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Reliable source to confirm unlocked bootloaders for future Samsung Devices!

diS

Android Enthusiast
May 24, 2010
397
69
Belgium
Supercurio said on Twitter

"Another good news! source say Samsung won't use locked bootloaders on future devices unless if Google would require it specifically."

And

"Source say: On Samsung phone devices, they plan to keep things open like #GalaxyS is."

The source he got it from was allways reliable and he's sure it's reliable now!
Samsung learned well, what an open device can do for their sales.

Good times ahead of us!
 
No need to be a genius, just able to regurgitate the info of someone smarter and claim you know what you're talking about, oh and download/install stuff you don't have a clue about. That's 99% of the "hacking" community right there. :D

From a non-genius also, can Samsung issue an update that permanently locks the bootloader? I've heard of things about some hardware switch, but dunno if software can control it and make it stick in one direction, forever. Then again, I have no idea what a boot, a load, and an er is, or even if there really is a teeny tiny switch inside I can see with a magnifying glass, so, yeah. I'll just take what Samsung gives me.
 
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For the benefit of a total Android n00b, what's an unlocked bootloader do?

As previously stated, it makes flashing ROMs easier. You can still attain root access, but you will not be able to change the kernel. Certain ROMs like CyanogenMod use a custom kernel, meaning you wouldn't be able to flash it. It also makes getting rid of the custom UI and bloatware more difficult (but not impossible), as many people prefer a stock Android experience.

No need to be a genius, just able to regurgitate the info of someone smarter and claim you know what you're talking about, oh and download/install stuff you don't have a clue about. That's 99% of the "hacking" community right there. :D

From a non-genius also, can Samsung issue an update that permanently locks the bootloader? I've heard of things about some hardware switch, but dunno if software can control it and make it stick in one direction, forever. Then again, I have no idea what a boot, a load, and an er is, or even if there really is a teeny tiny switch inside I can see with a magnifying glass, so, yeah. I'll just take what Samsung gives me.

I'm def one of those 99%. But at least have been at it for quite some time. I have an OG Droid that's been rooted almost as long as it's been available to do so. That never would have happened if it wasn't for the great members of AF.

I don't know for sure if they could send an update that would lock the bootloader, but I'm fairly certain they could. But if you're rooted, most ROMs will automatically block any OTA updates. This is because accepting an OTA will cause you to lose root. If that were to happen, you'd have to wait until that latest version gets rooted (which is often not long). Even if you choose to not flash a custom ROM and just root for certain apps and/or theme, there is a process to block OTAs.

Given Samsung's track record with updating, I imagine the amount of users who root will be substantially higher than it's been in the past.

Also, anyone who's unfamiliar with root, I recommend looking here http://androidforums.com/droid-all-...t-guide-updated-march-15-2011-9-58pm-cst.html Keep in mind that this guide was written for the Droid and attaining root will be a completely diff process, but you can get an idea of what rooting can do for your Android device and start chewing on the amount of information you're going to need. It's highly recommended that you read up on it as much as possible.

I hope this helps. :cool:
 
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Basically with the OS there's the kernel which contains all the core OS functions and the non-kernel portion which contains the supplemental apps, resources (layout defs, images, fonts, etc.)

All of the OS is maintained by a super-user account which has special permissions to write into that area of memory.

By putting a wrapper around the super-user account, it can prompt the user to allow those permissions for any application. So you can write over - for example - the resources for the notification bar (and change the graphics, background, etc.)

That's what root gives you.

Via a loader, SDK, etc., you can push a new kernel into place, which replaces the OS version (i.e., 2.2 Froyo, 2.3 Gingerbread) and can remove low-level services that are bundled into the kernel (like OEM UIs, aka Blur).

However...

There's a small part of the ROM that boots the kernel (the bootloader), just like a desktop PC.

With a "locked" boot loader, it has a key it shares with the kernel. The process (obviously simplified), looks like this:

Power on
Bootloader starts
Bootloader checks kernel for valid key
Correct key, kernel loads
Bad/missing/incorrect key, load halts, phone is goobered


So stock you can tweak/change anything the OS or apps offer

Root you can update specific parts of the OS area, update things like icons, fonts, pretty much anything that's exposed outside of the kernel

With an unlocked (or easily defeated) bootloader, you can update ANYTHING on the phone, including the kernel (which allows brand new versions of the OS, plain Android without OEM UI, etc.)
 
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Sense doesn't make a difference. Recent HTC devices have a thing called S-On which locks the system partition even if it is rooted. Technically this doesn't make rooting harder but getting S-Off could be put under the general umbrella of rooting. I installed Cyanogen Mod on my Desire with S-On and had problems with installing large apps and using ad-free until I used AlphaRev to get S-Off, which was a bit of a pest. I don't know why it needed to be booted from CD, maybe to by-pass Windows' USB drivers.
 
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