LG shut down its smartphone division earlier this year, but promised to continue providing Android updates for its latest flagship phones through 2022.
Want to keep using up to date software on an LG phone after that? Your best bet may be unlocking the bootloader and installing a custom ROM. But you’d better hurry up, because LG has announced it will no longer offer its bootloader unlocking tools after December 31, 2021.
In a notice on LG’s developer website, the company notes that it’s pulling the plug on its LG Mobile Developer website services at the end of the year, which is fast approaching.
Currently if you want to unlock a supported Android device from LG, you can request a unique unlock key for your device (although the whole process involves jumping through a bunch of hoops and will void your warranty, so it’s probably best left for advanced users only).
Starting in January, the services that generates those keys will no longer be available. It is still possible that hackers may find a workaround – there’s a long, proud history of unofficial bootloader unlocking utilities for phones where no official method is offered. But there are no guarantees. You may want to keep an eye on the LG pages at the xda-developers forum for custom ROMs and other hacks for LG devices moving forward.
via /r/Android
You have until the end of the year to get the unlock code, but then once you have it you should be able to do the unlock any time. Most of the phones on the supported list however are specifically the European market models. There are engineering unlocks available for a number of models, so if someone doesn’t get their unlock code in time, they might still be able to unlock it anyway. The V60 for example has unlock and root available, as long as you have a computer and don’t mind messing around with adb and fastboot and all that.
If I don’t move quickly, I’ll miss out on the opportunity to accidentally brick my wife’s phone…