yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[HTC Inspire 4G] mlts22:
Unfortunately there are not that many people who unlock/root/flash custom ROMs. This is why Motorola is still so popular even though they have a very modder hostile attitude.

The reasons I think HTC is asking about locking down devices are three things:

1: Pressure from carriers, because they want to sell new devices so they want to keep them from being updated.

2: Keeping Joe Sixpack out of the device, so he doesn't pop root, get infected by some malware, then bawl to all his friends how insecure Android is. Or Joe roots his device, screws up a ROM flash, then returns it.

3: Pressure from content producers for layers of DRM.

If it were up to me, I'd propose to HTC one of two routes:

1: This is the best for all involved: Ship the phone locked, but have a method similar to the Nexus 1 and Nexus S fastboot oem-unlock. Have a dialog the user must agree to that he is going to shred to component bits any hint of a warranty on the phone, and anything happening is the user's fault. This way, Joe Sixpack when following directions by some Trojan program (like a fake "pr0n viewer") will stop in his tracks. After the user assents to the dialog, phone is then permanently unlocked.

2: This is a lot worse, but better than nothing: Have a service for users where they can register with their IMEI, and get an unlock code back.
[HTC Inspire 4G] mudknot2005:
I'd say that your underestimating the number. For example ask leedroid how many hits his rom has, I promise you its not in the hundreds. World wide there are more then just a couple thousand htc android users that hack and mod their phone. So as I said before it is going to cost the company a couple million dollars.
[HTC Inspire 4G] rwon:
If they lock the bootloaders I will not buy another HTC phone. I moved away from the iphone because of its modding unfriendlyness. I will do the same to HTC, If Samsung is the only one who will let users do what they want with their phones I will buy samsung. Simple as that. I don't buy moto for this reason, switched from iphone to Inspire; I will do it again.
[HTC Inspire 4G] Chrisj7:
If they do lock there bootloaders, it would be a tough decision. I have never owned a samsung so i can't put them down in any way but from what i've heard, they arnt all that good.. The Nexus S was one sexy device that i had to debate over when i bought my inspire, pure gingery goodness which i learned i could solve with rooting, and later flashing Gingerbeast by Di11igaf...

Being able to root my first android phone successfully, easily, and not have any problems trying every rom out there, has left a great impression on me so i would highly recommend an HTC device because of its great build quality and also the dev team from xda around it..

My point is, if this get's easier, i will definitely recommend another HTC device to anyone who asked for my opinion, and myself would buy another. If it gets harder i would have to either wait and see how hard it is over here on xda, or go with samsung.
[HTC Inspire 4G] Phoenix-Lead:
Agreed. On just one of my captivate roms there are over 1,000,000 views, 12,000+ comments and thousands upon thousands of downloads and that is on a Samsung device! HTC is much better imo and will really see a hit!!
[HTC Inspire 4G] wade7919:
If they do we always have LG and Samsung then Sony E.

Moto will Fail soon enough
[HTC Inspire 4G] Phoenix-Lead:
I would go back to Samsung at that point. Have owned both LG and Sony and they suck!
[HTC Inspire 4G] Mustang302LX:
Ditto on going to Samsung if HTC decided to follow Motorola. I had the Atrix and will NEVER buy Motorola again. If HTC followed them I think I'd go with a Samsung and just get rid of Touch Wiz and move on with my life.
[HTC Inspire 4G] Kizzmiazz:
You guys do realize that this all stems from the HTC 3D Evo having a locked bootloader ? http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1094075

And from what I have read many believe the reason is because of the 3D aspect of it. I was reading some where some think its because of 3D part being hard or totally different than anything out there ( leave it to me to not be able to explain , noob at terminology lol ) to dev for , sorry wish I knew where I read about it at.

But anyway, so because of this every one is tripping out and speculating that htc is gonna lock all there phones when right now its one phone for some kinda reason lol that honestly from what I read sounded like a good reason lol.

Sent From My HTC Inspire 4G @ 1.4Ghz | [ROM] CoreDroid HD GB 2.3.3 V6.6 | [KERNEL] LeeDrOiD GB v3.1.2 >EPIC!<
[HTC Inspire 4G] Kizzmiazz:
The guy at my local att store I regular, now that I think about it , actually told me that every company was gonna start locking them up and a lot were upset. Like he said because of all of us hackers lol a lot of money gets lost on returns from people bricking there phones. Companies get upset with losses and not being able to tell if its legit or self screwed up return lol.

Not defending in any way . Firm believer if your gonna make a phone for an open source os the phone better be open ;)

Sent From My HTC Inspire 4G @ 1.4Ghz | [ROM] CoreDroid HD GB 2.3.3 V6.6 | [KERNEL] LeeDrOiD GB v3.1.2 >EPIC!<
[HTC Inspire 4G] mudknot2005:
Correct, but its a little lacking. Its not that its to hard to Dev. HTC has slowly been locking down their phones. The inspire had a signed radio, and the thunderbolt had a signed bootloader. It is more of "hey HTC this is the last straw" type deal. The HTC sensation is supposed to be as equally locked down as the evo 3d.
[HTC Inspire 4G] buradd:
he is..

i sell for at&t wireless and i'd say in all the htc phones (or any android for that matter) 1 in 30 or so even KNOW about rooting/unlocking

its another sad reality.
[HTC Inspire 4G] poontab:
Lawlz why would someone who knows about modding want to talk to a phone salesman?
[HTC Inspire 4G] Phoenix-Lead:
I hide that info from them! I don't want them knowing I void hundreds of their warranties per month!
[HTC Inspire 4G] Pope Viper:
How long would you guys think it would take HTC to make a decision?
[HTC Inspire 4G] Phoenix-Lead:
Depends on the pressure from third party vendors really.
[HTC Inspire 4G] rasroygbiv:
+1 Where I live reception on LGs and Sonys sucks! I would be back to Samsung in no time. (plus that new Infuse is awful sexy!)
[HTC Inspire 4G] rasroygbiv:
You might be surprised. I have a lot of customers that have me help them root and mod their phones. I sell them an Inspire, then they want to know why their phone doesn't look like mine! I have rooted a ton of Cappys and Inspires in the store. It might void their warranty, but that's why there is insurance! ;)
[HTC Inspire 4G] shep211:
Samsung Galaxy s II for the win! To all the Samsung haters you have no idea what your are talking about. Samsung did not sell over 13 million sg's because they where crap. I left htc after my nexus 1, evo 4g & wifes inspire all had crap quality control. Every one had screen lifting issue & some had dust under the screens. Even the ones I had replaced had screen lifting issues. Had to use hair dryer just to get them sealed so no dust would get in the screen. HTC has been behind on hardware for close to a year. Even Google realized there quality control and hardware was crap so they used Samsung to build the nexus s. HTC has spent a lot of time on locking down there devices. They are not going to waste all that time and money just for a few upset users. They will promise a solution to get you to buy there product then never deliver.
[HTC Inspire 4G] xredjokerx:
After owning a Samsung captivate I must say that it was a great device minus the gps. Because of their horrible customer support and terrible os updating schedule I have jumped to atrix and am not looking back.
[HTC Inspire 4G] mattmiller:
Atrix? Biggest flop ever!! And Samsung? Haha cheap pos 's. Mine broke in one drop.
[HTC Inspire 4G] rwon:
Atrix is a f'in joke. Your support will be no better with moto, or device quality for that matter.
[HTC Inspire 4G] stickbo:
My experience as well. I dont work at an att store and I dont sell anything. But I am in a job that I see cellular customers on a daily basis and as such they ask me about them. Like this guy says maybe 1 in 30 have heard about "rooting or jailbreaking" and of the ones that have heard of it most dont bother doing it. All too often I will bring up xda and if they heard of it they say " yeah I downloaded a couple roms and stuff but never did anything with them"sigh. Its very rare that I meet someone who has rooted. Granted yes worldwide there are tons of people who do it, but when compared to the people who dont its but a tiny sliver.

Now I see both sides of this argument. While I am a customer that wants to mod everything he owns, I want the phone to be wide ass open. But I also see time and time again where people f*ck up their phones and go return it for warranty. Why would a company want to cater to a tiny sliver of its base only to have that tiny sliver shaft them when the customer makes a mistake? And while these phones are damned hard to really brick, that doesnt stop people from bringing bootlooped or locked up phones in for warranty. Why bother flashing the stock ruu when you can go get a new one, right? I would be 100% in favor of getting an unlock key by going online,entering in my imei and voiding any sliver of warranty I might have had. That way it at least helps them protect against that aspect of it.

Then you have the carriers that want and need to have their bloatware on your **** so when you activate att navigator in your pocket they can bill you 10 dollars a month until you catch it. Nevermind the fact that you could and will bypass their tethering fee's. They are in the business of making money and if there is a way to help prevent this from happening they are gonna go after it.

Htc has and will continue to lock their **** down, simple as that. It sucks, but at least we have other manufactures like samsung that has some bad ass phones that are wide ass open. Trust me you go onto the samsung forums and you will see plenty of htc hate, its a matter of perspective. I myself like them all and damn sure have my eyes on the gs2. I have purchased a slew of htc products in the past and hope to do so in the future.

Like I say, im in the camp that wants the open phone, which by the way has nothing to do with open source. I am not even trying make excuses, just bringing up points to look at objectively. rabble rabble rabble. ;)
[HTC Inspire 4G] edgie168:
"There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we've listened. Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience," Peter Chou, CEO of HTC

http://www.facebook.com/HTC
[HTC Inspire 4G] boomerod:
Me too...I play totally dumb. The truth of the matter is the dev community and supporters of same add tremendous value to these phones. I venture to guess that if Android was not open source it would be playing catch-up to Windows Phone 7. :eek:
[HTC Inspire 4G] boomerod:
I agree that the Samsung Captivate I had felt and looked terrific. I am already wishing I had the power and volume rocker from my Cappy on the Inspire I now have. I've debated asking Amazonwireless to exchange mine out because of how hard the power button is to use and the uneveness of the volume rocker on mine. Not to mention the battery and SIM/SD card doors...very poor on the Inspire...much better on the build on the EVO and Thunderbolt.

My problem with Samsung was their lack of support and their cheesy software. If they can catch up to HTC in the software side I will re-consider them in the future. ATM, for me at least, HTC is a much better all-around package and I am very happy with it (power button and volume rocker, battery and SIM/SD card doors are less of an issue since the phone is in an Otter Box Commuter case).
[HTC Inspire 4G] florelui001p:
Woot no more locked bootloaders!

http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-announced-new-bootloader-policy
[HTC Inspire 4G] poontab:
Great news! Now lets see what they do with the currently locked sets. I'm also curious if they're going to free the other things like the signed radio.
[HTC Inspire 4G] rwon:
HTC-1

Motorola-0

Those guys who bought the atrix are still trying to unlock the bootloader...... This is awesome news for the hacking/modding community. This is my first HTC phone, and I'm willing to bet if they leave their phones unlocked it won't be the last. This might even give me motivation to get another one sooner...
[HTC Inspire 4G] rwon:
Im betting the signed radio will stay, more chance of making a brick flashing radios than roms.
[HTC Inspire 4G] PeartFan40:
Errr, Ummm

Much ado about nothing. HTC has always shipped their devices with locked bootloaders, and hackers/modders have always provided a workaround to unlock them. As I suspected, HTC's announcement to review the locked bootloader policy was to decide whether they would continue locking the bootloaders, or start shipping them unlocked. Not sure what all the panic was about in the first place. I tried conveying this point in my first post, but what do I know...LOL
[HTC Inspire 4G] poontab:
The difference was being signed & encrypted. Meaning not unlockable.
[HTC Inspire 4G] PeartFan40:
@ Shep:

I had the same problem with my Inspire. The build quality/Quality control is sh*t? My original purchase was an Atrix, but returned that the next day when I realized it's locked down, and can't really mod or hack it. So I went with the Inspire, and I love it. Feels great in the hand, big screen, Android, and it's moddable and hackable. What more could you ask for? Well, I'm on my fourth Inspire because of the damn screen issue. Not sure what the problem is with HTC, but every Inspire has the off center screen issue. it's not centered, which creates a slight gap in the top of the screen, allowing for dust and debris to get behind the glass. Another issue with that gap is it allows a considerable amount of backlight bleed through, which is quite noticeable in a darkly lit room. If the screen issue wasn't bad enough, some of the Inspires came with screwed up volume rockers and "pitting" on the coating of the touch sensitive button panel. (you can actually see backlight bleed through). I love the Inspire, albeit mine isn't perfect, it's the best one out of the 3 others I've swapped out. Volume rocker and power buttons are great, and although the screen is still off center, and there's back light bleed through, there is no dust behind the screen (for now). I'm willing to live with the lesser of the evils. If dust starts forming behind the screen, I'm going to contact HTC and see what (if anything) can be done. I'm also strongly considering the Samsung Infuse.

My wife and I were at an AT&T during my last exchange when we found THREE Inspires with dust behind the screens, right out of the box!! The manager was speechless.
[HTC Inspire 4G] intermission:
That's fine with me, I have yet to find a radio that works better than the stock one.
[HTC Inspire 4G] di11igaf:
theyve always been locked, just like most every other android phone, but they were not signed. completely different. their last few phones have had signed bootloaders with 256 bit encryption, similiar to what moto has done with the atrix(highly unlikely anyone would get around this anytime soon). the inspire's bootloader is not signed, the evo 3d's is and incredible s's is- along with the thunderbolt(from what i hear the thunderbolt's is signed, but they got VERY lucky getting by it- the same wont work with the evo3d and incredible)

And its not even just the bootloader that was signed, also signed kernel and recovery, no way for s-off, no way for a kernel, or custom recovery. The last few phones have gone way past a locked bootloader, and even if they don't sign future phones bootloaders, if they don't revert what they have don't with the incredible s and evo3d, its unlikey they will ever be cracked
[HTC Inspire 4G] newter55:
@dilli,

Considering that the latest uproar was in regards to the EVO 3d, I would be surprised if they don't provide a method for recent releases.

Edit....when are you going to put out a sense kernel? ;)
[HTC Inspire 4G] trell959:
HTC isn't locking down there bootloaders anymore. Its official from HTC
[HTC Inspire 4G] dark_angelfighter17:
Yay bootloaders!

I love HTC products, one of the reasons being is because there so customizable and there software is soo damm good! I Currently own 2 HTC Inspires and a Tilt2 that i actively use and yes, it is easy to screw up things when flashing, (Screwed up clockwork mod on my girlfriends Inspire and now it shows a blank screen n recovery mode but still works.) and some custom ROMs can b glitchy, to me, its not fun without the risk. pluss theres allways people out there that make turtorial videos on how to flash on websites like youtube that go thru it step by step so the risk of accually bricking is pretty low. and believe me, i have bootlooked, soft briked, and all sorts of things and theres allmost allways a way to recover from anny situation so i think unlocking bootloaders will be HTC's best move yet. especially iff they can make the device easyer to recover from a broked or looped state.
[HTC Inspire 4G] djzikario:
ye is official niceee
[HTC Inspire 4G] Scott_S:
You've clearly had some bad luck. From what I can gather, you're the exception, not the rule, for this phone.

Go visit the captivate world and see how many instances there where of people that were on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th replacement.

I was one of them, so I know the frustration of going through that ordeal.

Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium
[HTC Inspire 4G] magomaev:
Just read on phone dog that htc will not lock bootloaders going forward

_________________________________

Inspire 4G - LeeDrOiD v3. 0.3

Thanks Lee!
[HTC Inspire 4G] Mustang302LX:
HTC CEO Peter Chou:

"There has been overwhelmingly [sic] customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we've listened. Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience."
[HTC Inspire 4G] di11igaf:
we will unlock bootliaders but were gonna sign all partitions and recovery. Wouldn't that messed up..
[HTC Inspire 4G] kimtyson:
Have had several HTC devices. Loved them all, even compared to iPhones. Thanks to them for seeing that their market includes those of us who love to actually use our devices in ways beyond what the carriers will allow! Long live HTC.
[HTC Inspire 4G] boomerod:
ENG S-Off will fix the black screen in recovery.
[HTC Inspire 4G] doktor buknasty:
You don't need ENG S-Off anymore to fix the black screen.
[HTC Inspire 4G] Scott_S:
Lol.

HTC: "Well you guys didn't say anything about *signing*..."

I have a feeling they'd get their collective ass handed to them twice as bad if they pulled any **** like that.

Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium
[HTC Inspire 4G] lamebmx:
Well here is my 3 cents.

I think the level of lockdown on the inspire is good. Gotta keep the idiots out, but no so bad they lose a customer who want root their phone.

Next, they don't lose much money with warranties. I haven't taken my phone apart, but I'm certain there is a method to jtag (generic use)and reflash. Or a straight reflash device. All this is incase a straight ruu run don't work. Where do you think they get the refurbs you get VIA warranty.

Lastly, give c4eve a phone and a plan, and he will get it done LOL.
[HTC Inspire 4G] dark_angelfighter17:
I think they should make it easyer to flash radio's as well. Maby have a special installer instead of being stuck using a command prompt.
[HTC Inspire 4G] Chrisj7:
Much easier way, called the bootloader method.
[HTC Inspire 4G] hyun18:
Uhhm...that post is like 8 days old and its already been updated and they've already said they are not Locking it down....
[HTC Inspire 4G] LeeDroid:
Lol

Sent from my LeeDrOID loaded Desire HD
[Desire General] LeeDroid:
Just thought I would dive in and drop a link for anyone that is yet to comment..

And yes, it does belong in the dev section ;)

http://www.facebook.com/notes/htc/update-on-bootloaders/10150305151453084

Sent from my LeeDrOID loaded Desire HD
[Desire General] fllash:
It's good to hear - the outcome of their review of the policy will have a direct influence on my next device.
[Desire General] baliriot:
that's a good news!!!
[Desire General] ShirazSuleman:
Same here.
[Desire General] glhturbo:
Same here. I was sold on the HTC Sensation but then heard that they locked it down like Fort Knox.

Going to the HTC event in Toronto on May 30th, see what the reps there have to say about this (probably nothing, but worth a try).
[Desire General] Anakha56:
Great news indeed. Really hope they listen to their fans. As everyone else has said this will influence what phone I get next.
[Desire General] kimzplaze:
hope they will make the next nexus android phone :) ice-cream sandwiches :D
[Desire General] nitrox1:
Sounds like something Motorola would say. Motorola actually said they would unlock the whole range ( carrier dependant) in late 2011 we'll have to see.

Did htc say they'd do anything like that? Hmm big load-a-stalling.

Desire is the source of all suffering.
[Desire General] howdid:
wow probs to htc they listen to customers:eek:
[Desire General] Semicuda:
Who would've thought... :)
[Desire General] Stoecki:
Nice to hear these good news, last scepsis is gone looking forward to the Sensation! Great!

Sent from my HTC Desire
[Desire General] danarama:
It will certainly give me more options if the policy changes.

Being rootable is paramount.
[Desire General] Lennyz1988:
I have to see it first to believe it. In my opinion HTC does not listen to customers. Based on the past when they would release very buggy firmware (eg touch pro 2 and hd2) and did not solve it. Custom roms were the only thing that made the devices great.

So after 4 HTC devices, my next one will be the Galaxy S 2.

Also, we what are their motives for doing it in the first place?

-Operators who don't like tethering, so won't sell their devices when it's possible to root?

-Don't like it when new sense versions are being ported to old devices?

-Thinking that locking everything down will sell them more devices?
[Desire General] dexter93:
I really hope this is not a marketing trick.... I'd really like future HTC phones to have unlock bootloaders ;) we all know (maybe HTC too) that the roms our chefs make are by far better than the stock ones

Sent from my HTC Desire
[Desire General] c4p3fi3rr:
I won't believe this till i see it.
[Desire General] rutgerhoorn:
Nice gesture, this facebook message. Lets hope they mean what the say in it.
[Desire General] andQlimax:
The problem is that htc don't sell only hardware..They want sell Htc Sense

They do not want allow to flash an other rom on their devices

Htc Sense is great in my opinion, but I dont understand why they want force to use that..If really they will allow this, will be a great step for htc
[Desire General] dexter93:
So you are saying that HTC is following the apple route? Don't forget that apple has allowed other OSes on their machines ;)

We might be lucky :D

Sent from my HTC Desire
[Desire General] danarama:
Even though HTC's hardware is not always cutting edge, its generally well built and I like this.

I don't use HTC sense, but I would still buy a HTC handset if I could root it, just because I know what I am getting.
[Desire General] andQlimax:
If was not clear, I agree with you :)
[Desire General] maxvanni:
commented this morning..hope they will unlock sensation bootloader otherwise I'll buy a samsung
[Desire General] danarama:
:)

Oh I know. I'm just adding to the argument because even though they don't just sell hardware, I would buy just for hardware, if I was interested in a particular device.
[Desire General] Surfy89:
That's good to hear, i hope they change their policy. I don't want my Desire to be the last htc phone i have. :)