does emmc require non libre software?

3 replies [Last post]
tonlee
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Joined: 09/08/2014

http://hands.com/~lkcl/libre_riscv_chennai_2018.pdf
lkcl, eoma68 writes about emmc.
Does emmc require non libre
software to work? Is it like hdds? Thanks.

onpon4
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Joined: 05/30/2012

eMMC is a category, not something specific, so the answer is "not necessarily". But chances are very high that any eMMC firmware is going to be proprietary.

tonlee
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Joined: 09/08/2014

Maybe it is like a hdd. It is not required to have non libre software on the computer
in order to get emmc to work. Instead on the emmc device is non libre
software.

onpon4
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Joined: 05/30/2012

As I explained in my answer, not necessarily. It's possible for eMMC to be designed in a way such that its firmware is libre. It's just unlikely to happen at this point in time.

The way the OS communicates with eMMC devices does not require it to load proprietary firmware onto them.