Related
If i were to get a LG v20, which version should i buy if i am concerned with rooting, bootloader unlocking, and roms and such?
The at&t variant is the one that can be rooted on all the software versions the company has released thus far. This might change though in any future updates the company releases. The rest can also be rooted, but only up to certain software versions (mostly those released prior to mid-2017, for the T-Mobile variant, updating to H91810P and beyond means you can't root, yet).
The factory unlocked US996 (not to be confused with the us cellular us996) is the only one that LG provides an official means to unlock the bootloader which is a key part of rooting and installing custom ROMs. The others must rollback to an old version (which isn't possible on recent Sprint and T-Mobile firmware but the framework is there for any carrier to stop it) to root/install a custom ROM. Besides that both x86cpu (main maintainer of LineageOS for the V20) and myself ( I fell into maintaining TWRP for the V20) have the US996.
I recently bought a used H910 AT&T from ebay running 10m
Had to downgrade to unlock bootloader and install TWRP but working like a charm...
is the us996 model the same one as the t-mobile version? is there a way to tell which us996 is which?
Hi, sorry for asking this if it sounds dumb but i am not good in rooting and custom rom stuff i just use stock rom. Recently I also bought h910 and it has some issues regarding the os. How to know that i need to downgrade the android to unlock boot loader for installation of twrp? Can you help me?
I am also having this issue which i posted in xda, may be you are aware of it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/help/lg-v20-h910-how-to-remove-carrier-t3773458
As far as i check and know there is only one us996 model and that's the us cellular variant
@runningnak3d has recently developed a method to root T-Mobile H918. (main thread here)
Several members have reported successfull root, and it appears the method is successful on many other V20 models (even other LG phones) as well.
Without AT&T's help?
No, you can contact AT&T, https://www.att.com/deviceunlock
Yes you can. I've done it with a site called unlockplus.
Here you go. Flash one of these KDZ to carrier unlock the phone. You want the ones that say "open" -- which means they are not locked to a carrier.
https://lg-firmwares.com/lg-lmv350ulm-firmwares/firmwares/
https://lg-firmwares.com/lg-lmv350em-firmwares/firmwares/
Top link is for North America Google Fi variant.
Bottom link is for Central/South America -- but if you use that, you do NOT want Claro. You want the other one (carrier unlocked) MIA.
Yeah, flashing an unlocked firmware won't unlock this device. Why in the world would you post something ridiculous like this? How can you have 8185 posts and not know what unlocking means? smh
zeek6228 said:
Yeah, flashing an unlocked firmware won't unlock this device. Why in the world would you post something ridiculous like this? How can you have 8185 posts and not know what unlocking means? smh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your saying that wont work.. I was just about to figure out how to flash it. Good thing i didnt or i would have more than likely bricked it.
zeek6228 said:
Yeah, flashing an unlocked firmware won't unlock this device. Why in the world would you post something ridiculous like this? How can you have 8185 posts and not know what unlocking means? smh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so you know, you're replying to a guy who (besides other feats) made it possible for anyone to carrier unlock virtually any LG V30 model no matter what carrier it was on previously. And that was made exactly by crossflashing. So yeah, I would kinda listen to him.
zeek6228 said:
Yeah, flashing an unlocked firmware won't unlock this device. Why in the world would you post something ridiculous like this? How can you have 8185 posts and not know what unlocking means? smh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because that's EXACTLY how we carrier unlock the LG V30/V30+. We flash carrier unlocked firmware over carrier locked firmware -- specifically AT&T and Sprint variants. The principle should be the same with the AT&T LG V35.
Besides the two carrier locked North American LG V30 phones (AT&T & Sprint), some of the European LG V30 are also carrier locked. Cross flashing the region appropriate "open market" firmware carrier unlocks them.
I haven't done it on LG V35, but I've done it many, many times on the predecessor LG V30/V30+.
We flash V30 firmware and forth at will to carrier unlock the phones, get fastboot flash commands, bootloader unlock, install TWRP and root. The simplest of all these goals is carrier unlock.
____________
MorbidMonkey101 said:
So your saying that wont work.. I was just about to figure out how to flash it. Good thing i didnt or i would have more than likely bricked it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He says it won't work. Whereas I've carrier unlocked several LG V30/V30+ doing EXACTLY that. And so have hundreds of other people. I've written a couple of guides on the subject.
While I've not done it on LG V35, I suggested this method because it seems reasonable and logical based on the immediate V30 predecessor.
Something similar (cross flashing) also worked on the LG V20. However, in both cases we had Dev Patched LGUP to use. IF it doesn't work for the LG V35, that would be why -- because perhaps the appropriate .dll has not been used to create LG V35 dev patched LGUP.
I can't guarantee it will work on LG V35, the way I can guarantee it does for the LG V30.
lg V35
You can flash it and it will boot (not dead, frozen or stuck in Qualcomm 9008 mode like when you normally flash mismatched firmware, picks up signal fine)
Yes I am aware of how to unlock G6, V30 and G7 by flashing a different firmware and I have unlocked several HUNDRED of them. Even LS998 on V22B firmware.
This will flash successfully (I use Octopus tool, the newest LGUP tool is not released so can't do it that way) but it will still show the V350AWM model and will still be locked to AT&T. Only it will remove the AT&T bloatware.
It is a good solution to flash these if you brick your device. But it won't unlock them.
zeek6228 said:
You can flash it and it will boot (not dead, frozen or stuck in Qualcomm 9008 mode like when you normally flash mismatched firmware, picks up signal fine)
Yes I am aware of how to unlock G6, V30 and G7 by flashing a different firmware and I have unlocked several HUNDRED of them. Even LS998 on V22B firmware.
This will flash successfully (I use Octopus tool, the newest LGUP tool is not released so can't do it that way) but it will still show the V350AWM model and will still be locked to AT&T. Only it will remove the AT&T bloatware.
It is a good solution to flash these if you brick your device. But it won't unlock them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Well debloating V35 is at least one advantage others will like, even if it won't carrier unlock it -- and this answer is much better than your first attempt. Can you also now access the bootloader on the V35 and do fastboot flash commands work when, once you flash the open market KDZ? Cross flashing carrier locked North America V30/V30+ to open market US998 allows this, besides carrier unlocking them.
2) If you are aware of how to to carrier unlock AT&T H931 V30 and Sprint LS998 V30/V30+ by flashing different firmware -- like to the US998 V30 open market KDZ -- as well as other LG phone series (G6/G7) using the same technique, and you say you have carrier unlocked "several hundred" by using that technique (with Octopus box, it seems), then your previous insulting post looks like it was written by someone totally ignorant of this Frankenstein process which we use every day to carrier unlock phones like this...
zeek6228 said:
Yeah, flashing an unlocked firmware won't unlock this device. Why in the world would you post something ridiculous like this? How can you have 8185 posts and not know what unlocking means? smh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zeek6228 said:
You can flash it and it will boot (not dead, frozen or stuck in Qualcomm 9008 mode like when you normally flash mismatched firmware, picks up signal fine)
Yes I am aware of how to unlock G6, V30 and G7 by flashing a different firmware and I have unlocked several HUNDRED of them. Even LS998 on V22B firmware.
This will flash successfully (I use Octopus tool, the newest LGUP tool is not released so can't do it that way) but it will still show the V350AWM model and will still be locked to AT&T. Only it will remove the AT&T bloatware.
It is a good solution to flash these if you brick your device. But it won't unlock them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have pulled the RSA certs from every model V35, G7, and V40 that are currently available, and LG learned their lesson from the WTF V30 exploit .. they use different certs for every model.
If you have cross flashed the V35, or G7 .. you are only flashing boot and system. If you had flashed an RSA signed partition, you would have had a brick.
I will be glad to post the certs if you like.
-- Brian
Oh sorry I didn't mean it to be insulting at all but flashing these files will not unlock it.
I'm new on this forum. Sorry for being disrespectful.. Everyone is very thankful to you Only WTF? Why would you suggest to flash something if you never tried it before?
To flash I did flash these firmwares but I used Octopus box (super highly recommended)
Lets do something constructive here though. If you have signed cert files let me test it. I have a couple AT&T V350AWM, we can brick them, it is OK. I'll load anything and post results here.
Again sorry about insulting retort but a forum like this should have only 100% clean reliable info.
Hello everyone,
I just bought a LGV35 form eBay for a few bucks but has bad imei is there any chance that I can unlock the phone? I want to use it outside USA, any idea or can somebody help me?
Regards
runningnak3d said:
I have pulled the RSA certs from every model V35, G7, and V40 that are currently available, and LG learned their lesson from the WTF V30 exploit .. they use different certs for every model.
If you have cross flashed the V35, or G7 .. you are only flashing boot and system. If you had flashed an RSA signed partition, you would have had a brick.
I will be glad to post the certs if you like.
-- Brian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, since the G7 and even V35 was released before V30 WTF was discovered (mid-May 2018). @TxanMoe started the WTF thread with his "crazy" story May 14 -- and you helped him unbrick his phone soon after that. I wrote the WTF instructions on May 21.
Well, V35 was released beginning of June 2018, but it was already in the pipeline by May 2018.
The RSA stuff for every variant is probably more an extension of what LG started with T-Mobile H932...
Very sad.
ChazzMatt said:
Interesting, since the G7 and even V35 was released before V30 WTF was discovered (mid-May 2018). @TxanMoe started the WTF thread with his "crazy" story May 14 -- and you helped him unbrick his phone soon after that. I wrote the WTF instructions on May 21.
Well, V35 was released beginning of June 2018, but it was already in the pipeline by May 2018.
The RSA stuff for every variant is probably more an extension of what LG started with T-Mobile H932...
Very sad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, let me clarify. I have only been able to check models that have a KDZ that I can pull the certs from. Any model that either never has KDZ (AT&T or Sprint), or if a KDZ isn't publicly available yet .. I haven't been able to check since I can't get anyone to dump abl.
I will try to post a list of the ones I have checked when the holidays are over.
-- Brian
Hi
I have a lg v35 at&t unlocked and I'm using another carrier(metro pcs) but i can't update it to the latest software version.
Is there any way to get the latest software version?
rapidrayo said:
Hello everyone,
I just bought a LGV35 form eBay for a few bucks but has bad imei is there any chance that I can unlock the phone? I want to use it outside USA, any idea or can somebody help me?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought one too. It's bad esn. So someone can help to unlock to use it outside USA? I already tried unlocking company but they didn't find the code... Thanks:good:
Klenti said:
Hi
I have a lg v35 at&t unlocked and I'm using another carrier(metro pcs) but i can't update it to the latest software version.
Is there any way to get the latest software version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you go about unlocking it? Did you buy it from ATT without a contract.. Did you use an unlocking service or from att directly for unlock?
Klenti said:
Hi
I have a lg v35 at&t unlocked and I'm using another carrier(metro pcs) but i can't update it to the latest software version.
Is there any way to get the latest software version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you put an AT&T MVNO sim in it, it should update. When I put a Red Pocket Mobile (MVNO) sim in my v35 along with wifi working, it updated the software to version V350AWM10w even though the phone was not yet activated on the red pocket network. If you can find a pre-paid AT&T sim, it should also work, but I'm guessing there.
(note, my v35 is locked to AT&T, I wonder if your phone being unlocked might have some other 'thing' that might be stopping it from updating)
I just rooted my us996 us cellular variant and was wondering what all ROMs support this variant. I know most people will say I should just buy an unlocked version but I got this phone for really good deal and don't want to get rid of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
rafe83 said:
I just rooted my us996 us cellular variant and was wondering what all ROMs support this variant. I know most people will say I should just buy an unlocked version but I got this phone for really good deal and don't want to get rid of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lineage, 16.0 unofficial. us996-ds version
I seen that. Thanks. I'm going to try that one here shortly.
rafe83 said:
I just rooted my us996 us cellular variant and was wondering what all ROMs support this variant. I know most people will say I should just buy an unlocked version but I got this phone for really good deal and don't want to get rid of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
How did you root your US Cellular US996? My h918 died from water damage that happened before I owned it, and now I'm stuck with an unrooted US996 for US Cellular, but I haven't found how to root it and unlock the bootloader.
Thanks,
Rob
frohro said:
Hi,
How did you root your US Cellular US996? My h918 died from water damage that happened before I owned it, and now I'm stuck with an unrooted US996 for US Cellular, but I haven't found how to root it and unlock the bootloader.
Thanks,
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG official bootloader unlock guide:
LG Developer
The official developer resources for LG products and platforms.
developer.lge.com
Click How to Unlock the Bootloader for instructions.
All the US996 variants were recently silently added to the list of devices that can be unlocked:
V20 LG Official Unlock..
So, I happened to get my hands on a pair of V20's. Both were us996 models. One was the USA and the other was UCL (US Cellular). In the past, the UCL was not able to be unlocked on LG's website. I was able to unlock the USA model just fine...
forum.xda-developers.com
After that install the TWRP from here:
[Recovery][Unofficial]TWRP 3.3.1-1 : 2019-10-25
Inspired by Backcheck building for the VS995, I've decided to build the latest TWRP for the US996 and now most other V20 variants as well. I'm an amateur, but so far in my own use it seems to be working fine (flashes Open Gapps, Lineage, and...
forum.xda-developers.com
and flash Magisk to root:
Releases ยท topjohnwu/Magisk
The Magic Mask for Android. Contribute to topjohnwu/Magisk development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Hello! I plan getting an LG V20, yet i can't seem to determine which of the variants have the most support (As in custom roms, kernels, recoveries, unbrick, etc...).
My previous device, the V10 T-Mobile version had an unlocked bootloader but couldn't be flashed with a custom rom or downgraded due to LG enabling the QFuse or Anti-Rollback.
I am hoping to get myself a V20 variant that has the most support and also free from anti-rollbacks like my previous V10.
Get and ATT. But it should be less than android 8.0 oreo or oreo 20g software version. Preferably on Android 7.0
TMobile one android 7.0 is also good. But I prefer h910 ATT
princedede said:
Get and ATT. But it should be less than android 8.0 oreo or oreo 20g software version. Preferably on Android 7.0
TMobile one android 7.0 is also good. But I prefer h910 ATT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion. Could you elaborate as to why i need to get a device that is less than android 8.0?
Back on my T-Mobile V10, the last official android version (MM) came with all the lock down that made it impossible to falsh the device.
Is it so with the V20s running Oreo?
Thanks for starting this thread, I was wondering too, especially regarding the T-Mobile and Verizon version as there seems to be plenty of them out there for a lesser price. I personally have an unlocked US996, but was thinking about picking up a ATT h910. The V20 is an amazing phone, what I'd consider one of the last "great phones" that had it all-hardware wise: removable battery, expandable memory, IR blaster, 3.5mm headphone jack, and an FM player.... in addition the Quad DAC and content creation features made it even sweeter (manual mode for the camera, very competent microphone). Though we all complained about LG's horrible software updates, in my book this phone is a beast and a legend, speaking hardware wise, they don't make 'em like this anymore...sadly so too..
ssnova said:
Thanks for starting this thread, I was wondering too, especially regarding the T-Mobile and Verizon version as there seems to be plenty of them out there for a lesser price. I personally have an unlocked US996, but was thinking about picking up a ATT h910. The V20 is an amazing phone, what I'd consider one of the last "great phones" that had it all-hardware wise: removable battery, expandable memory, IR blaster, 3.5mm headphone jack, and an FM player.... in addition the Quad DAC and content creation features made it even sweeter (manual mode for the camera, very competent microphone). Though we all complained about LG's horrible software updates, in my book this phone is a beast and a legend, speaking hardware wise, they don't make 'em like this anymore...sadly so too..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The V20 seems like a great device...judging from my previous V10. It is the reason why i am choosing to get the V20 over the Xiaomi Note 7 or Xiaomi 7.
But i still need a bit of clarification as to what makes some V20 variants better than others and why i am required to get a variant with Nougat instead of Oreo.
I just wanna get a variant that isn't locked down like my V10 was. Any suggestions or explanations on the matter is very welcome.
mickeyasamoah said:
The V20 seems like a great device...judging from my previous V10. It is the reason why i am choosing to get the V20 over the Xiaomi Note 7 or Xiaomi 7.
But i still need a bit of clarification as to what makes some V20 variants better than others and why i am required to get a variant with Nougat instead of Oreo.
I just wanna get a variant that isn't locked down like my V10 was. Any suggestions or explanations on the matter is very welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, and I'm on a similar boat, as my US996 is stock and I'd like to pick up another one to run LOS/community developed and I was wondering if there was a more preferable V20 variant over the other. Hopefully someone more acquainted with the subject matter can chime in.
mickeyasamoah said:
Thanks for the suggestion. Could you elaborate as to why i need to get a device that is less than android 8.0?
Back on my T-Mobile V10, the last official android version (MM) came with all the lock down that made it impossible to falsh the device.
Is it so with the V20s running Oreo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is. That's why it's better to have a V20 with Android 7. For ATT H910, android 8.0 on version g is still rootable. 8.0 version H, I can't say. So basically just get the one with Android 7.0 installed
---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------
ssnova said:
I understand, and I'm on a similar boat, as my US996 is stock and I'd like to pick up another one to run LOS/community developed and I was wondering if there was a more preferable V20 variant over the other. Hopefully someone more acquainted with the subject matter can chime in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-mobile, ATT V20 is okay. U can get any. But let it be on Android 7.0
ssnova said:
I understand, and I'm on a similar boat, as my US996 is stock and I'd like to pick up another one to run LOS/community developed and I was wondering if there was a more preferable V20 variant over the other. Hopefully someone more acquainted with the subject matter can chime in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! Isn't the US996 supposed to be the Non-Branded version of the V20 which allows bootloader unlocks from the LG website?
princedede said:
Yes it is. That's why it's better to have a V20 with Android 7. For ATT H910, android 8.0 on version g is still rootable. 8.0 version H, I can't say. So basically just get the one with Android 7.0 installed
---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------
T-mobile, ATT V20 is okay. U can get any. But let it be on Android 7.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification. But what of the US996 version which is supposed to be the version unlockable from the LG website? Does it also have to be on android 7.0 too or does it not matter what version it might be on?
mickeyasamoah said:
Thanks for the clarification. But what of the US996 version which is supposed to be the version unlockable from the LG website? Does it also have to be on android 7.0 too or does it not matter what version it might be on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Due to the official LG support, the version should not matter for the unlocked US996. The tricky part may be actually finding the correct phone as there are two other US996 variants that are not unlockable from the LG website. The unlocked one has "USA" written to the right of the barcode on the sticker behind the battery, as seen in a couple of photos in this thread. The other two US996 models have "UCL" and "BPT" written instead.
Of course, all of them can be rooted and have custom ROMs, but it's a lot easier to get there on the US996 USA.
Generally, I'd say the US996 USA alongside the H910 and H918 have the most custom ROM support around here. Not sure if it matters to you, but do note that all the US996 models have the FM radio disabled. And generally, getting a V20 already on Oreo is not a huge problem (except for the LS997 model where it's unrootable due to anti-rollback) since you can still downgrade to Nougat to do the TWRP installation/rooting procedure.
C D said:
Due to the official LG support, the version should not matter for the unlocked US996. The tricky part may be actually finding the correct phone as there are two other US996 variants that are not unlockable from the LG website. The unlocked one has "USA" written to the right of the barcode on the sticker behind the battery, as seen in a couple of photos in this thread. The other two US996 models have "UCL" and "BPT" written instead.
Of course, all of them can be rooted and have custom ROMs, but it's a lot easier to get there on the US996 USA.
Generally, I'd say the US996 USA alongside the H910 and H918 have the most custom ROM support around here. Not sure if it matters to you, but do note that all the US996 models have the FM radio disabled. And generally, getting a V20 already on Oreo is not a huge problem (except for the LS997 model where it's unrootable due to anti-rollback) since you can still downgrade to Nougat to do the TWRP installation/rooting procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, this answers a lot. I was kind of confused because the other day I came across a thread about "cross flashing" V20's, from what I gather, you could flash a.. say H910 to US996, didn't delve too deep into it, but had me scratching my head, sounded like it almost didn't matter what version of V20 you got, you could do almost anything with it.
To the OP, yes the US996 is an unlocked US variant, but I'm gonna keep it stock for now.
C D said:
Due to the official LG support, the version should not matter for the unlocked US996. The tricky part may be actually finding the correct phone as there are two other US996 variants that are not unlockable from the LG website. The unlocked one has "USA" written to the right of the barcode on the sticker behind the battery, as seen in a couple of photos in this thread. The other two US996 models have "UCL" and "BPT" written instead.
Of course, all of them can be rooted and have custom ROMs, but it's a lot easier to get there on the US996 USA.
Generally, I'd say the US996 USA alongside the H910 and H918 have the most custom ROM support around here. Not sure if it matters to you, but do note that all the US996 models have the FM radio disabled. And generally, getting a V20 already on Oreo is not a huge problem (except for the LS997 model where it's unrootable due to anti-rollback) since you can still downgrade to Nougat to do the TWRP installation/rooting procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh my word! Thank you so very much for this detailed explanation, This indeed answers 90% of my questions.
Since anti-rollback wasn't enabled on all the variants except that LS997 variant, getting a v20 on Oreo doesn't mean the end of modding for the device, as i can always downgrade to an Nougat and root the device. Right?
Oh...and if i read you correctly, All V20 models except for the US996 model have FM Radio functionality enabled.
I can't wait to get myself a V20 now as all my previous LG devices were T-Mobile branded and did not have FM Radio support.
It's great to know that FM radio works on even the T-Mobile variant of the V20.
Thanks again for the detailed clarification.
ssnova said:
Thanks, this answers a lot. I was kind of confused because the other day I came across a thread about "cross flashing" V20's, from what I gather, you could flash a.. say H910 to US996, didn't delve too deep into it, but had me scratching my head, sounded like it almost didn't matter what version of V20 you got, you could do almost anything with it.
To the OP, yes the US996 is an unlocked US variant, but I'm gonna keep it stock for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rodger that!
With @C D's detailed explanation, I might get the T-Mobile Variant of the V20 as the bootloader on T-Mobile variants of all my previous LG devices were really easy to unlock with the following fastboot command without any unlock code or unlock.bin file.
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
I just hope the bootloader unlock process is as straight forward on the V20 too.
mickeyasamoah said:
Oh my word! Thank you so very much for this detailed explanation, This indeed answers 90% of my questions.
Since anti-rollback wasn't enabled on all the variants except that LS997 variant, getting a v20 on Oreo doesn't mean the end of modding for the device, as i can always downgrade to an Nougat and root the device. Right?
Oh...and if i read you correctly, All V20 models except for the US996 model have FM Radio functionality enabled.
I can't wait to get myself a V20 now as all my previous LG devices were T-Mobile branded and did not have FM Radio support.
It's great to know that FM radio works on even the T-Mobile variant of the V20.
Thanks again for the detailed clarification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct about downgrading. In fact, if you look at whatever rooting guide you end up following, it will most likely involve downgrading to Nougat.
A few more bits of info:
- The T-Mobile H918 actually does have anti-rollback, too, but can still be rooted using a different procedure. You can still downgrade to a certain version number.
- Another model with the FM radio disabled is the Verizon VS995, but someone on here cross-flashed it with H910 firmware to get FM radio working and only had to flash the VS995 modem files to get it going. Same thing has been done to US996 models, but apparently, the front and back cameras get flipped as a side effect.
mickeyasamoah said:
Rodger that!
With @C D's detailed explanation, I might get the T-Mobile Variant of the V20 as the bootloader on T-Mobile variants of all my previous LG devices were really easy to unlock with the following fastboot command without any unlock code or unlock.bin file.
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
I just hope the bootloader unlock process is as straight forward on the V20 too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only for the US996 USA, sadly. Most of the procedures for the other variants are quite unusual with plenty of steps, so read up carefully before you dive in. I have done it for two older LS997s while I also bought a used US996 USA and H918 that already came rooted.
Also, if you are going for the T-Mobile H918, absolutely make sure it is carrier SIM unlocked. As far as I'm aware, a locked H918 can only be unlocked if you are a current T-Mobile USA customer or via a paid service which can cost more than $80 USD (almost the price of a used V20). It's nothing like the simple unlock PIN codes you may have seen for other carriers.
C D said:
You're correct about downgrading. In fact, if you look at whatever rooting guide you end up following, it will most likely involve downgrading to Nougat.
A few more bits of info:
- The T-Mobile H918 actually does have anti-rollback, too, but can still be rooted using a different procedure. You can still downgrade to a certain version number.
- Another model with the FM radio disabled is the Verizon VS995, but someone on here cross-flashed it with H910 firmware to get FM radio working and only had to flash the VS995 modem files to get it going. Same thing has been done to US996 models, but apparently, the front and back cameras get flipped as a side effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow....If the T-Mobile variant does come with anti-rollback, then i guess i would have to refrain from it even tho it might be downgradeable to some extent. Anti-rollbacks are always up to no good. Downgrade too much and u risk blowing a Qfuse or something.
Moving forward....How is the AT&T variant? Does it have any anti-rollbacks? I would rather have a variant that has no anti-rollback even if it's rooting or unlocking guide might be much complicated as compared to the H918.
C D said:
Only for the US996 USA, sadly. Most of the procedures for the other variants are quite unusual with plenty of steps, so read up carefully before you dive in. I have done it for two older LS997s while I also bought a used US996 USA and H918 that already came rooted.
Also, if you are going for the T-Mobile H918, absolutely make sure it is carrier SIM unlocked. As far as I'm aware, a locked H918 can only be unlocked if you are a current T-Mobile USA customer or via a paid service which can cost more than $80 USD (almost the price of a used V20). It's nothing like the simple unlock PIN codes you may have seen for other carriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The anti-rollback on the H918 has really thrown me off. Else, the T-Mobile variants of all the LG devices i owned in the past were SIM unlocked. So that wouldn't have been an issue.
mickeyasamoah said:
Wow....If the T-Mobile variant does come with anti-rollback, then i guess i would have to refrain from it even tho it might be downgradeable to some extent. Anti-rollbacks are always up to no good. Downgrade too much and u risk blowing a Qfuse or something.
Moving forward....How is the AT&T variant? Does it have any anti-rollbacks? I would rather have a variant that has no anti-rollback even if it's rooting or unlocking guide might be much complicated as compared to the H918.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only the H918 and LS997 have anti-rollback, so you'd be safe with the H910. However, both the LS997 and H910 (by now you probably realize how ridiculous LG has been with all these variations) have no official firmware (.kdz) files, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to restore the phone in the unlikely scenario that you somehow lose TWRP recovery.
Look at the rooting guides specific to both H910 and H918 to see what you're up against and what pitfalls may lie ahead before you decide.
C D said:
Only the H918 and LS997 have anti-rollback, so you'd be safe with the H910. However, both the LS997 and H910 (by now you probably realize how ridiculous LG has been with all these variations) have no official firmware (.kdz) files, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to restore the phone in the unlikely scenario that you somehow lose TWRP recovery.
Look at the rooting guides specific to both H910 and H918 to see what you're up against and what pitfalls may lie ahead before you decide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh My! These are some of the things LG does that made me say to myself in the past..."This would be my last LG device." But somehow, i keep finding myself crawling to LG.
Like you said, i have to read as to determine which variant's shortcomings is less damaging.
Before i go digging into V20 threads, is it possible the H910 has a tot even tho it doesn't have a kdz?
mickeyasamoah said:
Oh My! These are some of the things LG does that made me say to myself in the past..."This would be my last LG device." But somehow, i keep finding myself crawling to LG.
Like you said, i have to read as to determine which variant's shortcomings is less damaging.
Before i go digging into V20 threads, is it possible the H910 has a tot even tho it doesn't have a kdz?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never seen any firmware files at all available for the H910, and other V20 variants have KDZs only, no TOT files.
C D said:
I have never seen any firmware files at all available for the H910, and other V20 variants have KDZs only, no TOT files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow....LG really makes sure each variant lacks something. H918 has easy bootloader unlock but a dreadful anti-rollback, H910 has no rollback but has no firmware files.
I was just reading and i noticed that the anti-rollback on the H918 was introduced in the firmware version 10K.
Does this mean that an H918 with firmware version 10K and below would be fine? If yes, would a rooted H918 with 10K be able to flash custom Oreo ROMs?
So I picked up this old flagship budget phone and I was having no service at all. I tried resetting the phone, and reconfiguring APN settings, scanning for networks, but nothing worked.
So I did some research, and it turns out I was told I was getting the US996 (factory unlocked) version which is compatible with all carriers. But when I look under the battery, it says LS997 instead. But when I look at the software settings, it says Software Version US99610p. The seller must have flashed the US996 firmware onto an LS997 (Sprint) phone.
So at this point, I'm pretty sure I got scammed, and the sad part is this phone isn't refundable. I thought maybe if I could somehow get this phone off the US996 firmware and back to the LS997 firmware it originally came with, I'd have no problems. My carrier is Sprint as well.
But the sad part is, there's no LS997 KDZ's which I could just flash, since Sprint, unlike other carriers, does not release KDZ's.
So at this point, what are my options? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Not sure if this is of much help, but if I were you I would unlock the bootloader and just flash a custom rom.
d2xTaimen said:
Not sure if this is of much help, but if I were you I would unlock the bootloader and just flash a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought of that, but should I use the LS997 method or the US996 method to unlock?
Honestly Im not too sure since I have a H918 and none of those, Take my info with a grain of salt as I might be wrong, I think that the firmware update partition is not a part of the OS so you may be able to get away using the LS997 method?