Realme allows unlocking bootloader on all its smartphones in China

Oppo-related Realme has begun allowing unlocking of the bootloader on devices sold in China. That’s what a CEO on Weibo says. It is not yet known whether the option will also be available on European devices.

Unlocking the bootloader should be possible on all devices that Realme sells in China, reports the CEO. The site Gizchina points out that with unlocking the bootloader, Realme also deactivates the fingerprint scanner, to prevent data from the fingerprint from being removed from the device.

After unlocking the bootloader it is possible to replace the firmware on the device with a modified version or a custom rom. Developers have to create and optimize custom ROMs per phone, so custom ROMs for a phone are not always available.

Realme has started selling its X2 Pro in Europe. The bootloader can now also be unlocked, according to a topic on XDA-Developers. The brand is a former sister brand of Oppo. Oppo phones are also not unlockable. The bootloader on phones can be unlocked from OnePlus, which shares an investor and suppliers with Oppo, among others. Realme, which has been its own company since May 2018 instead of an Oppo brand, will set up its own R&D team and work on its own product lines, Digitimes reports. That is not yet the case.