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Around a week ago, BLU issued a broken software update for its Life One X2 phone. In at least some cases, users who applied the update were locked out of their phones. Late this afternoon, BLU's official Twitter account—which, much to the chagrin of affected users, was silent on the subject for almost a week—issued a statement that the problem had been fixed via a new update.
Some of the most interesting additions to Android often come from unofficial sources. Maligned though they may be, Google has incorporated many features previously only found in manufacturer skins into AOSP, and custom ROM developers add new features more or less as they feel like it, some of which are quite useful. For example, the CyanogenMod development team is working on a new integrated system for handling "locked" apps, applications that can't be accessed by the user without a password or other validation mechanism.
If you updated your Verizon Galaxy S4 to the latest over-the-air build, or bought one after it was already installed, you might already be aware that it's been especially resistant to root attempts. Savvy power users have stayed well away from the updated VRUAME7 firmware, which makes rolling back to an earlier build impossible. But as is so often the case, two enterprising XDA-Developers posters have solved at least some of the problems, and released a new rooting method for the latest OTA.
Samsung Galaxy S4 owners on Verizon, there's a new update available for your phones. But don't bother checking your Settings menu for an over-the-air prompt: it's only available via the Verizon Software Upgrade Assistant after connecting the device to a PC. Standard users should be fine, but rooted users (or those who intend to root or flash a new ROM sometime in the future) should avoid this one. According to several posters on XDA, the VRUAME7 patches existing root methods, and flashes a new version of the locked bootloader that prevents users from flashing a pre-release kernel, effectively blocking another path to root. A similar update may have already gone out to Sprint Galaxy S4 owners. At present, no one has found a way of rooting the new firmware.
[Updated: Q&A] Dan Rosenberg Has Unlocked AT&T Galaxy S4's Bootloader, But We Won't Get To See How For A While - Here Is Why
It was only yesterday that Cyanogen definitively confirmed AT&T's treacherous move to lock down the Galaxy S4's bootloader, but there is light at the
It was only yesterday that Cyanogen definitively confirmed AT&T's treacherous move to lock down the Galaxy S4's bootloader, but there is light at the end of that tunnel. No thanks to AT&T but to security researcher extraordinaire and a person I admire Dan Rosenberg, a.k.a. the magician, a.k.a. the root whisperer.
So, you were thinking about picking up a Kindle Fire HD, rooting it, and throwing a ROM on it for an impressive $200 tablet? Turns out that idea may not work out as well as we initially thought: both the Kindle Fire HD and the second gen KF have locked bootloaders. Bummer.
Samsung's Developer Version Of The Galaxy S III Shows Up On Its Site In Pebble Blue, 32GB Flavor, "Coming Soon"
Verizon has taken some flack lately for being the only US carrier to lock the bootloader. Workarounds have been implemented, but Samsung's taken it a step
Verizon has taken some flack lately for being the only US carrier to lock the bootloader. Workarounds have been implemented, but Samsung's taken it a step further by announcing a developer version of the device. Today they...well, they haven't quite made good on that promise, but they have created a landing page for the device on their site that announces the 32GB Pebble Blue version will be "coming soon".
Motorola: Atrix HD Will Have A Locked (Signed) Bootloader, "Our Goal Is To Provide A Way To Unlock … To Those Who Wish To Do So"
Those wondering whether Motorola's recently-announced Atrix HD will carry a locked bootloader can exhale – in a string of tweets earlier this evening,
Those wondering whether Motorola's recently-announced Atrix HD will carry a locked bootloader can exhale – in a string of tweets earlier this evening, Moto confirmed that, yes, the Atrix HD's bootloader will be locked and signed.
Verizon's Galaxy S III Has Been Rooted, Custom Recovery Flashed Despite Verizon's Lockdown
Of the four major US carriers to receive the Galaxy S III, Verizon is the only one to lock down the bootloader. This has made a lot of people very angry
Of the four major US carriers to receive the Galaxy S III, Verizon is the only one to lock down the bootloader. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. Nevertheless, enterprising hackers over at XDA and RootzWiki have successfully managed to circumvent the lock, achieve root, and flash ClockworkMod recovery. If you're on Verizon and anticipating owning a Galaxy S III, congratulations: your phone is yours again.
Forget about GPS issues, it looks like ASUS has a bigger problem on its hand with the Transformer Prime: a locked/encrypted bootloader. Like with other devices, as soon as the development community found out about this, there were some rather irritated people. The typical backlash against the company has now started on popular social networking sites, along with a petition that has managed to get over 200 signatures in just a few hours.
It was inevitable that the question is the bootloader locked? would pop up within minutes of Moto's RAZR announcement. The answer should come as a shocker to no one: Yes. According to Moto's Twitter, the bootloader will indeed be locked. It's not necessarily Motorola's choice, though, as the tweet specifically states that "the bootloader was locked per the carrier" Oh snap -- it was all Verizon's fault.
The Android 3.2 update for the Verizon 3G (soon-to-be 4G) XOOM can be flashed right now, before it hits your device over-the-air.
All of Motorola's recent devices (save for the XOOM) have featured bootloaders that are locked down like Fort Knox, and despite publicly stating that they would be reversing that policy, the company has yet to take any action. Although they stated they wouldn't begin making bootloaders unlockable until late 2011, many people held out hope for the newly-released Droid 3. An apparently lost hope, unfortunately, as a Motorola Support forum admin has confirmed that the hot new Droid is as locked as its brethren.
If you were ever wondering what bootloader encryption, signing, and locking actually meant, this post is for you.
Update: If you've somehow inexplicably ended up at this article, please note, HTC has since announced the 3D will be unlocked (at some point) and their future policy is to have unlocked bootloaders on all devices.
AT&T users, rejoice! Brief Mobile has been informed that user DesignGears, along with Getaphixx, has rooted the Motorola Atrix before its official release.
Oh, boy... what a mess this is. Earlier this week, a Motorola employee with access to the company's official YouTube account replied to a (now deleted) comment about their locked bootloaders with "if you want to do custom roms, then buy elsewhere, we’ll continue with our strategy that is working thanks." Issues about eFuse aside, that's a pretty poor thing to say from a customer service perspective. Apparently, Motorola recognized that fact after somebody posted on their Facebook page they'd be taking that advice:
Have you ever wanted to peek ahead to those locked worlds in Angry Birds that are unavailable before fully completing the previous ones? A bug (or an Easter egg) in the Android version of the game lets you do just that, a reddit user braaaiins found. I tried it just a few minutes ago with 100% success.
Well, we didn't see this one coming. Hackers over at XDA-Developers have discovered that there is a hardware chip limiting the hackability of the G2, undermining the owner's ability to customize the Android OS. The chip acts as a rootkit and over-writes modifications to the /system partition after rebooting.