' .... We still haven't tested whether the device is actually a tri-band phone that is just software-limited to being a dual-band phone, but postings on the net seem to indicate that it is not actually a tri-band phone. But even though we think we know, we still need someone with access to a European phone in USA...'
is it already tested???
Not sure. But it isn't. We're pretty sure of that: radio parts are different.
And don't try to flash a 900/1800 modem with 900/1900 firmware either: you'll ruin it.
Not tri band
There are two different devices.
PW10A1 is 900/1800MHz
PW10B1 is 900/1900MHz FCC ID: NM8SN
Only the PW10B1 is approved for use in the USA. The RF components are different, even though the Bootloader is common between both devices.
In other words, you will ruin it if you flash it with a different GSM version, but it is possible to flash it back using bootloader, right?
Zviratko said:
In other words, you will ruin it if you flash it with a different GSM version, but it is possible to flash it back using bootloader, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the bootloader method of flashing currently only covers the WinCE (main) ROM, not the GSM ROM. There is a way, but we simply know too little at this time... Progress is being made though...
I now have a confirmed report of the XDA not being a tri-band device. A friend of my took an European XDA to the US yesterday. Like we expected the device is not working there. Even not when switched to "GSM1900".
This confirms the idea of an universal bootloader and different GSM stacks. The European/Asian XDA is simple not working on GSM1900 networks. If you travel a lot, it's better to buy a T-Mobile or AT&T device as those devices work on GSM900 and GSM1900...
Anonymous said:
I now have a confirmed report of the XDA not being a tri-band device. A friend of my took an European XDA to the US yesterday. Like we expected the device is not working there. Even not when switched to "GSM1900".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah excellent. We all knew it wasn't, but now at least someone has tested it.
This confirms the idea of an universal bootloader and different GSM stacks. The European/Asian XDA is simple not working on GSM1900 networks. If you travel a lot, it's better to buy a T-Mobile or AT&T device as those devices work on GSM900 and GSM1900...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really much better not to speak of bootloader in connection with the modem part. The bootloader resides in the first 256 kilobytes of the main ROM. The rest of this ROM (32 MB - 256 kB) is taken up by the operating system, with a little room to spare for contacts and other things which are explicitly saved to flash by the user. The OS ROM can be flashed using the RUU program (also called Programme A by HTC), but it can also be flashed using the bootloader, residing in the same ROM.
The modem is a different contraption alltogether. It has its own processor, RAM (256 kB) and ROM (4 MB), and is possibly only wired to the main processor with a serial port (operating at 115 kbps). The modem holds the software loaded in using the Radio Stack Upgrade (also called Programme B by HTC). The 900/1800 and the 900/1900 modems have both different software and different hardware. Flashing software of one into the other makes it not work anymore, and we're not sure whether there's always a way back.
We're learning more and more about the modem upgrade process. But we still advise against playing around with the modem. Upgrade if you have to (maybe skipping 4.14 and wait for higher versions if you haven't upgraded yet), but if you're not deeply technically inclined then don't **** with it beyond that unless you wanna risk losing it.
I bought a new SX56 from an ebayer and it appears to be unlocked etc. I put my current active Cingular SIM card in it but I get a no signal message after it searches for signal. The device came with xda-developers.com ROM version v1.2 on it. I have tried to switch to all of the different Bandswitch settings with no success. HELP PLEASE!!! ANYONE??!!
What's your RSU version ... you can get it from device info or displayed while booting.
PS: it's very risky to use the GSM menu this way. Check with your operator and select the right band once and for ever.
No signal on SX56
My device info is:
ROM ver: 3.17.03 ENG
ROM date? 05/15/03
Radio Version 6.12
Protocol version 324e4
Seems you have a bit old ROM and RSU ... you better check with one in your area but I see here some people have either TMO 4.01.00 + 6.24 or AT&T 30.09 + A30 and they are on Cingular. The right bandwidth setting is the key factor.
Thanks for your reply. I don't know how to do the updates you refer to. I hate to return the thing because I got a good deal on it, but if I can't use it on Cingular I don't know what else to do with it? Any help would be appreciated.
Doc
You can get the complete TMO update (ROM + RSU) here ftp://tmobile:[email protected]:21
Good luck ...
Hi,
I tried to link and get an error trying to connect. Could you please send it again :?: ? Do you think updating to windows 2003 would be if help? I can download it for free from the Siemens website. I just don't want it to lock the phone or cause any damage!
Doc
The official update from AT&T should be OK ... however, you device is better to be PW10B type (check the rear sticker) these upgrades were made for USA use.
Also, if you are in the Cingular 850Mhz only zone, you wont be able to catch signal, cause none of the RSU's will support this band.... (quite unfortunate for all of us in North America)
Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure of the Band mHz on Cingular. I will try to find out from them if I can. Guess I'm the die hard type but I still want it to work or I'll have to abandon it. Any other help will be appreciated
Doc
Mavrik said:
Also, if you are in the Cingular 850Mhz only zone, you wont be able to catch signal, cause none of the RSU's will support this band.... (quite unfortunate for all of us in North America)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite unfortunate indeed. What are the chances that AT&T will release one in the future to make it compatible with Cingular 850 networks after the merger?
I still think there is a way to tune a digital device to another frequency. AT&T has a deal on these for $99.99 and it was just bought out by Cingular. It would be logical that Siemens has something in the mix an upgraded model, different freq. etc.
Doc
doc said:
I still think there is a way to tune a digital device to another frequency. AT&T has a deal on these for $99.99 and it was just bought out by Cingular. It would be logical that Siemens has something in the mix an upgraded model, different freq. etc.
Doc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I am thinking. I am a Cingular employee so I bought one to put on my ERP but I can only use AT&T and T-Mobile signals at the moment.
I am 100% certain that it is possible to get the device to work on 850, more than likely just restricted in the radio stack.
You are lucky!! I have six phones through Cingular and they have been trying to get me a Treo 600 since December!! I'd prefer a windows based device hence my reason for buying a SX56. I had no way to know it would not work on Cingular. All the ads I see for unlocked phones claim they will work on any GSM carrier with an active SIM card.
Obviously it doesn't work hence my involvement in all of this!!
Doc
It is possible that somebody has got cingular sim to work on 850, if they were in close proximity to a mast maybe the 50mhz wouldnt mean too much and a signal could be acquired, but you would still be using a phone detuned by 50mhz which isnt an ideal situation.
I'm not an expert but 50mhz is a pretty big difference in frequency. The splash over from 800 to 850 or 900 to 850 is pretty big. It probably would not work very well even a few feet away from the site where it functions. Still there has to be a way to to tune one of these to 850mhz.
Doc
re: the 850 tunning question, As far as I understand this is a hardware aspect of the radio, thus you can not tune to this freq. This is also the reason AT&T did not brand the XDA II, because HTC would not impliment 850 into the device. You are more likely to see a HP6300 or MPx in this department as they are both quadband phones (meaning 850 implimentation) the real question is, will either of these phones be EDGE enabled? My quess is the HP will but the MPx will not. Reasoning: Rumor was HP was using TI Ref design WANDA. TI make EDGE hardware for phones. TI processor may be in the HP phone. The bottom line is you will need new hardware for 850 or EDGE. Sorry for the bad news, I too would love to be proved wrong. Guess I'll have to pony the dough for one of these two new devices. I really loved my HTC device but if they aren't going to keep up...I have no choice. I still feel the XDA will be a better over all device, but without 850 & EDGE implimentation it's going to fall way short. It's nice to own a Corvet, but if a Honda goes faster...why buy the brand name.
re: the 850 tunning question, As far as I understand this is a hardware aspect of the radio, thus you can not tune to this freq. This is also the reason AT&T did not brand the XDA II, because HTC would not impliment 850 into the device. You are more likely to see a HP6300 or MPx in this department as they are both quadband phones (meaning 850 implimentation) the real question is, will either of these phones be EDGE enabled? My quess is the HP will but the MPx will not. Reasoning: Rumor was HP was using TI Ref design WANDA. TI make EDGE hardware for phones. TI processor may be in the HP phone. The bottom line is you will need new hardware for 850 or EDGE. Sorry for the bad news, I too would love to be proved wrong. Guess I'll have to pony the dough for one of these two new devices. I really loved my HTC device but if they aren't going to keep up...I have no choice. I still feel the XDA will be a better over all device, but without 850 & EDGE implimentation it's going to fall way short. It's nice to own a Corvet, but if a Honda goes faster...why buy the brand name.
I'm getting depressed. I bought this thing thinking it would just be a matter of sticking the SIM card in and off we go!! I've emailed 15 times, joined three different PDA/Phone forums and learned more about these damn things than I ever intended. Now I have a slow PDA, a car charger, extra case, extra sync/usb cable and it won't work on Cingular which I can't change!!!
HELP!!!
Wallaby from T-Mobile works fine with Cingular
Excuse me if I'm way off base, but I just moved over to Cingular from T-Mobile using an unlocked Wallaby, and it works fine. The only thing I haven't been able to do is to make a GPRS connection.
Has anyone yet figured out what the penulitmate digit in the radio version numbers means?
Looking at the list of published ROMs on the wiki I can deduce the following:
- Asian and generic WWE (which I assume originate from Asia) ROMs use .10 or .11
- O2 used .10 for WM5 but now .00 for WM6
- All other (European, North American) ROMs appear to use .00 or .01
Are they optimized for different network parameters? Is there some major difference in network standards between Europe/North America and Asia?
I believe that .11 (or .01) means that GPS is enabled.
correct .11 radios are for the trynity since it has GPS the Hermes has the same chip but the GPS has been killed in it people have tried very hard to gert it to work but its a no go.
Yes, I've seen elsewhere the at the last '1' indicates GPS support. I'm still curious to know what the penultimate digit (i.e. .1x vs .0x) indicates. As far as I can see from the info on shipped ROMs there is a geographical bias. Perhaps we ought to be bearing this in mind when choosing radio ROM versions?
With so many Radio stacks to choose from, I decided to do some researching about each one, as well as tried to determine which one is used the most. I understand that as with ROMs, there is not a "best" radio stack to choose from but rather, the experience varies form person to person based on individual needs.
I have narrowed the selections down to 3 or 4 different versions but before I flash my device, I was hoping someone could help clarify the one question I could not find an answer to.
Are certain radio stacks carrier specific? Is there a radio version that is better for devices using TMO vs. devices using ATT?
For example:
My current set up is:
Carrier: T-Mobile USA (Seattle)
Device: HERM100 Hermes (specifically the Cingular 8525 version)
ROM: MRH 6.5 Rainbow WM6.1 (19212-ish)
Radio: 1.16.00.00
Knowing that I have TMO USA can I flash my device with 1.54.30.10? It seems that this has only been tested on ATT, does that mean it wont work with TMO? (will i lose TMO services with an ATT radio?)
Thanks in advance,
-hier0
From what I have read in different forums
00.00 optimised for US and UK
30.10 optimised for OZ and down under
00.10 optimised for general use.
Hope this helps, and yes it will be good for users from all over the world to come together and get a report together as to what is best for their area.
I am in Christchurch, New Zealand, and am using 1.47.30.10 thanks in advance.
zocster said:
From what I have read in different forums
00.00 optimised for US and UK
30.10 optimised for OZ and down under
00.10 optimised for general use.
Hope this helps, and yes it will be good for users from all over the world to come together and get a report together as to what is best for their area.
I am in Christchurch, New Zealand, and am using 1.47.30.10 thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was researching which radios people are using, I only compared the radio version to the carrier they were using. I can't believe I didn't think about the region a radio version is optimized for. That makes a lot more sense and I would say, that's some very important info for anyone to know before flashing their radio. Good lookin out! Thanks
EDIT: So I guess now the question would be...Since I am located in America i know that i should be using a radio version that ends in 00.00...Does it matter which carrier I am using? Or can I flash any radio version ending in 00.00?
I also agree that it would be great if we could have users from a variety of regions post their Radio version, Carrier and Region information. If we can get a good mix of information, I will throw it into a matrix and post it into the wiki. This would be a great reference for anyone who wants to update their radio. (it would also help eliminate noobish questions)
For example:
If a user posted:
Region: USA / Radio: 1.16.00.00 / T-Mobile (all services work without error)
and a second user posted:
Region: USA / Radio: 1.16.00.00 / AT&T (all services work without error)
then noobs like me (or anyone for that matter) would know that its probally safe to flash any radio version optimized for US/UK no matter what their carrier is.
Just a thought..
-hier0
I heard its possible to flash the radio so it match the US and Canada frequencies to get 3G data instead of EDGE
Can someone Help me. I found a link to the Radio roms but no step by step flashing guide.
I have a european Hero Downgraded to version 2.73.405.5 on Baseband version 63.18.55.06EU_6.35.06.18.
How can I make it work on 3G cause right now I can only acces EDGE. With ROGERS Canada
Thanks to all of you guys (& girls) because this is new to me and seriously, some of you are really talented.
seriously dude, that has been asked several times, is not possible and belongs not in this category.
OK man sorry about that was not there for the past years reading all the threads ever created... I did some search and wasnt able to find specific guide about that...
Forget about it and have a nice day.
i recently read that it is possible on some winmo phones to use the radio matching your network on a different phone. comes with the downside that reception goes down to (i would think) unusable level, because the hardware is not meant to work on these frequencies. it is more of a "side effect" that it works at all. i have not read of something like this happening at all for a hero.