Update from Asus
The service team reply misunderstood the situation. Unlock tool is unavailable at this moment but we are allowing the possibility to unlock, please stay tuned.
**TL;DR
- ASUS has apparently withdrawn the ability to unlock the bootloader on its phones.
- As per the company’s technical support team, Zenfone 10 and Zenfone 9 users won’t be able to root their phones.
I have been thinking about getting the ZenFone 10 as well. I have seen a lot of similar posts here and on various google searches. In the XDA forum for the phone there also a topic about not being able to unlock the bootloader/root, but there is a bit more info on the reasoning.
“A moderator in the Asus ZenTalk forum posted that they are working on a new release of the unlock tool and that it should be available in Q3 2023.”
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/unlocking-the-bootloader.4607595/
Very cool. But they removed it for now, so I’ll assume it’s permanent until proven otherwise. Not very cool.
asus has killed the possibility of me being a potential customer then lol
I bought their Zenfone 5 in 15 and I always chose ASUS MoBos whenever I need to upgrade. Not anymore.
I still don’t buy Sony over the rootkit escapade and that was nearly 30 years ago.
Some here are mixing bootloader unlocking with rooting. They’re not the same thing.
Asus broke bootloader unlocking, so you can only use the original ROM in the original state. You can’t install a custom ROM or flash something like Magisk to root your device.
You can unlock without rooting or without installing a custom ROM. You can install a custom ROM without rooting. You can use stock and root. And you can use a custom ROM and root. But all this is only possible if you can unlock the device’s bootloader.
Also, something I don’t see people discuss enough: for security, you also need to be able to re-lock the bootloader after installing a custom ROM. Otherwise anyone can inject code into the system partition if they have physical access to your device, which would also compromise your encrypted storage. So if there’s no way to reverse the bootloader unlocking, that’s also bad.
Don’t these phones only have 2 years of security updates? I believe samsung S23 is a better choice as a small phone as it has 5 years of security updates.
And there I was seriously considering getting one. Greed is ruining good things again.
I don’t understand how this move is even supposed to make them more money.
My guess is they’re going to slow down the device on new android and block rooting so you can’t install your own OS, also, probably doing a lot of spying on the users.
Again? I didn’t realize the ride had stopped for a bit. .
I can’t believe this shit… I was planning on getting the Zenfone 10. with it’s headphone jack, small size, and Android feel.
I used to own a ZenFone, and Asus’s technical support was awful. I guess I’m glad I don’t use one now
The problem with companies trying to stop this is the fact that there will be at least one person/team who will find a way to bypass this.
No amount of corporate software devs/engineers can stop the might of a determined team on the internet from achieving their goals when it comes to this kinda stuff.
The updated response from Asus:
The service team reply misunderstood the situation. Unlock tool is unavailable at this moment but we are allowing the possibility to unlock, please stay tuned.
So the server is down and will be back up. But that is not exactly the most reassuring response. It kind of seems like they are planning on removing it later or majorly altering it.
This is just simply not the case. There are multiple phones that have no known bootloader bypass to this day. Sk17i springs immediately to mind.
This is exactly why I sent my Zenphone 9 back. Shame because it was such a good little phone and one of the few flagships with a headphone jack.
Zenfone 9 can’t be bootloader unlocked?
Nope. At least not when I bought mine only a couple of months ago, I guess right when they blocked the unlocking tool from being used. Super annoying.
It’s my device. I will do with it whatever the fuck I desire
Tbh, it has been years since I last rooted a phone. There is hardly any reason left to do it tbh.
Yes there is.
If you want a cfw, which you do because your phone either comes with 2 years of updates or has touchwiz.
If you run cfw you NEED safetynet. Even the witzair app crashes without it. If you cfw and need safetynet, you have to have magisk. Magisk needs root for the safetynetfix.
Plenty of reasons.
- System wide adblock
- Advanced permission management
- Backups and exports of system apps
- Full uninstall of bloatware (instead of mere hiding them with adb)
- Enabling screenshots system-wide
And a bunch of other stuff I need in order to have a fully functioning device.
Can’t you remove bloatware with adb nowadays?
See https://www.makeuseof.com/uninstall-android-app-adb-system-apps-bloatware/
It doesn’t remove them, it uninstalls the app from the current user profile, but they persist on system level. That’s what I meant with the comment in brackets.
It’s the best you can do if rooting is not an option, but I prefer a full removal.
Ah, I see. Would the app still run and consume resources? Or is it just sitting in whatever is a phone’s equivalent of a hard disc?
It would just sit there and be dormant.
- Advanced permission management
- Backups and exports of system apps
Two things previously possible in stock android (via appops & adb backups), but no longer possible to any realistic extent (particularly ADB backups, as most devs disable this for their apps). These are the main factors for me rooting personally
I have been using an old samsung tablet with lineage os (android 12), but the last stock rom was android 6.
So yeah, for me the ability to unlock the boot loader is a must. And that’s not even mentioning getting away of spooky-ware I got as a gift a Huawei phone, really good phone but when I tried to search an app using the sistem laucher it fucking asked for a lot of data, fingerprints, etc. I was sorry to this person but I just sold it ASAP since I wasn’t able to install a Custom Rom to get away from all that crap.
Oh, fuck off. I’m not one to root my phone, but you own the damn thing. Once it’s in your hands, the maker should have no right to tell you what to do with it.
Consumers seem to be too dumb for their own good.
Regulators seem to be too captured for consumers’ good.
Yeah, I’m really tired of this.
We should be able to root and install any OS on our phones like we can do on PC.
I don’t use root or custom ROMs on my phone anymore but this is something that should always be possible.
Boo you whore. Asus really is just kicking itself in the dick the last 5 years or so.
No kidding, especially with their recent motherboards catching on fire, and then voiding users’ warranties for updating to the beta BIOS that fixes the issue, fiasco.
They used to be such a good company; what happened?
Yeah, don’t have one of these, but I was looking at one before settling on a Pixel 7 Pro instead. Have had some sketchy interactions with Asus regarding support and warranty in the past. Might be looking elsewhere in the future where ever Asus is an option. I really don’t like they changing promises retroactively.
welp, no chance I’m ever considering their phones in future
Simple fix: stop buying Asus phones. Once their profit drops they will let you unlock bootloader
