Verizon Support: A Device With an Unlocked Bootloader Cannot Be Activated on Our Network
[Update]: All’s well that ends well, folks. Disregard everything you see below and click here.
Following some good news from HTC’s Peter Chou that states they’ll no longer be locking down their bootloaders in future phones, one curious soul sought to clarify something with Verizon on Twitter – can we use phones with unlocked bootloaders on Verizon’s network? Their answer was quite odd, to say the least:
No, a device with an unlocked bootloader cannot be activated on the Verizon Wireless network. *RB
Funny, that, considering the HTC Incredible (the original), the Motorola DROID (the original), the HTC Eris and the Samsung Fascinate have both had their bootloaders unlocked and those who’ve done it are using those devices on Verizon’s network just fine. Of course, trying to fit an answer inside 140 characters is difficult and some packets could be lost in their need to cut down on ze words.
Verizon could be saying a couple of different things here, for all we know. They could either mean devices will not be sold unlocked out of the box or they could mean they won’t carry devices with unlockable bootloaders. In any case, it’s always important to discern between locked, encrypted bootloaders, and locked bootloaders with encrypted keys.
We’ve contacted our Verizon rep about this one, of course, so we’ll try to get the clear and complete answer from them. Sit tight, folks. [Thanks Bryan!]