According to Steve Kondik in a recent Google+ update, the AT&T Galaxy S4 is confirmed to have a locked bootloader. In his post, he states:
Yep, it’s confirmed. The AT&T S4 authenticates the recovery and boot images before executing them.
I can’t see what AT&T has to possibly gain from this. GSM and LTE aren’t magical, tethering is controllable on the server side, and theft-of-services is not possible from the application processor side (or even from the modem side as far as I know). The same device is available on every carrier, so it’s not an exclusivity issue either. The modem processor has always been locked, and the casual user doesn’t want to mess with that part anyway. Samsung has always been developer-friendly, so I am guessing their hand was forced.
The only outcome I see here is stacks of bricked devices being sent back for warranty replacement due to the ease of causing a permanent boot failure, especially since the device is trivially rootable.
The arms race continues. News flash: MILLIONS of people run custom firmware (and I have the STATS to prove it). This is just a stupid move that will cost you customers and money.
I would not recommend buying this device on AT&T if you want to run CyanogenMod or another custom ROM, or if you are a developer and need to work with or debug the lower layers.
As you may have gathered, a locked bootloader is a major stumbling block for custom ROM developers and software hackers alike. AT&T may have really taken a wrong turn with this decision. Remember, you can also pick up a Galaxy S4 on Sprint or T-Mobile, should you decide that a locked bootloader isn’t for you.
Be sure to let us know your thoughts below.
via google+
Wow Verizon’s little sister giving it to us again. Come on sprint these two companies are daring you to step up. I would love to switch to sprint they are just a little to far behind.
Yep canceling my preorder now..
Yeah, these are the same guys who said customers don’t need more than 16GB of storage just before they released the HTC One X with 16GB (that really only had 11). Then they ended unlimited data just to rub it in. What a bunch of jousters.
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I have renewed my 2 yr. AT&T contract and have rooted my new S4.
The locked boot loader is an outrage. The bloatware is outrageous.
The only thing that will cheer me up is a successful civil suit where AT&T makes headlines in the news.
What a horrible day. American Telephone and Telegraph has been replaced with a global monster hell bent on greed.
AT&T SUCKS
*Atlantic
What’s up Tim242? Got something to add? “*Atlantic” all by itself there doesn’t mean anything…
Looks like it has already been unlocked: http://www.droid-life.com/2013/05/01/dan-rosenberg-appears-to-have-hacked-the-bootloader-on-the-galaxy-s4/