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

By on Jul 15, 2010 at 11:01 AM
Hardware July 15, 2010

efuse-omap

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. 

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  • neg FFF

    APPLE SUCKS
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  • Ice man

    Droid DOES, suck my Ba**s LOL. I would not use a droid to shim up my lathe bench in the hangar, but, it is a great phone for little Droid fan boys that like the commercials of it coming down from space.

  • Ice man

    Every time I see a Droid commercial with all the lasers, and effects, etc, I stop and think okay, what did that have to do with the phone? Now if I was a 10 year old, I might want to buy a Droid based on the commercial LOL.

    • Stromson

      “Droid X. It has laser beams attached to it’s head.”

    • ryan

      let me guess your iphone user. look if you want a company to think for you, then your an apple user. simple as that. technical people who actually know something about phones and computers do not need a tool like steve jobs to think for us. my moto droid is hacked to run at 1.1 Ghz, which is faster then an iphone4 and an ipad. oh and i can run flash. like to see an iphone do that. so if you want to bash android phone because they are open, then go ahead. you only show your ignorance. you most likely only know how to turn on your phone and that it works. people like myself, we want to know everything about our phone. like how much resources does this app take.

      i find your lack of knowledge of the droid to be disturbing.

  • Ice man

    I find you disturbing. No I’m not an iphone user, I just observe technological advancements, that is what I get paid the big bucks to do. Go play with Droid now, just get back on here, and let me know when you’ve hacked your Droid so laser beams start shooting out of it.

    • jmk

      dude go outside or something. interact with real human beings for awhile and get out of the basement.

  • Ice man

    I have tested, and seen iphone 3GS models tweaked beyond what any phone is utilizing now, even the iphone 4 from the factory, and working smoothly throughout the process. Wifi hub? That is an ancient feature, iphone 3GS was doing that more than a year ago through Black Rain Jail break via Mywi, and for absolutely no extra cost with the unlimited data plan AT&T offered, I have seen 3 laptops operating off one 3GS using it’s 3G connection with no trouble. Consumers need to get with the program, once they do that, then all the manufacturer’s will really put out the goods. Mywi hub LOL, what a joke.

    • ryan

      yeah everybody claim they make the big buck to do this and that. i am sure you did all that you say you. i had my droid running world cup games to 5 different laptops, so big deal on your iphone running 3. you still prefer to have a tool’s phone. dont get mad that an open source phone is better then your tool phone. and how stupid is it to state i should hack it till laser beams come out. i mean really, did i say that any where in my post. i carried a 3g for a while when my company thought they were good phone. but sadly, i phone is very unsecure phone and we had no control to wipe phone when ID10T users lost their phones. so we have pretty much banned any apple products from our networks. if i really wanted to, i could push my moto droid to 1.6Ghz, and i know the iphone 3gs cant come anywhere near it. we still have a 3gs jail broken under spirit and over clocked too 1Ghz, and my droid smokes it. we cant leave at 1Ghz though because it get so hot we are afraid it might explode. of course my phone does not even blink being left a 1.1ghz all day. oh and you still dont have flash.

      • Ice man

        Everybody claims they make the big bucks, but do they :) . Three laptops on one 3GS unit was all we had at the time of testing in test unit, not the limit of the device. I’m glad you are enjoying your Droid and getting what you can out of it, as far as reaching hardware’s potential we’ll say that is subjective based on the particular humans capability of reaching that potential. Processor speed is not the whole ball of wax in computing my friend, it is utilization as well, you should know this if you are so tech savvy.

    • Compare Fairly

      But you can’t compare a jail broken and modded iphone to a stock droid…

      I’m sure there are plenty of other droids that could be a mobile wifi hotspot once jail broken, which would also operate off the unlimted data plans from whatever carrier they are on.

      • Ice man

        Agreed, I was just pointing out one of the big technological sales pitches Droid-X is using to lure purchasers in, the amazing Wifi hot spot. May I add for an extra fee.

      • Fire man

        The extra fee is the networks issue, not the phone.

        There’s a reason the iPhone doesn’t support it, and it’s not the phone’s capability, but that they aren’t confident the network partners can deal with the load no matter what the users pay.

    • ME

      If you tell me how u hacked ur phone ill tell u what a vagina feels like, as u have obviously never even seen one. Except of course all that porn u watch in ur parents basement

  • Sandtiger

    Here is a semi-unbiased translation of basically what this is.
    Imagine you go out and buy a Mustang (Droid X). You decide you want to take it over to Chip Foose automotive (CyanogenMod) to have him paint the car nice and pretty and install an aftermarket sound system in it (Custom Rom). Everything gets done the paint is dry, they call you up and say come get your car. You go over there put the key in and start it.The computer detects new paint & aftermarket stereo system, it then burns up all the wires in the car, melts the ECU, and the body panels all fall off the car. You would take that car back to Ford (Motorola) as fast as the tow truck could drag it there and demand your money back.
    This is the same thing, there is absolutely no reason why the bootloader needs to be e-fused if it really is. I understand this is all about one thing..money, it basically un-futureproofs your phone.
    10 months down the road, Motorolla “Gingerbread came out but we are only giving Droid X Froyo. If you want Gingerbread and all the new features of it you will have to get our new Droid X2, because Gingerbread so intense that the Droid X just can’t handle it.” So if you want the new features you have to buy a new phone.
    Before all the Apple Fanboys pipe in and make fun of Android, Apple has already done the same thing with the original iPhone and IOS4. Telling you that oh sorry about your luck it wont run it rather than letting you install it on your own and then reverting if it ran like crap.

    • Not Exactly

      Paint and a sound system are just things that run ON the car, I would equate them to applications, all of which you can do.

      Performing an engine swap because you wanted a bigger/better/faster/whatever engine would be more like what they are restricting you from doing…

      • Somebody

        Not at all. The engine would equate much more closely to the CPU. If you want to think about it in terms of engines, it would be like switching brands of OIL. The engine shouldn’t self-destruct if you replace the oil with another brand that meets the specifications.

  • Ice man

    I agree Sandtiger, that is definitely what the companies want to do, it’s a fund making corporate strategy, and they are in the business to make money and sell phones, both Apple, and Droid manufactures. As far as hackability and the success in preventing it on iphones, I have not seen an iphone yet that cannot be Jail broken. I have tested, and seen all three previous generation iphones hacked and decked out to the edge. As far as Droid-X? We will see, but I’m positive it is capable of being Jail broken as well, one way or another.

    • IceBreaker

      “We will see, but I’m positive it is capable of being Jail broken as well, one way or another.”

      You just said the droid x could be jailbroken. You have lost all credibilty. Please, PLEASE, get your “big bucks” and get the hell out of the internet. We dont need assholes like you.

      • Ice man

        wI never said Droid-X could not be jail broken EVER. As far as losing credibility, my credibility has nothing to do with me saying the Droid-X can, or cannot be Jail broken. Everything I state is based off of much testing and research, on both the new products, much of the research you can easily do with your own eyes and I know it may be hard for you, but you must use your brain as well, and you will simply come to the same conclusion, the fact is the Droid-X OS operates nowhere near as smoothly as the iphones, information processing is not on par with the A4, and the quality of available apps for Droid-X jail broken or not is not even close to being on par with iphones period, not now and not within the next eight months to one year, guaranteed. The Droid is okay, 8 MP camera, big screen (Low Resolution). Droid in just not there yet, but Assholes like yourself keep purchasing them (after witnessing the fancy eyeball commercials), and eventually with your funding they will get something built that is high grade comparable to Apples iphone.

      • Ice man

        The internet population needs more informed assholes like myself, to help sway them from purchasing products that assholes like you push/recommend. Get off Mommies Laptop, and put the Droid-X brochure away and leave the consumers alone.

      • IceCube

        @Ice man

        You idiot, he meant that the word “jailbroken” doesn’t apply to Android and is exclusive to iPhone. “rooting” is the proper equivalent term of “jailbreak” on the Android. Saying “jailbreak an Android” just proves how much of a noob you are with Android.

        What’s even more ironic is that I’ve never owned any android device, and have only so far had iPhones.

        I’m not going to deny it though, DroidX looks pretty sweet. This might be the one.

      • Ice man is an idiot

        wow ice man, you are a fucking idiot if you think you can “jailbreak” a droid, Icebreaker was right, you lost all credibility…

  • Ice man

    Your either a Droid Fan Boy, or an Apple Fan Boy. What it comes down to is which company has the most fan boys, that is all the companies care about, bottom line sales and profit. Like the Roman heads and the Coliseum, give the people what they want and you are in control.

  • http://alghienkad06.student.ipb.ac.id thea

    like droid

  • Elderon

    Personally I find it goes against the spirit of the android platform to lock down it’s hardware like this on any phone. I think that if I paid the full price of the phone then I own it and should be able to modify it anyway I choose as long as it doesn’t interfere with the carrier’s network.

    Though I can understand companies not wanting to constantly replace phones of idiots who don’t know how they are doing.

    • corpfan

      I def agree with quite a few of you on this and speaking as a “fan boy” Ill be honest. does anyone want to help me learn to not be a noob of these things?

    • JGUY

      I was under the impression that Android isn’t locking it down…the manufacturer Motorola is? Am I wrong?

  • DougTheBug

    Seriously, if they make this thing unrootable I am going to give up on smartphones and build my own palmtop computer with skype on it. Tired of all the resistance when its a damn opensource OS.

  • Dave

    IceMan is a flaming troll…why don’t you just blacklist him?

  • Hamburger 5

    Wow “IceMan” has some serous issues….. He just might make the top 50 biggest internet douche bag list…

    Any who… This completely killed any possibility of me buying this phone… it defeats the purpose of droids. Although i have not root my current droid i know i certainly will now.

  • jblandrum

    Is motorola doesn’t need to use their phones then i wont. It’s easier to find other companies to support the android operating system. On another note Iphone fanboys such as ice man should go find another forum for their rantings.

  • nufio

    i have the droid.. but im willing to bet a 1000 that droid x will be rooted within a month. any takers?

  • http://buku.um.ac.id fajar

    thanks for share

  • Sally

    I currently have the iPhone 3g and tried the iPhone 4 for about an hour. Then I went to Verizon and tried the Droid X for about the same time. Now, I turned off the 3g on my iPhone and bought the Droid. The new iPhone just felt like the same old bag…just new wrapping. It was faster than my old phone and had a great camera (about time). But, after jailbreaking my iPhone, I pretty much had all of the new features, already (all cydia apps, no illegal apps). The Droid X makes me excited about getting a new phone…just like the iPhone did, when it first came out. But, I feel that Apple rested on it’s laurels on the iPhone 4.

  • http://dealbreaker.com jimmy

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  • JR Cease

    For a first step, this guy has found a way into the bootloader of the Droid X: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-hack-into-bootloader-motorola-droid-x-385304/

  • Ice man

    (Analysts only expected Apple to report $14.62 million in revenue, which means that Apple could be in good shape to overtake rival Microsoft in revenue when Microsoft reports later this week. Microsoft is expected to report revenue of $15.25 billion, according to the Thomson Reuters poll.

    Apple sold a record 3.47 million Macintosh computers for the quarter, up by 33 percent a year ago, and iPhone sales increased by 61 percent compared to a year ago to 8.4 million units. Apple sold 1.147 million desktops and 1.796 notebook Macs, for a total of $1.53 billion and $2.23 billion in revenue, respectively.)

    I think Apple is doing just fine LOL, they are the biggest phone player on the block, and they are gonna get bigger. Apple is selling iphone 4′s far beyond what Droid-X is, Wall Street says so, that’s just the bare bones facts, watch the profit number boys, watch the profit numbers.

    Apple is gonna get hit hard by antenna issues LOL, no chance. At least now I have something to laugh about at work today!

  • Ice man

    I like to suck jaggons.

  • Stealth.SLi

    Well i just spent the last 20 minutes reading “almost” every post down the line. @ ICEMAN, i believe you are tech savvy, i believe you make good money, but what you did when you started posting here is provoke everyone with your highly bias opinion on the droid itself and those of us who own or would buy it. That was your mistake. You acted very immature as do most folks who post comments. Instead you should have posted something intelligent and substantial. Every phone gets hype, and its true that a very large majority of buyers will buy the Droid based strictly ON the hype, but a significantly smaller group of us will buy the phone because all of its features appeal to us for what they really are. Just because I buy the Droid X doesnt make me a fan boy and vise versa with iPhone users. The iPhone is much easier in the learning curve department, as are most Apple products, and just because they are made to be user friendly doesnt mean they lack power and features. At the same time just because the Droid commercials have some fancy CG and lazers, doesnt mean they they lack features and power either. Both sides have fan boys and theres no way around it. As for me I absolutely love my DX, and I am confident it will get hacked properly at some point. I still have my hacked Droid 1 but I enjoy having a phone that is a camera, video recorder, web browser, email checker, music player, GPS, and blah blah blah. I dont care weather Iphone does the same things or does any of them better. I know whats under the hood of my Droid and I know that it will be capable of much more when its hacked. So I think many Droid users will find they feel the same way. I dont know what you use Ice Man but you asked for all the crap you got in previous posts because you acted poorly towards everyone. If you are as tech savvy as you claim to be, and make as much money as you claim to make, I would have expected you to post more intelligently and with a bit more maturity.

    So to everyone battling out over which phone is best, its not up to anyone but yourself. If I owned a Droid X2 3700G that traveled through time and cooked me breakfast every morning, and you had a Motarola Razr v3, as long as you liked that phone, and it did everything that YOU needed it to do, then more power to ya, I wont brag that mines better, I didnt buy it for bragging rights, I bought it cause it had what I needed. Its as simple as that.

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