The Motorola Moto E smartphone from 2015 comes with a locked bootloader. If you want to open up the system internals with root access so you can start flashing custom ROMs or play with root-requiring applications, you should first unlock the bootloader. We’ll show you how that’s done by using the easy guide below.

You should check out our list of essentials before starting the steps so that you are prepared for everything you might need, including adjusting some settings on the Motorola smartphone and backing up the data. More on that after the jump.

Moto E

  • Stopover at the Settings > Developer Settings and enable the “Allow OEM unlock” option.
  • Make sure you backup the device data like the phone contacts and pictures before starting the guide. Like with most guides on site, we don’t predict users losing data after the guide. It’s not like flashing a custom ROM where we wipe the OS. However, if you must apply the factory reset option later on, it will wipe the data. That’s often the best options for Motorola Moto X troubleshooting.
  • You can backup the Moto E by using the built-in back up feature. Furthermore, you might like to test a third-party backup application from the Google Play Store such as Helium for Android.
  • Unlocking the bootloader of your Moto E does void any warranty you have left on the smartphone. Not all people will have a warranty. However, if you did buy one there’s a great chance it still works for this handset because the ‘E’ variant is still fairly new.
  • Download and install the Motorola USB drivers for mobile phones.

How to unlock the 2015 Motorola Moto E Bootloader

  1. Download the minimal ADB and Fastboot from here.
  2. Boot the phone in Fastboot mode.
    – completely power down the device, followed by pressing the Power and Volume Down keys.
  3. Open the platform/tools folder location for the minimal ADB and Fastboot and right-click the mouse and hold down Shift to open the command prompt.
  4. Plug the Moto E smartphone into the computer.
  5. Type the first command into the command line: fastboot oem get_unlock_data.
  6. Observe the return string and copy the same in notepad.
  7. You can right-click the mouse to begin the copying, now press the shift key to fill in the rest and finish by holding the Ctrl+C keys on the keyboard.
  8. Visit the official Motorola webpage here.
  9. Enter your details as prompted on the screen and scroll down to step number 6 on the page. Paste the text here.
  10. Now click on the “can my device be unlocked” option.
  11. Wait for the email to arrive with your unlock key.
  12. Copy the 20 character key code from the Motorola email and make sure it’s working .
  13. Go to CDM > type “fastboot devices”.
  14. Lastly, type “fastboot oem unlock UNLOCK_KEY”.
    – change the unlock key words with your unique key code from the email.

That’s it! You are now rocking the 2015 Motorola Moto E with the unlocked bootloader.

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