Unlocking bootloader problem

[Danceswithcats]

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services

Fairphone 6. using Debian. Have toggled USB debugging and oem unlocking in developer options on the phone.

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./adb devices 
List of devices attached 
Serial Number        unauthorized 

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./adb reboot bootloader 
error: device unauthorized. 
This adb server's $ADB_VENDOR_KEYS is not set 
Try 'adb kill-server' if that seems wrong. 
Otherwise check for a confirmation dialog on your device.

I replaced the device serial number with the words ‘Serial Number’.

I’m afraid I don’t understand the output. Could anyone explain, please? In particular, the bit about the vendor key. I had got a key bootloader unlock code from here, but haven’t yet found where it needs to be entered.

Thanks.

[Cpz.dev]

• Do you have a usb cable that provides data transfer ?
• Change the usb mode to regain access to the adb. Depending on the manufacturer of the device, sometimes it is necessary to activate the file transfer, sometimes not

[Danceswithcats]

Thank you @Cpz.dev

I will try another cable. Thank you.

I have the USB setting on File Transfer, as per the instructions. Does it matter what other setting I change it to? I assume I must change it back to file transfer before I try again.

[Cpz.dev]

Try the adb devices command under each usb mode or see if you get anything other than “unauthorized” in the cli return.

[aibd]

@Danceswithcats

check for a confirmation dialog on your device.

You are expecting to see a popup in Notifications, check Notification history too … or

Fix unauthorized device error in adb

[Danceswithcats]

Fantastic, @aibd

Sorry I didn’t find this. I had the instructions for the installer, the instructions for the manual install and the instructions for using adb. I also had a lot of pages open from links in those three documents. Sadly, I missed this one.

It’s my wife’s new phone I’m doing. I won’t get another chance until Monday, but you have renewed my optimism. Thanks to you and to @Cpz.dev

[Danceswithcats]

That seems to have worked but I’m still stuck. The installer won’t work beyond this window:

So, I reverted to command line. I’m on linux. I tried the adb devices command and it is now recognised, which is great. However, when I tried to unlock the bootloader, I got no opportunity to enter the unlock code. Instead, a dialogue came up on the phone asking whether to rebbot now or reboot later.

I thought perhaps there was some update, so I tried the command line commands as below.

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./adb devices
List of devices attached
Serial Number device

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./adb reboot bootloader
peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ fastbootflashing unlock
bash: fastbootflashing: command not found
peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./fastboot flashing unlock
< waiting for any device >

Could you tell me what I’m doing wrong, please?

[aibd]

Assuming already done

• Your device requires a code to unlock the bootloader. Get the code here before proceeding with the next steps

Please can you show the output of

./fastboot --version

and when you are sure that the phone is in Fastbboot mode (shows highlighted red in the Bootloader screen with Green START at the top)

./fastboot devices

[Danceswithcats]

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./fastboot --version
fastboot version 37.0.0-14910828
Installed as /home/peter/Desktop/platform-tools/fastboot

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./fastboot devices
no permissions (missing udev rules? user is in the plugdev group); see [http:
//developer.android.com/tools/device.html``] fastboot

re, the code, I’ve got it, but haven’t been able to enter it anywhere. The instructions here tell me to enter it after toggling oem unlock in developer options.

From developer options, enable OEM unlock

• Get the unlock code from this site and enter it.

However, I only got a reboot request.

[aibd]

@Danceswithcats

no permissions (missing udev rules? user is in the plugdev group); see [http:
//developer.android.com/tools/device.html``]

The answer is there

• http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html

Debian (in my experience) will behave exactly as shown for Linux / Ubuntu.

@Danceswithcats

but haven’t been able to enter it anywhere.

I guess this would happen if someone had already applied that code, is that possible? Edit, or re-reading, you did enter it and got reboot request … done.

[Danceswithcats]

Thanks @aibd

I didn’t enter the code. I just toggled the OEM Unlock button in developer tools and got a reboot request pop up. It’s a brand new Fairphone, straight from The Netherlands. I’m the only person who’s poked around with it. Developer Options wasn’t enabled, so I don’t think it can already have been unlocked.

I had looked at that Android page from the link in the output. I ran the plugdev command but wasn’t sure about installing the SDK platform tools. I’ll give it a go.

I won’t have another chance to TTY it untolil at least Friday. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again.

[aibd]

@Danceswithcats

the SDK platform tools

Note that you are only installing android-sdk-platform-tools-common is just a Debian small helper program that provides a “starter” for udev-rules.

If the relatively new FP6 is still not recognised after that install it will be fairly easy to identify the vendor ID by running lsusb in bash, then you add a new line in 51-android.rules and follow this /e/ doc guide (is for a for a different device).

[Danceswithcats]

Hello,

@aibd I installed the udev Debian helper file as you said, and that seemed to prompt some progress. Thanks for that. I’ve got as far as unlocking the bootloader. I approved with vol down and power and the FP6 rebooted into the page that warns the bootloader is unlocked. However, when I tried to reboot the phone again, as per step 8 in these instructions, I got this:

peter@TCTiny:~/Desktop/platform-tools$ ./adb reboot bootloader
error: no devices/emulators found

I tried rebooting the phone manually into bootloader by turning it off and using the vol down + power command, but it only gets me to the warning page.

Every step seems to raise a subtly different and undocumented frustration. I don’t remember the FP4 or 3 being this difficult.

[Danceswithcats]

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I’ve got past that stumbling block. I needed to re-enable developer options and oem unlock and so on on the device because of an Android update.

This is so hard. I like poetry.

I’ve done it! Thank you for your help. I’ve marked the point about the SDK common files as a solution because I think that was where things started to move forward. I haven’t dared go on to relocking the bootloader. I think my wife will be happy with a warning on boot.

Thank you to the community and the developers. No more Gemini.