From French ROM back to English ROM

[Guest HazyUK]

After stupidly putting the French Rom update on my c500 is it possible to go back to my original English Rom?

I have tried many times but it's still all French ;)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Guest ElGato65]

Only if your phone was previously IMEI-Unlocked BEFORE you did the upgrade. Any other way and you are apparently stuck with the French ROM, oops, :|

[Guest mossywell]

I have tried many times but it's still all French  ;)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Peut-être vous devriez apprendre le français? ;)

[Guest HazyUK]

After stupidly putting the French Rom update on my c500 is it possible to go back to my original English Rom?

I have tried many times but it's still all French  ;)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My phone was IMEI unlocked before the first english rom update.

Do you think i have to go to the very first c500 rom in order to get rid of the French Rom.

[Guest mossywell]

My phone was IMEI unlocked before the first english rom update.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Interesting. From what I read, if you have a sim unlocked phone before applying the French rom, it should be possile to go back to the UK rom. I did read of one other person that also has a sim unlocked phone that was having problems going back to the UK rom. IIRC, he found a solution (though maybe not - I forget). All I can suggest is having a rummage around the posts to see if you can find out what happened. Maybe there is a "knack" to doing it?

[Guest ElGato65]

OK, just to try and clarify, I think;

If your phone was previously IMEI-Unlocked AND you updated by running the French update normally, then yes you can go back to the English ROM, I did.

If, for what ever reason you updated using the NBFTools method, or any other method that invloved hacking the .nbf, i.e extracting the .nbf first and modifying it, regardless of wether your phone was INEI Unlocked or not, then you're stuffed until someone figures out a way back for you.

[Guest sterbaya]

I've a French C500, and recently upgrade to 4.2.2.1Fr Orange ROM.

When I've upgrade from 4.1.2.5 to 4.2.2.1, my phone was simlocked.

Today I want to downgrade my phone ROM for TomTom work with my holux GPS.

I've tryed to install Imate ROM, Qtek ROM, Orange 4.1.2.5Fr ROM. I've edit ROM header, but I can't flash my phone.

I've phoned to orange for have my puk2 code, and now my phone is simunlocked, but, when I flash my phone, it's always the same problem, after the first reboot, I'm always in 4.2.2.1 ROM.

What difference are there when the phone is simunlocked after the 4.2.2.1 upgrade, compared to a phone was unlocked before upgrade ?

[Guest mossywell]

What  difference are there when the phone is simunlocked after the 4.2.2.1 upgrade, compared to a phone was unlocked before upgrade ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very good question! I would have guessed that there was no difference - so once the phone is sim-unlocked you should be able to go back to the 4.1.2.5Fr ROM. But, you say that this is not possible, which means that the phone must be sim-unlocked before applying the update. This has big implications for the UK update, which I suspect will have the same problem (and lots of unhappy TomTom users)! :shock:

Has anyone else out there succeeded in downgrading their ROM after getting a sim unlock code from their network provider?

[Guest squall]

as i understand it, and as mentioned in hte main french rom page, you can only downgrade phones which were previously unlocked by imei-check.co.uk

This is because that service removes more than just the sim lock.

[Guest sterbaya]

ok, I undersand ;)

[Guest mossywell]

as i understand it, and as mentioned in hte main french rom page, you can only downgrade phones which were previously unlocked by imei-check.co.uk

This is because that service removes more than just the sim lock.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Really? I definitely read somewhere (and I'm not going back to look for it :exclaim: ) that someone had an operator sim-unlocked phone and had managed to go back to the old UK ROM. OK, maybe I will look for it...

[Guest mossywell]

OK, maybe I will look for it...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Found it! It was peekie that managed to go back to the UK ROM without imei-check: http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=205284&st=240

[Guest sterbaya]

Found it! It was peekie that managed to go back to the UK ROM without imei-check: http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=205284&st=240

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've searched many hours to back 4.1.2.5 fr ROM without success.

I've replaced the 4.1.2.5fr & Imate ROM header by 4.2.2.1 header, but After flashing the phone, It reboot on 4.2.2.1. What I've forgot ? Is there another thing to do ?

[Guest mossywell]

Did you use TyphoonNbfTool.exe to edit the nbf file header before applying it? If so, I have read that no one has yet found a way to go back to the old ROM. If not, perhaps you should send peekie a PM and ask him how he did it?

[Guest sterbaya]

Did you use TyphoonNbfTool.exe to edit the nbf file header before applying it? If so, I have read that no one has yet found a way to go back to the old ROM. If not, perhaps you should send peekie a PM and ask him how he did it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I use TyphoonNbfTool for edit ROM header.

I'll send a PM @ peekie.

thanks for your help

[Guest florin_m]

Boys, you wasting your time. If the phone NOT been UNLOCKED by imei-check.co.uk or if your phone is NOT ORA device (developer phone) IT is imposible to DOWNGRADE to a normal firmware even if been simunlocked with code from Orange.

Changing the header is JUST for the flasher to see that is compatible with the phone. The flasher will send then the flash to the phone, and then the phone itself refuse to flash it (as is checking for signed flash file). The old flash files was unsigned, so u could change things in it (like splash screen), but the new once are signed, so u can't patch them.

So if you like wasting time, then please keep playing with the headers ;)

Now pray that the orange UK firmware will be higher version otherwise the non unlocked phone will not accept it ;).

[Guest mossywell]

If the phone NOT been UNLOCKED by imei-check.co.uk or if your phone is NOT ORA device (developer phone) IT is imposible to DOWNGRADE to a normal firmware even if been simunlocked with code from Orange.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We're waiting to hear how peekie did it as he said that his phone has not been unlocked by imei-check.

[Guest Viama]

We're waiting to hear how peekie did it as he said that his phone has not been unlocked by imei-check.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't hold out much hope ;)

[Guest mossywell]

I don't hold out much hope  ;)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't hold out much hope of hearing back from peekie, or don't hold out much hope of being able to downgrade the phone?

It is clear that florin_m is an expert in these matters, but I am always intruiged when someone says something is impossible (particularly when they shout it, like florin :shock: ) and someone else comes along and says they did the "impossible". Florin's and Peekie's claims are, after all, mutually exclusive.

Anyway, AFAIK, no one knows if the phone will accept the soon-to-be-released UK ROM, so we might have more information via other means soon.

FWIW, how many ROM updates do we realistically apply in the lifetime of the phone? 1, perhaps 2. (I applied 1 with my old E200.) So the fact that it might not be possible to go to a new ROM after the French update is not exactly a show-stopper. And if its the number of changes that are required to get it back to a UK phone, I listed 9 of them here: http://www.modaco.com/UK_settings_to_re_en...te-t205418.html, 2 of which I'd have to do anyway even if it's a UK update. The other 7 take about 5 minutes. OK, they have to be done after a hard reset, but that's an extra 5 minutes on top of an hour or so reinstalling all the applications anyway. No big deal really. :-"

[Guest Arisme]

we're technically discussing possible going-backward scenarios here http://www.spv-developers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=939. Feel free to participate if you've innovative ideas 8)

[Guest mossywell]

we're technically discussing possible going-backward scenarios here http://www.spv-developers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=939. Feel free to participate if you've innovative ideas  8)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Excellent discussion - cheers. 8) I'm going to follow it closely (though I won't have too much to contribute, sadly).

[Guest myjess]

Hope Peekie doesn't mind me putting his reply to me here on this post.

ME:

How did u go back /forth between Roms on the SPV C500.

I upgraded to French rom using the NBF tool instructions but something is wrong with the downloads page. It still comes up in French and won't do anything. I think my GPRS settings are screwed up.

Thanks m8.

Peekie:

my c500 is a dutch c500 with the simlock removed by orange holland.all i did was to run the set up mode in the 3 colour mode , this worked 1 time only as i returned to the french rom and iam now stuck on it till the uk or new dutch rom come out , you can upgrade to the next uk rom as the rom has a higher number , best to wait it should be out any day now icon_smile.gif

[Guest myjess]

Moderator should really put sticky at top saying anyone with TOMTOM, don't U/G to French firmware!

[Guest myjess]

I kinda know what this person is saying but does anyone here have a better understanding that can be used for downgrading French back to UK.

http://www.spv-developers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=195

Thank you.

[Guest mossywell]

I kinda know what this person is saying but does anyone here have a better understanding that can be used for downgrading French back to UK.

http://www.spv-developers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=195

Thank you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is my understanding...

Updating the ROM consists of two stages. Firstly, the rom update utility checks such things as the operator, version etc of the existing rom and the new rom. If it passes these tests, then the rom update utility sends the rom to the phone. Secondly, the phone takes the whole rom and, once it has been received, it does some checks (the checks differ depending on the version of bootloader already on the phone) on it and if it passes those check, it is installed.

The old rom update utility would not agree to pass the French rom to the phone. However, some clever people "edited" the header of the rom file so that the rom would be accepted. Some more clever people (or possibly the same clever people) then "edited" the rom update utility itself so that it didn't even bother to do the checks in the first place. This is what http://www.spv-developers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=195 this is all about. Problem is, this only gets you half way there. The next problem is getting the phone to accept the rom once it is downloaded to the phone...

The old bootloader didn't seem to be very fussy about what was downloaded to the phone. However, since version 2.x.x.x came out, it has become very fussy indeed. The French rom includes bootloader 2.x.x.x. So, once it is on, getting past stage two (as it were) is more tricky. Now the very clever chaps indeed http://www.spv-developers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=185 have worked out exactly what tests the new bootloader is doing before it loads it onto the phone:

1. If the phones CID is 11111111 (a developer phone), load the rom, or

2. If the rom passes the RSA signature, load the rom (this is the new test that wasn't in version 1.x.x.x)

So, there are three approaches to the problem:

1. Downgrade the bootloader before flashing the new rom. This stops the checks in the first place (though I guess it'll go back to bootloader 2.x.x.x after the update again!)

2. Get the phone's CID to 11111111. This is what florin does (as well as of course sim unlocking it). My limited understanding is that getting the phone to a CID of 11111111 was much easier with an early bootloader version - though I may be very wrong on this. :?: AFAIK, once in this mode, it stays in the mode which is why it's easy to hop back to any rom you like.

3. "Investigate" 8) the rsa signature - presumably to allow any rom to be signed thereafter with a signature that the phone will accept.

From what I read on www.spv-developers.com, all three will be available soon.

HTH