Database Users

Changing the IMEI

Hi, I have been very happily using my XDA with a '3' SIM after unlocking it but as of this weekend, it stopped working. It will work with other network SIMs so I know the phone is fine. I called '3' but obviously they are not interested. Is it because of the IMEI? If so, I would like to find out how I can change it ... My radio was 4.21 so I downgraded to 3.23.00 and then tried XDA Manipulator but it does not show that option (flashes and dissappears) . I cannot seem to find Radio Stacks V4.06 or 4.10 anywhere ... any help much appreciated.
Details
<Wallaby 5.14, ROM = 3.17.03. Radio = 3.23.00>

How did you downgrade the radio stack, please give me the method used because I know many people will be interested, I have never managed it either.
Reference your usage of the sim from 3, I cannot see it being an imei problem, as you know the xda is not 3 compatable so it will be logging you on through a 3rd party network as far as I know. If the imei was blocked it would not work with any operator here in uk. Does the 3 sim work in another phone.?

I found GERMAN Radio Stack from this forum. (REF:http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=2185). The '3' network also uses O2 network. Have not tried '3' sim in another phone - will test tomorrow.[/b]

cruisin-thru said:
How did you downgrade the radio stack, please give me the method used because I know many people will be interested, I have never managed it either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have downgraded a few times, but i dont know if this method will work 4 u.
if i currently have a TMO stack, ill go to a ATT stack, then i can bak to an earlier TMO, or visa versa
i only tried this with ATTs and TMOs, never had the need to try other stacks...(or should i :twisted: )

It is possible that the phone has been blocked, I have had this problem with 2 phones that I bought as faulty, I repaired them only to find that the sellers had claimed on insurance then sold the knackered phone which had been blocked by the provider.

JUICEe - I am not brave enuff to go down that route given the dire warnings from this forum in moving from UK/Europe stacks to US ones.
crusing-thru - Given that XDA works perfectly ok with 02 SIM, and '3' SIM works fine in 3' phone, I believe its something about the '3' SIM/Network and not the phone that is preventing me using it in my XDA at this time.
Tx for the interest, hope you were able to downgrade using the German stack. It works fine with O2 SIM.

It is strange though that the sim was working fine then doesnt work in xda but still works in another phone. Have you tried an orange or t mobile sim in the phone? If you are positive that 3 uses O2 as a patch network then ignore this. Have you been to bootloader and inadvertently changed gsm to 900 only, if 3 uses an 1800 network this would explain it, if you havent been to bootloader then I have no idea and if as you said the people at 3 are not interested I would consider dumping them as a service provider.

"Hutchison 3G has agreed to share network facilities owned by UK operator mmO2 to ensure rapid time to market even before its own network is complete, with customers roaming between Hutchison's limited 3G network and mmO2's existing second generation network. Hutchison's right to let customers roam with at least one existing competitor's 2G network is part of the 3G license and enforceable by law."

3 have locked the SIM, must be in one of their phones or will not work, even though it uses O2 as a voice network. Seen this problem many times, and there is nothing you can do about it. Anyone who has made it work is just lucky, and 3 will get to you in the end.
Don't ask me why they do it as to me they are restricting their own business, cos if you use your own handset, you are likely to use it more. Just ask my girlfriend who just hates her nec 606 and hardly uses it!!

Hi,
Basically what happened was that O2 complained to '3'. People were getting the cheap tarriffs from '3' and using them in 2g handsets.
O2's opinion was those people 'should' be using O2 as their provider if they are just using the 2g voice part.
'3' realised that if this becomes wide spread, although they will still make a % off the voice call in profit (after paying O2 for using their 2g network), they wont be acustoming people to using any of the 3g functions.
Really they would be hindering the progression of users from 2g to 3g, which may end up costing them alot more ultimately.
In my opinion it was most likely O2 threatening to take action too.
Really their marketing stratedgy is to give out cheap voice calls, to get the 3 phone in your hand... then they bombard u with offers to try video calls etc etc eventually 'in theory' u get used to these services.. same old story.
I havnt monitored the message, but from what i can tell they are using one of two things to stop the phones working:
1) capability messages from the phone restricting the phone from completing authentification because it isnt '3g' capable. That could be done as part of the auth process, raising the required capability to 3g.
2) Using the SAT (sim application toolkit) capability to talk to the USIM and dissable it.
Although SAT and USIM are not actually compatible, you can talk to a USIM through a SAT phone with limited functions.
If they're using (1) your **** outta luck really. But if that were the case you would expect everyone to be knocked out within the space of a month max (when they update the hlr records). Did you just get your 3 card?
If its 2.. you may be able to try an OLD handset that isnt SAT capable, just to prove the point.
I'm leaning towards (2) because i do know that on many nokia's if u type a number as soon as you boot up the phone it will work.
Also if u leave a digit on the screen.. say 0 as soon as u end that call it will still work when u dial the next number.
Clear the digit and not type one quick enough and you gotta reboot before it'll work again.
Sounds like the nokia firmware blocks access to the sim for other processes, in anticipation of reading the KC and doing an auth when u make the call.
Toxic.

3G and Magician

Can any one please tell me if its possible to use Magician with 3G networks after software/OS upgardes.. I don't know any thing about this 3G technology, and want to know if it requires special hardware on the mobile devices? Or the software can just use the exisiting communication hardware to utilize 3G networks?
Thanks,
Nabil.

It' impossible... The device need specifical hardware (Umts receiver, etc..). Sorry...

The Nokia N-series phones set the standard for 3G on a phone the size of the Magician. So maybe in 2007, you will see the Magician 3rd Generation PocketPCPhones embrace 3G.

The HTC Hermes is (unofficially) announced for the first half of next year to have UMTS built in with the size of the Wizard (same as Magician, only thicker). I guess we will have such devices in 2006 already.

Why can't they build a SD Card with a 3G receiver in it, like the pcmcia cards?

VoodooBOB said:
Why can't they build a SD Card with a 3G receiver in it, like the pcmcia cards?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, thats what I was also wondering..

and about 4gb of memory included as well as the 3G, then i wouldnt need to ever update my jam!!
SpeedN

I think I should lease my handhelds from now on, seems like every 6 months, a new device comes out :-D

Triband or quadband? 802.11b or 802.11b/g?

Firstly, I would like to say that my mobile provider is T-mobile (The Netherlands). I have the T-mobile MDA Vario.
I have discovered 2 previous threads concerning contradictions in the hardware of the Wizard/Qtek 9100/MDA Vario.
I know that the original manufactor is HTC Innovation (Taiwan). (Under my battery its labeled as the "WIZA200").
The Qtek site for Europe says it supports quadband, 802.11b/g & EDGE.
http://www.qtek.nu/europe/products/9100/specifications.aspx
However, the Dutch T-mobile site says it supports triband, 802.11b & only support for GPRS.
Triband: GSM 900/1800/1900
WLAN High speed data (802.11b up to 11Mbps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I am assuming that the Qtek 9100 & MDA Vario devices are hardware wise exactly similar (Seems expensive for HTC to produce slightly different Wizards.). Therefore I came to the conclusion that the it must be locked down through software.
Has anyone been able to unlock some of these features? (E.g. triband -> quadband)
I tested to see if 802.11g would function on my MDA Vario (Through Linksys router working in G-mode only). It didn't work. So I am assuming there are no mistakes on these websites. Also it would be in T-mobiles intrest to lock down these features as the MDA Pro has them, but is a lot more expensive.
If anyone could shed some light on this problem, it would be intresting.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=38898&highlight=

Thank you, didn't know there was a new version out. I saw something about version 1.0, but some people were having problems with this, so thought it wasn't a working fix. Quick question regarding the WLAN G 2.0 patch, does it still also allow to be connected to 802.11b only networks?
Anybody still now anything regarding about going from triband to quadband?
Thanks in advance.

Can Dopod U1000 make calls in Japan?

I know Dopod 900 and other 3G phones can be used in Japan as long as you have a 3G enabled SIM card from your home telco. How about the new U1000? If I buy one in Singapore can I use it during my trips to Japan? This is a major purchase decision point so please help if you can. Thanks!

I can confirm it works. And you need to use a handfree to make call. I used 3HK and CSL SIM card in Japan and works just fine.

jameshuang said:
I can confirm it works. And you need to use a handfree to make call. I used 3HK and CSL SIM card in Japan and works just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you make a GPRS / internet connection with the Dopod U1000 in Japan?

Yes. It works just fine. No problems.

k_kirk said:
Yes. It works just fine. No problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good news. Could you please tell me how you set up the GPRS connection?
Edit: oops , I see, you are not using a Japanese service, like Softbank, or NTT. I am still trying to find out whether it's possible to use an unlocked Athena with a Softbank SIM card. I know the it would work as phone, but how to set up the GPRS connection would be the problem.

chainbolt said:
That's good news. Could you please tell me how you set up the GPRS connection?
Edit: oops , I see, you are not using a Japanese service, like Softbank, or NTT. I am still trying to find out whether it's possible to use an unlocked Athena with a Softbank SIM card. I know the it would work as phone, but how to set up the GPRS connection would be the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I use Singtel and use roaming when I'm in Japan. My SIM has the 3G service activated. I hope you can find a telco offering service in Japan. Good luck.

Using Dopod 900 3G PPC in Japan
Hi! Can anyone tell me how to get the Dopod 900 I bought in Malaysia to work here in Japan? Sales clerks are telling me it's not possible. Dopod's site doesn't offer any help. Thanks a lot. I plan to be here for a month or more so it will really help to find out what's true and possible.

Yes I can confirm it works too.

Professorredbag said:
Hi! Can anyone tell me how to get the Dopod 900 I bought in Malaysia to work here in Japan? Sales clerks are telling me it's not possible. Dopod's site doesn't offer any help. Thanks a lot. I plan to be here for a month or more so it will really help to find out what's true and possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does. As far as I understand if it supports 3G then it should technically work in japan. Too bad I no longer have my Dopod 900 with me to test it out.

Dopod 900 Woes in Japan
Thanks for your replies. The problem is I want a Japanese sim card and number not the roaming services from Malaysia as I have temporarily moved. This what sales clerks are telling me is not possible. They say I must have a Japanese made handphone. !!?? I know they are protectionist here but surely there is a way around the obstacles.. Any specific suggestions? really appreciate your help!

What I know
I am really interested in this too, as I plan on getting an Athena soon. However, I know that you don't need a "Japanese made handphone". They don't like people using different phones on their network, but they can't really stop you.
Well, they probably can technically stop you, but it is highly unlikely that they will. The reason the sales clerk is telling you it is impossible is probably because there are almost NO unlocked phones in Japan. 99.99% of all phones sold here are branded and locked to a specific carrier.
I am a Hermes user and bought my Hermes through Softbank, a carrier here in Japan. I have since reflashed it hundreds of times and have never had a problem with connecting to the network. I also know others on this board who are Kaiser users who have imported their Kaisers from other countries and are using them on Softbank's system with no problems. There was also a big interest in the mobile device geek community of Japan in the Treo 700w when it first appeared, and I have seen blogs of Japanese guys who have got that running on Softbank's system. So it IS definately possible to run non-Softbank phones on Softbank's network provided you have a valid Softbank SIM.
Some caveats:
I have never seen any carrier here just selling SIMs. You will more than likely have to purchase a phone to get a SIM card.
Voice and SMS (text) should work automatically just by popping in the SIM. Data and MMS are more difficult.
Data
There are two ways of connecting to Softbank's data servers, and each is charged differently. One method uses a public access server, but the charges for using this are quite high. This is the server used for people connecting laptops using cellular modems. The other method allow access under Softbank's tiered and capped system, which is the much cheaper and safer option. The connection settings to access this system are very closely guarded and no one to my knowledge has been able to hack them.
However, there is a workaround. See here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=298031
The problem with this workaround is that it requires a program called WIFIwake.exe. And it just so happens that WIFIwake.exe is coded specifically for different machines. On the link above, there is a version for the Universal and a version for the Hermes (the U and H in the .zip file names). Valued member Chaimd hex-edited a file to make it work for Kaiser: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=328362&highlight=softbank&page=3. And he seemed to think it was a pretty easy job. If asked nicely, he might be able to hex-edit one for Athena too - or not. I don't know.
MMS
MMS is also more difficult to set up. Basically, it requires a program called MMSLite which can be quirky. The only way to know for sure whether it will work with Athena is to try and see I think. And it does NOT work on WM6.1 systems, so you will have to decide between MMS + WM6 or NoMMS + WM6.1. This is the big reason I am thinking of buying the 7501 rather than the 7510.

After some research...
... on some Japanese sites, it seems that a CID unlocked Athena can use the WIFIwake.exe file meant for the Universal.
Also, MMSLite seems to be working as well. So it seems that on the Softbank network at least the Athena can do it all.

Dopod Woes in Japan
Dear Larsuck,
I appreciate your investing so much time and thought to help me. I'm not even remotely savy enough to understand the complexities of your advice but I do gather that buying a Japanese phone is inevitable. Any suggestions for the cheapest? as I'll just use it for local calls and carry my laptop with me when I need other connectivity.

Professorredbag said:
Any suggestions for the cheapest? as I'll just use it for local calls and carry my laptop with me when I need other connectivity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? So you have decided not to the the Athena? There are tons of really cool phones over here that can do many, many different things - but none of them compare to WM in that they aren't as customizable. Go to the Softbank website (English: http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/ ) and check them out.
However, if you want to get the Athena, here are two choices:
1) Get the Athena, come to Japan, get a cheap phone (cheap in the relative sense) here, take the SIM card out of it and put it in the Athena. Do some research on this site and get the Athena up and running. Keep the cheap phone just in case the Athena dies.
2) Get the Athena, come to Japan, get an expensive but slightly subsidized phone, unlock it and sell it on ebay. Use the sim card in your Athena and hope it doesn't die.

Taking my Universal to Japan...

...or at least I hope that this is possible. I really don't want to take the old advice which says "buy a Japanese cellphone and stop worrying" as the MDA is hard to replace and after "teaching" it how to read and write Japanese there's nothing I'd really miss just keeping it. Against the myth you can get standard SIM cards in Japan, too and the only critical point would be the wireless standard used in Japan. The Phone tab say that it supports WCDMA, but I read before that this is not true for every Japanese provider. Softbank (Vodafone) is said to be compatible to the European UMTS standard. Can anybody here validate this? It would safe me a lot of money getting a decent Japanese cellphone as my "brick" still has a year or two of life in it

Yes the Universal works in Japan. At least in most places... it seems to lose the signal in the middle of a subway tunnel but gets it back quickly at the station ;P

I think our 'bricks' will be around a lot longer than that as they don't seem to be giving us a direct replacement :¬D

That's great news, but which provider do you use eksekki? Softbank? Or maybe it doesn't really matter after all? And we're not talking about the Japanese Universal here, right? And about the direct replacement: Is the 'Omni' really vaporware? I always had my hopes up for that one...

SB/Vodafone + Universal works. As for any other operator, if you can get a SIM card that fits into Universal I really don't see any reason why it wouldn't work(*). Hardware wise, I use (UK) Xda Exec brand but all the HTC Universal models are the same and there is no "Japanese universal" right (just ROM maybe)? No problems with different (English) ROM versions including WM6 - hence the "universal" =) There's just no replacement for this brick!
* edit: as long as they have a 2100 MHz WCDMA network :|

Any etra work needed?
I'm just calling back this thread from the ghosts to ask whether any extra steps are needed to use my Universal in Japan. I've seen a patch for the Hermes to use the Softbank AP, but I wonder: Shouldn't the Universal work straight out of the box if I pop in the Softbank card? Is it just because the AP password is hardcoded into the Japanese ROM? Speaking of which: What is the latest native Japanese (Softbank) WM5 ROM? The search didn't reveal anything. What kind of services will I miss if I just leave a Japanese enabled English WM5 ROM on the device? Would be great if someone could enlighten me a bit.