Unlock not working (ADB FLASH) So I'm trying to flash adb my android (mostly following this guide), and I'm getting stuck at the unlock device step.  I can successfully unlock, but once I reboot my device it reverts to being locked.  Apparently I'm unable to continue to the next step without having my device rebooted after it's unlocked.

(I have tried using the volume keys to reboot bootloader, and terminal to reboot it.  Neither work.)

I'm using a mac, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and my initial problem was that my phone was (and still is) stuck in a reboot cycle.  I'm pretty sure this was caused by trying to copy too many files to my android via USB cable (not the sd card, I don't have one).



EDIT:  So this is exactly what I've been doing.  


Open terminal
cd to platform-tools, where I have an up to date adb, fastboot, and a zip file as well as the uncompiled version of image-yakju-jdq39 (Factory Image "yakju" for Galaxy Nexus "maguro" (GSM/HSPA+)).  
Volume up+Volume down+ power on (I get a screen with Fastboot mode in red at the bottom, and a picture of an android being operated on.  I don't think it matters if I change the "start" thing with the volume buttons, but I'll keep it there.).
Plug the USB cable in.
./fastboot devices, I get my phones serial number on terminal
./fastboot oem unlock.  
Terminal gives me this:
...
OKAY [ 10.016s]
finished. total time: 10.016s
While on my phone I get the unlock confirmation screen, which I follow through with, and now my phone says it's unlocked (and in blue at the bottom:  Fastboot status - OKAY).
./fastboot reboot starts my phone, but it's clearly still stuck in a bootloop.  So I forcefully turn it off, and go back to the fastboot mode, where it's back at the locked status.  Is that supposed to happen?  




I went ahead with trying to flash my phone anyhow, and it's still stuck in bootloop after this:

usernames-MacBook-Air:~ username$ cd Desktop/adt/sdk/platform-tools
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot devices
014E38590B016008    fastboot
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot oem unlock
...
OKAY [  9.316s]
finished. total time: 9.316s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-maguro-primelc03.img
sending 'bootloader' (2308 KB)...
OKAY [  0.296s]
writing 'bootloader'...
OKAY [  7.966s]
finished. total time: 8.262s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot flash radio radio-maguro-i9250xxlj1.img
sending 'radio' (12288 KB)...
OKAY [  1.547s]
writing 'radio'...
OKAY [  4.364s]
finished. total time: 5.910s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot flash boot boot.img
sending 'boot' (4400 KB)...
OKAY [  0.558s]
writing 'boot'...
OKAY [  2.547s]
finished. total time: 3.106s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot flash system system.img
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [  0.006s]
sending 'system' (425579 KB)...
OKAY [ 53.344s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [1502.494s]
finished. total time: 1555.844s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
erasing 'userdata'...
OKAY [  0.031s]
sending 'userdata' (137559 KB)...
OKAY [ 17.258s]
writing 'userdata'...
OKAY [244.587s]
finished. total time: 261.877s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$ ./fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
sending 'recovery' (4900 KB)...
OKAY [  0.620s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  4.519s]
finished. total time: 5.140s
usernames-MacBook-Air:platform-tools username$
It seems you are getting an error on the fastboot oem unlock step. If you don't get the bootloader unlocked, then you might as well forget the remaining steps.

To make sure the device is actually in the right mode, I recommend putting it in the bootloader manually.  The easiest way to do that is to first turn the phone off. Now hold the volume-up and volume-down buttons, and then press the power button.You'll now see the Android roboto with his front panel open. Check to see that the text below it starts with "FASTBOOT MODE" in red. At the bottom of the screen you may also see the lock/unlock status.  Now plug the device into your computer and try the unlock command. If you have a bootloader that shows the lock/unlock status on the device screen, it should change right away. Once you're unlocked, you can proceed with the flash commands.  If you get past the unlocking and still have problems, come back with a new question.