[Moto E5 Guides, News, & Discussion] AeonFlux1603:
Gentlemen, not to be the messenger of bleak news on these perma-locked bootloader Moto E5 variants (e.g. Verizon, Cricket), but no type of exploit appears to be foreseeable anytime in the near future -- no qFuse circumventions, no TrustZone exploits, and absolutely no type of exploit, hack or mod to unlock the Fort Knox-type bootloaders. No, not even a fIsH hijack exploit to force a TWRP install. I'm in no way an expert on oem unlocking exploits or Motorola devices in general, but I found myself doing an English translation via my mobile browser the other day while searching in the Russian 4PDA forums on /laf exploits for many locked down LG device bootloaders. While searching 4PDA, I came across a great many blogs and forums on AT&T, Cricket & Verizon branded Motorola devices, dating from the Moto E 2015 (2nd Gen) all the way up to devices being released currently. Quite interestingly, several Russian & Polish 4PDA members have bounties pooled for any developers, hackers, magicians, sorcerers, necromancers, Masters of the Black Arts, traveling circus clowns, etc., (okay you get my point) who can successfully exploit or bypass these carrier implemented, perma-locked bootloaders on any number of Motorola smartphones. Despite mass efforts from hackers from China, the Netherlands, the Phillipines and other Asian-Pacific countries & provinces, no exploit has yet been discovered to unlock the bootloader on the Verizon 2015 Moto E LTE (2nd Gen) xt1528. Likewise, no exploit has been found to otherwise gain permanent root of the Android 5.1 OS, or bypass the bootloader mechanisms which prevent fastboot installations of non-oem or oem-downgraded firmware packages. Except for a rather shoddy temp root method, the Verizon xt1528 is just as locked down and impermeable as when it was released in early 2015 -- not to mention these newer carrier branded and perma-locked Motorola smartphones. Most hackers do agree on two positions in this regard throughout the 4PDA forums -- "it simply.cannot be done...it's impossible." And I quote. I'll hand it to Motorola on one thing -- when they release a device not supported on the official bootloader unlocking webpage, they are not kidding around that oem unlocking isn't supported. Of course, the decision as to whether or not oem unlocking is supported on a particular device variant is fully dependent on the contractual terms put in place by the branded carrier itself -- terms which must be adhered to by Motorola, the OEM. Verizon is of course notorious for opting out of bootloader support on their branded Moto devices. They have done this for years. When the Sunshine exploit proved capable of exploiting the locked bootloaders (e.g. Moto Droid Maxx, Droid Ultra, Droid Mini), Verizon's legal department ensured that lengthier contracts and fear of civil litigation were adequate to motivate Motorola lock the devices down so tight that the Jesse James Clan, the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., the U.S. Corps of Engineers Detonation Dept, Sunshine and any number of Chinese hacking teams over any number of years would be unable to as much as scratch the paint on bootloader security in the future. Carriers like AT&T and its own subsidiary network, Cricket, have ridden on the legal coattails of that security protocol.

Yes, I've been longwinded to say the least, and extremely loquacious to put it nicely. And I've certainly jested, exaggerated and perhaps even stretched the truth to a very mild degree. But for the most part, my position regarding insurmountable security on these perma-locked Motorola devices is as honest and accurate as the Word of Jehovah, Allah, God....whatever the kids are calling him these days. You can forget about it...put the thought out of your minds. Buy a Sprint (or Sprint subsidiary) compatible or factory unlocked Motorola device. Spend the five minutes it takes to pull the oem unlocking data from the device and copy/paste it to the official Motorola bootloader unlocking support page to receive an immediate unlock key for your bootloader. But, on the billion to one off chance you do find an exploit, the members of 4PDA have a boatload of money for you. As it says in Proverbs, "He who buyeth Verizon or Cricket hath committed an iniquity unto himself, and unto every developer who creepeth and crawleth upon the face of the Earth who sayeth that he can unlocketh. Vengeance is mine, sayeth Big Red."