Since we pay off devices we should be able to unlock the bootloader.

Dvalin21 wrote:

That's not necessarily true. Like I said before, the ATT version has been unlocked, rooted, and custom roms installed. Which of course is not the Chinese version. The carrier is responsible for the firmware that comes out on the carrier locked phones which the carrier can allow for them to be unlocked in the firmware. Even the non carrier locked samsungs can be unlocked. The answer is not that I should go buy a pixel. The answer should be that it's my device and I should have to go buy a different one just to do what I want with what I paid for already. Be sides, these are the same companies that talk so much about protecting the environment. How much more environmentally friendly could you be to allow oem unlock so that phones that could still be used past the time the company stop doing updates don't end up as e-waste? Simply it's about the money. Samsung, among others, are notorious for sending updates to hinder devices to for you to upgrade. I don't see this any differently as they can say it's "for your good" Tmo is not going to say too much about it as it would mean they would keep making money on you having to upgrade. 

As I pointed since the S6 with the release of Samsung Pay the Snapdragon version has NEVER been officially unlock ANYWHERE other than China.  XDA will even verify this.  What you may be finding about AT&T and unlocked bootloaders is from the S5 and below.  

From 2 years ago AT&T Forums - Nothing on AT&T can be unlocked

https://forums.att.com/conversations/phone-device-upgrades/bootloader-unlock/617798ea3a5e841cb234a81d 

From Samsung forums snapdragon versions US variants including unlocked. No unlockable bootloaders

https://r1.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-s/unlock-the-bootloader/td-p/23973917

Also Just because you don't get updates doesn't magically break the device, and they are perfectly usable…  I can a phones that are on older versions of the OS and work perfectly fine even after a decade even if they are on older versions of Android(I have device still on Oreo).  I find it amusing no one complains about Apple pushing out updates without actually adding certain features to their older iPhones.  Android OEM's could do the same.  It's up to them to do so.  It's their products and they chose not to.  Rest of the world it's the OEM, but in the US it's the carriers.  Carriers overseas do test updates just like here.

The prices set for devices, and carriers don't pay for devices like you think they do.  Carriers would rather NOT sell devices.  Back when there was 2 year contracts did you know if you didn't upgrade devices they'd make more money per month than when you upgraded?  Carriers used devices as a lossless product to get contracts.  Much like gaming consoles are lossless products.  Ironically IF people bought them unlocked and not from carriers would actually be better and devices will be supported better.  That's for another debate…