Android Rooting And Unlocking Explained

Root: Rooting an Android phone is simply adding a file to the system that allows other apps to elevate their permissions and read, write, and execute anything on your device. In this case, anything means anything -- if it is user editable or actionable, you can do it with root. This is both powerful and dangerous, so be sure to get all the answers and be clear on the subject before you do it.

SIM or Network Unlocking: This allows a phone bought for use on a particular network to be used on another network. If you buy a phone designed to only work on Orange (or AT&T for an American example), to use it on any other network, you will need to unlock the SIM programming. It's done without rooting or modifying any firmware in your phone or tablet.

Remember, the networks have to be compatible. A phone with radios designed for one carrier may not provide 3G or 4G service on another, and sometimes they won't work at all.

Bootloader Unlocking: All Android devices ship with a locked bootloader. Some are very easy to unlock, like Nexus devices, some need a little hacking to unlock (like most Samsung devices), and some are encrypted and designed to be very difficult to unlock (hello, Moto). Bootloader unlocking allows you to flash (write to your phone's "hard drive") image files that haven't been signed with the official key from the folks who made your phone or tablet. A locked bootloader can flash a new recovery provided in an OTA update because the recovery was signed with the right key. It will fail to flash a custom recovery like ClockWorkMod. An unlocked bootloader will flash anything that fits, as long as you tell it to. Once a custom recovery (or sometimes a "Super" boot image) is flashed, you can install and erase custom built system firmware at will. Again, this means you need to do your homework before you start fiddling with things.

Unlocking Your Phone Is Now Illegal In The U.S.

Yesterday 01/26/13 was marked a day in history, unlocking your phone has become illegal. As harsh as it seems, anyone who unlocks his or her handset in the U.S. without written consent from his or her carrier, could face civil or even criminal action. At most, you could face a $2,500 fine if you unlock your handset merely to use another carrier. For example, there are nearly 2 million Apple iPhone users who have unlocked their phone, and use T-Mobile's unlimited service. If you unlock phones for profit because you're, say, a cellphone re-seller then it is a whole other ballgame and you could face a half a million dollars in fines and some prison time.

So what happened to make doing something to your own personal property against the law? The Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office no longer give cellphones an exemption under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The intent of the law was to prevent infringement of copyrights, not to specifically ban the unlocking of your new smartphone. For most people, the change won't make any difference because the majority of mobile phone users don't unlock their handset.

If your phone was unlocked prior to this weekend, don't keep staring at the door waiting for the cops to come bursting in as you are grandfathered in. Besides, no one really expects the carriers to go after their own customers anyway. Despite that, at least one attorney recommends not to unlock that new handset you just bought. 

Brad Shear, an attorney who is an expert on social media says, "I don't see carriers going aggressively after people, but bottom line is that I would not recommend violating this provision of the law."

Sound off, leave a comment and let us know what you think. Will this affect you? Are people blowing this out of proportion? 


Source: Yahoo News

HTC Evo View 4G and Mytouch 4G Slide, Officially Unlockable From HTC

Two new HTC devices have found themselves a part of the official bootloader unlocked family of devices by way of HTC’s developer site, HTCDev.com. The Evo View 4G (Sprint’s version of the Flyer) along with the T-Mobile MyTouch Slide 4G were the newest additions to the list. The Evo View 4G more specifically, has been making its way around the internet as the center of more than a few “fire sales” offering the device at a deeply discounted price.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, having an unlocked bootloader means you can generally tinker around a little more with the software of your device, adding things like root access and/or installing custom ROMs. While, HTC provides the unlocking for specific devices, not everything will be covered under warranty, should something go awry. Of course, there are always the unofficial methods of unlocking a device but it’s nice to see HTC putting in the effort.

Verizon Galaxy Nexus – unlocking the bootloader how to

After all the hype and waiting, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has finally been released in the US and is available for purchase straight from Verizon. We know many of our readers have been waiting for this moment and probably have this device in their hands right now, or are about to. There are many reasons to want this device, but one of the biggest incentives is the fact that a Nexus phone is known to have a more open ecosystem, meaning it is much easier to unlock the bootloader.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a bit different, though. It comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, one of the most (if not the most) revolutionary updates the Android OS has received.Android 4.0 has much to be excited about, and even the CyanogenMod team has mentioned that some of their “extra” features have been taken off the custom ROM, since Ice Cream Sandwich is now incorporating them. This means that, more so than before, users are considering not installing any custom ROMs on their devices in favor of the Stock ICS UI.

We’re reaching out to our readers to see what their opinion is on this matter. We’d like to see how many of you are going to stick with stock, or if you’re loyal to the custom ROMs developer community. One of the main advantages of following the developer community is that updates come out much faster, but this wouldn’t be an issue with a Nexus device. (They are the first to get updated). At the same time, many of you may like the extra juice that some developers add to your device.

Unlocking the bootloader will allow you start messing with your smartphone as you please (rooting, flashing custom ROMs and kernels, etc.), and it’s very easy to do with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Our friends from Droid-Life have posted a video that demonstrates how this is done, as well as a detailed step-by-step guide. The process is very simple; the bulk of the process is setting up the SDK, ADB and drivers.

As always, there’s a disclaimer. Before doing this, you should realize that customizing your device (this includes unlocking the bootloader) may void your warranty and/or brick your device if not done carefully. If you choose to do so, the responsibility is solely yours, and you may be on your own if something goes wrong.

Check out Droid-Life’s video to see how to go about unlocking the Samsung Galaxy Nexus bootloader, and let us know what you think. Will you be unlocking the bootloader to play around with your phone, or would you rather stick with stock this time? If you’re doing it, is it mainly for rooting? Do you think installing custom ROMs is necessary with Ice Cream Sandwich already on your device and updates coming in a timely fashion?