How to unlock the Lenovo bootloader

You just bought a new Android phone made by Lenovo. You are so happy and enthusiastic about it. Can’t wait to get your fingers on it to flash the latest LineageOS version? Can’t wait to get rid of the preinstalled bloatware, spyware, and proprietary spaghetti code on it? But wait, there is a surprise when you enable the developer options and go to the OEM unlocking menu. After registering an account with Lenovo, a message that you have 14 days to wait for pops up on the screen. Many came here because this thread on the XDA forums turned out useless for their case.

Is this guide working only with Lenovo P2 phones, or can I unlock other Lenovo android phones?

The guide is thoroughly tested and specially written for the Lenovo P2 device, but it can work for any other Lenovo phone. The main problem with the unlocking is the Lenovo server status, so here are some workarounds.

Waiting 14 days. Really?! Is there a shortcut?

You, my friend, are lucky to take the shortcut because I’ve already been there. I also have some bad and some good news. There is still no way to skip the 14-day waiting period. You think that’s bad, right? Wrong! People with Lenovo phones are having much more trouble than before and after the process. I will provide you with my Lenovo account so you can log in and try skipping the waiting period. I don’t promise it will work for every device, but it may work for Lenovo P2.

Lenovo 14 days unlock 08.01.2022 New Method

On Lenovo P2, try opening the dial app and type in the dial:
*#*#759#*#*

This will get you to a window where you can switch on to OEM mode manually. If this method doesn’t work for you, please read the information on this page till the end. This method was suggested by @Lukas in the comment section. If there you find any of those methods working for your case, please let the others know in the comments below. Thank you!

Lenovo 14 days unlock 03.12.2021 Method Update

  1. Reset and clean the memory from the recovery of the phone
  2. Download unlockrowapi-lenovo-com.pem and P2.cer  and extract them to your phone
  3. Tap on the certificates to install them
  4. Restart the phone and you should be on the 14 days screen
  5. If it doesn’t work anymore report it in the comments below so I can update the method
  6. If it works for you please let the others know that it still works!

After the bootloader is unlocked you should make a clean flash with a custom ROM and not trust the certificates provided anymore.

Error 1: I can’t get to the Bootloader unlocking screen with my e-mail account.

  • Solution 1:
  • Just use an e-mail that ends in Gmail.com, for example, [email protected]
  • Solution 2 INSTANT UNLOCK (SKIP 14 days WAITING!) (may work only with P2):
  • Use username: [email protected]
  • Use password: 1234567890
lenovo OEM ADM fastboot
Lenovo OEM ADM fast boot (bootloader unlock)

Please write a comment if these methods work for you! Please, before trying the second solution, try to register your account with Lenovo and provide the model of the device and the account credentials in the comments below to use so others can skip the 14 days waiting too. Just in case Lenovo decides to make them block the already published accounts. Remember, this account can’t be used for anything else later. It’s just for the OEM unlocking. It’s not useful even for their forum or any other service. Once you unlock the device, the account is useless.

Error 2: LenovoID without permission (SOLVED!)

The error says, “LenovoID without permission.” The network is unavailable, please check the status first. OK, this is another fault because of Lenovo. If you ping to the “Lenovo unlock server,” it returns a response. This means the server is online. What then? When debugging, you can see they didn’t renew their SSL, and now the connection isn’t secured.

lenovo id without permission
Lenovo id without permission

Solution:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Search “Automatic Date and Time Zone”
  3. Disable the automatic timezone
  4. Change your date to a date before 10th July
  5. ^This may not work in the future so try a random date from the past.

I am getting to the Bootloader, but it says I have to wait for 14 days.

You successfully tried all the steps above, but you are still stuck on this screen:

lenovo oem unlock screencapture
Please wait 14 days 0 hour 0 minute 0 second

If that’s the case, you should be thankful. Most people can’t even get here because of the Lenovo server faults. Lenovo’s forums are full of unhappy customers repeatedly asking the same questions, but their support does not pay attention to what’s written and what users want. Nobody will answer you in the forum for months, so don’t waste your time there.

If everything went well, you should see this message:

lenovo oem unlock screencapture
Lenovo OEM ADM fastboot

Server sync data success. Easy Solution (Fixed!)

Update 09.09.2020

I recently flashed another Lenovo P2 device, and I encountered the “Server sync data success” screen. You should log out of the existing account, register a new Lenovo account with another e-mail (Gmail, for example), and log in with that account. Just go to Settings -> Accounts, log out the existing version, register with a new e-mail, and you will skip the 14 days waiting period if they have already passed.

Server sync data success Lenovo
Server sync data success Lenovo OEM