As a result, it seems like the only way to have a chance at unlocking such Pixel phones, which have been made by a US company and purchased from a US carrier, is to pay someone in China and hope for the best. It has gotten that far.
That reminds me of the right-to-repair article about patched John Deere firmware created by Ukrainian hackers.
It wouldn't surprise me that China has the same skills. I remember coming across a lot of products made to unlock/unbrick Apple's products too, although that was many years ago and I'm not sure if they've gotten through Apple's security for the newer models yet --- and it wouldn't surprise me if they knew but won't easily disclose.
That reminds me of the right-to-repair article about patched John Deere firmware created by Ukrainian hackers.
It wouldn't surprise me that China has the same skills. I remember coming across a lot of products made to unlock/unbrick Apple's products too, although that was many years ago and I'm not sure if they've gotten through Apple's security for the newer models yet --- and it wouldn't surprise me if they knew but won't easily disclose.