By Motorola’s been under heat lately regarding the locked bootloader that the Motorola Droid X will be shipping with. We learned a few days ago that the bootloader would be locked and encrypted to thwart off anyone attempting to load custom ROMs that have not been officially approved and signed by Motorola.
Lori Fraleigh explains on their blog why they did this:
“Securing the software on our handsets, thereby preventing a non-Motorola ROM image from being loaded, has been our common practice for many years. This practice is driven by a number of different business factors. When we do deviate from our normal practice, such as we did with the DROID, there is a specific business reason for doing so. We understand this can result in some confusion, and apologize for any frustration.”
Furthermore, Motorola recommends going with Google’s official developer phone (the Android Dev Phone 1 – aka the T-Mobile G1 or HTC Dream) or the Google Nexus One over Motorola’s offering if consumers would like a device to develop unofficial ROMs for. It’s Motorola’s right to deny developers a device that’s easily unlockable and crackable for those that want to tinker around with them, but I can’t see how this hurts the common consumer.
They state in their blog post that it’s intended only for consumers and android application developers, but it’s not like those consumers can just stumble onto the Android market and completely root their device, unlock it, and install a custom ROM without even knowing. People who do this are usually trying to, so take Motorola’s stance for what you will. For the time being, this device’s aftermarket fate is in the hands of Verizon and Motorola, and no one else will be given that privilege.
[via Android & Me]
I understand this. Motorola is just trying to protect their product. They have a phone that looks to be very popular and they just want to make sure they have complete control over every aspect of it, can’t really say that I blame them..
The whole point of Android is to be open. At Google I/O when 2.2 was introduced didn’t google’s CEO even say here it is, get creative developers, or something to that effect? I am getting this phone no matter what and really don’t care about custom ROMs but if I wanted to, it should be my option to do so. And let’s not even think about MOTO and Verizon f***ing up an update like they did rolling out 2.1 on the DROID!!!
@Beth,
Isn’t that Apple’s philosophy? They have a very popular phone that they control every aspect of. Isn’t that how Android grew so quickly, by exploiting Apple’s over controlling nature? Wasn’t that the whole point of the original DROID campaign? Let’s just hope MOTO doesn’t start going the same direction as Apple because right now they have the best Android hardware, HTC builds crap and still can’t keep any phones in stock.
Looks like Motorola’s all butthurt after ROM developers have repeatedly shown them up on the Droid.
and for this reason why my brother and I left verizon.
That’s certainly an interesting stance.
@charlie are u nucking futs! I made the horrible decison to get the moto cliq when I returned a defective G1 and now I’m stuck with this garbage! If I could re do it id diff keep my G1. Moto blows I’m still stuck on 1.5 and according to them “it was coming at the end of Q2” just a reminder that was last month. And now there trying to convince us late august….gimme a break.
And we can still root, right? Maybe that will be good enough for most people. Probably good enough for me.
I wouldn’t compare them to Apple but it’s just a bad idea to lose the mindshare of developers and everyone else who wants to get ‘into’ their phones.
this phone was looking pretty good until this new info came out. looks like i’m going with the galaxy s version.
My last Moto phone was the Cliq. I’ve had to wait on Motorola for a promised 2.1 update that will obviously never come. I’ve also got a G1 which can already be upgraded to 2.2 thanks to custom ROM developers.
Last sentence should read:
“For the time being, this device’s aftermarket fate is in the hands of Verizon and Motorola, and no one else will be given that privilege, not even those who own it.”
Their mobile division came back from the grave with the Droid, why would you change a widely applauded direction?
Who wants to bet that they still continue to do this even though their new phones with locked/encrypted bootloaders are not received as well as the original?
Who wants to bet they’ll continue to do this and watch their mobile division fall back down as fast as it rose?
You’re going out of your way to screw your hard core users, who do you think helps sell your devices? The people that love them, not the everyday user. It’s not like that user is going to be hacking, rooting, customizing their phone, nor trying too. So how are you protecting anyone?
When you get a real excuse, or reason, then open your mouth, until then, please, stop lying blatantly to our faces.
Sad to see this news. It seems like two steps back for Motorola, after seeing such wonderful things before and now this! Why do I feel like a friend has let me down? Someone @ Motorola grab the wheel and get back on course!
Motorola’s “business reason” is making me not want the phone.
Pardon me if this is not a new thought, but isn’t this behaviour almost a GPL-violation? They are legally required to release the source code for the Linux kernel in use on the device, but I wonder if they are not also required to release everything required to actually use it on the device.
Way to screw over the hardcore users. I imagine that it has more to do with pressure from Verizon over what apps (tethering and whatnot) are typically run on a rooted phone.
I wouldn’t really worry about the encrypted bootloader though. It will be cracked, just like Bluray and every other ludicrous attempt at Digital Restrictions Management.
@JokeyRhyme, It’s not. They’re only required to release the Source for the Device. Not give the person who just paid for the phone, the keys. Basically, like almost everything else these days, you’d renting it, you don’t actually own the device.
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@Will, Not worry? It’s the same encrypted Bootloader as the Milestone, which hasn’t been cracked yet. Maybe the more phones with it, the more interest there will be in cracking it, but don’t know…
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@Quentyn, The quote by “Lori Fraleigh” was from early February. How is that even related to this? Well, it is, but in both the Phandroid and Android&Me articles, it’s written as if it was just posted as a reply to the recent new knowledge of the encrypted bootloader.
This is not a (new) statement released by Moto regarding this new knowledge.
Hello motorola. Thanks for this, I now won’t be buying this phone.
Sent from a samsung galaxy s.
Too bad, I will not be buying any Motorola phones until this fails.
lol thats funny evo still has the upper hand and the droid x fans talking their smack bitch slap…
if it is the same encryption as the milestone, if they are working on the milestone and they crack it, wouldn’t they crack the droid x encryption too?
@Will Nope, this is 100% Motorola, nothing to do with Verizon. The GSM version of the Droid 1 was encrypted, and that wasnt available through any carrier. They’ve stated that the Droid 1 was just a special case.
Don’t hold your breath for a crack either. Motorola bootloaders are signed with a 2048 bit RSA level hardware key. In 7 months the Milestone community haven’t even put a dent in it.
to be honest i’m a new android user.. and the ONLY reason i’m not buying iphone is because of the OPENness of androids.. and the so much customisation i can have to suit my needs.. but if your locking the X like my milestone now.. then regretfully motorola, i’m switching to OTHER MORE OPEN phone maker.. i repeat, YOUR NOT THE ONLY ANDROID PHONE MAKER, there’s galaxy S, there’s Desire, and there’s so many more coming out soon.. jumping the android hype bandwagon.. so keep it up and soon you can house another 8000 worker of your so called mobile division.. thank you.
@Zack Except the milestone has been cracked: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-root-motorola-milestone-on-android-2.0-9140366/
Give it time, it will happen.
I am so glad I got the EVO. Used to work for MOTO. They thought they were special then too. Funny thing is they are like a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Go HTC!
@Daniel: root does not equals custom ROMs. And considering how buggy is 2.1 on Moto Milestone, this is my last Moto phone, switching in moment HTC releases a phone with N1/Desire specs with keyboard.
I’ve been whining about this for ages! Motorola did this to European and Canadian customers before with the Motorola Milestone, the European version of the Droid. I’m no longer buying Motorola products because of it
http://www.sigridschrijft.be/index.php/free-the-motorola-milestone-a-pr-nightmare/?lang=en
If only HTC still made phones with OMAP processors.
Hmm… is there a Seti@home/Distributed.net for the Milestone/Droid Key?
Because I would run that. And I have a Droid 1.
i don’t understand how it effects them? pple will buy the phone first, so they are getting their money already!
only minority will load custom roms anyways!!! 90% won’t!
my next phone is gonna be watever high end superphone cyanogen will support… something with physical keyboard
@Simon: so you can remove Motorola from your equation, as Moto is going to lock each and every device they will make.
What a joke. That was a nice PR cleanup. But the fact is, Motorola probably saw an increase in phones that were “broken” due to newbs flashing or attempting to flash roms when they had no idea what they were doing.
I fail to see what their “specific business reason” for “deviating” when it came to the original Droid. There’s a reason why the original Droid is still selling strong. It had much to do with the flexibility.
I’m OK with not loading custom roms, having a rooted phone is most important to me. Though roms are nice, I can live without it. What I cannot live without is root, and for Motorola’s sake they better hope they’re on the ball with every update available (i.e. Froyo, and Gingerbread etc) until the phone is completely maxed out.
As phones become more like computers, it’s important that consumers get computer like access to said devices. If I bought a Windows 7 computer and only had guest access, I’d be pretty damn pissed off. What Motorola should have done was include more warnings “modifying this bootloader could damage your phone”, warn consumers that their warranty is automatically voided if specific things are tampered with etc. That’s a risk I would have been willing to take.
I strongly believe this boils down to Verizon muscling Motorola in an attempt to get that $20 hotspot fee that rooted/rommed users can do for free. Verizon is also extremely test heavy on their network. I’m sure though they let up a bit on their tight grip over phones, they’re still trying to protect their best interests (i.e. make as much money as possible and protect their network from abuse).
Maybe I need to seen the bootloader to one of our encryption gurus at NSA. You think they could crack it?
John, HTC couldn’t make good hardware if their life depended on it. Their phones are always flimsy and almost always come out the gate with some sort of issue (reception, etc). Motorola makes wonderful hardware at least.
You guys are seriously kidding yourselves if you actually think Motorola or anyone else for that matter is going to keep things updated. If you get even one Android update consider yourself lucky.
They don’t make money if you’re using the same phone for 2 years and being able to upgrade it at will ala Droid.
They want you to buy a new phone for the latest releases and the best way to do that is lock the bootloader..
I don’t care about encrypted bootloader. I don’t need custom ROMs.
Waiting to see how 2.2 runs on my droid before I decide to upgrade to the X.
The reason I bought the DROID was because all the UNLIMITED possiblites. Now my option of my next phone became UNLIMITED. I was going to stick with motorola droid for what they stood for. This reminds me of the DECISION making his declaration then leaving for Miami. Nobody will look at motorola nor lebron the same. Keep me posted of the Next Great Phone.
well if the bootloader wasn’t locked, i would be picking up two of these tomorrow morning. thank you moto for saving me money. i’ll just stick with my lil eris with its cm6.0
I WAS going to buy the Droid X, but I will never buy a phone I cannot put my own ROMs on. FU Moto!
@Dogsby, probably not. I’m sure that whatever hole was there that let the Milestone be rooted was fixed. — If developers don’t develop apps for phones that can’t be rooted or use custom ROMs they only punish themselves by reducing the size of their market. If they can’t develop without rooting, maybe they’re not a clever as they think. Good developers can do spectacular things in a sandbox.
Moto really doesn’t need the headache from the hand full of people who need to put on a custom ROM.
“uh oh, my phone is a brick, I better take it back to the store and exchange it, which makes it someone else’s problem…”
I was hoping for a Droid 2 as my next phone. Looks like I won’t be getting it now, if this occurs on the Droid 2 as well. It’s not that I would take advantage of it and load custom ROMs or write my own software for it or anything, but I would at least like that option if it could be available to me, because as the owner of the phone, I feel I should have the right to screw with it if it is what I want to do with it. *sigh* I guess all good things must come to an end, am I right?
Plain and simple Motorola has lost any of my future purchases and that of my family and friends. There is no excuse at all that Motorola can use to justify this. Plain and simple the product is MINE. I purchased it and as the owner of said device I should be able to modify it how I see fit. What Motorola is doing is no different than Apple.
Stop supporting companies like this with your wallet and support companies that allow control of your hardware and software. It’s like having Comcast cable and being told you can only use LG TVs or buying a Ford and being told you can only purchase fuel from Shell. Speak out, write emails to those involved in making these decisions at Motorola. Speak out louder with your wallet and purchase from HTC, Samsung, whomever it is that will allow you the control of the hardware and software that you are rightfully entitled to.
I hate it when company’s decided how smart their customers are (looking at you apple!). Like we’re 5 and need mommy to protect us. If I’m old enough to spend the money let me do what I want with it. The phone now belongs to me. Geez! Thank goodness for developer phones.
Moto thought they would throw us a bone with the Droid 1 and then go back to their crappy ways. But guess what, if you change your philosophy, your success might change too! I’m with @Darkseider.
Welp. Was sure I would be getting one of these tomorrow. Sounds like I will have to shift gears and have a look at samsung’s offering. I’d rather use Verizon, but ATT has reasonable coverage in my area.
hahahaha, what?!?!?! This article is ridiculous.
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First, that statement was released in response to the Milestone: you’re only releasing this article b/c some of us are getting annoyed in the forums.
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Second, this is in no way good for the consumer as your title says: rooting and flashing ROMs has never been easy and you don’t just stumble into it. You have to be actively looking for and be guided into it. By signing the boot loader and using the eFuse technology to possibility prevent us from gaining root, they have intentionally prevented EVERYONE from getting the extra functionality that made the Droid great.
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Third, Motorola is working very hard to drive Android in the direction of Apple’s closed system. If this continues, the ball is in Apple’s court: there is nothing to make Android stand out, so if Apple expands to other US carriers, it’s game over. (that is assuming Apple drops a bigger screen on the iPhone at some point).
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Quentyn, you really need to consider why you wrote this article. Phandroid is usually pretty objective: this article is far from it. It almost sounds like you are trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes to be honest. I sincerely hope that Phandroid isn’t on any payrolls, but after seeing this type of an article… yikes.
I’m curious what the “specific business reason” for leaving the Droid 1’s bootloader unlocked was, and why it doesn’t apply to the Droid X?
Yet another reason I can’t wait for the Galaxy S… err, Fascinate.
Motorola is making the same mistake the newspaper industry is. Hey Moto – take a look at how THAT industry is dying, and see your future!
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The newspaper industry thinks it’s primary customers are the advertisers. Motorola thinks it’s primary customers are the carriers. But without end-users, neither “customer” has any reason to waste their money on the business with the failed business model.
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Although I have a Milestone, when I replace it, it will be with a device from a company that wants me, the end user, to be happy. At this point, that is NOT Motorola.
What I think many people don’t stop to consider are the agreements or contracts signed between hardware providers like Motorola and the service providers like Verizon. We’re talking about MONEY here folks and lots of it. Being able to circumvent the system through root access is AWESOME for us users but a disaster for service providers. I love the fact that I can drive down the road with my two kids happily surfing the interet on their IPOD touches using my Rooted Moto Droid’s wireless tether FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE! Verizon is well aware of this and is more than likely the driving force for the Droid X’s locked down status. What a shame….looks like a great piece of hardware. Motorola wants to sell hardware and LOTS of it. If they want to have access to the number one service provider in the country they have to play by their rules…
Why is anyone surprised of this move? It’s like organized crime. They offer something extraordinary, then when you get comfortable with it, payday arrives. There is no reason for Motorola to do this, other than paranoia. The overwhelming majority of the consumers have no interest in altering their phones, so there is little to no harm to Motorola, or Verizon. It’s few on the fringe that are affected…..The ones who develop, expose and improve these platforms. To the consumer, there is harm.
@phandroid. No, it’s not actually motorola’s right to deny developers in any fashion. It is their right to lock a bootloader. It’s also a right to unlock the bootlocker, even with the DMCA.
this morning cyanogen just tweeted that he wanted to start messing around with the galaxy s line up. so you know what that mean!!! samsung vibrant, i will see you tomorrow baby!! haha
Here’s my problem with this….
If PC manufacturers followed this philosophy we wouldn’t be able to install different Operating Systems on our PC’s.
Bottom line, we own the phone (bought and paid for) they only make it. We should be able to do whatever we want with something we own.
I’m really getting sick of these companies dictating everything. They just don’t want ROM Chefs making the phone work better and extending the shelf life.
Why would I buy the next Motorola phone six months from now if some brilliant Chef continues to add features to my phone purposely left out by the manufacturer?
Well, as an HTC Hero owner, I would not (in future) buy a phone that I cannot install a custom ROM onto.
HTC were agonisingly slow at releasing Android 2.1 for the Hero, but I was running a custom 2.1 ROM on it long ago.
as for 2.2, I don’t think HTC will bring out a 2.2 ROM for the hero, which means it is left to the community to produce one.
if the Hero was locked liked Motorola phones, then I would be stuck.
I won’t be buying one.
andy.
Too bad for Motorola – I know I will NEVER purchase a device from them as long as their devices are locked down this way. I live in Texas and was really looking forward to supporting a company that has a portion of their company based locally – BUT, won’t happen now.
I don’t want a phone I can’t put the custom elements on and fix bugs that the Manufacturers are too lazy/slow to fix themselves. I could care less about tethering or a WiFi hotspot. I just want the custom menu’s/selections/colors/themes/etc.
So, MOTO can go F#$% themselves. Looks like I’ll be purchasing HTC and Samsung devices now. Makes me want to cry b/c I REALLY like the DroidX form factor – my favorite so far.
I definitely DON’T agree with the ppl writing that HTC makes crap phones.
There might be some issue with the newer phones like Evo’s screen in earlier series, or otherwise, but I have a HTC Hero. and believe me when I write that it’s treated like hell.
NO reception issues, GPS works great, and it only got a minor scratch on the screen when it fell on a rusted dumbell.
I really dont see this as a problem, I like the stock rom and I returned my iPhone 4 for this Droid X. I have the first droid and I never did anything to it. The stock android experience is fine as long as Verizon and Motorola and Google keep pushing updates out to it. But, I do see the problem with not being able to load custom roms on it. I bet the hacking community will bust the bootloader and everyone will be happy again. Also I bet everyone else including HTC and samsung will start locking their bootloaders because Motorola just started a trend in locking them down. The Nexus one will be the only phone thats the official Google dev phone and it will soon be gone too since there is not going to be a Nexus two.
I thought this phone would finally end the reign of the Nexus One as king of Android phones but thanks to Motorola’s stupid decision its Nexus One FTW again. Oh well Nexus Two here I come.
locking a bootloader down only matters to someone that doesn’t understand what it means.
Why is this news. The post by the Motorola employee was made back in February! Let’s try to be a little more timely in our current news posts!
Most people who buy phones don’t even know custom ROMs exist. While I’d rather be able to do anything I want with my stuff, Motorola isn’t going to lose any money here. The people who will pass on the phone because of the boot loader will about equal the returns from bad flashes.
For those of you who honestly think the bootloader will be cracked just ask the Motorola Milestone users how the whole bootloader unlocking is going after 7+ months.
And see here folks this will be the beginning to Moto’s demise once again. These guys are the kings of over reacting when they tend to receive a little success their heads start to explode more than their profits. It’s like the tortuous and the hare, they start fast become cocky then in the end they get surpassed. I jumped out of the Cliq in and N1 almost two months ago and it most definitely looks like I will be staying in that for a while. Moto won’t be getting my money for a while because I love prompt updates and custom roms something apparently they do not believe in…
moto android service center – 1-800 – 331 – 6456…
i was on the phone with them for 30 minutes validating phones that are not encrypted. We must be pro-active to let them know there is a community that is livid. One that is willing to leave verizon/moto to have the freedom that we are accustomed to.
I think people posting here fail to see the position that Motorola is in: Verizon is paying them boatloads of money for their Droid devices and Moto has to comply with a certain set of conditions if they want to ever see that money. Obviously, Verizon doesn’t like users that are able to circumvent restrictions that it imposed by using custom roms (i.e. Tether/HotSpot functions). Anyone who thinks that Motorola will listen to this tiny (and I stress **tiny**) minority of Droid users that want to load custom roms is fooling themselves. We represent an almost inconsequential proportion of Droid users that both Verizon and Motorola see as an acceptable loss in order to get more customers who don’t fiddle around with phones often, reduce the amount of returned devices by those who aren’t used to tweaking devices, and squeeze more money from people who are willing to pay for features that could be unlocked for free with a rom/root.
Welcome to capitalism. Ain’t it a bitch?
They are trying their best to become another Apple.
@Dash your points are valid, capitalism and the free market allows us as consumers to just stop buying their crap and move onto the next one that’s all.
i’m sure XDA will find a way around this. think positive! all it takes is time…
Jimbo Television wrote on July 14, 2010
can we all please agree to stop using the stupid “butthurt” term?
I mean what 10 year came up with that? You standout like a moron.
Dash Shiron wrote on July 14, 2010
You sir, are correct.
Im pretty sure someone will crack it and get us root. all in good time, all in good time.
Dash is absolutely correct. You people sound like a bunch of 15 year old idiots. Motorola has a customer and their customer gave them requirements that they need to follow. You guys add up to about .001% of their mobile phone customers. Motorola will make tons of money on the Droid X because it is an awesome phone and so well made. People will come out tomorrow by the thousands! This phone will be a major success for MOT.
All other phones will soon follow and they aren’t following Motorola, they will be following their new requirements. Especially since the tethering feature will soon be available.
@RPG: Well, when did you checked last time the warranty rules ? At least here in Europe, you will get updates only in warranty period, which for me means march 2012. But somehow i don’t believe i will get anything above Android 2.2. And considering the “quality” of their 2.1, custom ROMs are unfortunately needed.
This is so sad! I just went from one lockup hell called apple just to find the phone of my dreams on a great platform and they do an apple on me!? I really don’t understand the point! Some will use custom ROM some are happy with the phone as is. OK. IF there are people bricking the device. LET them pay the price for that. Have the poor souls sign a agreement of type that take away Motorola’s responsibility. Other than that.. This is one customer that SERIOUSLY consider NOT buying their phone.. instead of being a happy customer!
“Obviously, Verizon doesn’t like users that are able to circumvent restrictions that it imposed by using custom roms (i.e. Tether/HotSpot functions).”
Tether can be done on any rooted phone. You do not need a custom rom.
You are not the consumer! Verizon is the consumer, they did this for verizon.
@Dash, you’re example is correct…NOT!
I have a locked bootloader milestone and enjoy tethering to the fullest…the lock is probably there for a different reason.
This is the beginning of the end for the mods for android, other than what the market will offer, it was good while it lasted..Im surprised it went on as long as it did…More handsets will pop out like this from now on….too bad….
Anyone know if there are DMCA implications to cracking the bootloader?
@GZ said “Bottom line, we own the phone (bought and paid for) they only make it. We should be able to do whatever we want with something we own.”
Sure you do. But you unfortunately missed the other part of the equation, the service provider. You may own the hardware but you have only one source for your 3g and voice service.
Everyone who has stated that Verizon is why they’ve locked it is 110% correct.
Whatever, a device this high profile will be worked on by numerous developers. We have the whole XDA army to prove moto and other manufacturers wrong, just wish they cut us a little bit of slack.
@Steve: in case of Milestone, i’m the consumer. It is not standard in USA, but in Europe most of people buy unlocked phones from normal shops.
And seems like Moto is locking each and every device except the original Droid, which kinda sucks.
@Oscar: Milestone is still uncracked, and these phones will use the same thing. So don’t hold your breath for breaking the bootloader signature check.
@ F. Augusztin no you are not, you paid for it, but they did it at the behest of the wireless companies. This will be cracked, there is not much interest in cracking the milestone. I will hold out for another phone without this misfeature.
So who exactly is this good for? No one is going to buy a phone for having a locked bootloader, as the people who won’t take advantage of it don’t know it. Now, the people that do know about it, will now refuse to buy this product and for good reason. They screwed up the 2.1 release on the Moto Droid, and now they’re screwing up the 2.2 release as well. How can we trust them if they’re forcing us to trust them? I may not be eligible for an upgrade, but I am certainly pushing my friends to buy the HTC Incredible over the Motorola Droid X, which is a shame.
If they can name one consumer who will appreciate this move I will change my stance. But that’s impossible.
I’ve been a blackberry user for the past 3 years and this will be my first android (due to mainly the lack of features on bb and my jealousy, but I’ll miss you bbm!). I’m sure I will be just fine not having the ability to hack my phone (yeah im in that 90% or so of people who can wait for froyo and be totally happy with a feature-rich device). Dash Shiron’s explanation of their stance makes 100% sense. Also, I guess if my phone feels totally crippled and bricked before I even open the box like you guys are saying then I have 30 days to decide if I want to switch. So don’t listen to the whiners, try it out I say.
@shawnw1127 – get back in your cubicle, Motorola doesn’t like you being late from lunch.
Unbelievable, just as I was set on making Moto my go-to provider, they pull this garbage. My Droid had blown me away with its open nature and superior build quality. I was debating with my wife whether to hold onto the device or get the Droid X…guess that decision is easy now.
Sorry Moto, my current droid will be my last Moto phone.
BOYCOTT MOTOROLA FOR LIFE!!!!!
the point is, you’re paying a lot of money for this device, and they don’t want to let you have its full capabilities; it’s like having a car salesman tell you to never shift past 5th gear when he sells you a stickshift.