Samsung Removes Bootloader Unlocking with One UI 8

Summary

Bootloader unlocking is a popular way to breathe new life into older devices, by loading unofficial software onto a device, like custom ROMs, gaining root access, custom kernels, etc. This option will be taken away from users with One UI 8. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump right in. Bootloader unlocking is no more with One UI 8 The OEM Unlocking toggle has been removed with the stable build of One UI 8 on the latest Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 devices, as well as the official beta builds on the Galaxy S25 series. This was also observed by @ya_sking12767 over on X. Now, one could assume that this is a temporary thing. The Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 are brand new. The S25 beta is, well, a beta. They could add it back in later on, right? It’s not a temporary measure at all An XDA forum post delves deep into various system files from the Flip 7’s stock firmware to get to the root of the issue. What he found was huge. There’s a lot of technical jargon here, so we’ll simplify it. Focus on this code snippet: @Override public boolean isAvailable() { return !SystemProperties.get("ro.frp.pst").equals("") && !SystemProperties.get("ro.boot.other.locked").equals("1") && !KnoxGuardManager.getInstance().shouldBlockCustomRom() && mOemLockManager != null; } This controls the visibility of the toggle, and whether you can unlock the bootloader. When ro.boot.other.locked equals 0, it lets the user unlock. When 1, you can’t. US models haven’t been able to unlock for a while now, and that’s thanks to this value. International units weren’t affected however. But with One UI 8, this value is set to 1 for everyone, no matter which region the device is from. And when it’s set to 1, the toggle no longer appears. Now, in this snippet, the bootloader code is grepped (searched) for anything relating to unlock functionality. And all code in relation gets stripped upon compilation. On top of that, all devices running One UI 8, including non-US units, have androidboot.other.locked set. Here shown is from...