OEM unlock option is greyed out, How enable it ?

[Purav786]

I have recently purchased a Pixel 4 XL, in order to root it I have enabled USB debugging however the option of OEM unlock is greyed out, that means I won't be able to unlock the bootloader.
I want to root my phone in order to install Substratum themes, Please help me and let me know how I can enable OEM unlock option on my phone.
I have updated my Pixel 4 XL with latest MAY20 system update.

 

[Caltinpla]

I have recently purchased a Pixel 4 XL, in order to root it I have enabled USB debugging however the option of OEM unlock is greyed out, that means I won't be able to unlock the bootloader.
I want to root my phone in order to install Substratum themes, Please help me and let me know how I can enable OEM unlock option on my phone.
I have updated my Pixel 4 XL with latest MAY20 system update.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4-xl/help/how-to-sim-unlock-pixel-4xl-t-mobile-t4081235

 

[Purav786]

My phone is not network locked phone, I have a Sim unlocked phone.... Only issue is Developer option is greyed out and I want to enable it.

 

[jljtgr]

It really depends on your carrier. If you bought it directly from Google (unlocked or Google Fi), it should be available without contacting anyone. I've heard that it might not be available until it has been activated for a few days with service. Otherwise, I've heard that you may need to fully wipe all user data before it becomes available. The process of OEM unlocking will wipe all user data as well, so you must be prepared for that eventuality.

If you did not get it from Google, the waters become murky and your success will vary.

 

[Homeboy76]

I have recently purchased a Pixel 4 XL, in order to root it I have enabled USB debugging however the option of OEM unlock is greyed out, that means I won't be able to unlock the bootloader.
I want to root my phone in order to install Substratum themes, Please help me and let me know how I can enable OEM unlock option on my phone.
I have updated my Pixel 4 XL with latest MAY20 system update.

If you bought a Pixel 4 XL with a unlockable bootloader, use this Guide to root.
Most Pixel 4 XL that are purchased from Carriers with the exception of Google Fi are not bootloader unlockable.

 

[v12xke]

My phone is not network locked phone, I have a Sim unlocked phone.... Only issue is Developer option is greyed out and I want to enable it.

You aren't providing much useful information to solve your problem in your OP. Post a screenshot of your bootloader page, and what are the first two digits of your IMEI's. If you have already 100% WIPED your phone, skipped through setup and gone straight to dev settings with an active Wi-FI signal and get a greyed out OEM unlock , you will likely never succeed because you inadvertently purchased a bootloader locked phone. SIM unlocked definitely does not equal BL unlockable.

 

[Purav786]

You aren't providing much useful information to solve your problem in your OP. Post a screenshot of your bootloader page, and what are the first two digits of your IMEI's. If you have already 100% WIPED your phone, skipped through setup and gone straight to dev settings with an active Wi-FI signal and get a greyed out OEM unlock , you will likely never succeed because you inadvertently purchased a bootloader locked phone. SIM unlocked definitely does not equal BL unlockable.

So that means my phone is bootloader locked phone and there is no way to unlock it...

 

[v12xke]

So that means my phone is bootloader locked phone and there is no way to unlock it...

Remove SIM, factory reset from recovery, initiate setup enabling Wi-Fi, proceed to dev settings and check "Allow OEM unlocking". If you have completely wiped the phone and OEM unlocking is still greyed out, then your phone is bootloader locked and there is no workaround.

 

[Letvamijeuglavi]

I downgraded my p40 lite to lowest version of emui...

which is 10.0.1.108 and oem unlock option appeared but its grayed out and I took advice from the guy in this thread that said call them and tell them you are developer and you need it to install android 11 and they were like oh ok then will figure this out and give you a call hahahahhaahahahhahah awesome dude it worked

---------- Post added at 02:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 PM ----------

I saw there is a tool created by skyemie on github that uses bruteforce method to retrieve the unlock code so if they fix my oem grayed option then I will try that and give you all update if everything worked.

 

[mostyle]

Just a FWIW: I bought two phones from Google directly and returned both since OEM was greyed out on both. Third try I purchased one off Swappa and it worked. Something to do with the IMEI... Search for posts started by me.. It's a looooong thread.

 

[CoNsTaR]

If you got your pixel from Verizon, just call them and say that you're a developer and you need OEM unlocking. They'll need your IMEI and Verizon account number tho to check that you're the owner. If you got it second hand you may have to contact the person you bought it from.

 

[V0latyle]

If you got your pixel from Verizon, just call them and say that you're a developer and you need OEM unlocking. They'll need your IMEI and Verizon account number tho to check that you're the owner. If you got it second hand you may have to contact the person you bought it from.

Do you have a source for this? The only official answer I've seen is that Verizon has no process in place to enable OEM unlocking. It's actually baked into the ROM.

 

[CoNsTaR]

Do you have a source for this? The only official answer I've seen is that Verizon has no process in place to enable OEM unlocking. It's actually baked into the ROM.

I did it. I saw someone saying that calling T-Mobile does the job so I just decided to call Verizon too and it worked.

 

[V0latyle]

I did it. I saw someone saying that calling T-Mobile does the job so I just decided to call Verizon too and it worked.

Well, that's interesting. What exactly were the circumstances, and how did you get unlocked? Such as, were you using the phone on the VZW network? Did they push a software update or something?

 

[CoNsTaR]

Well, that's interesting. What exactly were the circumstances, and how did you get unlocked? Such as, were you using the phone on the VZW network? Did they push a software update or something?

From what I know, by the moment you install a Verizon SIM on your pixel, it becomes a Verizon phone. How they do this is that they'll add your phone's IMEI to their database, and until it's deleted from their database your phone will be a Verizon phone. You can check that by trying adding an eSIM, if it says anything about Verizon at the QR code step, you know it's still bound to Verizon.
I think the mechanism of checking if the phone is bound to any carrier is baked in the ROM, but not the information itself. I do see people saying that it needs time for the records to be propagated after they've removed you from their database, but YMMV.

Edit:
No, I wasn't on the VZW network.

 

[V0latyle]

From what I know, by the moment you install a Verizon SIM on your pixel, it becomes a Verizon phone. How they do this is that they'll add your phone's IMEI to their database, and until it's deleted from their database your phone will be a Verizon phone. You can check that by trying adding an eSIM, if it says anything about Verizon at the QR code step, you know it's still bound to Verizon.
I think the mechanism of checking if the phone is bound to any carrier is baked in the ROM, but not the information itself. I do see people saying that it needs time for the records to be propagated after they've removed you from their database, but YMMV.

Edit:
No, I wasn't on the VZW network.

Right, and I'm asking exactly how you did it.

 

[CoNsTaR]

Right, and I'm asking exactly how you did it.

The ONLY thing I did is to call them, tell them I am a developer and I need OEM unlocking, and provide the information they needed. Hope this answers your question.

 

[bigmatt503]

I've called Verizon 6 times and talked to several reps and no idea what I'm talking about. I was even sent to 2nd tier and nothing. The 2nd tier rep said he's worked at vzw for 8 years and has never seen or heard of this happening. So I find this whole thing hard to believe.

 

[CoNsTaR]

I am just providing my experience, and maybe someone will benefit from it. I came across this thread when I did my research so I thought I should share it here too.

If more details may help, I called them with the number 800-922-0204, on Oct 27 9:48 AM, the time I spent on the call was 36m4s (30m or so was waiting on the line), and I was on Fido network (Canadian).

When the system asked me about my area code or something like that before they connect me with a human, I both entered # key, and also chose something like I want to be a Verizon customer.

That's really all what I did, and I got it done on the first try. This was my first time calling Verizon, so I don't know much about 2nd tier or what not, but that's all I wanted to share here.

 

[Pbsipher1]

hey guys I know I'm not in the right group but I've been looking at Any Pixel related posts to try to get OEM unlock and came across some options using dialer code *#*#0702#*#* which is ims setting, sim provisioning and a lot more in which are editable. could we find something to do with network unlock in those settings? I'm attaching screen shots of this find. I'm very limited in knowledge as this is my first pixel. oh and Btw I have the spectrum mobile variant of the Google pixel 7 pro. I have always been under the assumption that pixels were able to be flashed with official firmware without bootloader unlocked, but apparently pixel 7s have to have network unlock at least to enable OEM unlock toggle to flash official firmware even with the Android flash tool. if anybody could shine some light on this for me I would greatly appreciate it as I have never been able to come across this type of information before on any other device