Like most OEMs, HTC likes to lock down the devices it sells to the general public, but maybe you like a little more freedom. That means an exploit is required to get s-off status. The new Firewater S-Off tool can manage that for any (or at least very nearly any) HTC device, even newer HTC One phones.

The tool comes courtesy of developers beaups and fuses, and it's completely free for personal use. Just download the files and get to work. The website has a full walkthrough of the process. There are some prerequisites that need to be taken care of first, though. Here is what that entails...

Prerequisites Working adb on your PC. Yes, that means OS X, linux, Windows, etc. are all supported. HTC drivers installed and working

HTC sync removed (not closed – REMOVED )

) All other phone software removed or disabled (Samsung Kies, PDANet, etc.) A working internet connection ON YOUR DEVICE - wifi, 3g, 4g, etc. are all supported. There is no way around this requirement, don’t ask. USB debugging enabled on your device Your device must be HTCDEV unlocked/rooted or have a working temproot. A temproot that works with many modern (not all) HTC devices is provided below. Do not attempt to run firewater from a terminal emulator on your device. You MUST use adb along with a PC. A supported device. firewater *should* work with most modern HTC devices, including (but not limited to) the htc one, droid dna, one s, one max, and many others.

The commands you have to enter don't look too complicated, but you're always taking a risk with this kind of operation. Note, this closed-source exploit is only for unlocking and getting s-off, which allows you to flash anything you want to the device. Rooting can be done if you like, but that's not the point of the tool.

[Firewater S-Off, Twitter – Thanks, Justin]