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bootloaders unlocking
Wednesday, September 7th, 2022 02:28 amI got a new used phone, a Samsung Galaxy s10e, and it's lovely.
I have two old Motorola phones, both the same model but different colors. One was bought new, the other bought used. Both have had issues with their batteries starting to swell over time. I'm unsure if that's an inherent problem with the phone model, or with me leaving them plugged in to their chargers too long, or maybe using the wrong kind of charger.
A few years ago, I had unlocked the bootloader of one of those old phones and rooted it. I did not do so on the other phone.
The phone on which I unlocked the bootloader always shows a warning message whenever you turn it on, alerting you to the fact that the bootloader was unlocked and that Motorola disclaims any liability.
Today I turned off the other phone and checked its battery. It is again slightly swollen as I had suspected.
Upon turning the phone back on, I was surprised to see that unlocked bootloader warning screen - because this is the phone I did NOT do that to. I checked all my notes, and I'm certain I didn't do that to this phone. It was quite a hassle doing it on the other phone, so it's not something I could have accidentally done. If I had purposely done it, there would be notes, but there are no notes.
Both of the phones now show the unlocked bootloader warning upon being turned on.
On the phone whose bootloader I DID unlock, "Settings - Developer Options - OEM Unlocking" shows "Allow the bootloader to be unlocked" and shows the toggle switched Off. When I swipe the toggle on, I get prompted for a PIN, as if I hadn't already unlocked it.
On the phone whose bootloader I did NOT unlock, "Settings - Developer Options - OEM Unlocking" shows "Bootloader is already unlocked", with the toggle switched On and disabled so that it can't be switched back off.
The only other people who have had access to the phone don't have the know-how (nor reason) to do such a thing.
From doing some searches, it doesn't sound like there's any malware that can unlock a phone's bootloader on its own.
I've installed a few non-Google-Play-Store apps on this phone. But I don't see how that could have caused the problem.
I may have temporarily switched the SIM from one phone into the other at some point and then switched it back. Maybe that somehow...? Even though it shouldn't.
I just hope this unlocked bootloader weirdness doesn't spread to my new phone too, which now has the SIM from the old phone WBIDU.
I have two old Motorola phones, both the same model but different colors. One was bought new, the other bought used. Both have had issues with their batteries starting to swell over time. I'm unsure if that's an inherent problem with the phone model, or with me leaving them plugged in to their chargers too long, or maybe using the wrong kind of charger.
A few years ago, I had unlocked the bootloader of one of those old phones and rooted it. I did not do so on the other phone.
The phone on which I unlocked the bootloader always shows a warning message whenever you turn it on, alerting you to the fact that the bootloader was unlocked and that Motorola disclaims any liability.
Today I turned off the other phone and checked its battery. It is again slightly swollen as I had suspected.
Upon turning the phone back on, I was surprised to see that unlocked bootloader warning screen - because this is the phone I did NOT do that to. I checked all my notes, and I'm certain I didn't do that to this phone. It was quite a hassle doing it on the other phone, so it's not something I could have accidentally done. If I had purposely done it, there would be notes, but there are no notes.
Both of the phones now show the unlocked bootloader warning upon being turned on.
On the phone whose bootloader I DID unlock, "Settings - Developer Options - OEM Unlocking" shows "Allow the bootloader to be unlocked" and shows the toggle switched Off. When I swipe the toggle on, I get prompted for a PIN, as if I hadn't already unlocked it.
On the phone whose bootloader I did NOT unlock, "Settings - Developer Options - OEM Unlocking" shows "Bootloader is already unlocked", with the toggle switched On and disabled so that it can't be switched back off.
The only other people who have had access to the phone don't have the know-how (nor reason) to do such a thing.
From doing some searches, it doesn't sound like there's any malware that can unlock a phone's bootloader on its own.
I've installed a few non-Google-Play-Store apps on this phone. But I don't see how that could have caused the problem.
I may have temporarily switched the SIM from one phone into the other at some point and then switched it back. Maybe that somehow...? Even though it shouldn't.
I just hope this unlocked bootloader weirdness doesn't spread to my new phone too, which now has the SIM from the old phone WBIDU.