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How to software-unlock Orange SPV cell phone
Instructions how to unlock your SPV phone, so that it can run also non-certified (example: free) applications. Screenshots and photos included.
Disclaimer 1: if you have questions related to the topic "unlocking" and you need individual answers then go to microsoft.public.smartphone newsgroup or to our friends at MoDaCo SmartPhone forums. Both of these discussion places are full of people very experienced in unlocking of MS Smartphone phones and usually you can get there answers quickly (either ask directly or search in the archives). We (msmobiles.com) are usually not answering individual questions.
Disclaimer 2: this article is based on instructions how to de-certify your SPV phone from CoolSmartPhone.com and on posts by people in the microsoft.public.smartphone newsgroup. Purpose of this article is not to copy the information provided there, but to present illustration of the unlocking process, with help of screenshots and photos, so that this process will be more easily comprehensible to users of Orange SPV cell phones.
Why should you want to unlock your SPV? Because then you will gain access to several (freeware or shareware) software programs, that will greatly enhance functionality of your phone: both utilities and games (visit our friends at CoolSmartPhone - left lower side of their main page - see text "Unlocked Extras!" - to see direct links with downloads of free software for unlocked SPV phone). Usually Orange SPV is software locked what means that only software certified by Orange can be executed within this phone! This is huge marketing mistake of Orange company and one of reasons why this company faces now financial problems (hopefuly other operators, that will be introducing MS Smartphone 2002 based cell phones will not make the same mistake). Shortly speaking: software-unlocking your SPV phone brings new possibilities to you, possibilitiees, that will very improve user experience with this phone. And the great thing is that most of these unlocked software goodies are for free!
Do you have to be a techno-geek to do this software-unlocking? No! All you need is, apart from regular PC with Windows (preferably Windows XP) the following: Orange SPV cell phone, power supply, USB craddle, some SIM card, some SD memory card:
[image]
And the process itself is not complicated - in fact it is very easy. Please observe the regular sequence of screens after you switch your SPV phone on:
[image]
... where you can see, that first, operator logo appears (here: Orange), then Microsoft logo (here: "Smartphone 2002, Microsoft Windows Powered") and then the dialog that queries you to enter the PIN code for your SIM card. This is the usual "booting sequence" of SPV phone.
Generally speaking the whole software unlocking process can be divided in 3 major steps:
- copy one file from your SPV phone to your PC
- perform hard reset on yoru SPV phone with use of special key combinations - something that will change the usual (see image above) sequence of booting of your phone
- after hard resetting your phone, but before fool start up of the system, to copy the above mentioned file, but edited, from your PC to your SPV phone
Now, the detailed description follows but please note that it applies to Orange SPV phone that was updated with latest software update from Orange OK. If you havenīt updated your SPV phone yet, then either please do it now, or use instructions from CoolSmartPhone.com.
- Please remember to backup your data, that you by now gathered in your phone! The operation of unlocking includes hard reset, that will clear your SPV phone. You can make Orange Backup and you can use ActiveSync backup.
- Open ActiveSync application, and after you will get "Connected" with your SPV after putting it into craddle, click on "Explore" button in ActiveSync
- navigate the file explorer as follows:
- Mobile Device
- My Smartphone
- Windows
... and keep the window open until the end of this process. Donīt close it!
- copy file mxip_oem_10.provxml from above mentioned directory to your PC (for example to desktop):
[image]
- with regular Notepad from Windows edit the file on your PC as follows and replace this text:
with this text:
Please note that line with "4111" is removed and the remaining lines are changed.
- now copy the file from your PC to clipboard - for example by right clicking on it and selecting "Copy" - it is a preparation for later pasting operation that must be fast
- now the tricky part begins, part that includes hard resetting the phone and super-fast copying of the edited file during the booting of the phone, so to make it easier we provide here photos and screenshots! first step in tricky part is to switch your phone off! just press the power button and switcht it off (or take away battery, whatever)
- now you will need to press these 3 buttons, so get acquainted with them:
[image]
The first one is voice recording key (the one with "1" number, second to the left). The second one is power key (the one with "2" number). The third one is so called "Action key" (the one with "3" number) - the one located in the middle of cursor keys.
- We assume at this moment, that the phone is switched OFF and the SD memory card is inserted. Now press and hold down key "1" from above picture and press then key "2". The software is bootting, the screens gets lighted, and you can notice the text "Card Found":
[image]
- Now, after few seconds, next screen appears:
[image]
... that contains the text "Press any key to enter bootloader".
- Now you must act quickly! If you donīt press anything at this moment, then this screen appears (with the text "Canary MV v0.98" and colorful stripes):
[image]
... but in fact you should press key "3" from photo above (the action key) so that you will get this screen:
[image]
... that contains the text "Canary DIAG...". This screen is a kind of diagnostics menu of the phone.
-
Now just press key "8" on the keyboard of your SPV phone or just select the position "Erase IPSM" so that process of hard reset can proceed. After succesful erasing you get this screen:
[image]
- Now switch your phone off - either by using power button (number "2" on the photo above) or by taking away the battery.
- Now switch your phone ON as always, what will result in the regular booting sequence:
[image]
... but this time you must act quickly during the booting process! THIS is the most critical and most difficult part of the whole unlocking process so just concentrate and try to be fast!
- immediately after switching ON, you observe the "Orange logo screen" (generally: logo of your operator), and now observe the screen carefully and right after you will see the next screen (the blue "Smarpthone 2002" logo from Microsoft; second screen from the left on the photo above) do the following 3 things:
- immediately after blue screen ("Smartphone 2002" text) appears, put the phone into the craddle!
- now perform operation of pasting the file from your PC (clipboard) to your SPV phone; do it either by drag and drop with your mouse, or press "Ctrl" and "V" to make it even faster; remember that you were keeping the window with files in "Windows" directory of SPV all the time open - in this way you can quickly perform this critical operation
- confirm the overwriting - just click on "Yes"; the file gets copied in the process
if you succeeded in this step then your phone is software-unlocked from now!
- now you can install some uncertified applications and they will be able to run in your phone without problems:
[image]
If you have doubts regarding above procedure then visit another description of the unlocking process from CoolSmartPhone.com web site to have the double-check possibility.
If you have some remarks or if you have found some incorrect things in above description then use our fully anonymous web form to communicate them to us or contact us by e-mail.
