It didn’t take long at all, but the BLU R1 HD that Amazon is selling subsidized for $49.99 has received the full modding treatment. The phone’s bootloader has been unlocked and it has been rooted with TWRP installed. Even though it’s possible to remove the phone’s lock screen ads without rooting, the modding community has taken it further and debloated the deivce by fully removing all pre-installed Amazon apps and ads. Additionally, Xposed has already been installed and it’s likely that custom ROMs will follow.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive phone to play around with, you can’t really beat the BLU R1 HD, now that the modding community around it is in full swing. Although, I would recommend spending the extra $10 for the 16GB storage & 2GB RAM model to get double the storage and RAM for not much more.
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
Will this work on Sprint?
No. If you click through to the Amazon page, you’ll see there is no support for Verizon or Sprint.
Only carriers with Sim Card.
You should fix your comment to be more accurate.
I can’t say I am thrilled by this news. I hope it doesn’t impact Amazon/BLUs decision in offering more subsidized phones in the future.
most people will not go through with rooting this. I would think those users will be in the minority. I could be wrong…
Nice. Just ordered one. I’ve been looking for a cheap unlocked phone that I could use when I travel to Thailand. This should work out nicely.
Not for LTE it wont
Why not? The phone says “4G LTE plus GSM unlocked for your favorite compatible carrier or for international travel” Sounds like LTE works just fine to me…
“BLU R1 HD supports with 4G LTE bands 2(1900MHz), 4(1700 MHz), 7(2600 MHz) and 17(2100MHz) and 3G bands 850/1700/1900/2100.”
Thailand Networks:
AIS has 3G/DC-HSPA on 900 and 2100 MHz and started in 2016 with 4G/LTE Advanced called “4.5G” on 1800 and 2100 MHz
dtac has the largest 3G spectrum: 3G/DC-HSPA on 850 and 2100 MHz and 4G/LTE on 1800 and 2100 MHz.
TrueMove H has 3G/DC-HSPA on 850 and 2100 MHz 3G/DC-HSPA and the largest 4G/LTE spectrum on 850, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz
TOT: is on 3G/HSPA on 2100 MHz and plans 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz 4G/LTE and 2300 MHz TDD-LTE.
Both 3G & 4G/LTE should work according to this information.
That’s all I needed to hear. Purchased through your link, E. Thanks!
As much as I’ve enjoyed tinkering with Amazon’s hardware (tablets and phone) and subverting their proprietary OS, I would probably leave this phone mostly alone if I were to purchase it. At most I might root it, but I would probably leave the Amazon apps where they are. I might even leave the ads alone, as I don’t mind the opportunity to get a deal from Amazon. This phone actually seems like a good compromise between what Amazon wants and what most end users want. Amazon wants people using their apps and purchasing their stuff; end users generally want more of a stock Android experience with access to the Google Play Store. This phone accomplishes both of those things without my having to do anything on my end. I left most of the Amazon apps on both of my rooted tablets alone, because I like having easy access to my Amazon account and services. I may actually purchase this phone just because it’s so cheap. It’s nice to know that I can tinker with it should I choose to do so, but I probably won’t.
Agreed, I’ll be rooting mine, but leaving the Amazon Apps as I’d be installing them myself if they weren’t already there. I will be removing the Ads however… I don’t care how “unobtrusive” they may or may not be… unless the phone was given to me for FREE, I shouldn’t be forced to see Ads in anything I’ve paid money for.
True. The phone wasn’t free, but you did receive a substantial discount when buying it and were given the opportunity to purchase the non-ad version so you really weren’t “forced” to do anything. Almost nothing is ever truly free. That real estate on your home screen for ads did pay for half of the phone. I, for one, am thankful to be able to get such a nice device at a low monetary cost. We always pay in some way. It’s business.