HTC and S-OFF. What do you think?

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Thought I would create a simple poll. Let the people voice their thoughts!!


The question's simple:

"Would you buy another HTC phone if it was impossible to turn S-Off?"
Yes or No.

After voting, please post in the thread explaining your choice.

If I reach 500 votes, I will personally spam every public avenue HTC has with a direct link to this thread so they can see the impact their choice to lock down their most recent devices has made.

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EDIT:: My answer is no. If it was impossible to turn the Security flag OFF then I would never purchase another HTC phone again. I am a firm believer that since it is MY property that I should be able to do with it whatever I want, when I want, how I want.. Without ANYONE telling me that I can't. PERIOD. If HTC want's to play these games and tell me what I can and can't do with my property then I will never purchase another HTC phone again.

Seeing as how my last 8 phones had the HTC brand on them, they will definitely be losing one very loyal customer...

I swore that I would never buy an iPhone because they are so locked down it's disgusting and consistently push out updates to try to stop attempts at jailbreaking the device. With that being said I stuck to my guns. I never bought one. Or any other Apple product for that matter. This is what the Amaze 4G is starting to remind me of.

HTC has officially dropped the ball this time and it's time we, the people, the one's paying idiotic amounts of money for these phones actually tried to do something about it.

I would still buy HTC. I'm sure devs can figure out a way to turn it off eventually, and I like the look of HTC phones (form and screen) the best.

I find it insanely stupid to pay six hundred dollars and not own a device. I love this phone but it will more than likely be my last HTC phone. I won't go Apple but probably back to Samsung, even though I owned the Moment,worse phone ever, or maybe Google will do more with the Moto Mobile and put out a great phone. I just don't see HTC doing what's right and giving us S-off or making it any easier.

No I Will NOT Buy Another HTC...Amaze Is For Sale!

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People having "FUN" with their phones...that's precisely what drives new phone sales now. When newcomers pop onto a Great Dev Site, such as XDA, it literally drives/motivates them to run out and buy "the phone everyone's having such a great time playing with"...because...everyone wants to have fun with their phone! HTC & others build great form & functionality into their phones, but that's not to say they know best...we're simply talking about a staff of engineers that are tasked with developing a phone which functions 100% of the time, for 100% of the buying public, which only speaks to whats best for THEM...while very commendable feats of accomplishment indeed, each individual being able to take that same phone & teach it to do "flips & cartwheels", in addition to the "sit-ups & summersaults" the engineers have already presented, is but a further testiment to their great feat of engineering. I would consider this to be very "complimentary"...opposed to the "intrusive" stance they seem to be taking. Think about it & stand in their shoes for a moment. Try to imagine what a proud engineer would say..."gosh, look what great things these people are doing with My Phone". Anyone can build a phone...HTC used to build FUN into their phones...that's why I bought my First HTC...second HTC...third HTC. People must have fun with their phones....I believe HTC is too smart to not allow that any longer. HTC cannot possibly believe the sales of this "locked-up, house-trained Parrot" will ever soar with "Eagles" such as the likes of the HD2, the DHD, the EVO, the Sensation, and many others to this point! How many potential sales of the AMAZE have been negated by people coming to XDA alone? I would very safely say...enough to make a couple of down-ticks on their not-so-Amaze-ing revenues. On a separate up-note...all the Devs here at XDA are very first-rate, thorough & innovative. I have followed practically all of them, used all of their ROMs, tweaks & gadgets to complete satisfaction...I personally Thank All of You Very Much......
...."You All Alllowed Me To Have FUN With My Phone"....

No Way

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I totally agree with daswahnsinn. I bought the phone and it should be mine to use however I like.

Originally Posted by MildewMan

I would still buy HTC. I'm sure devs can figure out a way to turn it off eventually, and I like the look of HTC phones (form and screen) the best.

There in lies the problem. It is not our responsibility to bypass security, create bounties or make pledges just to have full control over something WE own. Imagine purchasing a tv, only to discover certain cable providers are not compatible with it simply because the manufacturer of the tv says so. HTC has no logic reason for enabling this unnecessary security, but it's there nonetheless.

Meanwhile, we're left with a device, that some of use paid full price for, to use how HTC wants us to use it. I've been a fan of HTC since the Dash but this will be the last if they continue with this shady practice.

Still yes but i never buy new release phone wait for couple of months and see if there are any progress on the community for the device if it is rootable or the devs are interested to go on for further development.. there is a positive and negative side for this S-On S-Off thing..

first for the positive side yes it is a expensive device but there are alot of new comers aka (the one who doesn't carefully read and understand.) And if they saw a post like how to turn S-On to S-Off or Root your phone etc.. they just go straight away without reading the thread replies and so on and if that happen that it did brick there phone so to there last resort they will return there phone to htc for replacement or repair.. waste of time or money bad for htc to replace the unit that is defective.. that is why they impliment the locked S-On thing.

Negative is for us who want to fully expand the capabilities of our device yes we bought it in a highed price for this time and as a consumer once we bought it that means that we own it.. we need S-Off to customize and tell our phone what or how we want it to act up.. personal taste and personal preferences and that us consumers makes us happy for what we paid for..

as for the htc i hope that we have option like what you did for your bootloader to unlocked or re-locked the bootloader we hope the same thing on the S-ON thing..

Originally Posted by Chance Ill

There in lies the problem. It is not our responsibility to bypass security, create bounties or make pledges just to have full control over something WE own. Imagine purchasing a tv, only to discover certain cable providers are not compatible with it simply because the manufacturer of the tv says so. HTC has no logic reason for enabling this unnecessary security, but it's there nonetheless.

Meanwhile, we're left with a device, that some of use paid full price for, to use how HTC wants us to use it. I've been a fan of HTC since the Dash but this will be the last if they continue with this shady practice.

isn't the reason htc is doing this is to prevent people from bricking their phones and thus trying to claim a warranty exchange on a "broken" device? and sadly enough i heard of several people doing this back in the mt4g thread

from a business standpoint it makes perfect sense to me... and its funny how everyone is saying htc is preventing them from "fully owning" their phones, just cuz they're not helping us achieve s-off, which for the above reason i understand

and for those complaining that they spent $600+ on the phone and feel even more entitled to be able to do anything they want with it, well sorry you guys didn't have the patience to wait, either for the next time you're due for an upgrade, or for the price to drop...

my reason for choosing htc has/was/will always be cuz i like sense better than touchwiz/blur/aosp, they make great looking devices, and usually have some killer phone specs

besides, there's really not that much we can't do with our phones at this point, except flash radios, kernels already have a work around so really what's the big deal?

Originally Posted by smatthew45

isn't the reason htc is doing this is to prevent people from bricking their phones and thus trying to claim a warranty exchange on a "broken" device? and sadly enough i heard of several people doing this back in the mt4g thread

from a business standpoint it makes perfect sense to me... and its funny how everyone is saying htc is preventing them from "fully owning" their phones, just cuz they're not helping us achieve s-off, which for the above reason i understand

I think that's the reason they gave us. I think another reason they are doing this is to prevent us from being able to make our phone the same as new phones that come out, so we still buy the new phones that come out.

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium

ATTN HTC:
IMHO, give the users S-OFF just like you've unlocked the bootloader. Force verified registration and have the users sign an EULA with all the caveats to removing S-ON.

Provide support/warranty for hardware only. Know that when you send your device in for hardware warranty purposes only, that your data will be wiped. Return the device (or a refurbed one) back to the user bone stock. Locked bootloader, S-ON, stock ROM, wiped internal SD, etc etc.

If the problem wasn't HW related and HTC has incurred costs fixing or diagnosing a software bug (ie: stupid luser bricked it because they didn't follow proper flashing instructions, etc) then send them a bill with the phone or send it back via UPS/FedEx COD. You want the phone back? Get your wallet out. You knew you were playing with fire when you registered for S-OFF/Unlocked bootloader.

The goal here is:
1) give the users what they want (S-OFF, Unlocked bootloader, Source, etc)
2) provide support for what should be supported or agreed upon (EULA)
3) hold the users accountable for their own mistakes (COD device returns for non-hw repairs)
4) provide world-class hardware & service and excel in this market via transparency

If I got this kind of service and support from a manufacturer; I'd be loyal to the brand for life.... and that's a lot of devices.

Cheers


(edit) and yes, I own an HTC Amaze 4G. my DD