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Locked Bootloader

Jfalls63

Jfalls63

Android Expert
Picked up a Samsung J7, SM-J727U, this weekend on a whim. Thought hey, looks just like the S5 but a US unlocked version without any carrier branding or carrier bloat.
Didn't do any research, big mistake. Past experience with US unlocked versions of phones, mostly Motorola, I thought it should work on any network. Found out later that it was GSM only.
No big deal. Figured I would play around with it then sell it. Root and Rom this puppy, install Xposed then flash back to Stock.
Nice phone, Android 7 out of the box, removable battery and SD card slot.
Went about my normal setup, enabled Developer Options, enabled USB Debugging, turned off Animations. To my surprise, no option for OEM Unlock.
Used to have to worry about Carriers locking the bootloader but now it seems that Samsung has taken away the option to unlock the bootloader.
This is my first hands on experience with a Samsung since the S5 but first time I've heard of the option for OEM Unlock being totally removed.
 
Its different for all devices. For my HTC One Mini back in 2014 i had to email them and get a code sent to unlock my device but i dont believe its the same with samsungs. Maybe the option isnt there because its previously been unlocked or something along those lines

Best of luck to you
G Andre W
 
Just in case you're keeping a tally on this, my Galaxy SIII (SPH-L710) does not have any OEM unlock entry in the Developer Options either, Moto E4 (MSM8917) does.
 
The S3, S4, and I think, S5 didn't have the toggle for OEM Unlock. Think it started about the time the S6 was released. I expect that Verizon and AT&T branded would have unlockable bootloader but not a unbranded version.
Looks like Samsung is trying to keep it permanently locked. Could be just the low end budget devices.
 
I was doing a bunch of research on this. Locked vs. Unlocked vs. Signed.... etc, etc, etc. My plan was to write an elaborate answer for you but unfortunately, my head exploded. Sorry.
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Last edited:
HeyItsDaWolf said:
Its different for all devices. For my HTC One Mini back in 2014 i had to email them and get a code sent to unlock my device but i dont believe its the same with samsungs. Maybe the option isnt there because its previously been unlocked or something along those lines
Click to expand...
I'm surprised you had to email HTC to get a code in 2014. HTC introduced bootloader unlocking for most models in 2011, via a tool on the HTCDev.com site. Marginally more involved than the "set the OEM unlock flag then use fastboot to unlock it", but not much.

As for Samsung, I found people on XDA reporting that the unlocked US S8 models also don't have unlockable bootloaders. Whether that's purely a Samsung choice, or whether they do it in deference to the carriers (it's the same hardware as the carrier models, so maybe not releasing unlockable firmware makes it harder to unlock the carrier versions), business requests or whatever I don't know, but they are becoming increasingly hostile to modding, at least in the US (the Exynos versions are, currently, unlockable).
 
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