Nokia 5.3 bootloader is unlockable now

I still remember the good old days when I would flash my Symbian-running Nokia phones with tweaked firmware maybe twice a day. Back then a nanosecond faster or smoother scrolling meant having a better and more advanced phone than the iPhone 3GS. Luckily, those days are behind me and now I can use my time better, for example, writing about Nokia phones…

However, some folks kept the urge to tweak their phones to their own liking and not having the option to unlock the bootloader was a big issue with Nokia Mobile in the first few years of the company’s existence. HMD Global even promised to make the bootloader unlockable, but it never happened. Some skilled smartphone users finally managed to do it but you’ll need a lot of experience and some tools to make it possible.

Nokia

The instructions are available at the XDA forum and the author is the one and only Hikari Calyx. He managed to get a prototype OS backup from a Nokia 5.3 engineering sample unit that contains ABL image with bootloader unlock capability. Later he found it can be used on retail units, but flashing it can be tough depending on the Android OS version installed on your phone, and you need to disassemble the phone to get some Qualcomm driver.

If you are willing to risk destroying your 5.3, you might follow it step by step. Of course, I’m not encouraging here, do it at your own risk.

Link XDA Forums