As of early 2026, the situation for Zenfone 9 owners remains a point of deep frustration in the tech community:

The ASUS Zenfone 9 is a compact powerhouse. It’s one of the last few flagships that fits comfortably in one hand, featuring a headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and near-stock Android. However, for enthusiasts, developers, and privacy advocates, the true potential of the Zenfone 9 remains locked behind a digital door—the .

The Zenfone 9 community uses . Check the XDA Developers forum for the latest TWRP image for the Zenfone 9.

When the Zenfone 9 launched, it was hailed by the enthusiast community as the ultimate "small" flagship. One of its biggest draws for power users was the ability to unlock the bootloader—a standard feature that allowed owners to install custom ROMs, flash specialized kernels, and truly own their hardware. For a time, ASUS provided an official "Unlock Device App" that made this process straightforward. The Great Lockdown

: Certain apps that rely on high-level security (like banking apps, Netflix HD, or Google Pay) may stop working or require complex workarounds like Magisk/Play Integrity Fix.