Earlier this week, we reported that the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 had a locked bootloader, and that meant it would be unlikely we would ever see custom ROMs like CyanogenMod for the new Android flagship. But just days later, developers have already successfully unlocked the bootloader.

They won’t be releasing the unlock to the public for another month, however.

Fans became concerned that they wouldn’t be able to install custom ROMs on the AT&T Galaxy S4 when it became apparent that it shipped with a locked bootloader. Steve Kondik, founder of CyanogenMod, took to Google+ to advise potential buyers that they may wish to grab the device on another carrier if they were interested in hacking it.

But just 48 hours later, the locked bootloader has been unlocked. Dan Rosenberg, a member of the XDA Developers forum, posted a picture of his Galaxy S4 (above) on Twitter displaying the text “Samsung Galaxy S4 booloader hacked by Dan Rosenberg.”

He later clarified in an XDA post that it was an AT&T variant of the device. But Rosenberg won’t be releasing his hack to the public just yet. Instead, he’s going to wait a month until the Verizon Galaxy S4 becomes available. Why? Because it’s thought this will come with an locked bootloader, too, and Rosenberg’s hoping his hack will also work on that model.

“It is highly likely this will also work on the Verizon model, but since I don’t have one I’m unable to test at this time,” he said. With that being the case, the hack will have to wait until this has been clarified.

This is great news for current and future Galaxy S4 owners who are interested in installing custom ROMs and other tweaks on their device, and it quashes any concerns that AT&T may have prevented this practice completely.

• SourceXDA Developers
• ViaAndroid Community