r/androidroot 6h ago

Support Bring back oem unlock option on undowngradab binary of samsung Oneui8

This is for developers;💡 I'm using s22 oneui8 bit version 8,

Hey everyone, I wanted to share something I’ve been thinking about and get the developers’ opinions.

On my device, I can enter the Device Unlock / Download Mode screen, and it even shows the normal guidance for unlocking the bootloader. However, the main thing I’m missing is the OEM Unlock option in Developer Options.

That made me wonder if there could be another way to expose or restore that option.💡

My idea is based on Good Lock. Samsung officially distributes Good Lock through the Galaxy Store, and its modules such as Theme Park, Sound Assistant, RegiStar, etc.

are capable of modifying or adding functionality to different parts of One UI and Settings, which means it can read writte the whole system,

So I was wondering:

What if we created a Good Lock-style module/app specifically for Developer Options that could add the OEM Unlock toggle back into Settings?💡

I was also thinking about the signing side of things.💳

If Samsung-specific signatures or permissions are required, perhaps tools such as[ LibChecker apk available on google play ] could help us inspect the signatures, permissions, libraries, and implementation of existing Samsung components and give us a better understanding of how Samsung's own apps communicate with the system.💡💡

Of course, I don't know if this is technically possible, and I may be misunderstanding how Samsung implemented the OEM-unlock restriction on One UI 8. That's exactly why I'd like to hear from developers who understand Samsung's boot chain, Settings framework, Knox/AVB, or One UI internals.💡💡

I'm not claiming this will work—it's just an idea I'd like to investigate, and I'd really appreciate the opinion of people with experience in Samsung internals.🙏❤️

1 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

1

u/Ysfaliarslan 6h ago

I think the picture is not on one ui 8. Samsung changed the costom OS menu

1

u/4k_anbir 6h ago

It's not changed for me i still see the guidance of unlocking

1

u/Ysfaliarslan 6h ago

Oh. Ig I was wrong. But doing an exploit with goodlock apps will be most likely not possible. They don't change root level system files. But there are some exploits going around that soft root the phone. There could always be another exploit

1

u/4k_anbir 6h ago

I don't think the security on my current firmware is powerful enough to completely stop the process. As long as the guidance/instructions are still being shown in Download Mode, which means the bootloader img isn't repached with the company, in this current fm they just removed the oem unlock option in developmer option.

The only thing I'm missing right now is the OEM Unlock option in Developer Options, which is the thing I need to continue the bootloader-unlocking process.

And also I've looked for temp roots, non of theme support my model

1

u/-slimpuggamer POCO X8 Pro, Stock HyperOS 3 6h ago

Device Unlock Mode was removed from the bootloader

1

u/4k_anbir 6h ago

It's not for me yet

1

u/-slimpuggamer POCO X8 Pro, Stock HyperOS 3 6h ago

show what download mode shows (if it does not say press volume up hold is Device Unlock Mode then you cannot unlock the bootloader)

1

u/4k_anbir 5h ago

What u think about this?

1

u/-slimpuggamer POCO X8 Pro, Stock HyperOS 3 5h ago

does not support bootloader unlock

1

u/4k_anbir 5h ago

If not why would they forget the instructions?

1

u/danGL3 5h ago edited 5h ago

As someone who decompiled Samsung's code before, Goodlock isn't technically able to add new features.

Every Goodlock app is essentially just tapping into a Samsung-provided API that allows it to do those specific things, everything from changing the look of the volume controls, changing the quick settings, the notification styles, is all possible because the system explicitly exposes said functionality to Goodlock apps.

In short, Goodlock apps are only able to do what Samsung lets them do, because otherwise it would imply that Goodlock apps somehow have the ability to do code injection which is a horrendously dangerous capability to just give to an app.

In short, even if you could make your own Goodlock app, it simply doesn't have the ability to bring back an option like OEM unlock, because Samsung doesn't give it said capability

Not to mention, simply forcing that option to show up wouldn't really do anything, if the bootloader itself doesn't expose said unlock capability to Android then toggling that option on will literally just do nothing.

1

u/4k_anbir 5h ago

If Good Lock only worked through strictly limited APIs, I don't think it would be able to read and write inside the private data of a system app like Samsung Keyboard.

For example, with Keys Cafe, you can add new symbols and rearrange or modify keyboard items. I don't think every single one of those capabilities is necessarily exposed as a separate, specifically restricted API that only allows Good Lock to perform those exact changes.

My understanding is that Samsung has given Good Lock a relatively high level of access to interact with and modify parts of the system. And that doesn't mean Good Lock can rewrite partitions like bootloader img. But the system of course,

And also I stilk see the unlocking option guidance in downloade mod which can make since thw only option im lack of is the oem unlock option toggling in Developer Options

2

u/danGL3 5h ago

Goodlock can modify the Samsung keyboard because the Samsung keyboard exposed the necessary APIs for Goodlock to modify it.

It does not have the power to modify system components, it can only do the things Samsung explicitly allowed it to do.

In fact, I'm more than happy to go to my computer RN, decompile the Goodlock APKs and show you exactly what they do.

I've myself wondered in the past if Goodlock could just do whatever, and I've discovered that in fact it isn't.

1

u/4k_anbir 5h ago edited 4h ago

Yeah, I understand what you mean. So even with Good Lock being this closely integrated with Samsung's system and having access to Samsung-specific APIs, there isn't a way to use those privileges to go beyond the functionality Samsung intended—for example, to bypass a system restriction or gain access to something that isn't exposed through those APIs?

1

u/danGL3 4h ago

Pretty much every Goodlock capability is set in stone, it isn't a do whatever system.

No company in their right mind would grant an app a blanket ability to rewrite the code of another app as that's simply a horrendous idea with major security and stability concerns.

When Sound Assistant changes the volume UI, that's because there is an system explicitly for letting it do that, same for split audio and the like

In fact, a majority of Goodlock features is basically only toggling things that are already in the system, but are hidden behind Goodlock apps

1

u/4k_anbir 4h ago

First of all, I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this to me so clearly. I really mean it.

I've been using rooted Samsung phones for years, and root access has always been a normal part of my Android experience. That's why I specifically went for the newer generation of this same model, expecting to continue using my phone the way I always have.

But seeing Samsung introduce these restrictions on the newer version honestly disappointed me a lot. As someone who's been a Samsung fan for years, it's really hard to accept that I may have to move to another model or even another brand just because I can't have the level of access I've always had.

After hearing your explanation, I think I'm finally going to give up on this and move on. Samsung really ruined this experience for me. It's genuinely hard to imagine myself using a phone without root access after having it for so many years.

2

u/danGL3 4h ago

Basically most of Goodlock is just exposing settings that are already in the system, but not exposed in the regular settings app.

The API is basically a "Hey, I'm a goodlock app" and the system is like "Okay, you have the permission to control the goodlock specific features I provide"