gone normal, and I was able to sideload the current full image WW97 Wednesday evening, even after the initial attempt to unlock. I'm also in the position where fastboot does not work in any capacity, though. Will have to check a bit more into the wipe data factory reset thing.

In any case, we're still in relatively okay shape. The problem is being looked into, we have someone actively engaging us in the support area, and our devices are still functional as stock phones for the most part in the meantime. It's Friday, so I'm not sure how much we can expect over the weekend, but here is a very clear point:

Until further notice, it is highly recommended from us who've tried it to NOT try using the official bootloader unlock tool from ASUS.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
My appologies,

I was able to perform

Wipe data from system and recovery

Wipe cache

Adb sideload firmware

it did not fix the issue is what I meant. :P

Edited my earlier post for clarification.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
For sure. Had this gone horribly wrong and made the device itself unusable I would be in more of a panic.

Should get the first post edited to say something along those lines too though so people don't just grab the file and try it and end up in the same boat. [MENTION=4030110]bjf182[/MENTION], care to edit?
[ZenFone 2 General] wasiq224:
Does anybody know if this method will also void hardware warranty? Or is it just software warranty that is voided?
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
Good call, would be more effective to have the relevant info on the landing page.

Thanks, glad to hear the details. You had me a bit more worried for a second that my cache was not actually clearing!

There's only one warranty to void, and this method voids it :p
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
LOL sorry for the additional panic...
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
How about the air updates OTA or FULL ROM?

Does anybody knows if it works?

As my phone is in latest ww 97 i dont know if it still able to update or not.

As my unlock fail i asume it still locked.

I'm really confused, sorry guys im just trying to figure it out.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
I dont have an answer for you, we are all waiting for that answer!
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
By the way how about to flash recovery ?

It might fix the loop command with new recovery.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
Can this be done on a stock ROM that isn't rooted other than through fastboot? If you're aware of a way, I'll try it.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
As far as I know it can only be done with fastboot commands. I don't know if you can adb sideload recovery from recovery.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Inside OTA update theres a Recovery.

Steps to Apply OTA manually:

[Note:*please confirm that you didnt modified or removed any system apps,files]Download the*OTA file*from*here, check under ota update heading [get the latest one ,check the version number]rename the OTA zip which you download to "MOFD_SDUPDATE" zip[verify with thisPIC], paste the renamed zip in external memory[not in internal, tried to place in internal but it didnt work]now power off, Once it is off, hold down the*volume up button*and hold on to thepower button*until the phone vibrates. After the vibration stops, release the power button and continue pressing the volume up button until the green Android robot appears. You should see a blue line below saying "Waiting Fastboot command" ,Now here click vol down till you see Recovery mode in top big rectangle box,now click power button,and thats all it will update your phone..

In my case here i dont ser the blue line saying waiting Fastboot but i can change to Recovery so, it is possible to flash.
[ZenFone 2 General] Onyx VI:
I had been getting a fail. All I did to fix the problem was disable the security I had on my lock screen to swipe. Instead of pin or password of pattern. And ran the app again and it was successful.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Lucky you :) im on the loop LOL:)
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
Can you boot to the bootloader and see if your really unlocked, or are getting the same issues we are having where the cmd keeps repeating it self.

---------- Post added at 08:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 PM ----------

Give me a few minutes and I will try it.

Edit: Does flash, does not fix problem..

Jason
[ZenFone 2 General] Onyx VI:
Yes the cmd keep repeating itself. All you have to do go to recovery or whatever else uu have to do fast enough before it reboots. And your good. As far as I know yes it is unlocked. The first loading screen the says ASUS that comes up when u turn your phone on. The background turns white when the phone is unlocked. So that you know it's unlocked. Instead of it being a black background.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
That is the problem, we can not issue fastboot commands. The command should not keep running.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
Yeah, but since we don't have fastboot since it reboots itself, we can't flash a custom recovery. Pretty sure without that we can't flash anything other than officially signed stuff...
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Thanks for being so patient everyone. I sent the thread and info to HQ yesterday, and haven't had a response yet. Based on their time zone, I'm hoping they get back to me early next week.
[ZenFone 2 General] hmm888:
Am here also reporting that bootloader mode has a 5 sec restart. I can't root or install any roms. I tried using the unlock tool again and it went into bootloader mode and reset (like it most pro bally was supposed to). But again, it after it unlocks it can't go into bootloader mode via adb or manual without resetting in 5 sec.

I am wondering what are the chances they could say that you signed the agreement and whatever happens after installing it, they are not responsible. Could they legally for example post an official tool that bricks your phone but only after you agreed to having Asus not be liable for anything after that point?
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
So in the video, I showed how I reproduced the error and get the same unlock fail...reset in 5 seconds problem. Just an hour or so ago, I factory reset the device thinking that it would somehow help, but no....it doesn't...LOL woops! I'm in the same boat as you guys here.
[ZenFone 2 General] kanagawaben:
I think that as it is the tool itself that causes damage, which suggests that it wasn't tested properly prior to release, you can argue negligence on the part of ASUS. I doubt very much that the terms of use agreement could absolve them of negligence liability. I can't imagine they would be so brazen as to refuse to sort out any bricks caused by their own tool.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
I'm guessing after [MENTION=6922370]ASUS_Khang[/MENTION] sent in the info a couple of those dudes were like, "oh shiiiiit".

Give it time, I'm sure they'll give us something.
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Wondering...I'm not too knowledgeable about this process...BUUUT, can anyone try:

1) getting to the bootloader

2) before the "unlock fail...reset in 5 secs" error, run:

a) fastboot flash boot boot.img - or whatever it is for the stock boot image from the latest firmware, then reboot the bootloader then flash

b) fastboot flash recovery recovery.img cmd? Or whatever the command is to flash the stock recovery from the latest firmware?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but would that help at all?

I remember when flashing Nexus factory images, you can run those kinds of update scripts...would that work here?

Best,

K
[ZenFone 2 General] yash_ghar:
Flashing recovery

there is a way to flash recovery from the phone itself, but requires root and a terminal.

put the recovery.img(to check unlock try twrp) to the sdcard.

open a terminal

su

dd if=/path/to/recovery.img of=/dev/block/by-name/recovery

If you have root, you can use the twrp app from play store as well to flash recovery.

refer this thread: http://xdaforums.com/zenfone2/development/alpha-tethered-twrp-asus-zenfone-2-t3123532
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Asus start to rollout ww update, i did not recived it yet, hopefully it will fix the problem.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
Doesn't work. I tried a few dozen times ;)

---------- Post added at 10:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 AM ----------

Does anyone know if we can downgrade via adbsideload? I'm driving so can't search for answer.. Got to love getting stuck by trains....
[ZenFone 2 General] Frankenberrie:
Here's is info about .127 and a download link

http://forums.androidcentral.com/asus-zenfone-2/595348-upcoming-fw-2-20-40-127-leaked.html
[ZenFone 2 General] ultramag69:
Not a download link...
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
Would definitely not recommend downgrading anything at this time. Downgrading has a slim chance of just getting you on an earlier version without issues, but could put you in an even worse situation if the system decides to not boot AND you now can't access fastboot.

Tried it, fastboot can't process it fast enough before that first reboot goes.

Even if the first reboot didn't happen, we don't know if fastboot is broken because the bootloader is still in unlock limbo. I can still flash the stock image via ADB, including specific parts of it, but I can't do anything that way that clears out the pending commands or fixes the bootloader yet.

Unless someone here is a lawyer and can interpret it better than me, the Terms of Use for this tool indicates that the instant you download it, run it, and agree to its conditions, ASUS is off the hook. Permanently. Whether or not it breaks your phone is not their problem as soon as you run it the first time. Thankfully, we have a lot of visibility here and Khang grinding the gears on the inside as best he can, so we do have good chances to have an official fix or update or whatever.

To quote a terrible Star Wars movie: "I say patience."
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
2nd scenario is next week to take it to our service team and see if they can restore it. If I can get a fix from them, I'll give you guys the method.
[ZenFone 2 General] alboz83:
Ok now you're finding a method to fix the problem, but Asus must fix the unlock app. otherwise i don't know how to unlock the bootloader
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
There's the unofficial method that others have posted.. But again would void your warranty.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
I have a question, right now our phones are working normally the problem is with our fastboot.

My question is if the update pops out here, and i do start it, correct if im wrong at this point i have 50% of chance to update without problems and eaven fix the problem, or 50% to end up in a boot loop if it actually shows as a UB phone in Asus server.

M i right?
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Can't be sure. Don't do anything until I have more answers!
[ZenFone 2 General] sTIMulat3:
Fix hopefully on the way

According to an Asus employee they should be working on a fix to the 5 second bootloader issue, fingers crossed.

Source: http://myzen.asus.com/2015/10/13/official-bootloader-unlock-for-zenfone-2-is-now-available/ (he said it in the comments section)
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Yes. That would be me :)
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Our HOPE:)
[ZenFone 2 General] mattwheat:
If ASUS is like most other mobile phone companies ( I.e. Samsung, Motorola, LG ) then I wouldn't worry about your warranty. I've personally never seen or heard of one of these companies not covering the warranty on an unrelated issue just because you rooted or unlocked the bootloader. Its been explained to me by several customer service reps that if you have an issue with the O.S. or Bluetooth not working or WiFi doesn't turn on, and you send the device in for warranty work and they discover that some xposed mod or apk, that only works on rooted devices, has caused said problem then NO it will not be covered under warranty. BUT if say your issue is due to poor craftsmanship or an internal component isn't soldered correctly then YES they will cover under warranty.
[ZenFone 2 General] Arbitratorofall:
Hey guys,

I just got my Zenfone 2 and tried the official bootloader unlocked on Friday and it failed. The question is, my phone was not rooted and was stock, but now I cannot boot into recovery or into the OS. I can get recovery to load up for 2 seconds where it states the partition could not be loaded. My Bootloader is locked and I cannot flash any image files to my phone. Since I cannot use adb, cannot flash files in fastboot, or get into the OS, would it be best to contact Asus to hope for an RMA?
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
You should be able to use adb to get into recovery. Remember, use adb when the phone had already booted into the launcher. Your adb command is: adb reboot recovery which should take you to the recovery. From there you can toggle into the reboot bootloader option.

Anyway, I explained that I let HQ know and we'll work with our service team to find a solution.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
More and more peaple having problem with Asus unlock BL tool, i think is about time Asus remove it from server or atleast place a big warning BUG APP.
[ZenFone 2 General] alboz83:
You are right. Now i don't know what i can do. Wait for a official working unlock from Asus or try unofficial method (but i read that some people had similar problem with them)
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Wait dont try anything alse not eaven an OTA update if it comes out before any news about this BUG.

It is beeing looked by Asus and is better they start to do anything because it is geting more and more peaple.
[ZenFone 2 General] alboz83:
Ok so i wait, and i hope to see a safe and stable method soon because i want to try other rom.
[ZenFone 2 General] bewaffled1:
I just wanted to post that I too am having the 5 seconds boot loop problem. It turned the screen white and everything. I tried most of the suggestions in this thread and all of the ones on my post as well. (didn't know this one existed). I thought I had managed to do something wrong. It's good to know this was sent over to ASUS. Hopefully they can help. I mean.. the phone isn't "broken", but I really didn't buy it to "use" it, ahahahah.
[ZenFone 2 General] ultramag69:
My bum.... The mongrels knock back these warranty repairs all the time for the smallest reason and if they find it has been rooted or "tampered with" then it is especially not getting fixed without you putting out some $$$.

Any rep that says otherwise is either high on something, majorly misinformed or outright lying...

There have been myriad reports of HARDWARE problems that have been knocked back as the phone was rooted. How a button or screen not working due to hardware failure can be knocked back from warranty service because it's been rooted is anyone's guess but this has indeed happened. A lot...
[ZenFone 2 General] playingmax:
I too am having the same 5 sec error. I have been going it it since yesterday with no luck. I guess we have to play the waiting game now.
[ZenFone 2 General] Guelo_tweaks:
disappointed in asus

Alright, I'm giving up on waiting for Asus to fix/update their incredible Bug utility. I'm thoroughly convinced their intention was to strip people of their phone's warrantee. I ran the app, got the 5 second reboot deal. Phone works fine though. My question is, can I still perform the unofficial unlock without worrying of the "official" tool having messed anything up?
[ZenFone 2 General] volcy123:
how i can relock again?
[ZenFone 2 General] :
You do realize it's the weekend right? Give them a few days of actually working on it before you give up..

You can't honestly believe they intended to ruin devices, can you? That's the most insane thing I've read lately. They have released similar tools for other devices (which I've used successfully) so I have some faith in them. Just give them at least enough time to investigate things and get back to us!
[ZenFone 2 General] Guelo_tweaks:
That's what convinces me. They already worked on it. They released it the way it is for a reason. These guys develop programs for a living. They designed this tool, tested it, and were happy with its result. They didn't release this broken utility by accident. It worked for whatever purpose they tested it for, which certainly isn't boot loader unlocking. Imagine that, "well guys, the unlock tool is broken but here it is anyways."
[ZenFone 2 General] sorg:
I think i know the cause of boot loop in fastboot. While working on my unofficial unlocking tool i saw that official app push marker file to /factory partition (/factory/asuskey). Fastboot checks for this file presence. If this file is present then droidboot unlocks the bootloader and deletes this file. So, i think, droidboot fails to delete this file. Probably factory partition is mounted as read-only (or simply, droidboot has bug). And since this marker file is always present, fastboot does unlock procedure with every start.

If you have root access rights in Android, then using for example Root explorer navigate to /factory folder and look for asuskey file there. If this file is present, then delete it (remount /factory as r/w if mounted as r/o) of better rename it (may be can use later with fixed fastboot if bootloader is still locked).
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
It makes sense.
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
As if every single software that has ever been released outside of this was done so with zero bugs, and always performed exactly what it was designed for :p

Members of XDA, of all people, should know that it is super-easy to overlook something or fail to discern false positive results from testing things that are new. It could be as simple as fat-fingering a single line after testing was done. If a month passes by and something isn't mentioned, addressed, or fixed, then I would get a little bit more suspicious as to the level of support for this. It's not even been a week, though, and that includes a weekend and a very big timezone gap.

People tend to jump to conclusions very quickly around here, what with all the negativity directed towards ASUS as a company and accusing anyone who speaks differently of being naive, uninformed, or a fanboy (not saying you are doing this, I'm speaking in-general). It doesn't make for pleasant interactions after a while :silly:

That makes a lot of sense, actually. I think the majority of people using the official unlock are folks who didn't have root in the first place, and unfortunately those who already took the plunge aren't able to get root at this point without a higher risk of device bricking if at all.
[ZenFone 2 General] sorg:
I think, majority of people on XDA like to tinker with their devices. There are pre-rooted system images on this site already long time. It doesn't require unlocked bootloader. So, i believe there are many people who have root on their ZF2. So, these lucky people have chance to restore fastboot functionality.

Would be good if someone with this fastboot problem and with root will follow my small guide above and report the result.

More radical solution is to use Asus Flash Tool with raw firmware image. It rewrites all partition and should clean factory partition from asuskey file. I never used AFT and thus cannot guide there and don't know ho it is dangerous. But brave people can try if they really eager to restore fastboot functionality. Some ppl said, raw firmware even re-lock the bootloader.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
I have a suspicion this will be exactly what ASUS gets us to do with our devices to fix them. Since this is my only phone I'm going to give them a little more time to get back to us before I get crazy and attempt stuff that may be considered dangerous.

I'd love to hear if anyone else tries though and if they have any success.

It's times like this I miss my old Samsung and Nexus devices though!
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Thanks for everyone's patience. I got in touch with our service team. They've escalated the issue to our HQ team and will let me know if there are any additional questions. I hope to hear back tomorrow, or by EOD if we're lucky.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Thanks a lot man!
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
Thank you sir.
[ZenFone 2 General] drabharathan:
Can you post how you flashed a clean image? I'm not familiar with the procedure. I mean, did you flash using the stock recovery?
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
I would assume, adb sideload, which we already tried to clear issue. Doesn't clear issue but does successfully flash.
[ZenFone 2 General] Zetsubou Sensei:
So I'm also having the issue with the bootloader auto rebooting after 5 seconds. Is this an issue with all ZE551ML models or just with the occasional device? I had unlocked my first device using the unofficial bootloader method and it had no issues, but this now has my new phone constantly booting out of bootloader. I can't even try the other method :|

I'm really confused as to how this got past ASUS testing.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
I would have to say its a little more than the occasional device.
[ZenFone 2 General] Guelo_tweaks:
Lmfao I'm not even mad anymore. This is like the video of that dad laughing at kids slipping on ice one after another.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
Pretty much. The warning has been up for a few days.
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Hey all, just wanted to let you know that I've spoken with the HQ team about the issue and the R&D team is now looking into it to see if they can help us.
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
Yes, I flashed from Stock Recovery. The method to enter it is a bit wonky in the most recent update where you have to fiddle with the power and volume up buttons in just the right way to get the recovery to show over the "broken android" image. Do the update via ADB method, and adb push the full stock firmware image to your device. It'll probably freeze about halfway through and look like it isn't working, but be patient, it can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to have the full firmware flashed.