Disclaimer: I will not be held responsible for any damage to your phone, your PC or indeed your life from following this guide. The steps in this guide worked for me. If you have problems uninstall everything and start from Step 4 again. Doing this kind of thing could affect your warranty and all that so have a long hard think about it before you go ahead
US Owners - If you flash the UK firmware, you will lose 3g and wifi calling app etc... There are fixes for this problem that can be found on other Forums. A guide on how to restore this which has worked for others is HERE
##WARNING: be careful when flashing 2.51 firmware, firstly its patched so root isn't achievable by the usual methods, and isn't easy to downgrade back to other firmware - I suggest you search and read the various topics on it. My advice is to use 2.21 UK or 2.34 Deblur firmware##
This guide will show you how to debrand your Motorola Defy (Eg bought on T-Mobile UK and want generic UK firmware), or indeed restore the phone if you brick (Eg removing important apps that you shouldn’t have touched!!)
Props go to jutley (Modaco)for his debranding guide for the flipout, and dkspook (Modaco) for his information in other threads, and anyone else who thinks they may have contributed, oh yeah and my Mum.
##Disconnect phone from PC##
STEP 1 Download usb drivers here below
Motorola Drivers Here
STEP 2 Download the debranded Firmware here (To debrand to generic UK I used the one marked UK - choose the one for your country)
Choose Firmware Here
STEP 3 Download RSDLite - I used v4.9, I found earlier versions would not work. Get it here.
RSDLite 4.9 Here
STEP 4 Install the USB Drivers and the RSDLite program and reboot PC
STEP 5 Extract the firmware file you downloaded a while ago. Then copy the .sbf firmware file to c:\Program files\Motorola\RSDLite folder (installation directory for RDSLite). this should come out as JRDNEM_U3_2.21.0_SIGNED_UCAJRDNEMARAB1B80AA028.0R_USAJORDANRTGB_P026_A007_HWp3_S
rvice1FF.sbf for the UK one.
STEP 6 Start the RSDLite program now where it says filename press the select button and find the .sbf firmware file in c:\Program files\Motorola\RSDLite (it should default to this folder) and select the (sbf) file some details will appear on the right hand side.
STEP 7 We now need to boot the phone into the bootloader (as above make sure the phone is disconnected from USB – not sure if matters tho!). Hold the volume up and then power the phone on, after about 5 seconds release the buttons and the bootloader should display - it will show the version and a battery check. Now plug in the USB cable and it should install the drivers . Once the driver installation has finished you should see the phone appear at the bottom of the RSDLite program window under `port 1` - Once this is there you are ready to flash the firmware. NB: I had issues getting it to show a number of times. Uninstalling RSDLite/Drivers, rebooting PC, and then reinstalling these resolved this issue.
STEP 8 Press the start button on the RSDLite and just relax while your device gets flashed,debranded etc. you will see a progress status on the right hand side wait till it reaches 100% but please do not disconect it will reboot the phone automaticly and restart the phone.And just wait untill android comes up and fully running untill you disconnect it should read (PLEASE START PHONE MANUALY) on RSDLite when this shows it is safe to unplug.
Hopefully now you will have a debranded/unbricked phone.
One thing I noticed that was cool is that the data partition stayed intact for me when I debranded, meaning all my settings and installed app (providing you hadn’t moved stuff to /system) were still there after the process – cool! The only thing you will have to do is re-root the device.
Hope you find this useful and I look forward to a great community for the Defy!
Nice job! This worked perfectly. We now just need the tmo us FW. I'm kind of iffy about messing with my phone much more until I have a failsafe.
nitewalkergr said:
Nice job! This worked perfectly. We now just need the tmo us FW. I'm kind of iffy about messing with my phone much more until I have a failsafe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats the benefit of the T-Mobile US Firmware - some kind of extra functionality? If we could get it, we could flash by this method and flash back if we didn't like it anyways I suppose.
In theory this method is a failsafe tho because if you mess any thing up you can get back to a different firmware. I must say I personally would like to get my hands on the original T-Mobile UK .sbf, just in case I wanted to put it back to its original state for returns/repair, so if anyone has found it (I haven't yet) please let me know.
If a tmo us user flashes with the uk FW they lose 3g.
A tmo us or just generic us fw would give us the clean sweep option while keeping our 3g.
Can I use the Uk Firm for a Vodafone Spain Defy??
Higgsy said:
Whats the benefit of the T-Mobile US Firmware - some kind of extra functionality? If we could get it, we could flash by this method and flash back if we didn't like it anyways I suppose.
In theory this method is a failsafe tho because if you mess any thing up you can get back to a different firmware. I must say I personally would like to get my hands on the original T-Mobile UK .sbf, just in case I wanted to put it back to its original state for returns/repair, so if anyone has found it (I haven't yet) please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Higgsy, long time no see! Guess its cos you sold your Hero/G2 Touch so you have no need to visit htcdevscene, Its dead there now a days lol. I just got my Defy from T-Mobile UK. I here your after the T-Mobile UK Defy firmware? and I havent rooted or touched the firmware on mine at all, all i've done is charged it up and used as my day to day phone. If you know of a way to pull the firmware from the phone i will gladly upload it for you, if its even possible?
P.s. still got my Hero/G2 Touch not sure if i wanna sell the lil work horse yet lol, what are they selling for these days?
pedrogamo said:
Can I use the Uk Firm for a Vodafone Spain Defy??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have a simfree defy, and this is my versión. Same version for France, UK, Spain, etc
Cesar Pipes said:
Yes, I have a simfree defy, and this is my versión. Same version for France, UK, Spain, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!! I did it. Now my Defy is debranded. Bye Vodafone!
dj_destruction said:
Hi Higgsy, long time no see! Guess its cos you sold your Hero/G2 Touch so you have no need to visit htcdevscene, Its dead there now a days lol. I just got my Defy from T-Mobile UK. I here your after the T-Mobile UK Defy firmware? and I havent rooted or touched the firmware on mine at all, all i've done is charged it up and used as my day to day phone. If you know of a way to pull the firmware from the phone i will gladly upload it for you, if its even possible?
P.s. still got my Hero/G2 Touch not sure if i wanna sell the lil work horse yet lol, what are they selling for these days?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now then DJD!
Na we need the .sbf file for it but it no biggy at the moment. Get it rooted mate - easiest way is to download z4root from the market - works a treat and roots in like 10 secs lol.
Stopped going on htcdevscene for a number of reasons, firstly i could never get on the site and secondly i felt the way it was run was very inconsistent.
Just sold my Hero - they are going for between 80-120 on ebay the top end is for brand new boxed. I have just sold mine to a mobile recycle place for £103. This phone is different gravy to the hero for sure.
Anyway mate look forward to seeing you around again
Thanks for this guide Higgsy, very easy to follow even for a noob like me.
I have now said goodbye to Vodafone's crap a mere 20 minutes after opening the box with my shiny new DEFY in that was delivered today.
milesg said:
Thanks for this guide Higgsy, very easy to follow even for a noob like me.
I have now said goodbye to Vodafone's crap a mere 20 minutes after opening the box with my shiny new DEFY in that was delivered today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No probs - Gone be the dirty network custom apps and splash screens!!
Done too. Thank you.
EDIT: Just reflashed and then calibrated the compass. Seems to be working now. Sorry for the unnecessary message.
Ok, having taken the phone out since I got rid of the Vodafone stuff, I've discovered that the GPS is no longer working. I've got GPS Test on it and it only sees one satellite where before it saw a load. I'm going to reload the firmware now, but does anyone have any ideas?
Higgsy what are the benefits of rooting and flashing the generic unbranded software apart from getting rid of the t-mobile rubbish?
tim440 said:
EDIT: Just reflashed and then calibrated the compass. Seems to be working now. Sorry for the unnecessary message.
Ok, having taken the phone out since I got rid of the Vodafone stuff, I've discovered that the GPS is no longer working. I've got GPS Test on it and it only sees one satellite where before it saw a load. I'm going to reload the firmware now, but does anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm strange My GPS is fine, locks on in like 5 secs, maybe try rebooting with GPS switched on, if you haven't already done so.
DJD,
No real benefits apart from getting rid of any tmobile crap, there isn't much bloatware in the tmobile uk build anyways. I just like generic lol. And as for rooting - please tell me that question is joke surely as a seasoned veteran you know what that is geezer
I know rooting opens up a world of goodies but there arent any goodies for this phone yet in the way of ROMS, at least thats what i can gather so far lol. Can it be over clocked and JITenabled yet? after rooting it of course, sorry im being lazy n not google-ing lol.
Plus for my totally blonde moment if i flash the generic uk firmware would it still mean i could get the over the air 2.2 update when it is released by motorola before t-mobile release their bloatware version?
dj_destruction said:
I know rooting opens up a world of goodies but there arent any goodies for this phone yet in the way of ROMS, at least thats what i can gather so far lol. Can it be over clocked and JITenabled yet? after rooting it of course, sorry im being lazy n not google-ing lol.
Plus for my totally blonde moment if i flash the generic uk firmware would it still mean i could get the over the air 2.2 update when it is released by motorola before t-mobile release their bloatware version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JIT can be enabled - its not stable imo - I tried it before, gonna have a better look at it.
i would expect you will be able to get the generic 2.2 update, to be fair, I think we will be flashing roms by that time anyways
Anyway stop being a ***** and get it rooted
OI lol,
Just downloaded z4root will put it on my memory card n get root tomorrow me thinks.
p.s z4root is no longer on the market, found the z4root.apk in a thread on here tho luckily lol.
Ok, now I do have a problem. I've flashed the non-branded rom and very happy with it, but my in-call speaker has failed this morning. This seems to be a common problem with the Defy and I suspect it needs replacing or repairing, but I need to put back the branded rom to have the phone in warranty, don't I? How do I even begin to go about that?
tim440 said:
Ok, now I do have a problem. I've flashed the non-branded rom and very happy with it, but my in-call speaker has failed this morning. This seems to be a common problem with the Defy and I suspect it needs replacing or repairing, but I need to put back the branded rom to have the phone in warranty, don't I? How do I even begin to go about that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't unless you can find the vodafone .sbf sorry mate it was mentioned at the top of the post.
They probably wouldn't know anyway, just deny all knowledge if they say anything.
Well I switched to S-OFF to get a new splash screen and now I can no longer install OTA updates for my Hero. I get a signature failure every time I try to install. Does anyone know how to switch this back on? I didn't realize this would kill the ability to do updates as the forums I have read before switching didn't have any mention of it.
Sorry if this has been previously posted and I missed it in the forums.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
awnorwood said:
Well I switched to S-OFF to get a new splash screen and now I can no longer install OTA updates for my Hero. I get a signature failure every time I try to install. Does anyone know how to switch this back on? I didn't realize this would kill the ability to do updates as the forums I have read before switching didn't have any mention of it.
Sorry if this has been previously posted and I missed it in the forums.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The signature failure isn't from s-off it's from the custom recovery. What you need to do is to resign the zip.
awnorwood said:
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just an added note, as far as I know, you can't switch back to S-ON on this
device, at least, not at the moment.. If they get S-ON to work on these phones,
good, but if not, I'm not overly concerned.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=759955
and
http://unrevoked.com/rootwiki/doku.php/public/forever
for details..
Asadullah said:
The signature failure isn't from s-off it's from the custom recovery. What you need to do is to resign the zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I'm understanding the question. But, if he means receiving updates directly from Sprint then they don't come as zip files. So, how would signing anything help him?
Not sure why you would want to download something from Sprint directly anyway. Whenever an update comes out, they're usually packaged and ready for you to flash via custom recovery by the end of the day if not sooner.
mercado79 said:
Not sure I'm understanding the question. But, if he means receiving updates directly from Sprint then they don't come as zip files. So, how would signing anything help him?
Not sure why you would want to download something from Sprint directly anyway. Whenever an update comes out, they're usually packaged and ready for you to flash via custom recovery by the end of the day if not sooner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ota (over the air) updates that sprint pushes out and you download are stored in an update zip in /cache then when you choose to install them they are flashed through the stock recovery... but if you don't have the stock recovery you will have to pull the update from your device resign it and then flash it through custom recovery. Also they won't work on anything but a stock or close to stock rom because of the checks it does in the update scripts and most of everything inside is .p files (patch).
I should know because I took the second to last sprint update rooted it and posted it on here. You can actually test this theory by running the ruu rooting it and then when you get an update download it but don't install it right away. You'll find it in /cache (I believe forgotten exactly) or just take my word for it.
If you do do it like that I suggest the original 2.1 ruu just because you'll get your original radio back in the process
Asadullah said:
The ota (over the air) updates that sprint pushes out and you download are stored in an update zip in /cache then when you choose to install them they are flashed through the stock recovery... but if you don't have the stock recovery you will have to pull the update from your device resign it and then flash it through custom recovery. Also they won't work on anything but a stock or close to stock rom because of the checks it does in the update scripts and most of everything inside is .p files (patch).
I should know because I took the second to last sprint update rooted it and posted it on here. You can actually test this theory by running the ruu rooting it and then when you get an update download it but don't install it right away. You'll find it in /cache (I believe forgotten exactly) or just take my word for it.
If you do do it like that I suggest the original 2.1 ruu just because you'll get your original radio back in the process
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good information to know. Thanks Asadullah.
Hi, I tried to manually install the 2.2.2 update through recovery as the OTA didn't seem to be arriving (dialer checkin didnt work either) but i get an error saying that the update.zip cannot be verified or something like that and it will not complete the installation.
I do not think my N1 is rooted however i did buy it second hand but it was sold as unused and there is no lock on the boot animation.
Also I don't know if this is relevant or not but my N1's kernel version says HTCatand or something where most peoples' says Android Build.
As you can probably tell im a bit of a noob (only experience with this kind of stuff is from my old rooted DEXT).
Anyway do you guys have any idea why the update won't verify?
Thanks.
Also I don't know if this is relevant but i saw someone on another similar post mention their hboot in the bootloader. If its relevant mine was 0.35.something.
Im kinda worried about this as its too late to return the N1 to the guy I bought it from so any help would be hugely appreciated.
Hi
I need some help, I tried flashing miui yesterday, that went well, but when I tried to push the two extra files I got an error, I dont remember exactly what it was now, but it had something to do with read-only or something like that.
Anyways I was given help by some1 who told me to get an unsecure boot.
I think I have one, but im not sure. So my question is how do I check if my boot img is insecure or not. And if it is not, could some1 please direct me towards an updated boot img, that would make me very thankfull.
Thx in advance for any help.
-helfone
you mean bootloader.img? ROMs dont replace your bootloader. and they aren't modified by users.
there are only two bootloaders available and both are official by Google.
the first one is pre 2.3.3 and the other is post 2.3.3
Whoever happens to find this thread and needs this file, you are welcome to it. I have tried several ROMS here at XDA & really enjoyed learning how to tweak the Sensation. However, I needed to put the phone back to it's factory state for a warranty claim. I have managed to do that, thanks to all of the posts & advice here. The one file that I wasn't able to find, was for my NZ Telecom phone. Fortunately I restored my original Gingerbread ROM from a Nandroid backup, the phone then downloaded the following OTA file (official ICS ROM for the Z710a Telecom NZ):
You can download it here: http://www.filefactory.com/file/16y1h0ig3htj please let me know if there is a problem downloading it from here & I will put it somewhere else.
I do not know how to modify this file, in order to make it flashable, maybe someone here can use it.
Cheers,
Paul.