hey everyone.. just signed up and wanted to say hi.
i just ordered my new MDA, and should be here in a few days! ive had the SK3 for a month after upgrading from the SK2, and its just not what it used to be. Im looking for something with way more functionality other than being cool. Not to mention a more mature phone.
anyway, i just wanted to see if you guys could help me. seeing as how i dont have the phone yet, i wanted to read as much as i can about hacking it up. im aware that the stock phone (USA Tmobile MDA) rom isnt very well, so i need some pointers on where to start...
ive tried searching already, but theres only so many "newbie" threads i can sift through... basically can someone point me into the right direction of everything i need to get started? it would be most appreciated! Wink i guess which rom, how to update, which apps, where to go... lol, basically everything!
ill obvisouly be reading until the day the phone comes (and charged for 12 hours) so i should be more knowledgeable by the time the phone arrives.. but i really appreiciate any help!
thanks!
banky said:
im aware that the stock phone (USA Tmobile MDA) rom isnt very well, so i need some pointers on where to start...
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Click to collapse
The first thing to check is that your MDA has the latest ROM (2.26) - intalling this solved a lot of my problems. I have no other "hacks" on the MDA and am now happy with its performance.
I would definitly start by SIM and CID unlocking the phone with lokiwiz (free and available on this forum) if it has a 1.X and not a 2.x rom (if the comm manager screen has 4 icons not 6...), because once this is done it is permanent, and once you upgrade it is MUCH harder to do.. if you need specific directions let me know.
I would then upgrade to the T-Mo 2.26 rom as suggested above, I am using it now and I really like it.
I personally use Registry Wizard to tweak the wizard, at least for the basics... Some good tweaks to start with are disabeling the go online and unsigned program warnings, enable 802.11g, Enable Indicator (lets you know when CAPS and symbol are on), Different GPRS/EDGE icon, and personally I always enable the IE 4-way nav, engineering mode (type string *#*#364#*#* into phone and hit send to show cool technical info...) I also set GPRS always on... (probably not a good idea unless you have unlimited data, like I do... (if not you also may elect not to disable the go-online warning, so you know when its doing stuff...))
Agile messenger is a good program, total commander is more or less essential, and I have recently been using a program called Hubdog ( I think it can do more than I do with it, but I just use it as an rss reader...) All are free. Novii remote also works well (however with limeted 2-3 meter range) but is not free...
If you want any more info on programs I use, where to get them, ect..., or any other tweaks please just let me know.
i appreciate the help!
ill definitely be coming to you for questions
when you first got your phone, did you charge it for the whole 12 hours before using it?
Starcruiser1229 said:
I would definitly start by SIM and CID unlocking the phone...
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Click to collapse
I upgraded to a custom 2.24 ROm without SIM unlocking. If I want to SIM unlock now should I downgrade to 1.8, SIM unlock, then upgrade to whatever ROM I want (probably xelecin's custom 2.26 when it's out). I don't really care about the SIM lock since I'm in a contract with Tmo, I'm not changing any time soon. I just don't want to have problems if I upgrade the ROM later on.
Sorry not trying to hijack...I swear
bittermormon said:
Starcruiser1229 said:
I would definitly start by SIM and CID unlocking the phone...
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Click to collapse
I upgraded to a custom 2.24 ROm without SIM unlocking. If I want to SIM unlock now should I downgrade to 1.8, SIM unlock, then upgrade to whatever ROM I want (probably xelecin's custom 2.26 when it's out). I don't really care about the SIM lock since I'm in a contract with Tmo, I'm not changing any time soon. I just don't want to have problems if I upgrade the ROM later on.
Sorry not trying to hijack...I swear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem
so, did everyone here charge their phone for the full 12 hours before using their phones?
also, another question, on the sidekick there was an app called "money clip" where it allowed me to keep track of different accounts such as my checking, savings, and credit cards... are there any apps like that available for the MDA?
i tired to use exel right now to see if i can just do it the ghetto way, but its not really letting me.. ;x
hey good job man (i donno about money clip) about returning the sidekick 3 for the MDA. i did that too. and i upgraded from a sidekick 2 too.
i can tell you the MDA is at least 9 times better (random number?)... but the only thing i haven't gotten to work is setting up outlook email... hopefully you have better luck. (but it is because the free yahoo doesn't support it).
hmmm, i charged phone for maybe two hours out of the box, did the cid unlock and sim unlock, and have been flashing the rom ever since (remember to thank all the folks here who cook up all these lovely roms)
zetajunkie said:
hmmm, i charged phone for maybe two hours out of the box, did the cid unlock and sim unlock, and have been flashing the rom ever since (remember to thank all the folks here who cook up all these lovely roms)
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Click to collapse
haha.. cool, so i dont need to do a full charge on the it?
where can i find the instructions on how to flash the ROM? and also, which ROM is recommeneded?
I'm a newb waiting for my MDA too. I dont see why one should SIM unlock if he/she already has the MDA (US). Can't I just upgrade to the 2.26? Or are there some feautures that I would be noticably be missing?
Starcruiser1229 said:
I would definitly start by SIM and CID unlocking the phone with lokiwiz (free and available on this forum) if it has a 1.X and not a 2.x rom (if the comm manager screen has 4 icons not 6...), because once this is done it is permanent, and once you upgrade it is MUCH harder to do.. if you need specific directions let me know.
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Click to collapse
What version of lokiwiz would you recommend using? I noticed there are two different threads, one for 0.2 and one for 0.3. Do they do the same thing? The steps for 0.3 seem to require a second SIM, is that true? Thanks.
Ok, first, the reason to SIM unlock is because then you can swap to a different providers SIM later on, for instance if you dump T-mo or you travel to Europe or something. For me, it simply seems like a good idea to do it now, because then I know I have it if I need it.
CID unlock is for using other providers ROMS. You can just upgrade to the 2.26, but then what happens when you decide you want to upgrade to the cingular 3.xx b/c of some amazing feature... Once you are in a 2.x rom it becomes much harder to do this. It is sooooo simple, why not just do it now? again, your phone, yor decision, and I think flashing an unofficial rom will void the warranty if they can prove it (personally I don't care, some do)
As far as Lokiwiz, I used Lokiwiz 02b, downloaded from this forum. The newer version, .03, is only needed if you have already upgraded to a 2.x ROM.
As far as SIM unlocking after upgrading, I do not know if it is possible to downgrade from a 2.x to a 1.x, especially if you haven't CID unlocked already... I think you may be stuck using the .03 2 sim card method (this is required as the phone dosen't know it needs to prompt for unlock code untill you enter a 'banned (ie from another provider)' sim... get a cheep prepay (NOT T-mo prepay if you have T-mo) from the local drug store/Walmart... This may be easier than downgrading and then upgrading anyway, and since ( I am assuming) you have already CID unlocked, I do not think you will have any problems...
.02 does not need the second sim as it changes the setting directly by accessing some part of the memory on the device, which cannot, apparently be done in the new roms...
O. Brown... SIM, as I mentioned above, is different from CID. You are thinking of CID. I would do it simply b/c you cannot do it later, yet once done it is permanent...
Bittermormon, same idea...
As far as chargeing, I am notorios for taking it out of the box and hitttng the power. If it turns on, well then why should I charge it...? Plus, you can turn it on plugged in, so if you are worried, plug it into the wall and then start playing... but I don't want to promise this won't have some negative effect, do what you feel safe with, all I am saying is what worked for me...
As far as financial software goes, I checked out the PocketPcMag Nominations for best software 2006, in the financial category... Cash Organizer '05 Premium, Pocket Quicken, PocketMoney, Spb Finance, Stock Manager... I have not used any of theese. I do not know if they are what you want... I do not know how much they cost, but it is a place to start at least.
As far as pocket outlook, no problems here, except with gmail pop access, which always seemed kinda... messed up... to me... So, I did something even better... I setup a free exchange account with mail2web.com (I think they call it mail2web live or something...) and my gmail forwards a copy of all incoming mail to the exchange mail address... THis allows me to use PUSH email for my gmail acct (which is my main acct.) If you have a corporate exchange, you can use that instead. The only "Problem" with this is that deleting messages on the phone does not delete them in gmail... I personally like this as I cna then use gmail on my pc to its fullest to label, archive, ect... On the ppc I delete all of the newsletters ect... and only really read personal mail or important stuff. This lets me keep my phone inbok clear, and I can still read all of the other stuff later on the desktop... Or you can always just switch to using the exchange email address as your main...
And as far as the best ROM, well, that is as much opinion as anything else... I am running the T-mo 2.26 with the extended rom installed... I have noit seen any cooked versions of this yet, although I believe someone on the HOFO is working on one... I gotta say, I like this rom. I have a few small glitches, but I think that it is installed software, not the ROM...
A few other tips... I recently discovered microsoft voice command, and I am enjoying it very much... First of all, no setting voice tags, and secondly, for me, I could never remember exactly what the voice tag was for someone, especially when I had one for the house and cell... Now I can just say ther full name ie, Call John Doe on Mobile, and the phone does it... as with any other software, your mileage may vary... PM me if you want me to email the cab...
Also, buying a large miniSD is a great idea, I have a Sandisk 1gb and I love it. Watch out for 2gb cards, a small minority may be valid, most are fakes, and all are probably lower quality...
Any other questions, feel free to ask, or even PM me (especially if I do not seem to be responding fast enough....)
And Uh, SORRY about the length... just trying to answer everythng...
Hey Everyone first time poster here so bear with me, first off just like to say this is an excellent website/forum loads of help on here thanks for everything everyone has posted already
Basically i'm fairly new to having a Vario or Wizard whichever you prefer but i'm wondering which is the best ROM for day to day use i.e improves call quality and lots of nice functions or gets rid of the stupid t-mobile stuff! lol
Tell me what you fellow users have and why you like it and i'll make the switch
Thanks for your help guys
Rich
I'm using the ROM by Molski see http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=59513 on my Tmobile vario. I have no issues with it whatsoever. It is faster, more stable, no random reboots, leaves more free space and comes with no operator branding. I would recomend you to upgrade to Molski's ROM with the following caution.
Don't upgrade anything without establishing wether you have a G3 or G4 device.
Unlock your Sim and CID locks with Lokiwiz see http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=33796
Read through the above threads completely and check out http://www.molski.biz/ for further info.
Once you have identifed your flash chip and unlocked the phone make sure you download the correct ROM for your device. You will have to install the Tmobile settings for MMS and gprs after upgrading but there are links to the correct cab files in the above threads, which you WILL read before upgrading.
ah right cool sounds good and thank you i will be sure to have a read through those threads
excellent ROM thanks man!
Hello,
I just bought a used qtek 9100 two weeks ago and am now starting to have problems. The previous owner installed windows mobile 6 underground edition, as well as some other updates. Currently the phone is freezing almost once a day, in which I have to take the battery out to reboot. If anyone can help me any suggestions would be greatly apptrietiated. I thought about trying to go back to the original wm5 or upgrading to wm6 does anyone know if that would work?
Thanks for any and all help
Matt
irishmatt12 said:
Hello,
I just bought a used qtek 9100 two weeks ago and am now starting to have problems. The previous owner installed windows mobile 6 underground edition, as well as some other updates. Currently the phone is freezing almost once a day, in which I have to take the battery out to reboot. If anyone can help me any suggestions would be greatly apptrietiated. I thought about trying to go back to the original wm5 or upgrading to wm6 does anyone know if that would work?
Thanks for any and all help
Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried doing a hard reset and then load it back up with your apps? This might clear a bad registry issue. Also the problem could be a 3rd party app that doesn't work well on WM6.
I would suggest you do move back to an original rom if you are having problems. Then you can look at playing with custom roms later when you get a feel for the device. Key thing is you want to get it stable.
Read the following on how to Flash roms:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=298613
Since you are already running a WM6, its likely (if this is a G3) that you are CID Unlocked already (if you are a G4 than its likely you are not CID Unlocked).
You could try a newer WM6 (like XPlore 2.0 or Faria Vanilla from his kitchen) both of which are found in the Wizard WM6 board located here. But I think I'd recommend you just go back to the official carrier rom first.
Thank you
When you say to go back to the original software, where can I get that? I came accross a update on the t-mobile site that said it would remove all data stored on device, is this what you are talking about? I would hate to do something to make this phone incapacitated.
Also has anyone seen the windows mobile vista for a ppc? Does anyone know where to get it? Once I fixe this problem I would like to upgrade to that, unless there is something wrong with it.
Thanks for all your help
Matt
irishmatt12 said:
When you say to go back to the original software, where can I get that? I came accross a update on the t-mobile site that said it would remove all data stored on device, is this what you are talking about? I would hate to do something to make this phone incapacitated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On PPC devices, if you flash a new rom (upgrade, downgrade) it wipes everything on the phone in memory. Sorry but no way around that. After doing it a few times you learn what to keep on your SD card, and you get pretty good at reinstalling stuff fairly quickly (but even then, I plan on about 2 hours of downtime when I'm going to flash my phone. About 15 mins to get some backups (so I can get back to where I was if the new rom doesn't work out), 30 mins to flash an official rom and flash the new rom, reflash the radio to the one I want. Then a good hour to set all of my apps back up (that part of the time is getting shorter).
Also has anyone seen the windows mobile vista for a ppc? Does anyone know where to get it? Once I fixe this problem I would like to upgrade to that, unless there is something wrong with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no Mobile Vista. There is WIndows Mobile 6 and there are Vista style themes for it (heck there are Vista themes for WM5 for that matter).
So back to your original issue... You need to plan on wiping this device one way or another due to the current issues you are having (IMO). So if you want to stay with the Underground version of WM6, then just do a Hard Reset, and then set the phone back up. Otherwise, you need to look at getting the original rom for yoru phone (you can find these on the carrier's websites usually in the support/downloads area) or upgrading to some other custom rom.
Again, read the thread I gave you previously. You really need to read up on how this stuff works before you just start looking at flashing a new rom (official roms are pretty straight forward if you stay with the rom meant for your phone).
Now a different problem
OK, now im trying to get the phone back to the original settings from the company, but am having difficulty. I ran the update from t-mobile and it keeps saying there is a communication error. Im not sure if the previous owner had t-mobile or what carrier he used does this matter?
is there a way to un-grade the phone without a pc?
Im really having a hard time with this, ive been trying for around 4 hours to fix this issue without luck, someone please help im about to start using heavy drugs. Not really but you get the gist of it.
Thanks
Hey guys!
I have got my hands on a nice HD2 and i would like to use the new rom upgrade... is this possible? i have taken out a tmobile contract, just to get the phone, I have unlocked it and now im on a vodafone simcard. Am i able to upgrade the phone via HTC website? as i put my serial number in and it says i cannot do it. Im not too fussed about the warrenty as i got the insurance for it etc... any help would be great as the SMS bug is really starting to cheese me off :O
Thanks!
iceghost1210 said:
Hey guys!
I have got my hands on a nice HD2 and i would like to use the new rom upgrade... is this possible? i have taken out a tmobile contract, just to get the phone, I have unlocked it and now im on a vodafone simcard. Am i able to upgrade the phone via HTC website? as i put my serial number in and it says i cannot do it. Im not too fussed about the warrenty as i got the insurance for it etc... any help would be great as the SMS bug is really starting to cheese me off :O
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ROM upgrade is for unbranded devices, which has nothing to do with the SIM lock. You can get an unbranded device serial number from this thread...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=621752
It's a big thread, but it's there somewhere!
I believe you'll also need HSPL, which is in the ROM forum. That allows you to flash the ROM onto your device. If this is new to you, I suggest a good read through the stickied threads in the ROM forum first.
Hope this helps
Fast reply
Well if i do upgrade, what will i loose out and gain via tmobile? would it essentially be like a unbranded phone then? because i cant see tmobile doing anything in a long time... and would i have sim card issues? (as in unlock)
iceghost1210 said:
Fast reply
Well if i do upgrade, what will i loose out and gain via tmobile? would it essentially be like a unbranded phone then? because i cant see tmobile doing anything in a long time... and would i have sim card issues? (as in unlock)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once the SIM is unlocked, it's unlocked. No ROM flash will change that, so you can basically forget about that now.
As far as what you may lose from flashing an unbranded ROM, I'm not a T-Mobile user so I'm not sure about the changes they made to the installed software, but I believe they got rid of the youtube player. This can be reinstalled via a cab file, but this then messes up other video players on the device. I've not had anything to do with it, but it sounded messy.
With the ROMs from the HTC site you'll end up with a completely unbranded device, so you shouldn't have any of that faffing I just mentioned.
I'm afraid I don't know any further the extent of TMO changes as that's all I've seen mentioned. Rest assured, you're probably a lot better off with the official HTC ROM.
Brilliant, i shall give it a go, it does not seem that hard to be honest, plug in the cable and let it go right? Is there a way to back up my current rom or data on the device? etc...
Thanks a lot for help so far
iceghost1210 said:
Brilliant, i shall give it a go, it does not seem that hard to be honest, plug in the cable and let it go right? Is there a way to back up my current rom or data on the device? etc...
Thanks a lot for help so far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries man - glad to help.
For backups, there's a lot of different things out there that will back up varying degress of information from your device, but not the ROM. If you ever need to go back to the ROM you've currently got then it's probably listed in one of the stickied threads at the top of the ROM forum.
Personally, I use Microsoft MyPhone. It uses your data/wifi connection to backup contacts, calendar, tasks, text messages, browser faves, photos, videos, music and documents, all off the device memory, with an option to backup the same off the storage card. (Yes, I did copy that list off the application - I'm not sad enough to know that by heart )
That's just my recommendation though. It doesn't backup registry and applications, but I just reinstall stuff after a flash anyway.
Hope this helps mate
I have been looking at doing this. I want to stick the new ROM on released a few days ago, and get myself a nice unbranded HD2. However, what will I have to do in terms of getting the internet and stuff working. Is it likely to be an issue?
So glad I found this thread by the way, I don't like the idea of waiting for t-mobile to pull their thumbs out of their arses.
quantumandy said:
I have been looking at doing this. I want to stick the new ROM on released a few days ago, and get myself a nice unbranded HD2. However, what will I have to do in terms of getting the internet and stuff working. Is it likely to be an issue?
So glad I found this thread by the way, I don't like the idea of waiting for t-mobile to pull their thumbs out of their arses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your connection settings are on the SIM chip, so you've got no worries there. When you've flashed the new ROM it will go through the setup process that you went through when you first got the phone. You select your provider and it does the rest.
Upgraded. Works perfectly, and I am not sure if it is psychosomatic, but it does seem more responsive. Very nice, and very easy. HSPL was surprisingly easy.
quantumandy said:
Upgraded. Works perfectly, and I am not sure if it is psychosomatic, but it does seem more responsive. Very nice, and very easy. HSPL was surprisingly easy.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, it's not hard is it. And I totally agree that 1.66 seems faster and smoother than previous ROMs, but I too have wondered whether it was my imagination or not.
Who cares - it's better