Database Users

Cingular 8525 Remote IMEI Unlocking?

Hi Folks
I was wondering if someone know if the IMEI Unlocking services offered in many websites really work:
For example: http://www.gsmphonesource.com/reunbyimforc.html
It make the kind of unlocking like the unlocking software posted on this forum?
Thanks to all!!
Sergio

We have a FREE SIM unlocker which does the same, and more:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=282073
Ours keeps SuperCID forever, theirs not

Hi Pof
I have seen your great job. Thanks for that!
since I am just starting on this XDA world I dont want to mess with rom upgrading and stuff. So I felt that just entering an unlock code is 'safer' for now, but I wanted to know if that remote IMEI solution really works for using the phone with other SIM cards
Thanks!!!

Yes, it works. It has the same effect on the phone, but I really encourage you to try my solution instead, it's not that hard, but the warnings are there for you to be cautious
The IMEI is not used at all for unlocking, it's just to make sure you don't buy an unlocker from them and use it in two different devices: if you want to unlock two devices you have to pay twice
If you want to technically understand what their unlocker does, and what does mine, have a look at this post (comments #54 to #57):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=280819&p=1046444

My understanding is that the Cingular 8525 use BootLoader 1.06, which means that in order to unlock the phone, the BootLoader need to be downgraded to 1.04 (by installing older ROM), SIM unlock it, and then upgrade to new ROM with BootLoader 1.6.
This may seems complicated.

I used pof's method and had my phone up and running in less than an hour and it was FREE!
VideoFX

Call Cingular tell then u r going to europe
Call Cingular tell them you are going out of conutry and they will send you unlock caode for free in 5 days.

lanwarrior said:
My understanding is that the Cingular 8525 use BootLoader 1.06, which means that in order to unlock the phone, the BootLoader need to be downgraded to 1.04 (by installing older ROM), SIM unlock it, and then upgrade to new ROM with BootLoader 1.6.
This may seems complicated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not true..
Grab pof's exe, and run the bat file. There's nothing else to do. Just sit, be patient and follow the instructions.
It's really brainlessly easy. That means, that even those without brains should be able to handle it...

LegolasTheElf said:
That's not true..
Grab pof's exe, and run the bat file. There's nothing else to do. Just sit, be patient and follow the instructions.
It's really brainlessly easy. That means, that even those without brains should be able to handle it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So i am waiting my cingular 8525 in the mail, so all i need to do to get the phone sim unlocked and cid unlock is to follow the directions? no need to downgrade if i have 1.06

jemx33 said:
So i am waiting my cingular 8525 in the mail, so all i need to do to get the phone sim unlocked and cid unlock is to follow the directions? no need to downgrade if i have 1.06
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easy. READ, READ some more, then READ till you puke. Then, follow the directions TO THE LETTER, and you'll be just fine. Nothing else to do. THEN, once it's unlocked, you'll want to flash a normal radio and a new OS.

As a newbie, I suggest you pay close attention to POF and Legolas; this stuff is EASY, but only because I've read the WIKI, lots of threads, then re-read the WIKI 2 or 3 more times.....then followed the instructions to the letter. And then go back to the WIKI just to stay sharp.
Reading the threads will give you an idea of just how many people do stupid things like NOT reading the WIKI, try flashing a new ROM or radio on a whim, follow only the directions they feel like, and turn a wonderful PDA/Phone into a useless brick. I've been around here only about 2 months but am now flashing ROM's on my CID/SIM Unlocked Cingular 8525 at will and having a ball. Will be joining the ROM Flasher's 12-step program soon.
So, read, pay attention, follow the instructions fully, read some more and read the threads so you can appreciate what happens when someone doesn't read, follow the instructions fully, etc.

Why Pay????
There's no sense in paying when POF's provided a great unlocking program here that's easy to use and works GREAT!!! This IS a no brainer.....

If you don't plan on going out of the country and wanting to change cell phone service provider, what is the benifit if unlocking the phone. I have been flashing my phone to different ROM's since the day I've had it.
I don't really see the added benifit of unlocking the phone...but then again I am a newb at this stuff.

If you have no plans on changing SIM cards, i.e. changing providers or travelling out of the country where you might want to use a local SIM to save $$, there's no need to SIM unlock your phone. If your phone is CID unlocked, then you are able to flash cooked ROMs' and ROMs' belonging to other carriers, i.e. flash a T-Mobile ROM to a Cingular phone. Unlocking also gives you access to the Extended ROM and several MB of storage space not otherwise avail to unlocked phones

Question, what difference if any is there between me getting the Unlock Code from ATT (just did it for some old V551's of mine with an email to them) and this Unlock tool of Pof's? I do plan to unlock it soon, planned on going the ATT route because I know it works. If your tool does something over and above I'd like to know.
Thank you!

question?
i'm wondering....im about to buy a 8525 tilt...i want to know:confused if i called cingular and asked for a unlock code would it cost me...also if i mess up and did it myself whats the worse that could happen to the phone......

b4mytime1 said:
i'm wondering....im about to buy a 8525 tilt...i want to know:confused if i called cingular and asked for a unlock code would it cost me...also if i mess up and did it myself whats the worse that could happen to the phone......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at&t would provide you with the unlock code for free. the worst of course is your phone turning into a brick, but if you are smart enough to follow instructions it will be fine.
and one more thing........which device are you getting......8525 tilt????? if its the 8925/tilt you are in the wrong subforum, you should be looking at the kaiser section. the 8525 does belong here

ok so i just got sent an att 8525. I am planning on unlocking this phone.
I havent been on these boards in forever but has anything changed? Is there anything in these rebranded att phones that may not let me unlock? is there a newer tutorial?
thanks guys

Hi,
I just wanted to share that I unlocked my 8525 with HTC_Hermes_SIM_CID_Unlock_v3a on Vista. It went through with not one issue or hiccup.
Thanks
Greg

Right to upgrade with Voda1605?

I got my Vodafone1605 with wm5 installed. Do I lose my warranty(I bought it from Vodafone) if I apply official HTC WM6 upgrade for Hermes?

in a word, no.
Few things you should do first tho.
First off, if you want to use your phone with other network sim cards try unlocking it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=293665
Dont CID unlock though, cos that will remove your warranty. Basicly follow the install procedure, but when it asks what you want to do just tick network unlock.
Then you should install Hard SPL v7
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=296722
Its a very very simple install that will not screw your warranty, but will allow you to install any rom, be it official or a cooked one and will make it much less likely to brick your phone.
You will probably get bored off the official rom really quickly, so its worth looking at a cooked rom, they offer better features, run faster, take up less room and look a lot better.
Heres two I would recommend.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=349338
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=359458
and keep an eye on this, looks gooood
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=363782
One thing you should remember, there is always a risk of ****ing up your phone when upgrading the rom, radio or anything. Hard SPL removes 99.99% of that risk, but there is still always a chance. But there is guides here of what do if anything happens.
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_UpgradeProblems
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_Unbrick
Any other questions have a search on the forum, if you cant find anything ask, someone should help.

Hi,
There are no official software up dates for the V1605 available from Vodafone. If you do decide to change the software to something that isn't supported by Vodafone you will in fact invalidate the warranty.
We have explained this in more detail here.
Techgirl
Vodafone UK

Funny how my device was replaced under warranty after id flashed it a dozen times, I just installed the original rom again and now one said a thing.

does the hard spl backup the original rom?

no, hardspl allows you install different roms. If you want to revert to the original rom you can. Its on this site.
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_Upgrades
Its one of the two english vodafone ones....

I found a CD in the phone package and there are windows mobile 5 geniune stickers and eula and stuff like that, can the original rom be there?

Not likely.

so where can I get the original ROM? It's czech vodafone rom

Czech rom doesnt seem to be on this site, it will be around somewhere tho.

I just managed to get the original rom. So, if I flash now, are you absolutely sure that after the "flash the original rom back" thing they won't recognize anything at the repair service?
PLS, quick reply, I'm deciding whether to get a cashback for the SDHC or to keep it

AVN37 said:
And if I copy THE WHOLE content of the memory card to my HDD, flash some wm6 rom, will it be recognized if I just put those old files back? It won't be like the original, will it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The contents of your memory card will still be threr after you flash a newer ROM to the device, the memory card isnt changed at all.
I would recommend you take some time to read through the WIKI PAGES on the hermes before continuing with any upgrades.

ROM, warranty as well and app question?

HI,
I keep reading questions about ROM and flashing the phone, can someone explain what ROM is and flashing the phone please? I have tried search on this forum and get no answers. I have googled ROM and it tells me that it is a permanent storage chip, but if that's the case how come there are upgrades and why do people talk about erasing them?
Also, I've read that in the UK only ROM upgrades supplied by the service provider are allowed without invalidating warranty. If that's the case does this mean that you can't fiddle/tweak the phone without losing the warranty, or is there still plenty of tweaking you can do?
Finally, with UK phones can you still use apps and cabs from sites like this or would that invalidate warranty as well?
Cheers

34 views and no answers????

Technically a ROM chip is just that- a Read Only Memory chip that holds fixed information.
In Windows Mobile (and general phone) terms, the ROM has come to mean the software (or firmware) that is loaded into the ROM chip. So, for the HD2, if you look in Device Information you will see a ROM version. For release this was 1.43, but HTC have since released V1.48 and there are some engineering samples of V1.61 around as well.
Flashing the phone means the process of installing a new ROM image into the ROM chip. Official versions are executed using a ROM Update Utility (RUU) while the phone is connected to the PC, but 'cooked' versions are more often executed from the memory card.
In general, you can only update the ROM with one designed for that phone unless you make some changes to the BIOS, which involves installing a sub-program called Hard SPL. Once that is installed, you can then update the phone with any compatible ROM. Currently there is no Hard SPL available for the HD2, but the specialists are working on it
In the meantime there is a workaround to allow the loading of official ROM images from other locales or operators, but again this needs some specific changes being made to the memory card from which it is loaded.
The warranty situation is far from clear. Technically you should only update a device with a ROM image supplied by the operator, or by HTC if it was bought SIM free; however, the HD2 has been supplied pretty much the same as SIM free models by Vodafone and O2. Vodafone contradict themselves in their advice- one paragraph says you can install an 'official' update, but another paragraph says you can't.
Installing cooked ROMs (when they become available) would definitely invalidate any warranty.

snerkler said:
HI,
I keep reading questions about ROM and flashing the phone, can someone explain what ROM is and flashing the phone please? I have tried search on this forum and get no answers. I have googled ROM and it tells me that it is a permanent storage chip, but if that's the case how come there are upgrades and why do people talk about erasing them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think of the ROM as the operating system of the phone. Both the software itself and the memory chips it is stored on are called ROM, but when you see people discussing ROMs here they will generally mean the software. So the software ROM (ie operating system) is stored on the phones ROM (ie Read Only Memory). It's called read only, but it's not - it can be erased and a new software ROM flashed to it.
snerkler said:
Also, I've read that in the UK only ROM upgrades supplied by the service provider are allowed without invalidating warranty. If that's the case does this mean that you can't fiddle/tweak the phone without losing the warranty, or is there still plenty of tweaking you can do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you bought your phone from a service provider, they will have locked the ability to upgrade the ROM, to ensure that you can only install official upgrades issued by them. This is why many people are waiting for Hard SPL to be completed, as it removes this lock. However, you can tweak your phone and and install as much software as you want without affecting your warranty.
snerkler said:
Finally, with UK phones can you still use apps and cabs from sites like this or would that invalidate warranty as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install all the apps and cabs you like without affecting your warranty. A simple hard reset will always return the phone to its 'fresh out of the box' state.
Installing HardSPL and custom roms will invalidate your warranty, but tweaks and cab files won't.
edit - Neil, you beat me to it

My previous phone, an O2 Xda Orbit 2 had a custom ROM and was twice repaired under warranty without problem or question from O2, although both these were hardware related problems.

omneity said:
My previous phone, an O2 Xda Orbit 2 had a custom ROM and was twice repaired under warranty without problem or question from O2, although both these were hardware related problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you were lucky - many people have had their warranty voided by HTC and/or a telco for having custom firmware installed.

Many thanks for the advice, very helpful

Transition from XPERIA to HD2

Im used to flashing XPERIA X1. I did id 100 times.
I just saved enough money to buy myself HD2 which is very expensive in Bosnia.
So i want to be very carefull with it. Im sorry for opening a new topic but try to understand me. LOL.
What is the major differences between flashing X1 (kovsimg.nbh) and HD2
Is it like XPERIA and the first flash via USB so you can later use kovsimg.nbh files on MicroSD for new ROMS.
What are the risks??

No its not too different,if I were you wouldnt think of flashing from the SD/Card, for now,its always safer to do it by active Sinc with your PC,its better to forget the Xperia and start from scratch,its very easy once you put together the bits and pieces,and welcome to the forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=534
this is a good place to start with,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=609477
With this thread,
and dont forget that you can also get Android to work on your HD2 from your SD card.
good luck

hagba said:
No its not too different,if I were you wouldnt think of flashing from the SD/Card, for now,its always safer to do it by active Sinc with your PC,its better to forget the Xperia and start from scratch,its very easy once you put together the bits and pieces,and welcome to the forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=534
this is a good place to start with,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=609477
With this thread,
and dont forget that you can also get Android to work on your HD2 from your SD card.
good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Its always good to see non-arogant people on internet who want to help.
Android will be important part of my HD2. Having two systems on one phone is great. I used android on my X1 but versions for X1 are still far away from beeing usable for everyday work.
Main reason for flashing ROM on my NEW HD2 is becouse of special WM ROM for HD2 which enables low battery consumption for Android.
Thanks again. And if anyone have something to add...please do so.
P.S. I flashed my X1 lots of times with microSD method and i did not have a single problem. But if you say activesync method is better than i shall do it via USB.

Xperia although branded as a Sony ericsson Device is really made by HTC. (HTC Kovsky) So the flashing process is more or less identical. Flash HSPL and then your custom Roms.

OK another Questin. My X1 was without warranty.
My HD2 is Vodafone branded (no idea why), there is no vodafone in Bosnia. I have 12 months warranty not with vodapfone but with local mobile shop.
Does flashing vodafone update changes serial number or warranty
And does flashing custom ROMs changes warranty. I guess it does.

Other question...does flashing custom rom changes Serial or IMEI number???
Before it was not important to me. But now it is.

Flashing does not change imei number but I think it does void the warranty if you flash a custom spl.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I now. But in my warranty paper they is specific "serial number must not be changed"
Flashing is not changing IMEI, but is it changing SERIAL NUMBER???

Nope, flashing your phone will not change your IMIE or your phone's serial number, and even if flashing it would void your warranty, bringing it back to stock condition (just like it is now) is no harder than flashing a ROM.
So as far as warranty, not much to worry about
Like a previous poster said though, read everything
Then read it again
Then have fun flashing !!!

huggs said:
Nope, flashing your phone will not change your IMIE or your phone's serial number, and even if flashing it would void your warranty, bringing it back to stock condition (just like it is now) is no harder than flashing a ROM.
So as far as warranty, not much to worry about
Like a previous poster said though, read everything
Then read it again
Then have fun flashing !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THX. When you say its not harder than flashing. Do you mean backing up your ROM and flashing it or flashing original ROM.

you can install back your original Stock SPL,check here for HSPL thread and look for HSPL2_Run.EXE this will restore the original SPL,after that Download your original Stock ROM fro HTC support website with your S/N and flash it from your computer by connecting through USB and active Sync,this way you are back to your stock phone.

hagba said:
you can install back your original Stock SPL,check here for HSPL thread and look for HSPL2_Run.EXE this will restore the original SPL,after that Download your original Stock ROM fro HTC support website with your S/N and flash it from your computer by connecting through USB and active Sync,this way you are back to your stock phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you all. You can consider this topic finished. I flashed HSPL3 and EnergyROM with latest Radio. Everything works.
If phone breaks in future i will then think about flashing stock stuff.
Thanks again to all of you.

[Q] Flashing ROM For Warranty

Hi Guys, First off I would like to thank everyone for all their amazing ROMs.
I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. So I think the entire chef community need a big round of appluase before I start.
So here's the deal, I lost my HD2, got it barred, Sim and Phone, then, Someone recovered it!
I asked O2 to unbar it, Could not be done. 6 Days on and my phone remains barred. What is weird is that other network SIMs work in my phone, and my SIM works in other handsets. Ya. Pretty freaky.
Anyway, they want me to send it in for repair / replace. Need to make sure I have everything Stock so they don't go "LOL U BRICKED IT AND VOIDED WARRENTEH SUX FOR YEW"
About to Flash RUU_Le2_UK_1.72.206.3_Radio_CRC_Signed_15.32.50 .07U_2.07.51.22_2_Ship.exe (From 4shared shared folder with teh stock ROMs)
From what I've read this should solve my worries. I just want confirmation on this and/or any advice on what I would have to do to return it to factory Settings so they don't PWNnarf me for using the HD2 to it's full potential.
Thanks again to the whole community ;D

If your phone is O2 UK branded, then that should be fine. Once it is flashed, check that the ROM and RADIO are correct and boot up in BootLoader mode and check that the SPL is 1.66.0000 and not ending with .HSPL

It does end in hard HSPL after flashing a stock ROM. Anyway to fix this?
If it helps at all, I had the New windows phone 7 ROM before this, if that makes any difference ;3
EDIT: DISREGARD THIS I found a solution. Close thread or summat.