Motorola responds to Droid X bootloader controversy, says eFuse isn't there to break the phone
By Chris Ziegler 
posted July 16th 2010 11:45AM
posted July 16th 2010 11:45AM
Considering IBM's historically non-nefarious usage of the term "eFuse," we suspected something was amiss here, so we reached out to Motorola for an explanation. Read on to see what we got back.
So in other words, yes, eFuse will shut down a phone with an unapproved bootloader -- but it won't brick the phone, it just needs "approved software" to be dropped back on there. Knowing the wealth of talent in the Android development community, we're still really hopeful this nonsense is going to get circumvented either way, but at least we can breathe a little easier knowing that Moto isn't out to destroy your multi-hundred-dollar investment."Motorola's primary focus is the security of our end users and protection of their data, while also meeting carrier, partner and legal requirements. 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 re-boot once approved software is re-installed. Checking for a valid software configuration is a common practice within the industry to protect the user against potential malicious software threats. Motorola has been a long time advocate of open platforms and provides a number of resources to developers to foster the ecosystem including tools and access to devices via MOTODEV at http://developer.motorola.com."
@DizWARE
That makes me feel better :)
@DefPoet
The milestone has been rooted since the 2.0.1 update...
@DC MIKE
and what has that done without a unlocked bootloader
wifi tether doesnt even fully work
@DC MIKE
but i do stand corrected by you :P
@DefPoet What are you talking about? You can wifi and USB tether a Milestone after rooting. Most common is Barnicle. If you can't you're probably using an ancient kernel. Everyone knows this.
@DC MIKE
wifi tether for android
the app that comes preloaded on just about all custom roms
free is better
@VAVA Mk 2 Nothing to be happy about. That root method uses a roundabout way which doesn't touch the bootloader. The Milestone bootloader is still encrypted after 7 months.
This is still bad news, because now even with the minute chance the 2048 bit encryption on the Milestone bootloader is cracked, it was all for nothing as you still wouldn't be able to load unsigned ROMS. At least with the debunked hardware self-destruct the hackers wouldn't be wasting their time.
@Zizagoo And by "Milestone bootloader", I mean the X bootloader. ;)
@VAVA Mk 2
what? They ripped through the Moto Droid pretty quickly and it's still got a huge community despite newer faster phones that have come out. If you're talking about the Milestone, then sure.
@DefPoet Milestone=Rooted*
Sent from my ROOTED milestone :)
two weeks from now the tittle will say "Droid X finally rooted"...let's face it, there are geniuses around there ready to take down those limitations...
@serge
I really hope so. As much as they improved their UI and made it less annoying like MotoBlur I really really wanna flash it with either Stock Froyo or Sense.
@serge It probably will get rooted, its not impossible. But flashing a custom recovery and custom ROM is a different story..
@serge
the milestone is an exapmple of how hard it will be
someone will eventually do it but not in two weeks
@EggoEspada
Where is Lord Vader? I need him to say "Nooooooooooooooo!" for me. I was supposed to pick up my Droid X today. Do you guys think I still should despite this news get the Droid X, get Incredible, or wait on Verizon's Galaxy S? This is the kinda crap I would expect from AT&T and Apple. You make me mad, Moto.
@VAVA Mk 2 i see this becoming the new norm. everyone criticizes apple but at some point, everyone will follow suit. data caps included.
@serge
It will happen because it doesn't brick the phone...hackers have unlimited attempts to mess with the software knowing nothing is going to go wrong. It would be nearly impossible to develop on the phone if the phone was bricked on every hack attempt like previously thought...
@system22
What would you do then? Get Droid X? Wait on a shipment and get Incredible? Wait and get Sammy Galaxy S? When they do the over the air update to Froyo later this summer its still gonna have all of Moto's skin crap on it right? I would prefer stock.
@VAVA Mk 2
The Verizon Fascinate (Galaxy X) isn't coming out before the Fall; they apparently want to keep this the summer of the (Motorola) Droids. If you want a rootable Verizon phone this month, I'd go with the Incredible.
Riiiight.
I was ready to pull the trigger on this phone yesterday, but now I am hesitant. Now I am thinking I might be better off with some Galaxy S Fascinate lovin' instead. (of course that really depends on when it will get released, or when the next round of HTC phones get announced)
@Hazdaz
This is 'vote with your feet' at its finest. I, like you, will not recommend or purchase the Droid X, or any phone that prevents me from doing something that I want to do if there are alternatives that do not prevent me on the market.
It seems as though Moto is trying to prod people to upgrade if they cut of support for older OSs. Silly, especially if the hardware is capable and the user doesn't mind the running the latest OS on yesterday's hardware.
Hopefully they drop this nonsense.
Nice try, moto. Galaxy S, here I come.
@Hazdaz
I tried the Galaxy last month. Really nice phone. Just wish the hardware was more high-end material. Everything else was pure sauce though.
@MagnetMan
Well I am still not 100% ruling out the X. The more I read about this issue (not the hyped up stuff), the more I see that other Moto phones have had this "feature" and I guess every OMAP phone does too. While not being able to root it is indeed a problem, I was especially pissed off initially at the idea that they would be willing to literally destroy YOUR phone, simply for trying. That's akin to Chevy putting a self-destruct in their car if you ever even TRIED to mod the engine. BS. Of course this press release is stating that this is not the case. While I believe that corporations will tell you just about anything to get you to buy their stuff, I haven't read of tons of previous Moto phones getting bricked either.
But then there is the issue that OUNKEO mentions above... the Galaxy S seems to not have the best build quality, and having a solid phone (especially one with Gorilla Glass for a phone with a big screen) is rather important to me.
Where's HTC to solve my dilema and introduce an EVO-class phone for Verizon????
@Hazdaz uh, you do know that this whole thing is just hype right? This doesn't even affect the rooting of the phone, but the ROM you would use on it. Check out Boy Genius on this. There is far too much FUD on this subject (as I can see by all the half assed stupid responses I have seen on this thread).
1) It only affects you changing the ROM. That does NOT MEAN ROOTING THEW PHONE.
2) OTHER PHONES ALREADY HAVE THIS!!!! And they got all rooted and ROMed up.
3) Android Fanboys are just as stupid as Apple fanboys ...
4) I like cheese.
@trashk "2) OTHER PHONES ALREADY HAVE THIS!!!! And they got all rooted and ROMed up."
Yes, they got rooted, but not ROM-ed. I'm a sad owner of an European Motorola Milestone and I can't run any custom rom on it, just because Motorola wants so...
That is fucking bullshit at the highest level.
@sweet greggo part deux
I suppose Motorola in some part has the right to protect non hacking end users and their phones( their claim), But I think Google should try and help sort this problem out with hardware vendors and end the fustration with Android users. One UI for all, no Sense, Blur etc. All phones that are capable after testing should upgrade at the same time on a agreed date with Google setting the dates along with publishing info on phones that would recieve it.
@sweet greggo part deux
Yeah... so much for the Droid Does slogan. Evidently it doesn't do custom ROMs.
Well isn't this a completely different take compared to all the BS floating around the various tech rags.
I might have to bookmark this and send it to every idiot claiming foul.
@defunctgod
Fact still remains Motorola is still locking down phones. I bought the shit. If I want to flash my phone and get some malware that's my business. Tell me I'll lose warranty if I do so. You aren't going to flash firmware and not know exactly what you're doing.
@BigJayDogg3 You can flash your phone all you want. This story is FUD. The eFuse tech comes built in from the chip manufacturer Texas Instruments because it is a required technology (you have to have built in security). It isn't activated and hasn't been for over a year now on any OMAP chip. Go to any Droid forum and you'll see that people have been happily hacking away at their Droids for almost a year now. This story is total BS meant to scare potential buyers... oddly enough most of whom have no intention of hacking, rooting, or using a ROM.
The noise over eFuse is total FUD. An eFuse has always been present in the original A855 Motorola Droid and there is no sign of it ever breaking the phone due to roots or mods.
In case anyone was wondering its a part of the "M-Shield hardware security technology" that's built into ALL OMAP processors past and present.
DONT BELIEVE THE FUD
@DC MIKE
its is not FUD
efuse is in the omap soc yes but that does not mean the companies have used it
people that actually know concoct the root method and bootloader exploits have said if moto wants it to break the phone then it can
no one knows if moto will turn the switch ON instead of leaving it OFF until someone trys to hack the phone
@DefPoet But why is it such a big deal now? The original Moto droid has been hacked every which way by every swinging d*** with a keyboard and Motorola hasn't shown the slightest inclination to start bricking its phones. I'm just saying it seems kind of alarmist.
@DC MIKE
It still has a locked bootloader though. Which presents its own problems. I like nokias approach. Buy our phone and do whatever you want with it.
@DC MIKE
the big deal is
Verizon tells Moto to do it so they can block wifi tether
that is all it would take
@DefPoet Verizon doing that at this stage in the game would be like Las Vegas casinos announcing that they no longer accept $1 bills.
Could they? Sure.
Will they? No.
@DC MIKE
they WILL
why let people tether for free on a android device when they load their own tethering app and charge 20 bucks for it
@DefPoet You act like Verizon doesn't know about tethering. They're not AT&T. People have been using tethering apps for a year now. Hell you can get PDANet from the Marketplace and you don't even need to be rooted for it to work!
Verizon reps even hang out on the Droid forums (granted they don't get involved in discussions about ROMs, hacks, or rooting) but they are totally involved in the Droid community and know whats up.
I'm tethered right now! eFuse is something that Texas Instruments places on the chip (Not Motorola or Verizon), as a feature from the chip maker.
The thing is this... The Droid has "Nerd Cred" and "Geek Cred (for lack of a better term). If they sour that credibility and lock the phone down and kill the ROM community (which heavily cross pollinates the Dev community for Android), they might as well hang it up. And they know this.
@DC MIKE PREACH!!!!!! The apple fanboy idiots dont know shit!
Bummer dude
Why should people have to "circumvent" and play constant cat and mouse on a device they purchase? Why is Engadget endorsing this anti-consumer method, like we're victims of the companies in a totalistic capitalism? Why not ask for the freedom to run whatever software one wants, like on a PC? Stop making shallow excuses, given enough warnings and recovery methods there's no reason to prevent this.
This boils my potato >:(
Once sense gets crammed into this, my life will be complete.
Okay, that's good that Motorola gave a statement on it.
Now, we can hold them to it. You can bet Android users will vote with their wallets. With the OS on so many different makes, it'd be really easy.
@beatsandmelody Thats one of the ways consumers win when then OS is widely available on competing devices, they have the choice to buy another phone. I like having a choice :)
And here me I was thinking I start to hate the iPhone for having to jailbreak it to get the most out of it which is really not a problem but now I also have to wait until they release it for iPhone 4... I hate how they lock our smartphones...
That was Apple-level spin right there, bravo Motorola!
All they have to do is not accept returns with unathorized software. But if I want to build 2.2 from Source and flash it on there, that should be ok.
Its so simple to me. Just dont accept returns on modded phones.
Going through these lengths is silly. And yes, they are still going to sell tons... but has Motorola really looked at the bad rap its getting? have they been following twitter? LOL