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Does Samsung lock the bootloader on Unlocked by Samsung phones?

I currently have a Moto G5 Plus and I am getting tired of the update situation to the point I am looking at a (slightly) older Unlocked by Samsung phone to replace it when I feel the time is more correct to do so. I’m not going to do it right now but it’s something I will probably end up doing later on.

One of the reasons I do not use Samsung phones goes back to answers like this: Remove Verizon Boot Splash Screen. This bothers me at a fundamental level because it limits the owner’s ability to tinker with their phone to make the infamous carriers happy; it’s based on principle. Because of how the carriers use KNOX, I do not plan on getting a “locked” phone as a precaution to avoid the boot signature enforcement issue.

I’ve loosely heard the Unlocked by Samsung series isn’t affected by the boot signature enforcement locked bootloader like the carrier models, but these are just mumbles at best - I don’t know with 100% certainty. I want to make sure these phones do not suffer the same issue before I go out and consider one, especially given what I know about Samsung and KNOX. I wish there were more trustworthy choices other then Samsung that don’t have the problems Motorola does.

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I can definitely agree with the fact that Motorola’s OTA updates are really annoying. However, you can take your Moto G5 plus and rather easily put a completely different version of android on it, such as this build of Android Oreo that will receive regular updates for to fix bugs and performance issues, and will be far less annoying than Motorola’s updates. I can vouch wholeheartedly for this ROM, as I put it on a Moto G3, and it did wonders in terms of performance compared to the stock ROM. Plus, in the future when stable Android Pie ROMs are released (some are already in the works) you can relatively easily update to those.

If you aren’t familiar with flashing ROMs and custom recoveries or using the command line tools to do so, this guide for the Moto G4 should help to guide you on your way. If you decide to do this, make sure you download this version of TWRP, rather than the one in the guide, since that’s the version for the Moto G4, not the G5 Plus. Also, bootloader unlocking (which will wipe everything from your phone except things on the internal storage like pictures, will void your warranty, and is required to install the custom ROM) links out to Motorola’s website, which works the same way no matter what model of phone you have.

Alec

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5 Comments:

The problem is they NEVER have the security patches current... Ever. They're always 1-2 months behind on the current patch set and I'm out of patience for it. On top of that, they STILL haven't brought the phone to 8.0 as they say they will - there's probably a zero percent chance at this point. I bought the G5 rather than the G5s because I have an APS-C camera and I don't need a high-quality smartphone camera... We're not a second class priority because we bought the low-cost phone.

It's not the update platform they use - they fail miserably at actually patching their phones. I thought the Google crackdown would help... Nope. Just as bad. I miss the old days when they were making the RAZR. Those days are (sadly) long over.

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Yeah, AFAIK the Pixel Experience devs implement new security patches whenever they come out.

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If this is their way of "punishing" buyers like me then they've lost me for good.

I got the subpar camera because I don't need a quality phone camera. That isn't a license to nudge the issue by doing this crap.

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Oh, is this not an issue on the G5s?

I had no idea that there was a difference in software updates between them.

It is really stupid that you have to go to lengths like this to get good update support on modern phones.

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Yep. The G5s got 8.0 but the G5 hasn't. I suspect both are behind on the security updates.

The problem with phone cameras is they will always be crap compared to a proper camera. Yes it's nice to have a good camera on a phone but if you have a proper camera there's no point to having a good one on your phone; acceptable is fine.

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