[Q] Hide "unlocked" at boot - Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Need to take my Atrix in for warranty purpose. A few methods have been discussed and I'm looking for the safest means possible. Any opinion's on this? I leaning towards the SBF method using Moto's stock 2.3.4 via RSD Lite.

Sounds like having your cake and eating it too.. You seen all the warnings saying your void if you unlock right? Here is another thread about "relocking" (hiding "unlocked" is not relocking btw, relocking is impossible.) also there are many threads on this topic, feel free to search.

WiredPirate said:
Sounds like having your cake and eating it too.. You seen all the warnings saying your void if you unlock right? Here is another thread about "relocking" (hiding "unlocked" is not relocking btw, relocking is impossible.) also there are many threads on this topic, feel free to search.
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Dude why do you have to be such a DB all the time, i'v looked around these posts for about 30 min and i have seen you respond with same kind of Jack A remarks everytime. Were here for help not to be ridiculed.

Please don't take this the wrong way but the dev community is actively trying to get all manufacturers to allow for unlocked bootloaders and one of the main things most of us are willing to forfeit is our warranties so when someone decides to voluntarily do something that is known to void the warranty and then try to trick the manufacturer into fixing their phone under said warranty it hurts our argument. We all made the choice when we unlocked our phones so it is only fair that we take responsibility for our decisions.
Hopefully, in the future we can come to an agreement with manufacturers that there is an "opt-in" option for unlocking our phones and as long as we stay within the confines of the agreement then we can still have the option to have the phone serviced for physical defects.
kyleallen5000 said:
Dude why do you have to be such a DB all the time, i'v looked around these posts for about 30 min and i have seen you respond with same kind of Jack A remarks everytime. Were here for help not to be ridiculed.
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live4nyy said:
Please don't take this the wrong way but the dev community is actively trying to get all manufacturers to allow for unlocked bootloaders and one of the main things most of us are willing to forfeit is our warranties so when someone decides to voluntarily do something that is known to void the warranty and then try to trick the manufacturer into fixing their phone under said warranty it hurts our argument. We all made the choice when we unlocked our phones so it is only fair that we take responsibility for our decisions.
Hopefully, in the future we can come to an agreement with manufacturers that there is an "opt-in" option for unlocking our phones and as long as we stay within the confines of the agreement then we can still have the option to have the phone serviced for physical defects.
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I'm going to have to second this. as much as i dislike the "unlocked" at the top of my screen i made this choice. little did i know that it would actually say this when done:-( however rooting, rom, bootloader unlock, other mods done by us, unfortunately void our warranty.
however.... if you wanted a device that you could unlock bootloader or what not. you should have went with an inspire as you can turn s-on after being s-off and flash back to stock firmware. therefore in essence. not be hurting the valiant efforts of our communtiy to get the manufacturers to allow us more exploration.
I do feel your pain, yet like stated in every thread for rooting and romming and bootloader..... YOUR WARRANTY IS NOW VOID!!!

SErooted said:
I'm going to have to second this. as much as i dislike the "unlocked" at the top of my screen i made this choice. little did i know that it would actually say this when done:-( however rooting, rom, bootloader unlock, other mods done by us, unfortunately void our warranty.
however.... if you wanted a device that you could unlock bootloader or what not. you should have went with an inspire as you can turn s-on after being s-off and flash back to stock firmware. therefore in essence. not be hurting the valiant efforts of our communtiy to get the manufacturers to allow us more exploration.
I do feel your pain, yet like stated in every thread for rooting and romming and bootloader..... YOUR WARRANTY IS NOW VOID!!!
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Click to collapse
It actual says may void warranty. I think until there is some agreement made, we don't have any rules regarding this. I mean unlocking the bootloader doesn't make some of the defects happen. As an American with consumer rights, I will hold them responsible, but only if not directly from my mingling. Also I have read that moto has fixed phones with unlocked bootloaders.
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

Sass86 said:
It actual says may void warranty.
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+1
"May" is not synonymous with "will." People continue to misinterpret those terms.
If unlocking the BL absolutely voided your warranty, they would have indicated as such with a term that meant "will."

I stand corrected. The point is valid.... "may" and "will" are different words and meanings.
However most times when the statement made by a corporation that includes "may" or "might" means you are out of luck.

Not to argue, because I do agree with you but in legal terms the word "may" does not mean the same thing as the normal definition.
may v. a choice to act or not, or a promise of a possibility, as distinguished from "shall" which makes it imperative. 2) in statutes, and sometimes in contracts, the word "may" must be read in context to determine if it means an act is optional or mandatory, for it may be an imperative. The same careful analysis must be made of the word "shall." Non-lawyers tend to see the word "may" and think they have a choice or are excused from complying with some statutory provision or regulation.
The underlined part highlights how they would see it as it implies you are making the choice to void your warranty.
Now, this is how I see it because I tend to think most definitions regarding legal terms is in place to protect companies and not consumers so if someone could elaborate and prove me wrong, I invite it with open mind.
magecca said:
+1
"May" is not synonymous with "will." People continue to misinterpret those terms.
If unlocking the BL absolutely voided your warranty, they would have indicated as such with a term that meant "will."
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kyleallen5000 said:
Dude why do you have to be such a DB all the time, i'v looked around these posts for about 30 min and i have seen you respond with same kind of Jack A remarks everytime. Were here for help not to be ridiculed.
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Lol, you read all my other posts about this in the past 30 minute and still dont understand you voided your warrenty DA!? I dont care if you do or dont get service for your voided phone, and Im not gonna argue about the word may. I dont care. What i do care about is checking XDA without seeing the same GD threads over and Fing over again because DAs like you refuse to use the Fing search button. SMC.

lol funny arguments gotta love em. For one hiding the Unlock really doesn't matter considering I have returned one Atrix to where I bought it and they didn't care. Secondly Motorola has the "Choice" to deny you warranty repairs but they MAY accept the warranty repair and third they could always, if the phone was returned, reflash the bootloader to Lock it again. Plan and simple easy answer is it is ultimately up to Motorola if they want to repair it or not once it is unlocked.

I'm not talking about personal experience, it's about assuming responsibility for your actions. My whole point is accountability, there are people all the time trying to take advantage of the system and end up ruining it for everyone else. Society is fostering an entire generation of vain and spoiled derelicts.
You are right though, it could all come down to who you run into while trying to have your phone repaired.
malickie said:
lol funny arguments gotta love em. For one hiding the Unlock really doesn't matter considering I have returned one Atrix to where I bought it and they didn't care. Secondly Motorola has the "Choice" to deny you warranty repairs but they MAY accept the warranty repair and third they could always, if the phone was returned, reflash the bootloader to Lock it again. Plan and simple easy answer is it is ultimately up to Motorola if they want to repair it or not once it is unlocked.
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live4nyy said:
I'm not talking about personal experience, it's about assuming responsibility for your actions. My whole point is accountability, there are people all the time trying to take advantage of the system and end up ruining it for everyone else. Society is fostering an entire generation of vain and spoiled derelicts.
You are right though, it could all come down to who you run into while trying to have your phone repaired.
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True more or less. Society is propagating the problem but it really starts with the way the government is running things as a whole. Not saying it's right but until something changes in society and the government it's just all down hill. Also if you look deeper banks have a Major role as well. Anyway enough on off topic issue's there yea I do believe it is ultimately up to Motorola whether they will repair the device or not. I would assume they would probably deny the repair if it had something to do with the actual Software of the phone considering you messed with it, hardware probably different considering software usually doesn't blow up hardware.

Thread about how to return phone after voiding warranty, contents:
some name calling, discussion about morality, the meaning of the word "may", society, laws, government, companies

to TS,
try 'accidentally' sinking your Atrix in the ocean for a minute, and then claim your warranty?
or try 2 cover it with your thumb while booting?
to others,
help TS, (like me?), don't condemn everything about what he had done in the past.
maybe, he's your friend next door, a helping hand's neighbor?

SErooted said:
however rooting, rom, bootloader unlock, other mods done by us, unfortunately void our warranty.
however.... if you wanted a device that you could unlock bootloader or what not. you should have went with an inspire as you can turn s-on after being s-off and flash back to stock firmware. therefore in essence. not be hurting the valiant efforts of our communtiy to get the manufacturers to allow us more exploration.
I do feel your pain, yet like stated in every thread for rooting and romming and bootloader..... YOUR WARRANTY IS NOW VOID!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please show me where it states all these things, (rooting, ROMs', bootloader unlock, and 'other' mods), void our warranties.
Also, for the bootloader, as was already stated, it does say MAY void your warranty. The reason it says 'may' is in all probability because if your phone doesn't work/stops working for some reason they legally cannot refuse to warranty it unless they can attribute the problem to the act of unlocking the bootloader. Someone else stated in another thread that it really is not in Motorolas' best interest to start messing with people for unlocking bootloaders when they send in phones for repair. I would tend to agree with this. After reading all the threads I have seen over the last few months, I can't remember reading about anyone who has been declined warranty or been made to pay for repairs because they unlocked their bootloader. To the contrary there are many stories of people getting their phones back fully repaired and still unlocked with no issues.

malickie said:
True more or less. Society is propagating the problem but it really starts with the way the government is running things as a whole. Not saying it's right but until something changes in society and the government it's just all down hill. Also if you look deeper banks have a Major role as well. Anyway enough on off topic issue's there yea I do believe it is ultimately up to Motorola whether they will repair the device or not. I would assume they would probably deny the repair if it had something to do with the actual Software of the phone considering you messed with it, hardware probably different considering software usually doesn't blow up hardware.
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I would love to see an agreement put in place that allows us to have "hardware" still under warranty regardless of "software".
---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:56 AM ----------
palmboy5 said:
Thread about how to return phone after voiding warranty, contents:
some name calling, discussion about morality, the meaning of the word "may", society, laws, government, companies
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Click to collapse
You're right, how could we have messed up so bad? We forgot to talk about Lindsay Lohan!
---------- Post added at 07:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 AM ----------
baddiejang said:
to TS,
try 'accidentally' sinking your Atrix in the ocean for a minute, and then claim your warranty?
or try 2 cover it with your thumb while booting?
to others,
help TS, (like me?), don't condemn everything about what he had done in the past.
maybe, he's your friend next door, a helping hand's neighbor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@WiredPirate has already provided a link but I guess I can be pro-active and actually USE the "search" feature.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1201105
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1261413
There are more discussions as well.
---------- Post added at 07:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:04 AM ----------
CaelanT said:
Please show me where it states all these things, (rooting, ROMs', bootloader unlock, and 'other' mods), void our warranties.
Also, for the bootloader, as was already stated, it does say MAY void your warranty. The reason it says 'may' is in all probability because if your phone doesn't work/stops working for some reason they legally cannot refuse to warranty it unless they can attribute the problem to the act of unlocking the bootloader. Someone else stated in another thread that it really is not in Motorolas' best interest to start messing with people for unlocking bootloaders when they send in phones for repair. I would tend to agree with this. After reading all the threads I have seen over the last few months, I can't remember reading about anyone who has been declined warranty or been made to pay for repairs because they unlocked their bootloader. To the contrary there are many stories of people getting their phones back fully repaired and still unlocked with no issues.
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You're right about Motorola should not reject people for warranty repairs, they still have a lot of work to do in rebuilding customer relations and their public image.
I would not care at all about people using their warranties if they just did it but I don't like all the threads discussing how to "dupe" Motorola because they made a conscious decision to unlock their bootloader knowing it "may" void their warranty. And don't get me wrong, I'm not siding with Motorola on the issue, I just believe people should fully understand the implications of their choices and until there is a set agreement on the issue then people should just accept the outcomes.
Also, people should continue to actively pursue getting these policies overturned by companies like Motorola and AT&T. The community has made great strides over the past year and we need to keep pushing.

I really wish people would search instead of crearing another thread on the same thing. People need to be coddled and what better way to start an argument/pity party by starting another thread without using search.
I voided my warranty and your mum.

If you're on Gingerbread, or have atleast updated to it, you can flash the stock gingerbread .sbf and it won't brick your phone. Just don't flash any other kind of .sbf , you can't go back to any other version. When you flash that with RSDlite, it'll take you back to stock and wipe the "unlocked" logo off your screen. It will still BE unlocked, it just won't say it.

CaelanT said:
Please show me where it states all these things, (rooting, ROMs', bootloader unlock, and 'other' mods), void our warranties.
Also, for the bootloader, as was already stated, it does say MAY void your warranty. The reason it says 'may' is in all probability because if your phone doesn't work/stops working for some reason they legally cannot refuse to warranty it unless they can attribute the problem to the act of unlocking the bootloader. Someone else stated in another thread that it really is not in Motorolas' best interest to start messing with people for unlocking bootloaders when they send in phones for repair. I would tend to agree with this. After reading all the threads I have seen over the last few months, I can't remember reading about anyone who has been declined warranty or been made to pay for repairs because they unlocked their bootloader. To the contrary there are many stories of people getting their phones back fully repaired and still unlocked with no issues.
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Ok let me rephrase,
I have noticed people in the Atrix community, are not as well versed in being civil with each other, as members in my other device forums are. Point is. everywhere you read, when it comes to rooting, unlocking, there is a "chance" of the statement "may" void warranty. (don't act like you are dislexic or in a special ed class and cant read or never learned how to) Maybe go read again where these statements are at when you read the thread.
Also to install a rom, you need to be rooted, and in some cases like this device, you need to have unlocked bootloader and cwm or a recovery installed to flash the rom to your device.
Which yet again brings up the point you have to go to a forum, locate a thread, read the info, and most of them always say, there is a chance at "may void warranty" and not responsible if you brick your device, kick your cat, crash your car,pull your hair, beat the sh** out of your wife, murder your neighbor, or somehow end up having to dive to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve your dog.

Related

HTC clarifies how bootloaders will be unlocked.

Yeah, I'm not entering my name anywhere. Thanks anyway, HTC. Besides, AlphaRev and Unrevoked already did your job for you.
Since our last update, many of you have asked how the bootloader unlocking process will actually work, and in particular why HTC's most recently released devices still have a locked bootloader. Rest assured we're making progress toward our goal to roll out the first software updates in August to support unlocking for the global HTC Sensation, followed soon by the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile and the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint. Because unlocking the bootloader provides extensive control over the device and modifications may cause operation, security and experience issues, new devices will continue to ship locked but will support user-initiated unlocking using a new Web-based tool.
So how will this work? The Web tool, which will launch this month, requires that you register an account with a valid e-mail address and accept legal disclaimers that unlocking may void all or parts of your warranty. Then plug in your phone to a computer with the Android SDK loaded to retrieve a device identifier token, which you can then enter into the Web tool to receive a unique unlock key via e-mail. Finally, apply the key to your device and unlocking will be initiated on your phone.
We're excited to bring bootloader unlocking to developers and enthusiasts, and we feel this new Web tool will meet your needs and continue to provide customers with the best experience. Thanks to the community for supporting these efforts!
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https://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=10150305151453084&id=101063233083
I figured they would want a way to know exactly which phones were unlocked. i'll stick with alpha revs method.
From my mikmikoptimized shooter!
blackroseMD1 said:
Yeah, I'm not entering my name anywhere. Thanks anyway, HTC. Besides, AlphaRev and Unrevoked already did your job for you.
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=10150305151453084&id=101063233083
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wow. some actual clarity on what they plan to do.
nice to see an update !
but for the evo3d is a bit late
Lmao,actually according to their explanation,their method sounds just like AlpharevX.It would be hilarious if alpharevX sold their method to HTC.
That blows. They couldn't just ship the damn thing unlocked.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
ktulu909 said:
Lmao,actually according to their explanation,their method sounds just like AlpharevX.It would be hilarious if alpharevX sold their method to HTC.
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Well, if he did I hope he didn't sell them the serial numbers of the ones already unlocked jk
I guess it all makes sense (har har).
If it makes the carriers happy, who cares if this is how they do it? I'm sure whenever they release a bootloader unlocker someone on XDA will take it and make it so you can do it without the email/key. We're gonna come out ahead either way.
Well i guess now they will know when we unlock our bootloader and warranty I don't care since I don't use the warranty anyways
If you don't have an Evo3d well you don't have an Evo3d
I'd be curious to know from Google, Sprint and Samsung how many problems they have from the NexusS4G being very easily unlockable...I doubt it's very many...and HTC should suck on that.
I don't know if that's as much of a fair comparison - with the Nexus being near stock I wouldn't expect them to be flashed/bricked nearly as much as with the Evo4G.
The OG Evo gained so much from flashing - features, kernels, whole new versions of sense. And it had so many updates over the life of the phone, making for different rooting methods and having people flash their phones many many times, making it one of if not the most developed phone we have seen.
I'm quite certain the brick count on those were some of the highest anyone's ever seen as well. That's after all the returns from dead pixels, bad charging ports, and what have you. You can understand a carrier/manufacturer's wishing to prevent all that.
By the same token, it feels like HTC benefits greatly from the development community, perhaps using a lot of what they see here in their own updates (maybe even waiting for people to fix their bugs). They definitely see value in unlocking phones, which I guess we should be happy about.
As long as HTC keeps their unlocked policy I will remain a loyal customer.
nhutpham said:
I don't know if that's as much of a fair comparison - with the Nexus being near stock I wouldn't expect them to be flashed/bricked nearly as much as with the Evo4G.
The OG Evo gained so much from flashing - features, kernels, whole new versions of sense. And it had so many updates over the life of the phone, making for different rooting methods and having people flash their phones many many times, making it one of if not the most developed phone we have seen.
I'm quite certain the brick count on those were some of the highest anyone's ever seen as well. That's after all the returns from dead pixels, bad charging ports, and what have you. You can understand a carrier/manufacturer's wishing to prevent all that.
By the same token, it feels like HTC benefits greatly from the development community, perhaps using a lot of what they see here in their own updates (maybe even waiting for people to fix their bugs). They definitely see value in unlocking phones, which I guess we should be happy about.
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Were there that many bricked E4G's? I don't recall hearing about that many of them in my tenure on the forum...admittedly I barely spent any time in General that year as Development was bustling from before day 1.
...but, per capita I doubt the brick-count was that far off the average for any other popular phone worth rooting. God knows I did horrible things to mine and never even had to fix it via adb/fastboot.... it was a very popular phone even among the average joe.
I know that HTC benefits greatly from the dev community. Where do you think they got the FPS-unlock from? Among other things. That's how open source works and is designed to work. That's also why myself and others were so shocked with the whole 'locking' fiasco.
...now, aside from our own speculation about how high the brick rate may or may not have been why not speculate about something more productive: How LOW the brick rate could be if they utilized eMMC's secure-write technology to make a 'mega-recovery' partition that would be locked and even WE wouldn't want to unlock it....that could be used in a worst case scenario to fully restore a phone to stock...to enable the unlocking that WE want and reduce the (understandable) liability of allowing full control that they want. We get unlock, they get insulation from liability of allowing such a feature (that most people STILL wouldn't know about or care about)....why don't they do that? eMMC makes that trivial to implement (as we found out the hard way)...neglecting the fact that they could have utilized any number of simpler technologies to accomplish the same thing even before eMMC...why not?
That's a topic for further speculation (get your tinfoil hats ready), but, why don't they do that? Play both sides of the field. No voided warranties, no brick returns, no pissed off modders....win win win, right? The carrier doesn't want that? Cool, let us know, we'll flock to the carrier that allows it...something tells me Sprint would be that underdog...
ktulu909 said:
Lmao,actually according to their explanation,their method sounds just like AlpharevX.It would be hilarious if alpharevX sold their method to HTC.
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Not at all like what AlphaRevX did. The only reason they had the serial number check was because it was in Beta so they could shut down their serial generator and stop people using their unlock if they found a problem with it.
This HTC method makes sense, and I think it's fair. Their tool only needs to hook up to your phone to get the device identifier token, the unlock actually happens on the phone itself. This way HTC gets a list of unlocked phones so when people go for support you can't lie to them that your phone was unlocked, but people can have day one unlocks on any phone from HTC going forward.
So now HTC wants to know who exactly is unlocking there phones??
Nice try you sneaky basterds
What's wrong with them knowing if you're unlocked? They have to do that... Otherwise insurance companies would get upset. This is legit and it if people screw their phones up due to user error while unlocked then they shouldn't be able to file a claim.
This also let's them see just how many people want to be unlocked so they don't try and take it away from us again
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
Rippley05 said:
What's wrong with them knowing if you're unlocked? They have to do that... Otherwise insurance companies would get upset. This is legit and it if people screw their phones up due to user error while unlocked then they shouldn't be able to file a claim.
This also let's them see just how many people want to be unlocked so they don't try and take it away from us again
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
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yeah....I dunno. They could (relatively) easily make the phones nearly brick-proof (see my above post) yet they do not. Why? I'm almost irritated by all of the altruistic sentiment for 'doing the right thing'....not because of the altruism, I actually find that refreshing and endearing. It's more because they could take steps to nearly eliminate the potential for bricking (and in doing so insulate the insurance company from liability...making that a moot point), but that people are defending a position that needn't exist.
nhutpham said:
i guess it all makes sense (har har).
If it makes the carriers happy, who cares if this is how they do it? I'm sure whenever they release a bootloader unlocker someone on xda will take it and make it so you can do it without the email/key. We're gonna come out ahead either way.
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+1000000000
Haha, sounds exactly how alpharev did it...hmm, maybe they tore it out of alpharevs hands, i dont know, sounds fishy.
daneurysm said:
yeah....I dunno. They could (relatively) easily make the phones nearly brick-proof (see my above post) yet they do not. Why? I'm almost irritated by all of the altruistic sentiment for 'doing the right thing'....not because of the altruism, I actually find that refreshing and endearing. It's more because they could take steps to nearly eliminate the potential for bricking (and in doing so insulate the insurance company from liability...making that a moot point), but that people are defending a position that needn't exist.
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You don't know why they're doing it. Maybe they wanna track the people that abuse the crap out of wireless tether... Maybe it's for other reasons. Who cares, they are unlocking it for us and that's all that matters. I have nothing to hide when I root so I care less. If you're upset about it then there are other options.
People are getting exactly what they wanted and they still find a reason to cry... Get over it already
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

What makes a bootloade hard to unlock

I'm not a programmer. Actually starting school for programming in a month, but what makes it hard for Devs to unlock them selves?
Sent from my ADR6300 using xda premium
128-bit encryption key
Which is quite interesting. I am guessing they did it to prevent people from bricking their systems and returning them when in fact they are probably getting more returns now than they would have had the bootloader not been encrypted.
yup, by now the devs would probably have custom roms fixing all the issues...
fuzzer said:
yup, by now the devs would probably have custom roms fixing all the issues...
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+1(0 char)
fuzzer said:
128-bit encryption key
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this means there are 128 ^2 possible combinations to test before finding the one for your device. This amount of tries would take years to brute force (trying every single one till you found it) even on today's most powerful super computers.
Paris6906 said:
this means there are 128 ^2 possible combinations to test before finding the one for your device. This amount of tries would take years to brute force (trying every single one till you found it) even on today's most powerful super computers.
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So close. It's actually 2^128. That's two to the power of one-hundred twenty eight.
Question, when you unlock the bootloader your warranty becomes void. Will there be a way to re-lock for warranty purposes?
hashish16 said:
Question, when you unlock the bootloader your warranty becomes void. Will there be a way to re-lock for warranty purposes?
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no one is really going to know how it all works for asus until asus releases their tool with the specifics on everything.
but as far as the law goes, if whatever you need warranty work for has nothing to do with you loading custom roms or messing with the kernel etc, you should have no problem sending it in for warranted repairs.
ie, the power button is broken or the screen dies
Rooting can become illegal soon
But once your unlocked warranty void forever because they track serial
tylermaciaszek said:
Rooting can become illegal soon
But once your unlocked warranty void forever because they track serial
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I read that is what apple is doing and they are close to passing the bill. Its ridiculous, rooting is not all about pirating, its mostly for performance.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Evo_Shift said:
Which is quite interesting. I am guessing they did it to prevent people from bricking their systems and returning them when in fact they are probably getting more returns now than they would have had the bootloader not been encrypted.
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IIRC Asus did explicitly say that it was nVidia forcing them to lock the bootloader on the Prime. This could of course be BS, but after such a public statement saying this, nVidia would have gone apesh*t if it was not the truth.
It's all to do with the Tegra3 and the Prime being basically a prototype released only for mass beta testing. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Still love my Prime though.
tylermaciaszek said:
Rooting can become illegal soon
But once your unlocked warranty void forever because they track serial
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Click to collapse
It doesn't have to be! It is not a bill, but an exemption to the DMCA. If we can show our support by contacting the Copyright office and showing them that jailbreaking/rooting is beneficial, they can extend the exemption. The EFF has more info on how to contact the Copyright office and how to request that other electronics be included (did you know that tablets are NOT covered in the exemption?) like consoles, tablets, and more.
https://www.eff.org/pages/jailbreaking-not-crime-tell-copyright-office-free-your-devices
XDA has 337,000 active members. This effects all of us. Let them know it should not be illegal to use your electronics however you wish!
It does not affect ALL of us by any means, however, I have already shown my support by donating to the EFF. It's disgusting that a device that you have paid your hard earned cash for can be ruled over with an iron fist as though you are simply renting it for the duration of it's life....
.... Oh that business model sounds familiar.
Doktaphex said:
It does not affect ALL of us by any means...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume that if you are on here, you are either a dev or get support from a dev. In either case, making rooting illegal again would give manufacturers cause to turn a deaf ear to us, making it more difficult to impossible to work with these devices and in turn help others. Even if you have never rooted a phone or even heard of jailbreaking, you would still (indirectly, yes) be affected, since fewer will want to put themselves in that position.
Devs will usually find a way around these locks, but the level of support will not be there as they will think twice about breaking the law (in the US at least).
silentheero said:
I assume that if you are on here, you are either a dev or get support from a dev. In either case, making rooting illegal again would give manufacturers cause to turn a deaf ear to us, making it more difficult to impossible to work with these devices and in turn help others. Even if you have never rooted a phone or even heard of jailbreaking, you would still (indirectly, yes) be affected, since fewer will want to put themselves in that position.
Devs will usually find a way around these locks, but the level of support will not be there as they will think twice about breaking the law (in the US at least).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I concede, you make a very good point. I was referring to the fact that I am in the UK and therefore it does not DIRECTLY affect me, but again, you ARE right.
Doktaphex said:
I concede, you make a very good point. I was referring to the fact that I am in the UK and therefore it does not DIRECTLY affect me, but again, you ARE right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for supporting the EFF! All I can do at the moment is to support by getting people motivated.
monkey10120 said:
I read that is what apple is doing and they are close to passing the bill. Its ridiculous, rooting is not all about pirating, its mostly for performance.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting can be considered as illegal as it uses hacking methods, and so break the software that belongs to the company made the device, even if the software is in majority open source, there are always closed parts that are concern by trading laws.
And be precise please, the'illegal' rooting stuff is ONLY concerning USA.
Plenty of places with some very smart devs where rooting will never become illegal. Russia as an example, or China (where the exemption would only apply to US built product). If some countries want to kill off their engineering and software development communities, plenty of other places in the world will be only too happy to step in and take over.
Correct me if I'm wrong but, android is open source. So then there's no copyright infringement unless you hack the apps or something. IOS on the other hand isn't open source so jailbreaking it could be seen as infringing. But I still disagree that rooting/ jailbreaking should be illegal.
Sent from my DROIDX using xda premium

[WARRANTY] Who's the best for Android phones?

I've owned HTC, Samsung and Motorola Android phones and I've had negative experience with two out of 3 those vendors (more on that below). I'm now thinking of getting a newer phone quite soon (well, supposedly Google will be announcing 5 new Google-branded devices this Fall) and the warranty considerations are about the top of my list.
If you've had an experience (wherever positive or negative) with the warranty on your android phone, please post away and let me start the ball rolling. My goal here is to ideally find the manufacturer which would deal with end users directly on the warranty issues and would not shy away from the international warranty. I'll collect responses and then edit this post to reflect the actual warranty statements from the manufacturers rather than my own experiences.
[HTC] I've had a Google Ion device (given at the Google I/O conference) which was also sold known HTC MyTouch. I needed to flash Android 1.5 on it and bricked the phone. HTC spent about a month before they said they didn't have this IMEI in their database and would not offer *any* support (including paid) with that phone. What a bummer, I don't think I'd ever buy the HTC-made Google-branded phone.
[MOTOROLA] Had a problem with the phone not charging (when plugged to a computer) and I panicked and contacted Motorola. They ran the IMEI and suggested I go back to the provider (even tho I'm overseas and wouldn't be back home for a while they refused to accept the phone directly from me). Thankfully the phone charged just fine off the wall outlet, but what if I've had a genuine issue with the phone while overseas? Also, what if this had been a second-hand phone?
.
Thread moved to Q&A due to it being a question. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
Failure to comply with forum rules will result in an infraction and/or ban depending on severity of rule break.
the best solutioin for ur problem is the following:
there are two different things
1. the warranty (it is given by the phone manufacture)
2. the service the seller gives to u
i would mention to find a seller wich has a own service station
cus if there are any problems u can bring the phone to them and let them check out whats wrong
I thankfully haven't had to make use of warranty thus far on my android phone (it's an HTC), but I'd say probably if you read some small text somewhere you'd find that the device you were given at Google I/O came without warranty or something like that. I'm sure on purchased devices, HTC will honour the warranty well.
Also, from what I've read, it's almost impossible to completely destroy an HTC phone with software (you should always be able to access bootloader via hardware button combo and from there reflash OS). So an HTC warranty is probably mainly useful for hardware problems.
Another thought worth mentioning is that many manufacturers will not honour warranties if the phone has been rooted or had the bootloader unlocked (at least, if they can tell )
SifJar said:
I thankfully haven't had to make use of warranty thus far on my android phone (it's an HTC), but I'd say probably if you read some small text somewhere you'd find that the device you were given at Google I/O came without warranty or something like that. I'm sure on purchased devices, HTC will honour the warranty well.
Also, from what I've read, it's almost impossible to completely destroy an HTC phone with software (you should always be able to access bootloader via hardware button combo and from there reflash OS). So an HTC warranty is probably mainly useful for hardware problems.
Another thought worth mentioning is that many manufacturers will not honour warranties if the phone has been rooted or had the bootloader unlocked (at least, if they can tell )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was i was thinking too but ive been resently involved into a discussion where a guy bricked his phone in a way he couldnt even get into recovery nor the bootloader
jiffer1991 said:
That was i was thinking too but ive been resently involved into a discussion where a guy bricked his phone in a way he couldnt even get into recovery nor the bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On an HTC? Was he trying to get S-OFF or something? (Perhaps I am misinformed about the brick-ability of HTC phones)
Guys, the thread is about the warranty, not the brickability of the HTC phones.
Regarding the warranty from the seller -- who gives a **** when I'm half a world away from the seller for 4-6 months?
stangri said:
Guys, the thread is about the warranty, not the brickability of the HTC phones.
Regarding the warranty from the seller -- who gives a **** when I'm half a world away from the seller for 4-6 months?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, sorry for going off topic there.
Anyway, I agree you should not have to rely on any warranty from the seller.
jiffer1991 said:
That was i was thinking too but ive been resently involved into a discussion where a guy bricked his phone in a way he couldnt even get into recovery nor the bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know im just saying this because i want u to be careful

Phone will not boot but comes on

My Phone; (AT&T HTC One M8 Unlocked, Rooted S-off ), TWRP 2.7.0.0 Recovery, Superuser GOO Manager installed. Flashed the Venom rom using teamwin app. Followed inst, plus youtube video. Did not work first time. Installed backup phone went back to normal, tried flashing again went fine rebooted once rebooted would not turn on, can not get into recovery. Phone powers up and say UNFORTUNATELY PHONE HAS STOPPED WORKING. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Is there no way to force this phone into bootloader mode?
Well I'm off to the Evil empire(AT&T) to get a new phone.
Phone still under warranty, getting one mailed to me with a return mailer to send this one back, should be here on Tuesday. A few minutes ago I saw the supersu app pop up asking to grant venom tweaks permission. I could not grant it because of the two error messages on the screen on top of it. (Unfortunately the phone has stopped, and Unfortunately blink feed has stopped). Has anyone seen any thing like this before?
underdogg said:
Phone still under warranty, getting one mailed to me with a return mailer to send this one back, should be here on Tuesday. A few minutes ago I saw the supersu app pop up asking to grant venom tweaks permission. I could not grant it because of the two error messages on the screen on top of it. (Unfortunately the phone has stopped, and Unfortunately blink feed has stopped). Has anyone seen any thing like this before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure your phone is fine. you are using an outdated twrp and probably messed up a partition. Unplug phone, hold vol up and power for exactly 10 seconds, let go of both, then hold vol down and power. This should take you to your boot loader. get new twrp img from official site.
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
fastboot erase cache
boot to twrp and reflash rom.
I had done what you suggested many times (read it from another post), the only difference was you said exactly 10 seconds the other post said 15 seconds. The HTC tech I talked to earlier this morning even told me to do that for 15-20 seconds which did not work. Your method worked like a charm on the first try. Thank you very much Sir.
underdogg said:
I had done what you suggested many times (read it from another post), the only difference was you said exactly 10 seconds the other post said 15 seconds. The HTC tech I talked to earlier this morning even told me to do that for 15-20 seconds which did not work. Your method worked like a charm on the first try. Thank you very much Sir.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Np, if you hold longer, it actually turns the phone back on before you can hit "vol down" to get to boot loader. If you are ever just resetting, you can hold as long as you want till it resets
I'm happy you go it sorted out. But stop jumping the gun, and running for a warranty exchange when things do go quite right when modding the phone.
If the screen comes on, its unlikely that the phone beyond recovery. Its usually just a lock of knowledge on your part, and just a matter of research on XDA, or asking for help here. If you are going to be modding the phone, you are going to have to resolve yourself to being more patient. Things will occasionally not go right, that is just a fact of the game. The right response is to troubleshoot your way out, and not freak out.
In any case, claiming a warranty replacement for damage that was a result of you modding the phone is immoral; and the very reason why these devices get locked down in the first place.
redpoint73 said:
I'm happy you go it sorted out. But stop jumping the gun, and running for a warranty exchange when things do go quite right when modding the phone.
If the screen comes on, its unlikely that the phone beyond recovery. Its usually just a lock of knowledge on your part, and just a matter of research on XDA, or asking for help here. If you are going to be modding the phone, you are going to have to resolve yourself to being more patient. Things will occasionally not go right, that is just a fact of the game. The right response is to troubleshoot your way out, and not freak out.
In any case, claiming a warranty replacement for damage that was a result of you modding the phone is immoral; and the very reason why these devices get locked down in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't question my morality, you don't know me. I've dealt with AT&T(the evil empire) for 18 years, with them adding charges to my account, charging for items I never requested and they never sent, charging for additional minutes and data that were never used. I went to buy another phone ,just like I bought this one. The enormous amount of money they charge for these $80.00 phones is ridiculous. So please wait until you sit down and talk to me about all the things I endured with AT&T before making claims about my morality.
UNDERDOGG
21 Year 100% disabled American Veteran
Retired 22 Years Now
52 months a POW
2 Purple Hearts
3 Bronze Stars
2 Silver Stars
Sir you've never sat at my table, nor I yours. My moral compass is always pointed due north. So don't question my morality....Please
underdogg said:
Please don't question my morality, you don't know me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, I don't know you. But my statement, while phrased in the 2nd person tense, does not require any knowledge of you, and does not in any way need to be specific to you. It applies to everybody. If you want me to rephrase slightly, try this:
Claiming a warranty replacement for damage that was a result of modding the phone is immoral and fraud; and the very reason why these devices get locked down in the first place.
The personal details of your life are not relevant to the discussion, and add no value to it.
People often like to frame things in terms of "evil" faceless corporations that don't get hurt if you rip them off. Of you getting payback for so-called "wrongs" they have done to you. But in reality, the expense of fraudulent warranty claims doesn't get absorbed by AT&T, it trickles down to all of us, the customers. And in more ways than one. Not only would such behavior pass on additional monetary expenses to other honest paying customers, but also is the very reason why manufacturers and carriers are locking down bootloaders, and otherwise locking down the phones against modification (write protected partitions, etc.). If not for fruadulant warranty claims (do to botched phone modding), the manufacturers and carriers would let us mod to our hearts delight. Locked bootloaders and other obstacles would not exist, because why would they care? Its not the "evil empire" you are hurting, its all of us.
If you decide to mod the phone, you accept the risk of bricking it, and having to replace the phone on your own dime. Its that simple.
redpoint73 said:
You're right, I don't know you. But my statement, while phrased in the 2nd person tense, does not require any knowledge of you, and does not in any way need to be specific to you. It applies to everybody. If you want me to rephrase slightly, try this:
Claiming a warranty replacement for damage that was a result of modding the phone is immoral and fraud; and the very reason why these devices get locked down in the first place.
The personal details of your life are not relevant to the discussion, and add no value to it.
People often like to frame things in terms of "evil" faceless corporations that don't get hurt if you rip them off. Of you getting payback for so-called "wrongs" they have done to you. But in reality, the expense of fraudulent warranty claims doesn't get absorbed by AT&T, it trickles down to all of us, the customers. And in more ways than one. Not only would such behavior pass on additional monetary expenses to other honest paying customers, but also is the very reason why manufacturers and carriers are locking down bootloaders, and otherwise locking down the phones against modification (write protected partitions, etc.). If not for fruadulant warranty claims (do to botched phone modding), the manufacturers and carriers would let us mod to our hearts delight. Locked bootloaders and other obstacles would not exist, because why would they care? Its not the "evil empire" you are hurting, its all of us.
If you decide to mod the phone, you accept the risk of bricking it, and having to replace the phone on your own dime. Its that simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I some what agree with you but not totally, as for as my back ground info now you do know a little about me. You must not know how warranties work if I had taken the warranty phone I would have to send them this one back. So I cancelled the order. This is not an AT&T phone this is my phone, I bought it, I can do what I please with it. In my earlier post I said I went to BUY another phone, not do a warranty claim I told them what I did. I did not try to deceive them, lie or anything(because of my Morality). If it's their phone I agree I should be liable, but it's my phone. It came with a warranty, so did the 2013 Mustang I purchased for my Grand Daughter, the engine failed, the warranty replaced the engine. I was allowed to keep the defective engine, it was MINE I wrote a check for the vehicle. Since I bought the phone they should have made provisions for me to unlock, root, unlock the sim, replace the rom, toss it in my lake, throw from the third floor of my home, and anything else I wanted to do to it, once they accepted my money this became my property. In closing, yes I don't care about big corporations, or the Government, but my morality is intact if it wasn't I don't think I would be here having this conversation with you. Sir, your lesson on morality is wasted on me you should be having this conversation with your children!
underdogg said:
You must not know how warranties work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know precisely how warranties work. You said the following, which to me means you were making a warranty claim due to the phone not booting, which was a result of you modding the phone.
underdogg said:
Phone still under warranty, getting one mailed to me with a return mailer to send this one back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did not use the word "buy" previously anywhere. Only the word "get" which is ambiguous at best. And how a purchase fits in with the above quote (getting a warranty exchange) is unclear.
And I know you go the phone working again, so presumably cancelled the warranty claim. I was more commenting on the intent to make a warranty claim.
I've said my part, no need to carry this discussion any further. And frankly the repeated mention of your "morality" is irrelevant. I'm just making a comment, which all are free to do on this forum. You can take it or leave it (obviously the latter). But saying I cannot comment (and to have this conversation "with my kids" instead) is not your right.
redpoint73 said:
I know precisely how warranties work. You said the following, which to me means you were making a warranty claim due to the phone not booting, which was a result of you modding the phone.
You did not use the word "buy" previously anywhere. Only the word "get" which is ambiguous at best. And how a purchase fits in with the above quote (getting a warranty exchange) is unclear.
And I know you go the phone working again, so presumably cancelled the warranty claim. I was more commenting on the intent to make a warranty claim.
I've said my part, no need to carry this discussion any further. And frankly the repeated mention of your "morality" is irrelevant. I'm just making a comment, which all are free to do on this forum. You can take it or leave it (obviously the latter). But saying I cannot comment (and to have this conversation "with my kids" instead) is not your right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, I did say get a phone, the warranty info came after I got to the store. I buy what I want, and I understand my RIGHTS under the freedom of speech act. You said what you had to say, I just questioned your point about my morality. This is the last I will speak on this, I hope you do the same. Have a good day today and a better day tomorrow.

Bootloader unlock available! Usa versions only! (voids warranty immediately)

https://community.zteusa.com/community/blogging/blog/2016/08/10/did-somebody-say-bootloader
From Petershih:
We have heard you loud and clear. Throughout the last two months on Z-Community you have voiced the desire for an unlocked bootloader for the Axon 7, and today we are making this a reality.
In fact, an unlocked bootloader was something that has been in discussion internally at ZTE for quite awhile. But upon hearing more and more discussions on Z-Community about this topic, your mod team performed the necessary due diligence to present our case with internal stakeholders. After thoughtful debates and discussions, we are truly delighted to share the exciting news that fellow mobile developers have been waiting for: the U.S. versions of the Axon Pro and the Axon 7 will have their bootloader unlocked upon request here on Z-Community!
There are two important things to note: This procedure is reserved for those with a high level of technical expertise and have had experience flashing custom ROMs. Furthermore, unlocking the bootloader will void the device warranty that comes free with each Axon purchase.
To help streamline requests, we have created Developers Lounge sub-spaces within the Axon [Series] Forum. This is the exclusive space for mobile developers to request unlocking and share tips and tricks. Just to reiterate, unlocking the bootloader will void your device warranty.
To wrap up, we want to reinforce our mission behind Z-Community - share in each other’s passion for mobile and shape the roadmap for future products. While we may not comment on each request, suggestion or recommendation, we indeed listen to what our consumers want and make decisions based on that when possible. Lastly, if you’re a mobile developer and excited about this latest announcement, we want to hear from you in the comments section below - in other words, make some NOISE!
https://community.zteusa.com/community/forums/axon/developers-lounge-axon-7
AXON 7/Pro Bootloader Unlock Request
All fields are required. Please allow up to 72 business hours (Monday-Friday) in most instances. Longer wait times while uncommon, may occur without notice.
Once verified, a follow up email will provide instructions on unlocking the bootloader.
Terms and Conditions:
CAUTION!
This is a highly technical procedure and we strongly suggest that you do not unlock the bootloader unless you have a high level of mobile development experience and you understand the risks involved. Before you proceed, please note that unlocking the bootloader of any ZTE device will VOID ITS WARRANTY effective immediately. Please DO NOT attempt to unlock the bootloader unless you are confident that you fully understand the risks involved which may include physically damaging the device, rendering it inoperable, altering its behavior, or otherwise creating undesirable results. If you decide to move forward with unlocking the bootloader and click the Next button below, you do so with the understanding of its consequences, including the IMMEDIATE VOIDING of your device WARRANTY.
* Required
First and Last Name *
________________
Your answer
Email Address Used To Register For Z-Community *
________________
Your answer
Z-Community Username *
________________
Your answer
IMEI (Please Double Check) *
________________
Your answer
Axon Device You Wish To Unlock *
-Choose-
Do you agree to the terms and conditions above? *
-Yes
-No
NEXT
They require you to fill out the above form. So they def know your warranty is void.
Good news! Voiding warranty over a bootloader unlock does not make sense.
Great news ! Some points to clear out but overall happy to see things moving.
Loss of warranty is pretty standard, only a few company allow the bootloader to be unlocked while keeping the warranty (OP and Oppo, i don't know of any other).
US market only at the moment. Not to happy about that as i live in Europe, if nothing is made, it will kill the european market for ZTE. I personally will keep my preorder up but if there isn't any news about the european version, i certainly will not keep the device at the end of the month of free return...
Still overall a good news, to rejoice about !
djona12 said:
Great news ! Some points to clear out but overall happy to see things moving.
Loss of warranty is pretty standard, only a few company allow the bootloader to be unlocked while keeping the warranty (OP and Oppo, i don't know of any other).
US market only at the moment. Not to happy about that as i live in Europe, if nothing is made, it will kill the european market for ZTE. I personally will keep my preorder up but if there isn't any news about the european version, i certainly will not keep the device at the end of the month of free return...
Still overall a good news, to rejoice about !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oneplus, oppo, i think huawei, google nexus, htc all allow BL unlock without voiding warranty. And many brands say they void the warranty but as long as you return it to stock prior to sending it in your usually okay unless its samsung. the way zte is doing it is its void as soon as you ask to do it which isnt really right if theres a hardware defect not due to unlocking like say your charging port dying.
I won't copy my entire response to Peter's blog post over here, but I'll copy this:
I can honestly say this negatively impacts the chances that I'll keep the phone past the 30 days B&H will give me to return it. I will wait for an XDA dev to work their magic and possibly provide TWRP and root without a BL unlock (as in the case of the Intel-based ASUS Zenfone 2), but I'm not holding my breath.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a half-ass solution. Voided warranties from bootloader unlocks are incredibly 2010. There's no reason why, if Google, OnePlus, HTC, Motorola, and Huawei all offer bootloader unlocks without voiding warranties, that ZTE can't. We still need to complain. It's a great start, but this isn't enough.
Berzerker7 said:
This is a half-ass solution. It's a great start, but this isn't enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly!
WHERE IS OUR FREE PONY???
I am still thinking of canceling pre order. I feel like voiding the warranty is little demanding and could limit it's adoption in developer community. Honestly without strong XDA developer support I'll go to a op3, n6 or HTC. I want custom ROMs (sultan being my favorite). I want xposed and freedom of choice for the hardware. This is step in right direction but it still concerns me that it's a half hearted gesture.
ZTE could really use this as a opportunity to burst into the market much like OPO by embracing developers openly. It definitely has helped OPO.
Nameless One said:
Exactly!
WHERE IS OUR FREE PONY???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is like getting a free pony, but them taking away the stable you originally bought for it, so it's just going to die.
rczrider said:
I won't copy my entire response to Peter's blog post over here, but I'll copy this:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edit
Berzerker7 said:
This is like getting a free pony, but them taking away the stable you originally bought for it, so it's just going to die.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to mention you have to ask for permission to use said pony via ZTE USA forum. Not sure how thatll work. I think want to keep a database of those who have roots there phones as you have fill out a form with name, IMEI and such. Seems excessive.
aknotts415 said:
Sup RCZrider its starkiller base from zte :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. I like it when folks use the same handle on multiple forums. Makes it easier to keep up
Unlocking the bootloader versus taking a risk on their lack of quality control.... I guess that is all I need to say, I won't be purchasing an Axon 7!
Well I have the Axon 7 and I think it is a great phone has very good specs. and I haven't had any problems with it which I guess I have to consider myself lucky based on others having issues. But I have requested the bootloader unlock because I like to use custom roms on my phones. I am also concerned about the warranty being voided if you unlock the bootloader since there could be hardware issues occur having nothing to do with unlocking the bootloader. Which I expressed this on ZTEUSA forum hopefully they will change this to cover hardware issues, and if you read the comments from others there they also agree with what I have said so lets hope ZTE does to.
Problem solved!
This is great news. I was really torn between the OP3 and Axon 7. Now it's no contest. The next time I'm in the market for a phone, I'll see if ZTE's changed their policy. The hardware is still compelling.
Hola
A follow up question to those in the know, is it at all possible to get root on a official unlocked bootloader request, and then be able to somehow replicate the root process on locked devices? The idea or hope is that with an unlocked bootloader, there are some methods that our super devs can invoke to get root on even locked phones.
While I honestly knew that ZTE would provide unlocking bootloader (due to very vocal XDA / geeky folks) I also saw the voiding of the warranty part... it's only logical for a mid-sized OEM to take the sort of easy way out. ZTE is not developer friendly (from recent history).
While I may be ok with stock MiFlavor UI, root is more important for me as it can for the most part allow me to customize the areas that I want. Plus you'll never get very stable and fully functional AOSP based ROMs without full sources from the OEM... the audio, fingerprint, camera sub-systems are very likely closed sourced.
So, you have a broken speaker or bad battery by any chance, you are SOL'ed if you unlocked.... No thanks!
Wizpop said:
Not to mention you have to ask for permission to use said pony via ZTE USA forum. Not sure how thatll work. I think want to keep a database of those who have roots there phones as you have fill out a form with name, IMEI and such. Seems excessive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll wait for someone to post their unlocking tools on the forums so I can unlock my phone without ZTE knowing.
devsk said:
So, you have a broken speaker or bad battery by any chance, you are SOL'ed if you unlocked.... No thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much. And while there isn't really that much evidence to suggest the Axon 7 is plagued with manufacturing defects, there are enough issues reported on the ZTE forum that I wouldn't want to risk unlocking the bootloader within the return period (although I ordered from B&H and I doubt they would notice or care if it was unlocked).
My gray is still on preorder, scheduled to ship next Monday or Tuesday (for delivery on the 17th, I believe). I'll give it the full 30 days - so middle of September - for an enterprising dev to discover a way to flash recovery and gain root without unlocking the bootloader. If they can't, and even if there's nothing wrong with the phone itself (except the unimpressive camera), back to B&H it goes. I'm not especially impressed by the OP3, but the 2016 Nexus devices should be available for preorder in late September and shipping in October, so I may go that route as long as Google doesn't do something stupid with their pricing. And if not the Marlin, then the Zenfone 3 Deluxe bears some consideration if it's not stupidly priced.
Sorry, ZTE, you had your chance and blew it. I really wanted you to succeed, too
WTH you get a bootloader unlock like you wanted but now you're pissed on the voided warranty!?!?!
Its called protection form the morons that bork their phones out of the gate which happens on a regular basis. WHY SHOULD THEY PAY FOR SOME ONES STUPIDITY?
I also like how the people that root think they are special snow flakes and will make or break a company if their demands aren't met. This community ( custom users) is only a small part of the total number of devices sold and is only a blip on the financial map of a company...LOL

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