Did you know that by enabling a simple program on your phone, you can do a lot of customization? I am talking about OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), which generally refers to a company that produces aftermarket equipment and products that are sold by another company.
OEM unlock is a much sought-after term these days, since it allows your phone to upgrade itself. The majority of users dislike the way their phones work or their appearance while interacting with many apps. But with OEM unlocked phones, you can do that easily. In spite of this, the majority of people see benefits, but there are some downsides, such as unauthorized access to your phone. Below, we will explain everything about OEM.
What Is OEM & How to Enable OEM Unlocking on Any Android Device?
Among the reasons why a user would opt for OEM unlocking, the most probable ones include installing custom ROMs, removing pre-installed bloatware, and gaining access to administrative settings. I agree everyone wants to customize their phone, but not at the cost of damaging your device.
Before unlocking OEM, there are a few downsides you should take into account, such as blocked access to secured apps like Google Pay, data loss, and unauthorized access.
Pre-Requisites
As a safety precaution, you must back up your data. Your device must be at least Android 5.0. Make sure to fully charge your device.
- On your phone, open the Settings app.
- Scroll to About Phone >> Tap the build number 7 times.
- Following this, you will see a new option entitled “Developer Options” in the Settings menu.
- Go inside the Developer Options and toggle on USB Debugging.
- Continue scrolling down until you find OEM Unlock.
- Toggle on OEM Unlock and allow the warning. That’s it. You are done.
Besides that, you need to unlock the bootloader on your phone. A bootloader helps your OS boot and start correctly. Now you’re considering adding some custom ROMs. Basically, if you are unlocking OEM, then it means you are doing further customization to your phone. For this, you need to unlock the bootloader. If you don’t have it, you can’t move forward. Now, let’s look at the steps below to unlock the bootloader.
Note: Unlocking the bootloader is a restricted process, but it is available for all Pixel phones and some other devices. You can directly ask a developer through your smartphone company’s support page if your phone supports bootloader unlocking.
- Simply connect your phone to a PC using a USB cable.
- Then open a command prompt there. Enter the “adb devices” command to connect your phone.
- After that, allow the access request appearing on your phone.
- Next run “adb reboot bootloader” this command to boot into bootloader mode.
- In a moment, your phone will reboot.
- Now run “fastboot flashing unlock”/“fastboot oem unlock” (for older devices) command.
- Following this, you will get confirmation that your bootloader is unlocked.
- Next run “fastboot reboot” this command to reboot your phone.
- That’s it. Your bootloader is unlocked.
Lastly, after enabling OEM and unlocking the bootloader, you can install custom ROMs, root your device, and many other things. However, you should also consider the downsides. Now I hope you have a better idea of how to add customization to your ordinary Android phone. So if you have any queries or want to know more about a particular topic, you can comment down below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ans. No, it does not void your phone’s warranty.
Ans. Frankly speaking, it is unsafe but also depends on how you allow apps to access your personal data.
Ans. There is no way to do that because Google introduced it after releasing Android 5
Ans. You can disable OEM unlock in the same way as done for enabling it.
