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Root Straight From Moto's Mouth

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obstar85

Member
Hey Everyone
I am just coming over from the OG Droid and am expecting my Droid 3 to show up in the mail within the next two days. After being rooted on the Droid for so long my main concern with upgrading was how long it would be until I got back into the wonders of root. I know that there is a great deal of effort being put into finding ways around the Droid 3 bootloader and getting it rooted but there is also the talk about Motorola making it unlockable so I figured I would just call them.

After about 20 minutes of hold and more than a few people I got to talk to someone that is currently testing a Droid 3 with an unlocked bootloader. First they said its awesome. second and more importantly they are anticipating pushing the update to make all Droid 3's unlockable or re-lockable between Oct and Dec. They are still in the testing phases of it and have had some issues with it causing the phone to brick when restarting so they are working on it but all of the companies associated with the phone (carriers) have agreed and hopefully it might get pushed sooner if they can work the bugs out.

Just thought some people might be interested in this information and knowing that Moto is working on it.
 
Awesome news, sucks that there's such a long wait. Then again, I'd prefer to wait a whole year rather than have X2esque problems.
 
I would like this to be true with the power of a dozen burning suns, but I'm fairly certain it isn't true. Would a big company like Motorola just tell someone over the phone "Oh yeah, we're testing out an unlocked bootloader, it will probably be out later this year"?

Hopefully Motorola makes good on its promises, but I'm not holding my breath. The lack of commitment to a specific date, and the cop out phrase "where carriers allow" make me think that if something like this does happen, it will only be phones bought unlocked off contract.
 
Love to see it but don't believe it. Motorola may have every intention of unlocking the device butit would never make it past Verizon's accountants.

They'd charge you to use the bathroom if they could.
 
obstar85 said:
...
After about 20 minutes of hold and more than a few people I got to talk to someone that is currently testing a Droid 3 with an unlocked bootloader. First they said its awesome. second and more importantly they are anticipating pushing the update to make all Droid 3's unlockable or re-lockable between Oct and Dec. They are still in the testing phases of it and have had some issues with it causing the phone to brick when restarting so they are working on it but all of the companies associated with the phone (carriers) have agreed and hopefully it might get pushed sooner if they can work the bugs out.

Just thought some people might be interested in this information and knowing that Moto is working on it.
Click to expand...

I really hope it true man im on the same boat I had the DROID and now with the DROID3
and would like to remove all the unwanted app VZW put on the DROID3.

Besides that the phone is insane man blur really out did them self with the way it feels and looks. :D im a happy camper!


-eXsoR
 
As much as I would love the believe this, I don't see it being very plausible that they would just tell people over the phone.

Also, I agree with eXsoR. I'm extremely pleased with the phone as it is. Blur isn't as... bad as the last versions of it. I could deal without root, honestly. Sure, I would love to have it, but I'm not really too worried about at this point.
 
Actually guys, it is true. I read a few pre-release articles on the topic, and Mmotorola will be rolling out the bootloader option as an OTA in late Q4. Not to mention, I've heard rumors that an unlocked version is already available (for a substantially incresed price mind you), but I haven't been able to track one down for verification. Honestly, I don't see this as being a huge issue for Verizon; the only money making service they lose by allowing root access is their bogus tethering option. Outside of that, I'm not sure what their concern would be. Not that many people actually use vzw vcast functions, so they can't really stand to lose a significant revenue stream; people will always buy new phones (early adopters), so they'll never lose that income, and vzw doesn't actually generate our updates, Google does, and Verizon distributes them via OTA. I wouod think that the resistance would come from Motorola, considering root access gives us ROM access, and allows us to keep our older phones longer. My Droid ran almost as well as my girlfriend's Tbolt...meaning I had no need to upgrade phones at the time, just for a little speed boost...manufacturers lose the largest amount due to rooting imo, since we're all not jumping at the newest, shiniest piece of hardware. I expect this D3 to last me another 3 years at least, once we get root. ICS roms will pop up from Cyanogen, Liquid, Chevy, and others, and we'll be back in business! :)
 
I am not seeing this for retail devices. The Droid 3 is very stable now, so why rock the boat and risk a surge in support issues, which costs VZW and Moto money? I hope it is true, but from a cost perspective it does not seem to make sense.

What is the total cost of not unlocking for the small total population of rooters (and them not buying the device) compared to the obvious issues and returns that will take place once rooted? Since an unknown, seems not worth the risk.

Perhaps it will be an optional feature that has to be waivered as far as future liability by VZW (if you root, you lose official support). That would help control the issues.

Just thinking out loud, since seems too good to be true.

added:

As far as the suggestion that rooters impact sales, that would be a small total population of consumers, so as mentioned above, which is cheaper- losing some of the hardcore rooter sales, or not dealing with the support costs due to rooting? I would not do it if my P&L- unless a support waiver is done for folks that choose the option. This would make non hardcore rooters think twice.
 
Rooting has always voided warranty, so I'm sure there would be extensive warnings throughout the unlocking process, and all support would be terminated upon unlock/root.
 
redddog said:
Love to see it but don't believe it. Motorola may have every intention of unlocking the device butit would never make it past Verizon's accountants.

They'd charge you to use the bathroom if they could.
Click to expand...

It's a $1.25 in case you are wondering. You have to have your own t.p. and buy an accessory.
 
I don't mind the boot loader being locked, that can be remedied with time, but that eFuse being used to brick the thing upon attempts at unlocking it, that can be remedied over time as well, but it makes me angry that they'd rather brick our devices than let us take a chance on doing that ourselves. ;)
 
Frisco said:
I don't mind the boot loader being locked, that can be remedied with time, but that eFuse being used to brick the thing upon attempts at unlocking it, that can be remedied over time as well, but it makes me angry that they'd rather brick our devices than let us take a chance on doing that ourselves. ;)
Click to expand...

Maybe its because they know devs will also find a way around... i mean the android developers for custom roms are better than google themselves! "I google, therefore i am" - trident and look what velocity did for the ally :)
 
i cant help but agree with you. but personally i dont really think they are going to openly unlock their phones just yet... :( and with the bionic im holding my breathe as well. they keep saying "we're going to release they unlocked" where is my product ?
 
That's great news! I just got two Droid 3 this morning. This Droid is so sweet I, almost considering not even rooting it. ;)
 
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