Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading(9to5google.com)

88 pointsby pabs36 hours ago8 comments

tchebb5 hours ago
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.
nunez3 hours ago
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.
goku1234 minutes ago
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.
- aboringusername26 minutes ago
  Unfortunately that's a rather vanishingly small list now.
  I would not be surprised if, in a few years, these options are gone from all android devices.
  People mention GrapheneOS but that relies entirely on Google.
  Yes they are working with an OEM (leaked as Motorola) and we'll see how that goes, it may be the last hope.
realusername9 minutes ago
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, I've been with them since 2013 but it's time to go now.
JustinGoldberg9an hour ago
Grapheneos fuxors this
superkuh5 hours ago
No, not ", including sideloading."
It's ", including installing software". Lets not let the enemy of general purpose computing define the framing of the discussion.
- chenxiaolong5 hours ago
  This article isn't about the installation of regular apps. The "sideloading" it's referring to is the option to use the "adb sideload <OTA file>" command when booted into recovery mode to install OS updates. The functionality being removed is being able to install a proper OEM-signed OS update from a local file.
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Paddyz4 hours ago
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- Haven880an hour ago
  Don't buy Samsung. They have rights to turn monopolistic ignoring existing customer base. They did that with Chinese market and decimated from 90% to now less than 1%. I boycott their stuff for 10 years and restart using their product across multiple product line around 2015. Then in 2022 I conclude another boycott is necessary. This time is 20 years. Hopefully my grandkids will get to see this embargo lifted. Their LG got eqiivalent suffered similar fate just that faster because smaller. Good luck Sammy. You dont need me.
- chii3 hours ago
  > every year the justification is "security."
  when they say security, they meant security for them.
  - Terr_2 hours ago
    Security against "Felony Contempt of Business Model".
  - Sabinus2 hours ago
    Securing revenue streams.
  - Paddyz2 hours ago
    [dead]
- sidewndr463 hours ago
  Well it's better for Samsung as they can probably sell you a new phone
- jajuuka2 hours ago
  Just part of the continued plan by Google and Samsung to lock down and make Android more like iOS.
bitwize4 hours ago
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.
- jimrandomh2 hours ago
  That's not how those laws work.
  - bitwizea minute ago
    Oh but it is. If you are an operating system provider and you make available an OS that does not have age verification, the State of California can sue you for $7500 for each instance where a resident of California who is a minor uses that OS.
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- deaux3 hours ago
  GDPR applies to entities outside the borders of the territory, yet most of the world doesn't give a shit.
  - SoftTalker3 hours ago
    Because it can't be enforced outside the borders of the territory.