Can I unlock the bootloader of a phone purchased through US Mobile

wizoatk

User38437727 I wonder if it was actually even carrier locked

That would be the simplest explanation.

tyrannicalducky

User38437727 So just to confirm, you bought your Pixel through US Mobile, waited the 60 days, then was able to install GOS on it? Well sounds like you didn't even wait the 60 days, I guess I'm more curious if you were able to unlock the bootloader on your Pixel bought through US Mobile? I just got one and people on reddit are making me think I won't be able to put GOS on it.

I bought my pixel through US Mobile on May 22nd, but my OEM unlocking is greyed out. I'm worried I'll wait the 60 days and still won't be able to do it.

de0u

Carrousel7956 Update?

If the device was purchased May 22nd (tyrannicalducky) and the unlock period is 60 days then I think a definitive answer is probably not available yet.

de0u

Carrousel7956 60 days for carrier unlock not bootloader unlock is how I read it.

The user wrote "I'm worried I'll wait the 60 days and still won't be able to do it" (tyrannicalducky).

MagnusPrime

Sounds odd 60 days what's their return policy 14 days on purchase device? I would talk to them & be clear of intent otherwise get your money back & spend the extra on an unlocked model.

tyrannicalducky

MagnusPrime

Yeah 60 days is how long you have to wait until it unlocks, but I was worried about being able to unlock the bootloader. I did finally find some posts from people who said they were able to with their phones bought directly from US Mobile, so I think I'm safe.. obviously I'm still nervous but one of these was from only 2 months ago. Oh, and their return policy is 14 days from when you received it, so I have two days left in my return window.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/1sqst3h/
https://www.reddit.com/r/USMobile/comments/1mci2nf/comment/o26b54o/

Carrousel7956

tyrannicalducky Update?

Carrousel7956

de0u 60 days for carrier unlock not bootloader unlock is how I read it.

Calderra

US Congress passed universal unlock years ago. Carriers who won't unlock a phone - if it's paid off - are violating the law. It still happens of course. But so long as your device and account are paid off, they cannot legally refuse.

perspicacity

Hi new family. I have US Mobile (up until today with an iPhone 13 PM, but it's battery went dead after a good 5 years.) I haven't been on Android in decades, but I vaguely remember custom ROMing some phone on Sprint. I work in IT Mngmt so I get it.

Anyways, I became very enamored with the privacy community so I looked on US Mobile and behold, a Pixel 10 for about half the price you'll see at most places (including Amazon). Just got it yesterday, and I'm about to eSIM activate it and try flashing GrapheneOS through this morning/afternoon.

Edit: The new Android 17 Graphene too. Phone came with Android 16, it had the option to upgrade to 17, which I'm about to do unless anyone wants to stop me in the next 5 minutes.

I did speak to their support briefly and (subtly) about it and they essentially said as long as payments are being made, your "carrier" lock won't get extended past the 60. I've got a strong feeling the bootloader will be good to go here in a moment when I start.

Anyways, regardless, they did confirm the "carrier" lock for 60 days as long as you have kept up with any bill or invoice you have with US Mobile during that tenure, otherwise they extend the "carrier" lockout for an entire year.

Plus they give us QR codes to authenticate eSIMs ourselves, which Perplexity tells me is like the cream of the crop, no Google authentication or verification or servers whatsoever.

Carrousel7956

perspicacity the bootloader is unlocked?

adentd

perspicacity I can confirm at least that activating esim on their network with grapheneos was very painless. You can either scan the QR or copy/paste a string to activate and there were no issues on darkstar or lightspeed.

lwaj

I bought the Pixel 9 from US Mobile last year during that insane sale and unlocked the bootloader and installed GrapheneOS. I didn't keep a US Mobile sim in it for 60 days either. I activated it initially with a Dark Star sim then turned it off for a month. Saw a post on their subreddit that some folks got theirs randomly unlocked early, did a factory reset on mine and I could unlock the bootloader after connecting to wifi. So, it is possible but ymmv.

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