It's a little bit exasperating for the more tech-savvy smartphone tinkerers who own an LG V20 to learn that some smartphones under LG do not support unlocking the bootloader.
Android phone manufacturers rarely provide official tools for bootloader unlock, so each phonemaker that comes out with support for it is often duly noticed by those clamoring to manipulate the bootloader on their smartphones.
Luckily, LG is extending its official bootloader unlock tool for V20 handsets. The version in question, according to Android Police, bears the model number US996.USA and is "for the U.S. open market." The code name might stand as slightly ambiguous, but it seems to suggest that the bootloader unlock tool is meant for V20 handsets in the United States sold unlocked, instead of under any U.S. carriers.
Unlocking The LG V20's Bootloader
For those who own a V20 who wish to use LG's bootloader unlock tool, keep in mind that doing so voids the phone's warranty. Additionally, unlocking the bootloader will also cause some of the phone's features to be disabled, such as DRM protection, which will render some DRM-protected apps or content inoperable.
For those who can't be bothered by all this, they may begin the bootloader unlocking process by clicking "Starting Unlocking the Bootloader" on LG's page detailing the whole process.
Supported LG Devices
Right now, apart from the V20, LG's bootloader unlocking tool is also available on V10, G4 and G5 handsets, all of which - with the exception of the V20 - are intended for the European market, so tough luck for U.S. owners of the V10, G4 and G5.
Risks
Those who want to unlock the V20's bootloader should seriously consider it beforehand, since as per LG's cautionary list of risks, unlocking the bootloader is similar to walking the plank. Apart from other features potentially being rendered dysfunctional, unlocking the V20's bootloader may cause it to stop working, be damaged because of overheating problems and even lose user data.
Unlocking the bootloader may also put the device at a greater risk of being infected with viruses such as malware. The device may also potentially be vulnerable to hacking, which puts the user's personal information at risk of leaking.
Finally, once the bootloader has been unlocked, there's no way to revert it back to its original state.
LG V20 Specs
The LG V20 is the company's latest flagship, released in October. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820-powered smartphone rocks a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, dual 16-megapixel shooters in the back and a 5-megapixel shooter in the front. It comes with 4 GB of RAM available in either 32 or 64 GB variants.
It comes with a ticker-like secondary display that serves as an additional and separate control panel to access the phone's features. But will LG stick with the secondary display once it releases the LG V20's successor?
