thunderbolt - 6/9 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

It Wasn't Just Verizon - The HTC Incredible S' Bootloader And Recovery Are Signed As Well

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, HTC, Incredible S (Vivo), News

Conspiracy theorists would have you believe that the ThunderBolt's signed (and locked) bootloader was all Verizon's doing, but it appears that isn't quite the case - the Incredible S, one of HTC's unlocked GSM phones, is shipping with a similar failsafe system. That basically means no custom ROMs for you (at least until a viable workaround is discovered).

Proof? Look no further than the contents of this Incredible S RUU:

From what our friends at AndIRC can tell (note that they don't have a device in hand), the Incredible S includes a signature check much like the one on the ThunderBolt.

Mar

First One-Click Root + S-OFF For HTC Thunderbolt Out Now

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

If you've been looking to unlock your HTC Thunderbolt but have been putting it off until a one-click solution springs up, you may start rolling up your sleeves - you've got some downloading to do. dbzfanatic from xda released the first one-click easyroot + S-OFF, which uses AndIRC's lengthy, yet effective, instructions, but wraps them up in one easy to use package. The program runs on Windows and weighs in at over 800MB, so fire up your PCs and get ready for some heavy downloading.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Rooting Explained + Top 5 Benefits Of Rooting
Top Android Apps Every Rooted User Should Know About: Part 1 (Apps 1-8), Part 2 (Apps 9-16)
Custom ROMs Explained And Why You Want Them
How To Fully Back Up And Restore Your Android Phone Using Nandroid Backup
How To Flash A Custom ROM To Your Android Phone With ROM Manager + Full Backup & Restore

Disclaimer: As always, Android Police, team AndIRC, and dbzfanatic accept no responsibility for any damage to your device, including potential bricking.

Mar

HTC ThunderBolt Review: When 'Tried And True' Meets 'New And Blazing Fast'

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

Well, it's finally here - after almost as many rumored (and subsequently unmet) release dates as the Notion Ink Adam, the HTC ThunderBolt has finally gone on sale. But with a sky-high $250 price tag and essentially the same hardware as the rapidly aging Desire HD, can it still impress?

That's not an easy question to answer - while the ThunderBolt is a great all-around device on an incredibly zippy network, it doesn't exactly have the most future-proof hardware in the business, and it comes armed to the teeth with bloatware. But after putting it through its paces, I must say that I walked away much more impressed than I was going in.

Mar

Updated (4/21/2011): [Exclusive] How To Root The HTC ThunderBolt And Unlock Its Bootloader

Posted by Justin Case in Development, Exclusives, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

HTC tried to stop us. They made signed images, a signed kernel, and a signed recovery. They locked the memory. In short, the ThunderBolt is their most locked-down phone to date.

We fixed it for you. Unlike the root method we described yesterday, following the instructions below will provide S-OFF, remove signature checks, and unlock eMMC. Enjoy!

Rooting The ThunderBolt - Version 2.5

Update: This guide was updated to include some steps into the upgrade RUU, making it faster and safer

Pros

Root with read/write access to /system
Ability to downgrade and flash any RUU (i.e. signed firmware)
S-OFF
Fully unlocked bootloader
All ThunderBolts survived testing

Cons

Voids warranty
Could brick your phone if you aren't careful

The method of rooting your Android device as described in the article herein is solely for enthusiasts and not for the faint of heart.

Mar

HTC Thunderbolt Bootloader Unlocked, ClockworkMod Recovery Loaded, ROM Floodgates Opened

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

That didn't take long. A collaborative effort between numerous Android hackers just managed to crack the Thunderbolt's bootloader wide open, successfully booting a custom recovery image. They also incidentally discovered a new root method in the process. Credit goes to jcase, jamezelle, and scotty2 (and all of andirc) for working out the details, and ProTekk and Trident for putting their shiny new Thunderbolts on the line. Here's the visual proof:

Image credit: Trident, ProTekk

We'll keep you apprised on the situation with instructions on how to go about unlocking your own Thunderbolt as we get more information.

Mar

Updated: HTC Thunderbolt Takes A Page From Moto's Playbook: Bootloader And Recovery Are Locked

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Last Updated: March 22nd, 2011

Update: Bootloader and recovery are both locked and signed. See new screenshot.

Update #2: The device has been rooted, and its bootloader has been unlocked!

Some of our good friends over at AndIRC (most thanks going to scotty2 for discovering it, and Trident for being the guinea pig) have discovered a bit of troubling information regarding the HTC Thunderbolt: its bootloader and recovery are locked. What does that mean, exactly? No custom ROMs - for now. Some enterprising hackers successfully flashed a custom recovery image onto a T-bolt, but lo and behold, upon entering the bootloader, no recovery boot option was to be found once the flash had been completed.

Mar

[Exclusive] How To Root The HTC Thunderbolt - Instructions By Team AndIRC (V1.02 2011/03/18)

Posted by Justin Case in Development, Exclusives, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

Update: This method is outdated - please refer to this guide instead.

Jamezelle, jcase (that's me), and all of AndIRC (i.e. everyone - AndIRC is an open dev group), the same folks who rooted the pre-production Thunderbolt in February, proudly present:

A Very Dirty HTC Thunderbolt Root V1.02 2011/03/18

Pros

Root with read/write access to /system
Ability to downgrade and flash any RUU (i.e. signed firmware)

Cons

No custom recovery [yet]
No custom kernels [yet]
The root procedure currently requires flashing a slightly older version of the firmware (RUU_Mecha_VERIZON_WWE_1.05.605.0_Radio_1.07.00.0108r_NV_8K_1.38_9K_1.54_release_166255), which could potentially have more bugs. Right now, we cannot confirm whether LTE/battery bugs are present in this version or not.

Mar

HTC Employees Discuss Thunderbolt In Short Promo Video

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless, Videos

From what we've seen around the AP offices, the Thunderbolt is the most highly-anticipated Android phone in some time. It's no surprise, either: between HTC's respectable name, tested-and-true hardware, and LTE, all accounts describe it as a fantastic piece of kit. HTC has released a short promo video featuring some of the key employees behind development of the device, and it's actually a surprisingly well-shot, well-cut, interesting view - definitely worth the few minutes it takes to watch it.

Our man Jaro has just received our Thunderbolt review unit, so expect our full (and likely exhaustive) review in the coming days.

Mar

Thunderbolt LTE Speed Tests Are Rolling In - How Fast Are Yours?

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Today is finally the day. The Thunderbolt has arrived and you have your shiny new toys in your hands. You just might be enjoying data speeds that some Wi-Fi connections would envy. We went poking around a little and found some impressive results floating around the web already (and we also want to know what kinds of speeds you are getting).

First, one big thing to keep in mind with all that you have heard about Thunderbolt LTE speeds is that the Speedtest.net app, commonly the first way to easily test data speeds, isn't working properly with the Thunderbolt. Download speeds seem to record accurately, but upload speeds are way off (leading some to believe that they are actually getting 40 Mbps uploads - this is incorrect).

Mar

Best Buy Wises Up - Thunderbolt's $249.99 Price Extended Past March 20

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Just a couple of days ago I was ranting at Best Buy's preposterous announcement that they were going to hike the price of the HTC Thunderbolt, starting on March 20, from its launch price of $249.99 to a staggering $299.99. Apparently someone in the land of BB thought twice about this plan, as the folks over at Droid Life bring us news that the retailer is now changing its tune. Best Buy today announced that they would extend the $250 price tag "beyond the initial [March] 20 end-date outlined in the original announcement."

Verizon was going to continue selling it for $250 and Amazon is even hocking it for just $179.99, so you would have had choices even if Best Buy had stuck with their original ~~robbery~~ plan.