Say Goodbye To Your Custom ROMs As Samsung's One UI 8 Kills Bootloader Unlock (sammobile.com) 22
Samsung's new One UI 8 update has quietly disabled the ability to unlock the bootloader on all Galaxy devices globally, ending the custom ROM and kernel era for Android enthusiasts. While most users won't notice, the developer community sees this as a major blow to modding freedom -- one that could potentially raise regulatory concerns within the EU. SamMobile reports: A new report highlights evidence found in the Galaxy S25 One UI 8 beta builds that the bootloader unlock option has been removed. A similar change has also been confirmed on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 which are running stable versions of One UI 8. A deep dive into the stable version's code has also confirmed that regardless of the region, the bootloader unlock option will not be available on devices running One UI 8. The enthusiast community won't like it.
They won't be able to use custom ROMs to update devices when the official software support runs out or use custom kernels to extract more performance. However, with most Samsung phones now offering seven years of Android OS upgrades, one can argue that the utility of this capability is not as significant as it once was.
They won't be able to use custom ROMs to update devices when the official software support runs out or use custom kernels to extract more performance. However, with most Samsung phones now offering seven years of Android OS upgrades, one can argue that the utility of this capability is not as significant as it once was.
Already switched (Score:3)
For "stock android" (no customization), I already switched to one plus devices, specifically one plus 13R
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I thought the only out of box stock Android outside of the really cheap phones was the Google pixel line.
To be fair I mostly picked this phone up so that I could get the x75 modem. It works a heck of a lot better than my old Media tek based Motorola. The only downside is the performance is really not all that much better for what I do and it cost $500 instead of $130.
Still not having to walk to
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it is stock enough to get android security updates the same month pixel phones get them.
Goodbye! (Score:2)
Goodbye, custom ROMS! Goodbye!!!!
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As for the regulatory response, as others have pointed out, this could also raise concerns within the EU which has more or less taken up the mantle of consumer protection for the world at this point. It also jives with the Right to Repair movement,
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Maybe they will become like machine guns in the U.S. Thanks to fucked up laws, the supply of legal ones is now artificially constrained. So instead of getting an M-16 or Al-47 for the very reasonable "pre law" price of $500-$1000, you now have to pay a ridiculous sum of money ($42K+), simply because supply is limited.
Problem with phones is that while you may have your custom ROM, everything else on it is falling behind on specs. Guns don't really have that problem.
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Too much bloat? (Score:3)
Every update makes old devices slower.
If more ROMs are made for more devices without the bloat, that will impact their future sales.
Jailbreak? (Score:3)
Not only that (Score:3)
Hahahaha, no (Score:5, Informative)
I am on a Fairphone. I can even get the build-package of the stock ROMs if I want.
Samsung does this for NA phones for years (Score:3)
It was shit already (Score:3)
It was shit already because Samsung's VoLTE has been proprietary for many years. Buy a modern Samsung, unlock the bootloader, install a ROM: say goodbye to the ability to communicate easily. Do people really want this? I'd love a modern device running lineageos or /e/os with everything working but the manufacturers are determined that this cannot happen, and they own the hardware even after you bought it. My main phone is Samsung & runs stock, unrooted, unmodified. Why? So I can fucking use it! My backup is an old Moto G7 Plus. It runs /e/OS beautifully and I can even run my bank app on it. But I cannot run Google Wallet so cannot use it to pay or identify. This is crucial. Money, trade and exchange are not secondary but at the root of human behaviour.
oh well (Score:4, Insightful)
Why would the EU care? (Score:2)
They've never cared about this before. Samsung provides a vertically integrated product. There's no advertisement of the functionality to install a 3rd party OS and neither is that a general consumer expectation. Phones from many vendors are locked down. Products from many vendors are locked down. Even ones which qualify for DMA scrutiny are locked down. Samsung hasn't done anything to 3rd party phones or 3rd party vendors.
I struggle to think why regulators would give a shit. They regulate. For them to do t
EU Regulations much Toughter than US (Score:5, Interesting)
I struggle to think why regulators would give a shit. They regulate.
Exactly, and the EU regulations generally prevent you from using restrictions on what software users can run from giving yourself an unfair competitive advantage. This is why Apple got into trouble with its Appstore. It's not clear that Samsung will get into trouble in the EU but, when they allow custom ROMs there are clearly no restrictions on what software you can run and that often gets you around EU restrictions because you are not locking your users in. If they change that and lock their users in things they do now might end up contravening EU fair competition rules.
The EU cares a lot more about ensuring free and fair competition through regulations than the US does. Other countries, like Canada, generally care about this too but can't push as much because their markets are smaller and companies could just pull out of them whereas the EU market is far too large for companies to ignore.
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I struggle to think why regulators would give a shit. They regulate. For them to do that there's rules that need to be followed, not just feel good vibes of wishing a company didn't do something.
The EU part is the editors making and not in the article but I'd believe such regulatory scrutiny would stem from "Circular economy action plan" https://environment.ec.europa.... [europa.eu] In particular "on common rules promoting the repair of goods" https://eur-lex.europa.eu/lega... [europa.eu] You'd be correct in noting it doesn't mention bootloaders or indeed any type of diy tinkering, but perhaps it will give you an understanding that they are doing what I reckon you believe they a not doing and I assume similarly shouldn't
Preloaded with malware (Score:2)
The definition of malware is software that works against the wishes of the owner. The owner should have ultimate control over it. When a manufacturer has more control over the device than the owner, it is pre-loaded with malware even if that software is official software. The only way this shit will ever stop is a consumer bill of rights that guarantees that hardware and software are separate entities and that the owner should always have access to change or alter the software on that device without the man
contract/no contract (Score:1)
It is about time ,,, (Score:2)