How to enable missing OEM Unlock on Galaxy S8, S9 and Note 8

There’s an OEM Unlock option on the Android phones running Android Lollipop and higher. This feature was introduced the Android OS to discourage the users from customizing their phones. All the smartphone manufacturers have this option hidden inside the developer options. Samsung has also added this feature in all of its Samsung Galaxy handsets running Android 5.0 and higher. In case you are wondering why this feature wasn’t there in the previous versions of Android, that’s because Google improves the security with every new version of Android. Google realized the need for the OEM Unlock when it released the Android Lollipop.

If you wish to root your phone, install a custom recovery and a custom ROM, you have to enable the OEM Unlock before going ahead. Generally, the OEM Unlock option is hidden in developer options and to enable developer options, you simply have to tap the build number in software settings for 7 times. This workaround enables the developer options and then you can open the developer options to enable OEM Unlock. Unfortunately, this procedure is no longer the same for some of the Samsung Galaxy handsets including the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy Note 8.

When you try to locate the OEM Unlock under developer options on a brand new phone, you will end up finding no such feature. I am not sure why Samsung removed the OEM Unlock option from the phone. The users who have reported this so far are the ones who tried to enable it on their brand new phone. It turns out that the feature is there, but it takes about a week to appear.

This means, Samsung just wants to stop its users from modifying the new phone right away. The South Koren giant wants you to give the phones a 7-day run before you unleash its real potential. However, there’s still a number of users who are unable to get this feature even after 7 days. So, what to do in this situation? Well, I’m here to help you with that.

Enable missing OEM Unlock on Galaxy S8, S9 and Note 8

While setting up a new phone, Samsung asks you to set up a Google Account and a Samsung Account. If you have already added both these accounts, the OEM Unlock option will appear after 7 days. If you skipped adding accounts at the startup, you are not going to get the option even after 7 days.

So, to enable missing OEM Unlock on Galaxy S8, S9 and Note 8, you simply have to go to Settings > Cloud and accounts > Add your Samsung account and sync it with your phone. Similarly, go to Settings > Google > Add your google account. Now wait for 7 days and the option will pop up under developer options. To enable developer options, you have to go to Settings > About phone > Software Information > Tap the build number for 7 times. You will get developer options in Settings now.

So, that’s how you can enable the missing OEM Unlock on Samsung Galaxy phones. Samsung uses your Samsung account to roll out this feature on active phones. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below.