Nokia 8.3 5G bootloader unlock method published, but you have to run Android 10

Nokia Mobile has a strange relationship with unlocking the bootloader on Nokia’s Android smartphones. Many years ago, Nokia Mobile’s endorsed bootloader unlock practice and announced basically that they will offer that option for Nokia smartphones, starting from Nokia 8.

Indeed, Nokia 8 was the first and last Nokia phone that got the official bootloader unlock method, while for other devices unofficial guides popped up online. It was never really clearly explained why Nokia Mobile gave up on offering bootloader unlock, besides some vague mentioning of security.

Anyways, over at XDA forums the senior XDA member and longterm member of Nokia community Hikar Calyx posted a guide about unlocking the bootloader on the current Nokia flagship device – Nokia 8.3 5G. There are some preconditions before unlocking, like running Android 10 (while Android 11 has been released for 8.3 5G) build 00WW_1_150-B01. You can find the details over at XDA forums here.

Keep in mind that this will void your warranty and I wouldn’t advise doing it on your primary phone. That leads me to the question how popular is bootloader unlocking and custom ROMs in general? I kind of, at least as I get older, expect for things to just work out of the box and I personally spend less and less time personalizing my device ?. If you have similar or completely different experience, be free to leave a comment down below. 🙂