Database Info

Verizon just gave us the middle finger.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/10/samsung-brings-out-galaxy-s-iii-developer-edition-for-verizon/
Q&A
Who is this for?
Samsung and Verizon Wireless recognize that there are many enthusiasts and professional developers that are interested in customizing their device with third-party ROM software. Unlocking the bootloader can put the stability of the phone in jeopardy; therefore, only experienced developers should attempt to unlock the bootloader.
What about the other carriers?
Other versions of the Galaxy S III are sold with a user-unlockable bootloader as a standard feature. Those models are available directly from the respective carriers.
Where can I buy the Galaxy S III Developer Edition?
The Developer Edition will be sold online directly from Samsung. When the device is available for purchase, it will be sold through the Samsung developer portal at developer.samsung.com
Why is Verizon Wireless' version locked?
Depending on the device, an open boot loader could prevent Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support because it would allow users to change the phone or otherwise modify the software and, potentially, negatively impact how the phone connects with the network. The addition of unapproved software could also negatively impact the wireless experience for other customers. Unlocking the device also voids the warranty.
Has Samsung always unlocked the bootloader on its phones?
While not all previous Samsung Android devices have had an easily unlockable bootloader, all of our other current Galaxy S III flagship lineup, and all Nexus-branded devices, support the standard bootloader unlocking procedure.
What happens if I load custom software and damage ("brick") my phone?
Problems caused by your unlocking the bootloader and installing custom software will not be covered by the warranty. Problems with third-party and customized bootloader software can cause irreparable harm to the Galaxy S III. Users interested in performing these actions should proceed with caution and at their own risk. Out of warranty Galaxy S III Developer Edition devices will be serviced directly through Samsung, and service charges will apply.
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Who's up for burning down some Verizon stores?

agreed. an absolute joke!?!?

Does NOT belong in the development forum!
Sent from my Galaxy S III

Normally I'd say it doesn't belong on the development forum, but this is obviously a very hot development-associated topic, and devs and followers are all interested in any updates regarding the bootloader status. This is important because it has implications for devs working to unlock the regular citizen's version--with an unlocked phone to play with, they'll be able to attack from the other side as well.

Boy did they give the the middle finger. So unlocked bootloaders and difrrent roms mess up the system, So they give us a locked bootloader and say its Samsungs falt but then let them sell us a unlocked bootloader phone and say its ok to use on your network. Thats some ****ed up ****

if samsung did this right tho, they would give us the key to unlocking the bootloaders for the verizon phones that have locked ones. leaving us with a $249-$300 phones that have unlocked bootloaders, compared to almost full retail. but that could never happen could it? (;

cadams122593 said:
if samsung did this right tho, they would give us the key to unlocking the bootloaders for the verizon phones that have locked ones. leaving us with a $249-$300 phones that have unlocked bootloaders, compared to almost full retail. but that could never happen could it? (;
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Maybe this is samsungs way of saying f-u verizon lol

Locked

Damn I really feel bad for you guys.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Mr.Highway said:
Locked
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unlocked
yeah, that really sucks. looks to me like jumbo mumbo they are making up to they 'gave a response'

Let them know what you think of their policy with your wallet. I will never be a Verizon customer.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Any chance devs can take the boot loader from this dev phone and put it on the regular S3?

K.AuthoR said:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/10/samsung-brings-out-galaxy-s-iii-developer-edition-for-verizon/
Who's up for burning down some Verizon stores?
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Please retain from smoking bath salts. That's all I ask.

dreamsti said:
Any chance devs can take the boot loader from this dev phone and put it on the regular S3?
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I suppose that's the million dollar question. If that happens, great. Then everybody sort of comes out happy with their phones.

cadams122593 said:
if samsung did this right tho, they would give us the key to unlocking the bootloaders for the verizon phones that have locked ones. leaving us with a $249-$300 phones that have unlocked bootloaders, compared to almost full retail. but that could never happen could it? (;
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What if Samsung, doesn't have the keys to give us? What if Verizon generated the keys, signed the boot, and then flashed our phones?

I just wanted to say how TROLOLOL this is, I feel bad for you guys on Verizon but I do find it kind of amusing, Verizon pulled this same sh*t with the Droid Razr, that shipped with a Locked BL and what was the answer have Moto offer a no warranty Dev Version...same thing just a diff manufacturer.

I do think its stupid of VZ for locking it down the way they did. But, it is a device thats used on their network, and if thats what they want to do, than so be it.
We all have seen it time and time again, a warranty claim for a bricked phone. We drove them to doing this. And, there will be a developer phone.
I will miss all the flashing I use to do. Even stock, this phone rocks. I dont think they are giving us the finger, I think they looking out for their best interests for the most part.

they should unlock it for us if we ask them and sig somthing saying if we **** it up then were ****ed and have to buy a new one. i have no proubs with that

Galaxy s8 Unlocked U.S. Bootloader Confirmed.

After many live chat sessions and escalations, I have pried bootloader information from Samsung, here are the facts:
(This is from the u.s. live chat)
"If you purchase the Unlocked phone from samsung , Bootloader will be unlocked already on phone"
Hope this helps
Also, the carrier versions will be locked and all unlock control handed over to the carrier's, (who will obviously not provide any unlocking options(except maybe T-Mobile))

The_scam said:
After many live chat sessions and escalations, I have pried bootloader information from Samsung, here are the facts:
(This is from the u.s. live chat)
"If you purchase the Unlocked phone from samsung , Bootloader will be unlocked already on phone"
Hope this helps
Also, the carrier versions will be locked and all unlock control handed over to the carrier's, (who will obviously not provide any unlocking options(except maybe T-Mobile))
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Riiiiiight.
We went through this BS with the note 7 last year.
Sammy is full of crap to put it blunty, the CSRs dont have accurate information.
I would love this to be true and I wont be buying one if its not but trust me...dont take what they say as being even remotely accurate
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6

force70 said:
Riiiiiight.
We went through this BS with the note 7 last year.
Sammy is full of crap to put it blunty, the CSRs dont have accurate information.
I would love this to be true and I wont be buying one if its not but trust me...dont take what they say as being even remotely accurate
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
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Don't worry bout' that, I got a ticket from the live chat and got it escalated to 3x to the manager of the live chat manager.
*shOULD be accurate.

The_scam said:
Don't worry bout' that, I got a ticket from the live chat and got it escalated to 3x to the manager of the live chat manager.
*shOULD be accurate.
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Would love that to be true, mind you I will most likely go for the exynos version anyway. I had both a snapdragon AND a exynos note 7 and the exynos killed it pretty much in every way.
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6

force70 said:
Would love that to be true, mind you I will most likely go for the exynos version anyway. I had both a snapdragon AND a exynos note 7 and the exynos killed it pretty much in every way.
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
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Same with the s7 edge. The exynos pretty much kinged the snapdragon variant
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

The_scam said:
Don't worry bout' that, I got a ticket from the live chat and got it escalated to 3x to the manager of the live chat manager.
*shOULD be accurate.
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It's not accurate. The CSR's don't know the difference between an unlocked bootloader and an unlocked sim. They also don't know the difference between a telephone and a piece of toast. There is no way in the world that they will allow an unlocked bootloader when their own knox design cripples the phone and voids the warranty as soon as it's rooted.

seh6183 said:
It's not accurate. The CSR's don't know the difference between an unlocked bootloader and an unlocked sim. They also don't know the difference between a telephone and a piece of toast. There is no way in the world that they will allow an unlocked bootloader when their own knox design cripples the phone and voids the warranty as soon as it's rooted.
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OK, I don't know how many times I will have to clarify this.
The car live chat was turned into a ticket. Which has higher priority and CSR level than live chat. Then that was escalated to a software development engineer rep. I'm pretty sure this will be accurate, probably only the non QCOM cores tho

The_scam said:
OK, I don't know how many times I will have to clarify this.
The car live chat was turned into a ticket. Which has higher priority and CSR level than live chat. Then that was escalated to a software development engineer rep. I'm pretty sure this will be accurate, probably only the non QCOM cores tho
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I don't care if Oh-Hyun Kwon told you that the bootloader would be unlocked lol It won't. You probably miss-spoke or they miss-understood you and thought you were talking about the sim. The bootloader will not be able to be unlocked and I can guarantee you of this. Samsung is copying Apples model of device security and there is no way they would allow you to unlock the bootloader. And if you keep it up, I will refresh this thread once a week after the phone is launched to remind you of how wrong you were lol

seh6183 said:
I don't care if Oh-Hyun Kwon told you that the bootloader would be unlocked lol It won't. You probably miss-spoke or they miss-understood you and thought you were talking about the sim. The bootloader will not be able to be unlocked and I can guarantee you of this. Samsung is copying Apples model of device security and there is no way they would allow you to unlock the bootloader. And if you keep it up, I will refresh this thread once a week after the phone is launched to remind you of how wrong you were lol
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OK, chill out. Believe it, or dont. But I confirmed the bootloader, I think that the rep for the software engineers know what a BOOTLOADER is.
Also chill out with the stereotype names, my rep was actually called "Jen"

The_scam said:
OK, chill out. Believe it, or dont. But I confirmed the bootloader, I think that the rep for the software engineers know what a BOOTLOADER is.
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Okay so the phone will be released without Samsung pay then. Is this what you're saying? Samsung pay is immediately disabled as soon as the bootloader is unlocked. So what you're saying is that the phone will be released without Samsung pay. Does this sound logical to you?

seh6183 said:
Okay so the phone will be released without Samsung pay then. Is this what you're saying? Samsung pay is immediately disabled as soon as the bootloader is unlocked. So what you're saying is that the phone will be released without Samsung pay. Does this sound logical to you?
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"You're right"
Absolutely Right
I don't enjoy being attacked on a development forum. Just choose to believe it or not, no need to share your opinion multiple times. This is some INFORMATION, the way I got it. It is not my opinion, it is just here. Take it or leave it buddy.

My guess is it will be the same model as the Note 7 where the international versions can be unlocked but the US/Canada Snapdragons cannot outside of an exploit like the one that we used early in on the Note us before it was patched. Unlocking the bootloader will kill Pay of course but a lot of people don't care, Keep in mind that locked bootloaders are prohibited in some countries like Singapore.

The_scam said:
Also chill out with the stereotype names, my rep was actually called "Jen"
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Oh-Hyun Kwon is the CEO of Samsung, not a stereotype name, which is what made the post funny.
Regardless, the info on the unlocked bootloader is much appreciated.

Whats special about the USA that they keep the bootloader locked for that region?

chrcol said:
Whats special about the USA that they keep the bootloader locked for that region?
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Pretty much carriers request, but usually t-mobile vibrants the bootloader could be unlocked rather easily.

dotMethod said:
Oh-Hyun Kwon is the CEO of Samsung, not a stereotype name, which is what made the post funny.
Regardless, the info on the unlocked bootloader is much appreciated.
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Im with this guy. Bootloader wont be unlock on our snapdragon version. This was already the case with gs7 and note 7. Samsung will say anything on our favor for people to buy their phone. The truth is that 95% of the people dont care about bootloader or root. So having a lock bootloader and promote security is more valuable in their favor. Most probably dont even kmow what a sg 835 id. Only thing most people care. How the screen looks, if it is fast, good battery life and camera.

The Tmo phones were not easily unlocked, they were the same as the rest of the snapdragons with the Note 7 and I think more of the same can be expected. Samsung used to make multiple variants of their snapdragons with and without locked bootloaders but reportedly will not do so again, all will be locked going forward since most go to the North American market where the carriers request it. I would be very hesitant to order a snapdragon S8 if I wanted an unlocked bootloader until it was proven it can be unlocked. It can often take months or years to get into bootloaders these days and some are never unlocked. Those who demand root will want the international not just for the unlocked bootloader but also because that will be where nearly all the effort in development happens.

krabman said:
The Tmo phones were not easily unlocked, they were the same as the rest of the snapdragons with the Note 7 and I think more of the same can be expected. Samsung used to make multiple variants of their snapdragons with and without locked bootloaders but reportedly will not do so again, all will be locked going forward since most go to the North American market where the carriers request it. I would be very hesitant to order a snapdragon S8 if I wanted an unlocked bootloader until it was proven it can be unlocked. It can often take months or years to get into bootloaders these days and some are never unlocked. Those who demand root will want the international not just for the unlocked bootloader but also because that will be where nearly all the effort in development happens.
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They were never unlocked as far as I know...neither was the note not that it was out for long enough to get that far lol.
Root was achieved via leaked engineering firmware. No twrp recovery either just root.
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6

Yeah, I had an international. They actually patched the snapdragon phone after the first recall that prevented the installation of the leaked engineering firmware. Meanwhile over in international land we were flashing away for our brief ownership. I'm actually only here because I think we'll get some idea of what to expect with the Note 8 from this phone. That's probably going to be my next buy unless a surprise phone hits. Going back to the topic the news was over on the Note 7 forum that the snapdragon would no longer be coming with unlocked bootloader at any carrier or point of retail. Flashers should be wary of getting the snapdragon, unless something changed it won't be unlocked.

krabman said:
Yeah, I had an international. They actually patched the snapdragon phone after the first recall that prevented the installation of the leaked engineering firmware. Meanwhile over in international land we were flashing away for our brief ownership. I'm actually only here because I think we'll get some idea of what to expect with the Note 8 from this phone. That's probably going to be my next buy unless a surprise phone hits. Going back to the topic the news was over on the Note 7 forum that the snapdragon would no longer be coming with unlocked bootloader at any carrier or point of retail. Flashers should be wary of getting the snapdragon, unless something changed it won't be unlocked.
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Yep....i had a snapdragon launch day then a week later got a exynos.
Then with all the recall BS stupid me took it back....realized how stupid that was then managed to snag another snapdragon thanks to a friend. Was happily using that until those Aholes at sammy killed the note 7 on all Canadian networks in Dec.
Ill likely trade it in on an S8 then sell it and buy a Exynos version lol.
I keep my eyes peeled for exynos note 7s still...not even sure if one would work in canada now but if it did Id buy it LOL
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6

General PSA: There is No OEM Unlock on US Galaxy A53's

Whether you get a carrier version or the factory unlocked U1 model, OEM unlock does not exist on this phone. So those in the US that were thinking of doing custom roms with this cheap new Android device, look elsewhere.

Samsung has blocked their bootloaders on U.S. phone variants for years now. The only way to unlock is with paid service unfortunately.

ShaDisNX255 said:
Samsung has blocked their bootloaders on U.S. phone variants for years now. The only way to unlock is with paid service unfortunately.
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What service are you referring to? I'd love to unlock mine.

Jay1175 said:
What service are you referring to? I'd love to unlock mine.
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Well, it was located here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/sampwnd-usa-model-bl-unlock-info-u-u1-w.4201689/
But I guess it's temporarily closed until the person in charge returns. Usually it's not worth it for lower end phones since the unlock process can end up costing just as much as the phone tbh.

on some devices it takes 7 days for the oem unlock to show in developer options, have you tried the time and date hack to see if it shows

gav83collins said:
on some devices it takes 7 days for the oem unlock to show in developer options, have you tried the time and date hack to see if it shows
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This does not work on U.S. variants

SamPWNd is dead. Samsung patched it with firmware updates in 2021 (it is in the warnings not to install unpatched firware updates). The website is down. Unless they can find a new exploit in the new firmware, it is not possible.
Samsung has blocked BL unlock for a while. They seem to have shifted their target audience to a different group in recent years. If you really want BL unlock you should pick Pixel.

b1283822 said:
SamPWNd is dead. Samsung patched it with firmware updates in 2021 (it is in the warnings not to install unpatched firware updates). The website is down. Unless they can find a new exploit in the new firmware, it is not possible.
Samsung has blocked BL unlock for a while. They seem to have shifted their target audience to a different group in recent years. If you really want BL unlock you should pick Pixel.
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Click to collapse
it doesnt make sense from a business perspective, a regular audience doesnt even know about unlocking a bootloader, so they will be buying the phone regardless if samsungs advertising impress more than the competition, but for us lets say "power users" we know our warranty is void when we oem unlock, and buy making it easier to do it (oem unlock), they are more likely to shift more handsets to our side of the market, not only that but there is more chance of us breaking our devices which in turn gives them more income when we seek samsung official repairs or splash out on a new replacement, i really dont see the logic behind not allowing oem unlock unless its to test the abilities of the likes of chainfire in regards to exposing vulnerabilities

I bought the phone on sale just a few days before this thread was made (hoping to use it as a fun side-project / second phone to get back into modding- haven't been able to since my Note 5 since the Note 8 was locked). I had assumed getting a non-carrier one would be open but I haven't been able to get OEM Unlock to appear either : /. I even went with the A53 instead of A52 because I thought there was a better chance of having unlock on Exynos than Snapdragon. It's not too late to return but I'm still holding out hope someone can come up with something. I like Samsung hardware (for the most part) but without root... meh.
Willing to try ODINing tars and stuff if anyone has any ideas.

sidestream84 said:
I bought the phone on sale just a few days before this thread was made (hoping to use it as a fun side-project / second phone to get back into modding- haven't been able to since my Note 5 since the Note 8 was locked). I had assumed getting a non-carrier one would be open but I haven't been able to get OEM Unlock to appear either : /. I even went with the A53 instead of A52 because I thought there was a better chance of having unlock on Exynos than Snapdragon. It's not too late to return but I'm still holding out hope someone can come up with something. I like Samsung hardware (for the most part) but without root... meh.
Willing to try ODINing tars and stuff if anyone has any ideas.
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Exploits could take years to even begin to surface. S8 and S9 come to mind, but their root is so limited with locked bootloaders that it's almost not worth the hassle. I would return it to be honest or try and get an international variant imported. I've traveled to the U.S. with a Mexico variant phone and I got signal just fine, but I don't know how the internet speed compares if you use a U.S. SIM.

sidestream84 said:
I bought the phone on sale just a few days before this thread was made (hoping to use it as a fun side-project / second phone to get back into modding- haven't been able to since my Note 5 since the Note 8 was locked). I had assumed getting a non-carrier one would be open but I haven't been able to get OEM Unlock to appear either : /. I even went with the A53 instead of A52 because I thought there was a better chance of having unlock on Exynos than Snapdragon. It's not too late to return but I'm still holding out hope someone can come up with something. I like Samsung hardware (for the most part) but without root... meh.
Willing to try ODINing tars and stuff if anyone has any ideas.
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I switched over from Pixel line just for a Samsung specific feature and a quick google had me certain I would be able to unlock the bootloader and root it. It sucks that its not the case, but I blame awful tech journalism. So many articles that claim their method will work for ALL devices in a family, or even ALL ANDROID devices period.
ShaDisNX255 said:
Exploits could take years to even begin to surface. S8 and S9 come to mind, but their root is so limited with locked bootloaders that it's almost not worth the hassle. I would return it to be honest or try and get an international variant imported. I've traveled to the U.S. with a Mexico variant phone and I got signal just fine, but I don't know how the internet speed compares if you use a U.S. SIM.
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Getting an international version isn't worth doing IMO because the 5G bands don't overlap the same way 4G does. I looked in to getting an international model but decided against it as it doesn't support one of the three 5G frequencies used in my town. I figure there's 0 chance of new frequencies being added to the hardware, but always a chance of finding a security flaw to unlock the bootloader.

there are still U.S. Bootloader unlock services, but as of right now the A53 is not supported.
and only certain versions of bootloaders are supported.
Not SamPWND

Question Purchased a Verizon variant through Google Store, paid in full... Fully unlocked in 60 days, or is this a trick?

I haven't purchased a new phone since before 802.11ax came out. It's been... a long time, to say the least.
I'm reading mixed signals. Can I unlock, root, and do whatever anyone else can do with this hardware - or will they strangle my balls still?

I'm on Verizon too, but purchased the unlocked version. The Verizon bootloaders have driven me nuts in the past...

Fully unlocked amas in carrier unlocked. Only way you can unlock the bootloader of a pixel 7 device in the USA is if you bought an u locked variant directly from Google. You can't unlock any Android device bought from Verizon.

Usually it means you can't unlock the bootloader but that's only after the first firmware update.
So if you don't update it and wait then it should work. That's how it went with the vzw variant of the pixel XL anyways... I bought 2 of them because like a dupe I let it update without even thinking.
Then I got another and before anything I unlocked the bootloader, installed twrp, got root and then put my sim card in and I manually installed Google's updates and everything was fine.
Dunno if that changed or not...but it will ship with the ability to unlock it, or should because it's flashed with the stock Google firmware

The above post only applies to the original Pixel 1.
When Verizon says "unlocked" they mean carrier unlocked.
You can only get a bootloader unlocked if you buy direct from Google and buy the Google version of the phone, not the Verizon one they list.

What @jdoe6783 and @TonikJDK said. When all United States carriers volunteer information about "unlocking", they only mean carrier unlocking - i.e. you can then use your Verizon Pixel 7 Pro on a different carrier.
As I say in Post 2 in my thread:
roirraW edor ehT said:
Verizon variants:
Will never be able to have their bootloader unlocked. It's like winning the lottery, and just as rare and relatively random. There is nothing that anyone on XDA can do to help you unlock your Verizon variant.
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Curious why you would even buy the carrier variant from the google store? I mean if you are paying in full, just buy the unlocked version.

Ok. Thank you, all. Once the device is carrier unlocked, will I be able to remove the Verizon bloatware? That's my biggest concern now. I can live with a locked bootloader as long as the provided OS allows me to control what software is and is not running.
I bought the carrier variant for a few reasons:
I've already settled on Verizon as my carrier for the long haul. I bounced around between MVNOs, Google Fi, and T-mobile before landing on Verizon ~18mo ago. It has been a better experience for a little less money after taking advantage of so many promotions - several of which hinge on my home ISP being Verizon as well.
The trade-in value is pretty solid. I don't value it at $700 like they say as it's really just $19/mo off my bill for 3 years. It's not clear to me what happens if I upgrade my device or decide to cancel service in that time... they just stop providing the discount?
I never felt the need to root my last phone. I did it for a while, and many of my necessary apps detected this and stopped working. I've gathered that this is something the community has addressed now, but it still speaks to the time/benefit of going through the process to root and try out different things that rooting enables. I have less time to research and try out various options than I once did. My suspicion is that I'll be happy enough with the factory OS. The only things that would change this would be if I cannot remove Verizon bloatware. I'm not forefiting that kind of control of my $1k phone for a $20/mo reimbursement.
mmWave sounds cool, but I'm not convinced it'll have a meaningful impact on my usage. Perhaps when I'm in a large city and there's congestion on the other bands... This is a very minor point.

shiftr182 said:
Curious why you would even buy the carrier variant from the google store? I mean if you are paying in full, just buy the unlocked version.
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agreed...
you can always buy the Google unlocked variant and just activate it on your carrier (in this case, Verizon as OP's carrier), instead of purchasing the specific carrier variant.
At the very least I plan on purchasing the unlocked variant and activating it on Verizon....
If anything, @SethW, if it is truly important to you to do all the additional "fun" stuff like root, tether, custom ROMs, and all the other stuff (like it is to many/most of us on this forum)...you should still be in the return period. You might want to try the route of returning it and purchasing the Google unlocked variant to be certain you can unlock the bootloader -- and therefore root and other things.
EDIT
@SethW's reply just popped up while I was replying and just got in right before my post, so I wanted to address it...
SethW said:
Ok. Thank you, all. Once the device is carrier unlocked, will I be able to remove the Verizon bloatware? That's my biggest concern now. I can live with a locked bootloader as long as the provided OS allows me to control what software is and is not running.
I bought the carrier variant for a few reasons:
I've already settled on Verizon as my carrier for the long haul. I bounced around between MVNOs, Google Fi, and T-mobile before landing on Verizon ~18mo ago. It has been a better experience for a little less money after taking advantage of so many promotions - several of which hinge on my home ISP being Verizon as well.
....My suspicion is that I'll be happy enough with the factory OS. The only things that would change this would be if I cannot remove Verizon bloatware. I'm not forefiting that kind of control of my $1k phone for a $20/mo reimbursement.
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It's okay to be on Verizon. I've been with them for decades and okay with them. It's good that you tried out a bunch and have your reasons to use them. By all means, you can/should use the P7P with them.
But to address your other concerns about the Verizon bloatware -- I'm fairly certain if you purchased the carrier specific Verizon variant, it will have its bloatware and you will not be able to remove it. There might be tricks to hide & help ignore it, but [usually] you aren't going to be able to remove it (at least without root, which you will not be able to do since Verizon bootlocks their devices; also, if it were rootable, you would have an unlocked variant and would not have bloatware in the first place ) [fun fact: in the earliest days of Android smartphones, the whole reason to root one's phone was to get rid of said bloatware; now, one has to purchase directly from Google and get their variant to even get a chance to root outside of carrier control]. Now I've never purchased a carrier variant from Google nor have I met anyone who has, so it might be different since you purchased it from Google store and not Verizon store, but I can't imagine Verizon wouldn't hold Google to their restrictions even if it's from Google's store -- I mean, what's the difference/purpose selling a carrier variant without any of said carrier's restrictions when Google could just sell Google's unlocked variant and just load it on the carrier's network?
TL;DR If it's a carrier (Verizon) variant, it most likely will have the carrier's bloatware; and you cannot remove it; even if the OS is as customizable as Android.

I'm definitely thinking about a return already. The agreements states 'unlocked after 60 days' which I read as fully unlocked, rather than some partial unlocking they've come up with. It really hinges on whether or not I can fully control the OS of the phone after it's 'carrier' unlocked.
EDIT - in response to @simplepinoi177 's edit
Well then. Returning it for sure. Didn't even think to mention ad-blocking apps and such but I rely on those. Makes my stomach turn when I see someone using a device without robust ad-blocking. Without root, that's probably on the chopping block too.

SethW said:
I'm definitely thinking about a return already. The agreements states 'unlocked after 60 days' which I read as fully unlocked, rather than some partial unlocking they've come up with. It really hinges on whether or not I can fully control the OS of the phone after it's 'carrier' unlocked.
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Keep in mind, it's not just Verizon. All U.S. carriers, when they say unlocked, they only mean carrier unlocked. It's not just something Verizon came up with. As far as they're concerned, it will be fully unlocked.
SethW said:
EDIT - in response to @simplepinoi177 's edit
Well then. Returning it for sure. Didn't even think to mention ad-blocking apps and such but I rely on those. Makes my stomach turn when I see someone using a device without robust ad-blocking. Without root, that's probably on the chopping block too.
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Good luck with your return and re-purchase!

simplepinoi177 said:
you can always buy the Google unlocked variant and just activate it on your carrier (in this case, Verizon as OP's carrier), instead of purchasing the specific carrier variant.
At the very least I plan on purchasing the unlocked variant and activating it on Verizon....
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The unlocked phone from Amazon is the same as the unlocked one from Google, isn't it?

Wi1son said:
The unlocked phone from Amazon is the same as the unlocked one from Google, isn't it?
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Yep

Wi1son said:
The unlocked phone from Amazon is the same as the unlocked one from Google, isn't it?
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EtherealRemnant said:
Yep
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Also, if you check the Amazon description, under "Wireless Carrier", it states "Unlocked", so it's a safe bet that it's actually unlocked like the Google variant and not the way carrier's state "unlocked" like it's not "contractually bound" or "locked" to the carrier....

If you have the Verizon model, you can disable some of the VZW bloatware with ADB, but not all of it. If you disable some of the VZW specific packages, it won't boot and you will have to go through recovery. I was really annoyed when I found out that I couldn't unlock the bootloader on the VZW model of my Pixel 3XL. On my previous phone I had relied on particular mods to make my life easier (I'm unilaterally deaf).
I would certainly return it for the unlocked Google version while the window is open, just in case you ever need to unlock the bootloader.

Refused delivery and requested FedEx return it to sender - as instructed by Google Support. In spite of this, FedEx tried to delivery every day for the past week. They're finally sending it back to Google. I suspect they'll refund it soon. I'm really annoyed that I'm apparently going to miss out on the $200 google store promotion. I was looking forward to trying out the pro earbuds for free.

Question Is it possible to root an S22 Ultra SM-S908U from the USA?

Not long ago I bought this model of the S22 ultra and I wanted to know if it is possible that it can be rooted

No it cannot be rooted. The bootloader needs to be unlocked, and that is not possible to do either.

i dont understand on how come samsung always do this with new S series until next model comes out and a dev comes in understands that all the lights are shyning on the phone so it should be way esier to get around the OEM toogle missing from developers tab....i would be happy runninh simple but effects very strong to just be able to control whats running and wahts not,use shizuku for highger APis previleges,ice box is great to frezze in case you cant remove via ADB ,Nevo great as well,greniffy,etc....but come one someone find the solution to root the american vertion variant and ill pay whoever can do this favor,on any network in the US im on t-mobile....but willing to witch if is t-mobile the problem ill switch, its unlocked

bresk said:
i dont understand on how come samsung always do this with new S series until next model comes out and a dev comes in understands that all the lights are shyning on the phone so it should be way esier to get around the OEM toogle missing from developers tab....i would be happy runninh simple but effects very strong to just be able to control whats running and wahts not,use shizuku for highger APis previleges,ice box is great to frezze in case you cant remove via ADB ,Nevo great as well,greniffy,etc....but come one someone find the solution to root the american vertion variant and ill pay whoever can do this favor,on any network in the US im on t-mobile....but willing to witch if is t-mobile the problem ill switch, its unlocked
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Why not switch to a pixel then? The issue isn't you or your phone the issue is Samsung deciding that what you paid for the phone wasn't enough to allow you to do what you want to a device you supposedly own.. The response you received here is disappointing. I dont own this phone but I was thinking about it until finding this out.

talksickisil said:
Why not switch to a pixel then? The issue isn't you or your phone the issue is Samsung deciding that what you paid for the phone wasn't enough to allow you to do what you want to a device you supposedly own.. The response you received here is disappointing. I dont own this phone but I was thinking about it until finding this out.
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My phone is full paid, network unlocked but still no OEM toogle for unlock the bootloader

talksickisil said:
Why not switch to a pixel then? The issue isn't you or your phone the issue is Samsung deciding that what you paid for the phone wasn't enough to allow you to do what you want to a device you supposedly own.. The response you received here is disappointing. I dont own this phone but I was thinking about it until finding this out.
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So you can buy a Pixel in the US on any carrier with an unlockable bootloader?
I live in the UK and don't buy new phones very often and have a Samsung S4 mini, S7 and S9 which I still use.
The S4 mini came with an unlocked bootloader out of the box, so no toggle needed in dev options. The S7 and S9 have the toggle.
Regarding the S4 mini, I read a post from 2019 that stated Verizon and AT&T were the only US carriers that locked the bootloader, so I don't know what is going on

bresk said:
My phone is full paid, network unlocked but still no OEM toogle for unlock the bootloader
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Qualcomm is the one to blame. You need an exynos version to unlock BL

Ryu--X said:
Qualcomm is the one to blame. You need an exynos version to unlock BL
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Well I've seen some threads about this, but mine is a snapdragon so far i have been searching and hoping that with the s23 series maybe someone would have a answer for the issue

Ryu--X said:
Qualcomm is the one to blame. You need an exynos version to unlock BL
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Not true. The non-US Snap Dragon variants are rootable. Qualcomm had nothing to do with the bootloader being locked down. That was because North American (primarily US) carriers required it.

Samsung's US and Canadian Snapdragon phones do not allow unlocks regardless if the phone was bought from a carrier or not.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootloader_unlocking#

I honestly didn't realize that was even a thing. No surprise. We don't own our devices Any more. The 1000+ dollars you pay for a phone is just to use it. I've been using an iphone as my primary device since early 2018 which is how I didn't realize this bootloader f#ckery.
Putting on my tinfoil cap: do the US carriers collude with the government to put some type of backdoor in the stock OS that you just won't find in a custom roms source code?

talksickisil said:
Putting on my tinfoil cap: do the US carriers collude with the government to put some type of backdoor in the stock OS that you just won't find in a custom roms source code?
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Ummm... Go ahead and take off that tinfoil hat and read the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments. You should also cut back on the Dan Brown books.