An unlockable bootloader of an electronic device may be unlocked by a user of the electronic device using a sanctioned bootloader unlocking process. An eligibility check may be performed through an interaction between the device and at least one network node(s) to determine whether a user of the electronic device is eligible to unlock the bootloader of the electronic device. If eligible, the user can provide user input to unlock the bootloader, causing the device to send an acknowledgement to the network, and, in response, the device receives a token from the network node. Upon receipt of the token, the electronic device can perform a first reboot, unlock the bootloader using the token, and perform a second reboot into the operating system with an unlocked bootloader. Due to the device-network interactions during the sanctioned bootloader unlocking process, one or more protection measures can be implemented, such as disabling software updates.