Zenfone bootloader unlock tool outlook bleak as ASUS refunds customer over missing feature

Asus effectively revoked support for its Android bootloader unlocking tool in September 2023, and while it subsequently promised to continue to allow bootloader unlocking, the company has not yet delivered on the promise to support the feature. A recent court case in the UK resulted in Asus having to refund the purchase of a Zenfone buyer over a failure to deliver on a promised feature.

The case, as reported by Android Authority, took place in the UK's version of a small claims court, and the court forced Asus to refund the £700 purchasing price for the Zenfone device as well as the costs incurred by the buyer when filing the court case.

While the case is a bit of reassuring justice to Zenfone buyers that were counting on bootloader unlocking and root access to augment Asus's lacklustre software support, it does further solidify suspicions that Asus will never enable bootloader unlocking on its Zenfone devices again.

There have been attempts at a third-party bootloader unlocking solution, but those have seemingly been blocked by an Asus firmware update that also removes the ability for users to downgrade their device's firmware.

It looks like users looking to load up a third-party ROM are stuck with something like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro (curr. $369.50 on Amazon) and all the hoops the Chinese company makes you jump through, or something like GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel 8 (curr. $679 on Amazon).