By enabling a simple program on your phone, you can do much customization. I am talking about OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), which produces aftermarket equipment and products that other companies sell. OEM unlock is a much sought-after term since it allows your phone to upgrade itself. Most users dislike how their phones work or their appearance while interacting with many apps. However, with OEM unlocked phones, you can do that easily. Despite this, most 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, and how do you enable OEM Unlocking on any Android device?
Among the reasons 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 that everyone wants to customize their phone, but not at the cost of damaging it.
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 charge your device entirely.
- On your phone, open the Settings app.
- Scroll to About Phone >> Tap the build number 7 times.
- Following this, you will see a new “Developer Options” option 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 is 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 are considering adding some custom ROMs. If you are unlocking OEM, you are doing further customization on your phone. To do this, you need to unlock the bootloader. If you do not have it, you cannot move forward. Now, let us look at the steps below to unlock the bootloader.
Note: Unlocking the bootloader is restricted, but it is available for all Pixel phones and other devices. You can directly ask a developer through your smartphone company’s support page if your phone supports bootloader unlocking.
- 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 to appear on your phone.
- Next, run “adb reboot bootloader.” This command will boot into bootloader mode.
- In a moment, your phone will reboot.
- Now run the “fastboot flashing unlock”/“fastboot oem unlock” command (for older devices).
- Following this, you will get confirmation that your bootloader is unlocked.
- Next, run “fastboot reboot.” This command will reboot your phone.
- That is 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, it would help if you also considered the downsides. Now, 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 below.