Motorola's eFuse Security System Bricks Hacked Android Phones
If you rushed out to buy the Droid X today, you may want to hold off on trying to root it.
July 15 marks the release of Motorola's Droid X smartphone on Verizon, a device plenty of reviews have recommended for its large screen and impressive performance and decried for its battery life and lack of a front-facing camera. But for you fandroids out there itching to get your hands on the newest offering, buyer beware: it comes with anti-tampering security.
If you try to hack, root, jailbreak or modify any of the internal components, Motorla's eFuse security technology will corrupt the boot process, effectively bricking your phone. That's right, if you try to modify the Android operating system, you will be the owner of a fancy US$ 200 paperweight. According to a poster at mydroidworld.com, here's how:
"If the eFuse failes to verify this information then the eFuse receives a command to “blow the fuse” or “trip the fuse”. This results in the booting process becoming corrupted and resulting in a permanent bricking of the Phone. This FailSafe is activated anytime the bootloader is tampered with or any of the above three parts of the phone has been tampered with."
The security measure essentially flies in the face of the open platform the phone was built upon. It leaves the user at the mercy of the OEM, in terms of software updates and guts many of the customization options hardcore Android users have grown accustomed to.
For regular consumers, eFuse shouldn't be an issue, barring some catastrophic malfunction. But power users may want to look elsewhere.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Another Linux Malware Discovered
Russian hackers use Hyper-V to hide malware within Linux virtual machines.
-
TUXEDO Computers Announces a New InfinityBook
TUXEDO Computers is at it again with a new InfinityBook that will meet your professional and gaming needs.
-
SUSE Dives into the Agentic AI Pool
SUSE becomes the first open source company to adopt agentic AI with SUSE Enterprise Linux 16.
-
Linux Now Runs Most Windows Games
The latest data shows that nearly 90 percent of Windows games can be played on Linux.
-
Fedora 43 Has Finally Landed
The Fedora Linux developers have announced their latest release, Fedora 43.
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.
-
LMDE 7 Now Available
Linux Mint Debian Edition, version 7, has been officially released and is based on upstream Debian.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.

sick of this assumptions
i found the story about the BRICK CHIP on some APPLE FANPAGE
first... now everyone goin nutz !.... lets have the facts please //
droid is dead.