The next Samsung software update will make a change that you will probably not notice at the first glance, but the consequences of which can be serious in the long term. With the next update to Android 16 and One UI 8, Samsung will deactivate a function which has so far helped many of you continue to use older devices and which appeals to DIY enthusiasts.
Android and personalized ROM
The lifespan of modern smartphones is longer than ever. Thanks to high quality hardware and better software support, many models remain at the cutting edge of technology, several years after their release. Samsung is one of the pioneers in this area and offers up to seven years of updates and safety fixes for current mid and high -end devices.
Even if you may not use your smartphone for such a long time, the phone is often given to other family members or sold on the second-hand market. Because even after the end of the official care, there was so far a solution: personalized ROMs. These Android versions developed by the community make it possible to equip the old devices with security updates and recent features. Often, the old equipment even works better than before with these lighter personalized ROMs. Some of them, such as Pixelexperience or Lineageos, are available for countless devices, and even if these ROMs have lost their importance due to increasingly long and long -term care, they always have inveterate fans among technophile users.
Samsung blocks the bootloader
But with the next update, Samsung makes the installation impossible by deleting the possibility of unlocking the bootloader, adding that arrives with the Android 16 and One Ui 8.0 update. This in fact means that personalized ROMs can no longer be installed in the future … at least not on the devices that have been updated to Android 16 or who have the basic bone.
This modification eliminates any possibility of continuing to use your smartphones safely after the end of official care. Planned obsolescence can no longer be bypassed, even if the equipment often still works perfectly despite the total absence of subsequent safety fixes.
Less sustainability, a smaller second -hand market
What does this mean concretely for you? If it is no longer possible to integrate ROMs into the old devices thereafter, the only solution often remains recycling. The second -hand market could be reduced, and the resale value of your devices would be affected. Whether you want to use your smartphone longer or want to give it to someone else, its value will automatically decrease.
