Droid X actually self-destructs if you try to mod it

By +Frank B.
in Hardware Hangout

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Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

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Droid X actually self-destructs if you try to mod it

Well, I might have recommended a Droid X for big-phone-lovin? fandroids out there? but now that I?ve read about Motorola?s insane eFuse security system, I?m going to have to give this one a big fat DON?T BUY on principle. I won?t restate all my reasons for supporting the modding, hacking, jailbreaking, and so on of your legally-owned products here ? if you?re interested in a user?s manifesto, read this ? but suffice it to say that deliberately bricking a phone if the user fiddles with it does not fall under the ?reasonable? category of precautions taken by manufacturers.

Really. If you want to make it difficult to hack, that?s fine. You think your software should be enough, that?s fine. But once I pay money for the item, it?s mine, and disabling my device because you don?t like what I?m doing with it falls under the category of sabotage.

Here?s what eFuse does. This information is a couple days old but it?s worth reading if you?re interested in Android, development, or open standards in general. Besides, I just found out about it, so you have to read my words whether you like it or not. or you could just stop reading. Either way. Anyway:

If the eFuse failes to verify this information then the eFuse receives a command to ?blow the fuse? or ?trip the fuse?. This results in the booting process becoming corrupted and resulting in a permanent bricking of the Phone. This FailSafe is activated anytime the bootloader is tampered with or any of the above three parts of the phone has been tampered with.

It requires a hardware fix, apparently, only available through Motorola, of course. This is the equivalent of a MacBook detonating some core component if you try to install an OS to dual boot.

Will many users run into this problem? Probably not, but Android is a platform that not only was founded on the idea of openness, but thrives because of it. The grey market of sideloaded apps and custom ROMs will only get more popular and more easily accessed as people realize that their phones are tiny computers waiting to be customized. That idea is anathema to Motorola and clearly they will continue to stoop to unreasonable means to ?protect? their hardware ? which you bought and paid for.

So here?s my official recommendation: don?t buy a Droid phone and don?t recommend them to your friends. There are too many good options out there that aren?t locked down by nefarious means. Look up a Galaxy phone or wait for the next awesome thing to come along. Vote with your wallet and tell Motorola ?open or GTFO.?

Source: MobileCrunch

Grand Master

Richard Hammond

Posted
Posted

I sat here for 5 minutes trying to come up with a defense for Motorola but i cant actually come up with anything my first argument was going to be a lot of these roms have custom kernels that enable overclocking which could damage the hardware then people would try and return the damaged hardware because they were using the phone not as intended but they could just see that the rom has been flashed and refuse to offer support. I own a modified Android because my carrier refuses to release the more uptodate rom which actually cures some problems that the older rom has.

I suspect this wont affect as many people as the internet is trying to make out it will, only the tech savvy will be the ones that replace the roms with different/better versions, for 99% of the people out there what it comes with will be more than enough.

Technically you dont own anything thesedays, when you buy something you are granted a license to use the thing you have purchased and there is always some sort of clause in the license that says you cannot modify the hardware or software.

Veteran

SkyDX

Posted
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Indeed it sucks! I thought Android was all about openness. Just warn the user that what he does MIGHT brick his phone if he messes the modding up, do not brick it for him.

Speaking of that, I was a Android user 2 weeks and got a Custom ROM running, yet I found it very hard to mod anything myself, like graphics etc...

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ZakO

Posted
Posted

Are they basing that whole article on a forum post that says at the top "So this post is a mix of hard information and a bit of conjecture on my part (guesses). But I thought I would share it with you guys anyways."? Is this even definite?

Grand Master

Richard Hammond

Posted
Posted

Hello? Where are the iPhone 4 critics to tell me once again I should buy a Droid X instead?

There are more android phones than just the Droid X, get a clue.

Indeed it sucks! I thought Android was all about openness. Just warn the user that what he does MIGHT brick his phone if he messes the modding up, do not brick it for him.

Speaking of that, I was a Android user 2 weeks and got a Custom ROM running, yet I found it very hard to mod anything myself, like graphics etc...

Its pretty easy in the framework there are lots of XML files and PNG files where you can change the graphics and colours, there are programs on the android market like bettercut which lets you change an apps icon, etc..

Veteran

SkyDX

Posted
Posted

Its pretty easy in the framework there are lots of XML files and PNG files where you can change the graphics and colours, there are programs on the android market like bettercut which lets you change an apps icon, etc..

Well if I get another Android phone in the future I will take a deeper look at it, for now I'm happy with my iPhone^^

Grand Master

Berserk87

Posted
Posted

Hello? Where are the iPhone 4 critics to tell me once again I should buy a Droid X instead?

lol. these 'locked down' android phones are still a lot more customizable than an iphone.

-3GS owner.

I was trying to decied between the droid x, and the galaxy i9000.

I guess my decision is made up for me.

Also, Im hoping this is either FUD or some big misunderstanding because I still like the droid x.

Grand Master

Prince Charming

Posted
Posted

I really don't see the major problem. You buy the product which is advertised to do y feature. It does y feature. You modify it to do x feature, and it breaks. It sounds awful, but I really don't think it's such a bad thing.

Mentor

Pharos

Posted
Posted

I really don't see the major problem. You buy the product which is advertised to do y feature. It does y feature. You modify it to do x feature, and it breaks. It sounds awful, but I really don't think it's such a bad thing.

Yeah, that's true. But then are the people (lots of them) who buy a phone purely on the basis that it is advertised to do x feature, and you can extend it to have y feature that's not there by default.

Grand Master

fhpuqrgrpgvirzhpujbj

Posted
Posted

I really don't see the major problem. You buy the product which is advertised to do y feature. It does y feature. You modify it to do x feature, and it breaks. It sounds awful, but I really don't think it's such a bad thing.

If I buy something and become the owner of it I should be able to do whatever I want with (obviously within the law, not talking about hurting people etc).

You can't sell me something and give me ownership of it then turn around and tell me how to use it. They need to lease the phones out if they really want to control what people do with them. (which obviously would fail miserably as well)

Grand Master

Richard Hammond

Posted
Posted

If I buy something and become the owner of it I should be able to do whatever I want with (obviously within the law, not talking about hurting people etc).

You can't sell me something and give me ownership of it then turn around and tell me how to use it. They need to lease the phones out if they really want to control what people do with them. (which obviously would fail miserably as well)

You dont become the owner of it though, if you read the crap that comes with the phone you are licensed to use the hardware but not modify it or the software. Its like that with most things thesedays hardware and software.

Grand Master

Prosidius

Posted
Posted

You dont become the owner of it though, if you read the crap that comes with the phone you are licensed to use the hardware but not modify it or the software. Its like that with most things thesedays hardware and software.

I'm pretty sure you own the hardware but you license the software.

Grand Master

Prince Charming

Posted
Posted

If I buy something and become the owner of it I should be able to do whatever I want with (obviously within the law, not talking about hurting people etc).

You can't sell me something and give me ownership of it then turn around and tell me how to use it. They need to lease the phones out if they really want to control what people do with them. (which obviously would fail miserably as well)

You do become the owner of the hardware, you can do what you want with it, which includes modifying it. It just won't work. The entire scenario is being approached wrong if you're buying hardware to modify it. The hardware isn't designed to be modified (clearly as with this self-destruct), and it's not sold with any guarantee if you attempt to modify it. It's sold such that any guarantee is void if you attempt to modify it.

Grand Master

fhpuqrgrpgvirzhpujbj

Posted
Posted

You dont become the owner of it though, if you read the crap that comes with the phone you are licensed to use the hardware but not modify it or the software. Its like that with most things thesedays hardware and software.

I'm pretty sure you own the hardware but you license the software.

Yeah exactly. They license you the software but you own the hardware.

Grand Master

SMELTN

Posted
Posted

I'm pretty sure you own the hardware but you license the software.

you are exactly right, and the problem with Motorola doing this, is the dev community isn't trying to modify "their" software, they are trying to put new or different software on it. Which is my right since I own the hardware.

Grand Master

Nagisan

Posted
Posted

They do it so people can't use tethering for free.

Pretty sure you can already do that without root through some Apps.

The xbox 360 has something similar expect it was triggered by MS themselves to prevent hacked firmwares (so everyone who had run the update can't install a custom firmware but people who didn't are able to)

Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 have an eFuse in them, not sure why people are making a huge fuss out of it when its already in 2 popular home entertainment systems.

This is fake. Read around before posting crap like this....

http://www.droid-life.com/2010/07/15/enough-with-the-efuse-talk-already/

I doubt the truth in that article.......

https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/32345?tstart=0

Granted he doesn't flatout say there is an eFuse in the Droid X, he created a topic to contain all the encrypted bootloader AND eFuse talk, why would he make a thread to contain eFuse talk if the Droid X didn't have an eFuse?

EDIT: That being said, I could care less, I am getting a Droid X and I'm going to enjoy it while you guys cry that it has an eFuse. Do you really need to modify your phone that heavily that you whine when you lose some of the opportunity to modify it? Granted the Droid X will be my first Cell, I honestly do not see why you would bother to modify it. It would be like buying a DVD player then modifying it to work as a Blu-Ray player as well. Sure, it can be done, but whats the point?

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