[LG V30 Questions & Answers] ChazzMatt:
OK, if you want to seriously discuss it, I will.

My attitude comes from I won't buy a phone I cannot root on Day 1. I won't. I'm not going to buy a phone I can POSSIBLY root a year from now, two years from now -- or NEVER. I have direct experience with that from my contributions to the 2014 Moto Quark, where I wrote

a guide on how to unlock bootloader and root

. I've also heavily participated in the 2015 Moto Kinze forum. So, there's two specific examples of delayed root and NO root.

All this below is NOT off topic, it has to do with bootloader unlock and root, and how long you are willing to wait. IF it ever happens.

Think of the 2014 Moto Quark series as something like the LG G 3 or LG G4. It was basically the 5.2" version of the Moto Nexus 6, released at the same time as the Moto Nexus 6. Except for unknown reasons Motorola called it different names in different countries, or even different names with different carriers. But just like the LG G3 is the SAME PHONE (just different radio bands) whether sold in Germany or U.S., the Quarks were all the same phone, all over the world -- some with the even same FCC ID and same radio bands. I owned three of the XT1225, and ran them on AT&T. 5.2", 1440p Super AMOLED, 64GB storage, 3GB RAM, Snapdragon 805, 21MP camera, Qi wireless charging, 3900 mAh battery (yes, in a 5.2" phone). FANTASTIC specs for a 2014 phone.

Droid Turbo XT1254 : clone of the Moto XT1250, but had locked down bootloader. Same FCC ID, same radio bands.

U.S. Moto Maxx XT1250: clone of the Droid Turbo XT1254, but easily unlocked bootloader. Same FCC ID, same radio bands, even runs on Verizon with Verizon SIM card, because it's the EXACT SAME DEVICE. Call it the "dev" version of the Droid Turbo. Sold by at least a dozen regional CDMA/LTE carriers.

"international" Moto XT1225: LTE bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 17, plus more HSPA bands than the XT1250/XT1254. No CDMA. I imported three from Latin American countries. Sold a brand new 2015 AT&T LG G4 I won in a contest to buy my 3rd one.

Moto Turbo XT1225: clone of the the other XT1225, but different model name for India for legal reasons.

All the custom ROMs for these are compatible with all the models, that's how identical they are. Verizon tried to claim they had an exclusive with the Droid Turbo, but they didn't even have an exclusive in the U.S. At least a dozen standalone regional carriers (not MVNOs, but actual carriers) sold the U.S. Moto Maxx XT1250, which was identical to the Droid Turbo in every way --- same FCC ID, same radio bands. Stick in a Verizon SIM card and it ran on Verizon. You could even cross flash Verizon firmware OVER the XT1250, if you wished to "convert" it to Droid Turbo. The XT1225 had a different FCC ID, but all had same hardware specs (with choice of 32/64GB internal storage); the XT1225 came in 64GB only.

But the amazing thing was all the Quarks -- except for the Droid Turbo -- had easily unlocked bootloader upon request from Motorola. So, you could unlock the XT1250, then convert it to Droid Turbo XT1254 -- or just flash custom ROM and run it on Verizon with a Verizon SIM card.

Why would you do that? Because the Droid Turbo had locked down bootloader. All the other Quarks had TWRP, custom ROMs, kernels. The XDA mods even split the forums between the "active" Moto Maxx/Moto Turbo and the "dead" Droid Turbo forums. Because the Droid Turbo owners didn't want to see all the Quark dev work they couldn't participate in. Many sold their Droid Turbos and bought other phones. Once the LG V30 carrier unlocked models get root and ROMs you will see that attitude here.

CUT TO THE CHASE

THEN, a year after the Verizon Droid Turbo was released, Sunshine dev team cracked the bootloader of the Droid Turbo and got root. Suddenly all the dev work in the OTHER Quark forum all Droid Turbo owners didn't want to see, now they wanted! :cool: Droid Turbo could now join the dev party. Yeah, Verizon released a bunch of security updates to "patch" the crack, but Sunshine team found a way around them. The Droid Turbo found a second life on the used phone market, as lots of people bought "cheap" Droid Turbos and

can have the latest custom ROMs.

Yet, conversely, the Verizon Droid Turbo 2 (Kinzie) has NEVER NEVER NEVER yet received root. That was the next year's follow up to Droid Turbo (Quark). The sibling Moto X Force (also Kinzie) has easily unlocked bootloader and has tons of dev work, of course. Droid Turbo 2? DEAD. There was no XDA dev magic like Sunshine for the Droid Turbo 2, which still has locked down bootloader. (Lots of people tried to root the Droid Turbo 2, but no exploits worked. The Droid Turbo Quark Sunshine exploit is Snapdragon 805-specific, and the latest iteration requires [MENTION=2684188]autoprime[/MENTION] temp root first, THEN Sunshine.)

* So, look at the Droid Turbo. Are you willing to wait a full year for root?

* Look at the Droid Turbo 2. How about two years and still no root?

Is two years and counting "never"? You tell me.

There's new phones released all the time, newer phones with newer specs. People move on.

The Droid Turbo was VERY lucky to get Sunshine team's attention and get bootloader unlock and root a full year after release. They bricked a lot of phones during the process and went to a paid exploit model ($25) to recoup costs and fund future development -- which a lot of people didn't like. But if you want root on the Droid Turbo, there is a method. Just factor it into your purchase price. Droid Turbo 2? No, pitiful. Those people are STILL waiting.

Now that LG has removed the ADB flash commands on their 2017 phones, it's not just getting bootloader unlocked (which the T-mobile LG V30 has, but not the other carrier models), it's also finding some way to install TWRP. With the official carrier unlocked LG G6 (US997, H870) and LG V30 (US998, H930) which have bootloader unlock and all the ADB flash commands, I'm not sure many devs would spend time trying to crack the carrier branded models? They have limited time, there's new phones released all the time, newer phones with newer specs. People move on.

Sure, I understand never say never. But I'm not going to wait six months, a year, two years... To me two years is never, because no dev is seriously working on it. They've moved on to some other phone that can be rooted.

Either buy the carrier unlocked models or be prepared to wait for who knows how long? No one can say they weren't warned.

_______

If any dev does work magic, it will be someone like [MENTION=2684188]autoprime[/MENTION], who has lots of experience with LG phones. I admire his skills and ability, so I'm not saying he won't do it -- or someone like him. I'm just saying don't go buy the carrier-braanded model, expecting root to happen with that phone. It may not, since it hasn't happened yet with the LG G6. The best plan is to get the official carrier unlocked version.