OnePlus is placing new restrictions on bootloader unlocking for certain users starting its Android 16 update which arrives later this year.
“OnePlus has announced a new system that limits who can unlock the bootloader on their phones. Stating reasons such as “data security” and an enhanced “system stability” […]. OnePlus has introduced a new procedure where anyone wanting to unlock the bootloader on their devices must first fill out an online request form for “Deep Testing””.
Even if it is for one region, it is still enshitification preventing phones to have custom ROM 🤦♂️
Damn that sucks. I only buy phones that allow unlocking. Currently on a OP8T. Probably going used Pixel/GrapheneOS next, but really a usable Linux phone can’t come soon enough.
Do you have the beautiful blue one?? That’s the prettiest phone to me! I have one as well but I don’t use it anymore, still have it with Lineage as a backup just in case
i considered doing it, but im not a tech saavy person so i just use the stock android on OP12R. i just dint like SAMSUNG and pixel, consider thier heavy invesmetn AI, while sacrificing what makes thier phone different.
I’ve been running GrapheneOS on a pixel8a for about a month now and its fine. Came from iphone so it’s probably an easier transition for people who have used android before.
Was a OnePlus user for years. Had the original device, the 3, 5 and the 7 pro since launch. I replaced the battery in my 7 pro and put lineage on it just to keep it going.
My idiot brain jumped off a boat last week with it in my pocket and I assumed I would just get the new one. But no unlockable bootloader means I need to look elsewhere.
One Plus was really impressive at first but like everything, at some point companies want to make a profit. I also had the original and the 3, but that was it.
true, OP was your semi-budget phones with some of the flagship feature, that was thier selling point. im guessing if samsung, and google is locking down thier phones, OP thought it can force people to constantly get newer phones down the line.
Phones already literally come with a EULA. The wording may or may not be the same, but the intent is.
You don’t own your phone, you silly thing. What you own is an unexclusive and transferrable (for now, Teslas don’t even have that for example) licence to use most features of the phone.
i bought it for its cheaper than the flagship phones, im guessing thats why people switch to OP, they probably want people to keep buying thier new phones each cycle, and not have a modded phone that you will stay on forever.
Sure- or they’re tired of Samsung’s bullshit. I was going to buy the S25 Ultra outright on release day but then they cut the wireless functionality of the S Pen in favor of their bullshit AI so I decided to cut my support for Samsung and bought a OP13 instead.
I was considered the older S ultra, or the budget samsung, but i was swayed away from thier chip designs. i tempted an OP13/R, but i decided to try out 12r instead to see how the phone was.
The writing’s been on the wall since they swapped to ColorOS with Android 12 and the bootloader update that came with it that no longer supports relocking, along with the delayed/nonexistent source code releases for the kernel.
It’s very sad that basically the only real option is Google’s Pixels, and even there the tides are turning.
Sony is still an option! my Xperia is dead easy to unlock and it has a headphone jack and sd card slot. they’re just a bit of a hassle to find since they only sell in select markets :p
I bought qn Xperia 5 two years ago. Im due to upgrade because the screen cracked and dont feel like paying $400 to repair it. Im so mad they dont sell to the US since Xperia 6
How the mighty have fallen. I got my OnePlus One in 2015 with CyanogenMod preinstalled (although I reinstalled the vanilla OS after, and rooted it easily). Enshitification indeed, no brand is safe.
The Phone 1 and 2 have official lineage os support as well. Nothing is still bootloader unlock friendly (for now). Phone 3 is too new for LineageOS but is still an excellent phone with a good development community on their forums.
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Damn that sucks. I only buy phones that allow unlocking. Currently on a OP8T. Probably going used Pixel/GrapheneOS next, but really a usable Linux phone can’t come soon enough.
Do you have the beautiful blue one?? That’s the prettiest phone to me! I have one as well but I don’t use it anymore, still have it with Lineage as a backup just in case
It’s a kind of turquoise/blue? It is a nice color, but I got that one only because it was cheaper. I keep it in a case anyway :).
isnt google walling in thier OS soon, and it seems other phone makers are following suit.
Yeah, seems like bad times ahead. Definitely looking forward to that Linux phone.
i considered doing it, but im not a tech saavy person so i just use the stock android on OP12R. i just dint like SAMSUNG and pixel, consider thier heavy invesmetn AI, while sacrificing what makes thier phone different.
I’ve been running GrapheneOS on a pixel8a for about a month now and its fine. Came from iphone so it’s probably an easier transition for people who have used android before.
Was a OnePlus user for years. Had the original device, the 3, 5 and the 7 pro since launch. I replaced the battery in my 7 pro and put lineage on it just to keep it going.
My idiot brain jumped off a boat last week with it in my pocket and I assumed I would just get the new one. But no unlockable bootloader means I need to look elsewhere.
One Plus was really impressive at first but like everything, at some point companies want to make a profit. I also had the original and the 3, but that was it.
true, OP was your semi-budget phones with some of the flagship feature, that was thier selling point. im guessing if samsung, and google is locking down thier phones, OP thought it can force people to constantly get newer phones down the line.
Whaaaat
Mfers I bought the phone, I do whatever the hell i want with it
As long as your allowed to sadly.
Not in their eyes.
Phones already literally come with a EULA. The wording may or may not be the same, but the intent is.
You don’t own your phone, you silly thing. What you own is an unexclusive and transferrable (for now, Teslas don’t even have that for example) licence to use most features of the phone.
i bought it for its cheaper than the flagship phones, im guessing thats why people switch to OP, they probably want people to keep buying thier new phones each cycle, and not have a modded phone that you will stay on forever.
Sure- or they’re tired of Samsung’s bullshit. I was going to buy the S25 Ultra outright on release day but then they cut the wireless functionality of the S Pen in favor of their bullshit AI so I decided to cut my support for Samsung and bought a OP13 instead.
I was considered the older S ultra, or the budget samsung, but i was swayed away from thier chip designs. i tempted an OP13/R, but i decided to try out 12r instead to see how the phone was.
Low battery?
.99 centers to unlock 10 percent battery boost.
The writing’s been on the wall since they swapped to ColorOS with Android 12 and the bootloader update that came with it that no longer supports relocking, along with the delayed/nonexistent source code releases for the kernel.
It’s very sad that basically the only real option is Google’s Pixels, and even there the tides are turning.
Sony is still an option! my Xperia is dead easy to unlock and it has a headphone jack and sd card slot. they’re just a bit of a hassle to find since they only sell in select markets :p
Doesn’t unlocking the bootloader on an Xperia wipe some proprietary camera thing or something?
I bought qn Xperia 5 two years ago. Im due to upgrade because the screen cracked and dont feel like paying $400 to repair it. Im so mad they dont sell to the US since Xperia 6
I’m satisfied with the relocked bootloader on my Fairphone.
Unless you need fucky security chips made in the land of National Security Letters.
Fairphone4 qualcom no longer updates it’s drivers. Might as well be walking around with free access to your phone.
Bootloader apartheid great
Why doesn’t google lock their bootloader? It’s a testing device for other companies?
How the mighty have fallen. I got my OnePlus One in 2015 with CyanogenMod preinstalled (although I reinstalled the vanilla OS after, and rooted it easily). Enshitification indeed, no brand is safe.
Ok then, I’m out.
Nothing phone seems to be the best choice today. A few models, so notmuch choice, but solid hardware unbloated android and unlockable bootloader.
I own a 3a and am pretty happy. Bulky and heavy tough.
The Phone 1 and 2 have official lineage os support as well. Nothing is still bootloader unlock friendly (for now). Phone 3 is too new for LineageOS but is still an excellent phone with a good development community on their forums.