Good news, folks. It looks like the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III will get its bootloader unlocked after all. This policy changed after it was discovered how the largest wireless providers’ GSIII’s were the only versions in the United States with locked and signed bootloaders. The outcry from some customers was so vocal that it compelled Samsung to release its own “developer edition” of the Verizon Galaxy S III for the price of $599.
Now, there’s news coming from a few customers, including Kellex of Droid-Life, who’ve reached out to Big Red’s customer service in attempt to have the phone unlocked. It seems Verizon, perhaps under tremendous scrutiny, caved-in to what the public demanded – an unlocked bootloader like the rest of the US Galaxy S III handsets.
Here is one of the original emails that started this whole thing:
My name is Levar and thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless about the boot loader for the Galaxy S3. I know this may be frustrating but there will be a solution soon coming. Samsung will be releasing a software update to unlock your device. Right now, we do not have a date for the release but it shall be soon.
Verizon Wireless appreciates you as a customer and your patience in this matter.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Levar
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service
Here is a screenshot of the chat Dorid-Life’s Kellex had with a Verizon rep:
And lastly, an email response directly from Samsung that talks about a tool:
Apparently, Verizon plans to fix this issue by way of software update. When it comes to locking down phones, I’ve been very vocal against such thing. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: It makes you wonder why cell providers and manufacturers continue to lock and sign bootloaders in the first place, especially when the most vocal Android users are the ones who like altering their phones. These vocal users are likely the reason why Verizon is budging.
[Droid-Life; via AndroidGuys]