Develop Bugs

[Q] New to LG question

Hello,
I am potentially new to the LG brand having spent most of the last several years with HTC devices and wondered if the longtime LG folks could help with a couple of questions:
Does LG only release carrier branded devices or do they release GSM unlocked versions as well in the US? I'll be changing to T-Mobile but I am vehemently opposed to carrier branded/locked devices and prefer to purchase direct w/o carrier specific junk.
While I know folks probably don't know about the G4 just yet but how has unlocking the bootloader worked in the past with LG. Can it be unlocked, can you buy unlocked versions, etc?
With many devices (coming from HTC) hotspot is able to be modified so that it can be used fairly easily without carrier interference. Not trying to start a debate on the value of this or if it is stealing from the carrier, etc. For me I've looked at it as I am paying for a specific amount of data, how I choose to use it should be up to me. Has it been accomplished in the past with LG devices to fairly easily use hotspot without carrier headaches?
Again thanks, just trying to nail down some details for my own knowledge to decide if this will be the best device for me. I watched the launch this morning and I am very positive coming out of that but wanted to get some feedback on some specific items that are important to me.
Thanks,

ThePhoneGeek said:
Hello,
I am potentially new to the LG brand having spent most of the last several years with HTC devices and wondered if the longtime LG folks could help with a couple of questions:
Does LG only release carrier branded devices or do they release GSM unlocked versions as well in the US? I'll be changing to T-Mobile but I am vehemently opposed to carrier branded/locked devices and prefer to purchase direct w/o carrier specific junk.
While I know folks probably don't know about the G4 just yet but how has unlocking the bootloader worked in the past with LG. Can it be unlocked, can you buy unlocked versions, etc?
With many devices (coming from HTC) hotspot is able to be modified so that it can be used fairly easily without carrier interference. Not trying to start a debate on the value of this or if it is stealing from the carrier, etc. For me I've looked at it as I am paying for a specific amount of data, how I choose to use it should be up to me. Has it been accomplished in the past with LG devices to fairly easily use hotspot without carrier headaches?
Again thanks, just trying to nail down some details for my own knowledge to decide if this will be the best device for me. I watched the launch this morning and I am very positive coming out of that but wanted to get some feedback on some specific items that are important to me.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. They have versions for specific US carriers, and an International version of the G3 that works internationally (Obviously) but yes, you can get unlocked international versions of the G3, or versions specific to your US carrier. You can also get version specific for countries.
2. Bootloader hasn't been unlocked for the G3. LG is ridiculously strict about this, so because the bootloader is locked, with the G3 we've had to "Bump" the custom ROMs (Sign them with legit tags) so that the bootloader will actually boot the phone with a custom ROM.
3. As for the hotspot, I've never used it on my phone so I couldn't tell you about that.

The G2 and G3 have had modded hotspot for those of us with unlimited data plans. Some models you can simply modify a file while others require a flashable ZIP. I'm hoping we get custom recovery and root for this, we've gotten it for the G2 and G3 so far.

It sounds like LG isn't as developer friendly as HTC but IMO is making a superior device. Nice thing about HTC is they sell unlocked and developer edition devices that work with either AT&T or T-Mobile and are sim unlocked and the dev ed comes with bootloader unlocked as well.
I am sure the dev community can make it functional root, etc. Hope so because I really don't want to buy an M9 and the G4 checks off so many boxes on my list of needs...
Thanks all for the info!

ThePhoneGeek said:
It sounds like LG isn't as developer friendly as HTC but IMO is making a superior device. Nice thing about HTC is they sell unlocked and developer edition devices that work with either AT&T or T-Mobile and are sim unlocked and the dev ed comes with bootloader unlocked as well.
I am sure the dev community can make it functional root, etc. Hope so because I really don't want to buy an M9 and the G4 checks off so many boxes on my list of needs...
Thanks all for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I've been waiting for the perfect replacement for my ATT S3. so, rootable, removable back/battery, solid dev community, etc. this one looks just about perfect, only the root status for the ATT model is the unknown. so, let the real waiting begin. i guess the M9 is an ok option, but there's just a few things i can't love about the M9 like the camera.

VR32 said:
yeah I've been waiting for the perfect replacement for my ATT S3. so, rootable, removable back/battery, solid dev community, etc. this one looks just about perfect, only the root status for the ATT model is the unknown. so, let the real waiting begin. i guess the M9 is an ok option, but there's just a few things i can't love about the M9 like the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I have the M8 and the camera is horrid. The design was great in March of 2014 but HTC really lost me with the fact that this years design offers almost nothing new and the so called camera improvements are still not good.
I am really hoping this works out well for LG because there is so much I like about the device.

ThePhoneGeek said:
yeah I have the M8 and the camera is horrid. The design was great in March of 2014 but HTC really lost me with the fact that this years design offers almost nothing new and the so called camera improvements are still not good.
I am really hoping this works out well for LG because there is so much I like about the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

Let's try this again.

A while ago, there was a petition for LG to release the official unlock for the rest of the devices. Maybe if we do this through Facebook this time, that'll be our best chance. Here's the link to post to LG USA Mobile:
http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev?categoryTypeCode=ANRS#RS00000875
"We will add more devices..."

EA801 said:
A while ago, there was a petition for LG to release the official unlock for the rest of the devices. Maybe if we do this through Facebook this time, that'll be our best chance. Here's the link to post to LG USA Mobile:
http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev?categoryTypeCode=ANRS#RS00000875
"We will add more devices..."
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Click to collapse
I think you need to petition Verizon, not just LG.

konradsa said:
I think you need to petition Verizon, not just LG.
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Click to collapse
That sounds like a good idea, but remind me what role the carriers have in keeping phones locked? Is it just their policy? Because if it is, that's another problem, as there's no valid reason to not allow manufacturers to release unlocks for their own devices. Otherwise, there's nothing stopping LG from doing that.

EA801 said:
That sounds like a good idea, but remind me what role the carriers have in keeping phones locked? Is it just their policy? Because if it is, that's another problem, as there's no valid reason to not allow manufacturers to release unlocks for their own devices. Otherwise, there's nothing stopping LG from doing that.
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Click to collapse
The carriers are the "Customer" and as their purchase is individually tailored to their network, they are the ones that request the bootloader lock with no release of it. Look at Verizon and HTC or Samsung. In HTC Verizon has denied access to HTCDev to their customers to unlock bootloaders. In Sammy they have locked down the past 5 models released. If LG does not do what Verizon asks, they refuse to sell it.

I don't expect Verizon to unlock the G4 bootloader, not going to happen. Btw, looks like only now they achieved bootloader unlock for Verizon Galaxy S5. Considering how much newer and less popular the G4 is, unlikely to see anything happening there soon.
http://www.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5-bootloader-has-been-unlocked/

B+H Unlocked V30 $150 off

http://www.androidpolice.com/2018/0...lg-v30-674-99-150-off-bh-no-tax-except-ny-nj/

Wow.
But ignore the misinformation in the article about it not being unlocked. The writer says you need the LG V30+ to be "unlocked". Yet, their screenshot even shows the wording that the B&H Photo LG V30 is carrier unlocked. And LG bootloader unlock is coming soon, for both the V30 and V30+. But then a lot of these tech writers are totally ignorant.

Hopefully b and h photo will also offer that 150 off on the v30+ once they realize they sold like 3 of them

stu5797 said:
Hopefully b and h photo will also offer that 150 off on the v30+ once they realize they sold like 3 of them
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Click to collapse
I bought one of their V30+. It was my 2nd LG device purchase, to get the $400 rebate card. So, my average price was $665 for the two phones.
But now that the time limit has almost passed to fulfill that promotion (45 days from December 2), yeah a discount would be nice.

ChazzMatt said:
Wow.
But ignore the misinformation in the article about it not being unlocked. The writer says you need the LG V30+ to be "unlocked". Yet, their screenshot even shows the wording that the B&H Photo LG V30 is carrier unlocked. And LG bootloader unlock is coming soon, for both the V30 and V30+. But then a lot of these tech writers are totally ignorant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't say it's not unlocked, says you need to buy v30+ for an unlocked unit in black

LRiley said:
Doesn't say it's not unlocked, says you need to buy v30+ for an unlocked unit in black
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Click to collapse
YES, it did. My comments made them correct it. Here's the direct quote from the original article:
"you'll need to buy the not-discounted $929.99 V30+ to get unlocked".
They've since edited the article, so you now see what the writer Richard Gao says he meant to say -- not what he actually wrote originally. I pointed out their error in the comments at the bottom of the article, with that direct quote.
In fact below my comments, the writer Richard Gao says he's now changed it --- due to my comments:
That was poor wording on my part. I meant to say that you'd have to buy the V30+ to get an unlocked model in black
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

The V30+ on Amazon is down to $903, despite still being out of stock. Not a significant change but hope it will drop more soon.
http://a.co/hxi1h39

yeah I pulled the trigger and bought the V30 from B&H, should be here tomorrow, my essential phone is going back to Best buy tomorrow.

You will like this phone. Good move. I'm waiting for the v30 plus to ha e a realistic price

I've been waiting on this phone to go down in price. I killed my Moto x pure trying to change the battery. Twelve hours before it was discounted I bought a V30 off eBay and paid more than I should've. I wasn't even thinking about the warranty. Just my luck.

The V30+ just dropped down to $775 on B&H.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1379518-REG/lg_lgus998u_a1usbk_v30_unlocked_phone_black.html

Nice find! Still having a hard time pulling the trigger. Even though I believe this is the best phone out, I doubt it will have any developer support... I can't believe lg won't even allow the boot loader to be unlocked yet. Come on!

stu5797 said:
Nice find! Still having a hard time pulling the trigger. Even though I believe this is the best phone out, I doubt it will have any developer support... I can't believe lg won't even allow the boot loader to be unlocked yet. Come on!
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Click to collapse
That is frustrating. It shouldn't take that long.
Yes, I know LG waited six weeks for the US997 G6 (mid May, to very end of June), but that was ridiculous. Still, after that was dev support.
By the way, January 15 will be six weeks mark for our open market US998 V30. Let's hope the V30+ release at end of December didn't reset the timer?
Yet, Europe H930 was only three weeks after release.
LG doesn't seem to understand their phones would be more popular if they preemptively put them on their Bootloader Unlock list. So you would know for sure when the phone have out, you could immediately root it.
Sent from my official carrier unlocked LG V30+ US998

stu5797 said:
Nice find! Still having a hard time pulling the trigger. Even though I believe this is the best phone out, I doubt it will have any developer support... I can't believe lg won't even allow the boot loader to be unlocked yet. Come on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm beginning to feel the same way. Looking like oneplus will own the dev community from here on out. Even at the discounted price, it's hard to say that the v30 is $200+ more of a phone than the 5t is especially if you are into roms and such. If you want the latest hardware with unlockable bootloaders out of the gate, I'm not sure where else to look. For me personally, Id like external sd, a solid camera, AOSP roms and ip67/68. Difficult to find nowadays. Anyone?

bacon612 said:
I'm beginning to feel the same way. Looking like oneplus will own the dev community from here on out. Even at the discounted price, it's hard to say that the v30 is $200+ more of a phone than the 5t is especially if you are into roms and such.
If you want the latest hardware with unlockable bootloaders out of the gate, I'm not sure where else to look. For me personally, Id like external sd, a solid camera, AOSP roms and ip67/68. Difficult to find nowadays. Anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROMs can't add QHD, Qi wireless charging, and IP68 rating. Until OnePlus releases a true premium phone, I can't stand them. Even the Nexus phones were the first or some of the first to have 1080p and then 1440p QHD as well as Qi wireless charging. The people who say the Nexus phones didn't have the best specs aren't talking about hardware specs or features. Yeah, Google skimped on battery and their cameras weren't FANTASTIC, but the hardware specs and features were always cutting edge. So, NO OnePlus is not a "Nexus" replacement. To me, they are hype masters and pretenders.
The only other option is the Exynos Samsung variants which have OEM bootloader unlock out of the gate OR the Hong Kong Snapdragon Samsung variants which have OEM bootloader unlock. Hong Kong and mainland China Galaxy Snapdragon 835 S8/S8+ have had TWRP and root since last July, because they have simple OEM bootloader unlock. And they have all the U.S. carrier bands. Great to import via eBay. But I'm not a huge Samsung fan.
Now whether there are any custom ROMs for the Snapdragon 835 bootloader unlocked Hong Kong/mainland China variants, I do not know. I do know there are lots for the Exynos bootloader unlocked variants.
As soon as LG gets off their butt and puts the US998 on the bootloader unlock list you will see dev interest, just like the LG G6 starting in last July.

ChazzMatt said:
ROMs can't add QHD, Qi wireless charging, and IP68 rating. Until OnePlus releases a true premium phone, I can't stand them. Even the Nexus phones were the first or some of the first to have 1080p and then 1440p QHD as well as Qi wireless charging. The people who say the Nexus phones didn't have the best specs aren't talking about hardware specs or features. Yeah, Google skimped on battery and their cameras weren't FANTASTIC, but the hardware specs and features were always cutting edge. So, NO OnePlus is not a "Nexus" replacement. To me, they are hype masters and pretenders.
The only other option is the Exynos Samsung variants which have OEM bootloader unlock out of the gate OR the Hong Kong Snapdragon Samsung variants which have OEM bootloader unlock. Hong Kong and mainland China Galaxy Snapdragon 835 S8/S8+ have had TWRP and root since last July, because they have simple OEM bootloader unlock. And they have all the U.S. carrier bands. Great to import via eBay. But I'm not a huge Samsung fan.
Now whether there are any custom ROMs for the Snapdragon 835 bootloader unlocked Hong Kong/mainland China variants, I do not know. I do know there are lots for the Exynos bootloader unlocked variants.
As soon as LG gets off their butt and puts the US998 on the bootloader unlock list you will see dev interest, just like the LG G6 starting in last July.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you are right and I'll be on board. I'm never going to buy a device until I see the proof in the pudding, though. Even if you look at the most popular device threads on xda, I think my statement above about oneplus has merit. We don't have to agree with what the masses want, but ultimately popularity will dictate the direction things will go for the development community.

bacon612 said:
I hope you are right and I'll be on board. I'm never going to buy a device until I see the proof in the pudding, though. Even if you look at the most popular device threads on xda, I think my statement above about oneplus has merit. We don't have to agree with what the masses want, but ultimately popularity will dictate the direction things will go for the development community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I normally wait until I can root from the first day I own the phone, but this time I had to go ahead and buy... but knowing LG would/should soon place the open market LG US998 on the LG Developer Bootloader Unlock list.
My rants against OnePlus are the same as against last year's Essential. They both pretend to be premium phones, but really are not. They're just missing too much stuff. There's also a whole cadre of Chinese 1080p slabs that fit that category too.
The only real competition LG V30 has is the Samsung Note 8. Maybe the Pixel 2 XL if you lower your standards a little. Yes, for dev work, the Pixel 2 XL has an advantage... But just no Qi wireless charging (one of my requirements) nor headset jack.
(I bet Google adds Qi wireless charging back for the 2018 Pixels, now that Apple has added it.)
Sent from my official carrier unlocked LG V30+ US998

ChazzMatt said:
I normally wait until I can root from the first day I own the phone, but this time I had to go ahead and buy... but knowing LG would/should soon place the open market LG US998 on the LG Developer Bootloader Unlock list.
My rants against OnePlus are the same as against last year's Essential. They both pretend to be premium phones but really are not. They're just missing too much stuff. There's also a whole cadre of Chinese 1080p slabs that fit that category too.
The only real competition V30 has is the Samsung Note 8. Maybe the Pixel 2 XL if you lower your standards a little. For dev work, the Pixel 2 XL has an advantage... But just no Qi wireless charging (one of my requirements) nor headset jack.
(I bet Google adds Qi wireless charging back for the 2018 Pixels, now that Apple has added it.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the 'would/should' thing I'm worried about. Plus I'm willing to wait for the prices to fall even farther (unless we get unlocked bootloaders soon) as we get into Snapdragon 845 device territory. After all SD 835 is soooooo last year . I get the suspicion that the v30 isn't selling well at all as evidenced by the b+h sales as well as carrier BOGO offers. We usually only see BOGO on devices that sell crazy volume or inventory they are trying to clear. The v30 is likely the latter.
Either way, I spend way too much time refreshing these xda v30 threads and wait impatiently for good news sooner than later.

This of course is completely anecdotal but after I talked up the V30 at work, three iPhone users switched over to the V30 (they purchased from their respective carriers) and they all love it. It could be true it isn't selling that well but LG isn't and hasn't ever really been a market leader, they always seem to discount phones quickly, have promos, etc. In any case, I'm confident in ChazzMatt's prediction of the phone being on the bootloader unlock list pretty soon and I don't think there is a better phone out there for my needs. It's not perfect but it's enough for me.

I am an idiot... I just pulled the trigger on the v30+.
In my dream it will be rooted with Resurrection remix installed. Don't know why I did this cause the chance of that are so slim...
This phone is amazing though!

Question Rooting after Switching Carriers?

@roirraW "edor" ehT This might be up your alley
I just switched from Verizon to T-Moble.
It was a no-brainer.
$280/mo for 2 lines and my iPad to 90$/mo for 3 lines + $16/mo for a new Samsung S22 for my oldest kid and a free A13 for my youngest, unlimited everything. (I have to keep the iPad on VZW).
No 5G from VZW to full 5G about everywhere I go.
And T-Mob is paying off my P6P.
SO, once the pay-off goes through and I'm rid of the VZW handcuffs, can I root this thing?

I'm not the big man, but I think the answer is yes.
Welcome to Team Magenta and have fun rooting! I switched to T-Mo from Verizon a few years back for the same exact reason. Much cheaper prices; much better reception in my area; and the freedom to unlock the bootloaders of my paid off phones (though having them be fully paid off wasn't a requirement for me with T-Mobile in the past - so I'm not positive that this is a requirement now).
Nowadays, I just bite the bullet and buy my phones straight from Google so that I can customize right away without having to pay it off fully first if this is truly a requirement now. But, if you stay with T-Mo for a while, you'll presumably start doing the same thing, haha.
Best of luck friend!
*Edit* - was the phone purchased directly from VZW? If so, then perhaps they have some custom restrictions on the image flashed on their phones that restricts the bootloader unlock option. But heck, with Pixels I imagine this restriction may be lifted once you download and install a T-Mo build update with a T-Mo SIM inserted.

HipKat said:
@roirraW "edor" ehT This might be up your alley
I just switched from Verizon to T-Moble.
It was a no-brainer.
$280/mo for 2 lines and my iPad to 90$/mo for 3 lines + $16/mo for a new Samsung S22 for my oldest kid and a free A13 for my youngest, unlimited everything. (I have to keep the iPad on VZW).
No 5G from VZW to full 5G about everywhere I go.
And T-Mob is paying off my P6P.
SO, once the pay-off goes through and I'm rid of the VZW handcuffs, can I root this thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not the big man either (), but I will say that if you bought the Verizon "model", then you will never be able to unlock your bootloader (unless someone miraculously finds a method) and thus never be able to root it, no matter how much carrier switching you do.
If you didn't buy the Verizon "model", then we'll wait for the big man to give us his wise and unadulterated opinion

No, you won't be able to unlock unless you have the global or get it through T-Mobile
Verizon model: Bootloader cannot be unlocked even after sim unlock.
T-Mobile model: Bootloader unlock after sim unlock
AT&T model: I forget if it can be unlocked

Bummer....

NippleSauce said:
I'm not the big man, but I think the answer is yes.
Welcome to Team Magenta and have fun rooting! I switched to T-Mo from Verizon a few years back for the same exact reason. Much cheaper prices; much better reception in my area; and the freedom to unlock the bootloaders of my paid off phones (though having them be fully paid off wasn't a requirement for me with T-Mobile in the past - so I'm not positive that this is a requirement now).
Nowadays, I just bite the bullet and buy my phones straight from Google so that I can customize right away without having to pay it off fully first if this is truly a requirement now. But, if you stay with T-Mo for a while, you'll presumably start doing the same thing, haha.
Best of luck friend!
*Edit* - was the phone purchased directly from VZW? If so, then perhaps they have some custom restrictions on the image flashed on their phones that restricts the bootloader unlock option. But heck, with Pixels I imagine this restriction may be lifted once you download and install a T-Mo build update with a T-Mo SIM inserted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, bought from VZW. I should sell it and just buy one from Google and start over

HipKat said:
@roirraW "edor" ehT This might be up your alley
SO, once the pay-off goes through and I'm rid of the VZW handcuffs, can I root this thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry that I missed all the action - I was busy today. Well, actually I was very busy yesterday, which made me very lazy today. Indeed, just as the others said, a Verizon variant of anything will never be able to have the bootloader unlocked.
NippleSauce said:
I'm not the big man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL!
NippleSauce said:
*Edit* - was the phone purchased directly from VZW? If so, then perhaps they have some custom restrictions on the image flashed on their phones that restricts the bootloader unlock option. But heck, with Pixels I imagine this restriction may be lifted once you download and install a T-Mo build update with a T-Mo SIM inserted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The firmware is the same between Verizon variants and all others - besides the few times that Google releases one or more carrier-specific versions of firmware but in the end they always consolidate them into one single for all variants. I think that what most people believe is that what determines whether a phone can be bootloader unlocked or not is the IMEI. Sometimes it's the case that with a direct from Google phone won't be able to have OEM Unlocking enabled until you get on the internet for some usually small amount of time. I think it's the OS calling home and checking the IMEI, and if the IMEI is one that was sold to Verizon, they never allow you to toggle the OEM Unlocking.
Lughnasadh said:
I'm not the big man either (), but I will say that if you bought the Verizon "model", then you will never be able to unlock your bootloader (unless someone miraculously finds a method) and thus never be able to root it, no matter how much carrier switching you do.
If you didn't buy the Verizon "model", then we'll wait for the big man to give us his wise and unadulterated opinion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL!!!

roirraW edor ehT said:
Sorry that I missed all the action - I was busy today. Well, actually I was very busy yesterday, which made me very lazy today. Indeed, just as the others said, a Verizon variant of anything will never be able to have the bootloader unlocked.
LOL!
The firmware is the same between Verizon variants and all others - besides the few times that Google releases one or more carrier-specific versions of firmware but in the end they always consolidate them into one single for all variants. I think that what most people believe is that what determines whether a phone can be bootloader unlocked or not is the IMEI. Sometimes it's the case that with a direct from Google phone won't be able to have OEM Unlocking enabled until you get on the internet for some usually small amount of time. I think it's the OS calling home and checking the IMEI, and if the IMEI is one that was sold to Verizon, they never allow you to toggle the OEM Unlocking.
LOL!!!
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Click to collapse
I can get one unlocked from Google right now for 799 and I don’t know why I didn’t think of this in the first place but I can finance it for 40 bucks a month for two years and then I’ll probably just end up paying it off at some point along the way.
You know, when you’ve been with Verizon for so long you just become resigned to the fact that what you once took for granted in the beginning of all this, rooting, is just not gonna happen anymore.
Now that I’ve left Verizon I’m feeling the old twinges of wanting to get back into it and in the last seven or eight years, since my Nexus 6, everything his grown outside of my realm. It’s like a leaky faucet, “once it starts drippin’, you can’t turn it off” lol

HipKat said:
I can get one unlocked from Google right now for 799 and I don’t know why I didn’t think of this in the first place but I can finance it for 40 bucks a month for two years and then I’ll probably just end up paying it off at some point along the way.
You know, when you’ve been with Verizon for so long you just become resigned to the fact that what you once took for granted in the beginning of all this, rooting, is just not gonna happen anymore.
Now that I’ve left Verizon I’m feeling the old twinges of wanting to get back into it and in the last seven or eight years, since my Nexus 6, everything his grown outside of my realm. It’s like a leaky faucet, “once it starts drippin’, you can’t turn it off” lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck with the path you choose!

roirraW edor ehT said:
Good luck with the path you choose!
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Click to collapse
Sound advice for everything we do in life. Now having weighed my options, it seems silly to finance a Pixel 6 Pro, when I just had mine paid off, especially when we are getting closer to the Pixel 7 which will probably ship with Android 13 or receive it shortly after its release

Bootloader unlockable phones currently sold through AT&T?

The title about says it all. I'm on an AT&T business plan via work and we get our choice of upgrades every 18 months or so. I'm trying to plan my next upgrade. Just curious if there is anything at all that is either a developer edition or something with an unlockable bootloader. Sure I know the answer already but figured I'd check anyway! Even if it is hackable to get unlock I'd love to know. Thanks!

ctradio said:
The title about says it all. I'm on an AT&T business plan via work and we get our choice of upgrades every 18 months or so. I'm trying to plan my next upgrade. Just curious if there is anything at all that is either a developer edition or something with an unlockable bootloader. Sure I know the answer already but figured I'd check anyway! Even if it is hackable to get unlock I'd love to know. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please write to me as for a child what is it about?
I guess I'm stupid because I didn't understand anything.

ze7zez said:
Could you please write to me as for a child what is it about?
I guess I'm stupid because I didn't understand anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most carriers sell phones with bootloaders that cannot be unlocked. Sometimes though there are hacks/exploits to get access and unlock a bootloader that cannot be unlocked. Usually if one wants a bootloader unlockable phone they have to buy directly from Google (or Best Buy or Amazon or other retailer that sells fully unlocked devices). An unlockable bootloader allows you to customize software on your device and make it run or do the things you want. Carriers don't like that ... quite frankly IMHO it's 100% about monetization of you, the product. If you are interested, stay FAR away from Samsung stuff. None of it is unlockable here in the states without an exploit (correct me if I'm wrong).

ctradio said:
Most carriers sell phones with bootloaders that cannot be unlocked. Sometimes though there are hacks/exploits to get access and unlock a bootloader that cannot be unlocked. Usually if one wants a bootloader unlockable phone they have to buy directly from Google (or Best Buy or Amazon or other retailer that sells fully unlocked devices). An unlockable bootloader allows you to customize software on your device and make it run or do the things you want. Carriers don't like that ... quite frankly IMHO it's 100% about monetization of you, the product. If you are interested, stay FAR away from Samsung stuff. None of it is unlockable here in the states without an exploit (correct me if I'm wrong).
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This post is obvious, but ...
Did I understand correctly from the first post that you work for AT&T and would like to break the locks on phones ordered from manufacturers for the employer/client?

ctradio said:
The title about says it all. I'm on an AT&T business plan via work and we get our choice of upgrades every 18 months or so. I'm trying to plan my next upgrade. Just curious if there is anything at all that is either a developer edition or something with an unlockable bootloader. Sure I know the answer already but figured I'd check anyway! Even if it is hackable to get unlock I'd love to know. Thanks!
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See if they have a Pixel or Xaomi and you have a prayer. Other options would be talking a majority of CO workers into T Mobile stage a rebellion over phones they give you cuz they spy on you. Let freedom reign!