Droid 4 Bootloader

[wheeliest]

When the HTC G2 was released it to had a locked boot loader and the community decided to create a purse that everyone contributed to, too give devs some incentive to unlock the device. I believe it got up to about $1200 and it was successfully rooted and unlocked for cwm.


think that will get the droid 4's bootloader opened up so we can get full control of this phone?

 

[macpro88]

When the HTC G2 was released it to had a locked boot loader and the community decided to create a purse that everyone contributed to, too give devs some incentive to unlock the device. I believe it got up to about $1200 and it was successfully rooted and unlocked for cwm.


think that will get the droid 4's bootloader opened up so we can get full control of this phone?

Probably not, only Motorola can unlock the bootloader and that's if Verizon will let them. At this point in time Verizon won't care (maybe they will, probably) but I doubt Motorola is going to spend the time to unlock a device that isn't one of its newest.

 

[wheeliest]

Probably not, only Motorola can unlock the bootloader and that's if Verizon will let them. At this point in time Verizon won't care (maybe they will, probably) but I doubt Motorola is going to spend the time to unlock a device that isn't one of its newest.

there has to be a work around to mod the bootloader.

 

[GigaJake]

there has to be a work around to mod the bootloader.

The kexec workaround is a kernel bypass that allows for custom kernels (I'm not sure to what degree)

But this is the reality in the land of Motorola. Locked bootloaders, locked bootloaders everywhere...

Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2

 

[macpro88]

Motorola has to provide the keys to unlock the bootloader, it is so well encrypted that no one prepared to take on the unencryption process.

The workaround uses a process called 2nd-init which kexec, if I'm not mistaken, is based off of.

Basically it allows all of Motorola to load, the injects its own code, kills all of Motorola and then loads its own code, in this case, being a custom /system/ image as well as a custom /boot/ image of which the kernel is contained.

There's a lot to it, and its a lot more complicated than what I just described above, but thats the watered down version.

More on 2nd-init here: Still Loading ... » blog:2011-06-14:2nd-init._what_it_is_and_how_it_works
Kexec here: kexec - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and more stuff here: Hash-of-Codes

 

[bean1975]

Aside from the kexec hack, let's get back to hacking the bootloader. Would money help? It's becoming clear that there won't be another usable QWERTY phone for a while (ever?) and so we will stick to our Droid 4 until it falls apart. I am considering buying a second one, in fact.

 

[GigaJake]

It's pretty much a lost cause. There have been several moto phones with bigger dev communities that have failed at cracking to bootloader. Just about everything has been done without the aid of Motorola.

Money won't help, you'd need someone with an extreme know-how and passion to do it, and even then, the community has moved to newer and shinier devices.

Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk 2

 

[wheeliest]

gonna have to go iphone with bluetooth keyboard case :/

 

[bean1975]

So, how do reach Motorola then? It's not like Verizon cares much about a year old phone, I guess.

 

[GigaJake]

So, how do reach Motorola then? It's not like Verizon cares much about a year old phone, I guess.

There was a petition to get Motorola to unlock the bootloader, but that's now closed with over 16,000 signatures. People have tried reaching out to MotoDev and Verizon, even going as far as to file FCC complaints against Verizon because of some clause they signed into when they acquired their LTE radio spectrum.

Motorola finally changed its policy on unlocking bootloaders, but this mainly only applies to non-Verizon devices. The only Verizon devices that can be unlocked are Dev editions. Moto tweeted they have no intention of unlocking previous devices.

 

[Spectacle]

Forgive me for throwing darts in the dark, but might there be a way to modify the OS on a rooted Droid 4? If so, there could be a way yet.

 

[GigaJake]

We can install custom roms and use kexec kernels. The Droid 4 has been pushed as far as it can probably go now that it's on the end of it's lifespan.

At this point I would wager the bootloader will never be unlocked. Dev is almost dead for the D4. If Android 4.3 sees it way to the D4 I'll be a happy man.

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