Considering upgrading my x2i to an x10a and i got a couple questions. What does branding do to the phone? Does it impose some sort of limitations? What are the advantages to debranding? Is it the same as rooting?
Much appreciated
from my elementary understanding, a unbranded phone can use f/w updates from any carrier (eg. rogers most recent is 020, however unbranded can be upgraded to 026).
Rooting a phone simply gives the owner superuser privileges, meaning that one can have ultimate control of the phone....generally people root so they can install specific apps that do not work on unrooted phones (eg. titanium backup, barnacle tether, always flash, setcpu, adfree...etc etc)
so to answer your question, root is not the same as branding, HOWEVER, there are ways to unbrand and root and upgrade in one go
Thanks for the reply!
Related
Hello. I have just received a new G2 (aka Hero) on T-mobile UK.
I am planning on doing this, please can you tell me if this would work:
1.Installing a recovery image
2.Booting into recovery and making a Nandroid backup
3.Installing a generic HTC Rom which has been packed into update.zip NB.Rom is a stock rom and therefore not rooted
As I understand after flashing I would lose rooting and would need to root again if I need to. However, I don't need to so am not too bothered.
I am hoping that this would remove T-Mobile branding, but mainly make the phone quicker as it is running the latest ROM. Would this technique work?
I would also like to know wether my sim-lock status would be affected?
Also if Donut/Android 1.6 is released OTA by HTC would my phone update OTA?
Finally, does that mean once I have flashed it, I will not be able to access the recovery partition thing which includes Nandroid etc.?
Please answer my questions and comment if you have any reservations/concerns about this. All comments are much appreciated.
bump-please help
Bit previous with the bump after such a sort time??
To answer your questions:
First of all, as long as your G2 still has the original Hero firmware, you are probably ok with your plan. If you've got the latest firmware, you'll probably have to use the gold card technique.
If you install a generic ROM, you'll lose most the T-Mobile branding, but to be honest there was very little anyway. The T-Mobile splash screen when you switch on will remain though.
SIM-lock has nothing to do with your ROM - it was locked before it will still be locked after you update the ROM, and vice versa.
Finally, on the subject of an OTA, who knows???!!! I really wouldn't worry about it.
Regards,
Dave
Thanks Dave. Does anyone else have anything to say?
new user, similar question.
got myself a T-mobile G2 yesterday, thinking that it's the same thing as HTC Hero. ok, it's only a software difference but now i'm unable to flash it.
software version is 2.73.116.61 which is T-mobile version of course, and comparing version numbers to recent ones it looks really outdated. is it? on T-mobile UK support pages it's even older one. tried to download official version but HTC says there is no support for my device, based on serial number. also tried to flash with newest downloaded from here but no luck, got error 131
so, what can I do? root or goldcard?
thanx
You will need to goldcard to downgrade your ROM, before you'll be able to "upgrade" it to a custom ROM.
Regards,
Dave
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=572683
thank you, it worked flawlessly
Debranding Optimus Hero (ORANGE)
Hi everyone.
I am an Android rookie, but i am trying to learn more and more each day.
I bought recently a HTC Hero from optimus operator (Portugal) - Orange - and it came with 1.5 version of the OS. There is original 2.1 version but not for my operator.
I already made an goldcard for it, removed simlock, and rooted but now i would like to know step by step what to do?
what rom (original and generic) should i install to have 2.1?
How to do it, with goldcard inside cellphone?
It is possible to go back?
I have read in Q&A that some orange phones, whem the debranding is done, loose the network due to some radio network imcompabilities... how can i know if that is or is not my case?
I would be greatful for all the help someone could give me.
Many thanks
D_Saint
Look at the guides in the android development section of how to root. If the phone is running a very old firmware the likelyhood is that you won't need to downgrade and therefore may not need a goldcard. But basically, you need to root and install a recovery image then you can flash a rom from the hero development section.
EDIT: See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=645253
Hi all
I recently purchased a Motorola Atrix (having previously had a Galaxy S). I have a couple of questions I thought you fine folk may be able to help with:
I bought the phone unlocked, though originally it was on Orange UK. The firmware version is 4.4.20.MB860.Orange.en.GB - Is this the most up to date? Also, will the fact I am not with Orange affect my ability to gain future updates? (I.e. does it validate that you are an Orange customer when it checks for OTA updates?). I would prefer to just get official OTA updates if possible, rather than mess with manually installing firmware.
Many thanks
James
When you say "unlocked", do you mean just sim-unlocked? If so, then there would be no reason for it to not be updated. As far as getting OTA, I don't see why not. If not, Motorola has the MSU that basically does the update automatically through your computer, you just have to make a few clicks.
For your FW version, I don't know. You can probably Google that.
surrealjam said:
Hi all
I recently purchased a Motorola Atrix (having previously had a Galaxy S). I have a couple of questions I thought you fine folk may be able to help with:
I bought the phone unlocked, though originally it was on Orange UK. The firmware version is 4.4.20.MB860.Orange.en.GB - Is this the most up to date? Also, will the fact I am not with Orange affect my ability to gain future updates? (I.e. does it validate that you are an Orange customer when it checks for OTA updates?). I would prefer to just get official OTA updates if possible, rather than mess with manually installing firmware.
Many thanks
James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can gather, it is indeed the latest version. Thanks for the response - I shall await the UK Gingerbread release patiently in that case!
Hello everyone!! First of all, sorry if this has been posted already and please excuse me as I am completely new to the smartphone and android scene!
I do not own a SGSII yet but I am seeking to buy the white version of the phone, which is currently available at Bell. I'm planning to just buy out the phone itself without a contract because I will be going away to the UK in January for about 9 months. I am aware of the fact that Bell has its own firmware, giving it the name i9100m instead of i9100. So, I was wondering if I root and unlock the phone, will I be able to update the firmware and perform all the functions that a generic i9100 would and therefore be able to use the phone in the UK when I move there?
It might be a stupid question but I just thought I'd better be safe than sorry
Thanks in advance!
Yes, it won't be a problem
KayvinM said:
Yes, it won't be a problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it will work, whether you want to unlock it for rogers here in Canada or on a carrier in the UK, the process is the same. You can pretty much flash any rom you want, as rooting the bell phone pretty much breaks kies will to update. At least it did for me
Thanks guys! I thought that I had to go through a different process for unlocking and modifications, thanks again for clearing that up I will be on my way to purchase a SGSII very soon
My friend had the an unfortunate but common experience with his X10.
Its an at&r version, and he finally got the 2.1 update only to see "X10 gets gingerbread" plastered all over every android news site. After calling at&t and Sony Ericson, and after being transferred to manager and manager, they emailed him instructions on how to "unlock" his phone to get the gingerbread update.
In the instructions, it tells him that he needs a sim from another carrier. The problem is, in our area, only at&t and Verizon are prevalent. From my old Nokia days, I thought an unlock code was an unlock code. You unlocked the code and then were free to use it on any sim supported carrier with a device with compatible frequencies. I've never actually heard of an unlock that required an alternative sim to complete the unlock process. Nor have I heard of a phone that after it was unlocked, would receive an update.
Is this true? If it is, we have no chance at doing this the legit way. Which method of root, and which ROM would give us the easiest time, and the closest to stock experience. He isn't necessarily the techiest, but loves Sony. Were not necessarily looking for the most features, but would greatly appreciate if he could upgrade to gingerbread.
I'm not an expert by any means, but I have rooted, flashed, and installed ICS and customs rooms on my Transformer mainly using Clockwork Recovery. I've also rooted, flashed a custom over clock kernel, and pushed modified files over ADB on my AT&T Galaxy Note, released a mere fees days ago. This should give you an idea of our experience level.
There are dozens of Roms and sites with tutorials, but they're all convoluted and don't take into account the presence of other methods and rom to explain why their's is better. They also don't tell us when they're outdated.
So, to the point, and to sum it all up: does this sum unlock allow for a blessed OTA update? If we actually need another carriers sim, were out of luck. In that case, which method and rom would be easiest to root, and then flash. Is a from like cyanogenmod (seemingly the go to for handsets) available? I don't have a Rosetta stone for X10 roms , recoveries, and root methods.
Thanks very much.
At&t has no plans on releasing 2.3 I have no idea what an unlock code has to do with an update.
I upgraded my att stock x10 2.1 to 2.3 without a problem. I flashed using the North American 2.3 found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=936733 You'll have to look at all the pages to find a working download.
I also got the flash tool from this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=920746
If you need a guide on flashing your phone look at this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1012380
Thanks! Big time!
gabnj said:
At&t has no plans on releasing 2.3 I have no idea what an unlock code has to do with an update.
I upgraded my att stock x10 2.1 to 2.3 without a problem. I flashed using the North American 2.3 found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=936733 You'll have to look at all the pages to find a working download.
I also got the flash tool from this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=920746
If you need a guide on flashing your phone look at this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1012380
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
were you able to use 4G after that?
Good morning
I'm trying to upgrade a rooted and unlocked Vibrant (T959) running 2.1 (stock tmob):
Current rom (stock tmob): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734475
Unlocked manually by editing nv_data.bin: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=761045
Unfortunately, in few hours my friend is leaving overseas and needs additional language support that exist only on 2.2 and above.
I need your help finding the fastest and safest way to upgrade it to 2.2 without losing the carrier unlock (and hopefully to also keep it rooted).
BTW, tmobile suggest using kies min: http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1767
Is it going to break anything I need?
Any suggestions \ tips would be highly appreciated,
Many thanks!
DO NOT use kies to upgrade, it will most likely brick your phone. Flash one of Fishman's 2.2 ROMs which are pre rooted, you can find a list of ROMs in the vibrant Bible thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=. Your carrier unlock should still work but if it doesn't just unlock it again with this app below, it works everytime http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...54GoDA&usg=AFQjCNHPLitmEuuGmN0wLxiUDOUVaJxYOA
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2