Unlocking bootloader gives you the freedom of making changes to your android device in any way or form you want. In this tutorial we will walk you through a step-by-step process on how to unlock bootloader on OnePlus 7. With unlocked bootloader you will be able to update your android phone to the latest updates using custom ROMs and enjoy latest android features without waiting for official updates.
Note:Unlocking the bootloader will void your warranty in most regions, so proceed at your own risk.
Pre-requisites
- Unlocking bootloader on any android devices erases all of your data and your device goes through factory reset. So, it is important to backup all of your data and media file. If you want to see how to backup data on your android device, please click here.
- A working ADB and Fastboot setup on your computer. Google’s official Android SDK Platform Tools package has everything you need.
- A decent USB cable. Ideally the one that came in the box, since cheaper cables sometimes drop the connection mid-process, which is the last thing you want during a bootloader unlock.
- At least 50% battery on the phone, just to be safe. You don’t want it dying halfway through.
- Developer Options turned on, which we’ll walk through next.
Unlock Bootloader on OnePlus 7
- Head into Settings > About Phone.
- Tap Build Number several times until you see a message confirming you’re now a developer.
- Go back to the main Settings > System, you’ll find a new entry called Developer Options there.
- Open it up and toggle on the USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking. OEM Unlocking usually requires your password or PIN code, so enter that.
- Download the Android SDK Platform Tools and extract them on your PC.
- Connect OnePlus 7 with the computer via the USB cable.
- Open a Command Prompt window inside the extracted Platform tools folder. You can do that by clicking on the address bar inside the Platform tools folder and then type cmd.
- On the command prompt window type “adb devices” and press enter. Authorize the connection from a pop up message asking to allow USB debugging.
Fastboot and Bootloader Unlock
- With the phone connected, run the following command: “adb reboot bootloader”
- In case it doesn’t work, you can do it manually by powering off the phone, then holding Volume Down + Power simultaneously until the Fastboot screen appear.
- Once in Fastboot Mode, check the connection by running: “fastboot devices”
- Once you are in Fastboot,run the command: “fastboot oem unlock”
- Your phone will display a warning on screen about unlocking the bootloader, including data wipe notice.
- Navigate the options with the Volume keys and confirm with the Power button.
- The phone will wipe all data and reboot on its own.
- After rebooting, you’ll land on the initial setup screen again, since all data has been erased.
- To verify that the bootloader is unlocked, go through the setup, then reboot into Fastboot Mode one more time and run: “fastboot getvar unlocked”
- If it comes back with “yes“, the bootloader is unlocked and ready to use.
Congratulations, you have successfully unlocked bootloader on OnePlus 7. Please note that with bootloader unlocked you might start acting up and that completely normal. OTA updates from OnePlus should still come through as usual, at least until you flash a custom ROM.
If you wish to see bootloader unlock of any other android device, please let us know in the comments below.
