yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ziddey:
Your bootloader didn't downgrade. Or at least not early enough. Did you unlock critical?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
Did you flash the build first? Your reply seems way to soon to have had time to flash it. Again, go to essentaildotcom click on support in the top right corner then click on developer, on the menu on the left click on "Android builds for essential phone". Download the nmk24b build. Extract it and flash it. Let it boot. Reboot to bootloader and flash the two modems. This is what worked for me.

edit: I assume you're using windows. The flashall batch file will do all the work for you.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
I don't understand what you mean? How would I go about rolling back the bootloader?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
If you downgrade with the "flashall" batch file it will downgrade the bootloader.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
I was able to get fastboot by using the command fastboot devices -i 0x2e17

But I can't find that command string for unlocking critical. When I use the generic command it tells me "waiting for device"
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
Did you open the shell as an administrator? Sorry I dont use windows. The command is fastboot flashing unlock_critical . I think

edit: On linux you cant run a fastboot command without su. Which is the equivalent of being an admin on windows. I can never get fastboot to work on windows but I do know this... If you click the windows icon and type cmd you can right click on it and then click open as admin. Then cd to the folder you need to be in to run the batch file. Not sure if it'll work. Like I said windows never works for me but it's worked for others so...
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
So I did the command to unlock critical, then I went back in and am now flashing the recommended build (currently still says mata 84f7cce bootloader) and is going thru the steps of the install. Hopefully I didn't miss anything and will be able to install the modems. Iooks like I did indeed miss the unlock critical script
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] TheYetti1:
Got an official response from Essential and in a nut shell...they claim they have no control over the unlock status of their phones. The update trigged it to check the carrier lock status. As it was most likely a Sprint device.

So there seems to be too many hoops to jump through on the Sprint end. So they aren't going to step up. But I'll do so e contacting on how they process such devices.

I wanted to get away from constantly having to factory reset, flash new updates on devices to get the latest software and get my fingers on the latest Android. So I'll do the above method eventually but frustrating ..I like this device much more than the OG pixel XL.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
I talked to them too. The only blame I can lay on them is that I feel like they have more leverage than ph-1 owners to actually resolve the issue. Still not sure if this is a Sprint or Google issue. Either way way it's bull****
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] TheYetti1:
**** don't do this step. I just tried and it force closed a ton of ****. Then forced recovery into a factory data reset or to attemptT to try again.

Luckily I was able to get into fast boot to power off and restart.

Yikes, I didn't have a sim in it tho. It appeared it was attempting to connect to sprints network?

Might the something there?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
sucessfuly updated to Sep pie and on verizon Sim.. F*** you Sprint!! thanks for the tutorial. now on to rooting.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
Looks like I'm back in business! I want to thank everyone for all their help.

Would be worth while to download PPR1.180610.091 the August ota?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
you can fastboot aug zip and then Ota to sep
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
It won't lock my sim again?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
thats what i did and its not locked on mines.. im using a verizon sim.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
Guess I should have installed the ota before I set my phone back up.. ended up wiping it again lol.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] kenbrownstone:
So all this works? If so will do tomorrow as soon as I get a computer..I just will never update again

---------- Post added at 10:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------

Mine is unlocked but have no root.Can I use this or just downgrade to nougat?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
It worked for me (I also installed the Aug update) but I did NOT install the sep update at all.im waiting for more info to make sure I wont have this same issue again.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] kenbrownstone:
Ok I will do this tomorrow ..Don't have a computer with me .Thanks you guys ..
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] arjunv:
I just installed the sep ota signal still available and phone is working fine.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Pesti13nce:
You did this via the phone correct? Not fastboot wipe and flash?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] arjunv:
Yup via ota in phone. It took quite a lot of time to install though.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
Looking for more confirmation before updating to the Sept update. I realize I could test myself. Please post if you've updated and retained unlocked status. Thanks guys.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] LOVE ME PLEASE:
Same! Very cautious...I remember when I updated to Sep, all happy and as soon as I rebooted. Boom! Sim lock. I don't like to even remember when I updated to September's update.

Can anybody else confirm?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] moogoo112:
so to reiterate? whats my best option for someone whos not rooted or have their bootloader unlocked. Flash to mk24b build and flash modems? this will wipe out all my data right? and then i can ota without it relocking?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] deepu458:
OK folks anyone know where the change was made that triggered this issue? i mean in System.img or Boot.img or Vendor.img within the package?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] jon_ybanez:
well, i'm happy to say, i'm on Sept 2018 (PPR1.180905.036) and i'm able to get my T-Mobile SIM to work again

below are the steps I performed

(DISCLAIMER: the below commands are from memory, you may need to confirm the correct verbiage if the commands do not take properly)

you'll need a few things:

- NMK24B (get fastboot version from https://www.essential.com/developer/current-builds)

- modem files (provided by ziddey - https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=77532356&postcount=20)

- PPR1.180905.036 (OTA version, from same Essential Developer Overview site listed above)

- ADB/fastboot files for your OS (I use Minimal ADB from https://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2317790)

- Android Debugging enabled

- a good quality USB3 cable that provides both data & power

steps:

- back up anything you feel is important & move off of your phone

- reboot to bootloader (either via ADB commands or via holding VolDown during power on)

- ensure your phone is recognized by running fastboot devices

- unpack the NMK24B zip file & place it in same folder as your ADB/fastboot files

- run flashall.bat (if on Windows, command varies for your desktop OS)

- wait

- place the modem files into your ADB/fastboot folder as well

- flash the modem files (fastboot flash modemst1 modemst1.img followed by fastboot flash modemst2 modemst2.img)

- if you receive a message stating unable to flash modem partitions, you may need to reflash NMK24B again. otherwise, the modem files will not take properly

- reboot to recovery

- to be safe, I performed a factory reset here, may not be necessary for your scenario

- place the OTA zip file into your ADB/fastboot directory

- select option to install via sideload

- install Sept 2018 Pie PPR1.180905.036 via adb sideload PH1-OTA-PPR1.180905.036.zip

- allow time to complete & boot

NOTE: during the entire process, I had removed my SIM & placed in a different device

after the long boot-up, I was greeted with the Android setup where I connected to my WiFi network

I chose to not copy any data & set up as new. I also let the phone sit charging & on wifi for ~30 mins

I powered off, inserted my SIM & found that it was no longer rejecting it. I also verified my APN settings were correct for T-Mobile. I received a few SMS messages during this period & felt confident service was working properly.

because I like a clean configuration, I went ahead & performed a factory reset from inside Android settings menu, rebooted & began setting up from a previous backup

thanks to everyone that was able to provide much needed help. I hope the rest of you are just as lucky with regaining service on your phone
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] autosurgeon:
Understand the eBay phones were illegally unlocked using an exploit that has now been fixed. This is why the unlock ceased. As it wasn't really unlocked but rather a software workaround that worked via an exploit it just acted like it was unlocked until the exploit was blocked via the September security update. You really don't want to have exploits maintained just so you can keep your phone illegally unlocked and thus leave it and all other devices open to more nefarious exploits.

It's unfortunate that folks have been screwed by these eBay sellers. However this is a case of if it looks too good to be true it likely is.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] irish hammer:
Still have sim lock error

I tried that method, and the sim lock was still present from the beginning, and the modems were corupt and wouldn't flash. IDK if i did it right though, i'm fairly new at this
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] jon_ybanez:
the first time I tried flashing the modems, it failed.

besides unlocking the bootloader for flashing, you may also need to run: fastboot flashing unlock_critical .

I received the phone with the bootloader already unlocked & am pretty unlock_critical was already run as well.

to check if you need to check your device's status, you can run: fastboot oem device-info

you're also welcome to try to roll back a few versions but I received bootloops when I went to older versions.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] arjunv:
Try again go to post 221 and there is a download link for all the files you need. I have used those and can report that phone is working fine.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
This is true for a lot of phones however, my phone was purchased from Sprint, by me, payed off and unlocked, by me, and I'm now using it on at&t. This update locked my phone back to Sprint. I called Sprint and they confirmed that it was unlocked in their system and there was nothing they could do. There is definitely another issue.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] TheYetti1:
SO this is fricken sweet...im trying the process as i type this and flashing NMK. will report any issues as i have a feeling everytime something looks simple it will run into hangups.

So whats our odds we need to do this after every Over the Air? because the phone thinks we have unlocked modems now were future proofed or....after every release we have to go through this again.

Again i started using Pixel devices and the Approved close to stock devices so i always just had the latest version when released. After getting tired of the many years of constant factory resets, flashing Gaps ect for latest nightly builds ect.

I didnt anticipating having to do the same thing with Essential...never the less within a month of owning lol.

NMK Just finished now i will hopefully not have issues with the Modems flashing...cross fingers

---------- Post added at 01:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 PM ----------

Well to report i unlocked bootloader. Flashed all NMK. Upon bootup noticed the touch wasnt working on startup screen. Hopefully thats not a huge issue lol.

Went back in to bootloader and tried the modems files...said not allowed to flash modems ect.

Dropped back into bootloader and smashed unlock_critical code booted back up still noticed touch not working....uhohhh

now im running flashall again on NMK. Will attempt modems after this...if i dont get anywhere i will have to wait for further info from yall.

---------- Post added at 01:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------

update to the update haha i guess i do still love doing this ****.

Upon Boot into NMK Touch worked... went back to bootloader....Flashed the modems with out any issues!!

Restarted Bootloader. and now im running all on the August Release. Hopefully things pan out and i will over the air to September and Everything hangs as reported.

Just doing this for those maybe following along.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
Actually there was no exploit you simply update to android 8 and they unlocked the phone for you there was no way any ebay seller would know that it would become locked again because they offered the unlock legitimately and then blocked it again for whatever reason there was not even flashing or even close to exploit just take ota update??? We are currently working on a software to unlock essential for the normal person who has no experience and we are excepting every return and refund for the re locked essential phones so you don't know what your talking about sellers arnt just leaving customers hanging out there we are working hard to resolve the issue.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Caltinpla:
I am not sure what your issues is? I bought 3 Essential phones from Sprint, activated and used them with Sprint network more than 50 days, I then requested the phones to be unlocked and Sprint remotely unlocked them all.

I cancelled Sprint service right after and transferred my service to TMobile and ATT. I updated them all to the recent Sept security update and they remained unlocked!
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] metal1f3:
Umm. My issue was that mine didn't remain unlocked. It's not not hard. I thought I was quite clear.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
Essential Solution Software

For everyone who has no idea whats going on and are confused with no experience I have developed software for you to use to easily unlock your phone.

Simply download this file extract to your desktop and read the instructions it will do all the flashing for you just need to follow what it tells you.

I have unlock a lot of phones and have had no issues with touch screen or failures.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cef7q0bdinKdciAiuvZ8sB56qark7-D_?usp=sharing

Please report any bugs to me or suggestions to improve and ill make the adjustment

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For advanced users edit the code and remove adb wait-for-device so when the phone reboots you don't need to bypass setup just manually put in fastboot

also if your already flashing unlock/critical just press start when it says failed already unlocked.

For you guys that don't have touch screen working manually go to fastboot and go to Essential Unlock\Data\NMK24B and run flashall.bat should make it working again then start the unlock process.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] irish hammer:
I got it. Running Oreo, but at least I got it working on tmob again.

---------- Post added at 03:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 AM ----------

I followed it to the letter, and it's working again. I cannot thank you enough for your help
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] autosurgeon:
I would hope they / you would. Perhaps in the future resell unlocked devices instead of sim locked devices that you have to develop shady unlock procedures for that obviously did not go through the carrier the phone was locked to.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
Did you not read his post? It wasn't the sellers fault. The OTA nougat sim unlocked them and relocked them right back on Sept Pie for whatever reason. This was either essentials or sprints fault.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] autosurgeon:
And you don't understand how sim unlocking works legally. You don't have to flash workarounds to unlock phones legally. I have unlocked plenty of phones over the years. You only have to flash things when the phone is sim unlocked without the carriers knowledge.

That you have play a modem flashing game tells me that the issue is related to a security issue in the modem that came with pie and that somehow was patched in the September update. At this point I am still working out which fix it was and we may never know for sure. In any case we will see if this problem. Crops up again for unlocked Sprint phones with another update.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
If you unlocked a lot of phones you should know almost all phones are unlocked through the modem cause that's where the info is for sim locks and sim data.

It be nice if there just was no locks tho :)
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] autosurgeon:
Yeah locked devices are stupid in this day and age. I can't even see the point as the so called deals that come with them are not really much of a deal in relation to the aggravating issues. Sprint is and always has been the worst offender too. What's worse is resellers buying locked devices and unlocking them in ways other than via the carrier. It's bad enough when a carrier unlock fails often when it's a reseller you are flat screwed with no recourse.

As for the modem issues often the exploits patched in monthly security updates are modem vectored attacks. So it's no surprise that downgrading the modem firmware fixes the Sim lock issue this time. The question is how long will the fix work will it survive the next security update?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
I believe its not downgrading the modem im pretty sure its the modemst1/2 are from an uicc unlocked sprint phone so as long as the new security update doesn't flash over those then it will stay unlocked and they actually blocked them self's out from flashing over it that's why we have to go to 7.1.1 to do it so if they want to patch it they have to leave an opening for us anyway so they wont do it should be a permanent unlock.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] tech_head:
Those files have yet to be included in *ANY* version of the stock ROM.

I used that method and I manually flash updates.

Those files have not been in any update.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] daCLOUD:
Thanks!! This tool worked perfectly for me and was easy to follow. My PH1 is working on verizon sim again. Really appreciate you making this tool available to the community :good:
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] pgoelz:
Just a thought.... whats the chance that the SIM lock issue is due to the fact that the September Pie build is not actually released for the Sprint variant and that the Sprint variant requires a different build? I have a Sprint variant that is currently on the August Pie build. System Update IS offering the September update OTA but if I look on Essential's web site I do not see the September build listed for the Sprint variant. ????
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
This is correct.. essential pushed out the wrong build for Sprint users.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] LOVE ME PLEASE:
Does this mean that their acknowledging there's been a mistake?

"Invalid sim. Network lock"
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
Since when do they ever admit to anything
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] LOVE ME PLEASE:
Very true. I should've known...
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] pgoelz:
If that is true, they are still doing it. As I said above, I have a Sprint variant on August Pie and it is still offering the September update. Since it is now my spare phone (I scored a grey one for $223 on Amazon) I figure I'll just let it stay on the August build and see what happens next.

Do you know for a fact that Essential pushed the wrong build or is PH1-Images-PPR1.180905.036 the correct build, just not yet approved by Sprint?

Paul
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] tritrancs:
I've tried the steps and failed at step 10, got something like Writing 'nvdef__b' FAILED (remote: No such partition.)

I then run "fastboot getvar current-slot" which returns "b" and then I added "_b" to the "flashall.bat" file.

The scripts then run ok, but after rebooted, the android version is still 9 and I am unable to flash the modem files.

Any ideas what was wrong?

[Updated] I ran "fastboot getvar current-slot" again and it returns "_a". Looks like it failed to boot on _b slot and switches to _a slot.

I then set _b as active slot, reboot and get bootloop at essential logo. After many bootloops, it boots ok but then into Android 9 in slot _a.

[Updated 2] I flashed to slot _a as well and it works now. Can flash the modem files and no longer get the invalid sim message. Thanks all.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
Updated Essential unlock software you can find v1.0.1 here https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cef7q0bdinKdciAiuvZ8sB56qark7-D_

Change Log

- Removed formatting userdata to save time

- Removed flashing 7.1.1 system a/b to save time

- After flashing reboots back to boot loader causing phone to never boot there for no boot errors

- Decreased overall unlock time dramatically
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ceelos218:
How to use this?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
Download to windows computer unzip file and read the instructions it will walk you through the process
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] autosurgeon:
Where has anyone from essential stated this? I do know many people on Sprint devices were pulling Sims and updating with the global September update.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] pgoelz:
If you look on the Essential site you will see that there is no September fastboot or OTA file for the Sprint variant. However, my unlocked Sprint variant (running the August update) offers the September OTA update (which I have not taken). I am not sure if there is in fact a difference between the open and the Sprint variants that would cause the September open update to re-lock Sprint phones. I don't think there is because when I flashed the September open update to my unlocked Sprint variant, I had cell service.... but no touch screen. I ended up just reflashing the August update (which restored the touch screen and the phone is still unlocked) and I'll wait to see what happens next.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] ph-2:
thanks this worked for me too. am i able to do android system updates now or should i avoid that?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
You are free to update to September update after using the tool it will remain unlocked
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Melvin0755:
This worked for me, thanks. Now, will updating to Android pie (via OTA) relock my SIM? or am I free to go ahead and do it?
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] tech_head:
Yes, your phone will lock.

You have not :

a.	fastboot flash modemst1 modemst1.img

b.	fastboot flash modemst2 modemst2.img

The method you used worked was because the SIM lock status in those builds was not enforced.

PIE will lock your phone.

Use the older method that requires flashing of modemst1.img and modemst2.img.
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] argrr101:
Thanks a lot, this worked like a charm for me!
[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] awireless:
Your welcome glad to help!!!