57 replies to this topic

[Higgsy]

Updated the OP with a wrnaing not to flash new UK 2.51 firmware due to root issues

[#stingray#]

Hello, newbie here but keen

Just got a Defy with VF branded system and wanted to use the guide above to de-brand, I have used a similar method before to de-band an older Motorola phone some years ago and have done a Sony Ericsson also.

I should be able to follow the above guide without too much problem but not quite sure about this comment:
"One thing I noticed is that the data partition stayed intact for me when I debranded, meaning all my settings and installed app (providing you hadn’t moved stuff to /system) were still there after the process – cool! The only thing you will have to do is re-root the device."

Is this necessary to re-root the phone before it can be used? or after step 8:

STEP 8 Press the start button on the RSDLite and just relax while your device gets flashed,debranded etc. you will see a progress status on the right hand side wait till it reaches 100% but please do not disconect it will reboot the phone automaticly and restart the phone.And just wait untill android comes up and fully running untill you disconnect it should read "PLEASE START PHONE MANUALLY" on RSDLite, when this shows it is safe to unplug.

Hopefully now you will have a debranded/unbricked phone.


Is the phone usable as it is? wil all functions/features work?

Many thanks and and a great site!

[Higgsy]

#stingray#, on Jan 4 2011, 19:34, said:

Hello, newbie here but keen

Just got a Defy with VF branded system and wanted to use the guide above to de-brand, I have used a similar method before to de-band an older Motorola phone some years ago and have done a Sony Ericsson also.

I should be able to follow the above guide without too much problem but not quite sure about this comment:
"One thing I noticed is that the data partition stayed intact for me when I debranded, meaning all my settings and installed app (providing you hadn’t moved stuff to /system) were still there after the process – cool! The only thing you will have to do is re-root the device."

Is this necessary to re-root the phone before it can be used? or after step 8:

STEP 8 Press the start button on the RSDLite and just relax while your device gets flashed,debranded etc. you will see a progress status on the right hand side wait till it reaches 100% but please do not disconect it will reboot the phone automaticly and restart the phone.And just wait untill android comes up and fully running untill you disconnect it should read "PLEASE START PHONE MANUALLY" on RSDLite, when this shows it is safe to unplug.

Hopefully now you will have a debranded/unbricked phone.


Is the phone usable as it is? wil all functions/features work?

Many thanks and and a great site!

You dont have to root the phone to do this. Root is optional. The phone will be perfectly usable out of the box, its whether or not you want operator branding on your handset or not. As well as the Defy section on here you aught to check out the defy section over at XDA developers too  - lots of info on both sites.

[#stingray#]

Higgsy, on Jan 4 2011, 20:02, said:

You dont have to root the phone to do this. Root is optional. The phone will be perfectly usable out of the box, its whether or not you want operator branding on your handset or not. As well as the Defy section on here you aught to check out the defy section over at XDA developers too  - lots of info on both sites.

Sure I can use the phone out of the box as I am doing with my O2 sim but it's got VF rubbish all over it and I hate it (it was actually an upgrade on my wife's VF contract but she gave it to me). So yes I want to de-brand using your guide but the only thing I'm un-sure about is the bit after step 8 where it says you'll have to re-root the device. So what I wanted to know is if I do step 8 and end up with the de-branded device do I need to do this 're-root' to get it to work or can I just put my sim back in and all will be well ? or maybe I just don't understand what is meant by 're-root'

Thanks

[Higgsy]

#stingray#, on Jan 4 2011, 20:33, said:

Sure I can use the phone out of the box as I am doing with my O2 sim but it's got VF rubbish all over it and I hate it (it was actually an upgrade on my wife's VF contract but she gave it to me). So yes I want to de-brand using your guide but the only thing I'm un-sure about is the bit after step 8 where it says you'll have to re-root the device. So what I wanted to know is if I do step 8 and end up with the de-branded device do I need to do this 're-root' to get it to work or can I just put my sim back in and all will be well ? or maybe I just don't understand what is meant by 're-root'

Thanks

If you didn't have root before or you don't know what it is then just ignore that. Its just a case of you flashing the generic firmware the phone then reboots and you are done.

[#stingray#]

#stingray#, on Jan 4 2011, 20:33, said:

Sure I can use the phone out of the box as I am doing with my O2 sim but it's got VF rubbish all over it and I hate it (it was actually an upgrade on my wife's VF contract but she gave it to me). So yes I want to de-brand using your guide but the only thing I'm un-sure about is the bit after step 8 where it says you'll have to re-root the device. So what I wanted to know is if I do step 8 and end up with the de-branded device do I need to do this 're-root' to get it to work or can I just put my sim back in and all will be well ? or maybe I just don't understand what is meant by 're-root'

Thanks

Ah ok so rooting is giving you admin/root access to the OS to do more advanced things so I guess this is not necessary and I could just install the firmware you mention and use it as is. Although I was thinking would it be wise to root beforehand and backup the existing OS before installing the un-branded version...

Thanks again

[#stingray#]

#stingray#, on Jan 4 2011, 20:51, said:

Ah ok so rooting is giving you admin/root access to the OS to do more advanced things so I guess this is not necessary and I could just install the firmware you mention and use it as is. Although I was thinking would it be wise to root beforehand and backup the existing OS before installing the un-branded version...

Thanks again

LOL, just saw your reply Higgsy, thanks for your super help!

[Higgsy]

#stingray#, on Jan 4 2011, 20:51, said:

Ah ok so rooting is giving you admin/root access to the OS to do more advanced things so I guess this is not necessary and I could just install the firmware you mention and use it as is. Although I was thinking would it be wise to root beforehand and backup the existing OS before installing the un-branded version...

Thanks again

Indeed as there is no sbf for your carrier available in the public domain, you would be wise to root/install Tenfars Clockworkmod Recovery (see XDA)/make a nandroid back up of your voda rom and then flash the generic sbf

[#stingray#]

Higgsy, on Jan 5 2011, 11:35, said:

Indeed as there is no sbf for your carrier available in the public domain, you would be wise to root/install Tenfars Clockworkmod Recovery (see XDA)/make a nandroid back up of your voda rom and then flash the generic sbf

Righto, will give i a whirl, might have to wait till the weekend so I can give it my full attention !

Thanks.

[#stingray#]

#stingray#, on Jan 5 2011, 17:13, said:

Righto, will give i a whirl, might have to wait till the weekend so I can give it my full attention !

Thanks.

okey cokey, so I rooted the Defy, installed the clockwork mod recovery and done a backup (seemed to be saved as img files), is it possible to just create a backup of the current rom as an sbf? on that note I came across ROM Manager v3.0.0.2, can I use this to flash with a rom I have saved on the SD card (the UK one recommended in this guide). I did install the free version to see what it's about and when I went into 'backup current rom' I got a message 'you must have clockworkmod recovery installed first' which I already did before trying rom manager so not sure what it's trying to do.

Or should I just stick to the RSDlite method....

Edited by #stingray#, 05 January 2011 - 10:09 PM.

[Higgsy]

#stingray#, on Jan 5 2011, 22:08, said:

okey cokey, so I rooted the Defy, installed the clockwork mod recovery and done a backup (seemed to be saved as img files), is it possible to just create a backup of the current rom as an sbf? on that note I came across ROM Manager v3.0.0.2, can I use this to flash with a rom I have saved on the SD card (the UK one recommended in this guide). I did install the free version to see what it's about and when I went into 'backup current rom' I got a message 'you must have clockworkmod recovery installed first' which I already did before trying rom manager so not sure what it's trying to do.

Or should I just stick to the RSDlite method....

Dunno about ROM Manager, don't use it - not sure all it features will even work with the Defy in a stock rooted state, I used to have it on an old Cyanogen ROM on my HTC Hero.  As for making an sbf with your backup - possible, but not worth the hassle imo, info can be found on the defy section of modmymobile on how to unpack/pack an sbf.

Basically if something goes wrong and the phone wont boot, you reflash the sbf, reroot with z4root and reapply the clockworkmod recovery, if you had these on your phone installed in the data partition then you dont even need to reinstall these apps as flashing the sbf leaves the data partition intact.  Then boot into the recovery and restore you backup, the backup is a full system image so phone will be exactly like it was when you made it. Once you have done it a few times you can do the whole lot in like 15 mins.

[#stingray#]

Higgsy, on Jan 6 2011, 13:14, said:

Dunno about ROM Manager, don't use it - not sure all it features will even work with the Defy in a stock rooted state, I used to have it on an old Cyanogen ROM on my HTC Hero.  As for making an sbf with your backup - possible, but not worth the hassle imo, info can be found on the defy section of modmymobile on how to unpack/pack an sbf.

Basically if something goes wrong and the phone wont boot, you reflash the sbf, reroot with z4root and reapply the clockworkmod recovery, if you had these on your phone installed in the data partition then you dont even need to reinstall these apps as flashing the sbf leaves the data partition intact.  Then boot into the recovery and restore you backup, the backup is a full system image so phone will be exactly like it was when you made it. Once you have done it a few times you can do the whole lot in like 15 mins.

Great stuff Higgsy

I did actually flash the generic ROM last night with RSDlite after my last post, I thought what the heck lets give it a whirl! I thought if it could be done by ROM manager I should have been able to find the info somewhere within the realms of XDA or here and didn't.

All is well, your steps above worked a treat, no hassle. Even rooted again afterwards and got rid of that VF rubbish.

[arixal]

Hi,

I just got my t-mobile defy from US unlocked.. I'm using it in indonesia, and the problem with it is, it seems that it needs data plan.. i know that it is the "real point" of the phone to have data plan.. but currently, I only have regular connection.. which cost a lot.. but the tmobile settings seems to force the phone to connect to the "data plan" server.. if you know what I meant..

so I can't get the phone connected to the regular data connection.. is this UK debranded firmware will make my defy able to connect to the regular data connection?? or would it allow me to use the phone without setting the motoblur (skip the motoblur).. because t-mobile won't let me use the phone in initial setup unless I get the motoblur account set up.. (just like in the XDA dev thread about the t-mobile us defy)

anyway, thank's for the guide

[Higgsy]

arixal, on Jan 7 2011, 03:53, said:

Hi,

I just got my t-mobile defy from US unlocked.. I'm using it in indonesia, and the problem with it is, it seems that it needs data plan.. i know that it is the "real point" of the phone to have data plan.. but currently, I only have regular connection.. which cost a lot.. but the tmobile settings seems to force the phone to connect to the "data plan" server.. if you know what I meant..

so I can't get the phone connected to the regular data connection.. is this UK debranded firmware will make my defy able to connect to the regular data connection?? or would it allow me to use the phone without setting the motoblur (skip the motoblur).. because t-mobile won't let me use the phone in initial setup unless I get the motoblur account set up.. (just like in the XDA dev thread about the t-mobile us defy)

anyway, thank's for the guide

hmm, not sure what you mean by a "regular data connection" you either have a data connection or not?  I would say you need to go generic on the firmware, you are using a phone with firmware customised for a particular network in a particaluer country. Just bare  in mind you can't go back, but I know for a fact many Asian users have flashed the generic UK firmware and it works fine for them. If you don't want mobile data on the best thing I have found for toggling it on/off easily and quickly is widgetsoid 2 - free from the market - its an awesome app that lets you toggle other stuff as well, that way you can easily turn off mobile data all the time.

[arixal]

Higgsy, on Jan 7 2011, 18:27, said:

hmm, not sure what you mean by a "regular data connection" you either have a data connection or not?  I would say you need to go generic on the firmware, you are using a phone with firmware customised for a particular network in a particaluer country. Just bare  in mind you can't go back, but I know for a fact many Asian users have flashed the generic UK firmware and it works fine for them. If you don't want mobile data on the best thing I have found for toggling it on/off easily and quickly is widgetsoid 2 - free from the market - its an awesome app that lets you toggle other stuff as well, that way you can easily turn off mobile data all the time.

thank's a lot for the advice man.. it really helps.. what i meant with regular data connection is I have data connection, but it's not a data plan.. you just pay what you used.. and it cost a lot.. while the data plan usually cost the same amount for unlimited usage.. I recall someone in the US us this unlock tmobile defy with AT&T, and the result is, the phone connect to the data plan server of AT&T and the man get charges for data plan service which he never apply.. sucks..

okay, I'll try the UK generic firmware first before jumping to the no-Blur firmware.. thank's again man..

[Higgsy]

arixal, on Jan 7 2011, 12:47, said:

thank's a lot for the advice man.. it really helps.. what i meant with regular data connection is I have data connection, but it's not a data plan.. you just pay what you used.. and it cost a lot.. while the data plan usually cost the same amount for unlimited usage.. I recall someone in the US us this unlock tmobile defy with AT&T, and the result is, the phone connect to the data plan server of AT&T and the man get charges for data plan service which he never apply.. sucks..

okay, I'll try the UK generic firmware first before jumping to the no-Blur firmware.. thank's again man..

I would personally go for the no blur - thats just my personal preference. Basically if you see the little "G" "E" "3G" or "H" next to the signal bars, your phone is sending and receiving data and if you haven't got a data plan eg 500mb/1gb/Unlimited (which usually means 3gb lol) monthly usage then you will be getting charged per mb or kb at an extortionate rate no doubt.

So just make sure those icons aren't there or they'll be stinging you.

[arixal]

Higgsy, on Jan 7 2011, 21:53, said:

I would personally go for the no blur - thats just my personal preference. Basically if you see the little "G" "E" "3G" or "H" next to the signal bars, your phone is sending and receiving data and if you haven't got a data plan eg 500mb/1gb/Unlimited (which usually means 3gb lol) monthly usage then you will be getting charged per mb or kb at an extortionate rate no doubt.

So just make sure those icons aren't there or they'll be stinging you.

last night I decided to directly jump in the no blur firmware.. and it works like a charm..!! no settings needed and the phone connect to my local provider data connection.. and the firmware would allow me to turn off the connection too..

from what I've read at XDA-dev, T-mob is actually putting "special code" for phones they consider smartphone (outside of BB) so that the phone would only connect to the "smart phone" data plan which cost more than the non smart phone data plan.. that's just sucks..

anyway.. have gone through it.. and I'm very happy with my phone right now.. just one little problem though.. if I install vignette, it messed up the camera driver, luckily, before I install vignette, I already made backup of the firmware using the recovery tools..

[meetjoe]

Hello All

I am looking for a unlocked firmware for Motorola defy for US TMobile? I want to use it when I go to India. Can some one please direct me to one?

J

Edited by meetjoe, 08 January 2011 - 06:31 PM.

[Higgsy]

meetjoe, on Jan 8 2011, 18:28, said:

Hello All

I am looking for a unlocked firmware for Motorola defy for US TMobile? I want to use it when I go to India. Can some one please direct me to one?

J

This doesn't unlock your phone from a network, you will need to purchase a subsidy code from either t mobile, or I have heard that GSM Liberty's codes work too.

[#stingray#]

Hey Higgsy, question for ya.

I flashed the 2.21 UK version some days ago but I notice the VF360 stuff is still there in contacts. How do I get rid of this?

If I go to contacts>more>settings I cannot seem to un-tick VF360 or MOTOBLUR, seems to be 'greyed out' but ticked....

Thnx