HTC to provide unlocked bootloaders

It is not often that we hear about big companies bowing to customer pressure. All the more reason, then, why we should applaud HTC for doing exactly that.  After a sustained campaign by HTC customers and enthusiasts, HTC have promised to provide unlocked bootloaders on all their devices in the future.

Which is fantastic news – especially if you know what it means!

Most companies currently provide devices with locked bootloaders – which simply means that you cannot boot anything other than the stock software on the phone. When the device is switched on, it searches for an image to boot into – and this is usually locked down to one, factory provided, image.

On your computer, if you don’t like the stock operating system that came with your computer you can switch it out for something else – Linux, OSX, BSD or something else like that.  On your phone, becaues they are locked down, you cannot do that.

For many people, of course, this does not make any difference.  They like the stock software and are not interested in changing it.  There are, however, plenty of people who would like to be able to make changes to the core software on their phones.  Perhaps they just want to root it (which just gives them more access and privileges to the guts of their device) or perhaps they want to completely replace the operating system with a different version – or even a completely different  OS altogether.

In order to do to this, they have had to rely on the kindness of strangers – and strange hackers in particular.  After a device is released into the wild, someone usually finds some sort of loophole which enables them to get around the locked bootloader and provide the end user with more freedom and control over their device.

Sometimes this has been achieved shortly after the device has been released, but sometimes it has taken a while.

Yesterday (May 26th), however, HTC announced that they will no longer be locking their bootloaders:

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

This means that it should now be a relatively straightforward process for anyone who is so inclined to gain greater control over their devices – and HTC will now be a huge favourite among the device hacking community.

The announcement is a huge win for openness and consumer choice – well done HTC!

Full details of when and how this will happen is unclear. Will HTC simply not lock down any devices manufactured from today? Will this only apply to brand new devices?  Will they retrospectively unlock other devices?

We simply do not yet know.  Hopefully this will affect a large number of devices, including those already in customers hands but, either way, it is a win for consumers who want ot make their voices heard.