Xperia X10 Blog

Further detail on why SE is not unlocking the Xperia X10 bootloader

PadlockKarl-Johan Dahlstrom from the SE Developer Blog has given some extra clarity on why the Xperia X10 will not see its bootloader unlocked, unlike the new Xperia range. The main reason he points to is that the X10 bootloader does not support being “unlocked in a secure way”.

When a bootloader is unlocked it wipes the phone like a factory reset (including user data and apps) but also deletes “DRM certificates and sensitive keys”. The bootloader of the upcoming Xperia phones have been updated to account for this, whereas the X10’s bootloader will not be updated mid-cycle – even once we see the Android Gingerbread update.

This is down to the Xperia X10 already being in the market and therefore upgrading the bootloader is too much of a risky process. Karl goes on to say that if the bootloader for the X10 was unlocked and the upcoming Gingerbread update failed for whatever reason, there is a high chance that the phone would be bricked. SE has a strong reputation up until now of making their Android phones very difficult to brick and we imagine they want to continue this going forward.

X10

, ,
, , ,

32 responses to “Further detail on why SE is not unlocking the Xperia X10 bootloader”

  2. why not make one for x10 and update it with seus or something. im not very clear of this. not a pro. so people like me wont understand. well thanks for the update…

  3. “The main reason he points to is that the X10 bootloader does not support being “unlocked in a secure way”.”

    Let me rephrase that: they sold the same hardware (X10/Arc/Neo/Play/Pro) 5 times, and don’t want to unlock the X10, because nobody would buy the “new” models, everybody would be upgrading their X10’s (just like I would).

    Also: first? 😀

  4. you dont realy need the bootloader unlocking do you? just buy another phone dogg, get over it, moaning is so 1999.

  6. I would love mine phone with gingerbread. Love you sony ericssoN!

    it’s now perfect with 2.2 roms, more better with official 2.3

  7. If they unlocked x10’s bootloader who would buy Xperia Arc or Neo :D:D pure business

  9. Sony Ericsson have do so much thinks for the xperiax10 that was not planed be happy what u got im not sad or angry about SE that they not unlock the Bootloader. I love Sony Ericsson 2:)

  10. SO first post on this blog…
    Yes i agree that it’s marketing and as a man in sales i respect that…
    BUT… that is by far the most PC statements i have hear in years…
    As a sales man if Sony released a product that wiped someone’s life line heads would roll.
    So in the end good job Sony for not releasing and XDA please make one that work for us teck guys that are willing to start over…

  11. I never seen a company that care this much. They could easily say fuck off like Crapple but no.

  12. I agree with dick. Compared to Apple, ANY company listens to its users better. 🙂
    And SE really has come a long way from the initial list of complaints:
    dual touch? check
    Froyo update? nope, GINGERBREAD! check
    Unlocking the bootloader? eh…kinda check? 😛

    I think they’re listening to us; there is a business angle to it, sure. But I think they’ve come a long way in the past year. imho.

  14. I have to agree, SE is listening, I was considering a HTC phone recently, but will hold fire. 1 year on the X10 has got better and I look forward to further developments. Android is so customisable that my X10 can be tailored for now. I’ll wait until gingerbread, and then look in 4-6 months to see what other SE phones are around and buy one from there.

  15. X10 Mini with Cyanogen Mod 6 (MinCM RC1) runs much (so much) better than with stock Rom; why would I indeed want an X8?

  17. It’s not about the hardware, it’s about how they configured their firmware to allow proper bootloader unlock.

  18. In another word, they screwed up their design for X10 and has no flexibility like they do for the new models…to get what everyone wants the engineering team would need to revamp the entire system for X10 which I doubt they want to invest money and time into right now

  23. Sorry for being a noob, but what can you do now the bootloader is unlocked, or cracked?
    Does it make the phone faster, because isnt rooting similar? i dont know, someone help me understand

  25. Well for my 2 cents, SE have decided to cancel their promise for a Xperia X10mini upgrade to 2.2 hence forfeiting my future business with them. I can’t afford to purchase new phones every year, I take good care of my phones and they usually last 3-5 years without any hazzle, although I do change phones every 2 years. Sorry SE, my next phone will very very likely be a SE unless you surprise me with a free upgrade from my X10mini to a newer model that supports Android 2.2 or better! I’m not asking for 3.0, 2.2 is enough for me

  26. Hehe, i kept my k700i seven(7) years 😀 and it still runs!!!! I was/am expecting to hold on to my eperia10 mini_pro for at least 4-5 😛

  28. > I never seen a company that care this much. They could easily say _fuck off_ like Crapple but no.
    At one stage they did. I suspect their accountants noticed the backlash and decided it wasn’t worth fraking so many customers.

  29. “SE has a strong reputation up until now of making their Android phones very difficult to brick and we imagine they want to continue this going forward.”

    That’s hilarious. My last two SE phones (a K750 and a K810) were great until I used SE’s own update software (SEUS). Followed instructions, no apparent errors, bricked both phones.
    Now SEUS is bricking Xperias, even the Arc.

    The best way to guarantee the stability of SE devices would be to allow users to update them without using SEUS.

  31. Nick, I agree with you totally.
    I also updated my X10i, after receiving a message saying that an update was available, followed SE’s instructions, and landed with a bricked phone. Did a full backup, to SD card because I had a lot of work on spread sheets , photos, etc, which is useless.
    Tried everything I possibly could, flashing, updating, even paid a “SE expert”. All he could tell me at the end, was “your phone is bricked”. What is beyond me, is that SE’s software caused the problem, contacted SE South Africa, and one of their consultants told me that I needed to recycle my phone.
    I was happy with SE phones for the last 6 years with no problems, and would have told anyone that they were the best in the market. Have now become a Samsung Galaxy fan, hoping that after sales service will be better than SE’s.