Step by Step tutorial for unlocking your device and cooking your own ROM!!!

[deboy_001]

Originally Posted by puff

to the first question, yeah just rename (if needed) the nbh

as far as the ROM, it sounds like its already in an RUU folder:
to flash via RUU, just look for the exe to start the Rom Upgrade Utility..
to flash via SD Card look for RUU_signed.nbh and rename + drag to card...

Wow Thanks for the fast reply! I did find the RUU in the folder. I was posting an edit as you were replying to this. I didn't know if I was able to run that while in splash screen because that's where I expect to be stuck with the gps radio and stock rom. Would I need to put in BL or do anything special... or is it really just plug up and run RUU? Thanks again!

[puff]

Originally Posted by deboy_001

Wow Thanks for the fast reply! I did find the RUU in the folder. I was posting an edit as you were replying to this. I didn't know if I was able to run that while in splash screen because that's where I expect to be stuck with the gps radio and stock rom. Would I need to put in BL or do anything special... or is it really just plug up and run RUU? Thanks again!

If you flash via RUU it will put the phone into bootloader for you (you dont hafta do it)
but if you want to put in bootloader b4 you start the RUU, that's also fine (it wont hurt a thing)
oh and yes it's that EZ, just plug up and run RUU (make sure ran the unlocker first)

However, I recommend flashing via SD Card - only because its so much faster

[rhannahs19]

Originally Posted by GaMedic

Attention Verizon users: When you finish flashing you ROM you will need to call Verizon for a new Akey. This is caused by upgrading the Radio ROM to a GPS enabled radio. You will only have to do this once. If you ever flash a new radio it will not cause a problem as long as it is a GPS enabled radio. You just call VZW tech support and tell them you had to hard reset your phone and now when you make a phone call your phone says VZW cannot authenticate your phone. They will issue you a new AKey. They will walk you through putting the AKey in. The steps are dial ##778 and send(if it does not work don't panic try ##778#). It will ask for a code. Enter 000000. Select edit. Select the menu in the bottom left and choose Akey. On the next screen you will enter the new AKey that they provide.

you might want to add that you have to call them from a DIFFERENT phone.. atleast they tell you to... i called from my phone and the lady refused to help me until i called back from another phone, she did give a very logical reason tho... just thought id point that out.

you might also want to add that if u are a verizon user, you can flash the new upgrade as long as you dont let customizations run.

great work on this by the way, i am sure it has helped many users. cheers

[GaMedic]

Originally Posted by rhannahs19

you might want to add that you have to call them from a DIFFERENT phone.. atleast they tell you to... i called from my phone and the lady refused to help me until i called back from another phone, she did give a very logical reason tho... just thought id point that out.

you might also want to add that if u are a verizon user, you can flash the new upgrade as long as you dont let customizations run.

great work on this by the way, i am sure it has helped many users. cheers

You have to call from another phone because they will have you make changes on the device while they are talking to you. That is to decrease call time so you are not saying hang on 15 times to apply the changes. Plus if you have to reset your device then you would have to hang up on your call and call back. If II am not mistaken, yu can't even call them when you need an AKey. As far as the MR1 update I don't plan to put anything about it in the tutorial because it breaks the funtionality of the GPS in 3rd party programs. It is a big pain to fix that, so I don't think it is a good idea to suggest it yet. The whole reason ffor the tutorial is to simplify the process.

[DavidinCT]

Originally Posted by GaMedic

Attention Verizon users: When you finish flashing you ROM you will need to call Verizon for a new Akey. This is caused by upgrading the Radio ROM to a GPS enabled radio. You will only have to do this once. If you ever flash a new radio it will not cause a problem as long as it is a GPS enabled radio. You just call VZW tech support and tell them you had to hard reset your phone and now when you make a phone call your phone says VZW cannot authenticate your phone. They will issue you a new AKey. They will walk you through putting the AKey in. The steps are dial ##778 and send(if it does not work don't panic try ##778#). It will ask for a code. Enter 000000. Select edit. Select the menu in the bottom left and choose Akey. On the next screen you will enter the new AKey that they provide.

An easier way if you got a warranty or other replacement phone from verizon. Write down your old ESN from you phone your about to turn in, then activate your new phone (you'll need to log into the vzw site). If you get the A-Key issue (problems geting you phone on their network when you try to make a call). Log into the vzw site, change phone, put in your old ESN, let it go, after that's done, log out, log back in, change ESN, put in your new ESN, and you'll be fixed. You still will have to do the *228 and program your phone..

Was told this directly from the vzw tech guy today.

[BoSoxFan]

Originally Posted by DavidinCT

An easier way if you got a warranty or other replacement phone from verizon. Write down your old ESN from you phone your about to turn in, then activate your new phone (you'll need to log into the vzw site). If you get the A-Key issue (problems geting you phone on their network when you try to make a call). Log into the vzw site, change phone, put in your old ESN, let it go, after that's done, log out, log back in, change ESN, put in your new ESN, and you'll be fixed.

Was told this directly from the vzw tech guy today.

nice, i sold both of my older VZW phones but I am sure I could get ahold of one from somewhere if i really needed too. Thanks

[joeblow789]

Originally Posted by GaMedic

Attention Verizon users: When you finish flashing you ROM you will need to call Verizon for a new Akey. This is caused by upgrading the Radio ROM to a GPS enabled radio. You will only have to do this once. If you ever flash a new radio it will not cause a problem as long as it is a GPS enabled radio. You just call VZW tech support and tell them you had to hard reset your phone and now when you make a phone call your phone says VZW cannot authenticate your phone. They will issue you a new AKey. They will walk you through putting the AKey in. The steps are dial ##778 and send(if it does not work don't panic try ##778#). It will ask for a code. Enter 000000. Select edit. Select the menu in the bottom left and choose Akey. On the next screen you will enter the new AKey that they provide...

Originally Posted by DavidinCT

An easier way if you got a warranty or other replacement phone from verizon. Write down your old ESN from you phone your about to turn in, then activate your new phone (you'll need to log into the vzw site). If you get the A-Key issue (problems geting you phone on their network when you try to make a call). Log into the vzw site, change phone, put in your old ESN, let it go, after that's done, log out, log back in, change ESN, put in your new ESN, and you'll be fixed. You still will have to do the *228 and program your phone..

Was told this directly from the vzw tech guy today.

OK, I've got some prior phone flashing experience, done a lot of reading & searching, but am still left with a noob question about this. I'm about to buy an XV6800 for use on Page Plus, a Verizon MVNO. The instructions above sound to me like:

1) If I get an XV6800 that never enabled the GPS while on Verizon, I won't be able to enable the GPS without a genuine account directly on Verizon.

2) If I get an XV6800 that never enabled the GPS while on Verizon, a possible workaround would be to upgrade to a GPS enabled rom/radio, and then have a friend with a Verizon account do the "Log into the vzw site, change phone, put in my ESN, let it go, after that's done, log out, log back in, change ESN, put back in their ESN, and you'll be fixed." thing. If so, does this solution require their phone to also be an XV6800, or another GPS enabled phone, or just one with a data plan?

3) If I get an XV6800 that HAS previously enabled the GPS with Verizon, I can flash any different GPS enabled rom/radio I want in the future and GPS will continue to work fine without any need for official Verizon support.

Can anyone offer opinions on some or all of this sounding correct? Thanks!

[GaMedic]

Having a VZW account does not matter. the whole deal about calling VZW was because the new radio install caused your phone not to be seen on the VZW network. So if you are just looking for GPS then being seen on VZW network does not matter. If you are going to use VZW then just call them for a new A Key. I cannot tell you how well the other answers given work as they are not tested by me.

[GaMedic]

Definitions(thanks gguruusa)


The following basic definitions are needed to load ROMs/use the kitchen:

HTC - the manufacturer of the 6700/6800/Touch/Tilt/et al.

Apache = PPC6700 = 6700

Titan = PPC6800 = 6800 = Mogul

(soft) Reset - there is a small whole on the bottom of your PPC, just to the left of the usb connector - it's the reset button. Use your stylus to push it. Your screen will go dark, then about 3 seconds later will show the boot splash.

Hard Reset - hold the left and right - buttons in (located just above the connect/disconnect phone buttons) at the same time as you push the reset button. It helps to hold the phone upside down in the hand that's pushing the - buttons, and use the stylus with your other hand to push the reset button.

Bottloader Mode (APACHE) - power+cassette/notes+reset - the power button is on/off button on the top of your phone. The cassette/notes button is the top button on the left side of your phone - it has a picture of a cassette tape on it, if it hasn't been worn off. Hold all three buttons in for about a 1/2 second, and the screen will go dark and stay dark. If you look closely, preferably in a well lit environment, you'll see some Serial or USB in the middle of the screen. Below that is a version number. You are in bootloader mode, and the version number is your bootloader version. YOU MUST KNOW YOUR BOOTLOADER VERSION BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO FLASH OR BUILD A ROM.

Bootloader Mode (TITAN et al) - power+camera+reset - the power button is on/off button on the top of your phone. The camera button is the bottom button on the right side of your phone - it has a picture of a camera on it, if it hasn't been worn off. Hold all three buttons in for about a 1/2 second, and the screen will go to a tri-colored screen. You are in bootloader mode. You must unlock your phone to load custom ROMs (it is necessary to unlock your phone only once during the life of your phone).

ROM - there are 4 types of Roms, but the two most commonly referred to are the OS ROM and the Radio ROM. Unless explicitly stated, ROM refers to the OS ROM. The OS ROM has WM5/WM6 on it. It is the OS ROM that gets updated frequently. Radio ROM updates are rarely needed, ExtROM updates are never needed, and bootloader ROM updates (updates that change the bootloader version) are discouraged heavily - bootloaders are a rare case where older is usually better than newer.

Ext ROM - this is a extra partition that contains carrier branded software. If you are using a custom ROM or the kitchen, you do not need anything that the carrier installed here - you may use it as extra storage. This storage area is not erased by a hard reset, but it is normally "locked" (hidden, read only). Some software does not behave as expected when the Ext ROM area is "unlocked".

nbf/nbh - these are different ROM encoding methods. Your phone REQUIRES a specific method. Most people do not need to know anything about nbf/nbh or encoding methods.

RUU - this is a piece of software from HTC. The kitchen includes it, as do many ROM distributions.

Kitchen - the place to make your custom ROM. The kitchen is a collection of various software tools that assemble your ROM and start the flash process. There are currently two flavors of kitchen, the original Bepe .9 version, and the newer .9.5 Bepe/PPCGeeks version. The .9.5 version currently only supports the Apache/6700 - it will not work properly for other phones.

Custom ROM - a particular OS ROM, almost always built from the latest kitchen. Distributing custom ROMs is discouraged - it is easier and less costly to distribute the kitchen modifications necessary to build a given ROM.

PagePool - cache for executing programs. This is an advanced subject. There's little reason to mess with it for most people.

OEM (module) - add-in programs to the kitchen and/or add-in customizations. There are lots and lots of OEMs - the most common freeware ones are in the PPCGeeksOEM.rar distributed as a kitchen add-on.

.NET 1.0/2.0/2.0SP1/3.5 - various flavors of the PC .NET package from Microsoft. Available from Microsoft as a free download. .NET 2.0SP1 or later is required to run the newer BuildOS (v .9.5)

.NET CF 1.0/2.0/3.5 - the PPC equivalent of the PC versions of .NET. Require by some PPC applications.

DO NOT LOAD A ROM FROM ANOTHER DEVICE ON YOUR PHONE.

DO NOT UNPLUG THE USB CABLE WHILE FLASHING. It's best to not touch anything at all while it's flashing. Don't run other processor intensive software (like games) while it is flashing, either.


Legend: Topics, Threads at ppcgeeks, Files you can download, Screeshots, Links to web sites, Important information, FTP folder, Edits.

[Claude9039u]

Thank you for helping everyone new to this. I tried to get get help but was not able to receive help from guys and just had to try and figure things out on my own. I wish someone like you woudl have come foward a long time ago and helped out like you did.