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[Q] Droid Ultra/Maxx - Is there a way to root my device and unlock the bootloader?

Hello all!
I am using the Droid Ultra forum because I can't find or there doesn't seem to be one specifically for the Maxx. I assume they are they same phone but one just has a better battery.
I recently bought my new Droid Maxx using an upgrade. When it arrived, I tried using FoxFi for wifi tethering since LTE is faster than my house internet. I found out it won't work since I have the 4.4. To anybody that is curious, 4.4 came with my phone, I didn't use the OTA update.
After looking around on the internet, I am unable to find a guide that can root my phone. Has anybody made a bootstrap?
I am wondering if there is a way to root my phone with the 4.4 kitkat, whether 4.4 root method is still in development, or people have given up on trying to root it.
Something else. I tried to root my device with two programs, each have failed in the process. Kingo and OneClickRoot.

There is no working root for Android 4.4 on the Ultra/MAXX/Mini, you're stuck like everyone else.
There was "a Chinese guy" doing bootloader unlocks for ~$40 in the recent past few weeks but he/she/it has since stopped doing so (probably unable to access Motorola's database anymore or simply got caught doing it, who knows).
So again, you're stuck with stock 4.4 like everyone else is. The info is all over this subforum...

br0adband said:
There is no working root for Android 4.4 on the Ultra/MAXX/Mini, you're stuck like everyone else.
There was "a Chinese guy" doing bootloader unlocks for ~$40 in the recent past few weeks but he/she/it has since stopped doing so (probably unable to access Motorola's database anymore or simply got caught doing it, who knows).
So again, you're stuck with stock 4.4 like everyone else is. The info is all over this subforum...
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Ah, that is quite unfortunate. I just needed to get caught up in the news. Thanks and I hope to see some root hacks soon.

Garret27 said:
Ah, that is quite unfortunate. I just needed to get caught up in the news. Thanks and I hope to see some root hacks soon.
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You could try easy tether pro

I've been thinking. I was reading the forums quite abit recently. The Chinese guy might of had access to the Motorola database with the IMEI or he might have developed a serial-cracker. I remember using keygens to unlock copies of Microsoft Office along time ago. This guy might have done the same but kept it for himself to make a profit. I am wondering if we might see a keygen that uses a person's IMIE.
Just an idea I had.
Sent from my XT1080 using xda app-developers app

So for the sake of getting a more informed is this piece of crap ultra worth keeping in the hope of a root solution in the near future, or is anybody really even working on one?

It's a good phone that could be great (not as great as the MAXX 'cause of that battery life and no wireless charging) - I would say don't hold your breath for an unlock for the bootloader or even root nowadays, it's getting way too tough to root and bootloaders are pretty much... well, locked up I suppose. I don't know of any devs that are seriously working on the Droid devices anymore, it's kind of a crapshoot if you find one I guess.
IF I had gotten either of them before that "Chinese guy" stopped providing the bootloader unlock codes I may have developed a different opinion, but I missed that window of opportunity and so I decided holding onto those phones wasn't feasible given my requirements.
As I said in another post, I did like the MAXX and Mini when I owned them recently, but the fact that I wanted a bit more capability meaning root access because I use some apps that require it as well as the option of potentially using some customized ROM or doing customization that might require something like the Xposed framework means you're dead in the water with the Ultra/MAXX/Mini.
I sold both, picked up a Samsung Galaxy Express for $80 and it's unlocked (for T-Mobile, did that in 2 minutes), rooted and of course running CyanogenMod 11 aka Android 4.4.2 without a single issue so far except the camera FCs often but that's a well known bug that persists and likely will always be problematic (except on those new CyanogenMod phones I suppose since they're designed to run that OS 100% without problems).
The Ultra, the MAXX, and the Mini are damned nice devices if you like "pure stock" and pretty much zero chance of them ever being anything else - the fact that they're GSM unlocked from the factory is a plus, so is the wireless charging for the MAXX and Mini, but that's about it for me and not enough to keep them for the long haul.
Good luck...

Thank you very much for an honest opinion. Fortunately I just signed on with Verizon and received this phone only a couple of days ago and have the option of retuning it and canceling the service with only a minimal restocking fee to deal with. I guess I will have to exercise that option because root access to the device is critical for use at work.

SOSDD said:
Thank you very much for an honest opinion. Fortunately I just signed on with Verizon and received this phone only a couple of days ago and have the option of retuning it and canceling the service with only a minimal restocking fee to deal with. I guess I will have to exercise that option because root access to the device is critical for use at work.
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Exchange for a gs5. It has root. As does the HTC one m8. The m8 looks well built. And the dot view case is sweet.
Sent from my unlocked consumer edition Motorola Droid Maxx xt1080m.

[Q] ROOT - possible/worth it?

I'm one of the fortunate people who still are grandfathered in with unlimited data from being bought up by Alltel. Today I just got a Droid Ultra as a warranty replacement. I'm seeing that they don't let you USB tether or Hotspot. On my RAZR I just rooted it and used SQLite Editor and turned the 1 to a 0 on the entitlement check. But rooting for this phone seems like a process. I've been a member since I got my HTC Hero (Alltel) forever ago (and still have it). Is rooting the Ultra worth it for me to void warranty. Because before you could just re-flash the phone with RSD Lite and they didn't know the difference. If it is a process I'd like to start contributing. I lost my job in June and have spare time on my hands to learn how to dev. on Android. I was in IT. Thoughts, suggestions, places to start ?

bankai_droid said:
I'm one of the fortunate people who still are grandfathered in with unlimited data from being bought up by Alltel. Today I just got a Droid Ultra as a warranty replacement. I'm seeing that they don't let you USB tether or Hotspot. On my RAZR I just rooted it and used SQLite Editor and turned the 1 to a 0 on the entitlement check. But rooting for this phone seems like a process. I've been a member since I got my HTC Hero (Alltel) forever ago (and still have it). Is rooting the Ultra worth it for me to void warranty. Because before you could just re-flash the phone with RSD Lite and they didn't know the difference. If it is a process I'd like to start contributing. I lost my job in June and have spare time on my hands to learn how to dev. on Android. I was in IT. Thoughts, suggestions, places to start ?
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It must say 442 or below, in about phone. 444 & above have no path out of the box. If you take the OTA while root is hidden SunShine can work.

With moto reliable as of late, I would prefer warranty to root

On a side note I got the insurance company to give me a Droid MAXX instead of the Ultra. Downside is it downloaded and install 4.4.4 as soon as it activated. I need root for the usb tethering and hotspotting. I did try Sunshine but it failed because it wouldn't temp root. And from what I understand I'm S.O.L. until someone figures out a root for 4.4.4. Plus Motorola wouldn't let me unlock the bootloader. I'll keep checking the forum in hopes someone makes root possible. I have faith in XDA devs.:good:

bankai_droid said:
On a side note I got the insurance company to give me a Droid MAXX instead of the Ultra. Downside is it downloaded and install 4.4.4 as soon as it activated. I need root for the usb tethering and hotspotting. I did try Sunshine but it failed because it wouldn't temp root. And from what I understand I'm S.O.L. until someone figures out a root for 4.4.4. Plus Motorola wouldn't let me unlock the bootloader. I'll keep checking the forum in hopes someone makes root possible. I have faith in XDA devs.:good:
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I'm on latest 4.4.4, no root but able to use the built in mobile hotspot feature.

Returning G3 for M8 but have questions

Currently running a Verizon g3 and have till tomorrow to return it. While I like it the heat and bad battery life are just something I can't deal with. I need a phone I can root to use my tasker automation profiles with. I've done some light research but trying to find out if a new M8 that comes with 4.4.4 is rootable or unlockable. I've never had an HTC device but really liked the smoothness of the M8. The LG is nice but this thing is like an oven.

Many (most?) but not all vzw 4.4.4 devices can be unlocked & s-off'ed with the current sunshine which I think costs a measly $25. There's talk of a new sunshine that will work on everything but it's release is still pending. Chances are it will work just fine right away and if not, you can all but count on having root soon with the new sunshine. Take the plunge, the m8 is quite a phone.

Thank you. Going today to swap it out. The $25 isn't a big deal if it works. All else fails I'll just sell the brand new m8 get a nexus 6.

Made the swap. Love the M8 already, but Sunshine wont unlock it and Weaksauce2 only temp roots

[Q] Upgrade to M8 (Root, unlock, etc. questions)

I've currently got a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which I bricked after trying to root it using old information. Long story short, it's a paper weight now, and I need a new phone.
I've got my eye on the HTC One M8, but by biggest concern is being able to root it, and unlock its bootloader. How easy is it to root or lock this device these days? There's so much information about bootloader locking, and roots not working, and security measures for different phones that make this stuff not work, that I just feel completely lost. Admittedly, I'm a bit gun-shy about rooting now that I've bricked my Note 2, because everything I was reading seemed fine, until I did it and had issues, and looked those issues up to find that the stuff I was doing hasn't been viable for a while.
Would this phone be well-suited for that? HTC seems like a company that's trying to make this stuff easy, but I can't tell how much of what they say is actually real when Verizon and the like are the ones in charge of locking stuff.
tl;dr: I'm considering an M8. I wanna root, and unlock it. Can I do that on a new M8? Is it easy, or at least easier than a new Samsung device with all its Knox nonsense?

There is only one way to s-off the M8 (which includes unlocking the bootloader and both is a pre-requisite for permanent root) and that is Sunshine which costs $25.
Sunshine 2 works on most M8 running 4.4.4 but not all of them (seems to be due to small variances in hardware). sunshine will run a check on your phone and only charge you if it can s-off it. You may be able to run Sunshine and get temp root with Weaksauce (which is part of Sunshine) even if the program cannot unlock your device. Temp root means the app has to root your device each time you boot it.
Sunshine 3 works on M8 running Lollipop - except the VZW M8. At least for now. No idea if jcase and beaups will figure out a way to get it working....
So if Sunshine works on your phone it's easy as can be: run the program, pay 25 bucks - done.
If Sunshine does not work you're out of luck...

berndblb said:
There is only one way to s-off the M8 (which includes unlocking the bootloader and both is a pre-requisite for permanent root) and that is Sunshine which costs $25.
Sunshine 2 works on most M8 running 4.4.4 but not all of them (seems to be due to small variances in hardware). sunshine will run a check on your phone and only charge you if it can s-off it. You may be able to run Sunshine and get temp root with Weaksauce (which is part of Sunshine) even if the program cannot unlock your device. Temp root means the app has to root your device each time you boot it.
Sunshine 3 works on M8 running Lollipop - except the VZW M8. At least for now. No idea if jcase and beaups will figure out a way to get it working....
So if Sunshine works on your phone it's easy as can be: run the program, pay 25 bucks - done.
If Sunshine does not work you're out of luck...
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Update: Gave Sunshine a go, and it worked flawlessly. Jumped on the IRC with a few questions, and the Sunshine crew was super helpful. Had my phone for all of 10 minutes, and was setup and ready to go. Best $25 I've spent in a while.
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. My M8 is set to arrive today, so I guess we'll find out if Sunshine does the trick. I'm glad to hear that it only charges after checking compatibility, as I was thinking I'd have to gamble the $25 on the off-chance that it worked, and be out the money if it didn't. Thanks again, wish me luck!

Dmaxx.4.2.2 rooted and writable. Is sunshine only way to unlock bootldr?

I love this phone, nothing coming out is exciting. But, I need lollipop now. I'd like to install a recovery, make a backup, flash lollipop based Moto x Rom. If this phone was new, I would pay for sunshine without thinking, but I don't know if I want to invest money in a phone towards the end of its useful life.
So is there any other way to get lollipop?

Sunshine is pretty much the only method as there was no Droid Ultra/MAXX/Mini "developer edition" so Motorola (because Verizon says so) won't allow for bootloader unlocking even on these now 2+ year old devices, sadly. Realistically they could, it's just a damned code that every phone is capable of working with but Motorola just won't do it.
Sunshine is your only hope if you wish to use custom ROMs without hassles. It's just $25, I mean really, the cost of a good case for some other device, and then it would be open and you could do pretty much anything you want with it.
Consider yourself lucky you have one that can be unlocked, they're pretty rare these days. I'd say go for it if a custom ROM is your thing, I gave up on that crap long ago - pure stock with some mods (to get it rooted and use Xposed) are all I care about anymore for my MAXX.

br0adband said:
Sunshine is pretty much the only method as there was no Droid Ultra/MAXX/Mini "developer edition" so Motorola (because Verizon says so) won't allow for bootloader unlocking even on these now 2+ year old devices, sadly. Realistically they could, it's just a damned code that every phone is capable of working with but Motorola just won't do it.
Sunshine is your only hope if you wish to use custom ROMs without hassles. It's just $25, I mean really, the cost of a good case for some other device, and then it would be open and you could do pretty much anything you want with it.
Consider yourself lucky you have one that can be unlocked, they're pretty rare these days. I'd say go for it if a custom ROM is your thing, I gave up on that crap long ago - pure stock with some mods (to get it rooted and use Xposed) are all I care about anymore for my MAXX.
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Oh I've been doing really good with stock firmware sms xposed. Bought the phone new and still on jb, but phone runs flawlessly compared to what I've been hearing from those that took the updates.
However, I need lollipop now because I have android auto in my car. I'm debating between paying to unlock it out getting a new phone, maybe the nexus.
It would be an easier decision if there was a stock lollipop update for the maxx.

mistermojorizin said:
It would be an easier decision if there was a stock lollipop update for the maxx.
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So, hang on to that MAXX and see what happens, the rumor mill is hopping about a potential release of Lollipop for the Ultra/MAXX/Mini at some point, you never know what Verizon will do I suppose.
It's $25 for Sunshine so either fork it over and have some fun trying out stuff on the unlocked device or sell it and get something you can make use of now as required I suppose.

br0adband said:
So, hang on to that MAXX and see what happens, the rumor mill is hopping about a potential release of Lollipop for the Ultra/MAXX/Mini at some point, you never know what Verizon will do I suppose.
It's $25 for Sunshine so either fork it over and have some fun trying out stuff on the unlocked device or sell it and get something you can make use of now as required I suppose.
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i bought sunshine. thanks for the advice