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Motorola Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich Update Might Come with a Surprise

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It looks like the Motorola Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich update might come with a bit of a surprise whenever Motorola and Verizon get around to releasing it. Unfortunately though, it’s hard to say if this surprise is either good or bad.

According to P3Droid, courtesy of Droid-Life, Motorola included a “root check” function inside of the Ice Cream Sandwich updates for the Droid RAZR, Droid RAZR MAXX and the Droid 4.

Apparently, the root check is visible in the phone’s recovery menu. Phones that are currently rooted show 1/1. Phones that display 0/0 have supposedly never been rooted. And lastly, phones that display 0/1 mean that the phone isn’t rooted at the moment, but has been in the past.

Read: The Sad State of the Motorola Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich Update.

Motorola-Droid-Bionic-camera-575x3801

The Droid Bionic ICS update may come with a root check feature.

It’s unclear just what the function might be used for, whether for good or for nefarious purposes, but right now speculation is resting on Motorola and Verizon using it to potentially check if a phone has been rooted or is currently rooted. If that’s the case, the companies could potentially deny replacement phones to some users.

Of course, this is all theory at this point and it’s possible that Motorola and Verizon won’t use the function at all.

What’s more is that P3Droid is saying that the function could come on board the Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich update, an update that has seen its early Q3 release window come and go without a release.

So, this could potentially be another headache for Droid Bionic owners who have been given headache after headache in recent days.

Read: Motorola Screws Droid Bionic Owners Again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaJ4BlthS44&feature=player_embedded

First, it was the missed early Q3 release window, then, Motorola decided not to include the Motorola Droid Bionic in its bootloader unlock program, something that would have allowed owners to fully customize their device.

Again, this is all up in the air at this point. Motorola and Verizon have not made their intentions known just yet and the Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich update has yet to roll out.

41 Comments

41 Comments

  1. darmichar

    08/27/2012 at 4:39 pm

    One more reason to leave this bastard child of a phone behind and get an iPhone. Congrats Motorola, you have singlehandedly killed me on Motorola phones AND Android OS.

    • Brian

      08/27/2012 at 5:28 pm

      That’s like saying, “Well, this Corvette has given me trouble, so screw Chevy I’m getting a Prius.”

      Just get a different manufacturer’s Android. Don’t be an iSheep.

      • jeremy

        08/27/2012 at 6:32 pm

        Motorola and google care nothing for you. At least when apple updates you get the update immediately. Google should want every handset running 4.1. But when you talk about fragmentation they ignore the problems.

        • yea right

          08/27/2012 at 8:42 pm

          Enjoy your hacked down version of iOS if you don’t wait in line for a new device every year.

        • asdf12345

          08/29/2012 at 4:49 pm

          This comment shows no analytical thinking at all. Apples only appears like it comes out right away because its hush hush till its close to coming out. Also 3gs doesnt get ios 5 i believe. That would be a better comparison. Downfall of ios being hush hush is app developers also dont know so it takes them a while to come out with a fix for it. In the mean time you get app clitches and crashes. You dont have that problem with android. Usually the update for apps is there before the operating system. Also I’m sure money is an issue.

        • Rick

          09/09/2012 at 10:06 pm

          Apple only has one phone!

      • arcreativenet

        10/01/2012 at 2:57 pm

        Yeah, I’d say that hits the nail on the head. I’m so disgusted with my Bionic that I pretty much hate Android in its entirety as well. Just a kneejerk reaction after being pissed off for 2 solid years now…. forgive me.

    • Andu

      08/28/2012 at 2:43 pm

      Ha ha…im already on a leaked ics build on my bionic…..when your I phone becomes obsolete 2 months after you buy it…ill be flashing the new android jelly bean….you can’t do anything with your I phone that I can’t do with my bionic..I can do a whole lot more…android being open sourced gives me unlimited possibilities….I can even run your shitty boxed in ios if I want(for what reason? I don’t know…but I know I can) android is king

      • Bionic boy

        09/04/2012 at 3:52 pm

        Android forever. Bionic is best.

    • Clayton Johnson

      09/05/2012 at 10:05 am

      Heh. Your iphone records your location every 4 seconds. Sends a lot of your data through apple. If your worried about big brother you picked the worse phone possible to tout.

  2. stop complaining

    08/27/2012 at 5:18 pm

    ^Whiny

  3. paul

    08/27/2012 at 5:19 pm

    What ics update? Still no word from verizon nor Motorola. Cant say im killed on Android just yet, but certainly killed on Motorola for sure. Give me a bigger screen and google maps turn by turn navigation and im all yours iphone5. Other than that…Samsung you rock. Goodbye Moto…die a slow death like RIM Blackberry Storm.

    • Andy

      08/29/2012 at 10:33 pm

      Root your phone….see why android is king

  4. Craig b

    08/27/2012 at 5:21 pm

    Headache after headache the past days? HA!!! You mean the past 11 months

    • arcreativenet

      10/01/2012 at 2:59 pm

      Plus another 8 months delay for this piece of shit to come out, only for it to be superceded a month later by the RAZR…. but yeah, I see what you mean.

  5. g2-53c0f4ab1b989e6f94b65706bc4b5c8a

    08/27/2012 at 5:23 pm

    No, it’s completely called for complaining at this time. The Bionic was built for ICS and was supposed to be released with it. It has now been a full year post release of the phone, and still no ICS. Lesser performing phones are being released out of the box with ICS, and Verizon could have the decency to release it to the users who have been waiting, more than patiently, to get their phone updated. The phone is becoming bogged down and laggy because many apps are now only supporting ICS, rending the phone useless.

  6. NewtG

    08/27/2012 at 6:55 pm

    Just mother slap in the face from both Motorola and Verizon, first the phone so highly desired January 2011 was months late, then faulty as hell when it did come out. Update after update and still faulty, then the last straw… wait for it….phones released after bionic get ice, how the hell does that work. I personally will not buy another Motorola product again. As far as the iPhone is coserned the up side is that they maintain there value. I pay 300 bucks like a sap for the bionic when it first came out, then price drop to 200, then 9.00 then free, then off the shelf, not even offered any more. Verizon could not get rid of it fast enough seems like. Android is a fun OS but Verizon does its best to stomp on it, then Motorola beats on it with a potentially great phone but drops the ball big time leaving those of us that own this terd in a hopeless situation. Thanks a-holes.

  7. motouser

    08/27/2012 at 7:44 pm

    I will never be an I cloner. I like having my choice on music and videos without apple having to know exactly what’s on my device. Yes the delay in update sucks but at least my phone I can replace battery, load what I want wherever I want, and not have to buy “their” latest model every year. Plus even good ‘ol froyo was better than any iOS.

    Hey Apple (and all you igadget sheep) if your so great why do you make a phone that’s only good for a year? Oh that’s right you have to make China and yourselves rich!

  8. bill

    08/27/2012 at 7:55 pm

    another stall tactic. nothing but mot and verizon b.s.

  9. jo

    08/27/2012 at 8:08 pm

    See this is what I did sold my bivomit to big red got the s3 kept my unlimited data by adding a line with a dummy phone now I have ics and I’m set to get jelly bean in a week one-time

    • yea right

      08/27/2012 at 8:39 pm

      Better think again. The international version might get JB, but as for Verizon I wouldn’t hold my breath. If the GNex is still waiting, expect the S3 to get it around Christmas.

  10. Dominic

    08/28/2012 at 8:32 am

    I honestly feel like an abandon child at this point. The fact that we seriously have had absolutely no confirmation, absolutely no word or anything, just makes me feel like I paid too much money to just get left behind.
    I love my bionic, a lot to be honest. Its a great phone, and its never let me down. But from being put behind every other phone, I felt like rooting, but I really don’t want to risk that.
    I’m about ready to go have a talk with big Verizon myself.

    • Nathaniel Mathes

      08/29/2012 at 11:52 am

      Good luck. I just went into a VZW store to try to get an exchange for my Bionic that has been dropping Data for several months now. Finally got fed up. The guy told me that Verizon’s network was not good enough in Metropolitan Orlando to hold a 4G signal, that it was not a problem with the phone. He didn’t have an answer as to why it would not be switching to CDMA, but that is beside the point. I later received an email from customer service, which I contacted afterword, saying that Motorola knows about the problem and is investigating it. Oh, the runaround huh?

      I’ve been a VZW customer for over 10 years, I guess I can be loyal to AT&T after my contract runs out next year. I also will not be buying another Motorola Phone until Google can prove a good track record with them. Still, that would be a couple of generations from now.

      My phone was also one of the ones that had lint built up in the headphone jack from a botched production run. Maybe I’ll stay away from Motorola regardless come to think of it.

  11. Hector Tamayo

    08/28/2012 at 9:45 am

    Never again. Im out of here. Goodbye verizon and motorola.

  12. Jim DeWaters

    08/28/2012 at 10:26 am

    If the ICS update doesn’t come, I’m switching to Apple and this phone is hitting eBay.

  13. Enters

    08/28/2012 at 2:45 pm

    NO MORE MOTOROLA PHONES.

  14. Tetons

    08/28/2012 at 3:39 pm

    Well well well, I own a Bionic and my contract is up, NOW,no ICS, so adios to 2 of the most disrespectful companies know to wallstreet. Verizon ought to read their own mission statement. It will make you roll.

  15. D

    08/29/2012 at 7:06 am

    Yeah ICS would be nice, like real ice cream! Its not that important. Man talk about harping on “white people’s problem”, and I’m white! If you’re life isn’t full filled without ICS, well then root your phone and put it on. Or point to the part of your contract that stated you’ll receive major updates.

    Just try to remember, it’s just a PHONE!

  16. Melissa Aleronzo

    08/29/2012 at 7:27 am

    I won’t be using the new Ice Cream Sandwhich release for the Bionic. I will stick with my leaked version of ICS. Because, the .232 version of the Bionics ICS does not include all the crap Verizon and Motorola want to do to the phone. And when CM10 Jelly Bean becomes a stable Android build for my Bionic I will be flashing that. So, I could care less about the update Motorola is going to be “Surprising” us with. Because, it does not affect me. I use Motorola because of the usability of hacking and rooting the phone. I know with other phones such an I-Phone you have to jail break your shit and do stupid crap to the device.

    Who cares? You want the ICS leak? I’ll give you a link if you want it?

    https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7dzV3g6Dj9_clJmZmxSajhlcnM/edit

    There now happy flashing to ics build .232

    Don’t use .235 or .238 they have security meant to block you from downgrading to Gingerbread .905

    So, use the .232 leak. Happy flashing :)

  17. MOTO FAIL

    08/29/2012 at 8:56 am

    more reasons to by an iphone

    • vaffangool

      09/30/2012 at 4:21 am

      Go ahead, I wish you would. If you are not already aware of more reasons to despise the iPhone than to hate on Motorola, you are a staggering halfwit.

  18. Mike Donatello (@mikedonatello)

    08/29/2012 at 5:35 pm

    Will nevernevernevernevernever buy another Moto device, on any network.

  19. Todd

    08/29/2012 at 7:41 pm

    Bunch of whiners…yet to have a single issue with my bionic. sure i want ics but id rather it be tried and true as to not cripple my phone. I wish half of you babies would put your money where your mouth is and not buy moto or stay with vzw….but you will because Motorola and HTC are the best and VZW has the best network….fact.

  20. Verizon Lawsuit

    08/30/2012 at 8:29 am

    Hey im on a bionic, my 4G just dropped tho so I switched to the what used to be fast wifi that got dumbed down.. Crazy how 8mb/s 4G is faster than 80mb/s wifi.. Waited a year for this crap phone too.. Well it’s an awesome phone, but Verizon and Motorola sabotaged it with their last update. Can someone code dive into the update and find what sunsetted it? That could a huge lawsuit.. If anything I want a reimbursement!!!

  21. David A. Smith

    08/31/2012 at 11:00 am

    WiFi no longer works after this update on Droid IV. Making sure I have to use my Data Plan. Verizon loses my business when this plan expires.

  22. Droids-no-more

    09/06/2012 at 7:45 am

    The Ice Cream Sandwich surprise is very unplesant indeed. DO NOT upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich until its multiple problems are fixed. If you’re someone who spends half your time online and playing with your phone you may not mind the hard-to-read screens, the dimished functionality of apps and the multiple taps when one will do approach of other apps you frequently use. Oh, and if you actually use your phone as a phone you won’t like the upgrade at all!

  23. CJ

    09/17/2012 at 3:58 am

    Get a grip… Learn to write code… If you can’t don’t complain and go isheep yourselves… If you can, fix it yourself after ics. The Bionic was meant for people who understand technology… Not a bunch of cry babies

  24. Benjamin

    09/20/2012 at 12:58 am

    I have the Droid Bionic AND the Razr Maxx. I’m still kicking myself for updating my Razr to ICS. It sucks. Say goodbye to watching most YouTube videos, streaming radio, Hulu+, and much more. Avoid the update at all cost! Oh, & if you have the HD ducking station, say goodbye to split screen, multitasking, & Firefox. Websites will recognize your device as mobile. No more phone calls while watching Netflix, just to name a few. They took away more than they added, & what they added was already available in the google play store. Oh, copy & paste? Doesn’t work in many platforms anymore.

  25. vaffangool

    09/29/2012 at 7:51 pm

    @Melissa Aleronzo: +1 I’m right there with you.
    @Benjamin: Good looking out.

    If it turns out the delays were related to making the Bionic part of the open bootloader programme, I would be delighted to offer my sincerest apologies.

    If it turns out they held up Bionic ICS so they could slipstream root check into the update, I will seriously blow something up..

    What the fück happened to “Do no evil”?, I am going to lock out OTA and update to a leak I know I can reverse at will.

    Somebody wake me up when there’s a stable Bionic port for CyanogenMod 10.

  26. Gerry

    10/23/2012 at 7:22 pm

    Just updated to ICS on my bionic from official OTA from Verizon. Never been rooted and found this article while looking for a root. Decided to check my recovery menu for the “surprise” expecting a 0/0. “Surprise” was on me when I found a qe 1/1. Now how does that happen?

  27. nick

    10/25/2012 at 1:07 pm

    Why can’t must of you be happy with what you have. You chose to buy this phone if you want to bitch at anyone just look in a mirror.

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