Want a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III without all the huffing and puffing that comes a long with encrypted bootloaders? The manufacture has you covered, as it will offer a "developer edition" Verizon Galaxy S 3 through its developer portal for $599.
The other U.S. versions of the Galaxy S 3 all ship with unlockable bootloaders. But not Verizon. Samsung, apparently, has decided to take matters into its own hands.
There are all the usual caveats, though. If you bork the phone because of something you've done, with all that rooting and flashing and other things kids are prone to do these days, you're own your own. Warranty isn't going to cover it. But you already knew that.
Samsung's proffered a little Q&A about the developer edition, which we've got after the break.
Samsung is pleased to announce the Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon Wireless. The Developer Edition will be sold only through Samsung.com. This special edition device features a user-unlockable bootloader.
Who is this for?
Samsung and Verizon Wireless recognize that there are many enthusiasts and professional developers that are interested in customizing their device with third-party ROM software. Unlocking the bootloader can put the stability of the phone in jeopardy; therefore, only experienced developers should attempt to unlock the bootloader.
What about the other carriers?
Other versions of the Galaxy S III are sold with a user-unlockable bootloader as a standard feature. Those models are available directly from the respective carriers.
Where can I buy the Galaxy S III Developer Edition?
The Developer Edition will be sold online directly from Samsung. When the device is available for purchase, it will be sold through the Samsung developer portal at developer.samsung.com for $599.
Why is Verizon Wireless’ version locked?
Depending on the device, an open bootloader could prevent Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support because it would allow users to change the phone or otherwise modify the software and, potentially, negatively impact how the phone connects with the network. The addition of unapproved software could also negatively impact the wireless experience for other customers. Unlocking the device also voids the warranty.
Has Samsung always unlocked the bootloader on its phones?
While not all previous Samsung Android devices have had an easily unlockable bootloader, all of our other current Galaxy S III flagship lineup, and all Nexus-branded devices, support the standard bootloader unlocking procedure.
What happens if I load custom software and damage (“brick”) my phone?
Problems caused by unlocking the bootloader and installing custom software will not be covered by the warranty.
Problems with third-party and customized bootloader software can cause irreparable harm to the Galaxy S III. Users interested in performing these actions should proceed with caution and at their own risk. Out of warranty Galaxy S III Developer Edition devices will be serviced directly through Samsung, and service charges will apply.
Reader comments
Samsung to offer hacker-friendly 'developer edition' Galaxy S III on Verizon
I can feel for those those that got screwed ordering this phone to keep unlimited data, then to find out its bootloader is locked, but what else did you expect? It's Verizon, they Suck! Verizon locks down all their devices besides the Nexus, and I won't be surprised if they lock it down if Google actually gives it to them again next year! Ppl are Always hollering about the great network, pshhh, overpriced network is what it is! Yes, they are the biggest, but Att & T mobile are better if your into development, PERIOD! Everyone is crying about this left & right and the worst thing is the congested threads of ppl throwing out moronic ideas of how to get around it! C'mon guys, I'm not a dev, so I don't try to bee & there's about 5,000 of you that need to follow that same motto. I don't wanna hear a word about trolling either because I donated $25 to your u lock bounty, and while that may not be alot its a kind gesture in hopes that it works out for all of you. Please, STFU about it, stop whining, and if you don't like it then leave that shitty network! It's not for ppl who want to be involved in development!
I think many here just don't get it. Verizon doesn't care about the members of Android Central or XDA or other sites like that. If we all left Verizon for another carrier tomorrow I doubt it would add up to a full 1 percent of their customers. For me Verizon's network is the best hands down in my area. I wouldn't switch to AT&T or Sprint at this time.
Someone else mentioned that perhaps Verizon wants to have secure platform they can offer as a replacement for BlackBerry in the Enterprise. At work we had our Verizon Wireless rep out and they all use Android phones and are pushing them over iPhones as a secure platform. Loading custom roms and bypassing all the security on the phone probably isn't what they want.
As also mentioned up thread they don't want people getting free tethering on their unlimited plans. They don't care about those of us who download 10+ of GBs a month.
My previous phone was a Fascinate. I rooted and loaded custom roms. Mostly to get gingerbread and later ICS. If Verizon (yeah I know will not happen) were to update the phones a bit quicker I won't really miss the custom Roms. I have already accepted I will not see JB on my phone till sometime next year.
I can hide / disable most if not all the crap Verizon loads. I can and already have changed the launcher.
Or I could sell my locked S3 and buy the developers version and go back to hacking. I know many of you guys enjoy it but many more people just want the phone to work and don't want to spend hours messing with it.
Perhaps after a year or so I will miss being able to load custom roms. Then I can either buy the latest Nexus or the developers S3.
People keep on trucking along with Verizon though. As long as they continue to grow and make money they will continue to see how far they can push it. Once it starts hurting them they will back off a tad and go with it.
Same arguments happen every time Verizon messes with their plans. People whine and complain but then Verizon continues to grow. A very vocal minority seems to be what we hear on these forums in regards to how evil and terrible Verizon is. There are alternatives but apparently these kind of things don;t get people to switch carriers.
Would returning, then ordering direct from samsung hurt your plan.
You would be activating a new phone after there June 28th deadline...
It isn't the phone activation that would change the contact, it's the upgrade and new two year contract. You should be just fine. :)
-Verizon Wireless Indirect Agent
Maybe all the phone makers should sell their phones directly to customers. Maybe theres a phone on one carrier that isnt on another. When the 1st EVO came out for Sprint people on Verizon couldnt have it even though the EVO is CDMA. I dont know how big the market would be but I will be buying and s3 from Sammie.
Anyone who already has a Verizon SIII and wants to get the new developer edition, let me know and I'll take your old one off your hands :P Seriously though, I will.
I have an opened Blue 32GB that I'm using right now, but I'm planning on returning it and getting a completely new one, any type. How's $649 sound? :D
Offer it in black and I'll buy it if/when my Droid X dies.
Hey I could be wrong here. But the reason I wanted a unlocked phone is because I don't want ads on my phone .I'm paying some over priced fee for a phone.I'm paying a upgrade fee with a 2 years contract. And I want too look at what wallpaper, screensaver that I want. I want to place the apps I want and delete the ones I don't!!!!!
Now if I was Verizon and could sell somebody space on my phone then tell them that it couldn't be deleted. You would buy that space . Just like Google, Facebook or selling your phone number. For what they are making in ad money they could buy all the bricks back.
Please XDA don't not stop you work!!!!! It is my phone please help me get it back!!!!!!
People, you are missing the big picture. Verizon is welcoming a phone sold by a 3rd party onto their network. This means a Nexus sold directly from google is possible.
If this works out well this could be a win win for everybody. I understand from Verizon's end that they are tired of supporting bricks from people who dont know what they are doing or people who know what they are doing and purposely brick to extort a new device out of VZW. On the other hand samsung needs to provide excellent warranty support for non ROM related issues. If they do, this is a working arrangement.
As far as paying full price it is simple.
1.) Buy an expensive device from VZW on contract.
2.) Sell said device on ebay.
3.) ???
4.) Profit!!
Good lord will you look at this, some logic and insight.
That fanboy rage is ridiculous. Samsung and Verizon can literally not do anything to please some of you.
This should not be acceptable.
We need to make this a public nightmare for samsung for allowing this.
Dear Samsung, Due to Motorola's policy of allowing carriers to lock bootloaders I have helped encouraged and actively moved dozens of former Motorola customers to Samsumg devices, and those that I helped move have gone ahead and helped others make the same move. Now that Samsumg has allowed Verizon to lock the bootloader on the Galaxy SIII, I am left no choice but to do the same all over again to another handset manufacturer. Releasing a developers edition of the Galaxy SIII is simply not good enough and an absolute insult to us. Motorola and HTC both had the Android community in their hands at one time till they started pulling stunts like you are with allowing the carriers to lock the bootloaders. If Samsung really wants to make this right, release an unlocking tool through Samsung.com, and show us, the ones that helped make Samsung the #1 Android Maker that you truly support us and want our continued support and business.
This is perfect for me. I have the unlimited data grandfathered on VZW and my next phone will have to be purchased off contract. This would be a great choice, all I have to do is survive on ramen for a year or so to afford $600.00 for a phone.
Does this mean that we will no longer have bloat and we get updates straight from samsung since verizon is not going to cover this phone? That would be pretty sweet actually.
good question, it'd be awesome if it didn't have any of the vzw bloatware preloaded
Anyone know if this will be the case? At least the bloatware part?
This clearly has Verizon written all over it. think about it. have we not learned from the whole razr, razr maxx fiasco? motorola probably would have unlocked their bootloaders but they dont have the sales to piss verizon off. samsung, on the other hand, wanted to boost preorder numbers by offering the phone to all carriers. so they played verizon by offering the locked phone and then taking responsibility by offering the unlocked phone directly through them. i know, alot of people are angry that they preordered the locked device. but at this point, only the higher ups of both companies could have known this. as to the developers overlooking the locked device for the unlocked, that is clearly not going to happen. why? because the masses of verizon s3 customers preordered the locked device. and although xda has no obligation to try to unlock the phone, they dont want a reputation of taking the easy way out. besides, where would the challenge be in just ignoring the elephant in the room???
Motorola said a long time ago they were going to unlock their bootloaders, none of their bootloaders are unlocked.
You should blame Verizon for world hunger too.
What's the percentage of Verizon users that will want to unlock the bootloader? How many even know about rooting and unlocking? Verizon knows they will lose very few customers and would rather lock the phones down to keep idiots from causing problems. I'm probably not going to even care about rooting and unlocking since I moved to the new share plans and hotspot is included. All I ever really cared about was wifi tether and now I don't need it.
exactly. i'm guessing way below 1%. they did away with unlimited data and moved to shared plans because guess what? they don't care if they lose the 2-3% of customers that use 10+gb's per month. they lock the bootloader because guess what? they don't care if they lose the 1% of us that root and flash. i'm glad i didn't preorder this and now they have made the decision about buying this phone REAL easy for me.....but i don't blame them for their decisions. we can all piss and moan about this all we want, but let's be realistic. over 99% of customers just want a cool phone that they can call, text, facebook, take pics, and play words with friends on. verizon simply isn't concerned with the handful of us that root, flash, and gobble up 10, 20, 30+ gb's per month of data.
Well this is an interesting development. My GS3 will arrive tomorrow and I don't know what to do. I have ROMed every android device I've ever owned, and this was not going to be an exception. However I am very skeptical about Verizon intentions. As much as I would like to see the bootloader cracked, I'm having serious doubts that it's going to happen. So do I return the device or Ebay?
As I see it, Verizon sees the development community as a nuisance. Data hogging, free tethering, replacement seeking, bloatware removing pains in the ass. If you think about it, they probably wouldn't lose much if the majority of them went to other networks. They sit at the boardroom table and say "we gave them a fucking Nexus for God's sake!"
So this is a Verizon business decision IMO, and we should be thanking Samsung for talking Verizon into letting them support the hacking community directly.
Exactly, Verizon had 0 obligation to let Samsung do this. They most likely wouldn't have lost any real amount of customers over the locked bootloader. But instead of viewing this as a win for the community all people here can do is bitch.
Wow, you people are amazing and adorable and pathetic all at the same time. You are like five year olds. Verizon locks down the S3 and people moan and complain. Samsung releases an unlocked version and all you man babies can do is moan and complain. Quit your bitching, Samsung is giving you exactly what you asked for. So what that it should have been unlocked originally, Verizon is moving away from unlocked phones and that has been clear for a while. Either be happy that you have an unlocked option or shut your damn mouth. Woulda coulda shoulda is irrelevant.
Thanks you codiusprime, everyone can return their phones and pay $599 if you want. Or sell your locked phone for $500-600 and you'll end up paying close to subsidized price. I like this move, would be sweet to be able to have unlocked phones available for VZW! Specially the next Nexus to replace my current.
I am willing to pay for a method to root. duck Verizon and there ridiculous bills. I would dump there ass if only there was another company that had 3G service in rural Virginia. Wait till another provider strolls into my neck of the woods.
Ha! I think it's funny as hell. Have one on order for my daughter but she won't be flashing any ROM's.
Current prices on Ebay seem to be between $600 and $650. The warranty service problems need to be figured out though.
What Verizon is really acknowledging is that their employees are not knowledgeable about how to deal with the phones. It was not that way 15 years ago when there was a real tech person in the company stores.
Hey Verizon... you remember that $30.00 upgrade fee you started charging to help cover the customer support costs?? I think that's enough to provide us with an unlocked phone you bunch of greedy bastards.. But that's ok, keep pissing off your customers and you will lose them 1 by one..
soooo glad i didn't pre order. i know where i'm gettin' mine now. woot!
I am just happy to be able to purchase the phone and not have to add another line.
You want a rooted phone? Apparently the price is the $400 subsidy that VZW would otherwise pay.
Personally, I hope this is nerd-rage inducing fodder that pushes the hackers to try even harder to crack the vzw bootloader.
Wish we had a date on the release, I get my order shipped on the 16th according to Verizon's site, and would definitely rather have this instead.
The dumbest thing about stuff like this is how they act as if so many people unlock the bootloader, root, etc.
It's ridiculous. Probably only 1% (or less) of people in total with Android devices do these things. Why not have a user-unlockable bootloader from the beginning? As I said, hardly anyone even does this stuff. This is made even more stupid by the fact every other carrier's GSIII doesn't have this problem.
I wish someone at Verizon would read these posts.
Hey Verizon!
YOU'RE PISSING EVERYONE OFF!
Not everyone.
People are mad because now they have to pay more money and truly be at their own risk when installing custom ROMs. Like it should be. Verizon should never be responsible for bricking your phone unless it bricks with their software update.
Deal with it. At least the option is available. Since we are not getting unlocked bootloaders anytime soon, at least this option is available.
Besides, the people that have unlimited plans and want to keep them next time they want to upgrade phones are going to have to pay full price anyways. I would like this kind of option to be available for the next phone I get. At least the choice is there.
I'm sure Verizon will get there fair share of 14 day returns. That's just enough time to play with it and say "Eh, it's still a phone...)
I love this!
I can't get a discount and keep my unlimited plan anyway (Yes, I'm one of the tiny percentage that can justify having an unlimited plan).
I was just thinking last night about how Google should do this. If they just release phones with the right hardware, there is nothing to keep Verizon from letting you use it. Part of the spectrum acquisition said that they had to make their network open for all hardware.
Why is Verizon doing this? Cuz they are a bunch of money grubbing, thieving, control freak mother fuckers! I am going to have to think long and hard who my carrier of choice is going to be. Even though AT&T is less than stellar here, I can buy this phone (Or even an HTC One X) and not worry about being locked out of my own device! Suck balls Verizon!
What does the bootloader have to do with their grubbing of money? How does it make money for them? I agree that it sucks, but how do they make MORE money because of it?
Well, look at things like Carrier IQ (not saying it's on the device, just saying something like it could be hidden in the kernel). The sheer availability of being able to collect any data they want can be used to make money. Where you are, what you bought, what you ate, ect is a marketing company's dream information.
I can't blame Verizon for locking bootloaders. While a customer is trying to call Verizon for a legitimate issue, a possible rep that could help them is helping Joe Blow after he bricked his phone for 4th time this week trying to load JB 4.1.1 on an original DROID. If said rep tells Joe to figure it out himself, Joe will complain and hurt Verizon's customer service reputation. BUT Verizon could of offered this one when they started offering the locked one...
You'll have to forgive me for not giving a shit about a company making billions in profit.
Wait, haven't we heard this one before? Motorola razr that was supposed to be developer friendly. Well it wasn't, and then moto said they would release a developer version, which never happened...
http://developer.samsung.com/home.do
I think they will be available there when they do become available?
No, no, no. This is clearly bollocks.
How the fuck is this going to be any different from Verizon's point of view than if they'd kept the fucking bootloader unlocked in the first place?
The only people flashing ROMs and shit ALREADY understand the risks. Surely this makes Verizon's life harder. Now they have two devices with differing levels of support that are effectively identical.
Dumb. As. Fuck.
This. The motive is obviously $$, not network integrity or user experience, or whatever BS they're peddling that day. People flashing ROMs know what they're doing, and unlocked bootloaders ensure that phones DON'T get bricked by the noobs who mess things up.
Obviously you haven't read the hacking or ROM support forums here, on DroidHive or XDA recently. There are dozens, if not hundreds of "I bricked my phone, going to take it back for a replacement what do I need to know!" or "I don't even know what rooting means but I'm going to install my first ROM". Too many have no clue what they're doing. But on the other hand, most will get the problem solved by help on the boards, not by taking it back for replacement.
Er, Verizon isn't supporting the Developer phone. That was one of the primary reasons they've implied in terms of why they forced Samsung to lock Galaxy S III bootloaders.
This is about their cutting costs for Support more than anything else. Samsung is obviously doing the best they can here, given Verizon's restrictions. This is a win/win for Samsung and Developers, so your anger seems misplaced.
So, I buy a developer phone and for some reason my calls keep dropping. Is Samsung going to fix that? Of COURSE VZW will be supporting this phone. It's on their network. They support the unlocked GNex right?
The "cutting support costs" angle? Let's see: VZW is the biggest carrier. I bet the dev community as a percentage of the whole user base is LOWER on VZW than any other network (gut feeling... not quotable). If that IS the case, relatively speaking, their support costs are already lower.
AND that doesn't even take into account that people flashing roms are ALREADY on sites like XDA and RootzWiki (where else did they pick up that rom?) and are already in touch with a much better support group than VZW themselves.
Yes, I'd still have to call VZW with actual call or data issues, but then these DEV PHONE owners will be doing that too!
Do you even understand business? Verizon locks the bootloader specifically to keep the casual rooter/ROMmer from messing up their phone - they likely care far less about the relatively small number of serious Devs or otherwise knowledgeable users who use what the Devs offer, but cost is still cost. Especially in the current business climate, they and all other Top 500/multinational companies are cutting expense at EVERY opportunity - for them and their internal business cases, locking their phones down = productivity savings. Some VP sold that angle and is making bonuses from it every year that he/she can show the savings - you can bet they won't leave a stone unturned. This is how large corporations work.
Reading statements thus far, Verizon will only support network issues - i.e., what you are paying for. They likely anticipate very few Developer phones to be out there, and even fewer issues with those unlocked phones BECAUSE of the fact thet people buying them will tend to either (1) know what they are doing and (2) will get support from Dev communities before ever calling Verizon.
Based on that logic, I assume AT&T and Sprint won't survive the end of the year... what with all the customers accidentaly bricking their phones and returning them.
Don't think you understood what I wrote - it wasn't black and white.
Verizon decided to lock down their phones (i.e., not just this one) for publicly stated reasons that jibe very closely with productivity savings and cost avoidance business cases, IMHO. It is part of what they clearly admitted to in their business motivation, so SOMEBODY up high is putting their bonus on the line each year by proving that such measures are saving them money in the end (i.e., increasing % profit), is my strong guess.
It remains to be seen if AT&T and Sprint decide to follow that path or not, because we really don't know if Verizon's attempt truly saves them money or not. But, it's a business path that they have clearly decided to undertake since before the Galaxy S III, and there's no obvious sign that they are willing to back down on it. If anything, sunsetting and aggressively trying to un-sell unlimited data plans shows that they are only increasing pressure on internal Executives to up their year-to-year revenue percentages across the board, I feel. This locking issue is just another simplistic way to claim they will up that percentage in one or two areas of the business, IMHO.
That's the price you pay when you decide to be an early adopter.
Right. And it obviously has nothing to do with VZW being dickheads and treating this phone differently than any other carrier.
I'm sure the Sprint SGS3 early adopters are going through the same thing. Oh, wait... no they're not.
Thats the price you pay for being with Verizon is more like it, lol!
Yup, let's face it. VZW sucks in every aspect except for their network.
This has nothing to do with VZW screwing anyone. It's all about Sammy taking care of us. This is a great article. Who on VZW received their phone June 27 (14 days ago)? I.e. no-one. So, no one is screed on returning their phones within the 14 day return period. Even those Best Buy guys have even more time to return it. Keep all those cases, docks, etc and get the unlocked one.
Sorry, but it *does* reveal VZW "screwing" people. It is because of Verizon that there was a locked/encrypted bootloader to begin with.
Yeah, but Serpa4 is talking about people who are bitching that Verizon's screwing people by offering two different devices. They ARE screwing people, but they're only offering one device. Sammy's got the other, direct from the factory.
I would have never thought this would happen, BRAVO!!
I really like how they (Samsung) did this. Looks like they will still cover hardware on the warranty. Motorola had a dev razr, but it had absolutely no warranty at all.
yeah.thats pretty awesome. I have been hacking android phones for a while, and there is almost (almost) no way to REALLY hurt your hardware unless you are doing something that you already know could mess it up. Bravo to samsung for giving VZW the finger!!
rumor has it the name will be teh samsung galaxy s 3 maxx.... >.>
Although this does kind of give me hope for another Nexus appearing on Verizon even if I have to pay full price.
Each day I hate VZ more and more. Only game in town for miles, so I really cannot just up and leave. Anyone interested in a house in a gated community with two golf courses and hundreds of naked women? :P
You sure that Mom and Dad are ready to sell?
LOL
The fuck? Thanks for announcing this after I got my phone.
On the plus side, hopefully this will help us unlock the bootloader.
I wish this hadn't literally made me LOL.. Sucks to be anyone who pre-ordered one just to keep unlimited with intentions of hacking their devices.
Those same people could take their pre-order back or cancel if they haven't gotten it yet, and pony up the $599. They will still keep their unlimited, and won't be on contract.
Or sell it on Ebay and pony up an extra hundred, you get what you want.
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^......Only thing is, when will it be available?
It's gotta be April 1st right?
that is messed up
i'll stick with nexus devices from now on
if i knew samsung was gonna pull this garbage, I might as well have stuck with Motorola
locked bootloader today, developer's edition tomorrow.....
Huh? This Verizon's fault to start with. Samsung is actually trying to do something decent and weather Verizon's BS as best it can. How it seems to me anyway.
It should have been unlocked from Day 1.
No special edition.
Well I agree, but your anger should be directed at Verizon not Samsung.
My anger is directed at the company who knew they had a massive hit on their hands and had leverage with Verizon since this phone would be on every other carrier in the US market. That gave Samsung an ace up the sleeve and a VERY strong hand to negotiate with. And if Verizon said no all Samsung would have to do is put out a press release that Verizon and Samsung could not come to terms on the configuration of the this new device. The requirements that Verizon was imposing we feel would impact the experience people have come to expect from the Galaxy S. Because of this we are unfortunately unable to provide Verizon customers with the Galaxy S3 at this time. We welcome Verizon to reconsider their stance and to give their customers freedom of choice. [Insert more marketing slapdown here.]
all of a sudden Verizon has a very bright, very ugly spotlight pointed right at them. And people are going to want answers why other carriers are willing to allow an unlocked device, but not Verizon.
Instead Samsung turned into a pansy.
I think you're the only person who thinks Samsung did the wrong thing here. They're not going to put millions of dollars in sales at risk just to prove a point. Verizon wanted a locked bootloader so Samsung are themselves offering an unlocked version. This is a very nice move on behalf on Samsung. Those that care about an unlocked bootloader are a very small subset of Verizon customers and now they are catered for by Samsung. If the developer version outsells the locked version, Verizon might reconsider their policies. I sincerely doubt that is going to happen though.
Tell that to Verizon, not Samsung . . . the latter is actually trying to do something good for the Dev community given Verizon's restrictions, here.
How is this Samsung fault? Would you rather have no option of developer edition at all? To me it looks like Sammy actually tried to fight VZ (the largest carrier!) and this was the best they could do.
This is a little hypocritical if you ask me. First its stated that its locked because an open boot loader could prevent Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support because it would allow users to change the phone or otherwise modify the software and, potentially, negatively impact how the phone connects with the network. The addition of unapproved software could also negatively impact the wireless experience for other customers. Unlocking the device also voids the warranty." but then go ahead and sell an unlocked one anyway samsung and contradict what we said. all i have to say is in the words of carlos mencia of mind of mencia DEEDADEE!
Thats an odd way to look at it. You could also look at it in the way that actually happened, which is Verizon were D-Bags for being the only carrier to force them to lock the bootloader. So as a semi-F U to Verizon, Samsung is offering this to developers and hard core techies as a way around Verizon's draconian practices.
Samsung cannot do this without Verizon's blessing. This gives people what they want and Verizon what they want.
This is a good thing.
I agree it's a good thing. Verizon doesn't care cuz they can wash their hands of any responsibility for the phone now.
No it frak'n isn't. You've now given XDA developers less of a reason to try and crack the locked S3's when people will start buying up these unlocked systems. It would be one thing if all carriers were locked. But its just the subset of Verizon customers. And now they throw this into the mix and you can bet future sales of locked bootloader devices will tank.
This is NOT doing anyone any favors. If anything, as I said before, Samsung should have manned up and told Verizon NO. With the S3 being on every device Verizon would have caved as sales on Sprint, T Mobile, ATT took off.
Oh please. XDA developers still have plenty reason to crack the locked S3s (no apostrophe needed). Maybe you should "man up" and just deal with the situation we are in right now, instead of your idealized counterfactuals.
It has no warranty, VZW could care less.
it just goes to show that VZW LIED to everyone. This was obviously NOT samsungs fault the boot loaders were locked in the first place (cause we didnt know that already lol)! Again, this is why i will never be a verizon customer!
Wait a sec... Won't this help development on the locked phones? There must be some way to convert your bootloader right?
This. +3.14
Don't bet on it. People have tried to migrate the bootloader from other carriers devices and completely screwed the phone. While having it on Verizon will help, I'm guessing the hardware will be just different enough to brick it.
Usually loading a new and/or migrating the bootloader requires encryption keys?
So unless you have access to these (which almost never happens anymore?) to recompile the file, your stuck with just modifying/hacking the existing bootloader.
Well now...this would have been a great announcement AWHILE ago.
Wouldn't be surprised if they had an agreement with Verizon to hold back on the Developer Edition until after preorders were fulfilled or similar. Samsung is offering a win/win here, it's not their fault that Verizon is trying to cut their perceived Support (i.e., dealing with bricked returns) and Network (i.e., unapproved tethering under unlimited plan) costs at all levels in order to fund Executive perks.
In other words, Verizon screwed us on the bootloader thing so we'll sell you one on our own.
Its official ,Verizon is now named A Douche Rising
I....I don't get it.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ yep nuff said.
Was this is shocking.
Samsung, you are amazing. Thanks for supporting the development community so much. It was necessary for them to lock the bootloader if they wanted it to be sold through Verizon's stores, but at least they're offering this alternative to the root community (people like me).
I don't have $599 to shell out, and I was planning on leaving Verizon for Sprint, and getting their Galaxy S3 under a contract which will be cheaper. But it's nice to know that I could just stay on Verizon and get this one instead (although I likely won't).
So what happens when you have a problem with the device? "The phone won't charge? Sorry but that's not covered cause there is no warranty on a developer device"
I can just see it now...
Why are you thanking them? Samsung should have grown a pair and told Verizon hell no when they required them to lock the bootloader. If you think Verizon wouldn't have caved within a month as Sales of the S3 sky rocketed on all other carriers, think again. If anything this is going to make XDA developers shrug and not give a crap about the locked S3 that many of us have. You should be pissed if anything.
There you go....
"Why is Verizon Wireless’ version locked?
Depending on the device, an open boot loader could prevent Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support because it would allow users to change the phone or otherwise modify the software and, potentially, negatively impact how the phone connects with the network. The addition of unapproved software could also negatively impact the wireless experience for other customers. Unlocking the device also voids the warranty."
This reads as, we are tired of supporting and warrantying hacked devices. Hack away, but it is on Sammy, we want no part of it.
If they didn't lock devices down, root methods would be so easy bricks would be much less common. Also, it's their fault for accepting bricks even when they are out of warrante.
This is partially true. Yes, it would be a lot easier to recover from stock, but the problem is, there are a lot of people who rooted phones (specifically the OG Droid) who had no business doing it. They would mess something up (like flashing a ROM for another phone on it, or deleting the phone app) and not know how to flash back, so they would go to the Verizon store and demand that it be fixed for them, for free.
Verizon can try and turn down a phone for a RootBrick, but it becomes difficult to do when 1) Not all your reps will know what to look for and 2) your customers are under contract and can raise all sorts of hell if they don't get their phone replaced, and it made more sense just to keep them happy, but make it harder.
pretty sure there are a thousands of idiots flashing whatever they can find like boot.img in wrong partitions
Samsung and Verizon have to both fully be behind a dev phone. Remember that the Galaxy S3 is Samsung's first US phone to be “Samsung Approved for Enterprise”. If anyone in the modding community hacks or finds a way around the bootloader they (Samsung and Verizon) will lose a lot of potential business from the enterprise community (private and government) at a time when everyone is trying to replace RIM Blackberry's.
Not really sure where you are going with this.
Almost all modern bootloader hacking methods requires a direct USB connection during initial boot phases.
It's not really something that can be done without "user awareness".
And it's really no different than Jailbreaking a iPhone.
Also, The Samsung Galaxy Note was the first SAFE phone/device.
And it's been hacked/rooted...
I'm late on the draw with a reply, but for future...
My comment was pointing to the fact that organizations using the US GS3 for enterprise will be concerned that anyone that could get their hands on the device (to unfortunately include some untrustworthy members within the organization) and alter it without them knowing it. That possible vulnerability makes it a security risk and therefore not useful within the enterprise.
And the GS3 was the first Samsung SAFE device for the US.
And hacked/rooted can be detected/controlled/mitigated at the enterprise level. But allowing the kernel to be altered would allow things to occur that could avoid detection.
So full circle... neither Verizon nor Samsung want(ed) the device to be opened up because then it is no more useful to enterprise customers than any other unlocked phone.
What the fuck.
^ pretty much summed up what I was thinking.
I just wish I had known, I woulnd't have preordered.
You couldn't have had it for more than 14 days yet, return it. I am.
How exactly does this work? I figure I'd just sell mine on ebay for ~550 and get this one unlocked. Wouldn't that be cheaper than returning and buying this one?
Exactly what I was thinking but then is the value of the non-developer phone less than $550?
I sure as heck wouldn't pay more than that.
This. a 100,000,000,000^10 this. And all those people who preordered get the royal screwjob. Thanks Verizon. Thanks Samsung