Motorola Droid X will break itself if you try to root it.

Home Archive Serious Business Motorola Droid X will break itself if you try to root it.
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 15, 2010 10:56 AM
I thought the whole point of Android was to be open?

I mean, I'm an iphone guy but I definitely think Android is a great platform. And sure, iOS isn't "open" but at least you can jailbreak your iphone.

If I were going to switch to Android there is no way I'd buy the X because of this. I'd definitely go with the Evo.

http://gizmodo.com/5587801/motorola-is-willing-to-break-the-phone-they-just-sold-you
Jul 15, 2010 10:56am
se-alum's avatar

se-alum

The Biggest Boss

13,948 posts
Jul 15, 2010 11:03 AM
Big mistake by Motorola.
Jul 15, 2010 11:03am
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 15, 2010 12:31 PM
They'll root it eventually anyways. But yeah, the Evo is sweet.
Jul 15, 2010 12:31pm
OneBuckeye's avatar

OneBuckeye

Senior Member

5,888 posts
Jul 15, 2010 12:35 PM
dumb dumb dumb
Jul 15, 2010 12:35pm
j_crazy's avatar

j_crazy

7 gram rocks. how i roll.

8,372 posts
Jul 15, 2010 1:10 PM
apparently droid can't.
Jul 15, 2010 1:10pm
wes_mantooth's avatar

wes_mantooth

Tomfoolery & shenanigans

17,977 posts
Jul 15, 2010 3:12 PM
Dumb decision by motorola.
Jul 15, 2010 3:12pm
Fab1b's avatar

Fab1b

The Bald A-Hole!!

12,949 posts
Jul 15, 2010 3:23 PM
Ha ha
Jul 15, 2010 3:23pm
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jul 15, 2010 5:35 PM
se-alum;424257 wrote:Big mistake by Motorola.
wes_mantooth;424470 wrote:Dumb decision by motorola.

I wouldn't blame Motorola on this one. I would say that Verizon and Google had a bigger hand in this one than Motorola did.
dlazz;424303 wrote:They'll root it eventually anyways. But yeah, the Evo is sweet.
Yes they will. By the time 2.2 comes out, you will be able to root the X.
Jul 15, 2010 5:35pm
C

cbus4life

Ignorant

2,849 posts
Jul 15, 2010 6:08 PM
Go with Evo.
Jul 15, 2010 6:08pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 15, 2010 6:12 PM
sherm03;424614 wrote:I wouldn't blame Motorola on this one. I would say that Verizon and Google had a bigger hand in this one than Motorola did.

I would blame Moto and Verizon. I don't see the benefit of google pushing for something like this.
Jul 15, 2010 6:12pm
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 15, 2010 11:14 PM
AT&T has been crippling their Android phones as well. It's not moving as Google has intended.

I would imagine Google is a-okay with people rooting their devices to run whatever flavor of Android they please
Jul 15, 2010 11:14pm
J

Jawbreaker

Senior Member

520 posts
Jul 16, 2010 12:19 AM
I would think Google is OK with rooting your phone. See the Nexus One.

I just rooted my Incredible and my spare Eris. Nice to know I have control over the phone. However, I can see why VZW wouldn't want this since they lose a lot of control over the phone and how it is used on the network (i.e. Wifi tether). I would guess that very few people go through the process of rooting their phones.
Jul 16, 2010 12:19am
hoops23's avatar

hoops23

Senior Member

15,696 posts
Jul 16, 2010 12:27 AM
My HTC Hero is rooted..

My new Android phone will be as well, which ever one I decide on in December.
Jul 16, 2010 12:27am
Curly J's avatar

Curly J

Self Pwner in Training.

7,282 posts
Jul 16, 2010 12:52 AM
Was reading about this in an Android forum after I heard it here. Glad I went with the Incredible, even though I'm still waiting on it. I might not root mine right away, but it will happen someday.
Jul 16, 2010 12:52am
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jul 16, 2010 1:12 AM
Ok...so my question is...what benefit do you get from rooting it that you don't get from the 2.2 update?

Tethering? Available on 2.2.
Faster clock speeds? Available on 2.2
Flash? Available on 2.2
Saving apps to the SD Card instead of the phone memory? Available on 2.2

The only legitimate beef was brought up by my friend who said some people may want to remove Moto's UI for the stock UI. Well on the X it is about as close as any manufacturer has come to stock UI anyways.

Bottom line is that rooting gives you nothing that 2.2 doesn't already give you...and after 2.2 you will probably be able to root it anyways. So why is this a big deal?
Jul 16, 2010 1:12am
Curly J's avatar

Curly J

Self Pwner in Training.

7,282 posts
Jul 16, 2010 1:40 AM
Good points Sherm. The only thing I know is I've seen an Incredible and even toyed around with them through a couple of friends that have them. I have yet to have a Droid X in my hand. Buying something 'site unseen' is something I'm not fond of. Like buying a car without a test drive, marring a woman without a 'test drive'.

Besides, I bought mine with my company discount and it was a decent deal, a deal that Verizon couldn't match. That might not mean much to you, but I've been to a few places that sold Verizon phones and the people didn't think I was serious about buying, especially when I mentioned the whole company discount thing.

Plus I'm going from an old Nextel Motorola i335, good old 2 way and phone service, to an Incredible. That's like going from night to day already...I might not be worthy enough for the X. (my head might explode)
Jul 16, 2010 1:40am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Jul 16, 2010 2:44 AM
sherm03;424951 wrote:Ok...so my question is...what benefit do you get from rooting it that you don't get from the 2.2 update?

Tethering? Available on 2.2.
Faster clock speeds? Available on 2.2
Flash? Available on 2.2
Saving apps to the SD Card instead of the phone memory? Available on 2.2

The only legitimate beef was brought up by my friend who said some people may want to remove Moto's UI for the stock UI. Well on the X it is about as close as any manufacturer has come to stock UI anyways.

Bottom line is that rooting gives you nothing that 2.2 doesn't already give you...and after 2.2 you will probably be able to root it anyways. So why is this a big deal?
MOTO's UI is absolute garbage.

Also, when is the 2.2 update supposed to be out? Usually it takes several months for handsets to be updated to the newest OS version. People don't like that when the only thing really keeping them from getting it right away is some arbitrary block against doing what you want with your own piece of equipment.

It'd be like if Microsoft crippled the shit out of my hardware if I tried to install a new OS.
Jul 16, 2010 2:44am
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jul 16, 2010 9:10 AM
Curly,
I completely understand buying through your company. I have no beef with someone saving a ton of money buying through someone else. When I worked in the stores, I would come across that every once in a while.

Pants,
Like I said, Moto's UI is much different on the X than it has been on recent phones. Very similar to stock UI. The 2.2 update will be out within a few weeks. The phone would have launched with 2.2, but Verizon wanted to get the X out as soon as possible to and Moto was unable to get the 2.2 running prior to launch.
Jul 16, 2010 9:10am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Jul 16, 2010 11:51 AM
Cool that it'll be out relatively quickly but I still don't like that they don't let you do what you want with your own property.
Jul 16, 2010 11:51am
thePITman's avatar

thePITman

Senior Member

3,867 posts
Jul 16, 2010 12:09 PM
At the bottom:
UPDATE: A new report is arguing that eFuse won't necessarily brick the Droid X, as it's implemented in some other Motorola phones but not activated. Here's hoping such is the case and my rant was uncalled for. We've reached out for comment from Motorola on the matter.
Jul 16, 2010 12:09pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Jul 16, 2010 12:14 PM
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-responds-to-droid-x-bootloader-controversy-says-efuse/
There's been a lot of chatter going around the interwebs in the past 24 hours about the Droid X's exceptionally well-locked bootloader -- a situation that is going to make running custom ROMs considerably more difficult (bordering on impossible) compared to your average HTC. Specifically, the culprit is said to be a technology known as eFuse -- developed by IBM several years ago -- which allows circuits to be physically altered at the silicon level on demand. Thing is, the term "eFuse" has taken on an unrelated meaning this week, with My Droid World claiming that some chip inside the Droid X is commanded to "blow the fuse" if it's unable to verify the stock bootloader, which permanently bricks the phone. It amounts to a really, really hard slap on the wrist for anyone trying to hack, say, Sense or stock Froyo onto it.

Considering IBM's historically non-nefarious usage of the term "eFuse," we suspected something was amiss here, so we reached out to Motorola for an explanation. Read on to see what we got back.

"Motorola's primary focus is the security of our end users and protection of their data, while also meeting carrier, partner and legal requirements. The Droid X and a majority of Android consumer devices on the market today have a secured bootloader. In reference specifically to eFuse, the technology is not loaded with the purpose of preventing a consumer device from functioning, but rather ensuring for the user that the device only runs on updated and tested versions of software. If a device attempts to boot with unapproved software, it will go into recovery mode, and can re-boot once approved software is re-installed. Checking for a valid software configuration is a common practice within the industry to protect the user against potential malicious software threats. Motorola has been a long time advocate of open platforms and provides a number of resources to developers to foster the ecosystem including tools and access to devices via MOTODEV at http://developer.motorola.com."

So in other words, yes, eFuse will shut down a phone with an unapproved bootloader -- but it won't brick the phone, it just needs "approved software" to be dropped back on there. Knowing the wealth of talent in the Android development community, we're still really hopeful this nonsense is going to get circumvented either way, but at least we can breathe a little easier knowing that Moto isn't out to destroy your multi-hundred-dollar investment.
So it doesn't brick it but it still is pretty shitty imo.
Jul 16, 2010 12:14pm