ASUS is apparently killing the ability to root present and future Zenfones
www.androidauthority.com
ASUS is reportedly telling customers they can no longer unlock the bootloader on their phones, including the Zenfone 9 and Zenfone 10.

Update from Asus

The service team reply misunderstood the situation. Unlock tool is unavailable at this moment but we are allowing the possibility to unlock, please stay tuned.

**TL;DR

  • ASUS has apparently withdrawn the ability to unlock the bootloader on its phones.
  • As per the company’s technical support team, Zenfone 10 and Zenfone 9 users won’t be able to root their phones.
  • BlackEcoAEnglish
    41•11 months ago

    This is such an anti-consumer move, by refusing to unlock the bootloader Asus hinders the ability of users to extend their devices’ life beyond Asus’s original support window by flashing alternative ROMs…

    • @OldFartPhil@lemm.eeEnglish
      24•11 months ago

      I’d like to see right to repair laws expanded to right to unlock. I think you could make a reasonable argument that a working device that’s not receiving security updates is just as broken as a device that’s experienced a hardware failure.

      • @ToniCipriani@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7•11 months ago

        As much as I agree, I don’t think our legislators are knowledgable enough to be able to handle the issue, and majority of the users don’t care enough to push for something like this. This isn’t like USB-C vs Lightning where users are sick of buying cables and chargers, so the issue is much more visible.