after 15 years, iOS has finally caught up with all the main android features, such as
- very mid ui design
- kinda floaty feeling
- unpolished vibe android itself has progressed little, although it is rapidly achieving feature parity with iOS on "locked down user hostility". overall both ecosystems look very appealing, energetic, and healthy, for shareholders
I got a pixel because I heard I can install Graphene OS on it and when I got it I couldn't enable OEM unlocking. We're being cornered.
I've run into that a couple times and it's super frustrating because there's 2 different types of "unlocked", and they're pretty much all carrier unlocked these days, where an AT&T SIM card will work in a Verizon branded device, but the Verizon ones for sure never allow OEM unlocking. If buying new from Google, I've always bought the "Unlocked" option. If buying used, I've given the seller instructions on how to check that the option is available. At least on Swappa, it's been a pretty painless process.
Did you get a carrier unlocked phone?
I had to return the phone TWICE for exactly this problem. I bought a specifically unlocked phone, and got a locked one twice, directly from Google. They just do not care.
You bought a carrier-locked device. You need an unlocked one.
Did you get a Pixel 11?
Well thats important. How do I avoid this?
Don't buy from Verizon or any carrier that locks bootloaders on phones, usually used global Pixels are the best choice
You need to buy an "unlocked" model. They sell carrier-locked devices at a discount so that they can install spyware on them, and then lock them down so you can't remove it or take it to another carrier.