Hi, what model of phone is the best to buy used online, without the risk of finding out that the bootloader is locked?
I'm looking to buy a used phone off ebay. I try to get a phones for <$100, so I'm mostly looking for devices a few years old.
After fighting with Verizon Samsung phones years back, I vowed never again to buy a Samsung device. Instead, I would only buy the Nexus handsets, as they're explicitly made to be developer phones. afaik, there are no Nexus phones with locked bootloaders. That's great! I'd rather just sidestep that whole hassle..
Earlier this year Lineage OS was finally released for the Google Pixel, so I started looking into buying a Pixel. However, I recently discovered that there are some Pixels (distributed by Verizon & EE in the UK) that have locked bootloaders!!
Yes, an android developer-model phone with a locked bootloader! This was a surprise to me, as I thought the intention of that line of phones was to set aside a sacred handset for hackers. Apparently not.
So, good people of xda, I come to you: can you please tell me if there exists a recent (last few years) phone model that I can buy off ebay without the risk of any of those phones having their bootloaders locked?
TIA!
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Hi guys
I'm a Sony enthusiast and love the Xperia line up have had several Xperia phones actually, loved them all.But what grabbed me most is the sleek precision engineered Z ultra, fallen in love with it since day one, but never had the opportunity to get it due to many causes on top of them it's availability in my country and high initial price. I lately had the chance of getting a new one and it amazed me actually. What bothered me is that when I checked the configuration menu I found out that the Bootloader unlock statue is set to NO, which is a nightmare. What makes it worse is that I have no warranty as a friend of mine got it to me from Europe brand new and on the packaging there is no trace or name that would justify that it was purchased on contract from a carrier. So guys, is there anyway I can get the Bootloader unlocked ? and how can I get information on it's carrier ''providing it was sold on contract'' . I have seen many people with various Xperia devices who have a Bootloader unlock status:NO on contract free phones, and also,seen many cases of the Bootloader unlock status:NO and people still could unlock it the official way. Please light me up
Recently my G6, purchased in September 2017, developed a hardware problem in the power button/fingerprint reader. It's in the second year of warranty through LG Promise. I still like the G6, and since they're now bargain priced at B&H, I decided to buy a new one before returning the old one, planning to warranty the old one and keep it as a spare.
Getting warranty service on the old one was fairly straightforward with a couple of small quirks. Regular LG support doesn't handle it. Instead they transferred me to another number where the person just answered Hello, but she was pretty efficient about taking my information and promised me I would be contacted by email with instructions. Those showed up a day or two later, and after providing them with photos of the defective phone (to prove it wasn't physically damaged) they sent me a prepaid mailing label and shipping instructions, with the promise that once the tracking showed the package en route, they'd send out a replacement. Which they did.
While waiting for that, I went to register my new phone with LG Promise, and that didn't go nearly as well. First I discovered that they're cutting off registrations as of purchase date 06/15/2019. It doesn't say anything on the website about that. Fortunately I had two receipts for the purchase (long story there), and the earlier one was dated just before that. But then the website told me the IMEI was not valid. I contacted them by email for help, and they said they didn't have the phone in their system and I should wait a few days for them to validate it. It's been five days and I'm still waiting for that.
In the meantime, the replacement phone arrived. They sent me a new-in-box unlocked G7. That's actually very nice of them, since it's an upgrade, but I can't root it (no bootloader unlock available from LG) so I really can't use it and am selling it. My wife and I always have the same phone, and I want to stay with the G6 a while longer rather than buy new phones for both of us.
So the experience with LG Promise, and LG phones in general, has been a mixed bag. They seem to have some serious internal communication problems. I had the same IMEI issue when I went to get a bootloader unlock for the new phone, and it took them a week to resolve that. (Regular LG support was no help in that regard; their people are completely unaware that the developer program even exists and told me that LG never provides bootloader unlock and developer.lge.com is a hacker site.) I like the phone itself but I'm not crazy about the support and will probably switch brands next time around.
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their people are completely unaware that the developer program even exists and told me that LG never provides bootloader unlock and developer.lge.com is a hacker site.)
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Till date, they still say the same thing. ROFL
I am currently a customer with Cricket Wireless. All of their phones come with the bootloader locked, which I didnt know when I bought my E5 Supra a couple of years ago. Last week I plugged it up and it started smoking randomly. It's fried. I did a good bit of research and decided for under 220, the Moto G7 Power used off Ebay unlocked was my best bet. I made sure it was rootable, I thought.
The seller had it listed as "Motorola G7 Power Unlocked ATT/Cricket". What came in was a Verizon variant (XT1955-6) that had not only a constant error that I wasnt using a verizon sim but had a locked bootloader. The error thing, I could live with or fix. I was on the phone with both Motorola and Verizon with the hopes I could sweet talk them into something, explaining I was an app developer.
Well, im sending the G7 Power back. I was going to get the XT1955-5 which could be unlocked through Motorola or the international version and just flash whatever bands were needed. But at this point, I think I want to steer clear of Motorola altogether. Everyone in the G7 forums is constantly bricking, some hard bricking and actually sending them back.
Models Im Considering
One Plus 5T
LG G7 ThinQ
Samsung Galaxy A50
Samsung Galaxy S8-S9 (whichever I can find for that price range)
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 or 8 (whicheveer I can find for that price range)
Sorry for the background but, does anyone have any advice or recommendations on what a good phone with an unlockable bootloader for under $220 would be? (used is fine) I dont even really require it be sim unlocked, so long as it doesnt have a locked bootloader. I see the Pixel guys ran into issues with bootloaders being locked so that ruled that out. Im not too concerned with camera or anything like that. Mostly freedom to do with it as I please and a smooth processor lol. Thanks in advance!!
I have a S21, T-mobile model, G991U. It has the Snapdragon chip, not the Enyos. Last time I rooted a phone was a Motorola Charge I think it was before I tried jailbreaking the iPhone 4. Back then, manufacturers didn't try as hard to prevent modifications.
Fast forward to today. I have the T-Mobile S21 I want to root. I'll admit I am over my head, and unsure of how to proceed. First thought I could use Magisk Root, but apparently that only works for the Samsung processor. Found myself on SamPwnd's website, but only up to the S20s seem to be supported. The editor's blog here on XDA warns against using RootKing due to intrusive ads/possible malware, so that's out. Eventually found myself on a shady Polish website offering unlock that didn't pan out. It goes without saying I visited https://www.xda-developers.com/root/ and wasn't able to find anything.
Is there a legitimate root for the S21 US edition yet?
No. All S and Note series devices since the S7 have a locked bootloader in the US. Root is impossible unless you pay for a bootloader unlocking service (here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...unlock-for-samsung-us-canada-devices.4215101/) and that's not released yet. Expect to pay over $100 for the service, and expect for things to break when you do (Samsung Pay, Knox, etc).
^ This. My last Samsung was an S6 Edge, so I didn't know about the perma-locked bootloader crap on newer models. I'm sending back my preordered S21 because I can't root it and getting a Pixel 5 instead. The S21's hardware is clearly better, but it's not worth dealing that BS on the software side.
Hello,
Hoping someone can help me, full disclosure, I haven't done any research yet, just looking for a quick yes/no answer. I currently have a P2XL, going to be upgrading to the pixel 6 soon. I know when I got my current phone in 2017, in order to root it, it had to come from Google and not Verizon. I'm going to be switching to Xfinity when I get my new phone, as far as rooting goes does it matter who I buy it from?
Appreciate the help,
Dan
I would highly recommend getting an unlocked phone but I would also highly recommend you get it from Amazon instead of Google. The customer service from Google is horrible if anything goes wrong. You can get an unlocked phone from Amazon the next day in many cases.
rrrrrrredbelly said:
Hello,
Hoping someone can help me, full disclosure, I haven't done any research yet, just looking for a quick yes/no answer. I currently have a P2XL, going to be upgrading to the pixel 6 soon. I know when I got my current phone in 2017, in order to root it, it had to come from Google and not Verizon. I'm going to be switching to Xfinity when I get my new phone, as far as rooting goes does it matter who I buy it from?
Appreciate the help,
Dan
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I came from a 2XL. The same restrictions that applied to the 2XL apply with the 6, i.e. do NOT purchase from Verizon or Best Buy. Both only sell units with locked bootloaders, leaving you high and dry.
Stick with Amazon or Google and you should be fine. However, you do want to make sure the device you buy from Amazon is not a Verizon model.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
I came from a 2XL. The same restrictions that applied to the 2XL apply with the 6, i.e. do NOT purchase from Verizon or Best Buy. Both only sell units with locked bootloaders, leaving you high and dry.
Stick with Amazon or Google and you should be fine. However, you do want to make sure the device you buy from Amazon is not a Verizon model.
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Thanks, appreciate both responses. Google is appealing because of monthly payments, but I'll definitely check out prices from Amazon.
Thanks for the help.
Made an account just to say YES! Xfinity is very similar to Verizon in the way that every phone you buy from them is locked and is difficult to unlock. Amazon or google store is what I'd recommend.
Phones are illegal lock to network carriers now, at least in Uk, but im sure its global
boe323 said:
Phones are illegal lock to network carriers now, at least in Uk, but im sure its global
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Yes, but we are not talking about carrier locking, but bootloader locking. The two are mutually exclusive: carrier locks (which are legal in the US) aren't predicated on a bootloader lock (also legal in the US).
We tell people to stay away from Verizon and AT&T-branded devices because the bootloaders cannot be unlocked. Verizon and AT&T will remove the carrier lock after 90 days of service have elapsed, but they flat out refuse to ever unlock the bootloader.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Yes, but we are not talking about carrier locking, but bootloader locking. The two are mutually exclusive: carrier locks (which are legal in the US) aren't predicated on a bootloader lock (also legal in the US).
We tell people to stay away from Verizon and AT&T-branded devices because the bootloaders cannot be unlocked. Verizon and AT&T will remove the carrier lock after 90 days of service have elapsed, but they flat out refuse to ever unlock the bootloader.
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Click to collapse
Carrier branded phones have one benefit and that's you can roll the cost into your monthly plan and not be subject to either another credit check or large one time bill. However, it's playing with fire as you mentioned. Carrier unlock yes, but being allowed to bootloader unlock is quite another. Verizon is completely locked down not 100% on ATT. But one other reason to buy from Google if you can afford it is that if something goes wrong with the device they will replace it (refurb natch) on a cross ship. Meaning once you get the replacement you have 30 days to send back the old one so you're never out a phone. I've availed myself of that option numerous times. It only took one time for me to get caught out on that to vow never again.