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How to Relock the Bootloader on Asus Devices

In this guide, we will show you the steps to relock the bootloader on your Asus phone. The devices from Asus have a niche segment of a loyal fanbase. Not only its ever so popular gaming series ROG but even the generic Zenfones are quite popular among the masses. Being able to checkmark all the prerequisites without creating a hole in your pockets, well there’s nothing much left to ask for. Moreover, these devices are quite an active players in custom development.

Be it for flashing custom ROMs, installing a custom recovery, or gaining administrative access by rooting your device via Magisk, the possibilities stand endless. However, carrying out these tweaks has a few downsides as well. For example, you might not be able to use banking and payment apps due to the tripping of Safetynet [unless you pass SafetyNet]. Likewise, the WideVine L1 Certification will be degraded to L3.

This will result in your inability to watch DRM protected connected [such as Netflix] in full HD. Not to mention the fact that a custom environment will always have a few additional bugs in comparison with its stock ecosystem. So in all these scenarios, the best bet is to return to the stock OS by removing all the mods and subsequently relocking the bootloader on your Asus phone. And in this guide, we will show you how to do just that. Follow along.

How to Relock the Bootloader on Asus Devices

relock bootloader asus

The below process will wipe off all the data from your device, so take a complete device backup beforehand. Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.

STEP 1: Remove all Modules and Root

First and foremost, you will have to unroot your device, uninstall all the modules, and remove custom ROM and recovery. While you could do each of these tasks individually, but a shorter path will be to simply factory reset the device and then flash the stock firmware.

relock bootloader asus

STEP 2: Install Android SDK

install adb platform tools windows

First and foremost, you will have to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is the official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google and is the only recommended one. So download it and then extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Doing so will give you the platform-tools folder, which will be used throughout this guide.

STEP 3: Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking

Next up, you will have to enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on your device. The former will make your device recognizable by the PC in ADB mode. This will then allow you to boot your device to Fastboot Mode. On the other hand, OEM Unlocking is required to carry out the bootloader locking process.

relock bootloader asus

So head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking.

STEP 4: Boot Nothing Phone 1 to Fastboot Mode

  1. Connect your device to the PC via a USB cable. Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
  2. Then head over to the platform-tools folder, type in CMD in the address bar, and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt.command-prompt-inside-adb
  3. Type in the following command in the CMD window to boot your device to Fastboot Mode
    adb reboot bootloader

    relock bootloader asus

  4. Now type in the below command to verify the Fastboot Connection
    fastboot devices

    relock bootloader asus

  5. If you get a device ID followed by the fastboot keyword, then the connection stands successful and you may now proceed ahead to relock the bootloader on your Asus device.

STEP 4: Relock the Bootloader on Asus Device

  1. There is no specific single command to relock the bootloader that will work for all the Asus devices. You will have to try each of the below commands one by one until one of them spells out success for you. Make sure to execute the commands in the CMD window that is opened in the platform-tools folder.
    fastboot oem asus-back
    fastboot oem asus-csc_lk
    fastboot flashing lock
    fastboot flashing lock_critical
    fastboot oem lock
    fastboot oem lock_critical
    fastboot flash !frp-partition! default_key.bin
    fastboot oem asus-lock
  2. You may now get a confirmation message on your device.
  3. Use the Volume keys to select the Relock the Bootloader option and hit the Power key to confirm it.
  4. The device will undergo a reset and then the bootloader will be relocked.
  5. Do keep in mind that the first boot might take up to a minute, this is completely normal.
  6. Furthermore, you will have to log in to Google ID and set up your device from scratch, since a wipe has taken place.

That’s it. These were the steps to relock the bootloader on your Asus device. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.


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