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Verizon Support: A Device With an Unlocked Bootloader Cannot Be Activated on Our Network

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[Update]: All’s well that ends well, folks. Disregard everything you see below and click here.

Following some good news from HTC’s Peter Chou that states they’ll no longer be locking down their bootloaders in future phones, one curious soul sought to clarify something with Verizon on Twitter – can we use phones with unlocked bootloaders on Verizon’s network? Their answer was quite odd, to say the least:

No, a device with an unlocked bootloader cannot be activated on the Verizon Wireless network. *RB

Funny, that, considering the HTC Incredible (the original), the Motorola DROID (the original), the HTC Eris and the Samsung Fascinate have both had their bootloaders unlocked and those who’ve done it are using those devices on Verizon’s network just fine. Of course, trying to fit an answer inside 140 characters is difficult and some packets could be lost in their need to cut down on ze words.

Verizon could be saying a couple of different things here, for all we know. They could either mean devices will not be sold unlocked out of the box or they could mean they won’t carry devices with unlockable bootloaders. In any case, it’s always important to discern between locked, encrypted bootloaders, and locked bootloaders with encrypted keys.

We’ve contacted our Verizon rep about this one, of course, so we’ll try to get the clear and complete answer from them. Sit tight, folks. [Thanks Bryan!]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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65 Comments

  1. Your the best Verizon, thank you. /s

  2. Also Quentyn what does “ze” mean???

    1. ze = hiel **tler

  3. hello little at&t.

  4. Congratulation Verizon, you just won the “Douchebag of the day” award

  5. This is likely some idiot making statements that he doesn’t know the answer to. Hopefully htc and their recently revised BL policy applies to all no handsets and is retroactive in unlocking bootloaders in the Dinc 2, and EVO 3D.

    1. Doubt it. Given Verizon’s track record with the hacker community and the way they just love to nickle and dime their customers this is par for the course for them.

  6. Well then. I guess I really am switching to Sprint. Verizon is so stuck up now because they carry the iPhone.

    1. This has nothing to do with the iphone…

  7. This is why I have the iPhone. 

    1. No uber control by the carrier or Apple, 

      1. I don’t worry about the carriers when it comes to the iPhone, I worry about Apple.

      2. Hahhahahahaha, Apple is all ABOUT control, doofus.

      3. Facetime chat only over wi-fi… does that sound familiar? Additional costs to use mobile hot-spot… does that sound familiar?  And if you’re talking about carrier bloatware… Nexus phones are untouched.

    2. Right.   Let us know when you replace the ROM on that.

  8. So you can’t activate an unlocked phone on verizon. Sounds simple enough, that just means phones with the bootloaders automatically unlocked.

    Says nothing about devices that are unlockable once activated. 

    This person most likely didn’t understand the question.

  9. Sounds like bs to me

  10. This is a mistake. What the Verizon rep meant is that you can’t put a SIM-unlocked phone on their network as they are not GSM-UMTS.
    I bet he doesn’t even know what a boot loader is.

    1. oops I guess my whole rant about their old OBEX ordeal and greed will just confuse him.

  11. im using htc incredible running cm7, does my bootloader unlocked?

  12. Nothing like people jumping the gun until there’s some clarification. Basing your response on a tweet is just dumb.

  13. It really is time for 1) consumers to stop allowing carriers to do whatever they hell they want, and 2) for the FTC to regulate them exactly the same as landline providers.  They aren’t allowed to restrict what phones you use with their service and neither should wireless providers be able to!

    1. FCC has no, say, move away from the dark world of CDMA and go GSM, then you can for the most part use what you want.

  14. Verizon is YUK

    1. Don’t you have a bridge to crawl under?

  15. My Penis is _________________ this big

    1. Thats kinda small, and no girth to it at all.

      1. hilarious

      2. haha South Park

      3. In your mouth or up ur bum?…. (im sorry I don’t usually troll but its boring at work)

        1. Penile dental floss? ewwwwwwwww. O_o

  16. I think this is just miscommunication. they probably think the person meant unlocked devices – as in not carrier locked. I hope to hear some clarification before I decide yo drop Verizon.

  17. I can hear Nelson from the Simpsons….. HAAA–HAAA

  18. I think whoever tweeted that really had no idea what a bootloader is…

    1. That’s okay.   If we raise enough of a fuss about it, VZW will have to come out and make a statement one way or another.   

  19. the guy who runs the twitter account has no idea what a friggin bootloader is LOL

  20. Steve jobs calls the shots at Verizon now. That was part of the deal for Verizon getting the Iphone.

    1. to you and all the people blaming the iPhone, What fault is it of the device? Sure Steve Jobs may have some influence on them but he doesnt make the decisions at Verizon SO STFU

  21. So does that mean I should take my business elsewhere?

    1. Sounds like it to me.   I hear Sprint has a great relationship with HTC.

      1. Yep, Sprint, T-Mobile, and HTC are all members of the Open Handset Alliance

        1. As is Verizon…your point being?

          1. they aren’t mentioned at all on the site
            http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/oha_members.html

  22. Time to blow up Verizon’s facebook page like was done to HTC.

  23. They can’t have HTC phones with wonky ROMs that reboot themselves or suffer poor battery lives…(WTH, Verizon??)

  24. Let’s get their attention.  Cut and paste this into twitter:    @VZWSupport @andrewwalberg It’s a shame that VZW doesn’t seem to want my business anymore.   Hello @Sprint ?

  25. Leave it to VZW to be the ultimate buzz kill party pooper.  ahBoooo!

  26. Verizon has Stevo’s CooCoo up its ally the whole time. That is why.

  27. lmfao… sprint ftw

  28. What is it with AT&T and Big Red being the biggest Wireless Carriers and them both hating on the true powers of Android. It’s like Big Brother, Controling the way we use  our phones….. Stupid ways of Crapple are being passed on…

  29. Thank you Verizon, on the heals of our soon to be released kick ass Android phones.

    Sincerely, 

    Sprint

  30. Well, that kills my pipe dream of a verizon nexus phone! I hate that the service is so good, otherwise I would be outta there!

  31. if this becomes verizon not ever allowing me to unlock  bootloader on any of the phones they carry then my business goes somewhere else  

  32. Yeah I agree, Time to visit Verizon and there Facebook page and BLOW IT UP. But I’m not sure how much it will matter cause my complaint is only going to look like everyone else. They have so many unsatisfied customers complaining about everything under the sun.

  33. Question is, does that mean Verizon won’t be getting a Galaxy S2? Samsung has already said that they will not lock down phones.

  34. Just to clarify.. HTC will not lock the bootloaders. They will send the phones to Verizon and let Verizon lock them before they are sold.

  35. Then I’ll never be your customer

  36. Verizon support doesn’t even know what an unlocked bootloader is, I wouldn’t be concerned. They have at minimum of 7 Android devices right now on their network with unlocked bootloaders, I’m pretty sure the LG Revolution is unlocked. Someone in support just learned a new buzzword today and was testing it out.

  37. It was a mistake. Here is an updated tweet:

    @andrewwalberg I have confirmed we allow phones w/ unlocked bootloaders to be activated on our network. Sorry for the misinformation.

    via http://twitter.com/#!/VZWSupport/status/74158059831824384

  38. Goodbye Verizon.

  39. Rise & Fall of the 2 giants – AT&T and Verizon

    AT&T = old school telco who rose from the brink of death post-wireless era – Thank Steve Jobs and the loyal minions of dumb iphone users.

    Verizon = Thank Blackberry and countless government contract bid wins to feed verizon’s big belly.

    Their (AT&T and Verizon) long term fail = putting all their eggs in one basket (steve jobs and government)

    moral of the story? don’t be a government lap dog like those 2.

    /puts on flame retardant suit

    1. Yeah, they’re both going chapter 11 in July.  HAHA.  Another one who forgot to take their medication.

  40. I’m done with this 5th rate blog posting link-baiting rumor articles based on very little.

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