A week ago Motorola released the Moto E which is an affordable Android smartphone that comes with decent specs. Naturally, those that love to tinker around with the firmware of mobile devices are going to be attracted with this model. The question that must be answered first is if this model can have its Bootloader unlocked. Without a way to unlock the bootloader then experimenting with this device will become very hard.
The good news is that Motorola announced that the Moto E has been included in its Bootloader Unlock program. Devices under this program will have their bootloaders easily unlocked. This allows developer to install custom ROM on the device and experiment with it.
Motorola lists the US retail version, Canada, Europe, and Latin American version of the Moto E that have unlockable bootloaders.
If you are interested in unlocking the bootloader of your Moto E smartphone then you should keep this in mind.
All media and content stored in the device will be lost. All apps coming from the Google Play Store will need to be reinstalled once the procedure is complete.
Some apps may not work anymore
Encryption support may be lost
Key functions may be lost such as the ability to make calls, audio playback, and radio
The device may be temporarily or permanently damaged
Unlocking the bootloader will not change the subsidy lock status of the device
Be aware that unlocking the bootloader is a procedure that is best done by consumers who have experience with the Android system and how it works.
Moto E Bootloader Unlock Procedure
First get the latest tools
Install the Android SDK. Download here.
Install the latest Motorola USB Drivers on your desktop. Download here
The next step is to get the device ID
Put your device in fastboot mode (power off, then press the power and volume down buttons simultaneously).
On your desktop, open a command prompt or terminal, and go to the directory where you installed the Android SDK tools (or make sure fastboot is in your $PATH)
At the prompt, type “$ fastboot oem get_unlock_data“
The returned string will be used to retrieve your unlock key.
Paste together the 5 lines of output into one continuous string without (bootloader) or ‘INFO’ or white spaces
Paste the string in the Motorola site to see if the device can be unlocked. If your device is unlockable, a “REQUEST UNLOCK KEY” button will appear at the bottom of the page
via motorola
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