Just when things were looking good, someone thought it would be a smart idea to start blocking Xteink ereaders from installing custom software, according to reports on reddit, and the reasons they give for doing so are pretty questionable.
Here’s a quote:
Previously, we noticed that some users who tried using third-party firmware encountered problems such as poor optimization, frequent crashes, and even screen damage. Some users who later reverted to the official firmware experienced issues like being unable to access reading records, Wi-Fi records not opening, and the book transfer page failing to launch, and subsequently applied for official repairs.
We are very concerned that this may affect your user experience and device safety. At the same time, flashing firmware on your own will void the official warranty, making future repairs more troublesome. Therefore, for recently shipped new devices, we have cautiously added restrictions to the flashing function.
So far nobody really knows exactly what this means, and I’ve yet to see a direct response from Xteink after this matter has blown up online. Is Xteink blocking custom firmware on all units, or just ones sold in China? Are international versions that are being sold on Amazon affected by this?
Companies lockdown their hardware all the time for a number of reasons, but saying that custom software causes screen damage is laughable. Saying something like that makes it hard to believe they have the slightest idea what they’re talking about.
It might be different if the stock software on Xteink ereaders wasn’t completely broken when it comes to displaying English-language ebooks, but forcing people to use software that doesn’t even work properly when open-source custom software exists is a bad move, and a really bad look.
It’s also kind of funny how they think they can block custom software in the first place. Someone smart will figure out a workaround. People have been hacking Kindles for the past decade and a half, despite Amazon’s constant efforts to try and stop them from doing so.
I was late to jump on the Xteink bandwagon, but after reviewing the X4 I can understand the hype, but only because the custom Crosspoint software makes the device display EPUB ebooks properly. Xteink better think twice about this lockdown idea because something like this could totally kill their company’s reputation, not to mention the appeal of their unique reading devices.
In case it’s useful information:
I received my XTEINK X4 two days ago. I updated to the latest firmware and then installed CrossPoint. No problems, either installing or using it.
I have never installed custom firmware on an e-reader, but I have on other electronic devices. Sometimes it can be a process because the installation didn’t take the first time, so complaints of “poor optimization” and “frequent crashes” are valid. Any “screen damage” is the user getting frustrated and smacking the device around.
I can’t blame the company for voiding your warranty if you install custom firmware, but attempting to lock it down is a bad move.