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[Q] Motorola X2 Nandroid/Rom thread

Recently upgraded to a dual core Motorola Droid X2, and I've been having several issues using root applications. Normally I would just throw cyanogen or miui on there and be done with it but I can't find any available ones. So, I turn to you, reliable XDA members, is there any hope for me and this dual core phone?

Did you have a Motorola phone before? Far as ive heard MOTO boot loaders are locked which means no cm7 or miui for you
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

No I have not. Also please shoot me.

Research is key when buying a phone
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

My guess is they should have 2nd init working soon since it works on every other moto phone. So CM or Miui shouldn't be too far out.

There is hope, however it might be a little distant.
I am also an X2 user, and I absolutely love it.
Even though the stock rom (Froyo) isn't multithreaded and can't really use both cores, and MotoBlur is absolute ****, there are a few things that I did to help my phone rock.
Follow this tutorial to speed up your phone a little: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...r-doing-disappointing-before-but-no-more.html
OT, there aren't any ROMS for this phone yet. There was finally an SBF release a week ago, but unfortunetely the bootloader still happens to be locked. I suspect that the unlock will be similar to the Atrix unlock, or Motorola will unlock it in an update, but either way, progress is being made.
I hope this answers your question.

VZW Announces ICS Devices

....and Droid 3 is missing. Could still be coming down the pipeline, but it looks like we are out of luck for the first wave (not that surprising).
http://news.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/03/bl2012-03-06.html
I know I have forwarded this theory before - but at first glance, the list does only have devices (among all manufacturers) that are well over 512MB of RAM - I think Dinc2 is the lowest at 768MB. I may be wrong - don't have all specs memorized.

Rlin5741 said:
I know I have forwarded this theory before - but at first glance, the list does only have devices (among all manufacturers) that are well over 512MB of RAM - I think Dinc2 is the lowest at 768MB. I may be wrong - don't have all specs memorized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's because the people at motorola that make these decisions don't even know what RAM is and haven't even heard of kernel or XDA-forums.
They think... Hm..1024 is more than 512.. lets not give 512 mb phones ICS.
If they'd at least unlock the damn bootloaders so people like hashcode can do it for them ffs

Part of me wants to never buy another motorola device, but this keyboard is just too nice. Motorola does a good job on the hardware but between the bloatware and the locked bootloader the software part can be disappointing. So we have an os released less than 6 months after our device was released and motorola basically says screw you. Verizon is just the messenger here.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

Some of those phones are almost the same hardware as the droid 3 so I'm hoping that those vzw roms can at least be reverse engineered to figure out what's still missing in the cm9 alpha, like the camera.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

I want the hardware acceleration front facing camera and face unlock.... then I will jump ship from stock on my xt860.
Sent from my A100 using xda premium

Reporting the full Motorola update schedule site: https://forums.motorola.com/pages/00add97d6c
interesting that bionic and d4 are still listed as evaluating. But even in best case, that droid 3 is only left out of the ics fun for the first rollout (vzw does say more updates are coming, and droid 2 did get updates almost 2 years after release), it looks like it will be a while - even some brand new devices that were in the vzw press release are scheduled for q3...

spunker88 said:
Part of me wants to never buy another motorola device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Our only hope is the Google takeover of Moto will change their bootloader policy. This then, I can't bring myself to buy another Moto phone.

By the time it comes to the Droid 3, it will be upgrade time...

Droid 3 is one of the best phones with android and qwerty and motorola dont plan to update to ICS?? Motorola in software decisions sucks!!! They never listened to the users

DRELUXOID said:
Some of those phones are almost the same hardware as the droid 3 so I'm hoping that those vzw roms can at least be reverse engineered to figure out what's still missing in the cm9 alpha, like the camera.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The big constraint is going to be the locked bootloader.

It don't mean that droid 3 will never has ICS... just it not going to be on this first group... I'm sure in a couple of months we will see it on the list.

rblanca said:
It don't mean that droid 3 will never has ICS... just it not going to be on this first group... I'm sure in a couple of months we will see it on the list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if they wait much longer:
A) people have upgraded to a newer phone
B) all people who actually care about having ICS rather than gingerbread already use hashcode's ICS

DoubleYouPee said:
Well if they wait much longer:
A) people have upgraded to a newer phone
B) all people who actually care about having ICS rather than gingerbread already use hashcode's ICS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that in Q1 of 2013 we might have an oficial ICS support, i don't believe sonner than that...
First it's motorola who decide, if our droid 3 can have ICS, then VZW if it will have.
Motorola should still be evaluating if ICS will going to run fine on our Droid 3 and if it's they will update his "ICS Update Schedule" and VZW his own.
Cya

rblanca said:
I think that in Q1 of 2013 we will have an oficial ICS support, i don't believe sonner than that...
First it's motorola who decide, if our droid 3 can have ICS, then VZW if it will have.
Motorola should still be evaluating if ICS will going to run fine on our Droid 3 and if it's they will update his "ICS Update Schedule" and VZW his own.
Cya
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I don't think it'll take hashcode 'nd crew 1 year to fix hw codecs/video recording and some bug fixes

DoubleYouPee said:
Well I don't think it'll take hashcode 'nd crew 1 year to fix hw codecs/video recording and some bug fixes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither myself, I just talking about an Oficial ICS support by Motorola...so cheers to Hashcode!

has motorola confirmed no ics for bionic?? attached email

This is a copy and paste of the email i received with identifying information removed. other then that it is un altered except for the part i underlined
We have not heard from you concerning your request for support in the 48 hours since we sent you a response. Consequently, we have changed the status of your question to SOLVED.
*Discussion Thread
* Via Email ()
03/11/2012 05:38 PM
Dear "",
Thanks for reaching out to Motorola. I’ve reviewed your e-mail and I’m ready to help.
We do apologize for the inconvenience. Regarding your concerns, 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 Bionic 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 for developers via Motodev at http://developer.motorola.com.
For the Android 4.0, at this time, we do not have any information if the phone will be updated to Android 4.0.
With your data connectivity concerns, please provide us with the following information so that we can assist you better.
1. Serial number of your device. On the phone's home screen go to Settings > About phone > Status > IMEI number.
You may also follow the link below on how to locate the serial number of your device.
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/utils/guided_assistant/g_id/446
2. Software version of the phone.
On the phone's home screen go to Settings > About phone > System version
3. Your Contact number.
We hope that you find this information useful and we look forward to assisting you in the future.
For information about Motorola products and services, please visit us at http://www.motorola.com/
Thank you for contacting Motorola e-mail support.
Best Regards,
""
*Customer By Web Form
03/09/2012 11:57 AM
Why didn't you unlock the Bionic's Bootloader with the last update. You have promised to make motorola's bootloaders unlockable. I started my cell phone adventure with motorola. I have had other phones also, Nokia, HTC, LG. But I wanted to go back to my roots and go back to motorla. Now I see that was a mistake. I had the original droid for my first android phone. Then I went to the HTC Droid Eris, HTC Droid Incredible, Samsung Fascinate, and now your piece of crap Droid Bionic. I have never had a phone that was so flawed. Not to mention you released the Razr just a couple months after the Bionic. I am now screwed. I have a worthless phone that still drops data even after you put out an update that was supposed to fix that issue for the next 2 years. I am going to be forced to return to HTC for my cellular needs. And in the process of changing over I will have to now spend over $500 Because of your locked bootloader, I now cannot make the modifications needed to make the phone useable for my needs and also I cannot fix your mistakes in the programming to make the phone stable. Now for my last question / segustion. Since the RAZR has been released, I know you will not make putting android 4.0 on the Bionic a priority. When will you be releasing the android 4.0 update for the Bionic?? Also, when you do, if you do finally release android 4.0 for the Bionic I segust that you make the bootloader unlockable. This way I am no longer restricted and forced to use your flawed software. Google's Android OS is a Open Source Project. Who are you to close it and restrict its usage and capabilities. In doing so you have forced the public to use a piece of equipment that is flawed with no way or means of correcting the issues.
To be honest, I cannot believe that Google has not reamed your asses and filed law suits against the companies that lock their bootloaders and do not offer a way to unlock. Even if it voids the manufacture warranty the option should still be there. Android is Open Source and why do you have the right to restrict it?!
To sum this up.
1: I want an explanation on your bootloader and I want it unlocked. (Believe me I am not the only one)
2: When will Android 4.0 be released on the Bionic?
3: Statement: I am about to leave Motorola for good. I have had the worst experience ever with this phone and I am now on my third phone which is on its way just because you cannot fix your Data Drop issue. I require a reliable phone for work and this phone has been all but that.
Thank You
""
""

I'm not really sure how "we do not have any information" qualifies as confirming anything.
This is the link for their ICS upgrade schedule:
https://forums.motorola.com/pages/00add97d6c
If you read the descriptions for each stage, they state that the early stage does not guarantee an update. The comment in the response email was a carefully prepared legal statement to avoid hinting at anything.
I would be surprised if we don't see an ICS update, though it's always possible that it wont happen.

For the Android 4.0, we do not have any information if the phone will be upgraded at this time.
In that statement they used if instead of when. That says to me that they promised ics and advertised the phone as ics upgradeable and now don't know if they are going to do it or not. The key word in this is if. If and when are 2 totally different words. The original question was when and they comeback with ( no info if phone will be upgraded.) It raises questions.
Side note: they advertise a phone as ics upgradeable, but once you buy it you find out that its not even available to download. One must wait and hope and prey that their device is not forgotten about because in just 3 months time a newer phone has been released. I'm not new to smartphones or rooting or roms. I know I have to wait before I even buy the phone but the general public that just uses phones and has no idea what rooting is has no idea that they are going to have to wait for the upgrade and have to worry that they will even get the upgrade. Bad advertising and miss leading I say. (Rant Over)
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk

Im pretty sure they will release ICS for Bionic. I mean all the newer Motorola Devices (I.E RAZR, Droid 4, Xyboard) run essentially the same hardware in different form, the Omap 4430. Assuming those phones get 4.0 then so should Bionic :s

Ask them this: What percent of revenue does each new Android product represent?
Then imagine what it would be like to reduce their earnings by the lose of one of those products such as the Bionic.
It all about the money!

Motorola's customer service has often said things contrary to the truth. Since the site still says an update is on the way, I tend to believe the site.

All there website says is evaulation and planning.. That does not mean much. It could stay evaluation and planning for the next year. How long does it honestly take to evaluate and plan? No developing stage yet? Wow... Look at the developers that are building ROMs across the spectrum for various phones and brands and yet Motorola can't even get a grip just on there own phones... stepping off my soapbox.

Quoting directly from the link provided to the Motorola site: "As previously communicated, DROID RAZR, DROID RAZR MAXX, DROID 4, DROID BIONIC, DROID XYBOARD 8.2 and 10.1, and MOTOROLA XOOM WiFI + 3G/4G will be upgraded to ICS. Additional details on timing for these products will be shared at a later date."

--

Since I purchased this phone SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE it was advertised as it would be getting a version of ics 4.0, they will have to refund my money so I can get a phone that does run ics. It was critical to my purchase decision.
Do I hear a class action coming if they don't?
Personally I think they will release an ics upgrade as they have said and continue to say. Probably 2nd quarter this year. Development of mass stability is VERY difficult.
Sent from my bionic using my fingers...

Well I don't know if you guys/gals saw, but there was a leaked screenshot from a Best buy computer that shows the Razr and the Maxx receiving its ICS on the 4th of April. This was also confirmed by several emails that went out from Verizon stating there was going to be a software upgrade soon. Its typical they update the new phone first, but maybe its a sign we will get our update soon.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4

Ya I saw it. Still not the bionic. If we get it I say it will be Oct or Nov before the bionic gets it and that's if it gets it.
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk

I think we'll get it, but definitely not anytime soon.
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk

Glad I've been running ICS for a couple months
Sent from my CM9 4.04 powered DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5

flascrnwrtr said:
Glad I've been running ICS for a couple months
Sent from my CM9 4.04 powered DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How's that running? I've heard there's a lot of bug in CM9 on the Bionic. That's why I went to Eclipse instead.

flascrnwrtr said:
Glad I've been running ICS for a couple months
Sent from my CM9 4.04 powered DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not fully-functioning ICS, and you have no video camera, no hw accel, half the games probably don't work right, etc.
I bet the devs we have would be able to port the RAZRs ICS to Bionic faster than Moto could develop it....

priddyma said:
It's not fully-functioning ICS, and you have no video camera, no hw accel, half the games probably don't work right, etc.
I bet the devs we have would be able to port the RAZRs ICS to Bionic faster than Moto could develop it....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, I don't play games on my phone and since I work in film/TV, I don't shoot video with my phone either. What I do have is everything else, rock solid data and stable wifi. I haven't gone to my unsafe side since mid-Feb. My point was, you can have a very usable version now and, with the release of the official and full RAZR version, we will have a complete version for our Bionics, whether moto releases one or not.
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5

The Bionic is definitely getting the ICS update, just don't know when. I spoke to my cousin when I switched to Verizon to get some info on some phones since he's a developer for Motorola. He was able to get me a Bionic and told me that it will definitely get ICS. He just doesn't have a date for it since right now he's testing ICS on the Razr Maxx.

The list of Verizon and Moto ICS updates has been reviewed and revised a couple times, Bionic making the cut each time. I see it definitely getting the update. As far as Razr and Bionic go theres not a significant difference in source, which helps the Bionic out a lot when it comes to ICS
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 2

NO ICS For Us :(

Just checked the updated Motorola page... looks like this device is stuck at android 2.3 forever.
That really sucks, it's gotta be the 512mb memory that's in the device. I knew that would possibly be an issue when I first got the phone. Maybe we can put more pressure on moto to unlock our bootloader so we can get a fully functional ICS (even if it's hacked) on our devices.
Check the link:
http://forums.motorola.com/pages/00add97d6c

PFFFFFFFFFFFFF

I just saw this as well, very disappointing. I wish they would open up development to the community on devices they no longer plan on upgrading/supporting. I know it will never happen...but I can dream

Droid4 and Bionic get the ICS
maybe Hashcode or some one try to do what he can, and pull out from this phones something for us and for CM9 on D3

niko99 said:
Droid4 and Bionic get the ICS
maybe Hashcode or some one try to do what he can, and pull out from this phones something for us and for CM9 on D3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got a response back from hash regarding this on twitter:
" @danifunker @dhacker29 I have 1 more trick up my sleeve for the D3. And if that doesnt work, then ill drop back to cm7.2 or something. "
Let's hope the tweak works out... but either way I think I could live with CM 7.2, although I would REALLY love running ICS on this phone.

What ever happened to Kexec for the D3? I'll sacrifice a core for a new kernel that could even OC that one to 1.2.

I started to believe that motorola doesn't want anyone to buy motorola products.

calash said:
I just saw this as well, very disappointing. I wish they would open up development to the community on devices they no longer plan on upgrading/supporting. I know it will never happen...but I can dream
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure would be nice if they would just open up phones when they started considering them legacy devices. Other than 4G which I don't particularly need anyway, the D3 is a great phone that could keep going for a long, long time just like my D1 did (I skipped the D2 and went directly from 1 to 3).
Part of the reason the D1 lasted me so long was that I could keep getting updates for it from Cyanogen. In fact I still have it. Though its no longer on the Vzw network I can test various things on it like security software, remote wipes etc over WiFi.
Verizon is probably against unlocking the D3 because they don't want to have the support issues and that's probably why we will never see it. How many people on these forums do you hear about that are constantly returning/exchanging phones that they have managed to kill through tweaking? Then its those same people who complain the loudest when the Motorola and the carriers won't unlock the phones. So, while I wish it was not so, we will probably never see them unlocked unless someone finds a way to hack them. Motorola isn't going to help and particularly VZW is not going to help.

danifunker said:
Just checked the updated Motorola page... looks like this device is stuck at android 2.3 forever.
That really sucks, it's gotta be the 512mb memory that's in the device. I knew that would possibly be an issue when I first got the phone. Maybe we can put more pressure on moto to unlock our bootloader so we can get a fully functional ICS (even if it's hacked) on our devices.
Check the link:
http://forums.motorola.com/pages/00add97d6c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC just released the HTC Desire C with a 600Mhz processor and 512MB ram. It runs Android 4.0
If they can do it with that, surely Motorola can too

ChristianPreachr said:
HTC just released the HTC Desire C with a 600Mhz processor and 512MB ram. It runs Android 4.0
If they can do it with that, surely Motorola can too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible that the HVGA screen on that device needs far less memory - HVGA is 480x320 which is 70% less pixels to push than the qHD on the Droid 3. Also, Moto is pretty terrible at software, Blur runs a lot slower and chews up a lot more memory than a lot of its competitors.
What Moto should do is release a plain vanilla, non-blur ICS as an optional upgrade. I have to think that would take a minimal amount of time to port vanilla ICS to the Droid 3 if there is no need to get it working with Blur - just need the drivers which should be substantially similar to Droid 4.
---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 PM ----------
ratman6161 said:
Sure would be nice if they would just open up phones when they started considering them legacy devices. Other than 4G which I don't particularly need anyway, the D3 is a great phone that could keep going for a long, long time just like my D1 did (I skipped the D2 and went directly from 1 to 3).
Part of the reason the D1 lasted me so long was that I could keep getting updates for it from Cyanogen. In fact I still have it. Though its no longer on the Vzw network I can test various things on it like security software, remote wipes etc over WiFi.
Verizon is probably against unlocking the D3 because they don't want to have the support issues and that's probably why we will never see it. How many people on these forums do you hear about that are constantly returning/exchanging phones that they have managed to kill through tweaking? Then its those same people who complain the loudest when the Motorola and the carriers won't unlock the phones. So, while I wish it was not so, we will probably never see them unlocked unless someone finds a way to hack them. Motorola isn't going to help and particularly VZW is not going to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't they just do what HTC did - online based bootloader unlock tool, which builds a list of unlocked IMEIs which are then voided of their warranty, and people calling for support will be checked against this list. Of course, the most enterprising guys with bricked phones will try to change their IMEI sticker, but that wouldn't match their Verizon account records.

This is so sad... Cant believe that Dual Core Processor phone is not eligable to receive Ice Cream Sandwich... Media shall be contacted, so they could make fun from Motorola... I'm never going to buy Motorola products again.. Ever.

Rlin5741 said:
What Moto should do is release a plain vanilla, non-blur ICS as an optional upgrade. I have to think that would take a minimal amount of time to port vanilla ICS to the Droid 3 if there is no need to get it working with Blur - just need the drivers which should be substantially similar to Droid 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im pretty sure all we need is a compatible kernel and hashcode will take care of the rest. If Motorola could do that, it can extend the life of our phones.
Sent from my XT860 running ICS

Time to do some more Facebook trolling, I may even make an account over on the Motorola forums and do some spamming/trolling.
In July 2011 when I bought my phone there were 2 new Motorola smartphones out there the Droid 3 and Droid X2. Both had dual core processors and felt mid-high end at the time. But somehow an Android OS upgrade that was released less than 6 months after the Droid 3 was released is skipped by Motorola.
This was my first Android phone and I bought it because I wanted a keyboard and really liked the feel of a friends OG Droid. The OG was probably built better but I have still been mostly satisfied with the Droid 3 hardware wise. But I just can't see myself buying another Motorola device. I will have to see what is out there in 2013 when I upgrade, hopefully some nice QWERTY non Motorola devices.

Damn it Verizon
This is the Fourth phone that I've had from Verizon that has been abandoned before the end of it's life cycle. Although I am sure this is Motorola's fault I will curse Verizon for all time and remember to get the latest and greatest for top dollar right off the bat to ensure that I will get updates when dealing with a cell phone company or maybe get a landline and tell jerks like Verizon to stick it where the sun don't shine. The real pisser is that I am finding this out the day after I spent the money that could have been used to buy out my contract. Color me angry and frustrated.
I'm going to start reading up about custom roms for this phone I might as well since support is all but gone from this model.

Return the phone and tell them you want out. Can be done.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium

spunker88 said:
Time to do some more Facebook trolling, I may even make an account over on the Motorola forums and do some spamming/trolling.
In July 2011 when I bought my phone there were 2 new Motorola smartphones out there the Droid 3 and Droid X2. Both had dual core processors and felt mid-high end at the time. But somehow an Android OS upgrade that was released less than 6 months after the Droid 3 was released is skipped by Motorola.
This was my first Android phone and I bought it because I wanted a keyboard and really liked the feel of a friends OG Droid. The OG was probably built better but I have still been mostly satisfied with the Droid 3 hardware wise. But I just can't see myself buying another Motorola device. I will have to see what is out there in 2013 when I upgrade, hopefully some nice QWERTY non Motorola devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't troll that forum. The mods there aren't actualy affiliated with moto like you think.
I did some of this back in the day about the d2 and learned the hard way.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium

Question about Droid 4 development

This is a general question from me trying to understand things better. Before the D4 I had a samsung stratosphere. Completely unlocked bootloader with full capability to flash custom ROM/kernel images. Despite this no AOSP ROMs could be build due to lack of driver sources. It was the same situation with the Epic 4G. The Droid 4 on the other hand had the bootloader locked with the key thrown away. Despite this CM9 and other AOSP ROMs are up and nearly fully operational, even with ICS booting on GB kernels. What makes this possible on D4 but not the stratosphere?
My guess is that driver software is available for the D4. This is due to the fact that Motorola uses parts from other OEMs (TI CPU ect) with public drivers. Samsung on the other hand uses their own proprietary parts and keeps the drivers private. Is this an accurate assessment?
It would seem then that the most important thing to making development possible for a phone (apart from popularity) is driver availability, NOT whether or not the bootloader is unlocked. Is that true? Regardless, I will probably steer clear of samsung for future android purchases. HTC still seems best and motorola acceptable. If only HTC still made high end QWERTYs.

Usually devs just pull the proprietary files off the phone and use it in the compile/builds. This has been going on for Motorola phones since the original Droid.
Sounds like no one invested in seeing what proprietary files were needed from the Stratosphere or Epic 4G.
Public AOSP code mixed with copying in private/proprietary files is how most ROMs are made. The higher the user base of a device, the higher the development activity and the larger number of devs finding out what all is needed to be pulled from the stock device to compile a fully functional ROM.
Since some proprietary files are used....you need them for the same version OS you are building, ie...use stock phones ICS drivers for ICS builds or stock phones GB drivers for Gingerbread builds. You can sometimes hack drivers to work but with lots of limitations. Also drivers depend on the kernel so a matching kernel is needed......requiring the device to have the needed kernel level or an unlocked bootloader to be able to replace the stock kernel.

We wont be seeing an unlocked bootloader? Ever?
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium

twizzles said:
We wont be seeing an unlocked bootloader? Ever?
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All signs point to no...we will never see an unlocked bootloader on the current Motorola devices.
With Google owning Motorola Mobility and already replacing MM CEO with one of their own from Google........it's possible future devices may be unlock capable.
Current devices....no, not ever.
The first locked bootloader on a Motorola droid was the Droid 2. It still has not been unlocked, hacked, cracked, etc... How long has it been out?
Motorola released a special Razr Dev model with an unlockable bootloader...retail price, zero warranty, nothing you do on it would transfer over to the normal Razr or Razr Maxx.......so why would anyone buy it? Great PR for them to say "see..we released an unlockable device and no one bought it".

Well that just sucks. Thank you for the info
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium

I have to say, I don't mind not having an unlocked bootloader. I had the Galaxy Nexus and ran multiple different setups on it. The radio still sucked though. With the Droid 4, I don't feel the need to do a lot of hacking. The phone is well built, radio is awesome, it just works.

GermanGuy said:
I have to say, I don't mind not having an unlocked bootloader. I had the Galaxy Nexus and ran multiple different setups on it. The radio still sucked though. With the Droid 4, I don't feel the need to do a lot of hacking. The phone is well built, radio is awesome, it just works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kind of agree with you for the most, but still I prefer the option and think we should have it as an option. It's one way to keep a device relevant throughout your 2 year contract. For example....the Droid 3. I have one, bought online day of release. In less than a years time it has become a non-supported, forgotten device from Motorola. The locked bootloader prevents devs from picking apart the Droid 4 leaked ICS kernel and compiling one with Droid 3 specs (less RAM, etc..) and bringing a fully functional ICS build to the Droid 3. Unlocked...that would be possible.

JKingDev said:
This is a general question from me trying to understand things better. Before the D4 I had a samsung stratosphere. Completely unlocked bootloader with full capability to flash custom ROM/kernel images. Despite this no AOSP ROMs could be build due to lack of driver sources. It was the same situation with the Epic 4G. The Droid 4 on the other hand had the bootloader locked with the key thrown away. Despite this CM9 and other AOSP ROMs are up and nearly fully operational, even with ICS booting on GB kernels. What makes this possible on D4 but not the stratosphere?
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I, as well, went from the Stratosphere to the Droid 4. I love my Stratosphere and still have it, but the lack of development on it is just down right aggravating. That is why I took it upon myself to learn how to compile a kernel to provide everyone with root and recovery for it. Otherwise we wouldn't have the ROMs we have for it now. If it wasn't for the Droid Charge using the exact same dev board as the Strat, I doubt we'd even have that much. I had to take the Charge build of CWM and packed it in a Strat kernel and tweaked the scripts, thank god at least that worked.
JKingDev said:
My guess is that driver software is available for the D4. This is due to the fact that Motorola uses parts from other OEMs (TI CPU ect) with public drivers. Samsung on the other hand uses their own proprietary parts and keeps the drivers private. Is this an accurate assessment?
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I am not sure about the Motorola drivers, but you are right about Samsung. The first time I compiled the kernel, I was missing 11 modules. I couldn't figure out what I did to keep them from being compiled... and then I learned the sneakiness Samsung uses to get around releasing the source, they compile the kernels for the file system and radios and dynamically link them in the init.rc script. Apparently a lot of them do this, actually.
JKingDev said:
It would seem then that the most important thing to making development possible for a phone (apart from popularity) is driver availability, NOT whether or not the bootloader is unlocked. Is that true?
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Actually both are true to some extent, with a locked bootloader you are stuck with OEM signed boot images and can't recompile the kernel to your own needs, or compiling one with ro.secure = 0 so you get root access in adb (which is how I rooted the Stratosphere). Then you need the drivers to talk to the hardware too. Without them, you'd need to reverse engineer them or use the currently complied ones (also, like we did with the Strat). Finally, you have to have the source for the RIL (Radio Interface Layer) in Android so Android as an OS knows how to talk to the drivers to make calls, send messages, use data, etc. THIS is where we are currently hung up from using AOSP on the Stratosphere. I know work is being done on the RIL for the Charge and since its the same board, we might get lucky and be able to reuse most (if not all) of the same code and bring new life to it. But, I wasn't getting my hopes up and decided to get a D4 anyway.
JKingDev said:
Regardless, I will probably steer clear of samsung for future android purchases. HTC still seems best and motorola acceptable. If only HTC still made high end QWERTYs.
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You and me both. I was in love with the keyboard on my HTC Touch Pro 2 and wish they'd release something like that running Android on Verizon with newer hardware. Closest they had to a QWERTY on VZ was the Merge, and they botched that up from the gate. I also have the Rezound and am trying to design a way to attach a sliding keyboard to the back battery cover to give me something closer to what i have been wanting in a phone.
I think us QWERTY loves on VZ are at the mercy of Motorola and Motorola alone with the original Droid line of sliders.

KnightCrusader said:
I, as well, went from the Stratosphere to the Droid 4. I love my Stratosphere and still have it, but the lack of development on it is just down right aggravating. That is why I took it upon myself to learn how to compile a kernel to provide everyone with root and recovery for it. Otherwise we wouldn't have the ROMs we have for it now. If it wasn't for the Droid Charge using the exact same dev board as the Strat, I doubt we'd even have that much. I had to take the Charge build of CWM and packed it in a Strat kernel and tweaked the scripts, thank god at least that worked.
I am not sure about the Motorola drivers, but you are right about Samsung. The first time I compiled the kernel, I was missing 11 modules. I couldn't figure out what I did to keep them from being compiled... and then I learned the sneakiness Samsung uses to get around releasing the source, they compile the kernels for the file system and radios and dynamically link them in the init.rc script. Apparently a lot of them do this, actually.
Actually both are true to some extent, with a locked bootloader you are stuck with OEM signed boot images and can't recompile the kernel to your own needs, or compiling one with ro.secure = 0 so you get root access in adb (which is how I rooted the Stratosphere). Then you need the drivers to talk to the hardware too. Without them, you'd need to reverse engineer them or use the currently complied ones (also, like we did with the Strat). Finally, you have to have the source for the RIL (Radio Interface Layer) in Android so Android as an OS knows how to talk to the drivers to make calls, send messages, use data, etc. THIS is where we are currently hung up from using AOSP on the Stratosphere. I know work is being done on the RIL for the Charge and since its the same board, we might get lucky and be able to reuse most (if not all) of the same code and bring new life to it. But, I wasn't getting my hopes up and decided to get a D4 anyway.
You and me both. I was in love with the keyboard on my HTC Touch Pro 2 and wish they'd release something like that running Android on Verizon with newer hardware. Closest they had to a QWERTY on VZ was the Merge, and they botched that up from the gate. I also have the Rezound and am trying to design a way to attach a sliding keyboard to the back battery cover to give me something closer to what i have been wanting in a phone.
I think us QWERTY loves on VZ are at the mercy of Motorola and Motorola alone with the original Droid line of sliders.
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Thanks for the replies. It is interesting stuff. And KC I definitely appreciated your work on the Strat. So I guess it really was a question of popularity being the problem for stratosphere. I definitely know it wasnt the most popular device but it also seemed like reverse engineering drivers for the Samsung devices was so much harder. The charge was relatively popular and years later the RIL has still not been successfully reverse engineered. All the moto devices get cracked so quickly. Is it only because they are more popular, or are there other reasons that make them easier to hack? Thats what leads me to think maybe it's samsung's use of proprietary hardware that makes things more difficult. Does that have something to do with it?