Root [Support] [Guide] We Need You! Push for Kernel Source!

[irishobo]

Guys we need you to help us push for HTC to release the Jellybean Kernel Source. As a community we have a lot more power to get what we need. HTC is required, by the GPL law, to release the kernel source to us.

Click this link to get to the comment section of the HTC dev site.
http://www.htcdev.com/contact

Under type select Kernel Source Code

You can use it as a guide to send yours.
According to the GPL, the kernel source for the HTC One SV k2cl model C525c for the android version 4.1.2 and kernel version 3.4.10 must be released to the public. This is the Boost mobile version. We as a community would appreciate this matter resolved quickly.

This is the link to the GPLv2

Please help us to get this released!

Edited.

 

[irishobo]

Hey guys HTC replied back already with this:

Thank you for contacting HTC regarding Kernel Source code. I know that this code is important to the development community and I will be happy to assist you with the correct information regarding this.

HTC is committed to assisting customers in getting kernel source code for HTC devices. We will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms. We are working to release appropriate kernel code bases as soon as possible after device launch but we cannot guarantee the exact time frame. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor.

Everyone please send them a comment, and they may send it out asap!

Edit: Also here is there phone number. 1-866-449-8358 open from 8am-1am ET 7 days a week

 

[Rxpert83]

Threatening the company with "bad press" isn't likely the best way to go about this.

Stay professional and polite, and cite the GPL with links to it as well as embedded text.

HTC is not good with providing source in a timely manner. You'll commonly see them take the stance that they have 90 days to release it. On the HTC evo 4g LTE they released the source on the same day they released an ota update, making the source useless and giving them 90 more days to release it

Also keep in mind the GPL is a lisvense agreement, its not really law. You violate it and you lose your right to use the code

 

[Deleted User]

Threatening the company with "bad press" isn't likely the best way to go about this.

Stay professional and polite, and cite the GPL with links to it as well as embedded text.

HTC is not good with providing source in a timely manner. You'll commonly see them take the stance that they have 90 days to release it. On the HTC evo 4g LTE they released the source on the same day they released an ota update, making the source useless and giving them 90 more days to release it

Also keep in mind the GPL is a lisvense agreement, its not really law. You violate it and you lose your right to use the code

I semi agree about the bad press, however at the same time I partially believe the bad press is something they bring to themselves. Certain things that they do are in interest of the company but don't take their user base (the buyers) into consideration. For instance, htcruu (the website taken down legally) was went about improperly. The site was taken down because of the use of "HTC" in the name, however when android users heard about it they all turned against HTC. They shortly retracted (or clairified, as they stated it) that they were taken out of context, and RUU's were okay and custom modified roms as well. It all depends how a community reacts. Also the GPL license is actually backed by law. If a kernel maintainer wished, they could take them to court over this. At this point they would have to release the sources, no matter what, under legal requirements. They would also have to pay legal costs, in the end. I spoke to a kernel maintainer on this issue whom I contacted relatively often when going through one of the arm drivers to properly fix a few bugs in it.

Hey guys HTC replied back already with this:

Thank you for contacting HTC regarding Kernel Source code. I know that this code is important to the development community and I will be happy to assist you with the correct information regarding this.

HTC is committed to assisting customers in getting kernel source code for HTC devices. We will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms. We are working to release appropriate kernel code bases as soon as possible after device launch but we cannot guarantee the exact time frame. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor.

Everyone please send them a comment, and they may send it out asap!

Edit: Also here is there phone number. 1-866-449-8358 open from 8am-1am ET 7 days a week

Yep that's the standard forum letter. Strange how I have called that number three times now and have been "transferred" to a specalist. Each time the "Load" was "high" so my call was disconnected. I want to take their word for it, however, given previous history they are just keeping true to their carrier obligations.

EDIT:
Finally got back through. This time I was able to get my case reference number in and the inital call taker looked it up for me and transfered me over to special teams. There I was informed by the special projects team member whom had taken my case that he is pushing corperate to get these kernel sources for me. He stated himself that its one of those battles that can be hard to get done, but he will keep montoring and is in communication with the development team themselves. Basically now that I got one good call taker who cared, its the best help Ive ever managed to get. Ill keep you guys in the know on my progress through.

 

[irishobo]

Nice work Simon

 

[wjabaut]

Dear Wayne Jabaut,

Thank you for contacting HTC regarding Kernel Source code. I know that this code is important to the development community and I will be happy to assist you with the correct information regarding this.

Wayne, HTC is committed to assisting customers in getting kernel source code for HTC devices. We will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms. We are working to release appropriate kernel code bases as soon as possible after launch but we cannot guarantee the exact time frame. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor.

Please keep an eye on ( HTCdev - HTC Kernel Source Code and Binaries ) for more information. I hope you are having a wonderful afternoon.

If this answers your comment or question, please click here to complete the process.

To submit another comment, please click here.

Sincerely,

The HTCDev Team

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Explore our development resources Welcome to HTCdev

 

[irishobo]

Edits made to OP
Added link to GPLv2

 

[Rxpert83]

Edits made to OP
Added link to GPLv3

Minor thing, but the linux kernel that android uses is actually licensed under v2.

Licenses | Android Developers
GNU General Public License v2.0 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

 

[irishobo]

Minor thing, but the linux kernel that android uses is actually licensed under v2.

Licenses | Android Developers
GNU General Public License v2.0 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

Fixed! Thank you for your support Rxpert83!

 

[m_c_ael]

Sent an e-mail, too. We'll see I guess. Wish I knew more about building roms cause this phone has potential for sure.

 

[sqwerl]

I sent an email and got a response form letter in about 15 minutes. lol

Dear Mr. Young,

I understand that you would like to inquire about the kernel source code for the HTC One SV and I would be happy to address this with you!

We will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms. We are working to release appropriate kernel code bases as soon as possible after device launch but we cannot guarantee the exact time frame. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor.

Thank you for your eMail, Mr., and in the future if you have any other questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact us! I hope you are having a wonderful day and thank you for being the most important part of HTC!

If this answers your comment or question, please click here to complete the process.

To submit another comment, please click here.

Sincerely,

The HTCDev Team

 

[awidawad]

I got this after much asking and informing:

Austin, in this case, if you wish, what we can go ahead and do is to have this escalated to our escalation team so they can start working in regards to the Kernel Source code for your HTC One SV and to provide you with a solution.

• Model Name
• Device OS
• ROM Version
• Radio Version
• Serial Number/MEID/ IMEI/ESN
• Software Number
• Software versions for relative software. Example: Outlook 07 or HTC Sync
• Relative 3rd Party Apps

Also if you can please provide me with your contact information. I will need the information below:

• Customer Name
• Email Address
• Contact Number
• Mobile Number
• Preferred Contact Time
• Customer Time Zone
• Customer Carrier

I look forward to your reply with the necessary information.

I responded recently lets see how far I get @simonsimons34

 

[irishobo]

Thank you for everyone's support!

 

[m_c_ael]

Dear [my name here],

Thank you for contacting the HTC Technical Support Center

We appreciate you have reached us to assist you with this matter. We completely understand the importance of releasing these codes in order to meet our developer user

 

[awidawad]

Dear [my name here],

Thank you for contacting the HTC Technical Support Center

We appreciate you have reached us to assist you with this matter. We completely understand the importance of releasing these codes in order to meet our developer user

 

[m_c_ael]

I'll reply and see what I can get out of them. I've had a dev account with them for years. Ever since the HTC hero.

Edit: I emailed their tech support and cited the gpl on source code release (section 3), got this back:

"HTC is committed to assisting customers in getting kernel source code for HTC devices. We will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms. We are working to release appropriate kernel code bases as soon as possible after device launch but we cannot guarantee the exact time frame. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor"

So what I'm getting here is that we'll get it when they give it to us. Probably before the next update. Gotta be patient!

 

[sqwerl]

Has anybody posted a follow up comment on the ticket they generate when they send you this generic form letter? Just curious if it may get escalated up the chain or something if you stay persistent.

 

[awidawad]

Has anybody posted a follow up comment on the ticket they generate when they send you this generic form letter? Just curious if it may get escalated up the chain or something if you stay persistent.

Yes I've been following up. right now I'm waiting back from the escalation team.

 

[smith058]

sent in my plee

***ADD***
They sent two replies

Spoiler

Thank you for contacting HTC regarding Kernel Source code. I know that this code is important to the development community and I will be happy to assist you with the correct information regarding this.

John, HTC is committed to assisting customers in getting kernel source code for HTC devices. We will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms. We are working to release appropriate kernel code bases as soon as possible after launch but we cannot guarantee the exact time frame. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor.

Please keep an eye on ( HTCdev - HTC Kernel Source Code and Binaries ) for more information. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

If this answers your comment or question, please click here to complete the process.

To submit another comment, please click here.

Sincerely,

The HTCDev Team

Want to see what others are saying? Have a question to ask other HTCDev fans?

Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/htcdev

Explore our development resources www.htcdev.com

Spoiler

Thank you for your submission to HTCDev.com! We appreciate your input and will use it to continue to improve HTCDev in all its forms.

Feel free to take a few minutes to visit the Resources section at www.htcdev.com/resources for resources, troubleshooting, and frequently asked questions.

Sincerely,

The HTCDev Team

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We are unable to receive replies to this email account. Please visit us at www.htcdev.com if you have any questions or need further assistance.

 

[awidawad]

Well I finally got an answer from them. This seems promising.

Dear Austin Widner,

Hi! My name is Jauna and I'm with the HTC Tier 3 Escalations - Special Projects team. I am contacting you regarding your escalation # S2013010087201 where you were requesting the Kernel Source code for your HTC One SV on Boost Mobile.

I have sent the request for publication to our website team and hope to have it listed soon. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

 

[russellvone]

That does seem promising

 

[wetbiker7]

I agree. It has definitely been escalated.

 

[irishobo]

This is great news! I hope they follow through

 

[shew82]

I didn't get such a good response:
" We appreciate you have reached us to assist you with this matter. We completely understand the importance of releasing these codes in order to meet our developer user

 

[irishobo]

It is amazing how much conflicting information they are giving us. I just hope they come through.