The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have a lot of desirable features, like high-end Snapdragon 820 processors, 2560×1440 AMOLED displays, and 4GB of RAM. Now that the S7 and S7 edge are in users’ hands, though, one less than desirable feature has been discovered.

Members of the xda-developers forums have found that T-Mobile’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge ship with locked up bootloaders. If a bootloader is locked, it can prevent owners from tinkering with their Android phones and doing things like rooting and flashing custom ROMs. Some past Android flagships on T-Mobile have come with unlockable bootloaders, but that’s not the case with the S7 and S7 edge.

@MarkHibbard1 I’m aware some are upset. It’s under Samsung’s control, but my engineers are asking them for a solution that they can support. — John Legere (@JohnLegere) March 13, 2016

@hjkjohn It’s under Samsung’s control. My engineers are asking them for a solution. — John Legere (@JohnLegere) March 13, 2016

@AhrionMGallegos I hear you. Samsung controls this, but my engineers are asking them for a solution that they can support — John Legere (@JohnLegere) March 13, 2016

Since the news of the S7 and S7 edge’s bootloaders came out, several people have asked T-Mobile CEO John Legere to allow them to tinker with their phones. John has replied to many of them, telling them that the S7 and S7 edge’s bootloaders are “under Samsung’s control,” but that T-Mobile engineers are asking Samsung for a solution to the issue that they can support.

If this is the first time that you’re hearing about things like bootloaders and custom ROMs with regard to smartphones, then this issue isn’t one to be too concerned about. It is a big deal to folks that like to tinker with their devices, though, as it severely limits how they can customize those devices. The good news is that John Legere has acknowledged the concerns of S7 and S7 edge owners that want to tinker with their new phones and has reached out to Samsung about a solution. Now we have to wait and see if something actually comes of those talks.

Thanks, Marc, Brian, and Jukil!

Source: xda-developers (1), (2)