I have just now flashed a Sprint PPC 6700 at a metroPCS store successsfully. It took me DAYS of work to get it done ONLY because the manager at the Corporate store was 1) an idiot, 2) refused to listen to a sentence without interrupting to tell me something stupid, 3) could NOT follow simple step-by-step instructions, and 4) kept plugging in different USB cables because he was too stupid to accept the fact that the USB cable I provided would work.
How frustrating is that?
But I can provide the details you may need to actually get your PPC flashed legally at a metroPCS store, as I finally did.
Step one is to go to an authorized dealer (not a corporate store) where they actually WANT to make money. It may cost alittle bit extra to flash the phone, but it's worth it. They ALL use the same Houdini software, so you don't need a corporate store.
It has to be a metroPCS Authorized Dealer - not just somebody who bought the Houdini software - otherwise they do not have the option in Houdini to select metroPCS as the target service. It also requires that the PC flashing the phone have the correct (that reads authorized) MAC address on network card, otherwise metroPCS will reject the flash operation half way through. You can't load the Houdini software on your own PC, then use their name and password to log in to flash a phone.
You MUST have an XP or Vista machine, but it can NOT be 64-bit OS (at least not yet) because the drivers won't load. They can download the HTC PDA Drivers file from Houdini by going to
http://helpdesk.houdinisoft.com and then going to the downloads page, then install the drivers on their own PC. If they refuse to do this step, or can't, then the phone will NOT be recognized. They should have already installed the Universal drivers so that their "calibration handset" will be recognized, but if they haven't then they can do that too.
OK, we're on a roll. A 32-bit PC, with Houdini installed, MAC address registered at metroPCS, Internet access, a dealers name and password, 2 available USB ports, USB cables for both the PPC and the calibration handset, and drivers installed.
Miss one of those steps and you are at a brick wall, but up to this point you can talk a metroPCS store through the process.
When you plug in the PPC, it goes through the normal driver install process a few times, but it does NOT find the drivers by itself. The drivers are located in the "c:\program files\qd\HTC Driver Install" directory. You must install from a specific location and browse to this directory for them to load.
One little detail that is CRUCIAL - When you dial ##778# (for a Sprint phone) to go into the diagnostic mode, you may need to click on START (on the PPC6700 in diagnostic mode) to actually get the PC to start recognizing the phone and loading the drivers. You'll see the difference. If the person doing the work doesn't wnat to let you see what is going on and help them do their job, you may get the same dumb answers I got from the young kid manager (who should have been supervising a vat of french fries for a living).
Once you have the phones recognized, they can start Houdini, log in using their name and password, and then start by clicking on the detect button. When it passes the calibration test, there will be some warnings about flashing and compatibility. You just have to click yes to proceed. Finally, they need to provision the phone.
Print this out and take it with you to the store. All you need is someone willing to learn something new, install the correct drivers, and follow instructions. Once you have walked them through this they will be able to make money helping other people too.
The one thing I have not completely figured out is the correct procedure for setting up MMS and metroWeb. That will be my next post, asking for details from the rest of you. I just wanted to post something helpful first before begging for help.