OnePlus 10T 5G Unlock Bootloader Guide and Relock It Later

In this tutorial, we will show you the steps to unlock the bootloader on your OnePlus 10T and relock it later on. The device was launched globally with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, 4,800mAh battery, and triple rear camera setup with a 50 MP main camera. It runs on Android 12 with OxygenOS 12.1 on top. OnePlus 10T 5G features a 6.7-inch full-HD+ Fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and packs up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM.

There’s a plethora of tweaks, modifications, and custom binaries available for various OnePlus devices, and the OnePlus 10T is no different either. Although it has only been a couple of months since its launch, we already see impressive support for this device. But one requirement needs to be met to carry out these tweaks- your OnePlus 10T should have an unlocked bootloader. In this guide, we will help you with just that. Likewise, we will also show you how to relock the device’s bootloader if you wish to do so later.

OnePlus 10T Device Overview:

The Oneplus 10T features a 6.7 inches Fluid AMOLED panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It is an FHD+ panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2412 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Under the hood, we get the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor built on a 4nm manufacturing process. It is an octa-core processor with one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.19 GHz, three Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.75 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.80 GHz. For handling the graphics-intensive tasks, we have the Adreno 730. The smartphone comes with Android 12 out of the box with OxygenOS 12.1 skin running on top.

In optics, we get a triple camera setup at the rear and a single selfie camera at the front. The triple camera setup consists of a 50 MP primary sensor paired with an f/1.8 lens, a 16 MP ultrawide sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens, and a 2 MP depth sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens. The selfie camera at the front is a 32 MP primary sensor paired with an f/2.5 lens. The rear can capture 4K videos at 30 fps, and the front camera is limited to 1080p videos at 60 fps.

The smartphone comes in three storage options: 128GB internal storage + 8GB RAM, 256GB internal storage + 8GB RAM, and 256GB internal storage + 12GB RAM. We do not get a MicroSD slot for storage expansion. In terms of communications, we get Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C 2.0. And for sensors, we get an under-display optical fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, and color spectrum. Powering it all is a 4800 mAh battery that can be topped up quickly using a 150W power adapter. The smartphone is available in a single color option: Black.

Advantages/Risks with an Unlocked Bootloader

There is a plentitude of perks associated with an unlocked bootloader. To begin with, you could flash custom ROMs like LineageOS, Pixel Experience, etc. Along the same lines, installing a custom recovery like TWRP is also a possibility. This will allow you to flash ZIP and IMG files, wipe various partitions, create and restore Nandroid backup, etc. Likewise, you could also root your device via Magisk and access administrative rights.

However, these modifications come with a few risks as well. For example, it will wipe off all the data from your device and might make the warranty null and void. Furthermore, apps like Google Pay, Netflix, and Pokemon Go might not function properly. The entire process is risky and might cause a few issues if not performed correctly. With that said, if you are ready to proceed ahead, then here are the steps to unlock the bootloader on the OnePlus 10T.

Unlock Bootloader on OnePlus 10T

Before we list out the instructions, there are a few necessities that you need to go through. Make sure you checkmark all these requirements.

Prerequisites

• First and foremost, create a complete device backup. This is because the unlocking process will wipe off all the data from your device.
• Next up, enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on your device. The former will make your device recognizable by your PC in ADB mode. The latter will allow you to carry out the unlocking procedure. So head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking.
  
• Also, install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This will provide you with the necessary ADB and Fastboot binaries.

That’s it. You may now proceed with the steps to unlock the bootloader on the OnePlus 10T.

Instruction Steps

1. Connect your device to the PC via USB Cable. Make sure Debugging is enabled.
2. Then head over to the platform-tools folder, type in CMD in the address bar, and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt.
3. Now type in the following command in the CMD window to boot your OnePlus device to Fastboot Mode:

   adb reboot bootloader

   

4. Execute the below command and if you get a unique string of alphanumeric characters, then it signifies that the device has successfully booted to Fastboot.

   fastboot devices

   

5. Finally, type in the below command to start the unlocking process

   fastboot oem unlock

6. As soon as you do so, you will get a confirmation message on your device. Select Unlock the Bootloader option via Volume Keys and hit the Power key to confirm your decision.
7. The process will now begin and should only take a few seconds. Once that is done, your device should boot to the OS. If that doesn’t happen, then you may manually do so as well, using the below commands:

   fastboot reboot

These were the steps to unlock the bootloader on the OnePlus 10T. Do keep in mind that the first boot will take up some time; this is completely normal. Furthermore, you will have to set up your device from scratch by logging into your Google account. That’s it. Let’s now turn our attention toward the relocking process.

Relock Bootloader on OnePlus 10T

If you wish to relock the device’s bootloader and go back to stock, then the below instructions shall help you out. But before that, there are some pretty important points worth discussing. make sure that your device doesn’t have any custom binary installed. By that, we mean it shouldn’t be rooted or have TWRP installed.

Most importantly, it should be running the stock OxygenOS firmware and not any custom ROM. So if you tick mark all these requirements, then proceed with the below steps to relock the bootloader on your OnePlus 10T device.

1. First and foremost, create a backup of all the data stored on your device.
2. Next up, enable USB Debugging on your device (Settings > About Phone > Developer Options).
3. Then go to the platform-tools folder, type in CMD in the address bar, and hit Enter. This will launch the CMD window.
   
4. Now type in the following command in the Command Prompt window to boot your device to Fastboot Mode:

   adb reboot bootloader

5. Finally, execute the below command to start the locking process:

   fastboot oem lock

6. You should now get a confirmation message on your device. Use the Volume keys to select the Lock the Bootloader option, and press the Power key to confirm.
7. Your device will reboot to the OS, and you should be greeted with the welcome screen. If it doesn’t automatically boots up, you may use the fastboot command below.

   fastboot reboot

Now just set up the device using your Google ID, and that is it. These steps were to unlock and relock the bootloader on your OnePlus 10T device. Please let us know in the comments section below if you have any queries. Rounding off, don’t forget to look at our iPhone Tips and Tricks, PC tips and tricks, and Android Tips and Trick section.