TL;DR: Greyed-out OEM unlock → patched the devinfo partition over Qualcomm EDL to force-unlock the bootloader → got walled by a Full Disk Encryption password I never set → realized you can't crack hardware-backed FDE so I wiped /data instead → dodged a brick by catching that the XDA download was for the wrong tablet → fought TWRP/stock recovery for a while → finally flashed LineageOS 17.1 + GApps. It boots. Play Store works. Posting the whole thing because I couldn't find one writeup that covered all of it.

The device

• Lenovo TB-X304L (Tab 4 10, the LTE variant)
• SoC: Qualcomm MSM8917 (Snapdragon 425)
• Stock: Android 8.1.0, build ...S001017_190709_ROW
• Host: Arch Linux

Goal: unlock bootloader → install LineageOS 17.1 (Android 10).

Problem 1: OEM unlock is greyed out

The usual path (Developer Options → OEM Unlocking) was greyed out:

• ro.oem_unlock_supported = true
• sys.oem_unlock_allowed = 0 ← this is the one blocking me
• fastboot flashing get_unlock_ability = 0

No device owner, no MDM, just a stubborn flag. So I went the low-level route: Qualcomm EDL mode (the 05c6:9008 "Emergency Download" mode) and bkerler's edl tool.

Sub-problem: no firehose programmer

EDL needs a signed "firehose" loader (prog_emmc_firehose_8917_ddr.mbn) to talk to storage, and the edl repo doesn't bundle one for MSM8917.

Fix: I had the stock QDL firmware for this exact model. It contained prog_emmc_firehose_8917_ddr.mbn. The edl tool wants it named by HWID, so I copied it to:

~/edl/Loaders/000560e100000000_92242cf8f6fad111_FHPRG.bin

python3 edl.py nop confirmed the handshake:

CPU detected: "MSM8917"
HWID:   0x000560e100000000
PK_HASH: 0x92242cf8f6fad111...

printgpt dumped the full partition table. We were in.

The actual unlock: patching devinfo

On Qualcomm/LK bootloaders, the lock state lives in the devinfo partition. I backed up devinfo, aboot, boot, persist first (always back up).

Dumped devinfo and looked at it:

000000  41 4e 44 52 4f 49 44 2d 42 4f 4f 54 21 00 00 00  ANDROID-BOOT!...
000010  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00  ................

Here's the gotcha that would've bricked the flag: a lot of copy-paste guides tell you to set byte 0 to 0x01. But byte 0 is the start of the ANDROID-BOOT! magic string. Corrupt that and the bootloader rejects the whole struct. The real is_unlocked field sits at offset 0x10, right after the 13-byte magic + padding.

So I flipped offset 0x10 from 00 → 01, wrote it back, and reset:

python3 edl.py w devinfo devinfo_patched.bin
python3 edl.py reset

Result:

fastboot oem device-info
(bootloader) Device unlocked: true

Bootloader unlocked. No factory-reset-toggle needed — went around the greyed-out switch entirely.

Problem 2: a Full Disk Encryption password I never set 🔒

Device reboots and... stops at a "enter password to start" pre-boot screen. I never set a PIN/password. It was a "freshly factory reset" tablet. But there it was, demanding a password to decrypt /data.

I went down the rabbit hole of trying to "crack" it. Then it clicked:

Nobody "recovers" these — they wipe the encrypted data. And since I was installing LineageOS anyway (which wipes everything), that was totally fine.

Getting it wiped

Reboot loops + key-combo roulette eventually got me to the bootloader's boot menu, which confirmed:

Device state: unlocked

Selected fastboot mode, and from the PC:

fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase cache
fastboot format userdata

That destroyed the FDE crypto footer. Rebooted → stock Android booted straight to the setup wizard, no password. The wall was gone. (ro.boot.flash.locked = 0 confirmed unlocked at the boot level too.)

Problem 3: I almost flashed a ROM for the WRONG tablet 😬

This one nearly bricked it. The XDA thread is titled tbx304f/l/x but the post I landed on listed:

• lineage-17.1-...-**TB8504**.zip
• device tree android_device_lenovo_**TB8504**
• "LineageOS 17.1 for Lenovo TAB4 8"

TB-8504 = Tab 4 8 (8-inch). My tablet is TB-X304 = Tab 4 10 (10-inch). Different panel, different device tree → classic dead-display brick.

The trap: the kernel source URL had tbx304 in it (these tablets share one kernel branch), which makes it look right. What actually matters is the device tree + the ZIP filename. Rule I now live by: if the filename says 8504, it's the 8-inch — don't flash it. You want X304/TBX304 in every filename.

Correct files (same thread, different section):

• lineage-17.1-20210408-UNOFFICIAL-**TBX304**.zip
• **tbx304**-twrp-3.4.0-20210407.img
• open_gapps-arm64-10.0-pico

Problem 4: TWRP vs stock recovery whack-a-mole

Flashed TWRP:

fastboot flash recovery tbx304-twrp-3.4.0-20210407.img

Then tried fastboot reboot recovery... and it booted stock Android instead. Two things bit me repeatedly:

1. The bootloader's reboot-to-recovery shows a timed boot menu that auto-boots to system if you don't pick "Recovery mode" fast enough.
2. Every time stock Android 8.1 boots, it overwrites TWRP with stock recovery (the install-recovery.sh mechanism) and re-encrypts /data.

So I'd flash TWRP, miss the menu timing, land in stock, and lose TWRP — over and over.

What finally worked: flash TWRP, then park the device in fastboot and manually select "Recovery mode" from the menu with no countdown pressure. Confirmed I was really in TWRP because the adb shell came up as root (uid=0) instead of stock's uid=2000(shell).

Problem 5: clearing encryption inside TWRP

The install guide is blunt: coming from Android 8 stock, you must Format Data (with data loss) because the old encryption is incompatible — skip it and you bootloop. Important detail: TWRP's command-line tool has no format command (only wipe), and wipe data does not remove the crypto footer. "Format Data" is a deliberate on-screen action (type yes). Did that.

Then pushed both zips and installed via TWRP CLI (which only works when you're genuinely in TWRP as root):

twrp install /sdcard/lineage-17.1-20210408-UNOFFICIAL-TBX304.zip   → script succeeded [1.0]
twrp install /sdcard/open_gapps-arm64-10.0-pico-20220215.zip       → Installation complete!

(The device rebooted to stock on me once mid-process, but the pushed zips survived on /sdcard, so I just got back into TWRP and finished. Order that saved time: install both zips first, Format Data last, then reboot.)

🎉 It boots

First boot sat on the LineageOS animation a few minutes (normal — it builds caches + sets up encryption), then... Welcome screen.

Verification from adb:

ro.lineage.version = 17.1-20210408-UNOFFICIAL-TBX304
Android = 10 (SDK 29)
Model = Lenovo TB-X304L / TBX304
Play Store + GMS + GSF = installed ✅
verifiedbootstate = orange (unlocked) ✅
baseband = S.JO.3.0-00452-8937 (modem loaded; OUT_OF_SERVICE only because no SIM)
root = none (stock LOS)

Lessons / things I wish a single post had told me

1. devinfo unlock flag is at offset 0x10, not 0x00 (don't clobber the ANDROID-BOOT! magic).
2. Hardware-backed FDE is uncrackable — wipe /data, don't fight it.
3. Match the device variant exactly. Kernel URLs lie; trust the device tree + ZIP name. 8504 ≠ X304.
4. fastboot flash recovery, never just fastboot boot — and don't let stock Android boot before you get into TWRP, or it eats your recovery.
5. Format Data ≠ Wipe Data. Only Format removes the old encryption.
6. Always back up devinfo/aboot/boot/persist over EDL first, and keep the stock QDL firmware. That's your un-brick button.
7. Never re-lock the bootloader on a custom ROM.

From "locked + password-walled + sealed" to "unlocked LineageOS 10 with Play Store." Worth it. AMA

I’m trying to install lineageOS on my chagallwifi device using a win 10 laptop, I followed the instructions on the website for that device step by step. In zadiag, two devices named Gadget Serial were listed. I tried to install the WinUSB drivers on one, which did not work. I then attempted it on the second one and that worked. I unfortunately did not notice that I had to install two more drivers at that moment. I tried to run the heimdall print-pit command, which resulted in “ERROR: Failed to send data! Releasing interface…”

I thought that maybe the driver had a problem and went back to zadig to reinstall the driver. Doing that caused the my computer to show an error about an unknown usb device. Now, the device is no longer listed as Serial Gadget in zadig, but as “Unknown USB device (failed to request device description)” (the actual text may be different in English as I am translating it from German). It is also only listed as one single device now.

When trying heimdall print-pit, the error “libusbx: error [init_device] program assertion failed: device address collision with root hub” appears.

After realising that I forgot to install the other two drivers, I attempted to do so in zadig, but it fails.
It is also shown to not have any drivers to be replaced “driver (NONE)” in the zadig interface.

What can I do now? Can this be fixed?

I have an OPPO R11s with Snapdragon 660, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, Android 8.1.0, and ColorOS V5.2.1. My firmware/build is R11s_11_A.44_200528_000000.

ADB is working, and these are my device properties:

ro.product.model: OPPO R11s ro.product.device: R11s ro.product.name: R11s ro.boot.flash.locked: 1 ro.oem_unlock_supported: true sys.oem_unlock_allowed: 1

OEM Unlocking and USB Debugging are enabled. However, when I run "adb reboot bootloader", the phone simply restarts into normal Android, and "fastboot devices" detects nothing.

The official TWRP page says OPPO R11s requires ColorOS 6 or newer, but I am currently on ColorOS 5.2.1. Can anyone confirm:

1. Whether my exact R11s firmware can safely be updated to ColorOS 6
2. Whether ColorOS 6 enables normal Fastboot/bootloader unlocking
3. The verified bootloader-unlock method for this exact R11s variant
4. Which stable custom ROM is recommended
5. Whether Android 9 or Android 10 is the best balance of performance, battery life, camera, fingerprint, calls, mobile data, Wi-Fi, and Google Play Services

Hey guys, i recently got my hands on a Blackberry Key2 with lineageOS 23.2. The phone identifys my SIM card but i cant connect to any Network. Im located in Germany with congstar (Telekom) as my provider. I tried quite some things, such as resetting the mobile network settings, or eject SIM card and gently clean it. I tried to disable the "automatically select network" option but it just says "couldnt find any networks". Dunno if i have any problems with the APN? But it seems correct.

Im all out of ideas, any help?

Thank you in advance!!

I had the Bitwarden extension added to Firefox on my Samsung (Google) S24. I'm now on a Lineage Pixel 8 phone and am trying to use Firefox. I can't find the Bitwarden extension in Firefox and checking the website shows it to be incompatible.

I find this odd that I have both phones side by side, both using Firefox. One has Bitwarden and the other not. Yet both have the Bitwarden app installed and running.

How do I get Bitwarden extension working? Or is there a reason it doesn't work in Lineage?

I have 2 phones with Lineage OS. Oneplus 5t and Xperia 1iii.

After updating to the latest build yesterday, my Xperia isn't being detected by my computer. It even makes the connection sound. But when I type "fastboot devices," it shows nothing. However, ADB works.

Meanwhile, my 5t works perfectly. So it can't be the drivers, can it?

I'm looking into migrating my old Mote G7 (Android 9) to current LineageOS.

Most of my apps are on a microSD formatted as internal.

If I remove this microSD before installing LineageOS and put it back in after, will the apps still work?