That’s carrier unlocked. It means you can connect your phone to any carrier you want, as opposed to when you buy the phone from the carrier, who typically keep the phones locked to themselves (for a certain amount of time)
Yes. The carrier unlocked ones (historically) came with unlockable boot loaders. The carrier locked ones also don’t allow you to unlock. T-Mobile used to let you unlock your bootloaders, but I think recently they’ve stopped. But carrier unlocked? Those used to never be not unlockable.
I haven’t had a bootloader unlocked Samsung since the S4, and I’m not sure it was actually unlockable, it’s just the last US Samsung that I could root, which usually requires an unlockable boot loader.
Do any of them come factory unlocked? As far as I’m aware all Samsung phones made in the US are locked down
You’ve (almost) always been able to buy factory unlocked phones in the US.
That’s carrier unlocked. It means you can connect your phone to any carrier you want, as opposed to when you buy the phone from the carrier, who typically keep the phones locked to themselves (for a certain amount of time)
Yes. The carrier unlocked ones (historically) came with unlockable boot loaders. The carrier locked ones also don’t allow you to unlock. T-Mobile used to let you unlock your bootloaders, but I think recently they’ve stopped. But carrier unlocked? Those used to never be not unlockable.
Snap dragon variants always have a locked bootloader, because they are assholes.
Samsung exynos variants usually could unlock the bootloader.
I haven’t had a bootloader unlocked Samsung since the S4, and I’m not sure it was actually unlockable, it’s just the last US Samsung that I could root, which usually requires an unlockable boot loader.