Samsung Galaxy Fold has just been launched and is the center of attraction for Android enthusiasts. It’s one of the first foldable smartphones by Samsung which can fold to give a full tablet view. In this guide, we will show you how to unlock the bootloader on Samsung Galaxy Fold.
What is Bootloader Unlock?
Bootloader unlock is a gateway for Android device users towards its unlimited possibilities of customizations and other features. By unlocking the bootloader, you can root your device (jailbreak), flash custom firmware, kernels, recovery and install third-party modules and apps, etc.
A Bootloader is usually locked on an Android device due to system security or privacy-related measures. As the Android OS is an open-source platform and anyone can do anything with it, the smartphone OEMs always want to stick to their skin and OS version that is specially developed and designed for their own device models. That’s why most of the OEMs don’t provide an unlocked bootloader out-of-the-box.
Pre-Requisites
Now before we go ahead and unlock the bootloader on your Galaxy Fold, let us make a list of pre-requisites that are required to unlock it:
Charge your phone
You need to make sure that your Galaxy Fold is charged to about 60% before operating it for unlocking the bootloader to avoid any boot loop issues during the unlocking process.
You need a PC or Laptop
We would be running certain ADB and Fastboot commands that can be executed via PC or a laptop. So, we would need a computer in order to unlock the bootloader.
Take a complete backup
Before unlocking the bootloader, one of the most important things that you need to do on your phone is to take a complete backup of your phone. For that, you can follow the guide by clicking the link below:
Download USB Drivers
In order to make your Galaxy Fold get recognized by your PC, you need to have proper USB Drivers appropriate to your phone installed on your computer. And for that, you can follow the link below to download the correct Samsung USB Drivers on your PC.
Warning
Before we begin, I would strongly recommend you to create a backup of your device storage and all your files stored on your device. unlocking the bootloader will wipe off the entire data on your device and will void the warranty. Moreover, it is advised to follow the steps mentioned in this post very carefully to avoid permanent damage or to brick your device. If anything goes wrong the author or GetDroidTips are not responsible for it.
Steps to Unlock Bootloader on Samsung Galaxy Fold
- Make sure that your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network with internet access and has enough charge.
- Now, go to the device Settings menu > Wi-Fi > Connect to the network.
- Go back to the main Settings menu > Check for firmware update from the Software update option and then download and install.
- If an update is available, install it first.
- Once done, you’ll need to enable the Developer Options on your device. To do this, go to the Settings menu > About phone > Software information > Tap on Build number 7-8 times until it shows ‘You’re now a developer.
- Go back to the main Settings menu > Scroll down and tap on Developer Options > Enable OEM Unlocking [If prompted, allow it].
- Now turn off your device completely.
- Press and hold the Volume UP and DOWN button on your Galaxy Fold and connect it to your PC
- This will boot your device into Download Mode.
- Once in the Download/Recovery menu, press and hold the Volume Up key until you can see the “Unlock Bootloader” screen.
- Press the Volume Up key again to confirm the bootloader unlock process.
- If prompted that all of the device data will be deleted, just proceed.
- Wait for the process to complete and your device will reboot.
- Enjoy!
Now, you’re good to go for full-fledged customization on your Samsung Galaxy Fold. If you’ve any queries, let us know in the comment below. Till then stay tuned for more info.
