Questions about locked bootloader, safestrap, aosp

if im not mistaken, any phone with an encrypted bootloader is unable to change kernels.

 

Safestrap is for roms i believe, not kernels. If you try to install a kernel .zip in safestrap (even though im pretty sure there are no installable custom kernels for the D3) you will bootloop and most likely need to sbf. But im not even really sure what your asking??

 

Install update.zip is exactly what it sounds like. The recovery looks for a file called "update.zip" on the sd and installs it, nothing more. There use to be different ways of installing .zips and that is the original way. Some addons are in update.zip format and you would have to rename the file from lets say d3recoveryupdate.zip to update.zip in order for it to install. There is no full-proof way around the locked bootloader at this point in time. We use 2nd init/fastboot to install roms but no kernels. The locked bootloader prevents the kernel from being touched which in turn means no 100% custom anything. Install update.zip has nothing to do with the bootloader restrictions. update.zip can be placed on the root of your sd card and automatically installed via choosing "install update.zip", if it wasnt in the update.zip format you have to choose "Install zip from sd card" and then locate the file manually on either the internal or external sd. Hope that clears things up. If that doesn't answer your question I guess I don't know what you mean by limitations.


No one uses update.zip format anymore BTW.

 

Locked bootloader means locked boot partition. We can already access /system with root. Update.zip is just the format of the zip file, it doesn't always pertain to something being flashed in the boot partition or the system. So its limitation would be flashing anything to the boot partition, because the bootloader is locked.. You can flash to the system already with either update.zip or any other .zip that contains files that go to the system or anywhere else on the phone besides the boot partition.

What you are thinking of is when you flashed the update.zip on the d1, what you flashed unlocked the bootloader. This is not possible with the D3 until someone figures out how to get around the encryption, and its not been done and I really doubt anyone is working on it. There is limited sources for D3 development because of the locked bootloader, devs dont buy phone that are locked and encrypted. The d2 d2g dx dx2 d3 etc and every other moto phone since the D1 are locked down tight, none of them have been unlocked.

 

No kernels can be flashed, its located on the boot partition. That what your looking for? =P Our only hope for anything with the kernel would be modules to allow overclocking and changing vsel. OR when an official ICS update is pushed because ICS has a different kernel. Every dev for the D3 right now is more concerned about porting ICS, which IMO is more important because of the benefits of GPU hardware acceleration and system optimization but they are also limited because of the bootloader.

Locked bootloader = no true asop roms/kernels etc. The kernel plays a big part in aosp..