Question about flashing?

nicholasblock · #1 (**permalink**) 08-24-2010, 03:43 PM

I have just bought an HTC Touch Pro 2 from Cellcom (A cell company in Wisconsin) and reading the forums is confusing me. I believe the phone is CDMA because there is no sim card. I bought the phone used and wont be activating it til friday.

My question is what is flashing/unlocking for exactly? I want to be able to customize my phone and for sure need tethering. Do I need to use the SPL unlocker thing? And if I do, should I wait until Cellcom activates it? Can they tell or will the activation remove the SPL thing? Thanks for any help

creedo · #2 (**permalink**) 08-24-2010, 06:51 PM

flashing a new rom is kind of a heavy thing to get into on your brand new phone. you can customize the crap out of it without reinstalling the whole os. I don't think activating would remove anything but try something like cookie's home tab before you get into flashing. I didn't have to unlock or flash anything to get my sprint tp2 just the way I like it.

another reason to think twice is there is a custom thing or two your carrier put on there that you might not get on a new rom. like mine has sprint tv and a setting to update my internet settings. when I got a new rom and my internet died, the setting was gone and I couldn't fix it. on the stock rom the setting worked and I was right back up.

ps my experience its you get activated a lot faster if you just keep calling and nagging them. it's a five minute process and they can walk you though it over the phone (a different phone).

**razorloves** · #3 (**permalink**) 08-24-2010, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholasblock

I have just bought an HTC Touch Pro 2 from Cellcom (A cell company in Wisconsin) and reading the forums is confusing me. I believe the phone is CDMA because there is no sim card. I bought the phone used and wont be activating it til friday.

My question is what is flashing/unlocking for exactly? I want to be able to customize my phone and for sure need tethering. Do I need to use the SPL unlocker thing? And if I do, should I wait until Cellcom activates it? Can they tell or will the activation remove the SPL thing? Thanks for any help

there's no such thing as a cdma only version of the tp2 in the US. the sim card slot is under the battery. go to your settings and open Device Information and let us know what it is. RHOD400 or RHOD500

**Mojary** · #4 (**permalink**) 08-24-2010, 07:04 PM

get your phone activated first. and yes...your phone is a CDMA phone. once you're up and running with your cell service, that's when i would read into flashing and learning up on it. it's major information overload if it's the first time you're going to try flashing. but just read...read...and read some more just to make sure you are understanding the process correctly. yes...you do need to HardSPL unlock your phone if you want to use a custom/cooked ROM. BUT MAKE SURE YOU USE A ROM THAT IS MEANT FOR YOU PHONE!...which is a CDMA rom. that's why it's important for you to do a lot of reading and re-reading.

like the above post said...you don't really have to install a cooked rom for tweaking your device. cabs are posted all over the forum for a particular tweak. but most of the tweaks are already cooked into a custom rom. that's why most members flash to a cooked rom. and of course....the eye candy that comes with a custom rom is also a big factor.

but in the end....it'll be how you prefer your device to look. and once you start flashing...don't be surprised if you flash at least twice a week...LOL.

nicholasblock · #5 (**permalink**) 08-24-2010, 09:57 PM

Thank you all for your comments. This is a lot of information but I am very tech savvy. I only buy stuff if I can mod it in some way. I have a modded PSP, Wii, iPod Touch, etc.. I have flashed many PC BIOS' and never bricked one thing. I understand every device is different, but I wanted to explain my knowledge. So after lots of reading I flashed the SPL, but I will not flash a ROM until I am activated.

A few questions more... I can not find a stock ROM from Cellcom. I will not flash unless I know I have a stock backed up, is it easy to dump my ROM? I have all sorts of hardware if needed i.e. FPGA's, an oscilloscope, and so on. Um also, Cellcom sucks around here and they lock you out of any and everything possible so I am not very worried about losing features. I just want the stock backed up in case I need to bring it in for repairs.

creedo · #6 (**permalink**) 08-25-2010, 07:43 AM

Howdy - I couldn't find cellcom's roms. This thread (For a different model phone) might have something useful.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=42005

From what I understand, 99% of the rom you have will be the generic stock TP2 rom, and there are just a few tiny custom carrier settings. The thread had some advice on how to find and back up those carrier settings.

Here's the generic rom from HTC's site.
http://www.htc.com/europe/SupportDow...at=2&dl_id=913

You other option is to use one of the backup programs. SPB backup, sprite, resco, and SKtools all make backup software. Sprite also makes 'clone' software that actually images the whole thing bit for bit. This is ideal but I think you'll have to pay for such software. There may be others who make similar ghosting software.

**razorloves** · #7 (**permalink**) 08-25-2010, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creedo

Howdy - I couldn't find cellcom's roms. This thread (For a different model phone) might have something useful.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=42005

From what I understand, 99% of the rom you have will be the generic stock TP2 rom, and there are just a few tiny custom carrier settings. The thread had some advice on how to find and back up those carrier settings.

Here's the generic rom from HTC's site.
http://www.htc.com/europe/SupportDow...at=2&dl_id=913

You other option is to use one of the backup programs. SPB backup, sprite, resco, and SKtools all make backup software. Sprite also makes 'clone' software that actually images the whole thing bit for bit. This is ideal but I think you'll have to pay for such software. There may be others who make similar ghosting software.

that's a link to a gsm rom. thats no good for his phone.

creedo · #8 (**permalink**) 08-25-2010, 03:30 PM

Oops, sorry, noob mistake on my behalf.

Well, I can tell you I tested various backup programs today with my sprint TP2 and SPB backup seemed to get everything and recover it perfectly. If you don't find any other solution, I would recommend it. After restoring I did not have to redo any of my carrier settings or reactivate the phone or anything like that. I did have to use the carrier's built in tool to fix the internet. I just resets a name and password somewhere and then you're up and running.