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Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

androidauthority.com

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Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#81

Post by ldmosquera »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #71
ReptileMan wrote: post #29

Okay - so which devices are left that are easily rootable? I will be in the market for new one soon. It's good if EU after mandating usb-c also mandates unlockable bootloaders for whomever wants it.

Lenovo's Moto phones

I recently got Lenovo Moto G7 Plus (not recent but recent enough for their purpose), because LineageOS fully supports them [1].

Then I found out to unlock the bootloader I had to:

1. get a string via a `fastboot` command

2. create a motorola.com account

3. paste string in some motorola.com page to get an "unlock code" emailed IF Motorola decides your device is "unlockable"

4. `fastboot oem unlock UNLOCK_CODE`

5. connect phone to the Internet and wait between 3 and 7 days [2] (turned out to be 3 or 4)

Until I did all that shit, the option to unlock the bootloader in system settings was grayed out.

Afterwards the device works well, but it was a terrible experience and I DO NOT recommend Motorola devices for rooting based on this.

[1]: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices

[2]: https://nerdschalk.com/how-to-fix-oem-unlock-greyed-out-or-o...

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#83

Post by Fire-Dragon-DoL »

ravenstine wrote: post #80
sn0wtrooper wrote: post #9

Long is gone the time where unlocking bootloaders and installing custom ROMs was the best path to follow. Even if you are able to unlock it (with difficulties such as this one, or others that involve opening the device and soldering a shortcut), you will have a device where apps check for unlocked bootloaders and rooted OS, and forbid you from use the application.

This is rubbish. I'm running GrapheneOS and have left my bootloader unlocked, and there's no app that has refused to work. The only caveat is some of them need Google Play services. No, I am not rooted, but my last phone was rooted and there might have been one or two apps out of dozens that wouldn't work with root even with Magisk trying to hide the root status. Using a custom ROM is easily one of the beat choices I…

What are the downsides with GrapheneOS? I had a few problems with root (Netflix and banking apps) but would love my privacy. My main reason for root is the firewall to block outgoing connections from apps that are not supposed to do it

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#84

Post by rkagerer »

BizarreByte wrote: post #19
arsome wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Largely depends on your priorities and level of effort. You can bypass all current app checks using Magisk and Play Integrity Fix, but it's a bit of work to maintain and can break occasionally. You gain in this case full control of your device like a desktop OS, block ads, modify app behavior, disable unwanted system features, but you have to put in effort to maintain it. However if you don't want to deal with that,…

> but it's a bit of work to maintain and can break occasionally. Which is a major problem because my tolerance for my bank's app not working when I open it is so low it might as well be non-existent. I personally gave up this fight.

Or switch banks and stop fighting.

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#85

Post by solarkraft »

mnw21cam wrote: post #82

> This has set a basic precedent I would note that technically the small claims court in the UK does not set precedents. That would be the function of a higher court.

How so? I thought a precedent was just any case that has been ruled in a certain way, irrespective of the court it has happened in.

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#86

Post by boneitis »

freedomben wrote: post #35
franga2000 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sure isn't what it used to be, but if you buy the right phone and make a few moderate compromises, it's still a great option. Installing crDroid on my OnePlus 9 Pro took half an hour, another half to install Magisk Delta with a few modules. The universal dark mode alone (Xposed module "DarQ") is worth the effort, but also the ability to clone apps, have proper clipboard sync, make full-system backups and customise…

Do you keep a factory image for your OnePlus 9 pro in case you want to restore it? If so, how do you go about doing that? After OnePlus decided to stop publishing factory images, I decided to stop buying their phones. It's a real shame, because they really do make some great stuff and prices are quite reasonable generally speaking. I used to buy a new OnePlus phone nearly every year. The OnePlus 6 was one of my favor…

I might have my hardware/software/firmware components (or your argument) mixed up and conflated. Does Oxygen Updater not source from published images?

https://oxygenupdater.com/article/438/

Yes, I am still on my beloved OnePlus 6 running Lineage and had been looking around for a used 7 or 8 for 5G capability (I'm a bit sketched out by the overall throttling hoopla of 9th gen). Perhaps it's time to expand the search beyond OnePlus.

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#87

Post by shepherdjerred »

shepherdjerred wrote: post #33
HansHamster wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean Microsoft Windows which dropped support for Zen 1 with Win11 not even 5 years after Zen 1 was released? Meanwhile, Linux will still run on a 30+ year old CPU...

Isn't Windows 10 still supported?

I looked into it. Consumer installs of Windows 10 have updates until 2025.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10#Support_lifecycle

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#88

Post by Knork-and-Fife »

DoneWithAllThat wrote: post #12

The article casually refers to Asus breaking “their promise” but nothing in the rest of the article suggests Asus ever promised anything of the sort. That they used to provide the tools wasn’t a promise. Did they ever advertise or up-front communicate that these tools would be made available and maintained?

A lot of the zenphone series had bootloader unlock as a listed feature which was then removed when they disabled and took down the tool. The Zenfone 10 was advertised as going to have the feature as well before and even after the launch for a bit. Asus claimed that the tool was coming at several points but the date in their promises kept getting pushed back and eventually turned into we don't know and now it appears to be never. This is stuff that was in writing from them, search it up, but you'll need to check the Internet archive for the info that they've removed from their own sites (like the repeated pushing and cancelling of the return of the unlock tool)

Re: Asus refunds Zenfone buyer for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools

#89

Post by nebulous1 »

ravenstine wrote: post #80
sn0wtrooper wrote: post #9

Long is gone the time where unlocking bootloaders and installing custom ROMs was the best path to follow. Even if you are able to unlock it (with difficulties such as this one, or others that involve opening the device and soldering a shortcut), you will have a device where apps check for unlocked bootloaders and rooted OS, and forbid you from use the application.

This is rubbish. I'm running GrapheneOS and have left my bootloader unlocked, and there's no app that has refused to work. The only caveat is some of them need Google Play services. No, I am not rooted, but my last phone was rooted and there might have been one or two apps out of dozens that wouldn't work with root even with Magisk trying to hide the root status. Using a custom ROM is easily one of the beat choices I…

Do you use a banking app? Last I read depending on the type of check used some apps can still be problematic.
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