{"id":241994,"date":"2026-01-20T05:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T05:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/241994\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T05:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T05:30:10","slug":"oneplus-just-made-bootloader-unlocking-riskier-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/241994\/","title":{"rendered":"OnePlus just made bootloader unlocking riskier than ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

TL;DR<\/p>\n

OnePlus has reportedly added hardware-level Anti-Rollback Protection in recent ColorOS updates.
\nUpdating to the new firmware permanently blocks downgrades, custom ROMs, and most unbricking methods.
\nIf you unlock bootloaders or flash ROMs, avoid ColorOS builds ending in .500, .501, or .503.
\nThe change affects the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 15 and could soon roll out to older devices and OxygenOS builds as well.<\/p>\n

OnePlus has reportedly started making a major behind-the-scenes change that could permanently affect bootloader unlocking, custom ROMs, and even basic software downgrades on its phones. The company had previously announced<\/a> a new system that would limit bootloader unlocking, and it looks like it\u2019s finally starting to implement it.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n

\"google\"google<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Droidwin<\/a> (via XDA Member AdaUnlocked), OnePlus has quietly introduced Anti-Rollback Protection (ARB) with ColorOS 16.0.3.500\/.501\/.503 updates (based on Android 16<\/a>) on select devices. This isn\u2019t a normal software restriction, it\u2019s a hardware-level fuse that gets permanently tripped the moment you install one of these builds.<\/p>\n

What is ARB and how does it work?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

As the publication explains, ARB works by blowing an e-fuse on the motherboard that updates the device\u2019s security version. Once tripped, it cannot be reversed through software. The only way back would be to replace the motherboard.<\/p>\n

ARB is part of Android\u2019s Verified Boot framework. It was introduced to prevent downgrades to older, less secure firmware. Devices from the likes of Xiaomi, POCO, Redmi, Google, and others have used ARB for years. The protection also mirrors how Samsung Knox<\/a> works. If you unlock the bootloader on Samsung phones, you end up tripping the fuse. However, unlike ARB-enabled phones, Samsung\u2019s implementation isn\u2019t so stringent. Samsung blocks the bootloader-unlocking process, but usually doesn\u2019t hard-brick the phone if you try.<\/p>\n

So with ARB on affected OnePlus phones, you won\u2019t be able to downgrade to any firmware older than the ARB-enabled build. Flashing older custom ROMs will also likely cause an instant hard brick, and traditional unbricking tools won\u2019t work since the damage would be at the hardware level.<\/p>\n

Affected OnePlus devices<\/p>\n

\"OnePlus<\/p>\n

Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Droidwin confirms ARB is already live on the following devices:<\/p>\n

OnePlus 13 and 13T: ColorOS 16.0.3.501
\nOnePlus 15: ColorOS 16.0.3.503
\nOnePlus Ace 5\/Ace 5 Pro: ColorOS 16.0.3.500<\/p>\n

The OPPO Find X8 series<\/a> is considered at high risk, meaning ARB might also be live on phones in the lineup. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12 could be next in line to be impacted by the new system.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that right now, ARB has only reportedly appeared on ColorOS. But given OnePlus\u2019 shared codebase, it could also arrive on OxygenOS<\/a> in a future update.<\/p>\n

OnePlus has also reportedly removed official downgrade packages for the OnePlus 13, meaning even previously sanctioned rollbacks could now brick devices.<\/p>\n

For now, if you care about bootloader unlocking or custom ROMs, it\u2019s best not to install any update ending in .500, .501, or .503.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TL;DR OnePlus has reportedly added hardware-level Anti-Rollback Protection in recent ColorOS updates. Updating to the new firmware permanently…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,5150,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-241994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-oneplus","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}