Nokia 5610 Unbrand Debrand T-mobile

[SilentSwagg]

has anybody had any luck with Debranding the 5610 yet?

[trivoldus28]

Hey guys, I've successfully debranded my Nokia 5610 and 'upgraded' my firmware to v10.00. I like it much better now, with access to Opera Mini, improved interface, and unlocked right soft-key, among other things. The downside is that Tmobile tZone settings are gone so I can't really access internet (haven't play around with this extensively yet cause I don't have a data plan).

I'll post a detailed guide on how to do this if anyone is interested. The procedure involves using Phoenix as mentioned in the thread, which could be found here http://phoenixslayer.blogspot.com/ (much thanks to that guy who made the installation process painless).

[dirka]

Sure, tell us how and don't leave us hangin'...

[megadrive]

Yes PLEASE tell us how you debranded, its been 3 months since you promised. PLEASE PLEASE tell us if you really know. Regards

[trivoldus28]

Hey sorry guys, didn't know people still cared. Anyway, the gist of the situation is that our T-Mobile branded phone version is exclusively to T-Mobile only, so flashing any other RM-xxx version will brick it (even RM358!, its Chinese sister), and as far as I know there is only 1 version of the firmware available to T-Mobile. But there's a way though, and that is to flash ONLY the 'media-image' part of the firmware.

Basically, you'll have to obtain the latest firmware (10.0 for RM 242) and the original firmwares (RM 359, filename "RM-359_dp_13.0_sw_8.23.zip") and the Phoenix software in my previous post, and play around to flash your phone. There are various way to do it, just remember to ONLY replace '.image' file and keep the other two files (.MCUSW and .PPM_NTM) the same and you should be file. Also don't be afraid, you can always revive your mal-flashed phone with Phoenix--I've done it.

The easiest way (the way I've done it actually) is to trick the software into thinking it's flashing RM-359 firmware but in reality you've replaced the .image file with the new one. First backup everything in your phone--they'll be wiped clean. Then install both v8.23 RM359 and v10.0 RM242 firmwares into your PC, then Phoenix, run it and let it detect what phone you have. You should be able to flash your phone now with the old firmware, do it for some practice.

Now, if you look into the RM359 folder, you should see about 6 files with the extension .IMAGE_blahblahblah about 10 MB each (if you can't, turn on 'extension viewing' in your windows explorer). There should also be 2 other files with the extension .MCUSW and PPM_NTM (don't mess with them!). Identify which of the .IMAGE will be used for flashing your phone, make a backup of it, as you will be replacing that file with the unbranded version.

Now go to the RM242 folder to look for the unbranded .IMAGE file. There should be a tons of them. They are variations of each other, with some customized for various wireless carriers; for specific colours; with/without Yahoo logo; v9.3 instead of v10.0; with different games/music videos; ect... You are on your own on this one. Look inside the .vpl files and their associated ID, there are clues...

Found it? cool, replace the original media-image file with the new one and flash! It should work. Just be patient with the flashing. If you get the hand-shakes, congratulation! If the same Tmobile crap, then you've replaced the wrong media file. If you can't boot up your phone, use your backup to revive your phone to the original firmware before doing anything else. I hope it goes well for you.

[megadrive]

So do I only flash the new image file(rm242) alone, or do I replace the Tmobile(rm359) image with the new Nokia image(rm242) file and flash that with the other 5 Tmobile(rm359) files?
Thanks again

[megadrive]

I debranded my phone, flashing it with rm242 image file and the other 2 Tmobile rm359 files works. I used JAF to flash it, you need the RM358 MCU file, rm358 PPM file and finally the rm242 version 10.0 image file. Much thanks to the guy that figured it out!

[megadrive]

Also the phone was restricted only running on GPRS speed, not it can run on EDGE, you could even stream videos from YouTube.

[felixchoy]

Megadrive: Can you elaborate/explain what do you mean by "I used JAF to flash it, you need the RM358 MCU file, rm358 PPM file and finally the rm242 version 10.0 image file." What are the JAF, MCU & PPM files for ?

And according to trivoldus28 post he only needs v8.23 RM359 files. Do we need the RM358 files to complete the process as you described ? Pls inform.

Thanks,
Felix.

I debranded my phone, flashing it with rm242 image file and the other 2 Tmobile rm359 files works. I used JAF to flash it, you need the RM358 MCU file, rm358 PPM file and finally the rm242 version 10.0 image file. Much thanks to the guy that figured it out!

[megadrive]

JAF is the program used to flash, its like Phoenix. You can also use Phoenix but I simply found some You Tube videos of Nokia phones being flashed with JAF so I used it. So again you need those three files, i don't know what they are, i am guessing they are firmware and some other system files, you can research them on google if you want to know., but the important one is the 10.0 software image file, the other 2 are the old 8.23 TMobile ones that are designed for TMOBILe phone(RM359). So once again you need (TMOBILE files: RM358 MCU file, rm358 PPM file) and finally the (NOKIA softwre image rm242 version 10.0 image file). They can all be downloaded through Phoenix firmware database or through NaviFirm. Alright let me know if you understand me now, its a really simple procedure once you see it done, just open JAF load those three files and flash, takes 2 minutes. Let me know if you need any more info and if it worked.

[zaratewillka]

anybody try the method posted by trivoldus28

[zaratewillka]

I unbranded my NOKIA 5610 with JAF, with the same MCU and PPM files, but changing the .image file. All aplications is now unrestricted, but the bad news is that the main menu is not functioning, I pull down the center button (the OK button) and nothing is happen, the main menu do not turn up, so I can't configure anything. Any ideas...........?. Sorry for my bad english.....

[Jam08]

i'll definitely try this once i have that unit.. for experimentation.. looking around to test drive..