HMD Global CTO on Locked Bootloaders: “We will Unlock One Model at the Time, What Device would you Unlock First?”

HMD Global caused a small uproar in the enthusiast community when they first revealed that there won’t be any official bootloader unlock method for the Nokia 8. This seriously affected the Nokia 8’s viability as an alternative to competitors like the OnePlus 5, at least within the enthusiast community, as the lack of official support for bootloader unlocking would greatly limit the device’s customization potential.

The company then had to respond to the increasing complaints by reassuring users that they were reassessing the situation. they stated they’d consider an official bootloader unlocking solution, and this helped ease some of the complaints or requests sent their way.

It seems Nokia is still indecisive on whether they want the Nokia 8 to be unlocked officially or not, as HMD Global’s Chief Technology Officer Mikko Jaakkola has now commented that HMD Global “would unlock one Nokia model at the (sic) time”. He then proceeded to ask users which device they would like to unlock first.

We would unlock one model at the time. What device would you unlock first?

— Mikko Jaakkola (@MikkoLJaakkola) September 29, 2017

Taken literally, Mr. Jaakkola’s statement would indicate that Nokia would first unlock one device, and continue from there. However, Mr. Jaakkola’s statement could also be understood to mean a gradual release of official bootloader unlocking tools for Nokia’s existing portfolio, with priority being given to one single device first.

Mr. Jaakkola is also inviting users to share what they would like to do with a bootloader unlocked device, and further reaffirming that unlocking the bootloader is in their backlog of things to do (although the used hashtag #firstthingsfirst indicates that bootloader unlocking is not  for HMD Global currently).

Unlocking bootloader is indeed in our backlog #firstthingsfirst. Please, share what you would like to do with and/or how to customize unlocked-bootloader device #whatdevicetounlockfirst

— Mikko Jaakkola (@MikkoLJaakkola) September 28, 2017

There’s still many questions all of us would like to see answered. Which devices are being considered for the bootloader unlock? Will unlocking the bootloader be restricted to one device? How low is it on Nokia’s priority list? Following this, will Nokia also provide kernel sources for its devices in a timely manner as well?

Despite all that, it’s nice to see that a company that’s largely steering an old beloved brand back into relevance is also open to feedback, and is considering the requests of enthusiasts.

What are your thoughts on HMD Global’s latest statement? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Twitter – MikkolJaakkola

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