Verizon launched the Galaxy S III alongside other carriers like AT&T earlier this year but there was one key difference between their phone and other offerings: the bootloader was locked. Verizon did this because they don’t want users customizing the phone on their network; something they believe could ultimately prevent them from providing quality customer support or worse, impact the user experience for other customers.
Samsung came to the rescue last month by offering Big Red customers a special developer edition of the Galaxy S III through their developer portal. It’s a valid workaround that even got Verizon’s approval but the non subsidized $599 price tag likely puts it out of reach for many buyers.
But now if you have Linux or OS X, you can do the deed all by yourself as the encrypted bootloader has been unlocked. There’s a complete list of instructions at xda-developers or you can simply watch the video above for step-by-step instructions on how to do it.
With the insecure bootloader in place, users can now perform a number of tasks such as rooting the phone, installing hacking tools and flashing CWM recovery, just to name a few.
Keep in mind of course that should you brick your phone in the process or at any point afterwards due to the mod, you are out of luck as it won’t be covered under warranty. Of course, this same policy pertains to the special developer edition as well so proceed with caution.
