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Root My feelings
- Thread starter Steven58
- Start date
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- motorola droid x
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varaonaid
Android Enthusiast
Thanks for this thread. I appreciate hearing the different thoughts back and forth between the animosity (deserved) against Moto for the locked bootleader to the benefits of Moto for their build quality and radios.
I think the thing that I've picked up from reading and from the experience I've had first with a Droid Inc and then switching to the DX because they couldn't get me a DI that actually worked after 4 tries, is that I want a phone that's a "major release" phone. As good as a "fringe phone" may be, it won't have the developer support that the larger release phones (of course not talking phone size, but phones that the carriers really throw their weight behind and sell a lot of). Bootloader or not, they have done a lot with the DX for which I'm really grateful. But so much of that is because of the large developer community behind it. Kudos to all that has been accomplished and fingers crossed for a more open Moto in the near future.
BTW, my experience with the Droid Inc (HTC) was MISERABLE! They actually sold the phone as though it has Android 2.0 but they couldn't make parts of 2.0 work with Sense UI, so they took out those pieces of the kernel and rolled it back to 1.6. So things like bluetooth in particular, wouldn't work as supposed to or support what the 2.0 stack would. Made my BT keyboard useless. Spent weeks trying to figure it out and had it working in less than 5 min on my DX. I really felt cheated by that and was thrilled when VZW and I worked out the deal to switch me to the DX. So, I'm pretty bitter againt HTC myself.
I think the thing that I've picked up from reading and from the experience I've had first with a Droid Inc and then switching to the DX because they couldn't get me a DI that actually worked after 4 tries, is that I want a phone that's a "major release" phone. As good as a "fringe phone" may be, it won't have the developer support that the larger release phones (of course not talking phone size, but phones that the carriers really throw their weight behind and sell a lot of). Bootloader or not, they have done a lot with the DX for which I'm really grateful. But so much of that is because of the large developer community behind it. Kudos to all that has been accomplished and fingers crossed for a more open Moto in the near future.
BTW, my experience with the Droid Inc (HTC) was MISERABLE! They actually sold the phone as though it has Android 2.0 but they couldn't make parts of 2.0 work with Sense UI, so they took out those pieces of the kernel and rolled it back to 1.6. So things like bluetooth in particular, wouldn't work as supposed to or support what the 2.0 stack would. Made my BT keyboard useless. Spent weeks trying to figure it out and had it working in less than 5 min on my DX. I really felt cheated by that and was thrilled when VZW and I worked out the deal to switch me to the DX. So, I'm pretty bitter againt HTC myself.
PACAnesFan
Well-Known Member
Realistically, is there an Android phone that works out of the box? It seems like every phone is plagued with issues (from battery life to signal issues to kernel panics). You can root and flash a ROM, but usually something is broken or non-functional.
I am really down on Android now. It seems like every update breaks something else. Someone please talk some sense into me.
I am really down on Android now. It seems like every update breaks something else. Someone please talk some sense into me.
D
Deleted User
Guest
I utterly disagree with this. There are hundreds of thousands of Android activations every single day. Do you really think 100% of those are broken? Do you think even 20% of those are going to people who know what a ROM is or how to root their phone?
Of course not.
You're participating in a place where people come when they have problems, and wondering why you see so many problems. Do you go to your car mechanic and wonder why everyone in the waiting room has a broken car? Do you go to the doctor and wonder if there's an epidemic in your city, since everyone in the waiting room is sick?
I have at LEAST a dozen friends happily using stock Android phones with no issues whatsoever - or at least no more issues than any other smartphone has. It's a small computer - it's going to act like a small computer. That means occasional problems. Many of those people are computer illiterate and only know that root is the thing that's under a flower, so it's not like they're flashing ROMs to fix their problems.
Flying_Hellfish
Android Enthusiast
That's with everything, nothing can ever be tested 100% and any software/hardware release will always have bugs that need to be patched.
VoidedSaint
Resident Ninja
the nexus phones work straight out of the box, all android phones have battery issues, you must take into consideration what the phone itself is powering off of a single battery, sammy and moto from my understanding have the superior battery life, im not sure about LG as no one really knows what LG is capable of.
but you have to realize one thing, the os is branched to work on all phones. the iphone is only able to work on 1 phone, and if you notice it has bugs, android has more bugs but when its installed on multiple platforms and the companies like HTC, Moto, sammy, and lg tweak the settings and add their stuff to it, the OG droid was the superior device, because it was pure android, nothing but android lived in it.
you cant blame android 100% the carriers and manufacturers of the phones do take some blame.
but you have to realize one thing, the os is branched to work on all phones. the iphone is only able to work on 1 phone, and if you notice it has bugs, android has more bugs but when its installed on multiple platforms and the companies like HTC, Moto, sammy, and lg tweak the settings and add their stuff to it, the OG droid was the superior device, because it was pure android, nothing but android lived in it.
you cant blame android 100% the carriers and manufacturers of the phones do take some blame.
PlayfulGod
Extreme Android User
Actually you need to aim this at Verizon for the locked bootloader as they are the ones that told Motorola to lock it 
VoidedSaint
Resident Ninja
i dont believe that playful as the atrix was locked, and became unlocked with the gb update
Trooper
Android Expert
This.
tom108
Android Expert
most people that complain don't even know what they can do with an unlocked bootloader. And most of them would be lost trying to figure out what kernel to flash. lol
and not all Moto phones are locked. It is generally a collaboration between manufacture and Provider. So you may want to find a new service provider as well.
and not all Moto phones are locked. It is generally a collaboration between manufacture and Provider. So you may want to find a new service provider as well.
cheesebeard
Well-Known Member
Wasn't the Atrix unlocked because the encryption keys where leaked?
Hey Moto, leak the Droid X keys please, kthnx!
..not going to happen.. ever.
I'm onboard with this too, this will probably be my last Moto phone until bootloaders are unlocked. It's my phone, let me use it however I want dammit! I don't see the harm in it as long as nothing illegal is going on.
Though I can understand why Verizon is doing this, if your bootloader is unlocked then you can run ROMS built from source like CM7, and people wouldn't be buying new phones as often if they could get the latest and greatest Android updates for their current phones.
D
Deleted User
Guest
Actually you need to aim this at Verizon for the locked bootloader as they are the ones that told Motorola to lock it
So you may want to find a new service provider as well.
Yep. Verizon's whole arsenal is locked right up.
You know, like the HTC Incredible 2. The Samsung Galaxy S. The Samsung Charge. The Sony Xperia Play. The LG Revolution.
Yep... all locked up tight...
edit: for those who don't know, the above phones are all bootloader-unlocked. I was being sarcastic, but I don't think it translated well since not everyone knows what phones are locked or unlocked.
Trooper
Android Expert
Have fun with that bro.
VoidedSaint
Resident Ninja
so all the verizon phones are locked? thats nuts man! and there really is no other service in my area to go to that offers great android phones.. its a shame, the iphone will get more attention cause you dont have verizon bloatware on it, and it can be jail broken and customized
and if the android line up is being locked up tight on verizon its kinda killing it for us rooting users.
tom108
Android Expert
My original D1 is unlocked. but that was considered a developer phone when it was released.
D
Deleted User
Guest
I was being sarcastic. All of the phones I named are totally unlocked. Sony actually has a developer portal for their phone. HTC has said they are now committed to unlocked phones, and Verizon isn't going to dump them. Samsung has had unlocked phones and appears to be continuing that trend, going as far as to mail a Galaxy S II to the Cyanogenmod team. LG's phones on other carriers are unlocked, as well as on Verizon.
I just thought the comments about having to switch carriers were a little silly.
Trooper
Android Expert
VoidedSaint
Resident Ninja
lol i was thinking to myself i thought they were all unlocked... see i cannot read sarcasm
Lol you should not have told him.
that is sooo rude and congrats on 2k posts
Trooper
Android Expert
lol i was thinking to myself i thought they were all unlocked... see i cannot read sarcasm
that is sooo rude and congrats on 2k posts
Haha never said I was nice. I thought you guides knew everything?
Wow 2000 posts. Im spend way too much time on these forums, gosh.Indeed. Tis true.
Tom,
This is a valid point. In my case, however, things were different for me. I was new to android and rooting. I got the phone before I knew anything about rooting. One of the mods said I should learn. I was intimidated. (can you imagine?)
So, I got my nerve up in September and did a computer to phone rooting of my 2.1 phone. I was thrilled. I decided to wait, however, for froyo, before I would flash a rom. The entire idea was daunting. However, there were some nice folks here, GranMasterB and another guide, who really took the time to help me through monument problems that seemed monumental to me at the time, but really were basic to the veteran.
Thanks to them, I fell in love with flashing roms. The problem is that I now am stuck with an encrypted bootloader. It was a non-issue when I bought the phone, but became one when I became a modder. Not only did I love it, I became quite deft at it and began helping newbies.
Long and short of the story: The encrypted bootloader was not a problem for me, in the beginning, because I didn't even know what it was. It beCAME a problem for me as I grew into modding.
Never again.
It all comes down to being an informed buyer. I held off jumping on the Droid X when it was first released with the likes of the Samsung Fascinate being close to release. Once that phone was released, I still waited a good month to let known issues of the phone to surface, and see what kind of development could be done on the phone. In the end, I was NOT going to sacrifice call, GPS, and build quality just for the sake of being able to run a custom kernel. I did my homework researching about this "bootloader" term I had been hearing about and what the limitations of it being locked were in terms of custom ROMs, themes, and kernels.
If the 2nd init ROMs are viable on future Motorola phones, I see no reason not to continue with them. I understand yawdapaah's position considering he actually develops for the phone, but for those who just like to flash things that already work.. do you REALLY need an unlocked bootloader compared to what's available now? Maybe I just don't have the curiosity bug that others have to change the ROM/theme/setup of my phone every other day. To each his own.
If the 2nd init ROMs are viable on future Motorola phones, I see no reason not to continue with them. I understand yawdapaah's position considering he actually develops for the phone, but for those who just like to flash things that already work.. do you REALLY need an unlocked bootloader compared to what's available now? Maybe I just don't have the curiosity bug that others have to change the ROM/theme/setup of my phone every other day. To each his own.
D
Deleted User
Guest
RE: really needing an unlocked bootloader... Frankly, it's a little uncomfortable to me that there's development happening for a phone with, essentially, a bunch of unknown code on it.
I guess uncomfortable isn't the word for it. We do that running the stock ROM. More to the point, it would make me happier to have all of the code seen, reviewed and tweaked - including the kernel source.
Also, I'd be far more inclined to work on my phone if recovering it wasn't such a hassle. I'm a pretty busy guy - I've got a reasonably high profile job, and a busy personal life. If I can do something from my phone, I'm far more inclined to take an interest. Like posting on this site. I can be off doing something else, or even just sitting on my sofa watching TV. I can't work on my phone like that because I have to be able to SBF.
I guess uncomfortable isn't the word for it. We do that running the stock ROM. More to the point, it would make me happier to have all of the code seen, reviewed and tweaked - including the kernel source.
Also, I'd be far more inclined to work on my phone if recovering it wasn't such a hassle. I'm a pretty busy guy - I've got a reasonably high profile job, and a busy personal life. If I can do something from my phone, I'm far more inclined to take an interest. Like posting on this site. I can be off doing something else, or even just sitting on my sofa watching TV. I can't work on my phone like that because I have to be able to SBF.
VoidedSaint
Resident Ninja
maybe you should quit your job and donate all your money to me ^_^
tom108
Android Expert
I hear where you are coming from. And it is lame that Device Manufactures/Providers are locking devices. I do prefer Devices that are open however the DX scene is interesting since many people and developers didn't give up. They found new inventive ways to root, flash, overclock and create roms for the device. In a lot of ways it is easier on the DX to do some things. But with that being said. I doubt the DX loader will be unlocked. It is becoming old hardware. Better devices are coming out each month. When you get your next phone you will look back and say. "how the heck did i manage using a phone with a single core 1ghz processor" In fact many of us will feel that way. I have enjoyed the things that the scene has brought to the device.
My next device may not even be on Verizon. I hate to leave after 10+ years with great coverage. But I would like to see some lower bills and different devices.
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