Nokia fans were surprised when the Nokia 7.2 was found to support bootloader unlocking out of the box, unlike any other Nokia phone bar the Nokia 8.
For the uninitiated, HMD Global doesn’t support bootloader unlocking on all Nokia phones. The only device whose bootloader can be unlocked officially is the Nokia 8, but the unexpected happened when someone managed to easily unlock the Nokia 7.2 bootloader.
HMD Global will allow the bootloader on certain Nokia phones to be unlocked, allowing for customizations. This feature is intended for developers only. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of unlocking a phone’s bootloader, please do not proceed to follow these instructions.
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Of course, Nokia was quick to own up to its mistake and pledged to fix the “inconvenience” via a software update. Still, this doesn’t mean much to ardent custom ROM developers and tinkerers because east or west, they will have their way, eventually.
With an unlocked bootloader, it means you can easily get rid of the pre-installed Android One-based ROM on Nokia phones and install any other supported ROM you wish. This dream has just come true for not only the Nokia 7.2 but also the Nokia 6.2 that launched beside it.
As of this writing, you can pick up an unofficial version of LineageOS 16.0 and install on any of the Nokia 7.2 or Nokia 6.2 sets. LineageOS 16.0 is based on Android 9 Pie, which isn’t the latest OS but it’s unlikely to stand in your way.
Since these are unofficial LineageOS 16.0 builds, you might want to note that issues are bound to pop up from time to time. But if you can live with that, feel free to check out the devices respective links below for download files and guides to flash the ROM.
What’s even more interesting is that both the Nokia 6.2 and Nokia 7.2 also have access to the latest LineageOS 17.0. Like LOS 16.0, this version is unofficial, but it is based on the latest Android 10 OS. These two haven’t even received their updates to Android 10, which makes this quite impressive.
If interested, you can also check out the respective links below to download the LOS 17.0 ROM and install it right away.
To successfully install either LOS 16.0 or LOS 17.0 on your Nokia 6.2 or Nokia 7.2, you’ll need TWRP custom recovery. Luckily, the folks at TeamWin have been hard at work and now we have the official TWRP support for these two devices.
The Nokia 7.2 got unofficial TWRP support a while ago, but now the support is official. Head over to the respective links below to grab the official TWRP app for your phone on your way to installing custom ROMs.
Happy modding!
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Hillary Keverenge
2056 Posts
Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.
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