LG Developer Website Shutting Down on December 31, Bootloader Unlock Key to Be Inaccessible

LG has announced that it is shutting down its Developer Website on December 31. The South Korean company says that information on the website and the option of issuing the bootloader unlock key will not be available after the service is terminated. The company announced in April that it will wind down its mobile division in order to focus on growth areas including electric vehicle components, connected devices, and smart homes. LG also promised that it will provide three iterations of Android operating system updates for its premium smartphones.

As per an announcement on the website itself, personal information collected to provide services and issuing the bootloader unlock key will not be available post December 31. “However, we store personal information for a fixed period of time if required by relevant laws and regulations,” LG said in the notice.

Bootloader unlock keys are needed to root/ unlock a smartphone and install custom ROMs. In this case, the bootloader unlock key which LG provides to root LG phones and install custom ROMs will not be available. They key is essential for those people who wish to keep their LG phones for a longer duration because the phones will stop receiving updates in the future.

After exiting the mobile business by pulling the plug on its loss-making mobile division, LG said that it will provide three Android operating system updates for its premium smartphones that released in 2019. These phones include the LG G-series smartphones, LG V-series, LG Velvet, and the most recent LG Wing. Handsets belonging to the LG K-series will receive two OS updates as they were launched in 2020.

Moreover, LG also announced that it will be rolling out Android 12 OS update to select phones despite its exit from the smartphone business. It also said that the rollout will depend on Google's distribution schedule and the performance of individual models running the new software during testing. The South Korean company hasn't said which phones will get the update.