OEM Unlocking grayed out

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TonikJDK

Senior Member
Dec 9, 2012
2,607
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Nov 19, 2018 at 1:49 PM
Phil_Chambers said:
It should still be unlockable though correct?
Click to expand...
Software version has nothing to do with unlock. It's all the IMEI being flagged in a database by Google as being able to unlock. They all come locked, on first set up or after a factory reset they phone home to see if the have permission to unlock.

This happened to the Pixel 2s on a large scale on first release. Google fixed it in their end, but that was on new phones. This time it's different, it's on RMA phones. They are just shipping the wrong phones to you guys. Their RMA system is currently horribly broken it would seem. I hear rumors they went to a new system in early September and it has been a mess ever since.
 
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bobby janow

bobby janow

Senior Member
Jun 15, 2010
5,644
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Nov 19, 2018 at 2:48 PM
TonikJDK said:
Software version has nothing to do with unlock. It's all the IMEI being flagged in a database by Google as being able to unlock. They all come locked, on first set up or after a factory reset they phone home to see if the have permission to unlock.

This happened to the Pixel 2s on a large scale on first release. Google fixed it in their end, but that was on new phones. This time it's different, it's on RMA phones. They are just shipping the wrong phones to you guys. Their RMA system is currently horribly broken it would seem. I hear rumors they went to a new system in early September and it has been a mess ever since.
Click to expand...
Do you think they are doing it on purpose to either discourage RMAs or otherwise see what kind of backlash they will get? How many people do you think are complaining vs the quantity of phones they sell? And the fact that they are denying knowledge of the issue is also troublesome. They are telling people they will not RMA a second time for this issue since it's not hardware related. Trial balloon for a permanently locked Google device?
 
J

jsbeagle

Member
Aug 8, 2014
32
9
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Nov 19, 2018 at 9:19 PM
TonikJDK said:
Software version has nothing to do with unlock. It's all the IMEI being flagged in a database by Google as being able to unlock. They all come locked, on first set up or after a factory reset they phone home to see if the have permission to unlock.

This happened to the Pixel 2s on a large scale on first release. Google fixed it in their end, but that was on new phones. This time it's different, it's on RMA phones. They are just shipping the wrong phones to you guys. Their RMA system is currently horribly broken it would seem. I hear rumors they went to a new system in early September and it has been a mess ever since.
Click to expand...
It is NOT just RMA devices. I received new unlocked Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL from Google Store today that I purchased Friday on the BOGO 50% off sale.
The Pixel 3 is unlockable. The XL has OEM unlocking greyed out, so it cannot be unlocked.
 
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JakeT85

Member
Jun 15, 2010
9
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0
Bloomington, IL
Nov 19, 2018 at 9:33 PM
jsbeagle said:
It is NOT just RMA devices. I received new unlocked Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL from Google Store today that I purchased Friday on the BOGO 50% off sale.
The Pixel 3 is unlockable. The XL has OEM unlocking greyed out, so it cannot be unlocked.
Click to expand...
Same exact scenario for me. XL is not unlockable, haven't opened 3 because I planned on selling that one. Just spoke to support and he said it is a known issue and the engineers are working on a fix. He wanted me to wait it out but I had him process a return label for me to return both devices. Not getting stuck with the XL and having the second device on the line wasn't worth it to wait. He waived restocking fees. Will try and order again once they get this sorted out.
 
bobby janow

bobby janow

Senior Member
Jun 15, 2010
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Nov 20, 2018 at 1:39 PM
jsbeagle said:
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-pixel-2-users-reporting-inability-unlock-bootloader/
I'm hoping they fix it soon like they had to on the Pixel 2. It sounds like the exact same situation.
Click to expand...
That was for a specific device and a small number of them. This is different. That was merely a test, this is for real. If you want a custom rom it might be time to start looking at other devices that allow it. I think Google is trying to become the Apple of android. No jailbreaking, no root, locked into stock.
 
I

infamous84

Senior Member
Sep 28, 2010
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Wish I Knew
Nov 21, 2018 at 12:59 AM
Phil_Chambers said:
It's from project Fi on a virtual sim. Do I have to activate it first, or can't I just skip through everything and unlock it. I tried connecting it to the wifi, but it was a no-go.
Click to expand...
interesting, i had bought a pixel 3 on launch day from google and was able to unlock it with no issues. Im on verizon, i went thru the steps for unlocking it without the sim. Not sure if that makes a diff or not
 
G

gpcatch06

Member
Jun 14, 2010
20
2
0
Nov 21, 2018 at 7:23 PM
Google support had me do a hard reset without it fixing the issue and then had me send a bug report. They are "sending the bug report to the concerned team" whatever that means. I don't want to RMA this one because the screen/RAM management/speakers are all perfect and just know I would get a ****ty replacement. Hoping for a server side fix like on the pixel 2.
 
K

kaoticfyre

New member
Feb 13, 2018
2
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0
Nov 21, 2018 at 11:49 PM
gpcatch06 said:
Google support had me do a hard reset without it fixing the issue and then had me send a bug report. They are "sending the bug report to the concerned team" whatever that means. I don't want to RMA this one because the screen/RAM management/speakers are all perfect and just know I would get a ****ty replacement. Hoping for a server side fix like on the pixel 2.
Click to expand...
Same here with my RMA'd one. Too tired to send it back today.
 
A

AsuraDas

Senior Member
Oct 9, 2016
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Nov 22, 2018 at 4:18 PM
All these post on the pixel 3/3xl make me reconsider getting the pixel 3. I have the same issue with my RMA pixel 2. Root is not a must but having an unlocked Bootloader is part of the appeal of the pixel aside from the stock Google experience. I know Android Q is going to around soon enough and with a locked Bootloader I won't be able to use the early dev previews. So I don't know Motorola, one plus and Sony are looking to be my next upgrade if Google doesn't shape up.
 
cswithxda

cswithxda

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2012
482
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all over
Nov 23, 2018 at 2:30 PM
So this year XL is still more popular than the regular size huh? We have much fewer posts here I'm afraid they forget about P3 when they fix this issue on their server side ?
 
X

xufan6

New member
Aug 14, 2013
1
0
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Nov 26, 2018 at 10:54 PM
Ordered from store.google.com with unlock version, same problem before I inserted SIM card.
I contacted live chat support and did the same process as #53
 
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