So what was the point of VZW locking the SGS3's bootloader?

[Bateluer]

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/1...-be-flashed-to-verizons-galaxy-s3/#more-79368

And the news of the day goes to…XDA developers who managed to flash an unsecure bootloader to the Verizon Galaxy S3. Developer AdamOutler posted up a file for Mac and Linux that will root your GS3 and apply the unsecure bootloader, leaving your device open for you to do as you please. I cannot even express in words how big of an achievement this is for the community of Galaxy S3 owners that were beyond upset with Verizon’s choice to lock the bootloader of this device.

First, cvpcs gets custom kernels and data working with kexec, now this. Verizon just had the proverbial cock slapped in their face.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Awesome! Verizon can go fuck themselves.

 

[Anubis]

VZW thinks locking down their phones keeps their network running better.

thats honestly what they said

 

[Phokus]

I think it's pretty much everyone's duty to recommend people quit verizon. They are anti-consumer.

 

[Piano Man]

I think it's pretty much everyone's duty to recommend people quit verizon. They are anti-consumer.

Verizon sucks, but it could be worse. It used to be that you would have to resign yourself to the fact that you couldn't get a top tier android phone. Now you can get the GNex and SGIII, and now that the SGIII locked bootloader has been overcome, I think its safe to say that VZ + SGIII with some tasty customized JB action is more than likely the best experience you can have right now on Android.

 

[lothar]

I think it's pretty much everyone's duty to recommend people quit verizon. They are anti-consumer.

Leave Verizon?
You'll have to pry FiOS from my cold, dead hands.

 

[s44]

Outler is the man.

Verizon has one huge, huge advantage -- as they've been saying forever, it's the network. First it was (much) better coverage/capacity, now it's (much) better LTE coverage. So it's foolish to avoid them reflexively.

Problem is, of course, that they're determined to milk this advantage for every single dollar and concession they can.

 

[Bateluer]

Outler is the man.

Verizon has one huge, huge advantage -- as they've been saying forever, it's the network. First it was (much) better coverage/capacity, now it's (much) better LTE coverage. So it's foolish to avoid them reflexively.

Problem is, of course, that they're determined to milk this advantage for every single dollar and concession they can.

This. Verizon will have 371 LTE markets by the end of the week. And I have an unlimited data plan. That'll be hard to walk away from, knowing it'll be unlikely to ever get an unlimited data plan again. But, there are definitely upsides to having a 'standard' GSM Nexus.

 

[dguy6789]

It used to be that you would have to resign yourself to the fact that you couldn't get a top tier android phone.

OG Droid, Droid Incredible, Droid X, Fascinate, Droid Bionic was the first dual core(also the first real Cortex A9 dual core, none of that Tegra 2 half baked stuff) 1GB ram LTE phone in the world, then very soon after came the Rezound(not hard to argue is better than the GS2), Razr, Galaxy Nexus, Razr Maxx, and now the GS3. There was a bit of a wait between the Thunderbolt and the Bionic but I don't think I'd ever say Verizon had no option for a top of the line Android phone for any significant length of time.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Verizon sucks, but it could be worse. It used to be that you would have to resign yourself to the fact that you couldn't get a top tier android phone. Now you can get the GNex and SGIII, and now that the SGIII locked bootloader has been overcome, I think its safe to say that VZ + SGIII with some tasty customized JB action is more than likely the best experience you can have right now on Android.

What, The only reason most people stay with verizon is BECAUSE they have most of the top tier pones.

 

[Zaap]

Heh. Nice on the unlocked bootloader. Most people on xda knew it wouldn't be long. I'm just kicking back and waiting to see what continues to develop before I jump in and mess with my SGS3. Seems like every single day there's a newer/better ROM, easier root method, and now the unlocked bootloader. Screw Verizon.

But... I have to say, the network does keep me with this otherwise dreadful company. My friends at work on other carriers get shit service a lot of times and sometimes have to run to 'zones' in the building where their phones work most reliably- meanwhile my Verizon phone always has full bars just about everywhere. The same situation years ago at another company is why I went with these bastards to begin with.

 

[dguy6789]

Yep. Originally switched to Verizon because I was tired of not getting 3G in rural areas and was tired of worrying about reception. Been with them a while now they haven't disappointed at all in their reliability. Definitely expensive though.

 

[KentState]

I think it's pretty much everyone's duty to recommend people quit verizon. They are anti-consumer.

Which company is pro-consumer that offers a quality product? Show me who that is and I will switch today. I want fast LTE, unlimited data and the newest phones.

 

[Anubis]

What, The only reason most people stay with verizon is BECAUSE they have most of the top tier pones.

id wager most stay with them because of coverage over anything else, and not 4g, im talking 3g and pure cell,

it might have changed now but AT&Ts coverage where i live sucked in the past, as in you couldent even make a phone call, i would have changed over years ago but that stopped me, everyone else is worse

now even if the coverage is fixed i wont change because im not going to give up unlimited data

 

[Dari]

So, was Verizon just acting like a bag of dicks or are their concerns legit? Is there an adverse affect to the bottom line of unlocked bootloaders? Also, how many people, percentage-wise, actually go off the range?

 

[Anubis]

they are just acting like a bag of dicks

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

So, was Verizon just acting like a bag of dicks or are their concerns legit? Is there an adverse affect to the bottom line of unlocked bootloaders? Also, how many people, percentage-wise, actually go off the range?

Their concerns are BS. Case in point: The Nexus is a 4g unlocked device on their network that is sold unlocked.

They just want $ out of the tethering and such. Unlocked bootloaders allow for hacks to get around some of their stuff to allow phones to work the way they should.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Oh and every other carrier allows many of their phones to be sold unlocked from the start. They aren't hurt by that

 

[Nothinman]

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/08/1...-be-flashed-to-verizons-galaxy-s3/#more-79368



First, cvpcs gets custom kernels and data working with kexec, now this. Verizon just had the proverbial cock slapped in their face.

I believe the idea is that they need to ensure devices they sell don't violate FCC regulations and locking down the bootloader, kernel and radio firmware is how they try to do that. Even though it's now unlocked, they've done their due diligence to protect their network so if you happen to run a custom kernel that does funky things with the radio and fries your phone or causes issue with a tower they're safe from prosecution from the FCC.

Their concerns are BS. Case in point: The Nexus is a 4g unlocked device on their network that is sold unlocked.

No, it's sold locked and you have to take steps to unlock it and it shows an open padlock on the firmware bootup screen after you do that.

Oh and every other carrier allows many of their phones to be sold unlocked from the start. They aren't hurt by that

I'm sure Verizon has evil corporate motivations like Apple in that they want to lock you down to what they sell and only what they sell with no variation. However, I'm sure there are other legal reasons for it as well. And most regulations are up for interpretation especially when it comes to technical measures. So the other carriers are probably attempting to mitigate the same risks with other methods.

 

[s44]

Bullhockey.

The OG Droid, the Fascinate, Continuum, Charge, and any other Samsung phone I've forgotten have been unlocked right out of the box.

The VZ SGS3 is the first locked Samsung phone, ever. Somehow every other carrier hasn't gotten in trouble with the FCC (lol).

 

[cl-scott]

I think it's pretty much everyone's duty to recommend people quit verizon. They are anti-consumer.

I hate Verizon with a passion, but then I look at what else there is in the US and it's all even worse. Verizon is the only company that has invested the resources to building out what could truly be called a nationwide network. I never have to even think about reception issues with Verizon no matter where I go, save train tunnels and the like, but meanwhile even in fairly built up areas like the SF Bay Area, you have people with AT&T complaining about dropped calls, crappy signals, etc.

Leave Verizon?
You'll have to pry FiOS from my cold, dead hands.

That's Verizon the telecom conglomeration of several eastern seaboard baby bells putting themselves back together, not Verizon Wireless the joint venture with Vodaphone. They are two separate companies.

 

[Nothinman]

Bullhockey.

The OG Droid, the Fascinate, Continuum, Charge, and any other Samsung phone I've forgotten have been unlocked right out of the box.

The VZ SGS3 is the first locked Samsung phone, ever. Somehow every other carrier hasn't gotten in trouble with the FCC (lol).

I have no idea how the regulations are worded, but that was the excuse used by companies like Intel and Broadcom for making their wifi radios require closed firmware and not letting the FOSS community touch it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Bullhockey.

The OG Droid, the Fascinate, Continuum, Charge, and any other Samsung phone I've forgotten have been unlocked right out of the box.

The VZ SGS3 is the first locked Samsung phone, ever. Somehow every other carrier hasn't gotten in trouble with the FCC (lol).

what? every one was locked. you had to unlock it.

I believe it's the fact that the SGS3 bootloader is ENCRYPTED that makes it more of an issue. No phone comes out unlocked. The Nexus One, NExus S, Galaxy Nexus are all locked. You have to unlock it first.

I hate Verizon with a passion, but then I look at what else there is in the US and it's all even worse. Verizon is the only company that has invested the resources to building out what could truly be called a nationwide network. I never have to even think about reception issues with Verizon no matter where I go, save train tunnels and the like, but meanwhile even in fairly built up areas like the SF Bay Area, you have people with AT&T complaining about dropped calls, crappy signals, etc.

That's Verizon the telecom conglomeration of several eastern seaboard baby bells putting themselves back together, not Verizon Wireless the joint venture with Vodaphone. They are two separate companies.

Ehh... AT&T's not that bad as I live in the SF Bay Area. Like I said, there's a huge # of iPhone users on AT&T and I can guarantee you most of them use the network pretty heavily. I see Verizon as bad simply because of the CDMA network. They won't let people onto their CDMA network unless its a Verizon phone and none of their "world" phones can even function on US 3G bands.

They're just flat out trying to screw everyone over. You could argue AT&T is evil, but at least the 850/1900 3G allows you to bring your own phone. I'd argue that the fact that you can swap SIMs so easily on a GSM phone and use most phones used elsewhere in the world makes AT&T way ahead of Verizon in my books. I'd stick with AT&T based on that alone. I put up with AT&T during the iPhone growth era, and unless I get Las Vegas style 3G congestion at my home I'll continue sticking with AT&T.

 

[s44]

what? every one was locked. you had to unlock it.

Wrong. Every Galaxy S, Galaxy S2, and misc non-Nexus was shipped fully unlocked.

 

[Bateluer]

what? every one was locked. you had to unlock it.

I believe it's the fact that the SGS3 bootloader is ENCRYPTED that makes it more of an issue. No phone comes out unlocked. The Nexus One, NExus S, Galaxy Nexus are all locked. You have to unlock it first.

This is correct. The Nexus and Samsung device boot loaders are locked, but not encrypted. Unlocking them is a simple adb command. The problem with Moto's and the VZW SGS3 was that they were encrypted and couldn't be unlocked by the end user.