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I was thinking of unlocking my ST17i's bootloader but I saw on the Sony Mobile website that unlocking the bootloader will result to the deletion of DRM keys from my phone. What exactly are they? And what will be affected if I lose the said "DRM keys"?

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DRM stands for "Digital Rights Management", and mainly is used with sold eBooks/PDFs and the like (and also for sold music files plus maybe even videos). Those keys are to identify your ID as to prove if you have permission to access those documents. If you never bought any of those "crippled" documents, chances are you don't have to bother.

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What about things I've read on XDA such as TrackID not working anymore? TrackID is, I believe, an application exclusive to Sony Xperia line of phones to detect and determine songs just by recording a bit from it. – Propeller Aug 5 '12 at 14:11
No idea what that should have to do with DRM support. You could listen to a non-DRMd title, or have it played from some external source (e.g. radio, or some player in a bar). I see no connection here. But that's Sony -- they are a very special DRM-case. If affected by that, there are several alternative apps on the playstore (Soundhound etc.). – Izzy Aug 5 '12 at 14:45
Will this DRM key thing affect stuff I download from the Play Store as well? – Propeller Aug 5 '12 at 15:01
I don't think so -- but I also don't know the "stuff" :) As said: DRM is used to "protect" content from being copied. The Playstore uses different methods to protect apps (verification via Google servers). But nobody can guarantee for crazy devs -- or media you bought on the market, maybe. I doubt apps would be affected. – Izzy Aug 5 '12 at 15:04

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