How to Unlock Bootloader on LG V20 US996 (US Variant)

Most of the OEMs usually lock the bootloader on their Android devices to prevent unauthorized access to system partitions. LG, like the other major biggies, locked the bootloader on its LG V20 variant. Although unlocking bootloader on LG V20 doesn’t directly contribute to device functionality, it will allow us to unleash the device’s true potential. Thankfully, LG USA has finally extended support for LG V20 US996 variant to its official bootloader unlock tool. So, you can finally unlock bootloader on LG V20 US996 and explore the device in depth.

Once the bootloader is unlocked, you can root your device to remove bloatware and add some more functionality to your device. You can also flash a custom recovery like TWRP to flash custom ROMs or for taking nandroid backups. So, if you want to unleash your device’s true potential, you need to unlock the bootloader first. It’s quite easy to unlock bootloader on LG V20 US996, but you need to ensure you do everything correct. Also, you need to go through some steps and use few ADB commands to get there. We have laid out a detailed guide for you to easily unlock bootloader on LG V20 US996.

Prerequisites

• Go to Settings » About phone » Build number and tap it 7 times to enable Developer options on your device. Then go back to Settings » Developer options and enable USB Debugging and OEM unlocking.
• Download the Minimal ADB and Fasboot Setup and install it on your computer.
• Install LG smartphone drivers on your PC.
• Sign up on LG Developer website. Go to this link and register for LG Developer Membership.
• Backup important files on your device to a safe place as unlocking the bootloader will format your entire device.
• Make sure you have enough charge on your device before starting the process.

How to Unlock Bootloader on LG V20 US996

Before we proceed with unlocking the bootloader, you need to get the bootloader unlock.bin file from LG. Follow the below instructions to get the unlock.bin file from LG website.

Download unlock.bin File

1. Visit this link and fill in your device information form.
2. In the device information page, you need to fill information like IMEI number, device model (US996) and device ID. So, let’s gather the necessary information.
3. IMEI: To get the IMEI of your device, open the dialer app and dial *#06# to get the IMEI.
4. Device ID: To get the device ID, you need to reboot your device to bootloader mode. Connect your device to PC, open CMD prompt and enter the below command to boot your V20 into bootloader mode.

   adb reboot bootloader

   └ You may need to authorize USB debugging on the phone if you’re using it for the first time.

5. Once your phone is in bootloader mode, use the below command to get your unique Device ID code:

   fastboot oem device-id

   You’ll get a unique device ID something like below.

   (bootloader)-----------------------------------------------------------------
   (bootloader) Device-ID
   (bootloader) CD58B679A38D6B613ED518FC7A05B013
   (bootloader) F93190BD558261CBAC5584ECEF8789B1
   (bootloader)-----------------------------------------------------------------

6. Combine both the rows in the above step to get your device ID. So, the device ID for above output will be:

   CD58B679A38D6B613ED518FC7A05B013F93190BD558261CBAC5584ECEF8789B1

7. Finally, fill in the necessary details on the LG website and submit the form.

You will now receive a mail with the unlock.bin file attached.

Unlock Bootloader on LG V20 US996

1. Download the unlock.bin file on your PC and place it in the same folder where you’ve installed ADB & Fastboot files.
2. Navigate to the folder where you’ve extracted the ADB and Fastboot files and open a command prompt by pressing Shift + Right-click on any empty space inside the folder and select Open command window here from the context menu.
3. Use the below command to reboot your device to bootloader/fastboot mode (if you’re not already in bootloader mode).

   adb reboot bootloader

4. Now, use the below command to flash the unlock.bin file and unlock the bootloader on your LG V20.

   fastboot flash unlock unlock.bin

5. To verify if the bootloader is unlocked successfully, use the below command.

   fastboot getvar unlocked

   You should get “unlocked: YES” as the output which confirms that the bootloader is unlocked.

6. Finally, reboot the device using the below command.

    fastboot reboot

That’s it, folks!!! As your device is formatted, you’ll need to set up your LG V20 from scratch.