S7 Edge Bootloader Unlocked?

[Kempston]

Hi. I have an S7 Edge on order from Vodafone, due for delivery next week. Could someone confirm if the bootloader will or will not be unlocked? I have heard conflicting stories about the S6 coming unlocked twelve months ago, some say it was, some say it wasn't. And if it does come locked, is it easy to unlock unlike, for example, Verizon in the USA where it's basically impossible.

Thanks in advance, I really don't want to have to cancel my order but I refuse to pay £50 a month for a locked down phone.

[Kempston]

Just to say, there is an easy method to find out if someone happens to have their hands on a Vodafone branded S7/S7 Edge right now. Go into the Developer Options in the settings menu (you might have to activate the developer options to do this), and see if the OEM Unlock toggle is there and available to use. If it is there the bootloader is unlocked. It would be appreciated if someone could let me know.

Cheers.

[Retired-Wayne]

@Kempston

This isn’t something that we can help with.

However, I’m sure some of our other eForum community members will be able to help.

[Kempston]

Hopefully.

I spoke to someone at Vodafone who indicated it would be locked, but I have a suspicion he might have been confusing sim and bootloader lock. I fully expect it to be sim locked once I insert a Vodafone sim, that doesn't concern me at this point. The bootloader being locked very much concerns me however.

[Webreaper]

I've never had any Android phone provided by Voda SIM or Network locked. Nexus one, S3, S4, HTC One were all network unlocked.

No idea about the Bootloader.

[Kempston]

@Webreaper, apparently the S7 has a new method of locking to network when the sim is inserted, so don't be surprised if that has changed.

In terms of bootloader lock, I checked my friend's Vodafone branded S5 and it was unlocked, but it could be something Vodafone brought in for the S6 or are bringing in for the S7. I would really like to know before I take delivery of the phone as it's a complete deal breaker for me. @Webreaper

[ssrij]

I bought an Xperia Z3 in Nov 2014 from Vodafone (contract) and it had the bootloader locked and there wasn't anyway to unlock it

[Kempston]

Yeah, Vodafone have been locking Sony bootloaders for years. I don't think it has been happening to Samsung phones though, or at least not up until very recently.

Looks like I might have to wait until the first people get their S7 devices on Tuesday. If someone gets their hands on one in the mean time, I'd appreciate them letting me know.

[ssrij]

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@Kempston wrote:

Yeah, Vodafone have been locking Sony bootloaders for years. I don't think it has been happening to Samsung phones though, or at least not up until very recently.

Looks like I might have to wait until the first people get their S7 devices on Tuesday. If someone gets their hands on one in the mean time, I'd appreciate them letting me know.

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 Yeah I will, when I get mine next week. I am not a big fan of Touchwiz and I would like to root and install another ROM on my S7e 

[Kempston]

@ssrij you won't be able to unfortunately, or at least not for some time. The UK S7 is based on Exynos. It's closed source so I doubt you will see the likes of CM or AOSP any time soon, and probably never if you're looking at a stable rom you can use every day. Even now almost 12 months after the release of the S6 (which used the last generation of Exynos worldwide) there isn't a non-stock rom available that's stable enough for everyday use.

The Americans have it lucky, their S7 is based on the Snapdragon 820, which is open source. They'll have non-TW roms within a month or two.