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ZenFone 9 Unlock Device App (Unlock Bootloader) Question

metal450
Star III
I just picked up a new ZenFone 9, and am considering unlocking the bootloader so I can root it. I'm aware that if I do, the device will no longer be supported by Asus. However, one clarification:

The Asus download site says about the Unlock Device App: "The software updates will not be available to the Changed Product..."

This sounds like they're saying that once you've unlocked it, you can no longer apply any software updates. My assumption is that it's just poorly worded, and what they meant to say was I will no longer get OTA updates - but can still update manually by downloading the zip from the Asus site & copying it to the device directly. Is that assumption correct - or do they actually mean that once it's unlocked, it can never take an update from Asus again - meaning that an unlocked device cannot receive any security updates, nor Android 13?

In addition, it continues: "...and the digital content in the Changed Product may no longer be used."

Not sure what this latter half of the sentence is trying to say...?
7 REPLIES 7

clavo
Star III
Of course you can still install updates, just copy the ZIP file into the root directory, after a short time an update message appears. The wording only refers to the OTA updates, these are no longer available after the unlock and will never be again (IMEI will be blacklisted).

metal450
Star III
Gotcha, thanks - that's what I assumed, the wording just pretty clearly seemed to say otherwise.

And what's the meaning of "...and the digital content in the Changed Product may no longer be used" ?

clavo
Star III
No idea what exactly is meant by this. I assume that "digital content" simply means the (new) features of the OTA update. But since you can also update manually, this is not a restriction.
I have also unlocked and rooted my Z9. Apart from the OTA updates, I have no restrictions (or all other restrictions can be bypassed).

metal450
Star III
Hmm not so sure, that interpretation seems pretty far off from the words. Perhaps someone from Asus can chime in on what they're trying to mean by "the digital content in the Changed Product may no longer be used"?