smartphones nowadays are akin to PC.
PC resellers do not unilaterally void warranty because you choose to install a different software,gaining admin access (root in android's case) or removing useless bloatware(samdung's crap).
what samdung is doing here is:
1. Unilaterally voiding warranty because you trip knox counter via rooting or installing a custom recovery or installing a custom kernel or any other thing samdung deemed "unauthorised"(gaining admin access).
2. Declaring on their blog that they are not against rooting but their actions speaks louder than words and contradicts point 1.
3. Trying to set a precedence that mobile phone is different from PCs and they (samdung) are trying to pull the wool on consumers by setting rules and regulations about how to use their phones (even though legally, the phone belongs to us)
as for the software,what we are buying are actually licenses to use samdung's crap.that includes knox and every other bloatware that comes along with the phone but not android itself as its open source,therefore they cannot charge us anything as that would fly in the face of copyleft agreement.
as with software,all users must agree to EULA before they can install or use it.with knox security bit in bootloader(low level software) there is no such agreement before use.therefore its forced upon consumers without their explicit agreement or knowledge.which, in a sense, breaks the terms & conditions in a legally binding contract.
as for warranty,this is a guarantee from samdung on the phone's (hardware and imo some software) integrity from defects (usually manufacturing defects due to qc failure) and forms part of the contract between the reseller,the consumer and samdung.
to unilaterally void warranty because knox security bit is tripped,laying the blame on end user for its defect,is what,in your own words,trying to get a free lunch out of consumers.
i am pretty sure many are not against samdung's knox or samdung trying to protect its interests.what i am against is the act of forcing ppl to accept unfair terms and condition,beneficial to mega corporations through unscrupulous means i.e hiding knox bit counter in low level software without letting consumer know what it is and what it actually does.
and also,ppl who do not want those software should have a choice of completely removing them.this includes the low level stuff as well.and samdung is not doing that and they are still forcing consumers to accept enterprise solutions and paying for it.
as for your point of "leasing" phones from samdung because of their branding and what not,what we are doing,by using and carrying their phones around,is considered advertising for samdung,therefore,we should be paid a fee as acting advertisement agents for samdung right?
I see where you're coming from, but that is not to Samsung's benefit at all, the mega corporations have the right to do whatever they want to the devices that they sell out because they are essentially giving you free updates and trying to not damage their reputation at all, if they issued an update which went against wills of companies around the world, then they would not be trusted and therefore lose business.
Regarding the PC business, if you buy a computer and replace the software inside, you WILL lose the warranty of whatever you did to the machine, because it is not at stock. Companies would refuse to fix it, try going to Sony and saying that you installed Ubuntu and your trackpad does not work, it is not their responsibility for your actions of installing Ubuntu on the machine, however if it didn't work on Windows 7 (Stock) then you have the right to claim your warranty. This is also related to many mods on XDA that require stock kernel, if you are running on a custom kernel when they said you have to run it on stock, it is not their fault if the mod does not work because you didn't follow the rules. However once you reinstall your stock software, AND it still does not work, then it isn't your fault.
1 + 2. The fact that they had stated that they are not against rooting, but they respect companies that they are partnered with, and they also deliver to enterprise solutions, the fact that it tells the user when the KNOX flag has tripped is beneficial to businesses because they would make sure that the workers won't use root to attempt doing something malicious to the company's software/hardware. A phone does not have the capability to release excess heat when overclocked, and why should Samsung replace a motherboard that you broke because you were doing 'unauthorized actions' to the phone, and for free? They aren't against rooting, rooting =/= warranty to replace for free. They are saying you can root whatever you like, just don't come crying to us when you **** up. You buy the phone for the hardware, the software is there to promote the phone's appeal in the general public because that is what people use on the device. Android itself is open-source however software run on the system may not be. The bootloader was written by Samsung and the hardware incorporation was also written by Samsung.
3. The phone is legally owned by us, but the warranty is not. By purchasing the phone, you bought all the hardware required to create the phone, and for an added bonus you get licenses in the software for you to use. You also bought a warranty that you essentially 'signed' when you first started the phone, which is why it was given to you at the first place. You own the phone, congratulations, but you do not own the warranty. Any attempt of using the warranty to get your phone fixed, you are stepping on their turf, and if you do not meet the requirements because of your own fault, then it can't be Samsung's fault, am I correct? [Let's put it in another perspective, if you lent a phone to your friend, and they returned it with no camera, destroyed screen and broken buttons, they would have to fix it themselves with their own money, and give it back to you right? You wouldn't just plainly accept it back
happily like nothing happened.] Samsung let you use their warranty, let's you use their parts to get your phone fixed, and why? Because they care for people who use their stock devices because that is what they provide, not some broken software that you could have installed, and they would gladly take the blame for your actions. Companies have reputations and assets too, if you decide to overclock a motherboard and you burnt the phone, you would automatically try to hide the fact that you attempted those actions, and say it was some sort of hardware defect. They essentially lost money because you decided to do something silly, and again, who's fault is it? The Manufacturer who explicitly stated not to overclock? or the user who risked it all and overclocked? The Phone was not built for overclocking, and you did, so there's no reason for them to fix it for free, it's not their fault.
The bootloader is what runs the device, and they can control it however they like because if you tried the device, you should have known that there was this so-called KNOX Warranty Bit. I agree that when the Note 2 and S4 got the KNOX Warranty it was unfair, but the Note 3 got the KNOX Warranty Bit ever since the start, and not knowing you tripped it means you were ignorant. You bought the device with KNOX Warranty built-in, and if you tripped it unintentionally, and blaming the company, well, why didn't you do enough research? KNOX Warranty is there to stop containers being formed, but it doesn't destroy your full warranty, as unintentional Odin flashes would trigger it as well. About the EULA bit, you talked about how if you didn't use the software and accepted the EULA, it would not force it upon you. However, if you read the full warranty manual and also Samsung's site about KNOX, you automatically assume that you abide to the KNOX Warranty Bit as you use your device.
They did not force this upon us. You yourself decided to buy a KNOX Warrantied phone at the start, and you should have been aware that by breaking this bit, you break a part of your warranty. It can't be entirely their fault that they decided to introduce this new feature on newer devices, they could be sick and tired of fixing everyone's phones for free because everyone loves rooting. Yes, we should get the choice to opt out of this feature, however if companies expect a certain model of phone to work with KNOX, and your Note 3 did not have KNOX, then it would cause confusion and an uproar between Samsung and the Enterprise Community.
Regarding your branding comment, it is a mutual relationship between the Manufacturer and the User, the user advertises the manufacturer, and the manufacturer produces these phones for the general public because they have a good reputation for making great phones. However, they don't have to sell you their phone, you chose to buy it from them, and they are the company that added the KNOX crap into it, but you didn't care, you bought it. You could have bought an ASUS or an i**** or a Huawei for all they cared. If you didn't want the KNOX security, maybe you shouldn't have bought the phone, or maybe you could start your own company so you have complete control. By buying their device, you should be fully aware what you are in for. [Another perspective thought, by buying an internal hard drive without fully understanding its specs, you can't blame the company if you try to make those specs much better without their official endorsement aka. changing the firmware of the HDD to make it run on SATA II instead of SATA III.]
I'm not going against the users and I'm not siding with the mega corporation. This is how life is like, and if you don't like it, don't take the next step to upgrade without knowing what you're in for.
