Motorola Explains eFuse Chip, Promises No Bricked Droid X Phones
Motorola Explains eFuse Chip, Promises No Bricked Droid X Phones
Posted 07/19/2010 at 5:07am
| by Paul Lilly
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For the most part, first impressions of Motorola's recently launched Droid X have been largely positive, but it's the eFuse chip contained inside that's getting all the attention. As was reported all over the place last week, modders who muck with the device's bootloader will set off the chip and end up with a bricked smartphone for their trouble, but that's all a bunch of hogwash, says Motorola, who set out to clear the air.
"Motorola's primary focus is the security of our end users and protection of their data, while also meeting carrier, partner, and legal requirements," Motorola wrote in an email to Engadget. The Droid X and a majority of Android consumer devices on the market today have a secured bootloader. In reference specifically to eFuse, the technology is not loaded with the purpose of preventing a consumer device from functioning, but rather ensuring for the user that the device only runs on updated and tested versions of software. If a device attempts to boot with unapproved software, it will go into recovery mode, and can reboot once approved software is reinstalled."
In other words, altering the phone's firmware won't result in a dead device like many had feared, but it does sound as though the Droid X will be harder to hack than other smartphones. Does that mean it will be impossible? We highly doubt it, given the modding community's never-die attitude, especially now that we know the Droid X isn't any danger of dying either.
Image Credit: Motorola
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mralexosborn
July 19, 2010 at 5:16pm
This upsets me quite a bit. Android was supposed to be a very open OS. That is the reason I love my Droid so dearly. I can do whatever I want with it. And I have. It is rooted and runs DroidMod. Overclocking, WiFi tethering, and animated wallpaper attracted me to the whole thing. Why should I not be allowed to use my phone, that I purchased with my money and that I pay monthly for a plan every month, to it's fullest capabilities? This alone would be enough for me to not want to upgrade.
Xaero429
July 19, 2010 at 2:05pm
I think anybody considering that samsung galaxy should think twice. I recently bought a samsung impression with att and it was the biggest piece of shit phone i have ever owned. After just 6 months of use, the phone would lock up constantly forcing me to remove the battery to reset it, the batteries didn't hold charge but for half a day with very light use, the phone would disconnect from the internet while loading the Google search page, and the phone would drop calls constantly. Att is the worst cell carrier, all i asked them for was 2 year contract price on a new phone, but they refused, and offered to "fix" my phone instead. I learned a valuable lesson though; never go with att and never buy a samsung phone.
thetechchild
July 19, 2010 at 8:23pm
I think you should stop commenting about Samsung and AT&T while on a page about Microsoft Kin. Moreover, couldn't you have just given your phone to AT&T and have them fix it? What's wrong with that? I fail to see any of your points there...
violian
July 19, 2010 at 10:54am
In terms of aesthetics, this phone impresses me the most of all the Android phones. I'm actually considering this phone over the iPhone - mainly because I don't want pay for ATT's outrageous monthly cost to operate the iPhone.
Lost_Intelligence
July 19, 2010 at 10:59am
And miss out on the duct tape fashion statement that's coming?
thetechchild
July 19, 2010 at 8:24pm
Apple is offering free bumper cases... So duct tape is, like, so 5 minutes ago. ;)
williezzy
July 19, 2010 at 8:47am
Wait, so does this mean that if I try to load a custom rom that it will just go into a recovery mode. Does that require me to send it off to Motorala to get fixed? Or, can I just somehow restore it to normal myself? I just want to know before I mess with my phone.
aviaggio
July 19, 2010 at 6:21am
Sorry, but they're full of shit. Just another hardware manufacturer trying to tell us what we can and can't do with things we OWN. Guess I won't be buying any Motorola products. Galaxy S FTW!
Lost_Intelligence
July 19, 2010 at 10:58am
While hardware manufacturers are in essence telling their users what they can and can't do with the phone (no where near levels of Apple - in this case), it's also there way of controlling their 1) reputation (Apple's argument) and 2) their support desk calls.
And remember, you don't necessarily "own" the phone until the completion of the contract on the phone. That's where they throw the ETF's at you.
I would be willing to bet that the encrypted bootloader only affect's around 1-2% of the overall users of the phone.
That being said, I love my Droid 1 simply because it was easy to root and the custom ROMs out there that are better for what I want than what Motorola and Verizon said I should want.
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