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[hthomas]

Droid X actually self-destructs if you try to mod it
by Devin Coldewey on July 14, 2010

Well, I might have recommended a Droid X for big-phone-lovin’ fandroids out there… but now that I’ve read about Motorola’s insane eFuse security system, I’m going to have to give this one a big fat DON’T BUY on principle. I won’t restate all my reasons for supporting the modding, hacking, jailbreaking, and so on of your legally-owned products here — if you’re interested in a user’s manifesto, read this — but suffice it to say that deliberately bricking a phone if the user fiddles with it does not fall under the “reasonable” category of precautions taken by manufacturers.

Really. If you want to make it difficult to hack, that’s fine. You think your software should be enough, that’s fine. But once I pay money for the item, it’s mine, and disabling my device because you don’t like what I’m doing with it falls under the category of sabotage.

Here’s what eFuse does. This information is a couple days old but it’s worth reading if you’re interested in Android, development, or open standards in general. Besides, I just found out about it, so you have to read my words whether you like it or not. or you could just stop reading. Either way. Anyway:

If the eFuse failes to verify this information then the eFuse receives a command to “blow the fuse” or “trip the fuse”. This results in the booting process becoming corrupted and resulting in a permanent bricking of the Phone. This FailSafe is activated anytime the bootloader is tampered with or any of the above three parts of the phone has been tampered with.

It requires a hardware fix, apparently, only available through Motorola, of course. This is the equivalent of a MacBook detonating some core component if you try to install an OS to dual boot.

Will many users run into this problem? Probably not, but Android is a platform that not only was founded on the idea of openness, but thrives because of it. The grey market of sideloaded apps and custom ROMs will only get more popular and more easily accessed as people realize that their phones are tiny computers waiting to be customized. That idea is anathema to Motorola and clearly they will continue to stoop to unreasonable means to “protect” their hardware — which you bought and paid for.

So here’s my official recommendation: don’t buy a Droid phone and don’t recommend them to your friends. There are too many good options out there that aren’t locked down by nefarious means. Look up a Galaxy phone or wait for the next awesome thing to come along. Vote with your wallet and tell Motorola “open or GTFO.”

the thread...Droid X actually self-destructs if you try to mod it

Motorola may be losing this loyal customer. This is BULL.
They think the Cell Providers are thier customer. Not you and me. HTC here I come

[coolpoete]

*in my worst southern accent* Naw, hold on there, Tex..

Reality Check: Modding the DROID X may not lead to a bricked phone

A post by p3Droid on the My Droid World forums claims to shed some light on the rumored locked bootloader of the DROID X. According to the posting, the Droid X ships with an e-fuse chip that locks the bootloader and will brick the phone if the bootloader is modified. The news is spreading like wildfire with many would-be ROM flashers wondering if they should avoid the DROID X like a plague. This breaking news may not be as dire as many are claiming, as a google search of OMAP3 and e-fuse reveals that current OMAP handsets already have e-fuse in place as part of the M-Shield hardware security technology built into TI’s OMAP system on a chip. It is on the very hackable DROID and the not-so-hacking-friendly Milestone, but it is not being used by Motorola to lock the bootloader of the handset. The current theory being put forth by the non-alarmists in the Android hacking community suggests that the DROID X is locked in a similar manner to the Milestone. Though it may be difficult to crack, and may lead to many hairs being pulled out, mucking with the bootloader probably won’t brick your phone. As the DROID X lands into the hands of the Android hacking community in the upcoming days, we should know a lot more about the state of rooting and flashing on Verizon’s flagship Android handset. Be calm. Stay tuned. It’s just a phone.

[Taken from BoyGenius Report]

[hthomas]

I hope your are correct. Otherwise Efuse just show the greed and lack of concern of big business for the end user. America is better than that. I have doubts.

[riskybzns]

i think it would be kick butt if it self destructed....you know, like explode 5 seconds after it was tampered with.

[hthomas]

Yea maybe it would take out some of these flashing stores.

Just as a side note: VZW released a ROM for the touch pro 2 (MR2) that would not update any phone the had the HSPL (unlocked)changed. So any phone that had a custom Rom (any non stock rom) could not be updated with out replacing the orginal SPL on the phone.
What was the purpose of this? Was it done on purpose?
I dont like the way they are infringing on my property.
I own it, it is mine.........