How to Unlock Bootloader on Realme 3 and 3 Pro

Why should you Unlock your Bootloader?

There are a plethora of reasons as to why you might want to unlock your device’s bootloader. For instance, you can install custom recoveries like TWRP or CWM on your phone’s recovery partition which grants access to a lot more things furthermore. You can easily root an Android device with an unlocked bootloader, and as we know, a rooted device has many cool features you can play around with. Lastly, you will need a fully unlocked bootloader to flash any custom ROMs or zips on your device. Basically, you are granting yourself system rights by tampering with the state of your device’s bootloader – in a good way.

Unlocking your bootloader also means you can troubleshoot a lot more issues than ever before. For example, if your device goes into a bootloop, or a soft brick, then the first step to revive it requires you to unlock its bootloader. Moreover, you can use powerful root applications like Magisk and Xposed Framework to sideload some really amazing third party extensions that will boost your device’s capabilities.

With everything out of the way, let’s begin with our guide. You will be needing a few prerequisites in order to unlock your phone’s bootloader first. Make sure you have everything that you need up and running. Without any further delay, let’s have a look at how you can unlock the bootloader on your device.

How to Unlock Bootloader on Realme 3 and 3 Pro

Prerequisites

• You need ADB and Fastboot installed on your PC for this to work. If you haven’t already, follow our comprehensive guide to learn how you can ready up ADB and Fastboot on your Windows PC.
• Make sure that you backup everything there is on your phone. Unlocking your device’s bootloader will wipe everything on your phone, including media. We recommend a thorough backup before beginning this process.
• Ensure that your phone has at least 60% of battery prior to beginning this process to avoid any unforeseen shutdowns in the middle of the task.
• Lastly, you need a data transfer cable to connect your phone to your Windows PC.

Procedure

1. One your Realme 3 or Realme 3 Pro, make sure your system version is updated to the latest. If not, we recommend a quick update to provide the most seamless experience.
2. Download the following APK file on your device :
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uixFcUAB8ThS3geYRtxqL37sAyVbsaoO/view?usp=sharing
3. Tap on it and install the APK file. To do so, navigate to Settings > Security and enable Unknown Sources. Head back and tap on the downloaded file, and tap on Install.
4. Launch the application.
5. Follow the steps showcased on the app itself.  Tap on the Start Applying button in the middle, accept all the terms and conditions, and then tap on Submit Application.
6. This will send a report status to Realme, which will then verify your device’s integrity and hopefully approve it for unlocking the bootloader.
7. If everything works out as planned, you should see a message reading Review Accepted. This is where the actual unlocking of your bootloader comes into action. 
8. Click on the start in-depth test button. This will automatically reboot your device into the fastboot mode. A message reading “fast boot_unlock_verify ok” should pop up on your device’s screen.
9. Now, connect your phone to the PC, and navigate to the folder where you have ADB and Fastboot installed.
10. Type in the following command to check if your device has been recognized by the terminal or not :

    fastboot devices

11. If everything is connected properly, you should see your phone connected with a serial number beside it.
12. Continue by entering the following command to boot into the bootloader mode :

    adb reboot bootloader

13. Once your phone reboots into the bootloader mode, type in the last command that will unlock your phones bootloader :

    fastboot flashing unlock

14. Now, a screen reading a warning message should pop up on your phone’s display. Use the volume up button to select ok, and press the power button once.
15. This will unlock your device’s bootloader in the matter of a few seconds.

Voila! You’ve successfully unlocked the bootloader on your Realme 3 or Realme 3 Pro! Now you can enjoy all the features like being able to install custom ROMs, root your device, play around with various mods and so much more! If you have any queries regarding the article, then do let us know down below, we’d be happy to assist you through your procedure.