Samsung Removes Bootloader Unlocking with One UI 8
158 comments
·July 28, 2025zxcvgm
WD-42
This is amazing. Imagine getting the cops called on you for this and having to explain why the phone company was against you stealing your own phone
sunaookami
It's still possible outside of China but you have to have a Mi account and for newer phones you have to make some forum posts or some dumb shit.
lawlessone
I did that a few years ago. Had to download some tool to my PC.
Then make a request that takes 2 weeks to go through. and enter the or whatever (this was like 2016 or something).
Whole process was clearly designed to make you give up.
Their phones where junk then though and i just got something else in the end. They're a lot better now so actually unlocking it is probably worth something now.
unaindz
I dont think you need to do the forum posts but you need to request unlocking every two days and pray it works. Supposedly at 00:00 chinese local time for any chances of getting permission. Took me several months of trying non continuously.
saidinesh5
Pixel stopped providing device trees, kernel history,
Samsung has been doing this for a while now.
Which are the devices/vendors that still allow / encourage this?
Even Graphene OS reported that they're in talks with some vendor... Have there been any updates towards that?
The main reason i used to root devices are:
* Get longer support/OS updates than what the vendor provided
* System level adblock using adaway
* Titanium backup
These days firefox/brave browser gets me half way through adblocking and i lost interest in the ad filled apps..
Syncing gets me good level of syncing for backup on my NAS etc .
RealStickman_
Here's an updated list of relatively popular phone manufactures and their bootloader unlocking potential.
https://github.com/melontini/bootloader-unlock-wall-of-shame...
sugarpimpdorsey
Was anyone else shocked to see Microsoft in the top tier of their list of unlock-friendly phone manufacturers?
pentamassiv
danieldk
Unfortunately, it's hard to make Fairphone secure. No separate secure element (so much easier to do brute force PIN attacks) and always lags in monthly security bulletin patches and major OS releases (remember that the monthly patches typically only address high/critical vulnerabilities, for the rest you need OS updates, QPRs, etc.).
Until Graphene works out the deal with the OEM that they are talking to, Pixel is pretty much the only secure phone that allows installing alternative firmware.
lordofgibbons
Do anyone know why GrapheneOS doesn't support fairphone?
protimewaster
As someone else mentioned, GOS requires that the bootloader properly support relocking with a custom key. Additionally, GOS has a rule that any device supported must keep up with all security and quarterly patches in a timely manner, and none of the Fairphone devices do.
Tharre
No secure element, no memory tagging support, no proper cellular baseband isolation, no verified boot, taking months to ship security updates .. the list is long.
From a security/privacy perspective the fairphone is on the worse side of options unfortunately.
aeonik
I can't find the link, but a couple days ago, they said in a thread here it was due to their lack of support of some important security features, and remarked that it didn't look like they were even interested in supporting them.
NoboruWataya
As others have said they have some security concerns (I don't know enough about that stuff to know how justified or surmountable those concerns are). However with the big manufacturers all locking down their devices more than ever I wonder will they have much of a choice in the end. We're going to need a manufacturer (or preferably several) to actively stand behind the possibility to use custom ROMs, and at the moment Fairphone seem like the only one who might do that.
erremerre
The curious thing is that being GrapheneOS open source, I would think that somebody could potentially create a ROM for them, even if it is not as secure as GrapheneOS would like. However, absolutely nobody has done it yet...
gavinray
You can use AdGuard to block in-app ads on Android as an FYI
pnutjam
You mean w/ DNS? or an app?
saidinesh5
It sets up a VPN and routes your Android traffic through it. But because of battery optimizations etc.. it has been a little flaky for me
nunez
As someone who roots single-purpose Android devices, this is one of those things that sucks big-time but makes total sense.
The only reason one would unlock a bootloader is to root the system partition. It is impossible to protect data on rooted phones and makes data exfiltration attacks significantly easier to do.
This is a huge problem for banking and music apps that absolutely rely on this capability. Samsung is, by far, the biggest seller of Android phones in the US. (I think Xiaomi is the biggest globally), so they are under much more pressure to clamp down on this.
That said, rooting Samsung devices has been a worthless pursuit for a long time. Doing so irreversibly (via eFuse) disables KNOX, which prevents DeX and Samsung Health from working. It also trips SafetyNet, which disables a whole suite of key apps (banking apps and Apple Music don't work; not sure about Spotify). There's a Magisk module that uses well-known device IDs to work around these, but these only work temporaily. Many people have also reported issues with the camera (a popular reason for buying Samsungs in the first place), and you no longer get OTA updates. I believe you also get degraded camera performance if you flash another ROM since the device module is closed-source and relies on One UI to work. This is before considering that stock ROMs have gotten really good over the years (especially Samsung's), and many of the reasons why we had to root have mostly gone away.
You can work around this by buying a Pixel for now, but I think we're a few years away from bootloader unlocking going away entirely.
That said, I stll root Android devices that will only serve a single-purpose, like my BOOX eBook readers that I use Firefox on. This lets me run AFWall so that I can block network traffic for everything except Firefox (and a few other apps). However, I won't be logging into my Google account on them, and they aren't ever going to run banking apps or anything like that.
wackget
My response would be it doesn't make any sense. There are so many reasons why blocking rooting is a stupid idea. Just some of them:
- If you're capable of rooting a device then you're capable of understanding the risks which come with doing so.
- The number of users who root their devices will always be so comparitively tiny that the increased risk of data exfil is incredibly small. Also, similarly to above, if you're technical enough to root your device then you're probably not regularly putting yourself at risk by downloading shady apps etc. anyway.
- Rather than decreasing security, rooting allows you to enhance the security of your device by installing lower-level tools and, most importantly, removing all the bloatware crap which comes on most phones. This reduces the surface area of attack.
Let's be honest and admit that the only reason to prevent users from rooting their phones is to protect companies' profits by ensuring users can't fight back against the blatant tracking, data mining, and analytics capture which is so valuable to companies.
neobrain
> Let's be honest and admit that the only reason to prevent users from rooting their phones is to protect companies' profits by ensuring users can't fight back against the blatant tracking, data mining, and analytics capture which is so valuable to companies.
I'm with you on the general sentiment, but how do the companies that block rooting benefit from any of the nefarious activities you mentioned? Those are executed by different organizations, typically.
m4rtink
They benefit from user buying a new phone when they stop providing updates for it. If the bootloader can be unlocked, the community can take over support & the device will be used for longer. Kinda like a 10+ old laptop is perfectly functional and usually fully supported by moder Linux distros, but 10 year old phone is more often than not a paperweight.
unethical_ban
First party apps, carrots and sticks from large players like alphabet and meta, pressure from banks, pressure from governments.
dist-epoch
> The number of users who root their devices will always be so comparitively tiny that the increased risk of data exfil is incredibly small
> the only reason to prevent users from rooting their phones is to protect companies' profits by ensuring users can't fight back against the blatant tracking, data mining, and analytics capture
You contradict yourself, if the number of users which will root their devices is tiny, the lost profits from tracking, data mining, analytics is tiny as well.
BLKNSLVR
Not necessarily if you consider the level of paranoia of these companies regarding controlling how their devices are used, as well as the tech sectors growth at all costs mantra.
There's also the argument that if tiny percent can do it, could it start to catch on and slowly grow to a larger percent?
More so in an economic environment where spending $2,000 on a new phone every year is decreasing in popularity, especially when the differences between model X and model X+1 have to squinted at ever harder to determine.
throwaway39381
> This is a huge problem for banking and music apps that absolutely rely on this capability.
In the case of banking, unlocking the bootloader usually requires a full device reset and leaves a very obvious message when you boot up the phone—you can't grab someone's locked device, root it, and grab their financial data just like that.
As for music apps and other apps that download copyrighted content to the user's device, leaving the moral aspects of stripping the user of control of files on their own device aside, preventing their use on rooted devices just loses them users since
- Those are by no means essential apps
- If you know how to root your phone, you probably know how how to pirate media as well
- People can just use computers to exfiltrate copyrighted media instead since most of those apps have PC versions
It "doesn't make total sense", it never has. It's just a kneejerk reaction that conveniently aligns with stripping the user of control.
ranger207
> It is impossible to protect data on rooted phones
What makes securing rooted phones different from securing rooted PCs?
dawnerd
I don’t get this too. Laptops are just as portable but don’t have this limitation (yet). This argument that it’s to protect banking and music apps is silly, those products work fine on pcs while maintaining security.
Hackbraten
> those products work fine on pcs
In the EU, banking apps no longer do. They require a trusted companion device for 2FA, e.g. a smartphone app or a dedicated chip-and-pin device. This is enforced by the PSD2 directive [1], which has been in effect since 2019.
In contrast to that, you’re always allowed to do banking on an iOS/Android banking app. Banks seem to trust the integrity of the OS enough that they allow the app to be its own second factor.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Services_Directive
seanw444
Nothing. They just perceive the users as more stupid and incapable of handling their personal property properly.
throw-the-towel
The scariest part is, they might actually be.
ACCount36
Phones are portable, and thus more likely to suffer from a physical attack. But that's about it.
It is, and always was a flimsy excuse to the strip user of control over his own device.
"Secure Boot" isn't actually there to protect the device from an attacker. It's there to "protect" the device from its own user. It's used to "secure" DRM schemes and App Store revenue streams.
gruez
>"Secure Boot" isn't actually there to protect the device from an attacker. It's there to "protect" the device from its own user. It's used to "secure" DRM schemes and App Store revenue streams.
1. Basically all the serious DRMs (eg. widevine L1) rely on the content being encrypted all the way to the display itself. The OS, secure boot or not, never sees the content in cleartext, because decryption happens in a secure enclave and is immediately encrypted to the display using HDCP.
2. The "app store revenue stream" excuse doesn't really make sense, because you can easily install third party apps on Android, even though nearly all phones have locked bootloaders.
observationist
Magic rock complicated. Grog say Grug too dumb to do magic rock right, so only Grog have secret magic rock key.
Grug pay Grog many shiny rock for make magic rock work, or Grog use key and magic rock stop working.
mvdtnz
What?
anonymousiam
I'm not sure if this is true, or for how long it has been true. I rooted my company phone (Samsung Galaxy S4), removed the crapware, and un-rooted it so that it could join the corporate network. This was a long time ago.
danieldk
Rooting certainly blows the Vault eFuse. Knox Vault, etc. are newer than the S4 (Knox Vault was introduced in the S21).
For removing bloatware from the user partition you don't need to root, adb or the universal android debloater will do.
causality0
My S24 Ultra is unlocked and rooted and I use DeX every day.
rickdeckard
It is really a pity, as this means Android OS is closing down.
Without supported Consumer Hardware available on the market in sufficient volume, even less end-users will use an alternative OS, which will affect quality and size of the alternative OS-market and fragment the remaining users even more.
This will put the future of the entire alternative-OS ecosystem firmly back into the hands of Google. If they start further restricting BL-unlock on the Pixel-series to e.g. only Google Developer Account-Holders, the whole ecosystem will finally close down.
kotaKat
I’ve always said that it’s been “Google’s Android”, and wellp —- Welcome to Google’s Android, where the garden walls have been turned into a razorwire fence and you’re not welcome to leave.
It’s really funny that Apple’s finally allowing carefully controlled access outside of their own fences and slowly adding more APIs and expansion (hell, Apple are the only platform now with third party APIs for RCS in the EU) while Google’s spun an about face and will get away with it.
rickdeckard
Of course it's been Google's Android, I don't think anyone ever questioned that. The whole reason why the OS still lives as a single entity and the app-ecosystem is not completely fragmented is due to Google's governance to keep it in check.
All the stuff Apple now slowly starts to allow on iOS due to EU's Digital Markets Act is still just scratching the surface of what Android already supports.
> hell, Apple are the only platform now with third party APIs for RCS in the EU
They provide third party API's to use APPLE's RCS-Service. The alternative would have been to support registering alternative RCS-services as default on the OS (and then, allow the user to choose a service).
> while Google’s spun an about face and will get away with it
Android already allows to install and configure alternative applications for RCS, in fact Samsung uses their own RCS Messaging service on its devices.
evan_a_a
>They provide third party API's to use APPLE's RCS-Service. The alternative would have been to support registering alternative RCS-services as default on the OS (and then, allow the user to choose a service).
RCS messaging is carrier-controlled and configured via carrier bundles in iOS. Apple doesn't run a "RCS service". TelephonyMessageKit [0] in iOS 26+ exposes a standard interface to the carrier SMS, MMS, and RCS services, as applicable, allowing for 3rd party applications to send and receive carrier standards-based messages.
In 3GPP standards, RCS is just another service using the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) framework. Carriers can either run their own RCS service in their IMS core or use a 3rd party service (as many do with Google's Jibe).
[0]: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/telephonymessaging...
kotaKat
> Samsung uses their own RCS Messaging service on its devices
No? They’ve switched to Google Messages, and most/all carriers have switched to Google Jibe RCS (again, Google forcing its services into operator hands), which basically forces SafetyNet attestation to use.
293984j29384
Google is first and foremost an advertising company. They're going to do whatever makes them the most profit. It always had razor wire fences unfortunately.
rickdeckard
I'd argue that they are not merely an advertising company, they are an "attention facilitating company", taking and curating attention of large groups of users and making it systematically available to other parties, acting as middleman.
You know, like Apple...
> [A] is first and foremost a [B] company. They're going to do whatever makes them the most profit.
This is the definition of any commercial business.
pepa65
It's a datamining company, and there are many ways to profit off of that...
null
foresto
Sony Xperia models have been my choice since the Sony Ericsson days. Unlockable bootloader, LineageOS available, microsd card, headphone jack, good screen, decent camera, reasonably powerful SoC, water/dust resistant, and probably several other benefits that I'm forgetting at the moment.
I don't know if any US carriers offer them, but last time I was shopping, models with North American radios could be bought online.
My main complaints about Xperia phones:
- They don't support re-locking the bootloader at all, let alone with custom keys. This could be problematic for folks who depend on mobile banking apps that require full Google Play Integrity (SafetyNet) attestation, or risky for folks who leave their phone unattended around potential adversaries.
- Their wonderful Xperia Compact line, comprising smaller versions of their flagship phones, seems to have been abandoned. Even their most recent "compact" models were bulky compared to their predecessors.
aeblyve
The writing's been on the wall for custom ROMs in general for a while, so I've been starting to think about a mobile phone vendor I could actually have a decent business relationship with. I.e. use their stock ROM and be fairly happy with it.
Any opinions? Samsung was a candidate for their somewhat unified ecosystem. Maybe even apple.
Ambroos
I still really like Sony phones. Excellent hardware. They have no online services they are trying to push, they just want you to buy their phones. As a result, the stock software is very clean Google Android without much extra. But they're not available in every region, and quite expensive. Used to have very short software support but now they do 4 major Android version updates / 6 years of security updates.
You get no ecosystem benefits though, it's really just plain Android.
mmis1000
Sony phones generally have a ok-ish hardware(their old 4k oled screen is still top-tier for watch videos to date in my opinion) and emmmm-ish software support. And depends on your region, the software support can be even worse. For example, TW-version sony phones have a serious delayed update schedule. You may get an update that others already received for half an year (and pixel phones have already got two years ago)
piperswe
Though for Americans, Sony sadly doesn't release their phones in the USA anymore
Ambroos
The last few years it's been tougher and tougher to get them. Even in Europe you can now only buy them directly from Sony, and Amazon in a few countries. Sony is not selling them via any other retailers or operators at all from this year onwards.
bestouff
Whatever floats your boat. I'll remain with the latest vendor making custom OS possible.
FYI Pixels still allow flashing custom ROMs, they've just slightly inconvenienced developers.
aeblyve
It's not necessarily about it being possible, but the level of support and refinement.
The future I'm seeing is one in which custom ROMs still exist as hobby projects, but aren't suitable for use in "production".
npteljes
In this domain, things change so fast that I decided to just focus on my next phone, or like the following 2-3 years.
The future is as bleak for the custom ROMs as is their past. They are aftermarket modifications of the phone software, entirely dependent on the manufacturers and Google, and these release new things yearly.
Pixels are a good choice I think because they come with the least amount of bloat, and with Android, the connection to Google is always there anyways.
danieldk
Samsung carries a lot of advertising crap, tracking, etc. Pretty much every phones is going to be worse than Pixel in that respect, since you get Google's tracking + whatever pile of crap the vendor added (which in the end they all seem to do).
So it's basically:
Pixel with GrapheneOS > iPhone >> Google Pixel with PixelOS
I wouldn't recommend anything else. Theoretically Fairphone + e/OS may have been an option, but the security is crap.
I guess there is Sony, you could even install Sailfish OS, no experience though.
aeblyve
I've owned a few pixels but for whatever reason in my case the hardware had a habit of randomly dying just outside of the warranty period. But maybe I can revisit.
DobarDabar
Check Nothing
frizlab
Apple is good out of the box, and has a strong ecosystem.
stavros
More devices we no longer own and that are bound to become trash in a few years, and for what reason? So companies can make more profits?
jjbinx007
I decided to part with my Huawei Mate 20 X after about 7 years of ownership not because it was a bad phone - on the contrary, it has a nice big screen, decent enough camera, is still plenty fast enough etc - but because the OS hadn't received any updates in a long time.
Rather than see it go to landfill I donated it to a friend who's happy to use it but what an absolute waste.
Bought a Pixel purely because they are committed to updating their phones for a long time.
stavros
I've been using Xiaomi phones but I had to buy a new phone every year or two just because they get so sluggish. My other Android phones kind of had the same, except my Nothing 2 has been going strong.
Has this been your experience as well, or have your phones been OK with responsiveness? Seven years is a long time, I imagine the phone must have been unusable by then.
asimovfan
I've used a xiaomi redmi note 4 (mediakek) for many years before i got it stolen. I've purchased a xiaomi redmi note 10 after that (i am supposing there were six years in between). I was still using it but then I needed one of these big folding phones and bought a samsung z fold 5. It broke down in 2 years, i am back to my redmi note 10. Still going strong. I will never buy an expensive phone again it was a dumb move. Just the cheapest android on aliexpress.
jjbinx007
My Huawei was still absolutely fine for me speed-wise. I moved to a Xiaomi 14 for a little while which was obviously faster but not in a "holy shit it's fast" sort of way.
The Pixel is slower than the Xiaomi in benchmarks but I can barely tell any difference in day to day usage.
Maybe if I went back to the Huawei it would feel slow but honestly I would still be using it if it had been updated. Unless the new OS slowed it down.
catlikesshrimp
unlock the bootloader and flash Lineage OS.
wiseowise
But think of banks and music services, comrade! Banks need the waste to protect you, and poor music services will go out of business if you control your own phone!
baq
They should be economically incentivized to pick up their trash.
rickdeckard
This is already in place in the EU via the WEEE directive (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment), but the costs have apparently been absorbed just fine already by this industry, so it doesn't seem to hurt them sufficiently to be incentivized for longevity.
As much as I hate it, the strongest incentive would maybe be to legally define vendors who supply hardware with a non-interchangable OS-ecosystem as service-providers and put restrictions on the price they can charge for the hardware to render the service (like i.e. a cable-modem from an ISP).
This could force the large players to decide between high-margin hardware or high-margin OS-ecosystem instead of aiming for both.
Come to think of it, these market-dynamics would be interesting to observe...
charcircuit
Is any other product forced to do such a thing? Considering a phone lasts for years and is very small, it produces very little garbage over time compared to disposable product people use. Think how big a garbage can is compared to a phone.
baq
I dump a whole bin of paper every two weeks; most of it is recyclable.
Phones are electrowaste. Recyclability of electronics is... not good.
charcircuit
You still own the device even if the bootloader is locked. It's like saying you don't own a CPU because you can't add your own instructions. There are always going to be limits to what you can easily customize for a device.
account01011100
Adding cpu instructions is something that you can't physically do, however unlocking the bootloader is something you can do via software, and if a vendor chooses to lock it down they're basically taking away your ability to do anything you would want to do with a device. Sadly this is has been the case for a while and it's probably going to continue being the case.
blueflow
> they're basically taking away your ability to do anything....
... with your property, with is a violation of your rights in most western jurisdictions.
charcircuit
You can physically do it with a microcode update. Nothing is being taken away since this change is for new products. They just are not providing an additional feature to these products.
e2le
I don't believe a user lacking the ability to perform a microcode update impacts their freedom in any meaningful way. The CPU still executes whatever instructions it's given unless the user is deprived of that freedom.
sn0n
dont worry, samsung knows only 300 people will actually care.
As for me, I already swore off Samdung for their whole Samsung account bs and apps they bundle and won't let me remove (or disable).
bjord
samsung is the only smartphone manufacturer that still makes phones (though not many) with all the features I want: microSD slot, dual physical sim, side-mounted fingerprint reader, headphone jack, nfc, and regular (long-lasting) security updates
they also have service centers pretty much everywhere in the world, so I can always get my phone fixed (for a reasonable price, as a result of their ubiquity) if and when I inevitably break it
would I also prefer the option to unlock my bootloader? yes. if I'm honest with myself, is it a deal-breaker? sadly, no, I no longer use custom ROMs
cosmic_cheese
They seem to skip some years when bringing updated models to the US for some reason, but Sony Xperia phones check most of these boxes. I have an Xperia 1 V that I use as an app dev test device and as a backup phone and have found it pretty nice. The hardware feels great and their Android build isn’t nearly as junked up as Samsung’s. I’m always surprised they aren’t more popular.
null
dotancohen
> samsung is the only smartphone manufacturer that still makes phones (though not many) with all the features I want
jjani
Which of their phones have all of these?
DuncanCoffee
I have an xcover 6 pro with dual sim, 3.5 jack, removable battery and micro sd support, it works great (except buying an original battery is not super easy). I know the 7 is out too but I think its reviews were worse on amazon
spankibalt
There are no smartphones or pocket computers that tick these boxes anymore, since general-purpose computing is an anathema to the modern, specialized enshittification slop. For a modern device to serve most, if not all, relevant features, it takes a company that is built around principles that go beyond just shareholder satisfaction. You see the dilemma...
AFAIR, the Samsung Galaxy Note9 was the last device that deserved to be called general-purpose pocket computer. EMR stylus, 3.5 mm audio, mSD card slot, USB-C 3.1, good CPU, adequate memory for the time (8 GB), good cameras. If you're willing to forgive the non-removable battery, the only suck was the screen if you were sensitive to PWM, especially with regards to lower flicker frequencies.
Alas, seven years ago Samsung got the itch and divorced from good pocket computer design. The Note9 seems almost like an accident, given Samsung's market policies of today.
dotancohen
Other than the side mounted fingerprint meter, I replaced my Note 10 Lite with another Note 10 Lite because it had all the other features.
catlikesshrimp
https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a06-13265.php This year, no NFC.
https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a15-12637.php Last year, but they removed 3.5mm this year
That I know, in Latin America, they don't have all that anymore. And there is only one left with 3.5mm.
crinkly
Yep. Everyone I know who bought a Samsung anything (TV/Phone/Washer/Dryer) last time said it's their last Samsung product. Samsung sure know how to piss off customers.
cudder
Well, I dunno. I've seen it as a lesser evil compared to many others.
In ye olden times I had such a horrible time with my cheapo Samsung when trying to upgrade it from Android 1.5 to 2.1 that I swore it'd be my last Samsung, and it was, for well over a decade. During that time I went through some iPhones and a handful of the most popular alternative Android brands.
Since the thread is about Android I'll focus on that. Every manufacturer was hamstrung by one or more of the following issues:
- Subpar hardware
- Difficult and slow RMA process where your device flies around the globe for repairs
- Software bloat, just like Samsung, but from a country I trust even less (China vs SK)
- Very infrequent updates (if you are lucky enough to get them at all), especially once a newer model is out
Now since this thread is about bootloaders this is probably a hot take, but I spend enough of my time troubleshooting stuff at work, so when I use my phone I want it to "just work" and not have to play some stupid anti integrity protection cat and mouse game to access my bank's app. So the last two are not solved with an open bootloader.
Samsung on the other hand has in recent years given me the "just works" experience on decent hardware, paired with frequent updates. And while their authorized repair shop might not be in my city, it is at least in my country and just a train ride away.
That being said, the nerd in me is disappointed in this move, and the recent EU ruling that forces manufacturers to actually support the stuff they sell for a reasonable time even after it's off the shelves might change things for the better w.r.t. other manufacturers.
jemmyw
I've got a Samsung dryer and when it had a fault with the door sensor they got it fixed pretty quickly. I had better service from them than Bosch or Miele - I replaced a Bosch dryer when I was totally fed up of trying to organise Bosch to fix it and being told it was at least a 6 week wait - Samsung half the price, and surprised us that it is a better dryer (faster, easier to use etc).
I don't love their phones, though my wife has one. However, again on the service front, when my samsung S7 had a problem they fixed it pretty quickly. When my iPhone 5 came with the wifi not working it took weeks to convince Apple that it was actually broken and get a replacement.
All anecdotal of course, and probably varies a lot by location and over time.
trollbridge
It’s amazing how nothing goes wrong with my 20+ year old Maytags, Whirlpools, or Estates by Whirlpool (their budget subbrand). No logic board failures, drain pump failures.
Acquired from yard sales and then subject to duty cycles of 5-10 loads a day.
Somewhat relevant, I have 3 relatives/colleagues still sporting iPhone 8’s/8 Pluses. The only issue is that some newer apps are slow. Told them to grab iPhone SE 3rd gens before they’re discontinued; one of them has it sitting unopened in the box, waiting for their 8 to die.
damascus_kei
This is also anecdotal; but I heard it from someone who works in Home Appliance repair, but Samsung has been getting their act together in the last couple of years because they know their reputation has been horrible. Making their appliances more reliable and easier to repair. They worked with the home assistant recently to get their appliances (smart things) to be able to properly with it.
perching_aix
It's actually incredible how consistent they are with it. I'm hesitant to buy a foldable or a display from them for this very reason, even though I'd be otherwise interested.
perryizgr8
I think their phone in the high end is the best phone on the market, unless ios is a requirement for you. Also, I bought a Samsung AC and really like the smart features. Really nice integration with Alexa too.
catlikesshrimp
Is the alternative really better overall. We upgraded to a samsung fridge last year from two consecutive cheapo-chinese-local walmart-brands and it was worth every penny. It will pay itself in energy savings in less than two years.
crinkly
Mine cost me a whole fridge of food which was the energy savings gone. Which was my last Samsung product.
NoboruWataya
What do you use? Samsung are anti-consumer but none of the other big phone manufacturers seem to be much better (and historically at least Samsung's flagship phones have been pretty good hardware-wise).
Sunspark
Some of the Samsung apps are better than alternatives. Google is not the best at everything.
Der_Einzige
Those 300 people include some experts at spiritual warfare which will guarantee that all involved in this decision will reincarnate into durian fruits in the next life.
FerretFred
Same here. I got so tired of fighting "the system" that wanted to manage everything, and post-updates meant mire wasted time switching off bloat/features I didn't need.
Zak
I have to wonder what Samsung's motivation is here. Of course they probably have some bloatware they profit from, but someone who plans to unlock the bootloader just won't buy their device now. Samsung only benefits if they lose money on device sales (do they?) and make it up on "services".
kotaKat
I’ve got five bucks on this being a new requirement from Google to Tier 1 OEMs to eliminate bootloader locking.
unyttigfjelltol
Samsung botched UI 7.0.[1] Their approach to UI 8.0 is more of the same. Removing features is one thing, this is something worse.
[1] https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S22/One-UI-7-0-Up...
internetter
I'm guessing this is your post? Way too anacdoal to make generalizations to OneUI 7.0 as a whole (and, expecting the demands to work in a community forum is funny, and, was the prompt "hey chatGPT, write a frustrated forum post?")
worldsavior
How many people are there that unlock their bootloader?
edelhans
I just unlocked the bootloader on my Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 today (which was a nightmare to do btw.). Why did I unlock it? The device has nice hardware, but is stuck with Android 13 and does not get any security updates either, so flashing a custom ROM is my only chance of having an up-to-date device.
Next step will be to try PostmarketOS and see how that goes
Zak
Few, and far fewer than in the early days of Android. It's odd that a company Samsung's size would care about this.
worldsavior
No I'm talking about what you said about someone not buying their phone because of bootloader locking. Majority of the majority don't care about the bootloader, so is Samsung.
ptrl600
Been compiling and running lineageos for nigh on five years now. Attention corporate tyrants: I will never give up.
aeblyve
Seems you may have to start getting good at SMD rework soon.
ptrl600
Either freedom or zip. I'd sooner bang rocks together than use a phone I can't compile the OS for. The number of required binary blobs is a foul enough insult already.
Hackbraten
You can always move to a phone that runs on mainline Linux proper.
aeblyve
Not seriously, IMO.
phkahler
Samsung also removed my flashlight recently. The whole pull-down that contained it is gone. Not sure what they're thinking over there.
WXLCKNO
You're gonna have to explain that one.
Do you mean the new One UI update that made the notification pull down split into left and right swipes instead swipe down and then swipe down again? Because if that's what you mean, you can configure it to be the way it used to be again.
Little pencil button, then panel settings and choose together instead of separate.
cheeze
... Use the edit functionality to add it back?
I assure you that Samsung doesn't care to remove your... flashlight.
This likely just got removed from a fat finger/phone being on in your pocket/etc.
npteljes
I'm surprised they let it go on as long as they did.
Xiaomi apparently have also stopped unlocking their bootloaders, so the "workaround" was to go to an official store and ask them perform a downgrade, and before the staff can relock the bootloader, grab the phone and run:
https://x.com/kobe_koto/status/1949154478298456531
Absolutely hilarious.