New eu regulatory - what are the consequences for jolla and sailfish?

So, as everybody should have read by now, samsung is forbidding bootloader unlocks on their european phones

Seems like this is due to a new european law that started on the 1st of august that seems to be saying that you can’t modify your radio modem in the device, and also you can only run signed and certified software, so samsung decided directly to block bootloader unlocks (for not letting people tinker with the phone) and some others could probably follow

So now, will this impact the future of Sailfish on xperias?and how?

It doesn’t seem like a bright future here, quite the contrary

Leaving an article, for reference

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Locking bootloader for that reason is BS - they are just being lazy and waaay overly cautious. No news here.

A law from 2014 (11 years old at the time of writing)? Sounds like an excuse to me, especially when the text isn’t linked and the specific aspect of the law in question is not mentioned.
Sounds like Samsung is looking for an excuse to keep their ecosystem locked down and found a reporter that would go with the story.
We actually have to thank the EU for getting us a the tiniest bit of extra freedom within mobile OS’s, although there’s still a very long uphill way to go. Unsure why reporters don’t report on that though. Maybe Samsung doesn’t buy expensive dinners for those topics :wink:

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It does seems to me indeed but i’m curious on what you other users think about :slight_smile:

And also if it has some real impact on xperias :slight_smile:

Well, Sony’s programme seems to still be going, albeit at glacial speed. I had to navigate a few of their “developer” pages yesterday and it all seemed like “business as usual”.

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For information, the actual directive can be found here: Directive - 2014/53 - EN - EUR-Lex

I’m not going to wade through it and try to understand it myself, but don;t let that stop you :wink:

Samsung has always been pretty hostile to custom ROMs, and apparently disabled bootloader unlock for their devices in USA a while ago. The ‘solution’ is not to buy their devices - stick with a manufacturer such as Sony or Fairphone who actively support custom ROM developers

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I knew this.

This is why I wrote “specific aspect of the law”.

…but I generally agree with your sentiment as well. Vote with the wallet, although it’s hard to resist having a phone that will turn my gochujang sauce attempt into tasty cookies.

Do you mean rules about durability like this.

No @Kea , this has noting to do with environment protection and sustainability. It’s meant against custom ROMs. The link in post #1 explains in detail regarding Samsung, but in the end it’ll affect all manufacturers.

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Alternatively, Samsung is using that law as an excuse. If the law - and the directive enforcing it that came into force on August 1st - really applies to all manufacturers, then why have no other manufacturers followed Samsung’s example? The linked article says

A report points out that this likely due to the European Union law 2014/53/EU which imposes new cybersecurity requirements on device manufacturers like Samsung. They must ensure that the devices they sell in Europe block the installation of unauthorized software and only run signed and approved ROMs.

But it does not link to that report. My guess would be that either

  • that report does not say what the article claims it says, and / or
  • that report is wrong.

Unfortunately, without a link to the report, we’ll never know :slight_smile:

Given all that - in particular the fact that no other manufacturer has blocked bootloader unlocking, or said that they will do so, my opinion is that

  • the linked article is ‘clickbait’, spreading unfounded FUD and paranoia;
  • the consequences for Jolla and SailfishOS, whatever they are, will only apply to ports for Samsung devices.
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Thinking about it, i’m inclined to think that if sony produces aosp for their phones, shouldn’t be much of a problem for sailfish?

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