Sony Ericsson's Android bootloader unlocking site goes live, modders rejoice

[riko540]

As promised, Sony Ericsson has just flipped the switch for its Android bootloader unlocking service, meaning those with an unbranded Xperia device from 2011 and onwards -- Play, Arc, Neo, and Pro so far -- will be able to try out custom ROMs and other dirty mods with ease. All that's required here is your phone's IMEI number, which in return gives you the unlocking key to go with the Android SDK's fastboot program -- all will be clear once you've read the instructions at the source link. But remember: SE does warn that this service may void your warranty if all goes pear-shaped, so just be careful, won't ya?

Source: Sony Ericsson's Android bootloader unlocking site goes live, modders rejoice -- Engadget

[eagle1967]

im really surprised sony allowed this on their playstation device.

[MoeDaddy]

This doesn't help anyone in the US buying their phone from a carrier because these will be branded devices and thus no unlock.

so for me being on VZW means no unlocky for me...

[aristoid]

I was in Best Buy yesterday checking out the different phones. Gosh, most of the flagship phones are getting big. Some are bigger than the X !!

One that caught my eye was a Sony Ericsson - one was on a display that was not ATT or Verizon. I assumed it was for an unlocked phone (at $5xx.00 I assumed that). Would this one be able to be unlocked, and then signed onto a carrier. I also assume that an unlocked(carrier wise) phone can be signed to any carrier, so was looking at the Google phone as well. Is this the case, or am I off base with this assumption?

I would like the Sony Ericsson phone - the size is right, and with manufacturer support to unlock, I would be tempted to put down hard earned cash to have a phone like this.

Thanks for the info - been with Verizon for 10 years so don't know much about the unlocked(for carrier) versions and how all that works.

[UltraDroid]

I was in Best Buy yesterday checking out the different phones. Gosh, most of the flagship phones are getting big. Some are bigger than the X !!

One that caught my eye was a Sony Ericsson - one was on a display that was not ATT or Verizon. I assumed it was for an unlocked phone (at $5xx.00 I assumed that). Would this one be able to be unlocked, and then signed onto a carrier. I also assume that an unlocked(carrier wise) phone can be signed to any carrier, so was looking at the Google phone as well. Is this the case, or am I off base with this assumption?

I would like the Sony Ericsson phone - the size is right, and with manufacturer support to unlock, I would be tempted to put down hard earned cash to have a phone like this.

Thanks for the info - been with Verizon for 10 years so don't know much about the unlocked(for carrier) versions and how all that works.

Unlocking the phone is just one piece of the puzzle. Verizon and Sprint phones are CDMA phones (don't ask me for the translation of that acronym) and AT&T and T-Mobile (along with much of the world) use a system called GSM. The physical structure (hardware) of GSM phones is different than CDMA phones, so you can't exactly mix & match, phones to a carrier.

That's it in a nutshell, but I hope someone with more technical knowledge than me can fill in the full details. I just know that I can't take my rooted Verizon phones over to AT&T, no matter how much I'd like to.

-Mike