AT&T locked phone, can I Install?

d_buster

Wanting to move over to a Pixel 8Pro from AT&T that will be carrier-locked. Am I able to install GrapheneOS without any issues? Or do I need the phone to be unlocked to install.

(Maybe this quesrion has already been asked but I couldn't find a clear answer anywhere)

Overlay1404

My guess is the bootloader is probably locked, as most carriers lock it and dont allow you to unlock it.

You could verify this by just going through the OEM unlocking steps of the GrapheneOS install guide. If you are able to unlock, then you are probably fine to install it. If not, you will need to get an unlocked phone. You can get unlocked pixels through Google if that is something you are comfortable with.

d_buster

Has anyone installed the OS onto a carrier-locked Pixel 8?

Overlay1404

d_buster From my understanding, "carrier-locked" would not be an issue. The problem isn't that a phone is locked to one carrier, the problem is that most of these carrier-locked phone also have the bootloader locked and no way to get it unlocked. Without the ability to unlock the bootloader there would be no way to install an official version of GOS.

de0u

Overlay1404 The problem isn't that a phone is locked to one carrier, the problem is that most of these carrier-locked phone also have the bootloader locked and no way to get it unlocked. Without the ability to unlock the bootloader there would be no way to install an official version of GOS.

Correct.

d_buster Even if AT&T can be convinced to carrier-unlock the device (which may be true if you are a good customer), it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to communicate with anybody within AT&T who knows how to bootloader-unlock it. It might be the case that that some AT&T software development team has a way to do that, but if so that team is likely to be unreachable by customers.

d_buster

Understood. So by the sounds of it, one would have to have the phone in-hand to check if the bootloader can be turn off, correct?

RRZishe

I also have an at&t carrier locked phone, so let me know what happens 🙏

CognitivelyDissonant

@RRZishe

I just installed GOS on an AT&T Pixel 8 Pro that I bought used here in Vietnam

https://ibb.co/1sjGTZM

This was after I spent a week trying to enable OEM unlocking on a P7P that I finally realized was Verizon (talk about time wasted)

https://ibb.co/bW4CZt6

Then I traded it for another P7P that the shop had. It had OEM unlocking greyed out also, but now that I knew how to check it (store.google dot com -> repairs, make sure you're on the USA site) I saw that it was an Fi version

https://ibb.co/0KsG9pB

so took it because I had read that sometimes if you have the phone check in with Google and leave it connected to the internet it will eventually unlock. No luck.

So I went back to the shop, they didn't have another P7P but they had the at&t P8P that I finally had success with, so I bit the bullet and paid the extra money to upgrade.

I realize this isn't your situation and doesn't offer any steps for you to take but does show that it is possible.

Wishing you the best of luck, cheers!

RRZishe

CognitivelyDissonant Thanks for the update!!!

[deleted]

Rather than more than likely getting a carrier and bootloader locked device, why not buy SIM free (OEM unlocked) directly from Google or Amazon (seller Google) and pay in installments if money is an issue, which it likely is otherwise you wouldn't getting yourself in trouble tying yourself with a carrier and overpay the real value of the phone in the long run anyway.

CognitivelyDissonant

[deleted]
It's all a blur now, but in my week of futility trying to OEM unlock the first phone I bought (used, because unfortunately for me money is an issue, and I would run the risk of having to pay exorbitant import taxes and customs fees to have it shipped into Vietnam ) I ran across more than one message board where people said that they had ordered straight from Google but had indeed received phones that were carrier unlocked but had locked bootloaders.
Don't know how often that happens, probably not very, but it could still be the luck of the draw.
Just thought I would throw that out there, cheers!