Unlocking your Fairphone's bootloader gives you advanced control over your device's software. This enables you to install alternative operating systems or manually install Android, with the option to re-lock for security.

Warning!

• Unlocking the bootloader will permanently erase all data on your Fairphone. Always back up your data before you begin.
• An unlocked bootloader disables essential security features. Only proceed if you fully understand that this allows expert users to compromise your Fairphone's security and data.
• Re-locking the bootloader will also erase all personal data and may prevent your Fairphone from booting correctly if a non-Fairphone operating system (OS) is installed.
• If you install an OS with an older security patch level than your previous OS, locking the bootloader might brick your device. Make sure the security patch level is the same or newer before re-locking.
• This process does not apply to the Fairphone 2. Instead, see: Fairphone 2 OS manual installation.

Before you start

• Make sure you're running the latest available software version. If you're not sure, see: Check and update your software version.
• Turn on Developer options:
  1. Go to Settings → About phone.
  2. Scroll to the bottom, and tap the Build number at least seven times.
  3. If you have a PIN or password, enter it to turn on developer options.
• Turn on USB debugging:
  1. Go to Settings → System → Developer options.
  2. Under Debugging, tap USB debugging to turn it on.
• If you're using a Windows Computer, update your USB drivers: Update drivers through Device Manager in Windows.

Step 1: Get your unique unlock code

To get your unique unlock code, go to: Bootloader Unlocking Code for your Fairphone.

If you encounter an error:

• Double check similar letters or numbers, for example "O" and "0".
• Try on a different browser or device.
• Try again at a later time.

Your unique unlock code changes each time. If you wish to unlock your bootloader again, you'll need to repeat this process.

Step 2: Turn on OEM unlocking

To turn on OEM unlocking, follow these steps:

1. On your Fairphone, go to Settings → System → Developer options.
   • If Developer options is not visible, return to the Before you start section and complete all steps there before proceeding.
2. Look for OEM unlocking and tap to turn it on.
   • If needed, confirm your pattern, PIN or password.
3. Complete verification:
   • Fairphone 5: Enter your unique unlock code and tap Enable.
   • Fairphone 3(+), 4 and Gen. 6: Wait a few moments for the system to verify the request. No unlock code is needed.

Note: If you're having trouble unlocking your device, make sure you're connected to the internet and that you've updated to the latest software version.

Step 3: Unlock the bootloader

To unlock the bootloader, follow these steps:

1. Connect your Fairphone to your computer using a USB data cable.
2. Download Android platform tools on your computer.
3. Extract the .zip you downloaded in the previous step and move the unarchived folder to your desktop.
4. Open a Command Prompt (Windows) or a terminal (macOS/Linux). You'll use this to send commands to your Fairphone. For starters, navigate to the platform tools folder.
   • On Windows, type the command cd C:\Users\[YOUR USERNAME HERE]\Desktop\platform-tools_r34.0.4-windows\platform-tools
     and press Enter ↩.
   • On macOS/Linux, type the command cd ~\Desktop\platform-tools_r34.0.4-windows\platform-tools
     and press Enter ↩.
   • Note that the exact name of the platform tools folder may be different from the example above.
5. Type adb devices and press Enter ↩. You will see a pop-up on your Fairphone asking if you allow USB debugging on this computer. Tap Allow.
   • If a command doesn't work, try prefacing it with ./. For example: adb devices → ./adb devices.
6. Next, type adb reboot bootloader and press Enter ↩. The phone will now reboot into fastboot mode.
7. While in fastboot mode, type fastboot flashing unlock and press Enter ↩. Follow the instructions that appear on your Fairphone's screen. This action will wipe all the personal data on your phone.
8. After the phone reboots, boot into the fastboot mode once again.
9. Type in fastboot flashing unlock_critical and press Enter ↩. Once again, follow the instructions on your Fairphone to finish unlocking. This action will wipe all the personal data on your phone.

Re-lock the bootloader (optional)

To protect your data in case of theft or loss of your Fairphone, we advise keeping the bootloader locked wherever possible.

To re-lock the bootloader, follow these steps:

1. Connect your Fairphone to your computer using a USB data cable and make sure that USB debugging is enabled.
2. Download Android platform tools on your computer.
3. Put your Fairphone in fastboot mode.
4. On your computer, in a Command Prompt (Windows) or a terminal (macOS/Linux), type fastboot flashing lock_critical and press the Enter ↩ key.
   • If this doesn't work, try ./fastboot flashing lock_critical and press the Enter ↩ key.
5. On your Fairphone, follow the on-screen instructions.
6. Hold the Volume down button immediately as your Fairphone reboots to return to fastboot mode.
7. Repeat step 4, but this time type in fastboot flashing lock.