Does Rooting or Unlocking Void Your Android Phone’s Warranty?
Many Android tweaking and hacking guides warn that you’ll void your warranty by continuing. But will you actually be denied repair service if you’ve rooted or unlocked your bootloader?
This is a tough question to answer. There’s what manufacturers say in warranty agreements, what’s actually enforceable in court, and what manufacturers actually do when it’s time to get warranty service. We’re no legal experts, but we’ll answer this question from our own experiences and what we’ve heard.
NOTE: Keep in mind that we’re talking about rooting your phone or unlocking its bootloader–not unlocking it from your carrier. Most carriers will unlock your phone to use it on another network for you, which never voids your warranty. Unlocking your bootloader is a different beast.
What Does the Manufacturer Say?
Manufacturers are often eager to say any sort of unapproved software modification will void your warranty in the fine print. The rules are often different for Nexus devices or “Developer Edition” devices, even if manufacturers don’t really really spell it out. Here’s an unusual example of a Motorola representative clarifying the issue a bit in a public forum:“The new (2015) Moto X Pure is not a developer edition, so unlocking the bootloader does void the warranty…
To sum up and clarify:
Unlocking the bootloader will show your warranty as void.
However, if an unrelated physical material failure should occur, such as a bad volume rocker or a failed speaker, it will be covered if the phone shows no signs of physical abuse. The key is that the problem can’t be traced to software or abuse…
The above guidelines are applicable in the US only. Policies differ by region/country.”
