Samsung is about to determine a new era for some users with the rollout of One UI 8. The latest software that brings Android 16’s base rolled out for the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 – the brand’s most recent releases in the foldable territory. The update brings a lot of changes and new features and one significant milestone. Samsung seems to be quietly locking down bootloader access. In other words, the company seems to be joining the practices of no longer allowing bootloader unlocking. This raises some questions about the future of custom ROMs or mods for Galaxy devices, and seems to be an unfriendly move to the community.
Early testers noticed that the “OEM Unlocking” option, which allows users to unlock the bootloader, is missing on both the Galaxy S25 Ultra One UI 8 beta build. It is also absent on the pre-installed software on Z Fold7 and Z Flip7. One user reported from East Africa that the toggle was nowhere to be found on their retail Fold7.
Upon further inspection, the XDA Developers discovered a line in the firmware:
firmware—androidboot.other.locked=1
It suggests that Samsung could be hiding the unlock option by default. The changes applies even in regions where it was previously allowed. This marks a shift from earlier practices, where bootloader unlocking was only restricted in the United States.
No More Custom Development For Galaxy Smartphones
We still don’t know if this is a change going forward and that will affect all Galaxy smartphones in the future. For most users, the change can go unnoticed. However, for the community of developers and custom ROM enthusiasts this will be felt. We have to say that Samsung smartphones’ haven’t the strongest community in terms of custom ROM. Perhaps, only the most popular devices get some love from developers. It’s not lack of interest, of course. But due to the fact that Samsung limits what users can do if they want to keep warranty. Also, with some devices getting more than 3 major OS updates, the interest for custom ROMs has diminished in these devices.
Samsung is yet to confirm or comment this change. We don’t know if this will affect older devices that are still software support like the Galaxy S23 or S22 series. For now, we need to wait. However, if this becomes a new standard we won’t see Galaxy phones getting newer Android versions after the official support ends. In the past, we saw miracles like the Galaxy S2 from 2011 getting an update to Android 10. More recently, the Galaxy S7 got a unofficial port of One UI 7 based on Android 15. These interesting achievements made by custom developers will end if the company decides to prevent bootloader unlocking for all its smartphones.
