Can't unlock bootloader on Google Nexus S

J

Jib

New member
I have a Nexus S which recently got updated to the standard 2.3.4 Google firmware. I want to root it and load CyanogenMod but I can't even get past the 1st hurdle of unlocking the bootloader. http://wiki.cyanogen..._the_Bootloader says to power on with the vol up and power buttons held until 3 skating androids appear - but they never do. Instead, I get a screen which has a menu on it and a green android. At the top it says FASTBOOT MODE" in red (so I figure I'm close). The menu items are REBOOT BOOTLOADER, REBOOT, RECOVERY and POWER OFF. There is some info listed at the top of the screen which says "LOCK STATE - LOCKED".

When booting in this way, if I connect the phone to my PC with a USB cable I don't get anything when I run "fastboot devices". I have installed the USB drivers - when connected to the PC after a normal boot I can see it under the Windows 7 Device Manager as "Android Composite ADB Interface" and I've been connecting the PC to the phone with MyPhoneExplorer. So doesn't that mean the USB drivers are all OK?

Where do I go from here to unlock the bootloader?
 
After playing with this for a few hours I've figured it out. Previously I couldn't install the USB drivers when the phone was booted into Fastboot Mode. Eventually I figured out that I was trying to install the USB drivers incorrectly. On my Windows 7 PC I had to do this:

1) Click Update Driver Software
2) Click Browse My Computer For Driver Software
3) Put the directory holding your USB drivers in the file location field. In my case this is C:\android-sdk-windows\extras\google\usb_driver
4) Now...this is the important bit - Then instead of clicking the Next button, click Let Me Pick From A List Of Device Drivers On My Computer.
5) Pick the model from the list and then the Next button. For me, I chose the Android Composite ADB Interface.

Then when I rebooted into Fastboot Mode I could see the device when running "fastboot devices", and "fastboot oem unlock" showed the "Unlock bootloader?" screen on the phone.
 
everyone has problems with installing the driver. that is, everyone that doesnt know. the easiest way to get the driver installed is to do it through the PDAnet website http://junefabrics.com/android/. pdanet is actually a tethering app. anyways, there is a free download for the pc at their site. download it, follow the instruction on the screen, and it will install the proper driver for you. it takes about 4 minutes. its that easy!
 
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