vB Easy Archive - Nokia 6263 Unbranding

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Nokia 6263 Unbranding
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Posted by: mew1033

I've been searching around and reading and I think I figured out that the 6263 can't be unbranded. That sucks.

Does anyone know if it will be able to? I know that's a weird question, but I've never had a Nokia phone before. Do they usually end up having unbranded firmware? I had a samsung T-629 and a T-619 before, and they never ended up with generic firmware.
What's Nokia's track record with making unbranded firmware for their phones? Does it usually happen? Never? For this phone?

Thanks!
Chandler

Posted by: Antenna

They are still working on it, this phone is a T-Mobile exclusive, so it may be a while. Probably by August or so someone will figure it out. Some have tried to flash it with the similar 6267 firmware, but this messes up the phone.

Posted by: mew1033

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cingular-sucks

They are still working on it, this phone is a T-Mobile exclusive, so it may be a while. Probably by August or so someone will figure it out. Some have tried to flash it with the similar 6267 firmware, but this messes up the phone.

But you're confident that someone will find a way to completely de-brand it? That's common with Nokia phones?

Posted by: Antenna

Quote:

Originally Posted by mew1033

But you're confident that someone will find a way to completely de-brand it? That's common with Nokia phones?

When I had the 6263 and looked into it at a Nokia dealer, this is what I was told. Someone will figure out a way I'm sure.

Posted by: mew1033

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cingular-sucks

When I had the 6263 and looked into it at a Nokia dealer, this is what I was told. Someone will figure out a way I'm sure.

Awesome. I like to hear that.

Posted by: liweishan

excuse me, can someone tell me what's the meaning of de-brand or unbranded? thanks

Posted by: Antenna

Quote:

Originally Posted by liweishan

excuse me, can someone tell me what's the meaning of de-brand or unbranded? thanks

Debrand= remove all T-mobile (in this case) software limitations on the phone, ex: it allows you to install things on the phone that the orginal t-mo software blocked, like opera mini.

Also all logos will be removed from software (Nokia hands instead of pink "stink together/get more" t-mobile power up.

Posted by: jizza

*bump*

has anyone even been able to dump the 6263 FW yet?

Posted by: MZRdIsI

Not really much of a bump as this thread just started a couple of days ago.

Posted by: timmy1729

I have a 6263 and am waiting on a generic firmware myself. This is my third Nokia and I love them. I enjoy T-Mobile too. But, I do not like being told what I can and can't do with my own phone. For that reason, the branding must go. But, I am very happy with the 6263 so far. I just feel a little cheated living here in the US and not even having the option to get the 6267

And, I can't afford to get an unlocked 6267 either.

But, since it is what I have to work with, I am very happy with the 6263.

Cheers!

Posted by: ardell

I also just bought a 6263 from T-Mobile and was disappointed that it's crippled. I'd like to install Opera Mini, a gmail client, and a jabber client, but I'm getting "Application Access Set to Not Allowed" errors. The T-Mobile customer support said they don't do anything to restrict access from those phones, but a guy in the store said you have to have a blackberry in order to connect to the internet through 3rd party apps. Meanwhile I can tether my phone to my macbook just fine; very confusing.

Please post as soon as unbranded firmware is available for the Nokia 6263, I'm anxiously awaiting it!

Posted by: MZRdIsI

What's odd, is that, on Nokia's site for the phone description is hows Opera Mini as one of the features of this phone. Kind of annoying in a way, even Nokia allows it to be preinstalled. Or at least they advertise it and then Tmobile takes it away and forces these junk demos to be intalled and cannot even be deleted. The usual comments I get from reps is that they don't 3rd part support on the phone due to increased CS calls. Mainly because they feel 3rd party apps are all junk. I can understand that but even if Nokia allows the program to be preinstalled, why not leave it there.

Posted by: Mattwood440

I have a straightforward question that I seem to be having some trouble getting answered (kinda noobish). I'm not a TMo subscriber and I was thinking of switching and getting this very phone. When I was with Verizon and using an old LG VX8100, I was able to change the WAP settings to use a different proxy server other than Verizon. Can this be done to a TMo phone, and is this what is called unbranding? I've never heard of unbranding until I started shopping carriers a couple days ago (I realize this phone can't be yet, but I don't even know how TMo sets up its WAP settings in the first place). I don't use mobile web enough to pay $6/month. I was using Hopke.net as my proxy server for 2 years at $12/year.

Thanks!

Posted by: O2C

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cingular-sucks

Someone will figure out a way I'm sure.

Who's this "someone" and who's the "they" in "they are working on it"? If "figuring out" or "working" involves more than waiting, I'd be surprised. And if either of those is Nokia, you might be in for a very, very long wait.

AFAIK, is that the only way people have been able to unbrand phones is by installing a Nokia released firmware for the same phone from a different region or different variant of the phone. As the 3G bands used on the 6263 are pretty specific to USA Nokia is unlikely to release one for a different region. Using the firmware for a different variant (6267) seems to just brick it, something that seems to be common for trying to unbrand 3G Nokias.

Unbranding this phone seems less and less likely as time go on.

Here are some other ways of looking at the situation. It's been well over 6 months since the phone's release and we haven't seen any generic versions for sale yet. No other carrier has released a 6263 to the best of my knowledge. You can't buy them direct from Nokia online, nor from their Nokia stores in person.

The only hope that I see is if we get firmware updates to both the 6267 and the 6263. The bricking issues might be due to version differences. It's also possible that a firmware might be released by Nokia with T-mobile's approval that frees up some things. I wouldn't be holding my breath for either case though.

Posted by: timmy1729

Well, T-mobile needs to get moving! I miss Opera-mini! That does anger me though. The Nokia website shows the 6263 coming with Opera-mini. WTF? Also, why is it that all the cool phones get crippled and downgraded when coming to US markets? I've gotta get out of this country.

Posted by: dboy2006a

You could always buy the unlock phone from the net like me

.
I have 6263 for spare phone. For daily used, I use nokia e90 (bought from the net).

Having said that, I am still waiting until someone manage to unbrand this 6263.

Posted by: gkong

I have a dilemma now, I brought a 6263 just to try out if I can flash it to a 6267 since it has firmware version up to 5.20. But I have yet to find a way to flash it. JAF doesn't recognize it and the Phoenix version I have is too old for this phone. NSU is not "seeing" the new product code I put in for 6267 via NSS. I even tried to full format drive c which erased everything including the menus.......so what can I do now?

Posted by: O2C

FWIW, when I checked via NSU, I saw a new firmware for the 6263, 5.20. You could also try one of the "non-T-mobile" product codes for the 6263:
0547824 04.44 RM-207 CT Black NA
0557726 04.44 RM-207 6263H AMER-N NA DEFAULT HAC BLACK

Anyone more brave than me want to try changing to one of those codes with NSS, then running NSU and see if that fixes things?

Posted by: MZRdIsI

As O2C stated above, NSU shows an update to the firmware to 5.20. Apparently it's some kinda EU spec firmware, similar to the one for the 6133. Let's me use Opera Mini and google maps.

All I did was plug in my phone vis USB and it updated with no problem. Didn't change anything on my phone to "trick" it like you would have to do with the 6133.

Posted by: O2C

I went ahead and installed the update and like MZRdIsI said, it allows you to install and run 3rd party apps now. I'm no longer looking to unbrand it. There were some additional changes, but I'll bump the "official" thread and put them in there.

Posted by: dc5ss

is there a chinese firmware for this phone? i really hope it can read chinese(doesn't matter simply or traditon) thx

Posted by: MZRdIsI

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/528; U; en))

Dunno if a product code would help you there.

Posted by: TimoSuomi

Quote:

Originally Posted by O2C

FWIW, when I checked via NSU, I saw a new firmware for the 6263, 5.20. You could also try one of the "non-T-mobile" product codes for the 6263:
0547824 04.44 RM-207 CT Black NA
0557726 04.44 RM-207 6263H AMER-N NA DEFAULT HAC BLACK

Anyone more brave than me want to try changing to one of those codes with NSS, then running NSU and see if that fixes things?

I tried both. With 0547824 the phone updated to 5.20. It is a T-Mobile firmware, and nothing seems different from the 5.20 for 0547828. When I switched to 0557726 NSU said there were no updates available. I didn't update my wife's 6263 to 5.20 yet, so I'll see if 0557726 will work on her phone a little bit later.

Posted by: viscous

hmm ... interesting

Posted by: PininFarina456

Quote:

Originally Posted by O2C

Can you tell me where and how I can get this from?

I went to Nokia.com and couldn't find the 6263 listed:
http://www.nokiausa.com/A4410025

Posted by: O2C

Quote:

Originally Posted by PininFarina456

Can you tell me where and how I can get this from?

Nokia USA's 6263 product page can be found here. From there, you can find a link to a Nokia support page which containts a link to the Nokia PC Suite. That suite contains a link to download the Nokia Software Updater (NSU).

This HoFo forum has a policy that may discourage people from providing links to software like Nemesis Service Suite (NSS). It's easy to find via Google if you're curious though.

Posted by: PininFarina456

Quote:

Originally Posted by O2C

Thank you so much for your help, this is the first time I've updated a phone and it was a piece of cake.

I'll post here what I posted in the Offical 6263 thread also:

Quote:

I successfully updated my phone to 5.20 right now. I already downloaded google maps and GMail and both work excellent. Although, the location feature in Google Maps is not available, I assume this is a carrier issue not allowing it. Anyhow, they both work great on the t-zones 5.99 plan.

A big thanks to "02C" for guiding me through and providing all this information.

Posted by: MZRdIsI

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/534; U; en))

The location feature in google maps is dependant on the phone's ability to do so.

Posted by: Chaos Inc.

Indeed, Google apps have still not incorporated the update. Matter of days though.

Posted by: O2C

Per Google's support page for the My Location feature, it looks like the 6263 isn't reporting a cell. IIRC, T-mobile's feature page did say that no LBS services were availble for this phone -- but I read those docs a long time ago. . .

Posted by: JeromeInDaHouse

My newly de-branded 5310 says that mylocation isnt available for this device when I use google maps. Is anyone else able to use mylocation on S40 devices?

Posted by: MZRdIsI

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/534; U; en))

I don't think s40 is supported.

Posted by: jsimp2006

Without any modding whatsoever, NSU picked up the 5.20 update. I'm installing it now, and I'll have a full report in a few hours. Thanks a million

Posted by: MZRdIsI

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/534; U; en))

I think the call quality and battery life are better. Does anyone else think so?

Posted by: O2C

I'd say the battery use I get in a day is somewhat worse as I'm able to use 3rd party apps now over 3G and that definitely sucks juice faster than when it was a crippled handset.

Posted by: MZRdIsI

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/534; U; en))

I can see the 3g definitely making battery life suck. Before I would be lucky to get through a days worth of use. Now it seems its on par with the 6133 i had before.

Posted by: timmy1729

Did I just see that right? You posted from Opera Mini?
So, it works on the 6263 now?

Posted by: jsimp2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmy1729

Did I just see that right? You posted from Opera Mini?
So, it works on the 6263 now?

Yeah! I've been on the new firmware since yesterday. I'm trying to figure out a way to get push email working, but to no avail. I think the battery life is slightly better, although voice quality on 2g seems about the same.

Posted by: jsimp2006

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/534; U; en))

Oops! I posted that from the regular version of the site. Here's a post from the wap site for proof.

Posted by: mew1033

Let me just jump back into MY original thread.

does anyone know what else this update changes?

Posted by: ThorBlaze Dragon

Quote:

Originally Posted by mew1033

Let me just jump back into MY original thread.

does anyone know what else this update changes?

E and 3G icons appear where is available
can select 2G or 3G (choose 2G only to save battery)
can install 3rd party apps

Posted by: DarkPontiac

With this update. it takes out t-mobile's e-mail app, anyway of getting it back?

also with media players work if i were to try to stream internet radio with one or will t-zones block the port?

the nokia player won't play any streams so

Posted by: O2C

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkPontiac

With this update. it takes out t-mobile's e-mail app, anyway of getting it back?

I spent a little time the other day playing around with a 6263 with T-mobile shipped 5.20 and my NSU updated 5.20. One of the differences I noticed is that the t-mobile e-mail app appears in the same place as the "second" IMs app. It's possible that a newer firmware release will restore the app. Hopefully they'll put one soon if just for stability reasons. I found a bug pretty early on with 5.20 that causes the phone to crash and reboot every time and it wouldn't surprise me if there were others.

Posted by: razrluvr

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmy1729

Well, T-mobile needs to get moving! I miss Opera-mini! That does anger me though. The Nokia website shows the 6263 coming with Opera-mini. WTF? Also, why is it that all the cool phones get crippled and downgraded when coming to US markets? I've gotta get out of this country.

My thoughts exactly!... haha... That's cool that everyone's finally able to use OM on the 6263... I guess it's not such a crappy phone after all... I have the 6267 with Opera Mini... my only problem is that there's some problem with the phone's ability to read the 4GB memory cards, as it's supposed to hold up to 4GB but mine only goes up to like 2.5, after which the music player can't update the library... it's some bug in the software I guess... I should do a firmware update except that my PC has windows ME on it and the Nokia PC Suite requires XP... do you guys think if I updated the software it would fix my memory problem?... I guess it's worth a try... better than sending it to Australia for warranty service I guess... I'm afraid if I send it in for warranty service they'll have to erase everything on the phone including RaviDavi's java proxy file, which I worked so hard to get on there... oh well, thanks for listening to my rant...

Posted by: misfitpierce

I've had to use 19.99 internet plan to access youtube. Opera and more without prob on unbranded 5310. No big deal tho.

Posted by: honza

For me the biggest issue is poor battery life. I would love to switch to 2G mode only, but I don't seem to have that option, even though it looks like I have the (US) 5.20 firmware. When I go to Settings/Phone/Network mode, I have "Dual mode" displayed. Selecting Network mode displays "(empty)" and I can only click back from there. No option for 2G mode. What am I missing?

My 6263 came with v 05.20, dated 17-04-08, RM-207

I tried both, the US and the European versions of NSU to see if I can reinstall firmware. Both version reported that I have the latest firmware and no option to reinstall it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by: O2C

IIRC, when Nokia upgraded their NSU, they removed the option to reinstall the same version of firmware over the existing one. From what I understand, debranding is now similar to other phones where you have to change the product code first. I have not done this so I can't quite walk you through it, but other might be able to or you can look through some other threads to piece together what you need to know. I've posted other product codes for the 6263 before so make sure you use those and not 6267 ones.

Posted by: PDXMatt

Trying to get 5.20 on this 6263, but NSU keeps telling me that I have the current version but it is still at v04.44. grrrr

Posted by: Maverik007

Has anyone gotten Opera to work with a Nokia 6263 that came loaded with the T-Mobile firmware, 5.20 on it? Thanks so much.

Posted by: lynnmcd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maverik007

Has anyone gotten Opera to work with a Nokia 6263 that came loaded with the T-Mobile firmware, 5.20 on it? Thanks so much.

I flashed my 6263 with an unbranded 5.20 version a few hours ago. I finally found an updated data package: rm207_CareDP_4.0_GLOBAL.exe
No more T-Mobile BS!
Now I have OM working again!!

Posted by: diznanl

can't get OM to work with my 6263

is the NokiaJAVAProxy.prov useful? Or is regular T-Zones settings ok?

Help me get my unbranded 6263 working with the 5.99 data plan, please.

Thanks!

Posted by: diznanl

ok, just loaded the proxy file... works great.

is this the only way?

Posted by: diznanl

It seems that there is more phone lag in the 6263 than the old 6126/6133/6131. Is there any way to speed it up

Also, I know this is a shot in the dark, but the main menu and standby screen fonts were smaller on the 6131... they're jumbo size on the 6263. Has anyone been able to fix this?

Thanks!

Posted by: Maverik007

Lynnmcd-

Where did you track down the file rm207_CareDP_4.0_GLOBAL.exe? Thanks.

Posted by: lynnmcd

I did a google search for the whole name. I found it in a forum. I had to pay $5.00 for a 3 day trial membership, but it was worth it IMO. I'll try to find it in my history and post it....

Posted by: lynnmcd

Here is the link:

http://www.bandung-flasher.com/6263-rm-207/

Posted by: paganana

I couldn't get the European NSU's to update my 4.44 phone to 5.20 like some of the earlier posters (I tried "European," UK English, also German). So that "leak" must have been fixed.

I downloaded the Bandung-flasher .exe file (after paying the $5 trial membership) in case that option will disappear soon too. However, I'm nervous to use it as it is my first time hacking a phone.

I assume that I just run the app and it avoids having to use NSS to change my product code? Does that mean I will get to restore my DRM files because the phone is still the same model as before the software update? Or are DRM files never restorable after any type of update, sanctioned or not?

So that's one concern, losing some of my files. The other is that I have just the 5.99 T-mobil data plan, and I'm wondering whether that's good enough for using what I guess would become a de-branded phone? I'm not really unhappy with my phone setup but Opera Mini sounded so nice and I wanted to try it. But I am worried I will mess up my current setup and would need to purchase the more expensive data plan to use a debranded phone. Are my fears justified? If 5.20 does not work out for me, can I return my phone to its former state? Any expert advice on this would be much appreciated!