[Q] Ask Motorola for a free bootloader? - Defy General

Hi guys
I think we all would be pleased to have cyanogenmod (or something else) on our defys which isn't possible because of the locked bootloader. So we need either the key or an update that removes this signing stuff.
My question is simple... has anyone ever tried to contact Motorola about that? Sure it would be naive to think we can get the key but the chances for an update should be higher than... well higher than nothing
I would do it myself but I don't think my english is good enough for this.

In this day and age of technology the best exploits are still social

Well if everyone here in the defy forums agree including me they should sign this.

Why did they lock the bootloader in the first place?
A customizable smartphone would sell much better than a locked one !

spamnco said:
Why did they lock the bootloader in the first place?
A customizable smartphone would sell much better than a locked one !
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People who customise/tweak their handsets to the degree of wanting to flash custom ROMs are in the minority.
Sure, an unlocked bootloader might marginally increase sales for Motorola but probably not enough to make any significant difference - after all, we all bought one in spite of the bootloader...

Step666 said:
People who customise/tweak their handsets to the degree of wanting to flash custom ROMs are in the minority.
Sure, an unlocked bootloader might marginally increase sales for Motorola but probably not enough to make any significant difference - after all, we all bought one in spite of the bootloader...
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You are probably right but making this customisation easier would make this minority bigger. Many people chose Android smartphones because of the way you can change things on your phone. Remember Firefox which was the first customisable web browser at a time no one even thought it would be possible and look where they are now!
The Defy is rather cheap (the cheapest in its category) and opening it to the geeks (wanabees) would make it a must-have for hundred of thousands of people, possibly millions around the world.

I still have the hope that Moto might change that. Since the Xoom is not locked.

spamnco said:
You are probably right but making this customisation easier would make this minority bigger. Many people chose Android smartphones because of the way you can change things on your phone. Remember Firefox which was the first customisable web browser at a time no one even thought it would be possible and look where they are now!
The Defy is rather cheap (the cheapest in its category) and opening it to the geeks (wanabees) would make it a must-have for hundred of thousands of people, possibly millions around the world.
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Yes but then people would realize the hardware is the same as the droid x and they would not understand the price difference.

I'm not a tech myself but i believe custom roms can be signed just as we can sign a modified apk...then i believe we won't need an unlocked bootloader? some sort of exploit would work

An exploit would be possbile if there was one in the protection mechanism.
But so far we haven't found one.
It's true that the bootloader doesn't need to be unlocked, but we would need the valid signing key which is the topic of this thread. Currently only Motorola has that key.

scarface said:
I still have the hope that Moto might change that. Since the Xoom is not locked.
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Cause it's a Honeycomb showcase device.
It's always been the case. Like the original DROID (Eclair) which also has an unlocked bootloader. It's quite clear that Google has gone the length to force Motorola to do it.
For the rest of us, please refer to the above post.

Related

Write to Motorola to Request for An Unlocked Bootloader

I know it doesn't sound very good, but what does it cost you to register an account and make a post...?
https ://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/62548
To whom it may concern,
I'm writing to ask for your favor - Please provide us, some enterprising Defy (MB525) owners, a way to unlock the bootloader.
Rationale:
1. You are providing means to unlock the bootloader on many newer devices already, and it shouldn't cost you much to provide us a mean to unlock the Defy as well.
2. The warranty of many of our Defy devices is expiring, so even if we brick our devices, we couldn't file a warranty claim anyway.
3. The Defy is the 2nd most popular devices running CyanogenMod according to http ://stats.cyanogenmod.com/, so we have a huge following.
4. If you allow us to unlock the bootloader, we will consider it as a gesture of goodwill and will be more willing to recommend our families and friends to buy Motorola devices in future.
5. Many other manufacturers have started to unlock their bootloaders and by comparison, Motorola is doing very poorly and has a bad image in our mind.
6. Many of us bought the Defy without any carrier subsidy.
7. Come on! Give us a Christmas gift, okay?
Thanks very much for your attention.
A Defy Owner
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Thats like writing to the president. 0% progress
Well at least we can say we tried.
defy_owner said:
I know it doesn't sound very good, but what does it cost you to register an account and make a post...?
https ://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/62548
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I hate these posts about "Motorola unlocking bootloader". I'm not sure many know, but Mororola is fine with unlocking the bootloader, it is the carrier that isn't.
Sony Ericsson
That statistic does show thought, that nearly 49000 defy owners are dissatisfied with the stock rom, that should be something for them to look at.
they cant update their product
and wont even let us do it ourselves, what kind of logic is that?
so its the carriers problem yes? why aren't the unlocked (no carrier plan) with an open bootloader? use your brain will ya
BravoMotorola said:
I hate these posts about "Motorola unlocking bootloader". I'm not sure many know, but Mororola is fine with unlocking the bootloader, it is the carrier that isn't.
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Many of us Defy owners outside of the US bought the phone without any carrier subsidy.
US <> The world.
Thx.
And read pt.6, BTW.
Comeon, if we have a 100-page thread that may do something.
100 page thread on Motorola's peer to peer support forum = waste of time

[Q] So how do we unlock now..?

I have read at least 50 disinformation type posts on this site about unlocking a branded Xperia (Verizion in my case) they all seem to be wanting me to pay money to Alejandrissimo or Jinx13 but when I click on those hyperlinks they are all "Invalid post" so what am I supposed to be finding here that I missed?
There is not any topic stickied that is describing how to unlock the thing & every article / forum post / google search I find is another disinformation post with no real evidence.
I know how to flash ROM's onto android using recovery loaders.
I know how to access the program menu's in various phones
I know what the CDMA spectrum is.
I'm not some newb making this post because I need my hand held step by step to do something.
I just need some real information
If anyone has a link to a real method or anything helpful please let me know
I have researched (and watched the welcome video) on this site to find an answer and I haven't found anything.
Thanks
-Jon
Ok, so the links to the unlockers in my thread are broken. Does it mean that my post has "disinformation"? Is there any other way to unlock the bootloaders? No to both, as far as I know. I'll try to fix the links, but seriously...
About why my post (or any other helpful resource about the matter) is not stickied, I don't know nor do I care. No one reads stickies anyway.
Logseman said:
Ok, so the links to the unlockers in my thread are broken. Does it mean that my post has "disinformation"? Is there any other way to unlock the bootloaders? No to both, as far as I know. I'll try to fix the links, but seriously...
About why my post (or any other helpful resource about the matter) is not stickied, I don't know nor do I care. No one reads stickies anyway.
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By disinformation it would seem that some exists.
droid-life reported 4 months ago ashergray(XDA) found a method to unlock the bootloader.
Why none of the methods being released or talked about is beyond me.
Also I'm confused why the method is being charged for by others but not officially it would seem.
You have to pm users on the forum to arrange a sale. Why does a topic not exist for this purpose?
All this confusing data is leading to a big headache right now. I was hoping for answers and all I find is rabbit holes on this elusive topic.
Thanks for the reply tho.
Ashergray's method was dried out (it exploited a flaw, and the flaw was fixed).I mention ashergray in the thread, as it is only fitting, in the thanks part.
About why they ask to be contacted privately or publicly, it's their business... Is there something that should be cleared in my thread, aside of the links of course? I mean, I can try to rebuild the first post if necessary.
Logseman said:
Ashergray's method was dried out (it exploited a flaw, and the flaw was fixed).I mention ashergray in the thread, as it is only fitting, in the thanks part.
About why they ask to be contacted privately or publicly, it's their business... Is there something that should be cleared in my thread, aside of the links of course? I mean, I can try to rebuild the first post if necessary.
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You could start off by explaining why in 7 months time the boot loader is sill locked.
Or why your links to the unlock threads are dead. Both of them.
Or how I'm supposed to unlock the bootloader if these users can't provide that service any longer.
Also you could mention why Sony. being developer and hacker supportive hasn't assisted in taking Verizon's clutch off the bootloader
It is rather annoying coming from Droid x where the device is locked down with a fuse but yet a wide array of custom roms exist that bypass the locked bootloader and then coming to this phone that appears to have not progressed beyond hello world.
So you tell me where to look for an unlock because I'm fresh out of searches and ideas.
Thanks
-jon
P.s I also wonder if the exploit you speak of was patched. Why not just flash to an earlier rom with the problem still existing.
You could start off by explaining why in 7 months time the boot loader is sill locked.
Or why your links to the unlock threads are dead. Both of them.
Or how I'm supposed to unlock the bootloader if these users can't provide that service any longer.
Also you could mention why Sony. being developer and hacker supportive hasn't assisted in taking Verizon's clutch off the bootloader
It is rather annoying coming from Droid x where the device is locked down with a fuse but yet a wide array of custom roms exist that bypass the locked bootloader and then coming to this phone that appears to have not progressed beyond hello world.
So you tell me where to look for an unlock because I'm fresh out of searches and ideas.
Thanks
-jon
P.s I also wonder if the exploit you speak of was patched. Why not just flash to an earlier rom with the problem still existing.
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1) I kindly would like to ask how I'm supposed to know why the bootloader is locked. It's a corporate decision by carriers and Sony Ericsson in which neither I, nor anyone in this forum, have any input. If I had any hard data about why Sony Ericsson doesn't cooperate in the issue, I'd say it. However, I just don't know why, and I prefer not to speak of what I don't know.
2) It seems that both threads have been wiped out of existence (which I didn't know until right now), and I see that a new site appears in Alejandrissimo's signature (http://unlock-bootloader.com/) where he's promoting his services externally (not only the unlocking, but the TA fix and hard-brick fix too). I'd guess that somebody complained about these people making business inside XDA, but then I question the idea of wiping their threads like... months afterwards. At any rate, don't worry, you still can unlock your bootloader with Alejandrissimo's help.
3) On Droid X the bootloader was bypassed because Motorola wouldn't ever unlock it. The FreeXperia team, who had bypassed older Xperia models' bootloaders, decided against it as they saw the new policy of Sony Ericsson's (unlocking phones which didn't come with carrier subsidy). I could unlock my bootloader from day one, and I'm happy to say I've helped devs here therethrough.
4) The exploit was related to the website where you could unlock R800i models. In order to unlock your bootloader, you need to give your IMEI number (an ID code for GSM phones). Ashergray could convert MEID numbers used by CDMA phones into bogus IMEI numbers, which could be used to unlock the devices. Sony Ericsson patched the website so ashergray's trick didn't work anymore.
5) My thread is a "how-to", do you really expect me to add points 1), 3) and 4) to it?
4 months is an eternity for this kind of business. Exploits get fixed (look at the PSXperia case), policies change (like HTC's and Motorola's) and threads are wiped on short or no notice.
Logseman said:
1) I kindly would like to ask how I'm supposed to know why the bootloader is locked. It's a corporate decision by carriers and Sony Ericsson in which neither I, nor anyone in this forum, have any input. If I had any hard data about why Sony Ericsson doesn't cooperate in the issue, I'd say it. However, I just don't know why, and I prefer not to speak of what I don't know.
2) It seems that both threads have been wiped out of existence (which I didn't know until right now), and I see that a new site appears in Alejandrissimo's signature where he's promoting his services externally (not only the unlocking, but the TA fix and hard-brick fix too). I'd guess that somebody complained about these people making business inside XDA, but then I question the idea of wiping their threads like... months afterwards. At any rate, don't worry, you still can unlock your bootloader with Alejandrissimo's help.
3) On Droid X the bootloader was bypassed because Motorola wouldn't ever unlock it. The FreeXperia team, who had bypassed older Xperia models' bootloaders, decided against it as they saw the new policy of Sony Ericsson's (unlocking phones which didn't come with carrier subsidy). I could unlock my bootloader from day one, and I'm happy to say I've helped devs here therethrough.
4) The exploit was related to the website where you could unlock R800i models. In order to unlock your bootloader, you need to give your IMEI number (an ID code for GSM phones). Ashergray could convert MEID numbers used by CDMA phones into bogus IMEI numbers, which could be used to unlock the devices. Sony Ericsson patched the website so ashergray's trick didn't work anymore.
5) My thread is a "how-to", do you really expect me to add points 1), 3) and 4) to it?
4 months is an eternity for this kind of business. Exploits get fixed (look at the PSXperia case), policies change (like HTC's and Motorola's) and threads are wiped on short or no notice.
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I've sent you some PM's to remove spam / offtopic / rant from the board.
Thanks for the information tho. I wasn't aware of any of that.
It seems that the name FreeXperia is a bit of a misnomer because my Xperia is going to be locked unless I pay 25$ apparently and thats sad when I only paid 90$ for the phone used. Could have been cheaper if I had bought bad ESN(I probably should have tried)
Imagine my surprise coming from Droid X to this phone where droid X has heaps of ROM's available to everyone for free and now I have to worry about getting this device to function at the same level as my old DX with Gummy JAR rom.
I Just wish the spirit of opensource would be in this sub-forum so we could have some real development in terms of flavors of roms and such.
Do you think their is any reason the developers are all charging fee's to show the method through team viewer? I thought it could have something to do with leaking the method and then it could be fixed in later updates. but then again maybe I'm wrong.
It's not that they "show" you the method. They "perform" the method for you. I'm not sure if you can do it with Omnius as well... but if you can, it will be marginally cheaper (unlocking credits are needed anyway!) and you have no assistance.
And about the old "why charge for open source software" dead horse, which is pointless here because there is no open source software involved (the bootloaders are closed-source, SETool is closed-source, and so on):
The Free Software Foundation said:
“Free software” does not mean “noncommercial.”
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Additionally, as I said before, the FreeXperia team has this policy: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15253598&postcount=217
Logseman said:
It's not that they "show" you the method. They "perform" the method for you. I'm not sure if you can do it with Omnius as well... but if you can, it will be marginally cheaper (unlocking credits are needed anyway!) and you have no assistance.
And about the old "why charge for open source software" dead horse, which is pointless here because there is no open source software involved (the bootloaders are closed-source, SETool is closed-source, and so on):
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Right on. I'm following you thus far.
Question tho. I read that sony was the best company for hackers and developers right now because they actually are allowing people to get access to the bootloaders. If all this is true why are they not assisting in the unlock of branded phones?
I might be wrong on this but aren't most peoples phones branded anyways through buying a contract?
and that leads to why FreeXperia didn't realize that and find an exploit / workaround for the bootloader being locked on branded phones.
If Setool and Omnius (or whatever it's called) are able to unlock the phones then why was sony. the engineer of the device not able to perform this same task?
Also I thought locking the bootloader violates the FCC regulation. open access provision so why didn't Sony assist the FCC to bypass Verizon.
God another douche, you pay 90 bucks for your phone and you think this community owes you something. Go complain to sony.
What do you mean, Sony can't do it? Of course they can. But they have chosen to do so only with R800i non-branded phones. Considering that they locked bootloaders without any official way to unlock them on previous Xperia models, that's a big step forward. That's as far as Sony Ericsson can go: on branded phones, they must obey what the carriers want.
Please do read Bin4ry's statement:
Now think about, if we would try to hack and bypass devices what will happen with future phones? In our opinion future phones will be locked down again like X10 was, eventually even more.
So why don't use the possibilties which are give by SE? Stick to their rules and hope for more support and maybe even nicer implementations (for example a accessable bootpartition from recovery).
We like SE devices, so we don't want to hijack this (i call it) "test" which SE drives with us?
I can fully understand that U.S. users which cannot unlock are quite unhappy with the actual situation, but sorry we will NOT work on anything else than development for officially unlocked devices! That was a team decision.
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Note that this is costing them a lot of flak because they don't use R800x models for testing purposes either, and CM7 has many issues in R800x phones.
Also I thought locking the bootloader violates the FCC regulation. open access provision so why didn't Sony assist the FCC to bypass Verizon.
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If this is correct, sue. I'm sure you'll have backing from everyone here.
Logseman said:
What do you mean, Sony can't do it? Of course they can. But they have chosen to do so only with R800i non-branded phones. Considering that they locked bootloaders without any official way to unlock them on previous Xperia models, that's a big step forward. That's as far as Sony Ericsson can go: on branded phones, they must obey what the carriers want.
Please do read Bin4ry's statement:
Note that this is costing them a lot of flak because they don't use R800x models for testing purposes either, and CM7 has many issues in R800x phones.
If this is correct, sue. I'm sure you'll have backing from everyone here.
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So what your saying is that CM7 is not even worth flashing even if i was unlocked?
I would be better off to root / Titanium backup / delete bloat and be done with it?
Its a shame that they are forcing most people to stay stock SE/Verizon ROM because they are scared of the repercussions of angering SE. I think even if they stay inert that SE will eventually add more DRM to "protect" the devices.
About the lawsuit. I don't believe I'm the first person to mention it. Verizon has already been sued for 25 Million i believe on another occasion and it's been said by others that they are breaking FCC Regulation. The problem would be to get something done about it and I wouldn't have those resources.
The reason for the charge is very simple. In order to unlock our version of the Play (R800x), it takes a hardware dongle and the purchase of credits to allow the software to work. All you are paying Al or whoever for is the cost of the number of credits necessary to unlock your phone. They aren't getting rich off anyone.
If there was another way to unlock the Verizon version, someone would have posted it by now. There isn't, and that's just how it is.
There is a good spirit of free info sharing on this site. You might have to do a little digging but it's there. For example, how to unroot the R800x without having an unlocked bootloader. Takes about a whole 5 minutes to do.
EDIT: I do have to say that after digging around a bit more, I don't blame you for being perturbed. While no one owes us Verizon Play owners anything, there could have been something posted and sticky to make it a bit easier to find out what is going on. And perhaps have had a bit less condescension toward us as well. Must be that UK mentality toward us Colonists!
Re: Droid X vs XPlay development -
Different phones from different brands on different carriers require entirely new learning to develop for, not to mention owning a device to work on. I'd say there's probably only about a dozen people worldwide putting in serious work on this phone.
That's not a lot. If you want more options, you may have to do it yourself.

[Q]Why is there no OSS solution for unlocking branded Plays?

I'm just pointing out what feels like the elephant in the room here. Excuse me if I'm out of line.
I bought a Play coming from the HTC Eris (CDMA Hero), and the Eris is an amazing phone. I still lurk on the forums (and really sad it got shuffled, but out with the old, in with the new.) The community there really extended its life far beyond what Verizon gave it (it officially died with 2.1, but right now mine is running CM7 2.3.7.) Overall it was a great community to get introduced to Android with, and I'm very appreciative of all the devs that worked hard to make the Eris experience much, much more amazing.
So, I purchased my R800x in October, and I was excited. New phone, new community; I was really pumped to see what everyone here was cooking up. But we seem to be stuck in a holding pattern of some sort. I can definitely see there are a lot of talented people very eager to dev and cook up roms, but I'm finding the same loop everywhere: "Can we unlock bootloaders yet" maybe "CM7?" no.
Now, I don't expect anyone to do anything simply because this is here. That's not the point of the question. The question is (twofold): Why is there no open source boot loader unlock for all Xperia Plays? I went through the dev forum archives and can't really find anything concrete as to why phones like the R800x don't have one. And if there is an issue (or even if there is not), how can I help? I want to get involved. I don't have much experience with unlocking bootloaders, but I have gone through the Android source, and feel I'm moderately familiar with how Android works.
Xerophun said:
I'm just pointing out what feels like the elephant in the room here. Excuse me if I'm out of line.
I bought a Play coming from the HTC Eris (CDMA Hero), and the Eris is an amazing phone. I still lurk on the forums (and really sad it got shuffled, but out with the old, in with the new.) The community there really extended its life far beyond what Verizon gave it (it officially died with 2.1, but right now mine is running CM7 2.3.7.) Overall it was a great community to get introduced to Android with, and I'm very appreciative of all the devs that worked hard to make the Eris experience much, much more amazing.
So, I purchased my R800x in October, and I was excited. New phone, new community; I was really pumped to see what everyone here was cooking up. But we seem to be stuck in a holding pattern of some sort. I can definitely see there are a lot of talented people very eager to dev and cook up roms, but I'm finding the same loop everywhere: "Can we unlock bootloaders yet" maybe "CM7?" no.
Now, I don't expect anyone to do anything simply because this is here. That's not the point of the question. The question is (twofold): Why is there no open source boot loader unlock for all Xperia Plays? I went through the dev forum archives and can't really find anything concrete as to why phones like the R800x don't have one. And if there is an issue (or even if there is not), how can I help? I want to get involved. I don't have much experience with unlocking bootloaders, but I have gone through the Android source, and feel I'm moderately familiar with how Android works.
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Same here, i was introduced brilliantly into the community when i bought my galaxy s, the development page was packed everyday of different stuff, with the play no ones trying.... but some people are. You can unlock your boot loader but it does cost a small amount of money, check the development section. Im 14 & don't really have a paypal account so i can't unlock mine either lol. We can't really help, were just 2 people out of 7,000,000,000 :L
People, the fact that the Play has few devs behind it is simple: sales. The Play has been a big flop. That is the mere reason why we're left with little support in comparison to other phones. Forget locked or unlocked bootloaders, open or closed operative systems or whatever, it's not relevant: if a phone/tablet/whatever sells well, it will be tinkered with. Commercial developers want money, amateurs are glory hounds eager to be like Darky or Geohot, and some just want to help selflessly, but the motivations of the three have sales as the common point.
Logseman said:
People, the fact that the Play has few devs behind it is simple: sales. The Play has been a big flop. That is the mere reason why we're left with little support in comparison to other phones. Forget locked or unlocked bootloaders, open or closed operative systems or whatever, it's not relevant: if a phone/tablet/whatever sells well, it will be tinkered with. Commercial developers want money, amateurs are glory hounds eager to be like Darky or Geohot, and some just want to help selflessly, but the motivations of the three have sales as the common point.
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Well its the best thing that ever happened in mobile gaming, compared to n gage anyway lol
I came from an Eris as well, handed it down to my niece, she is still using with 2.3.7.
I got my play back in June. In early August a dev named ashergray did figure out how to unlock the bootloader. Mine was one of the first 5-10 that they did. Lucky for me, it was free.
I am not sure if the devs involved were contacted by verizon, i think i read that somewhere, but they stopped doing it.
Right now theres a guy doing it for like 20 bucks. Kinda sucks but whatever.
Your not missing all that much yet, right now I am running Doom Kernel with the UK generic firmware. Its better then stock verizon, but not by leaps and bounds.
I think the noted difference between this community and the Eris community, is that the Eris was one of the first driod phones and it was dirt F'n cheap! Now that verizon has this going for 50 bucks, maybe we will get an increase in our community and dev population.
Oh and in general, gamers are arrogant assholes. You will see alot of that in here too.
Who would I contact about unlocking the bootloader on my R800x? I am willing to Donate to get it done. Thanks.
Check in the Development section
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
Dudeness83 said:
I came from an Eris as well, handed it down to my niece, she is still using with 2.3.7.
I got my play back in June. In early August a dev named ashergray did figure out how to unlock the bootloader. Mine was one of the first 5-10 that they did. Lucky for me, it was free.
I am not sure if the devs involved were contacted by verizon, i think i read that somewhere, but they stopped doing it.
Right now theres a guy doing it for like 20 bucks. Kinda sucks but whatever.
Your not missing all that much yet, right now I am running Doom Kernel with the UK generic firmware. Its better then stock verizon, but not by leaps and bounds.
I think the noted difference between this community and the Eris community, is that the Eris was one of the first driod phones and it was dirt F'n cheap! Now that verizon has this going for 50 bucks, maybe we will get an increase in our community and dev population.
Oh and in general, gamers are arrogant assholes. You will see alot of that in here too.
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The way we got our early unlock was through a workaround in Sony Ericsson's standard unlock web interface. R800i gets a free bootloader unlock from Sony themselves. All you need is your IMEI number, go to their website, and type it in. It give you an unlock code and instructions on how to use it.
R800x doesn't have an IMEI, it has an MEID. The website wouldn't accept numbers with a letter in it (imei are all numbers). However, it was only the form on the website that filtered the input. Ashergrey found a way to feed the MEID directly to the unlocking program, and he was able to produce unlock codes. Sony eventually caught wind of this exploit and patched their website so now there's no free workaround to unlock.
The guy who you have to pay to unlock is allejandrissimo. You only have to pay to unlock because he has to buy credits for a sony ericsson program to do the unlocks. He is charging for the amount of the credits. This is currently the only way to do a bootloader unlock.
And honestly, this phone isn't selling well because it really isn't that great a phone. The controller is brilliant, don't get me wrong, but its a single core device with 384 meg of ram and maybe 512 of internal storage that came out at the same time as the droid x2 and similar devices, with 16 GIG of internal storage and 512 to 1GIG of ram, plus dual core to boot. And it came out at the same pricepoint. Seriously, my wife has a droid2 global, and its has 2 GIG of internal storage.
If xperia play had come out 6 months earlier, it would have been a big hit. Sony botched this one because, like most of their corporate marketing, they believe that the gamer portion of their population is stupid and will buy anything with the "playstation" name attached to it. Need I remind you of the initial PS3 marketing strategies? I almost didn't buy this phone because of the bad rep Sony had with me, related to how they treated their PS3 customers. Ultimately, my inner gamer won out.
Here's to hoping for an xperia play 2 that's got a decent screen, decent internal memory, and decent ram.
crono141 said:
The way we got our early unlock was through a workaround in Sony Ericsson's standard unlock web interface. R800i gets a free bootloader unlock from Sony themselves. All you need is your IMEI number, go to their website, and type it in. It give you an unlock code and instructions on how to use it.
R800x doesn't have an IMEI, it has an MEID. The website wouldn't accept numbers with a letter in it (imei are all numbers). However, it was only the form on the website that filtered the input. Ashergrey found a way to feed the MEID directly to the unlocking program, and he was able to produce unlock codes. Sony eventually caught wind of this exploit and patched their website so now there's no free workaround to unlock.
The guy who you have to pay to unlock is allejandrissimo. You only have to pay to unlock because he has to buy credits for a sony ericsson program to do the unlocks. He is charging for the amount of the credits. This is currently the only way to do a bootloader unlock.
And honestly, this phone isn't selling well because it really isn't that great a phone. The controller is brilliant, don't get me wrong, but its a single core device with 384 meg of ram and maybe 512 of internal storage that came out at the same time as the droid x2 and similar devices, with 16 GIG of internal storage and 512 to 1GIG of ram, plus dual core to boot. And it came out at the same pricepoint. Seriously, my wife has a droid2 global, and its has 2 GIG of internal storage.
If xperia play had come out 6 months earlier, it would have been a big hit. Sony botched this one because, like most of their corporate marketing, they believe that the gamer portion of their population is stupid and will buy anything with the "playstation" name attached to it. Need I remind you of the initial PS3 marketing strategies? I almost didn't buy this phone because of the bad rep Sony had with me, related to how they treated their PS3 customers. Ultimately, my inner gamer won out.
Here's to hoping for an xperia play 2 that's got a decent screen, decent internal memory, and decent ram.
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You have a point with the ram and Internal Storage, but Single core devices aren't really needed yet, Look at Dead space, GTA and other high graphic games, Off course it would be nice to have a Dual core but imo the xperia play could have been better if they put more into it (HDMI, Better screen...)
I agree that in reality it isn't a big deal. But with consumer products, perception drives reality. The phone was seen as being "lesser", and thus doesn't sell well.
Sent from my R800x using XDA App
TheCraig said:
You have a point with the ram and Internal Storage, but Single core devices aren't really needed yet, Look at Dead space, GTA and other high graphic games, Off course it would be nice to have a Dual core but imo the xperia play could have been better if they put more into it (HDMI, Better screen...)
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Dual core or not , it's still among the best , but remember no games or even softwares are near being made for dual core devices anyways . All made the same some optimum (HD) for certain ones i.e Xperia play among others. And so far as the HDMI it's believed it's built-in , just not user friendly with current update .
Sent from my R800at using XDA App
But all in all, I love this post because even I said the same, the xperia is the only android todate that's a pain in the rear about everything , simple things are gigntic with it. I remember the G1 could even install recovery from it's own terminal emulator , seriously , even the G1 could do such a basic function , but you turn left or right , it's the same excuses everywhere it seems no one really knowing anything
Sent from my R800at using XDA App
Lolwat? You think the xplay is complicated? It's really not that bad, in comparison to some others.
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
I've compiled a whole thread about the whole resources at your disposal about rooting, unlocking, flashing stuff, and so on; I've asked mods to make it a sticky thread without an answer of any kind; and now recently I've been reading more and more comments about how "nobody knows anything concrete" or "there are no threads about this stuff".
I give up. It's just pointless.
*edit* it seems that my query to the mood never went to them. I'm quite puzzled about the why.
Trygon said:
Lolwat? You think the xplay is complicated? It's really not that bad, in comparison to some others.
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
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I don't think , I KNOW , and it's common knowledge , hence this thread , plus I'm sure you've poked around as well , so you must,know. Locked bootloaders etc to name a few.
Sent from my R800at using XDA App
Logseman said:
People, the fact that the Play has few devs behind it is simple: sales. The Play has been a big flop. That is the mere reason why we're left with little support in comparison to other phones. Forget locked or unlocked bootloaders, open or closed operative systems or whatever, it's not relevant: if a phone/tablet/whatever sells well, it will be tinkered with. Commercial developers want money, amateurs are glory hounds eager to be like Darky or Geohot, and some just want to help selflessly, but the motivations of the three have sales as the common point.
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Agree with ya logseman big time
I also agree this phone is a good gamer phone.
but I also agree that the community or lack of one is really disappointing since I came from droid X community. there was so much going on there and compared to this its like comparing night to day.
Still , it's pathetic , because other phones even with a huge marketing profits weren't as hard nor complicated as the Zeus, I.E G1 , though it was a commercial success it still wasn't a pain to do anything , fact of the matter is , with or without development , the Zeus is still "roadblocked" compared to other androids which a newbie could easily.tweak.
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
jpzzle said:
Still , it's pathetic , because other phones even with a huge marketing profits weren't as hard nor complicated as the Zeus, I.E G1 , though it was a commercial success it still wasn't a pain to do anything , fact of the matter is , with or without development , the Zeus is still "roadblocked" compared to other androids which a newbie could easily.tweak.
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
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I haven't linked ease of modding and sales in any way. I'm just saying that if a phone is successful in the market, it will be modded. The big name Galaxies are ROM whores that you can Sim unlock for free and they have lots of roms, tweaks and stuff... But then the iThings are very hard to mod yet they have huge quantities of stuff for jailbroken units.
Maemo phones were really easy to mod, webOS devices were seemingly hard to break, and both have little content in comparison to the former two.
It boils down to sales: we as users gamble on the popularity of a device: Galaxies and iThings have millions and millions of users, while maemo and webOS have only thousands.

Hacking WP7 - any REAL beginner guides?

Hi
I'm pretty sure this hasn't been covered off already - well - not to the level of detail I need anyway.
I came to the xda forums after a friend of mine suggested that there were hacks available.
It's clear that 'something' is available, but what I am not finding is:
A) A SIMPLE guide that shows us people totally new to phone 'hacking' how to do it, from start to finish, with minimal lingo and acronyms.
B) An clear and simple explanation on the different 'hacking' options available
C) The reason you would want to do it? From what I can see, the only benefit seems to be a few pointless homebrew apps that you can download - and for the risk involved...why would you chance it?
Don't get me wrong, tinkering in itself is the reason you would want to do it - it's fun - but I can't help thinking that the WP7 side of 'hacking' doesn't offer much reward.
Would really appreciate any advice/help/links with my questions.
Thanks
Did not know whether to bother answering or not but okay. First welcome to XDA, uhhh in easy laymens terms hacking is not for the inexperienced and it is not totally idiot proof so you should have some fair knowledge of the systems and what they do. Don't hack if you need a kindergarten book to explain it all out for ya simple as that. WP is closer too iOS than Android main point being it is the most secure as far as I personally care of the 3, and the system is just as smooth and fluid as iOS. No there are not alot of Homebrew available at the moment, but if you happen to have a phone able to be fully unlocked then you have the option to use many functions that were not available before.
Device specific is where you should such that search block is your best friend, nobody here is going to write a full guide to the whole forum section for every single new hack and crack that comes out. If you want to you are more than welcome.
Thanks pal
I'm ok with the concepts of hacking, just not specifically this OS.
I'm technically minded and do a lot of similar stuff elsewhere, but when it comes to the phone that I use daily, and comntracted for another 12 months with and have no experience with tinkering WP7 - Im slightly more nervous.
I guess my main issue was the d&h forum for WP7. Every sticky/thread is far too long and they all contain a lot of acryonyms that a new WP7 hacker wouldn't understand. So my forum instinct is to look for the sticky that says "start here - everything explained" - but there isn't one?!
It's almost like "where do people start if there is no starting point"?
As far as covering a good amount of info, this post is a good one:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1299134
Don't really think there is a way to avoid all the jargon though, if there is something that isn't explained well it should be simple to find information to fill in the gaps. The terms used are very specific to the environment, so anything returned in a search would probably be relevant.
The most common homebrew option is Interop Unlock, Samsung models of phone are the easiest to unlock. This allows you to use native code that has not been wrapped in a tidy c# class.
The benefit of all this is that your phone is a full fledged computer that by default is locked down like an appliance. Developing additional homebrew apps allow you to get further phone customization out of your device, and therefore the most value out of your purchase.
I for myself thought about unlocking my device considering the risks involve. but I weighed the consequences. Thus, I end up now, having a fully unlocked HTC 7 Mozart with a custom rom. I am happier with my device now, I can do BT transfers, explore the folders within my device, install more applications than the usual apps/games from the marketplace, and tweak my device. One more thing, when my device was still running on stock rom, battery life is shorter, now I have 1.5x the battery life.
MY CONCLUSION: unlock your device's potential
as for the guides, yes it is not really like spoon feeding, but contents of the guides/tutorials are somehow progressive. one can learn from them, so that on the next development, we can do the "hacking" easier since we understood how the process goes. This is why it is called development. Cheers!
before i can give you advice on what hack that you can use, what is the name your device that way there are more specific hacks that we can talk about.
Hi
Thanks for the helpful replies.
I have a HTC Trophy. I'm doing the SD card upgrade next week to start with, so I can finally put all my music on it, so thought i'd look at hacking it at the same time.
Cheers
Sent from my 7 Trophy using Board Express
look at the HTC part of this guide, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1271963
lovenokia said:
look at the HTC part of this guide, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1271963
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Looks like a good guide but how am I meant to know if I have a first or second gen phone....there's no definitive list?! And I can't remember what updates I have.
This is a nightmare - I'll give it a miss
check your processor, as far as i know, if your phone has 1.5GHz then it's a gen2, otherwise, it's just gen1
Let me at least give the "legitimate" talk about unlocking your phone:
For $99/year, sign up for a developers account with Microsoft (create.msdn.com). You can unlock up to 3 separate devices officially for app development. Then you can build and deploy all kinds of .xaps to your phone. To top it off, you can get the betas and early OS upgrades (had Mango almost 6 months before my friend got it from his vendor). Ultimately, you can even release your own apps to the marketplace for sale or for free.
sounds like, since this is a phone you use every day, this might be an investment worth considering. Its an easy and legitimate way for someone not too experienced with the phone's innards to get it unlocked and get exposed to how things work. Plus if you back up your phone vefore you unlock it, and something goes wrong, you haven't done anything thats voided a warranty. If the OS crashes, try returning to the "pre-unlocked" backup and bring it back to the store saying it crashed. They'll replace it. Nice deal, considering most Windows phones run around $500 to replace.
Now as for unlocking it via other means: maybe you dont want to sell apps. Maybe you dont really want to give microsoft a credit card for $100 every year. Maybe you want to just do more than a developer unlock will get you - like load a whole new aspect of the operating system. Or maybe you just dont want to pay to unlock your phone. Understandable, i suppose (though for MOST people, a developer unlock is more than sufficient). There are options, but they will require a lot of time and investigation (maybe even translation) to get it right, because the WP7 is new. The devices are many - its not like having a single hardware baseline to crack - like the iPhone. And to throw another monkey in the wrench, they did a full-fledged update to the OS not 6 months ago. So - no - not a a lot of "beginners" guides out there. Even for experienced people, an unofficial unlock is still a tricky feat. Take a look at the number of posts that have to do with phones randomly "re-locking" themsleves. Hell, I'm a legit developer and my phone "re-locked" itself last night. (turns out MS has a "lease" on deve unlocks that you need to physically update every year by un-registering and re-registering the device)
hope this was informative and helps.
I found exactly the same problem. Today I saw this post in the HTC Titan forum which helped me understand all the different unlocks that you hear mentioned on the web.
Hope this helped

[Q] defy desert xmas12/13

Hey guys,
just some thoughts on our beloved device.
Seems this christmas a lot of users are just switching to a newer device. It is a subjecive observation for sure, but as I started following the forums this summer (meaning 2012) and finally gathered enough "self-esteem" to "hack" my defy+ and flash a non-official software I noticed it is getting really silent on the forums right now. There are a lot of good reasons for that. Could be that this device just isn't able to catch up with all the official updates. I mean, everything after 2.3.6 was only possible through the help of voluntary developers. It is a miracle to have the latest versions of Android on this phone. And if you think about it (not aiming to reduse the effort of the community) it was mainly because of the leading (and voluntary) example of Quarx.
It is just how it goes. Now, a lot of users, being driven by their inhabited impulse of jelaousy just switch to a younger device. The media promotes it. The companies pay for it. My question is: why? I bought this device (defy+) in winter 2011 (one year ago). And advertising tells me it is time to get a new one? Are you nuts? I like things that pay out. This must be a joke. It is already a "outdated device"? Only because Motorola itself doesn't want to give an update? I am convinced, that if we the users don't change our attitude, then companies can play with us as if we were puppets until we die. But is the technique really outdated? Why do we need an upgrade? To get faster downloads at the bus stop? To get a faster connection at work (although there are already to pcs, that we could use). What are we practically using these new devices for? Is there such a big need to pay for these upgrades that advertising suggests if we don't really have a use for them?
The main thing, they are usefull for is communication. And do we really need the newest hardware for that? The defy is very capable of dealing with our needs! And for the software there might be an even better choice than sticking to Google's.
With seeing that developement of alternative software for the defy is diminishing, I would like to point to the developers that spend so much effort on this device to just take a break and then go into the developement of the Firefox OS with at least the same or even bigger ambition that you have put to Google's crap (Google still crap btw, we do not really know and can't really expect what they are working for to achieve but humanitarian goals aren't it).
Thanks for your contribution, I owe you a lot.
4cidj4y said:
Google still crap btw, we do not really know and can't really expect what they are working for to achieve but humanitarian goals aren't it
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Oh, man, how much do I agree on this! Very much!
Anyhows... I do agree with you, brother and I both bought DEFY's last winter and I don't see an ACTUAL reason to replace it... Yes, I would love a bigger screen, better camera, faster CPU, more RAM... But the truth is I don't need any of those, as the DEFY does everything I need. Texting, surfing, gaming, multimedia... I'm not going to change it soon. And I do hope developers will stick with it for a little while longer
Cheers, buddy!

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