ASUS Transformer Prime bootloader is locked and encrypted

After its announcement, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime became one of the most anticipated devices of 2011. The tablet was the first to feature NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad-core chipset and built upon the success of ASUS’ previous tablet. After suffering from Wi-Fi connection issues, numerous delays and a newly discovered GPS bug, an xda developer forum member discovered that ASUS locked and encrypted the Prime’s bootloader. The tablet’s bootloader features 128bit AES encryption, making it impossible to flash custom ROMs and kernels. In the past, carriers have requested that devices on the company’s network be locked, however, the Prime is a Wi-Fi only device, leading consumers to wonder why it has been locked. Previously, HTC used a similar method of locking their devices but abandoned the practice after customer outrage.

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