Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features

Posted by: sein

Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 06/06/2007 11:52

I didn't really want to pollute the iPhone thread further, so I started a new one.

Quote:
Andy....

want to remove the Orange locks and unravel the VoIP goodness?

download this program and change your n95 product code to 0534841


This method worked well for my Orange UK Nokia E61 as well. It came with useless firmware on it that was out of date, buggy and a terrible 'homescreen'. Now it is running the latest unbranded firmware everything is stable, fast and features like SIP over WiFi actually work.

I used product code 0530151 for my UK English Keyboard E61.

The software you need is called the Nemesis Service Suite, and you can get it here.

Read these two blog posts for full instructions on how to go about this with screenshots and everything:
(1) Force Flashing Vodafone-Branded Nokia E61 at Hisham's Blog
(2) average admins - Blog Archive - Force Flashing The Nokia E61

The same method should apply to most Series 60 phones. It is crucial that you get your product code right.

Have fun!
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 13/06/2007 09:03

I did this myself to get a v1 E61 upgraded to the latest v3. I used a Netherlands code to match my Australian E61.

I got it second hand from a mate. Unfortunately I didn't try the Bluetooth before I upgraded. It works really badly with my Supertooth 2:
http://www.blueant.com.au/supertooth2.htm

Volume goes in and out as the DSP tries to echo cancel I think.

The Supertooth worked perfectly with my old 6230 (which I lost). Blueant support were quite useless and tried to tell me the two different versions of Supertooth firmware were identical (so why have two different versions...). She also tried to tell me the Bluetooth audio can get out of sync and it's normal to have to reboot the phone regularly. Didn't have to with my 6230...

How's Bluetooth working for you sein?

Apart from that it's fairly good. Some stupidities with things like Mail for Exchange (and the commercial RoadSync)are annoying though. Bluetooth works fine for connecting to a PC. Occasionally I do need to turn Bluetooth off and on. In the quick playing I did with v1 when I got it, I didn't have any major issues though.
Posted by: sein

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 13/06/2007 10:07

Quote:
How's Bluetooth working for you sein?

Bluetooth works great for me. I find that it is fast and reliable with my Nokia car kit, Holux GPS receiver, laptop and unbranded USB dongle.

I'm running version 3.0633.09.04 firmware (dial *#0000# on your keypad). Its possible that you're just unlucky with the Supertooth gadget you have.
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 14/06/2007 09:21

Thanks for the reply.

Bluetooth is working great with my PC and my GPS receiver (also a Holux) always connects perfectly (using TomTom and the inbuilt GPS basic app). It's just with the Supertooth handsfree. The Supertooth makers don't want to help me and the phone has the latest firmware (same as yours). So basically it's almost useless.

I'm also having connection errors - calls just drop out for no reason and the phone says "Connection Error". Hopefully that's not from me upgrading it with a different region's firmware.

It seems these smart phones are starting to go the way of Windows PCs where they need reboots and configuration or installed software can cause big problems with other functions maybe.
Posted by: tman

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 14/06/2007 16:21

Quote:
The Supertooth makers don't want to help me and the phone has the latest firmware (same as yours).

The Bluetooth firmware might not be part of the standard firmware update you can do over over the internet. I know my old SE P900 wouldn't update certain portions of the firmware like the GSM controller and Bluetooth module unless I went to a service center to get them to do it for me.
Posted by: andym

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 14/06/2007 21:21

I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 14/06/2007 21:46

Quote:
The Bluetooth firmware might not be part of the standard firmware update you can do over over the internet. I know my old SE P900 wouldn't update certain portions of the firmware like the GSM controller and Bluetooth module unless I went to a service center to get them to do it for me.

I'm pretty sure it covers everything in Nokias, but what you are suggesting would make some sense to prevent people installing a version that mightn't work in their country. That said though, the phones are supposed to roam so all versions should work in all countries with respect to GSM/UMTS/HSPDA etc.

Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

I take it you saw this or similar which lists the differences?
http://www.e-series.org/archives/236
Posted by: tman

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 14/06/2007 22:02

Quote:
I'm pretty sure it covers everything in Nokias, but what you are suggesting would make some sense to prevent people installing a version that mightn't work in their country. That said though, the phones are supposed to roam so all versions should work in all countries with respect to GSM/UMTS/HSPDA etc.

It is to stop you potentially reflashing the radio controller and setting it to promiscious mode or altering the transmission power etc... Quite a few WiFi cards work in the same way. Binary blob firmware = security through obscurity.
Posted by: sein

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 07:41

Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

Did you change your product code to get an unbranded firmware, or is it still 'Orange'?
Posted by: sein

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 07:48

Quote:
Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

I take it you saw this or similar which lists the differences?
http://www.e-series.org/archives/236

That wouldn't apply to Andy's N95...
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 08:07

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

I take it you saw this or similar which lists the differences?
http://www.e-series.org/archives/236

That wouldn't apply to Andy's N95...

Fair enough. I wasn't following the other thread...

There should be a history list somewhere. They seem to get out into the public domain...

Back to the E61, apart from keyboard differences (which is really just what's printed on them) are you aware of any hardware differences between the models with different model codes? i.e. is it possible I've put bad (or slightly incompatible) firmware on mine?
Posted by: sein

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 08:56

Quote:
Back to the E61, apart from keyboard differences (which is really just what's printed on them) are you aware of any hardware differences between the models with different model codes? i.e. is it possible I've put bad (or slightly incompatible) firmware on mine?

Yeah, sorry I'd written a reply to your post, but the BBS ate it In short, I thought it would be unlikely that there would be any major hardware differences between countries. GSM, UMTS etc are supposed to be global standards, right? I assume you are using Netherlands firmware for Dutch language support. If not, maybe its worth trying Australian firmware?

I haven't experienced calls dropping out on my phone in the UK. I had some stability issues when I had a dodgy MiniSD memory card (avoid Corsair flash memory - I had 3 faulty 2GB MiniSD cards from them). With a Sandisk 2GB Card I haven't had any problems.

In terms of troubleshooting, I would try backing up your data (USB Cable to a Windows PC and Nokia PC Suite), hard reset the phone (*#7370# on your keypad), and restore data. Try the phone without a memory card and without installing any applications and see whether it is still buggy.
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 09:06

Damn BBS

I'm using Netherlands firmware since it has v3 available AND the keymap matches my Australian E61. The original product code I used to get to v3 had a few keys like ? and / in different places. If I change back to the original product code, I don't think it will let me downgrade to the current version for it (only v2 apparently). Might be worth trying still though.

I have already tried a complete reinstall (reloading the firmware which clears everything). I didn't even use the back up. I just set everything up from scratch.

I was using a Sandisk card I borrowed from someone but have now replaced it with a Transcend card. In general the phone is stable, things just don't work very well.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm just SOL with this Supertooth. Disappointing since it worked absolutely flawlessly with the 6230.
Posted by: tman

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 11:15

Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

Don't restore a backup after you reflash. It will revert some of the settings back to how Orange has them like hiding the VoIP app.
Posted by: andym

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 18:13

Quote:
Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

Don't restore a backup after you reflash. It will revert some of the settings back to how Orange has them like hiding the VoIP app.


That's probably why then. The web browser seems a little nippier so I'm happy, VoIP was never really that important anyway.

Suppose I could wait for the next update and try again.
Posted by: tman

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 18:44

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I reflashed my phone.... and so far nothing seems to have changed/improved other than the version number in the 'About' box.

Don't restore a backup after you reflash. It will revert some of the settings back to how Orange has them like hiding the VoIP app.


That's probably why then. The web browser seems a little nippier so I'm happy, VoIP was never really that important anyway.

Suppose I could wait for the next update and try again.

Do the reset to factory option in the menu and it'll come back.
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 15/06/2007 22:03

Well you can't downgrade it seems (NSU simply says I have the latest for my real product code - in fact I have newer than the available latest). I've tried a few different codes including some branded ones. They do appear different in a few ways (fonts were different on another generic one I tried). Also I found Roadsync wouldn't do push properly either on one version. So maybe there's more differences than you think under the hood.

I also found a few mentions that if I tried to force it with tools more like NSS, I'm likely to brick it.

So I either have to wait for the v3 to come out for my product code (which I doubt will make any real difference) and just live with it as is.

I'm going to give it a run with the product you used sein (0530151) assuming the keyboard lines up.
Posted by: sein

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 16/06/2007 04:15

Quote:
I'm going to give it a run with the product you used sein (0530151) assuming the keyboard lines up.

The secondary buttons on my UK phone are: !, “, &, 1, 2, 3, *, -, +, =, £, $, €, 4, 5, 6, #, _, \, Backspace, Z, X, C, 7, 8, 9, 0, ;, :, Return, Blue, Shift, (, ), Space, ?, Ctrl, Shift, Chr.

I found that some product codes would say "your firmware is already up-to-date" and would stop there with a button to exit the program. Other product codes would give a message along the lines of "your firmware is already up-to-date but you can reinstall it if you wish to do so" and have both start and exit buttons.
Posted by: Shonky

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 21/06/2007 09:43

Thanks mate. I didn't mean to get you to copy out all the blue key functions

I have had the same firmware as you on for a week and it's been going reasonably OK but I haven't given it a good test. The bluetooth does seem to be basically the same as I expected. The call reliability seems a little better but I have made calls similar to the previous ones I had problems with...
Posted by: sein

Re: Re-Flashing Nokia phones to lose branding and uncripple features - 21/06/2007 09:55

Quote:
Thanks mate. I didn't mean to get you to copy out all the blue key functions

No worries man, I actually copy/pasted it from a comment I made elsewhere a while back.

Fingers crossed for your new firmware