Summary
- OnePlus confirms that recent Anti-Rollback protection is temporary security measure.
- The issue affects both global and Chinese OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13T/13s and OnePlus 15 series.
- Downgrade functionality from 16.0.2.50x builds will be restored in the next update, allowing modding and custom ROMs again.
Last week, OnePlus users discovered that recent firmware updates for some of the latest OnePlus smartphones introduced hardware-level Anti-Rollback Protection. This effectively bricked the phone if users attempted downgrading, which made many enthusiasts and modders upset. However, OnePlus has issued a statement confirming it's a temporary restriction.
OnePlus Anti-Rollback is a Temporary Security Pause
In a statement to Android Authority, OnePlus said its Anti-Rollback restriction is not a permanent policy shift. The brand explained that the inability to downgrade from builds .500, .501 and .503 was implemented as a temporary measure to "strengthen device security".
To further strengthen device security, we’ve temporarily paused the ability to downgrade from 16.0.2.50x software builds to older builds. We will be restoring the ability to downgrade software builds in our next routine software update, but in the meantime customers looking to downgrade their build can contact OnePlus after sales channels directly.
While OnePlus did not highlight the exact security threat, it is believed to be related to a vulnerability that allowed stolen phones to be wiped and resold. The issue impacted new OnePlus phones like the OnePlus 13, 13T/13s, OnePlus 15 and OnePlus Ace 5 series. It not only impacted the Chinese variants but also the global variants running OxygenOS.
The good news is that a fix is just around the corner. OnePlus has promised to reverse the Anti-Roll Back behaviour in its next software update. This will restore the ability for users to downgrade to older firmware, be it for modding or installing custom ROMs.
In the meanwhile, those who bricked their smartphones can reach out to OnePlus to reach out to customer support and get them repaired. Although OnePlus did not comment on whether it would count as a free repair.
Anti-Rollback is considered a major blow to the modding and custom ROM community because it blocks enthusiasts from rolling back to older versions of ColorOS or OxygenOS. It's usually done to install custom ROMs, since most ROMs are based on older software versions and require the phone's bootloader to be on the same firmware version.
Regardless, this should be a sigh of relief for enthusiasts who have stuck with OnePlus for years because of the freedom to mod. It's one of the few brands that hasn't been very stringent or punishing when it comes to modding and that will continue to be the case for the time being.
Source
Android Authority
