Database Info

Windows Phone Developer Registration Program Hack

Hello,
I am a student of Computer Sciene at the University of Udine, Italy.
And recently I have received a AT&T HTC Surround with Windows Phone 7.5.
The problem is always the same. We need to INTEROP-UNLOCK a HTC device.
People greater than me have tried and I do not want to compare to them (I am a noob as stated in the introductory video) but I came up with a sort of idea on trying to develop a new method of interop unlocking.
Since as stated by Heathcliff74 the INTERP-UNLOCK is related to the number of MaxUnsignedApps and the number of max unsigned apps is determined when the Developer Phone Registration program communicates with the server I thought that it could be possible to analyze the behaviour of this app when it communicates with the server and, instead of sending to the phone 3 or 10 send the max number available.
Modifying an exe is a pain so could it be possible to create an emulated server that communicates with Developer Phone registration program by sniffing the connections between the program and the server (I do not know how to do it either since I have just started the network course )?
Maybe it has been already tried but I wanted to tell you anyway since you're great hackers and I am not.

It's a good idea, but I wouldn't hold my breath. This is how the original ChevronWP7 Unlocker hack worked, essentially - you installed a certificate on the phone for a server (normally it uses Microsoft's server and certificate). You then sent the unlock command to the phone and it would try to communicate with the server, but would get the ChevronWP7 server instead, which always said "yes, unlock!"
The catch in your idea is that the fix for ChevronWP7 was to change which certs the unlock process will use - in particular, you can't use user-installed certs anymore - and that means that a user probably can't catch the communication between the phone and the server anymore (which is, I'm sure, where the "value for MaxUnsignedApp" command comes from).

So is the phone that communicates with the server to get the number of apps, not the developer registration program?

Sorry to disappoint you, but it won't work. First of all, it is not the registration-program that communicates with the microsoft server. The registration-program simply send a command to the phone to start the registration process. The phone will contact the Microsoft registration server. The original ChevronWP7 tool spoofed the registration server. Since NoDo this is not possible anymore, because the phone only accepts ssl connections with certified servers (ie servers which have a certificate that roots to a certified authority). The maxunsignedapp is sent over the ssl connection between the phone and the microsoft server, which can't be spoofed or changed with a man-in-the-middle-attack.
Ciao,
Heathcliff74
---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------
And by the way, Chevron already announced they will release a new Chevron tool, which will do a legit unlock for just a couple of bucks. Just a little more patience.

I have read they launched this now. However how many max unsigned apps till they release and since I have a legit student account on AppHub (I'm a dev) it won't invalidate my account. Just increase the max unsinged apps i think.
Wait for other methods of INTEROP-UNLOCKING.
And thanks to everybody.

Dev and Chevron unlock?

Browsing through the forum, got another unlock INTEROP. Just wanted to ask what all types of unlock are there, Dev, Chevron7 etc and how do these differ from each other?

Dev unlock (also student unlock) are unlocks done via an App Hub membership ($99). These are official Microsoft unlocks and they allow you to deploy 10 apps to your phone (3 for students). Chevron unlock is a cheaper ($9) Microsoft approved unlock that is done via ChevronWP7 Labs. This also allows 10 apps to be sideloaded. Interop unlock is done AFTER one of the previous unlocks. This allows for access to drivers on the phone (more feature rich apps) and is often needed for neat things like registry editing and so forth. Not all phones can currently be interop unlocked so you will have to do research to find out if you can do this type of unlock on your device.

This helps explain a little.

No Interop unlock for Nokia yet

[Q] interop unlock on lg 7 for other oem market?

hello everybody, I really can't get modding with windows phone, sorry I've been with android so long and now is all different.
So I have a LG 7 with mango, I want to install the nokia market xap. I just can interop-unlock modifying the registry with the mgf app?
Is a reversible operation?
Thank you

Hi, I'm actually the author of the Nokia Market (and Samsung/LG/HTC/Dell marketplace) XAP. You don't really need interop-unlock; normal developer-unlock works fine.
That said, to answer your question directly:
Yes, you can use the MFG app to dev-unlock (and interop-unlock, if you want) your phone. The steps are available on the Dev&Hacking forum, in multiple places including the interop-unlock thread.
The difference between dev-unlock and interop-unlock from your perspective is the MaxUnsignedApp value - if you put it at 10 (the default for a normal dev unlock) you can install up to 10 homebrew apps (XAP files), and they can't use ID_CAP_INTEROPSERVICES (access high-permissions drivers to break out of the sandbox). If you set it over 300 (most people go for 2,000,000,000 or so) you can install more homebrew apps than you'll ever need to, and they can use ID_CAP_INTEROPSERVICES (which enables some cool hacks, for example the MultiTaskToggle app linked in my signature - it's still compatible with LG just fine). This is referred to as "interop-unlocking" the phone, and must be done after "dev-unlocking" (which is just tweaking a few other registry values).
The whole thing is completely reversible. You can reverse it using the MFG app again, for example. I think you can reverse it using the Developer Registration tool (part of the WP7 SDK, this is the program normally used to dev-unlock a phone). You can, for the "nuclear" option, reverse it by wiping / hard-resetting the phone.
Hope that helps!

a big thank goes to you

[Q] Will it work as iOS in regard of apps?

Hi,
I would like to change my current phone (ZTE Blade with Android 2.3). I am not to happy with the phone and not to happy with Android either. I got iPad1 but I am not a big fan of iOS as well.
All Windows Phone devices looks cool and prices for decent model are not as high as for iPhone. Unfortunately WP is very unpopular and since none of my friends got one there is no way I can find out few things about it.
Perhaps you will be kind enough to answer my questions?
1. On iOS there is no problem in getting apps from different markets. I live in Poland but with VPN service I got access to NBC, ABC, Hulu, etc. Getting an app is simple - you just switch iTunes account and as long as US or UK app is free I can download it without problem.
Android is a bit more difficult... had to root the phone (with some help) and for stuff like that I need to look in the internet no in Google Play shop.
As far as I know WP requires Live ID and this determines what is available to us. Switching Live ID's = hard reset :-(
So, question is: can I get (and how difficult is it) apps from US and UK markets to my phone?
If answer to Q1 is YES (with some details, please ) - than:
2. Will it work on any WP device or (like wit Android phones) some of them are "no go" in this area?
3. Does WP has a VPN client/support?
4. How features like above will or do influence Windows 8? Both WP & Win8 would be a great tandem but from what I know it looks that MS will try to "lock" both in order to make cash on appstore. Is this correct?
5. One more thing, is it possible to use WP device as GSM router for other devices (like in Android phones)?

Hi,
Some short answers here too
Your phone out of the box with your live id can't download/install apps from other marketplaces. It is possible to sideload apps, but I haven't done it so far, 'cause in Germany and for me I found everything needed. Don't know how the situation in Poland looks like.
WP7 does not support VPN. VPN will come in WP8, as Microsoft said in some dev blogs.
MS won't lock W8 to the new store. But you have to differ between W8 x86 and W8 RT (ARM). W8 RT will - I suppose - have some sort of lock like WP7 (and possibly WP8).
Yes, it's called Internet Connection Sharing, but it is not enabled on all devices. It depends on the device manufacturer. WP7 is able to share the connection, but if the manufacturer don't want the device to do it or maybe they want to save money in the development of the device ( ) you can't to it without some little hacking.

Does any one knows... if I will buy let say Lumia 800 in Poland, will I be able to:
- connect to the VPN service I am using?
- install Netflix (US market only)
- install Hulu + (as above)
- install BBC iPlayer (UK market only)
- usie the phone as mobile router
Where do I look for info. - how to do it?

The only current way to VPN on WP7 is to connect to a network that is already using a VPN (WiFi, such as by Internet Connection Sharing from your PC, or by plugging in the phone to the PC and running the Zune software, which will create an Ethernet-over-USB network for the phone).
I can't say for sure about the Marketplace access. It will depend on your credit card, your Microsoft account, and your VPN (if you use one), and possibly even your mobile operator.
Sharing the phone's Internet connection is a supported WP7 feature, but I'm not sure if the Lumia 800 supports it yet. The feature is called "Internet Sharing" and is in the Settings hub. It's available on all Samsung Windows phones, and I think on all HTCs too. Not sure if it's on the Lumias yet, but Nokia has said they were working on it some time ago. Note that if your carrier blocks or requires payment for this service (sharing the cellular Internet connection), the phone will block the feature until you comply. There are hacks to work around that restriction entirely, but those hacks are only currently possible on Samsung, HTC gen1, LG, Lumia 710, and a few Lumia 800 phones.

Thanks for your answer.
As much as I would love to dump Android - I simply can not :-(.

[Q]File explorer?

Yeah, is there any file explorer for non-HTC phones out there? I'm tempted to get a lumia 800.

Several (and most don't rely on device-specific code the way TouchXplorer does). Hell, WP7 Root Tools has been out for over a year, though it used to be Samsung-only. However, all of the file browsers require at least interop-unlock, and most require root-unlock (or full-unlock). Only a very few Lumia 800s can be unlocked that far; it requires an older bootloader that new models don't come with anymore,a nd nobody has found a way to flash the old bootloader back onto them (the Lumia 710 can be reverted, but not yet the 800; the 900 and 610 never used the relevant bootloader).
Aside from the Lumia 710, two of the gen2 HTC phones (Titan and Radar) can be full-unlocked using custom ROMs. Currently there are no custom ROMs for the gen2 Samsungs, but if you get one with old enough firmware (unlikely, but you may get lucky) you can use WindowBreak and then install Root Tools.

Meh, so my best bet is to wait and see what WP8 comes up with?
The only reason is mostly using other formats (e.g. PDF) for different things. I'm not a huge internet user, and I'm not too jolly that I gotta move some files in the cloud and then download them to my phone.

I wouldn't hold my breath for a WP8 file browser. Microsoft does not seem to be interested in giving anyone this capability. Furthermore, it could take very long time until there will be any WP8 unlock, due to the inclusion of Secure Boot (if there will be any at all - in case Microsoft implements proper bottom-up validation it could be possible that no application can run on SYSTEM privileges unless signed).
Be that as it may, why is a file browser so important to you? I don't find it too helpful in WP (except for hacking/developmental purposes) as you have IsolatedStorages (which are a mess to dig in from a file explorer), other folders like Windows and the Zune content store (of which the latter could be accessed per USB if wanted).
Anyways, the HTC Titan is a very nice phone to have, and so is the Lumia 800. I wouldn't purchase too much after what is unlocked yet, but rather after what you find best value in.