In the past HTCDev unlock has still left some hurdles for developers to overcome, and until S-Off (security-off) was achieved on those devices things like flashing custom kernels was a chore and required additional software like FlashimageGUI to get it done. According to well-known developer Koushik Dutta, who recently wrote a G+ post to clear up some misunderstandings about S-Off, this will not be a problem in the case of the HTC One.
Sunshine is a widely used application that helps users break free of restrictive OEMs and modify their phone software. It is mostly used to. If you didn’t use Sunshine to get S-Off and instead unlocked your bootloader via the HTC site, you need to relock the bootloader. Type the following after that last line in the last section to lock the bootloader back up. Fastboot oem lock; All set! Let me know if you had any issues in the comments below.
In fact, he mentioned in an earlier G+ post that unlocking the HTC One via HTC’s dev unlock process causes the phone to “behave just like a Nexus,” ready to flash anything other than custom radios. Koushik Dutta points out that there are two different things we want to do when we root and flash custom firmware on our HTC devices, and he explained it in a very simple manner that should alleviate some of the confusion about HTCDev Unlock does in terms of the HTC One.
- Being able to flash a custom ROM (boot, recovery, system)
- Being able to flash the black box partitions (radios, non-mfg bootloaders, etc)
S-off, or security off, a term that is specific to HTC bootloaders, does exactly what it says. It removes the device’s security. Aside from flashing bootloader and radios s-off only gives developers access to the “black box” areas of the phone. And as Koushik points out, only the OEMs or perhaps the manufacturers of the processors,like Samsung or Qualcomm, need or want this kind of access. To put it a simpler way HTC Dev Unlock on the HTC One works just as it should rendering the boot, recovery, and system partitions unlocked, making it virtually identical to the “unlocked” Nexus devices out there.
In fact the same parts of the phone that are off limits in the HTC One are off limits in your Nexus device. On your Nexus it’s called Secure Boot. Unless the developer community takes up radio development there is no need for “S-Off” on the HTC One. HTCDev Unlock more fully unlocks the phone this time around. Flashaholics can now rejoice (unless you’re on AT&T, which is supposed to be blacklisting its HTC One variant, making it impossible to unlock via HTCDev – it should have been blacklisted already, but RootzWiki founder b16 was still able to unlock his AT&T HTC One when he got it). If you’re on any other carrier and void your warranty by unlocking your HTC One, there is nothing in the way of you getting all the custom ROM, kernel and recovery love that you need on the HTC One.
For all of you tinkerers in the crowd, who happened to pick up a One M9 already, or at least plan on ordering one, the device has reportedly received S-OFF thanks to well-appreciated XDA forum members jcase and Beaups.
With S-OFF plus an unlocked bootloader, owners can essentially set any customization you could ever want on your Android phone, just as they way it should be. For example, with last year’s One M8, after receiving S-OFF, owners were able to convert their GSM M8s to Google Play Edition units, which replaced Sense completely with stock Android. However, it is not stated which model of the M9 this was performed on, so carrier models, such as the AT&T and Verizon variants, may not have it this easy. That info is still to come.
On the bright side, S-OFF is one of the things we first fell in love with back in the days of yore when Android was still somewhat new. It’s good to see it alive and well for new devices.
As more information is released regarding public download of this exploit, we shall keep you posted.