Re:Vboxsf fixes for 5.14-1
by jychang on Monday July 19, 2021 @08:36AM
(#27881933)
Microsoft exFAT patents expired in 2019, I think. It's included in the Linux kernel since 5.7 or some version around then. Android devices support exFAT depending on which Linux kernel version they have.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Vboxsf fixes for 5.14-1
by salamandersauce on Monday July 19, 2021 @10:08AM
(#27882800)
Maybe that will change in the future but most Android devices are not using a 5.x kernel yet. All my Samsung devices support exFAT and use Android 11 with a 4.14 kernel. My old BB Priv also supported exFAT with Marshmellow which definitely did not have kernel version 5!
The patents didn’t expire in 2019, Microsoft just allowed Linux to use them without fear of getting sued.
And Microsoft ACTIVELY went against Android manufacturers to get licensing fees a decade or so back, so those that didn't want to pay are much more likely to have a hard ban on exfat in place that will take time to overcome even after Microsoft opens it