Moto sets Droid X to brick itself if compromised

[Darkseider]

Do you really own your phone, or are you just renting it?

Easy. Rent. If you stop making monthly payments it will stop working.

You rent Verizons service. The phone itself can still be used as a glorified PMP without cell service. So how is it that Motorola's or Verizon's terms still apply? What if I bought the phone outright and wanted it solely as a PMP and to use on wifi? How would Motorola or Verizon justify the decision made to lock down the bootloader then? I really do think this whole locked bootloader thing may end up in court because of consumer rights and rights to property ownership. If I pay for a product it is mine to do with as I see fit. If by doing that I void a warranty so be it. It is my choice to make as the owner of the product not the manufacturers. They have the right to deny me warranty service based on these modifications but in no way should they be able to restrict me from making them.

EDIT: I don't like this one bit. The precedent being set by Motorola in this decision may have lasting repercussions to not only their products but other manufacturers. This cannot and should not be tolerated on any level. The fact that consumers, even informed ones, knowingly support this corporate behavior is disheartening.

 

[iPirate]

If their sales get hurt they might change their minds on Droid 2 or 3 or 4...

vote with your $ dancedroid

 

[czerdrill]

I do SipDroid and Google Voice. What about those that purchased the phone outright? What then? They still don't own it? What if they want to use it as a PMP only and through wifi? What then? Does Verizon or Motorola still dictate the terms and conditions?

No they wouldn't. Which is my point...so...again...what are we debating? If you want to use it with verizon you follow their rules. How many time can we beat this dead horse?

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Well by you saying they wouldn't does that mean that they would unlock my bootloader so I can modify MY device how I see fit? If not then it seems they are still forcing their terms upon me even though I have no contract with them. It is about consumer rights and ownership. Which is the point I am trying to make here. That's what you don't get. You don't own the phone if you are still made to abide by the rules set forth by both Motorola and Verizon.

you buy something knowing its limitations and its pros and cons, correct? if you bought a black and white TV are you going to be mad that it doesn't show color? if you buy a used car without a security system, are you going to be mad if it gets stolen and there was no alarm to warn you of it? i mean really? if you buy a Droid X you buy it knowing that the bootloader is encrypted. Motorola doesn't have to alter their product because you don't use Verizon service. You buy it as is, knowing full well (I hope) what you're buying.

Again, it goes back to entitlement. Motorola/Verizon don't owe you anything. they're putting out a product, and you're buying it. they don't promise you that you can load a custom rom, they dont advertise the customization capabilities, they don't swear that you will be able to decrypt the bootloader. It still makes no sense that you're asking for them to do something that goes against what their business rules dictate just because you bought their product. motorola doesn't try to hide the fact that the bootloader is encrypted, it doesn't surprise it's consumers who try to load a custom ROM only to find out the bootloader is encrypted. if you buy a droid x, you know (or you should know) that it's going to be a royal pain in the ___ to decrypt the bootloader. just because you bought it without a contract doesn't mean motorola has to change their product...how do you even ask this question...it's frankly odd that you'd expect them to do that.

it'll get cracked when someone on the inside releases a leak. no dev is going to decrypt it by themself, trust me. we'll all get a leak, and that's just what it is. motorola is not going to decrypt it for you when you cancel your contract just because you want them to.

 

[mikeofmikes83]

No they wouldn't. Which is my point...so...again...what are we debating? If you want to use it with verizon you follow their rules. How many time can we beat this dead horse?

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Well by you saying they wouldn't does that mean that they would unlock my bootloader so I can modify MY device how I see fit? If not then it seems they are still forcing their terms upon me even though I have no contract with them. It is about consumer rights and ownership. Which is the point I am trying to make here. That's what you don't get. You don't own the phone if you are still made to abide by the rules set forth by both Motorola and Verizon.

you buy something knowing its limitations and its pros and cons, correct? if you bought a black and white TV are you going to be mad that it doesn't show color? if you buy a used car without a security system, are you going to be mad if it gets stolen and there was no alarm to warn you of it? i mean really? if you buy a Droid X you buy it knowing that the bootloader is encrypted. Motorola doesn't have to alter their product because you don't use Verizon service. You buy it as is, knowing full well (I hope) what you're buying.

Again, it goes back to entitlement. Motorola/Verizon don't owe you anything. they're putting out a product, and you're buying it. they don't promise you that you can load a custom rom, they dont advertise the customization capabilities, they don't swear that you will be able to decrypt the bootloader. It still makes no sense that you're asking for them to do something that goes against what their business rules dictate just because you bought their product. motorola doesn't try to hide the fact that the bootloader is encrypted, it doesn't surprise it's consumers who try to load a custom ROM only to find out the bootloader is encrypted. if you buy a droid x, you know (or you should know) that it's going to be a royal pain in the ___ to decrypt the bootloader. just because you bought it without a contract doesn't mean motorola has to change their product...how do you even ask this question...it's frankly odd that you'd expect them to do that.

it'll get cracked when someone on the inside releases a leak. no dev is going to decrypt it by themself, trust me. we'll all get a leak, and that's just what it is. motorola is not going to decrypt it for you when you cancel your contract just because you want them to.

...And that is how you win the game...

 

[OneTenderRebel]

I think people don't realize how small our modding community is in comparison to total phone sales. I would be willing to bet we make up less than 1% of smartphone owners. Which is why, if this the brick thing is true, this will never be an issue for moto or any other manufacturer who decides to lock down their phones. It sucks to think about but as of right now big business could absolutely care less about modding because quite frankly they are not making money off of it. People who think that by the modding community boycotting a phone or network are actually going to hurt these companies are sadly delusional, I truly mean no offense by that, it's just the truth.

 

[czerdrill]

I think people don't realize how small our modding community is in comparison to total phone sales. I would be willing to bet we make up less than 1% of smartphone owners. Which is why, if this the brick thing is true, this will never be an issue for moto or any other manufacturer who decides to lock down their phones. It sucks to think about but as of right now big business could absolutely care less about modding because quite frankly they are not making money off of it. People who think that by the modding community boycotting a phone or network are actually going to hurt these companies are sadly delusional, I truly mean no offense by that, it's just the truth.

+1. people are putting too much worth into this thing. even if we are 10% of smartphone owners (which we're not), a multimillion dollar company is not going to cater to the demands of people who use their product against the way they intended it to be used. i'm just amazed that people out there think that a company owes them something, or promised or guaranteed them something which they didnt. it's one thing if motorola promised customization and then threw an encrypted bootloader on there and blindsided all the people waiting to ROM and theme their X.

nothing was implied, nothing was expressed by Motorola/Verizon that the X would be able to be rooted, ROM-ed or anything else. to complain about the difficulty of doing so and saying Motorola/Verizon needs to be bought to court, is quite possibly the stupidest thing i ever heard.

 

[Quicksilver7714]

For starters I would like to say that you own the phone but rent Verizons service. That being said i think that the locked down bootloader is going a little extreme. The only way i can see the X being rooted is if someone leaks the efuse encryption. I am disappointed that Motorola chose this path but that's their choice not mine. (Its like me trying to tell Microsoft to not include IE with windows because I hate it.) I will patiently wait for the Droid 2 and hope that they leave that phone less restricted, more like the original.

 

[Breezer23]

This is most certainly Verizon's doing, I have no doubt about that. I'm sure it has a lot to do with broken Droids (warranty claims) being returned do to misused rooting access. Do what I did - Upgrade but pay a little extra and do the one year contract!
-Travis

 

[floyd]

As an example, Droid modders probably make up between 5 and 10% of the user community.

But their huge power as market influencers, especially on tech blogs, cannot be denied.

In any case, savvy folks will bide their time and vote with their dollars as the drama resolves.

Interesting that verizon has a virtual monopoly on reliable coverage in nyc and the bay area, though.

I have no worries that cool hackable phones that rival the original droid will be soon on the market.

What verizon is finding a tough time realizing is that these gadgets are no longer phones, but full fledged internet connected computers. And the sooner the unwashed masses realize this, the better it is for all.

Vote with your dollars. On the other, hand you should feel no small shame in bending over, unlubricated, and calling Motorizon yo Daddy.

 

[mikeofmikes83]

All right everybody calm down!!! I have a three part plan thats gonna fix everything!!!

1. Take a look at this article: Is Motorola's Droid X in danger of self-destructing? - Computerworld Blogs

2. Let me sum it up for you. Motorola themselves stated tht the efuses are not there to brick the phone if you install custom stuff; they are there to be sure that code that meets their requirements is only executed. If you try to do something that doesn't, the phone will crap out...then you just have to put the "good" stuff back on, and your fine. Cyanogen himself says that its just a matter of time. So everybody, calm the eff down, they got this. lol

3. Sleep easy knowing that you do infact own your phone. If you don't pay the bill, no ones going to repo it. Let me make a simple analogy: You own your car, you can do what you want with it...but if you try to put a muffler, where the car expects there to be an alternator, your cars not going to work.

*applause* thank you, thank you, really, its nothing, thank you

Someone around here asked when/if this debate was going to end, to which I responded "when someone puts their foot in their mouth" Tastes like defeet doesn't it? lol just playin around, just j/k

 

[mikeofmikes83]

Lol droid x is now rooted my friends, breath easy, and please no more chicken little-isms

 

[floyd]

Lol droid x is now rooted my friends, breath easy, and please no more chicken little-isms

And hows that minor issue of a locked bootloader working out for them? Ah well, at least the smarter owners will eventually be able to put "familiarity with command line linux" on their resumes.

 

[mikeofmikes83]

Just like with Rooting the droidx. people where worried that it couldnt be done, and now its done. Just a matter of time before the bootloader is cracked too.