Enough with the eFuse DROID X Talk Already

For some reason we’re seeing news all over this morning (and 1,000 emails) that there is a mysterious “eFuse” in the Droid X that will “blow up your phone” should you tamper with the encrypted bootloader.  Seriously?  First off, this news was reported 4 days ago as “a bit of conjecture” and has not been confirmed by, well, anyone.  Second, I’ve heard from 2-3 sources already within the dev community that have said this is as far from the truth as possible.  It’s the same bootloader as the Milestone.  Has anyone’s Milestone blown up from an eFuse yet?  Someone find me one.

If this turns out to be true, then this is awful news, but until Motorola or one of their developers comes out and admits that this is the truth, take it for it’s worth people, a “guess.”

And I’m done.

Update 1: Stephen Bird is also shooting down this eFuse blow up rumor…

First we need root, then we need to figure out this boot loader business.

But wait! Birdman! what about the efuse?! Guess what? google “omap3 efuse”

Droid, Milestone, DroidX, Droid2…all these phones have efuse…they just really haven’t been put into use…

Update 2: Boy Genius Report has weighed in…

This breaking news may not be as dire as many are claiming, as a google search of OMAP3 and e-fuse reveals that current OMAP handset already have e-fuse in place as part of the M-Shield hardware security technology built into TI’s OMAP system on a chip. It is on the very hackable DROID and the not-so-hacking-friendly Milestone, but it is not being used by Motorola to lock the bootloader of the handset. The current theory being put forth by the non-alarmists in the Android hacking community suggests that the DROID X is locked in a similar manner to the Milestone. Though it may be difficult to crack, and may lead to many hairs being pulled out, mucking with the bootloader probably won’t brick your phone.

Oh on a side note, the downtown Portland location just turned away their biggest Droid promoter because he wasn’t a new customer or extending a contract and wanted to pay full retail.  Yikes.