Google FRP is the new "Brick" — Are we just okay with this?
I’m currently staring at a perfectly good Pixel 8 Pro that I picked up from a local liquidator, and I’m about five seconds away from using it as a coaster.
It’s stuck on the Google FRP (Factory Reset Protection) screen. The original owner obviously wiped it without removing their account first, and now, even with a clean IMEI and a legit bill of sale, I'm completely locked out.
It’s wild to me that "security" has evolved into "forced obsolescence." I tried the usual YouTube "hacks"—tapping the keyboard 50 times, trying to trigger the accessibility menu—but Google has patched almost all those old bypasses in the latest security updates. I even reached out to the liquidator, but they just shrugged and said "sold as is."
I finally spent a few hours last night digging through some Android dev forums. Most people were saying the only way to actually save these devices from becoming e-waste is to use specialized software that can talk to the bootloader. I actually saw a few guys mention using DroidKit to handle FRP bypasses on Samsung and Pixel phones when you're stuck in this specific loop.
It worked, and the phone is finally usable, but it feels like we shouldn't have to jump through these "grey area" hoops just to reuse a device we legally own.
Does anyone else feel like FRP has gone too far? I get that it stops thieves, but when it’s this hard for a legit second-hand buyer to reset a phone, we're just creating mountains of high-tech trash. Is there a better way to handle this without relying on 3rd party toolkits?
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