FRESH

Hacker News

Home

Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading

168 points by pabs3

by tchebb

1 subcomments

Note that this menu item was not used to install Android apps, which is what people often mean by "sideloading", especially with all the discourse around Google's new developer verification requirements. This menu item was used to manually install an OS update from a .zip file and already required that file to be signed by Samsung on locked devices.
On unlocked devices, you can install your own recovery that still has the option. So the removal doesn't prevent too much in practice. That ship sailed when Samsung stopped allowing bootloader unlocking on most of their phones.

by nunez

2 subcomments

Not surprising for Samsung to do this. Hacking on their devices (which are second to Apple at a hardware level) went downhill fast after they implemented eFuse-secured bootloaders.
What's interesting is that they tried hard to cater to the tinkerers before going in this direction. They "bought" (acqui-hired) CyanogenMod, contributed to open-source and had developer builds of their ROMs. I think they even had clean AOSP builds with the HAL and ABIs for their hardware baked in at some point. SafetyNet made it realistically impossible to daily a rooted phone in 2026 if you want to use banking, healthcare or most music apps, so it's safer for OEMs to tighten the screws on access to their hardware in kind.
My take is that they saw all of this as a risk to profits they could make from catering to regulated industries who would deploy their hardware en masse. It also didn't make sense to continue this investment after banks and healthcare put pressure on Google to step up privacy in Android, especially after Apple implemented Secure Enclave.
It's a pyrrhic victory regardless, in my opinion. If you're going to run a super-locked down Android device, you might as well go all-in with Apple. Their hardware ecosystem is better, their cloud services are better, they get first-priority for mobile apps, you get Blue Bubble Benefits, and their support (in-store and online) is on another level. Even MDM is better with Apple devices (through iOS Profiles). Shoot, even privacy-minded folks are better off on iOS with Lockdown mode.

by h4kunamata

0 subcomment

So Samsung has joined Apple!!
I used Samsung for decades but since buying a Pixel 7 PRO to install GrapheneOS on it, I am never using another non-GrapheneOS phone again period.
I can do everything, have full control over my phone, receive security updates that other phones will take half year to receive to name a few.
The only thing that doesn't work on GOS is Google Wallet, but since I have gone De-Google with Proton Mail and what not, I couldn't care less.
Important apps like banking and gov apps do work without problems.
And to avoid dependency on Google hardware, GrapheneOS is releasing their own EOM phone most likely by the end of 2027.

by goku12

1 subcomments

I haven't used Samsung phones in a while. So I didn't realize that the situation got this bad. That's ample enough reason to continue the 'haven't used Samsung' part indefinitely. Yet another brand hits the do-not-buy list. But at this point, I think it's worth choosing a brand that explicitly supports reflashing and customizability, rather than taking a chance with all these leaches.

by Kim_Bruning

0 subcomment

I returned the last samsung phone I bought due to all the shenanigans already, and I explicitly dis-reccomend it to people.
Which is a bit funny I suppose, since a lot of people around where I live seem to assume that smartphone means either Samsung or Apple.
Currently I'm using Fairphone (Made by a Dutch company, and now can be bought with a degoogled android from France)

by realusername

1 subcomments

The legality of this update is also dubious in the EU as they are remotely crippling the device bought without any prior information, warning or way to go back.
Goodbye Samsung anyways, I've been with them since 2013 but it's time to go now.

by Animats

2 subcomments

Can you still install F-Droid?
Can you still run without a Google account?

by methuselah_in

0 subcomment

Its time to ditch google and move to linux for phones as well. It was fun till it lasted

by JustinGoldberg9

0 subcomment

Grapheneos fuxors this

by superkuh

2 subcomments

No, not ", including sideloading."
It's ", including installing software". Lets not let the enemy of general purpose computing define the framing of the discussion.

by Paddyz

4 subcomments

[dead]

by theturtle

0 subcomment

[dead]

by bitwize

3 subcomments

Old versions of Android do not comply with OS age-checking regulations in California, Brazil, and elsewhere. Samsung face legal repercussions including fines if residents of such jurisdictions are allowed to run an old OS. Yes, the laws apply to entities outside the borders of the territory.