Last year it was revealed that Android Pay would not work on devices with unlocked bootloaders. It has been speculated that this could be due to security reasons, which makes sense especially when you consider that this is dealing with credit cards and personal financial information.
If you were hoping that Android Pay for Android Wear 2.0 would be more lax, think again. According to Android Police, it seems that if your phone has an unlocked bootloader, it will affect Android Pay for Android Wear in the sense that it will not work. It does not matter if your Android Wear device has not been modified, as long as your phone’s bootloader is unlocked and they are synced, it’s a no-go.
When asked if this would be a permanent thing, Google has indicated to Android Police that it will be, and that it has to do with the requirements set forth by payment networks, which once again like we mentioned above, makes sense given that no one likes having their financial information stolen or put at potential risk.
However as Android Police points out, re-locking your bootloader will fix it, but it also means having to wipe your device which is why there are some users who might have unlocked bootloaders for a long time and who might not be too eager to wipe it, but we guess this is the situation for now.
Filed in . Read more about Android, Android Pay, Android Wear and Security.