Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Has Locked Flash Counter To Void Warranties

Sometimes it's hard to figure out exactly what the people at Samsung are thinking when it comes to some of the things the company does with its smartphones. Recently Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Round and the only selling point for the device is a curved screen leaving some scratching their heads. Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 has also had its share of head scratching issues since it launched including SIM limitations.

Something that will bother Android users who like to customize their device more than SIM card limitations has surfaced in the form of a flash counter. Reports indicate that the Galaxy Note 3 has a counter that can be reset and keeps track of how many times users flash the device with a different ROM. Clearly, this is a move to help Samsung void warranties.

The flash counter is typically used to help service centers know if a device has been tampered with when it comes to warranty claims. On previous Samsung devices, this flash counter could be reset to zero when flashed back to the original manufacturers ROM using available software tools. That made the device eligible for warranty support.

The Galaxy Note 3 reportedly prevents that counter from being reset thanks to its KNOX security system. KNOX uses eFuse technology to reprogram ROM memory. That technology allows KNOX to be rewritten, but prevents users from accessing the flash counter. Considering many Android fans are habitual warranty voiders anyway, this may not be such a big deal to some people. Check out our Galaxy Note 3 review for more details on the smartphone.

SOURCE: Android Community