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I am getting so frustrated.

Discussion in 'Android Lounge' started by derrrrr, Nov 20, 2019.

  1. derrrrr

    derrrrr Lurker
    Thread Starter

    I will begin by referring to a post I made on XDA earlier today to give a general idea. ​

    So I bought a pretty cheap phone from Best Buy recently, I guess he said it was the "Blu v9" but after some extensive research I have come to find out it is the Blu V8, and in recovery it says V8 as well. I really like the phone, and for the price is it very modern!

    Heres my issue.. I feel like a prisoner not having TWRP or even root. The phone is unlocked, and developer options has an option to enable OEM bootloader unlocking, but I am not able to. I have full ADB access, but whenever I boot into bootloader, all it shows is the main boot screen with a tiny little "fastboot mode" in the top left corner, I get windows to recognize something plugged in called "fastboot gadget" but I cant get "fastboot devices" to list anything at all.

    Does anyone know anything about this Blu brand in general? I feel like I don't have enough adequate information to even begin to dig deeper.
    If anyone could help me, it would really mean a lot!


    Beyond that, I am stumped. I have so much resentment for Best Buy right now, and whoever decided they are gonna lock these phones down. Especially when I paid for an UNLOCKED phone. They advertise it as unlocked. The funny thing is that is is carrier unlocked, not the bootloader. In Developer Options, I am able to "enable OEM unlocking" but it does NOTHING.

    I think the biggest hurdle right now is not being able to recognize the phone in fastboot. ADB works just fine, completely and totally. When I "adb reboot bootloader" it even reboots into whatever the hell Best Buy thinks is a bootloader mode. Its the regular boot screen with a "fastboot mode" in tiny little white text at the top left, but then I run "fastboot devices" and get nothing.

    I am running Mac OSX, but also have tried it through linux and a windows 10 VM. I don't own a windows computer right now, but I think I am going to figure out a way to try it from windows incase for some reason it is OSX bottle-necking it or something.

    If anyone has any suggestions, feel free. I am desperate.    ​
     

    Attached Files:



    #1 derrrrr, Nov 20, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 20, 2019
    2. Best Answer:
    Post #2 by mikedt, Nov 20, 2019 (1 points)

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  2. mikedt

    mikedt 你好


    ​

    Well when a big-box store or high street retailer sells you a phone they advertise as "unlocked" that does usually mean carrier unlocked, or SIM unlocked, meaning you can use it on any carrier, and that's it. ​

    ​

    ​
    ​
    no devs = no fun

    Main problem with Blu, apart from Vivo devices, is that Blu gets their phones made by unknown Chinese OEMs, meaning there's basically no information available for them, that devs can use to make TWRP, Lineage, etc. for. And as far as stuff like ADB, it's good luck with these things.

    If you really want a phone to root and customise, you really need a phone that has an active dev community, like Exynos variant Samsungs, Google Pixels, certain Motorolas, etc.
     
    #2 mikedt, Nov 20, 2019
    MoodyBlues, ocnbrze, Jfalls63 and 1 other person like this.
  3. Fox Mulder

    Fox Mulder  
    VIP Member

    Yep "unlocked" just means it's not locked to any carrier, that's it. If the manufacturer locked the bootloader there's not much you can do about that.
    Also IIRC Blu has been caught putting spyware on their phones.
     
    #3 Fox Mulder, Nov 20, 2019
    MrJavi, MoodyBlues, ocnbrze and 2 others like this.
  4. MrJavi

    MrJavi Android Expert

    Your 100% accurate with everything. I especially like "no devs=no fun".
     
    #4 MrJavi, Nov 20, 2019
    James L, ocnbrze, Jfalls63 and 1 other person like this.
  5. James L

    James L Android Expert

    On a Mac it would be ./fastboot devices
     
    #5 James L, Nov 20, 2019
    ocnbrze, Jfalls63, MrJavi and 1 other person like this.
  6. MoodyBlues

    MoodyBlues Compassion is cool!
    VIP Member

    Welcome to Android Forums, derrrrr! :)
    That's excellent! :D
    Much better to use Linux. Let one Linux device [computer] talk to another Linux device [phone], and since they're both speaking the same language, you're more likely to get good results.
     
    #6 MoodyBlues, Nov 21, 2019
    James L, MrJavi, mikedt and 1 other person like this.
  7. Hadron

    Hadron Smoke me a kipper...
    VIP Member

    If you use Windows you'll need to find a fastboot driver for the phone. I'd think you should have more chance with a fastboot binary on a *nix system (Linux or MacOS) to be honest.

    But unless you can find a custom recovery built for this device I'm not sure what fastboot access will gain you. You might unlock the bootloader, but then what?


    And as others have said, when any retailer advertises a phone as "unlocked" they mean network unlocked. You can't blame Best Buy for your not knowing this. Bootloader unlocking is an esoteric feature of interest to a small number of hobbyists - the majority of customers and retail staff will never have heard of it, so any mention of it by the retailer would just confuse most people while helping very few (as most who do know about it also known that almost no phones are sold with the bootloader unlocked).
     
    #7 Hadron, Nov 21, 2019
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2019
    James L, MrJavi and mikedt like this.
  8. MrJavi

    MrJavi Android Expert


    If you can't get root then check out VMOS Virtual Root, Android on Android Double System.

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vmos.glb&hl=en_US
     
    #8 MrJavi, Nov 23, 2019
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