bought carrier locked pixel 7 and cannot unlock OEM

unobomber

Hi to everyone!

I have just bought pixel 7 smartphone to install graphene OS but realized that if it's carrier locked it's impossible to unlock OEM and for this reason I cannot install anything via bootloader.

Is there any way to install OS without unlocking OEM or probably there is a way to unlock OEM and bootloader? Did anyone faced the same problem? I have been trying to find a solution for almost a week now but didn't find anything =(

Please give me a hint =)

Thanks in advance!

de0u

unobomber I have been trying to find a solution for almost a week now but didn't find anything =(

If you have a return window, I'd suggest you return the device, then get an OEM-unlockable device from another source. Especially if it's a Verizon device!

akc3n

unobomber a way to unlock OEM and bootloader?

This requires internet access from the Stock OS with Google Play services as part of Factory Reset Protection (FRP) for anti-theft protection. Are you sure you followed the instructions correctly?

On device model variants (SKUs) which support being sold as locked devices by carriers, enabling OEM unlocking requires internet access so that the stock OS can check if the device was sold as locked by a carrier.

Alternatively, you can verify and confirm this by following these steps:
https://akc3n.page/gists/#alternative-method-via-cli

unobomber is it even possible to get to know what carrier is my phone connected to

adb shell getprop | grep carrier or look for ro.carrier when running getprogp without piping grep (non-linux).

If that doesn't work, pipe grep apn or look for ril.attach.apn running getprop.

Search on https://android.googlesource.com/device/sample/+/main/etc/apns-full-conf.xml using CTRL+F on desktop or if on mobile, use Find in page from the Vanadium menu to locate the carrier associated with said apn.

raccoondad

unobomber No hint, not possible, trade in your phone for a new one (that isn't carrier locked)

spring-onion

Hello!

OEM unlocking is a hard requirement, there's no way around it. Either you ask your carrier to unlock it and hope they pull through with it, or you return it and buy unlocked. I remember someone convinced T-Mobile they were a developer and needed an unlocked device for their work but these success stories are more the exception than the norm, particularly in the US where this problem is most prevalent.

unobomber

Guys is it even possible to get to know what carrier is my phone connected to? because I have bought it from a service like ebay in my country and have no idea to which company I should try to make a request to unlock it.

unobomber

akc3n
thanks for your advice but for some reason these commands don't work for me..

akc3n adb shell getprop | grep carrier look for ro.carrier iirc

If that doesn't work, grep apn look for ril.attach.apn.

Here's a screenshot
am I doin' something wrong? =)

probably I just didn't enter this command correctly

unobomber

akc3n

I see that you are a very profound expert but I am a newbe =)
Could you please share a link where I can see the commands in exact order I have to enter them or probably you could write them for me in a more detailed manner?

thanks in advance !

unobomber

Good news... the seller have just messaged me that he well return money. Hope that he isn't lying.

unobomber

But the problem is not solved yet. Why a moderator has added this tag? I am still waiting that somebody will probably add some kind of instructions which you can write via adb and unlock everything like it can be done with pixel 6

de0u

unobomber I am still waiting that somebody will probably add some kind of instructions which you can write via adb and unlock everything like it can be done with pixel 6

If the device won't allow OEM unlocking it is fairly likely that it's permanent and no sequence of commands will change that. The directions provided are for confirming the situation is hopeless, not for changing the situation. Can you try this specific check? https://akc3n.page/gists/#alternative-method-via-cli

rd8888

de0u thanks.
to summarize, if after allowing connection to the internet the "OEM unlocking" feature is still grayed out, the phone is locked and therefore GrapheneOS cannot be installed. is that correct?
but i can put my TMobile SIM in it, and make a phone call. so what does that mean? i happened to buy a TMobile locked phone from backmarket as Unlocked?

de0u

rd8888 if after allowing connection to the internet the "OEM unlocking" feature is still grayed out, the phone is locked and therefore GrapheneOS cannot be installed. is that correct?

Can you try this specific check? https://akc3n.page/gists/#alternative-method-via-cli

rd8888 but i can put my TMobile SIM in it, and make a phone call. so what does that mean? i happened to buy a TMobile locked phone from backmarket as Unlocked?

A phone can be carrier-unlocked but not OEM-unlockable.

GrapheneOS

de0u That guide is outdated. Devices are locked vs. unlocked dynamically via a database the phone checks to see if it's a locked device. That allows any Pixel to be sold as a locked device by a carrier and then the carrier can choose to unlock it for someone later such as when the contract is finished or a certain amount has been covered.

de0u

GrapheneOS Thanks for the clarification!

moddel

GrapheneOS That guide is outdated.

Is the part of the guide that is outdated:

Next, go to Settings > System > Developer options and toggle on the OEM unlocking setting. On device model variants (SKUs) which support being sold as locked devices by carriers, enabling OEM unlocking requires internet access so that the stock OS can check if the device was sold as locked by a carrier.

If a new pixel phone was purchased today, sold from an authorized retailer as an unlocked phone, is it possible to toggle the OEM unlock setting without internet access and install GrapheneOS directly? Or is it a hard requirement that the phone requires an internet connection and communication with a Google server in order for OEM Unlock to be activated.

This is an critical step that needs to be clarified.

de0u

moddel If a new pixel phone was purchased today, sold from an authorized retailer as an unlocked phone, is it possible to toggle the OEM unlock setting without internet access and install GrapheneOS directly?

It depends!

If the device variant is never sold to carriers that lock phones then the OEM-unlock toggle may well "just work". I believe that in some countries locking by carriers is illegal and thus device variants targeted at those countries may not require Internet access for OEM unlocking.

moddel Or is it a hard requirement that the phone requires an internet connection and communication with a Google server in order for OEM Unlock to be activated.

For some devices it is a hard requirement. I suspect it's a hard requirement for all Pixel devices intended to be sold in the U.S., because some major U.S. carriers do network locking, and Verizon Wireless completely forbids OEM unlocking. I suspect that from Google's perspective it's a big win to be able to manufacture U.S.-bound Pixels all containing exactly the same software, and then, as carriers purchase phones, to retroactively tag those phones as administered by those carriers.

de0u

moddel One piece of good news is that many restaurants, coffee shops, etc., have free anonymous Wi-Fi, which can be used for the OEM-unlock handshake.

moddel

de0u One piece of good news is that many restaurants, coffee shops, etc., have free anonymous Wi-Fi, which can be used for the OEM-unlock handshake.

Yes, however a lot of public WIFI have captive portals or are otherwise provide heavily port restricted internet access which could interfere with the registration. Has anyone identified which app is running on stock pixels that is responsible for this unlock?

The problem here is that it greatly reduces the privacy of GrapheneOS. For example, if a user purchases a Motorola, oneplus or Xiaomi and unlocks and installs LineageOS it is possible for a new phone to never have had unrestrained Google Play services violating the phone because those phones can be unlocked and flashed without giving the stock OS access to the Internet. If Google requires an internet connection to oem unlock a pixel then as soon as that stock device hits the internet raw, all privacy bets are off.

de0u

de0u One piece of good news is that many restaurants, coffee shops, etc., have free anonymous Wi-Fi, which can be used for the OEM-unlock handshake.

moddel Yes, however a lot of public WIFI have captive portals or are otherwise provide heavily port restricted internet access which could interfere with the registration.

I do not recall any reports of that happening on this forum. I do recall lots of reports of people using public Wi-Fi networks to OEM-unlock Pixels.

moddel Has anyone identified which app is running on stock pixels that is responsible for this unlock?

I recall one such claim: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/12693-oem-unlocking-which-appsservices-are-responsible/6

moddel If Google requires an internet connection to oem unlock a pixel then as soon as that stock device hits the internet raw, all privacy bets are off.

Is it possible to list specific privacy threats?

Let's say the Pixel reports everything about itself to Google when asking permission to OEM-unlock: serial number, IMEIs, MAC addresses (all of them). Google already knows all of those values, because Google stored those values in the phone. Probably the device transmitting any one of those is good enough, because Google plausibly has all of those values in a single database row for the device.

Google also gets some sort of IP address for the phone, e.g., the coffee shop's IP address. Perhaps the phone also reports its location from GNSS, and also reports nearby cellular-site identifiers and nearby Wi-Fi SSIDs.

Now Google knows that a specific Pixel was first powered on at a specific location (at a specific time).

Then what?

raccoondad

moddel If Google requires an internet connection to oem unlock a pixel then as soon as that stock device hits the internet raw, all privacy bets are off.

How? The device doesn't even need to be logged in? Very little information is needed to authorize OEM unlocking. Pretty much just going through the setup process, WiFi connection, and waiting a few minutes. Not even a Google account login.

So its incredibly hyperbolic to say "all privacy is off bets", it barely effects grapheneOSes privacy or security, and can be done using public WiFi assuming the connection isn't being blocked.

I have never had public WiFi block a connection to a port.

Google services doesn't "violate" the phone, that's unfounded and conspiratorial. Its a process on the OS, its removed like everything else on stock once a reflash is done.