You have Microsoft’s blessing to root the Surface Duo - Android

There’s some good news for those buying the $1,400 Microsoft Surface Duo. In addition to the fact that the dual-screen Android device will receive three years of OS updates, Microsoft has also confirmed (h/t XDA Developers) that it’ll have an unlockable bootloader.

This means that you will be able to gain root access to the device, flash custom ROMs on it, mod it, play around with hidden features, and more. Microsoft, however, has not confirmed if unlocking the bootloader will void the warranty or not.

We’ll also have to wait and watch what the modding community comes up with for the Surface Duo. It’s an expensive device to buy and you wouldn’t want to tinker around with rooting unless it’s worth it. Unlocking the bootloader of a phone is a bit of a gamble. If done incorrectly, you could end up with a bricked phone, or a device stuck on bootloop.

Nevertheless, it’s good to see Microsoft giving that option to users. Smartphone manufacturers are increasingly tightening security on their devices, and finding phones that you can root or modify to your heart’s content is becoming less common by the day. So who’s thinking of installing Windows 10 on the Surface Duo?

Also read: Here’s why the $1,399 Surface Duo doesn’t have NFC