OnePlus devices are known for being developer-friendly for years. Even now, as we’ve what could be the 8th iterative devices – OnePlus 8T Series from the Chinese maker, it remains somewhat the same. The guide will put forth steps to unlock bootloader and root OnePlus 8T
OnePlus 8T is the newly launched affordable device for Europe and North America by OnePlus. While the device packs much for the price tag, it indeed comes with some bummers such as the guaranteed major update for only one generation. So, here is where we need to unlock the bootloader to flash custom ROMs if any in the future.
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For the unversed, the OnePlus 8T is a 6.49″ phone with an FHD+ resolution display. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 5G Mobile Platform is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The rear quad-camera is 64+8+5+2MP and the selfie camera is 16MP. Keeping the lights on is a 4300mAH battery.
Unlock Bootloader of OnePlus 8T 5G
Before beginning, you’d need the below files to get the work done. So, go get them.
Downloads
- Minimal ADB and Fastboot: Download
- Magisk and Magisk Manager: Download
- OnePlus 8T Stock Firmware: Download
Disclaimer: Bootloader unlock may erase your data. So backup all the necessary data before proceeding. Also, it’s advised to have the latest software installed on your device.
- In order to take a backup. Go to OnePlus Switch > Backup & Restore > New Backup.
- Copy that backup folder to your computer later on you can transfer it to the device once you’re done with the bootloader unlocking. Skip if you don’t care about losing existing data.
- First and foremost, go to Settings > About phone and tap the Build number section 5-7 times repeatedly. Developer options should appear in your device’s system settings, where you can then enable OEM unlocking.
- Once the OEM Unlock is enabled from the Developer Option, enable the USB Debugging option from the same Developer Options settings.
- Now, turn on your PC and make sure Minimal ADB and Fastboot is installed on your system.
- Connect your smartphone to the PC via USB and set-up the ADB terminal. Once the device is all set to receive ADB commands, input the below code in the command prompt to make your device boot to bootloader/fastboot mode.
adb reboot bootloader
- Alternatively, you can use key combinations to get your device into fastboot mode. For that, press and hold the Volume Up + Volume Down + Power button for a few seconds while your device is off-state.
- Once your device has been booted into fastboot mode, it’s time to throw the commands which will really unlock your bootloader. Input the below commands via command prompt (make sure your device is successfully connected to PC in fastboot)
fastboot oem unlock
- Give the consent to unlock the device once the code has been entered.
- Within 1-3 seconds, the bootloader of the device should be unlocked. Now, you can restart your smartphone or proceed with other daring activities such as rooting or installing the custom ROMs. Good Luck!
Let’s see how can we proceed further and root the OnePlus 8T.
Root OnePlus 8T Using Magisk
OnePlus 8T run by the OxygenOS 11 features A/B partition, so you need to flash the patched boot image to the currently active slot which we have described below.
- Reboot your phone and complete the OxygenOS setup process after unlocking the bootloader.
- If not done, download Magisk Manager from the link given above.
- Download and patch the boot image for your variant using Magisk. Follow the steps below to do so…
- Extract the stock firmware and fetch the boot.img for your device build.
- Transfer the boot.img to your phone’s internal storage.
- Open Magisk Manager and choose the “Select and patch a file” option to patch the boot.img file you saved in the previous step.
- Once Magisk Manager has finished patching the boot.img file you downloaded, the patched file will be output in your phone’s Downloads folder.
- Replace your phone’s active boot image with the one you have downloaded and patched with Magisk Manager.
- Copy that patched boot.img (which should be named magisk_patched.img) to your PC.
- Now on your PC’s command window and type:
adb reboot bootloader
This will return your phone to fastboot mode.
- Type the below command and press Enter.
fastboot getvar current-slot
- If the output is a, type
fastboot flash boot_a magisk_patched.imgand press Enter. - If the output is b, type
fastboot flash boot_b magisk_patched.imgand press Enter.
- If the output is a, type
- Wait for the process to complete.
- Once finished, reboot your device and open Magisk Manager to check the status of root. It should show something like below.`
In case if it’s showing unrooted, then try to repeat the steps once again. You should see the success this time around.
