Verizon's version of Samsung Galaxy S III comes with locked bootloader

posted by Alan F. / Jul 07, 2012, 11:43 AM

Verizon's version of Samsung Galaxy S III comes with locked bootloader

An unlocked bootloader is not inside

Samsung has a history of offering phones that have been easy for hackers to root. Considering that so far the Samsung Galaxy S III has proven to be no exception, the fact that the Verizon version of the phone comes with a locked bootloader seems to point to the carrier as being the culprit. While the model has yet to officially launch at Verizon, customers have started to receive pre-ordered units. The device will be in Verizon stores and online on July 10th.

However, if this is the doing of the nation's largest carrier, they have not stymied the hacker community. Rootzwiki says that it already has a workaround. You can head to the sourcelink for the directions. But be forewarned. You could end up accidentally bricking your brand new Samsung Galaxy S III and end up losing your warranty. Make sure you know what you're doing.

source: Rootzwiki, XdaDevelopersForum

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49 Comments

1. PhoneArenaUser

Posts: 5498; Member since: Aug 05, 2011

Don't blame Samsung, blame Verizon!

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 11:49 AM 9

2. StrumerJohn

Posts: 66; Member since: May 18, 2011

THANK YOU for FINALLY posting my request a day later....!

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 11:51 AM 1

3. StrumerJohn

Posts: 66; Member since: May 18, 2011

P.S. Alan, your picture has a caption that is quite the opposite. ^-^ Might wanna fix that!

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 11:52 AM 2

6. Alan01

Posts: 602; Member since: Mar 21, 2012

I was drinking the "uncola" at the time. Thanks! Alan F.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 12:26 PM 3

4. Saamic

Posts: 119; Member since: Feb 20, 2012

I swear I'm thinkin about switching to AT&T

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 11:54 AM 9

9. Wildmanfan

Posts: 238; Member since: Jul 15, 2010

I am going to do that and I did a field test on download speed with my cousin's phone and it was faster than VZW. I'm jumping ship as soon as my contract is up on Sept 1st.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:09 PM 4

22. Gemmol

Posts: 793; Member since: Nov 09, 2011

why are you getting thumbs down, smh, this is why I say they should remove this thumbs down thing, if someone make an opinion and you like it then thumbs it up, but if not, leave the post alone, it is their opinion and by the way congrats and welcome to AT&T, I live in NY and get service, so do not pay attention to everyone trolling post, AT&T service improved a lot, try a phone out if the service do not work for you then pick a company that do, but I tell you this Tmobile and Verizon do not work in my house

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 4:19 PM 2

28. Gemmol

Posts: 793; Member since: Nov 09, 2011

so i get a thumbs down too lol

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 6:17 PM 0

40. k1ng617

Posts: 270; Member since: Oct 13, 2009

Hey I made that jump back in January and FYI I'm really unhappy with them. Call reception (here in Boston) is terrible and I regularly completely miss calls and sms's without ANY notifications. Only way I find out is that people keep telling me they called (and on their end it rings completely) or texted and I never saw them on my end. I am running a Galaxy Note so I'm assuming it's not my phone since it's pretty high end. I was very happy with Verizon call quality and reception and rarely missed anything; however, I was only on their 3G at the time and the data speeds were pretty slow although I had consistent coverage. I'm hoping to switch to T-Mobile before the end of the year if they open up their 1900mhz band to HSPA+ so I can port my number and my Galaxy Note over. Just a heads up! Check with friends that have AT&T in your area before you jump ship!

posted on Jul 08, 2012, 2:13 PM 1

42. Jimstar

Posts: 259; Member since: Oct 24, 2011

Good Luck with that! At&t's OneX is also locked, their GS3 made it out untouched but I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket in the future.

posted on Jul 09, 2012, 12:07 AM 2

44. superguy

Posts: 448; Member since: Jul 15, 2011

HTC seems to want to lock all their bootloaders lately, but they usually provide the unlock thru a website. Sometimes it may take a few months, but they usually come out. Yes, it sucks more than what Samsung typically does, but it's not a completely locked device like Moto devices are.

posted on Jul 09, 2012, 9:58 AM 0

47. KingKurogiii

Posts: 5713; Member since: Oct 23, 2011

the Atrix and the Photon have unlocked bootloaders pal. the more popular Motorola phones on Verizon have locked bootloaders because of Verizon which is becoming increasingly evident with this SIII scandal.

posted on Jul 09, 2012, 2:05 PM 0

5. tedkord

Posts: 17311; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

Freaking Verizon. They could screw up a one man funeral. Hey Verizon, spend less time worrying about locking bootloaders, and more time keeping your network from going down every time you add LTE markets. I couldn't connect for s**t the entire day Thursday, 4G/3G or 1x.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 12:04 PM 4

7. iamcc

Posts: 1319; Member since: Oct 07, 2011

Yeah Verizon has been pissing me off a lot lately... I just moved to a new condo a few months ago where their coverage map shows "strong 3G" and possibly LTE. Too bad I can barely get 1 bar of 3G or make phone calls... Had Verizon send a tech out and even after they confirmed "marginal service even outdoors" all they will do is tell me to buy a Network Extender. f**king idiots.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 12:29 PM 5

23. Gemmol

Posts: 793; Member since: Nov 09, 2011

i guess AT&T for you

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 4:20 PM 1

39. Ravail

Posts: 182; Member since: Oct 14, 2011

The same thing applied with AT&T at my grandmother's house.. She called and they sent a tech out to her location, confirmed she had a bad reception location and gave her a network signal booster.. now she has 5 bars of signal constantly.

posted on Jul 08, 2012, 8:40 AM 0

17. Droid_X_Doug

Posts: 5993; Member since: Dec 22, 2010

Verizon seems to be batting a thousand recently. First they want to charge their customers $5 to pay their bill with a credit card. Then they claim they have the ability to do whatever they want with their wireless spectrum (see the article posted a few days ago about the 1st and 5th amendment claims regarding net neutrality). Now this. Arrogance brings everyone down in the end.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 2:00 PM 0

8. steven252000

Posts: 64; Member since: Feb 10, 2010

Maybe it's a little thank you from Verizon for all of us who pre-ordered the phone in order to keep our "unlimited" data plan.....

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 12:53 PM 2

10. Carlitos

Posts: 664; Member since: Oct 23, 2011

It just like u guys blaming Motorola for locking there boot loaders, when all this time has been VZW. Cause the Both Atrix in At&t have unlocked bootloaders.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:18 PM 9

13. KingKurogiii

Posts: 5713; Member since: Oct 23, 2011

lol right? xD

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:22 PM 5

48. jroc74

Posts: 6023; Member since: Dec 30, 2010

Exactly.....but facts wont get in the way of haters...haters gonna hate, regardless.

posted on Jul 09, 2012, 5:57 PM 0

11. Joshing4fun

Posts: 1245; Member since: Aug 13, 2010

Verizon sucks. We have so many people here hating on Apple when i see Verizon being just as bad. Good coverage is not enough of an excuse to not hate them.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:19 PM 2

12. Wildmanfan

Posts: 238; Member since: Jul 15, 2010

I'm really glad to see there are people out there who can see through the bulls**t with Verizon or as I call them Screwizon. There are idiots out here on these forums who think that Screwizon can do no wrong. They are only #1 because they have the most people on their network and they spend millions on marketing. Doesn't mean they are #1. So yeah, f**k VERIZON!

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:21 PM 5

14. Quezdagreat

Posts: 428; Member since: Apr 05, 2012

I'm not a android user, but what could you do with a unlocked boot loader?

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:24 PM 9

15. tedkord

Posts: 17311; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

It's not that it's locked, it's encrypted. Most bootloaders come locked, but they aren't a real hinderance to development. Encrypted means you need a signature to replace the kernel, etc...that's not easy to get around without the key. If the devs had full access to the BL, the sky's the limit. ROMs, kernels, skins, different versions of Android. With the limited root access they have so far, they can probably debloat (get rid of the crap Verizon preloads), maybe some limited custom roms. No cusotm kernels.

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 1:53 PM 2

18. Quezdagreat

Posts: 428; Member since: Apr 05, 2012

Ok thanks for the reply, and thanks to the guys who thumbs down me for asking a question

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 2:04 PM 12

16. ojdidit84

Posts: 462; Member since: Jul 16, 2011

Seriously starting to regret moving over to Verizon...

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 2:00 PM 2

19. bolaG

Posts: 468; Member since: Aug 15, 2011

VZW will start losing customers if they don't start caring more for their client ell. I've always been a fan since I started using their service. At least out here in Phoenix AZ I can always brag about my LTE coverage and reception, but if they keep on changing the way they are I'll soon stop being there advocate. For their sake they should stop the capitalist imperialism when it comes to their pricing, hidden fees, and F***CKING LOCK BOOTLOADERS .

posted on Jul 07, 2012, 3:16 PM 1

20. RORYREVOLUTION

Posts: 3131; Member since: Jan 12, 2010

Not surprised since the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon is no different which was a huge disappointment.