[General Topics] GraphicHealer:
I had to write an essay for a class, and I wanted to post it here. Please correct me on anything I'm wrong on, or recommend anything I should add. But please be nice.

Samsung and LG have locked the bootloader - the part of the phone that checks the phone to make sure the code has not been modified or corrupted - almost since the beginning of android smartphone devices. This prevents people who want to modify their phones or write their own code for them from doing so. From the beginning, it was a wise move. Google had not implemented any security protocols like this in the early days of Android, and this kept people’s data safe and secure. The problem now is that Google has implemented security protocols now yet Samsung and LG still lock their phones down - hard. Even a device as old as the Galaxy Note III, about a 5 year old device, Still cannot be modified or changed. People have been trying for years. The issue now is that Samsung and LG are now overdoing it. They do not need that much security in this respect.

Phone manufacturers should not lock their phones bootloader for two reasons, It shortens product life, and it reduces security. Locking bootloaders shorten product life.

If Samsung or LG lock their bootloaders, it does not allow developers to create updates for that phone. If the bootloaders were unlocked, then developers could take the latest android versions on their own time and create updated versions of Android that LG or Samsung do not want to hassle with. This is good, as security updates, new features, and software improvements could be integrated into these custom versions of Android, allowing consumers to add features and tweaks to their phones that would otherwise be unavailable. This is a great extension of the product life, adding years to the operation time. This has already been proven on multiple handsets, for example, the Nexus series of phones. They have been discontinued and unsupported for nearly 3 years, but they still can be upgraded to the latest android version.

The second reason that Android phones should not be locked is it reduces security. The way Google has the unlocking procedure set up on their phones is you first have to understand how to reboot your phone to fastboot mode, which quickly reduces the number of people who could break their phone, then you have to install the fastboot client on your computer, then you have to run the “fastboot oem-unlock” command to unlock the phone. This also wipes all data off the phone, making it act like it is brand new, to protect whatever data is on the phone. One more step is also implemented, if a Google account was signed into the device, the phone remembers that and during the setup process it will lock you out until you enter the credentials of the previous account. This is an incredibly secure process, using a hardware implemented chip on the board, meaning it is physically impossible to break past, giving your data and phone a very tight security. Where phones are now, however, is not secure. The phone I use every day is an LG V20, which you can hack very easily, all you have to do is plug the phone into a computer and run a script I downloaded of the internet. I wanted my phone modded, so it is my problem if the phone breaks. That process is extremely easy. It also did not clear ANY of my data. I also could have deleted the password, allowing me access to all of the data on my phone. This is incredibly insecure, as you can probably see. The phone manufacturers should use Google’s method of locking, as then you do not have hundreds of people working to break the security of a phone, they already have what they want, an unlocked bootloader.

These two problems with locking bootloaders, or more specifically not letting us unlock bootloaders can be catastrophic to the safety of your data. The shortened product life means you keep having to move your data every time you upgrade your phone, and the fact that most of the workarounds for locking bootloaders decrease security drastically, makes allowing us to unlock bootloaders a very beneficial and secure design for new android phones from manufacturers. They should listen to us and give us what we want.
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That's it. Any thoughts or suggestions?