advice for buying a phone thatll work? Samsung Galaxy A73 5G

[u/bali_flipper69]

hey all, so i wanna join the custom OS club, but im new to this, my gf said i should shoot for a BL unlocked specifically and not just carrier unlocked.

ive been through a A71 and A54 stock OS and loved them, so the A73 seems like the best next step, any advice for finding a BL unlocked device? search terms and such? maybe even a specific marketplace i should check?

i do have a repair shop i trust nearby ifs DIYable but difficult.

[u/BadDaemon87]

Use https://www.reddit.com/r/LineageOS/comments/oyy2wp/the_what_currently_supported_device_should_i_get/ - it exists already...

[u/bali_flipper69 → u/BadDaemon87]

i was asking for advice on getting a BL unlocked version of a specific phone, thats a thread for finding a phone to narrow down

[u/chrisprice]

Be aware Samsung phones will not work with VoLTE or VoNR as IMS does not work on them.

You probably will want to avoid Samsung if you intend to use this as a daily smartphone.

If a phone is bootloader unlockable depends on the carrier and the specific model. Some carriers like T-Mobile and Boost don't care about locking bootloaders. Some like AT&T (except for Pixel) and Verizon do care. Verizon and AT&T generally permalock all devices, so their bootloaders can never be unlocked. This extends to MVNOs like Cricket, Total, Straight Talk and Cable operators.

In pretty much all cases the phone will need to be unlocked to all carriers first, before bootloader unlocking.

In the United States, Pixel and Motorola phones have the highest rates of support, but you will need to check the LineageOS Wiki to see if it is officially supported first.

[u/bali_flipper69 → u/chrisprice]

wait are you saying it wont support any voice transmission via cell towers? the wiki only mentions IMS which as far as i could read is only wifi calling, which i can deal without, if im in a data/cell deadzone then i def wont have wifi and all.

[u/Jackavalltrades → u/bali_flipper69]

u/DeVinke_ is correct that the LOS pages for the S22 series no longer list IMS under Known quirks. However, the A73 page still does.

The "Quirks - IMS" page says

Devices that rely on any of these implementations therefore lack all the features provided by IMS (VoLTE, VoWiFi, VoNR, etc.).

VoLTE is required for mobile telephony in regions that only have 4G and above -- that is, where 3G and 2G have been phased out.

This means a device without IMS that can't fall back to 3G or 2G has no telephony at all. It can't connect to the cell network and make / receive calls or send / receive texts.

So if you intend to use an A73 as a phone and your region doesn't have 3G or 2G, better wait until the LOS page no longer lists IMS as one of its known quirks.

[u/DeVinke_ → u/chrisprice]

The first part is not actually true, it's already working on the s22 series and will be rolling out on other devices shortly as well.

[u/Carlito_2112]

Provided that the model number is one of the two, it should work:

• SM-A736B
• SM-A736B/DS

LineageOS for Galaxyy A73 5G

Now having said that, I would never spend that sort of money on a phone if I'm going to deGoogle it. Also, please be aware that Samsung makes it notoriously difficult to unlock the bootloader of their phones. While there is a build available for this phone, there are no guarantees that it will indeed work.

[u/Numerous-Coconut392]

Hoy lleve una Galaxy tab 9 con Android 16 y no tiene manera de desbloquear el BL. Espero que en los próximos años sea posible hacerlo