The Moto G in fastboot. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Ready to install custom ROMs, recoveries, and other third-party tweaks on your 2014 Moto G? Then the first thing you’re going to need to do is unlock its bootloader. Fortunately, Motorola makes this incredibly easy — just follow the steps below to free your handset from its shackles.

You can upgrade your Nexus 4 to Lollipop manually. Image: Cult of Android

If you don’t want to wait another day for Google to roll out the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade for your Nexus 4, why not grab the firmware package yourself and flash it manually? The process is actually much simpler than it sounds; you don’t need to root your handset or unlock its bootloader, and all of your data will remain intact.

If you fancy giving it a go, check out the step-by-step guide below.

The Developer edition of Galaxy Note 4 will come with an unlockable bootloader. Photo: Samsung

Just like every other device that hits the Verizon networks, the Galaxy Note 4 also comes with a locked down bootloader, which makes gaining root access and flashing custom ROMs on it a challenging task. 

Don’t unlock your Xperia Z3 Compact’s bootloader if you don’t have to. Photo: Sony

You may want to think twice about unlocking your Xperia Z3 Compact’s bootloader if camera quality is important to you. Sony has warned developers that hacking their devices could degrade camera performance in low light, making images look noticeably worse than they did before.

The Team Win Recovery Project custom recovery now provides official support for the first Android Wear smartwatches from Samsung and LG. The release gives Gear Live and G Watch users the ability to flash custom ROMs and other tweaks, make complete ROM backups, and more.