4 ms·

HTC also offered easy unlocks since the One m7 (and probably before). Nexuses/Pixels of course are the easiest. To me it feels like Samsung is the exception her

HTC also offered easy unlocks since the One m7 (and probably before). Nexuses/Pixels of course are the easiest. To me it feels like Samsung is the exception here.

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
I had both an HTC One M7 and an M9, and while yes, unlocks are easy, that is only true if you buy directly from HTC. OTOH, if you wanted to use them on Verizon's network, you needed a Verizon-branded HTC One, which had a locked bootloader. Getting around that usually required paying $25 to run some tool called Sunshine that could abuse an exploit to unlock the bootloader. So where the OEM's allowed flexibility, the carriers swooped in to fill that void.
- seniorivn 9y ago
  It's US problem, f*cking carriers oligopoly
- josteink 9y ago
  Said differently: > I had both an HTC One M7 and an M9, and while yes, unlocks are easy, that is only true if you buy directly from HTC. ... OTOH, if you wanted to use them on Verizon's network, you needed a Verizon-branded phone So if you buy a HTC phone, it's easy to unluck? And if you buy a Verizon phone, it's hard to unlock? How can you blame HTC for the shortcomings on a defective phone you bought from Verizon? That's like me blaming Lenovo for problems I have with the MacBooks and OSX at work. It just makes no sense.
  - AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
    Firstly, I didn't blame HTC, I blamed Verizon, hence "So where the OEM's allowed flexibility, the carriers swooped in to fill that void." Secondly, throwing the issue of "blame" aside and trying to imply that the planned obsolescence phone is somehow the fault of the consumer, you need to consider that until very recently, you had to buy a specific hardware variant of the phone if you wanted your phone to work on Sprint or Verizon, because of the CDMA networks. It wasn't a matter of being a "Verizon-branded" phone. If you wanted to use the phone on Verizon at all, you had to buy the Verizon-specific version (even through HTC directly), and if so, the bootloader was locked. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to switch carriers if your current carrier is an ass, because they might be the only one servicing your area. So if you're on Verizon and you want a smartphone, there was a time when that meant you were likely bootloader-locked.

HTC also offered easy unlocks since the One m7 (and probably before). Nexuses/Pixels of course are the easiest. To me it feels like Samsung is the exception here.

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago

I had both an HTC One M7 and an M9, and while yes, unlocks are easy, that is only true if you buy directly from HTC. OTOH, if you wanted to use them on Verizon's network, you needed a Verizon-branded HTC One, which had a locked bootloader. Getting around that usually required paying $25 to run some tool called Sunshine that could abuse an exploit to unlock the bootloader. So where the OEM's allowed flexibility, the carriers swooped in to fill that void.

seniorivn 9y ago
It's US problem, f*cking carriers oligopoly
josteink 9y ago
Said differently: > I had both an HTC One M7 and an M9, and while yes, unlocks are easy, that is only true if you buy directly from HTC. ... OTOH, if you wanted to use them on Verizon's network, you needed a Verizon-branded phone So if you buy a HTC phone, it's easy to unluck? And if you buy a Verizon phone, it's hard to unlock? How can you blame HTC for the shortcomings on a defective phone you bought from Verizon? That's like me blaming Lenovo for problems I have with the MacBooks and OSX at work. It just makes no sense.
- AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
  Firstly, I didn't blame HTC, I blamed Verizon, hence "So where the OEM's allowed flexibility, the carriers swooped in to fill that void." Secondly, throwing the issue of "blame" aside and trying to imply that the planned obsolescence phone is somehow the fault of the consumer, you need to consider that until very recently, you had to buy a specific hardware variant of the phone if you wanted your phone to work on Sprint or Verizon, because of the CDMA networks. It wasn't a matter of being a "Verizon-branded" phone. If you wanted to use the phone on Verizon at all, you had to buy the Verizon-specific version (even through HTC directly), and if so, the bootloader was locked. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to switch carriers if your current carrier is an ass, because they might be the only one servicing your area. So if you're on Verizon and you want a smartphone, there was a time when that meant you were likely bootloader-locked.