Oh Verizon, why must you constantly mess with perfection? Hackers with early access to the Verizon Galaxy S III have discovered that the phone has a protected bootloader — meaning no easy hacking or flashing unsigned images. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the Galaxy S III phones, or previous phones in the Galaxy series, or any other Samsung-built Android phone known to mankind.
Not all hope is lost, but things are looking pretty bleak. It’s possible a different version of Odin is needed, or there’s an issue with the way the images are being packed, but it truly looks like the bootloader is locked up in typical Verizon fashion. Now this doesn’t mean the phone won’t ever get rooted or hacked. It just means that it won’t be as easy as is typical with Samsung phones, and trickery will need be involved like HTC or Motorola phones on Big Red.
And no, we don’t know what prompted Verizon’s decision to go this way, but I’ve asked for some clarification. My guess is that they will point to the Galaxy Nexus when they hear the word “hacking”. Hell of a way to start the weekend, isn’t it?
Source: XDA. via Android Central forums