Hi all, I realize this thread is redundant with information found across many others, but I want to make absolutely sure I understand the situation before I brick my brand new phone. I’ll provide as many details as I can.
Context
- I purchased a Fairphone 6 with Android (FPOS) this week, with the intention of trying out /e/OS
- I followed the official instructions to unlock my bootloader
- Mistake #1: I did not check the out-of-the-box Android SPL date before doing this
- I flashed my FP6 to /e/OS using fastboot:
- Build: IMG-e-3.5-a15-20260211580868-official-FP6
- Flashing went well and I used /e/OS for a couple days
- Unfortunately, I hit a dead end trying to set up one of my cards for contactless payments, this makes /e/OS not a viable option for me
- I downloaded the newest FPOS build availble for FP6
- Build: FP6.QREL.15.176.0.20260113120233_VS21-factory
- I used the same fastboot method to flash and return to FPOS
- Flashing went well again, but I would like to relock the bootloader
- Main reason: I can’t set up my contactless payment card on FPOS either… because the device is unlocked.
Device and OS info
Fastboot menu
PRODUCT_NAME - FP6
VARIANT - SM_KIMOLOS UFS
BOOTLOADER VERSION - FP6.QREL.15.162.0
SECURE BOOT - yes
MEMORY MODEL - MICRON MT256GBEAZ4U31390103
MEMORY SIZE - 8GB + 256GB
DISPLAY PANEL NAME - BOE nt37705
DEVICE STATE - unlocked
/e/OS info
Build: IMG-e-3.5-a15-20260211580868-official-FP6
ANDROID VERSION - 15
/E/ OS VERSION - 3.5-a15-20260211580868-official-FP6
ANDROID SECURITY UPDATE - February 1, 2026
VENDOR SECURITY PATCH LEVEL - November 5, 2025
KERNEL VERSION
6.1.112-android14-11-gde436e940319-ab13241938
#1 Wed Mar 19 16:54:52 UTC 2025
FPOS info
Build: FP6.QREL.15.176.0.20260113120233_VS21-factory
ANDROID VERSION - 15
ANDROID SECURITY UPDATE - December 5, 2025
GOOGLE PLAY SYSTEM UPDATE - January 1, 2025
KERNEL VERSION
6.1.118-android14-11-g5a304d9b6d0-ab14281642
#1 Thu Oct 16 12:29:01 UTC 2025
The Question
Summarizing:
- The last thing I did was go from /e/OS to FPOS
- That means my SPL first went:
- From → ???
- To → Feb 1 2026
- And now it went:
- From → Feb 1 2026
- To → Dec 5 2025
If I understand everything I’ve read on these forums:
- If I try locking the bootloader now, I will brick my phone because of rollback protection. Is this correct?
- To lock the bootloader safely, I should wait for a FPOS build with an SPL equal or newer to Feb 1 2026 (/e/OS SPL). Is this correct?
Some additional details/questions:
- After flashing and booting into the OS (no matter which one), then booting into fastboot, my get_unlock_ability was always 0. The “OEM Unlock” option in Developer Settings is always greyed out.
- I read I should never lock the bootloader if I get 0.
- However, I learned that if I flash and stop my phone from booting into the OS, then boot into fastboot, my get_unlock_ability is always 1. It stays this way as long as I don’t boot into the OS.
- Would it be safe to lock the bootloader from this state? Or would I still brick my phone because I flashed to an older SPL version?
That’s my life story. I understand if this thread will be merged into a different one, but I want to try and get advice for my specific situation before I regret it. Thank you so much in advance!
