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The end point is for me to root my S6 but I figured I cannot do that if I first do not find out whether the boot-loader is locked or not although I am convinced it is unlocked. I need reassurance as I am not in the position to buy a new phone.

During my research I came across adb and fastboot, tools used by developers for Androids and adb does work but fastboot I cannot seem to get to work.

I tried rebooting to bootloader but it just loads the phone OS up straight away. Tried booting to ODIN MODE, tried booting to download mode, etc.

How can I find out if the bootloader is locked? My current approach is using fastboot and running the fastboot oem device-info command.

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There's no fastboot for Samsung devices - Download mode is the semi-equivalent, except that it's only accessible via Odin/Heimdall. You will need appropriate drivers to get the PC to recognize a device in Download mode.

Most Samsung phones come with their BL unlocked or unlockable (notable exceptions are AT&T/Verizon devices). To root these devices, turn on "OEM Unlocking" in Settings - Developer options (if the switch exists), find a custom recovery made for the device, and flash it with Odin/Heimdall, then finally flash SuperSU/Magisk. Alternatively, make a CF-Auto-Root package for your device and firmware version with firmware.mobi and flash it.

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  • Ok, I understand. My device is sim-unlocked from Virgin Media so I'm assuming the bootloader would be open, I'm just worried because when I try to boot into bootloader the OS automatically loads up which I think is a sign that it is locked.
    – Static_x
    Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 0:23
  • @Andy Samsung can be tricky. I made the bootloader unlockable and flashed TWRP via Odin, followed by systemless SuperSU, and the phone detected that something had been altered, preventing me from booting normally. This on a Galaxy A5, 2017 variant.
    – Grimoire
    Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 15:47
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    @DeathMaskSalesman Need to patch dm-verity I guess. SuperSU is supposed to do that but it does often fail to do so.
    – Andy Yan
    Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 16:06
  • @AndyYan I pretty much discovered that myself, buddy.
    – Grimoire
    Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 16:14

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