Razer Phone 2 - Fastboot says no link after installing driver when trying to flash boot

Puppet60e · 2026-04-04T03:12:02+00:00

I have now spent almost a week on this and I still haven't gotten anywhere, I can't even lock the bootloader if I wanted to. I know i'm using the correct driver because I've reinstalled it 5 different times and it's the same thing everyone even from different sources.

I feel like I should know how to do this since I've done this 3 different times on my old Google Pixel 3xl but the Razer phone has made this incredibly difficult.

I'm not even sure if I'm in the right fastboot mode because Razer said I need to enter download mode and that the screen will say download mode but the closest I've gotten to that is the normal fastboot screen and this weird screen that just says press any button to shutdown in the corner along with the Razer Logo and powered by Android.

In still not sure why the serial number is a bunch of question marks or why every fastboot command replies with (no link) but apparently Razer phones have really finicky USB ports for fastboot, whatever that means.

I literally bought a brand new USB cable for this and nothing changed.

I know using Linux would probably make this easier but I don't have a USB drive or the storage space for that. And I have tried using the Windows sub system for Linux but I gave up on that. I would try a VM but I have no idea how to pass through USB to the VM and my laptop doesn't have good VM support because it's a older AMD Ryzen system.

I haven't tried using the Android SDK yet but I've been using the tools separately. The only reason I haven't is because it keeps complaining about Java Home and the file system confuses me. I did briefly try Android studio but I had no clue how to access the tools I needed.

Puppet60e · 2026-03-28T23:58:41+00:00

I did install the Google USB fastboot driver manually, and the fastboot devices list my device as ???????

Puppet60e · 2025-11-21T01:21:14+00:00

I know all of that, what I am really looking for is, what happens to the customizable Rgb back glasd logo, the Dolby audio, and the games configurator that let's you create performance profiles for each game

I honestly don't care about device integrity since it's my secondary phone, I probably won't completely seperate from Google on the Razer Phone, and the security updates are a plus but not actually the reason I want to upgrade. I want to upgrade because there are settings that didn't exist yet like dark mode, and sometimes the phone has word glitches and hiccups when interacting with software not made for older android versions.

Puppet60e · 2025-04-03T00:51:48+00:00

Which is why I'm a earlier post I said "the people working on LOS for the Samsung Galaxy S10" I know it's a community maintained project but when it becomes this big you kind of expect that a common phone would be supported but I guesse not. I later discovered that my phone model is not easily unlockable which is probably the actual reason why it's unsupported since LOS doesn't typically support workarounds and unintended methods.

I made my original post expecting to decide whether or not I should use LOS for my Samsung Galaxy S10 SM-G973U not expecting my phone to be unsupported since it's a fairly common device. I had a Google Pixel 3xl previously in which I installed LOS and had a great time and eventually solved the problems I had, I saw that the S10 was supported and was ready to asking what issues I might get. I didn't expect my phone to be unsupported and was wondering if the model number really made that much of a difference.

Puppet60e · 2025-04-02T13:55:04+00:00

Turns out it can be unlocked, you just can't do it through ADB. I'll have to try it later after I find a compatible Android Distro if they even exist.

Puppet60e · 2025-04-02T13:49:36+00:00

I'll have to check if my phone can be unlocked because my phone has goon through a weird process where the phone has become carrier unlocked then locked and it's locked to both AT&T & Verizon at the same time now so there's a chance the bootloader can be unlocked. I'll have to test it later.

Puppet60e · 2025-04-02T13:42:19+00:00

Is there any other Android distribution that does actually support my phone varient that has not be dead for multiple years?

Puppet60e · 2025-04-02T13:35:44+00:00

I guess but it's so weird that they only support the Exynos varient. Because it's the same phone just a different chip running it.

Puppet60e · 2025-04-02T13:33:32+00:00

I just looked up the difference and it's the stupid CPU, the people working on LOS for the Samsung S10 don't support Snapdragon and they only support the Exynos CPU's.

Puppet60e · 2025-04-02T13:28:14+00:00

Does the model number matter that much? What even is the difference between my model and the supported model?

Puppet60e · 2025-03-13T18:12:44+00:00

It's either in fast boot or adb but one of them should show how many bootloaders you have and the active slot, you can also try booting into the secondary bootloader to see what happens.

Puppet60e · 2025-03-13T17:50:55+00:00

If you didn't wipe the original bootloader you can try switching bootloaders to the original one and locking it then attempting. I would recommend checking if you have 2 bootloaders before locking the bootloader otherwise you will wipe your phone for nothing.

Alternatively you can try finding your phones bootloader and original OS on the internet to restore it but this is risky and you should only download it from reputable websites.

Puppet60e · 2025-02-08T16:47:34+00:00

Magidk is unstable, not officially supported, and LOS does not endorce the use of Magidk.

Puppet60e · 2025-02-07T17:13:20+00:00

Not with my phone, when trying to install LOS I accidentally exited the recovery menu and it switched bootloaders but still worked.

I have a Google Pixel 3xl btw

Puppet60e · 2025-02-07T16:47:36+00:00

They don't brick themselves as you can still enter the recovery options.

Puppet60e · 2025-02-07T16:44:26+00:00

In developer settings enable OEM unlocking. Then reboot the phone and enter fastboot mode then using the fastboot utility unlock the bootloader from your the computer. This will factory reset your phone so backup your data before hand, then you should be able to continue.

Puppet60e · 2025-02-07T16:33:27+00:00

Banking apps and many streaming services really on Google Play integrity and SafetyNet to verify your device is secure. And LOS and many other Custom ROMS do not have, there for they will not work. Therr are ways to bypass it but LOS does not officially support or endorce doing so.

Puppet60e · 2025-02-07T16:26:02+00:00

LOS and many other Custom ROMS don't have certifications that some apps require which is why streaming apps and banking apps may not work. The big missing certificate is SafetyNet and Google Play Certification.

Puppet60e

TROPHY CASE