Mango update/phone debranding/restoring conundrums - haylp!

[Pronk]

I've got an unlocked but still branded Orange HTC Mozart running on O2 in the UK. It's not a problem 99.9% of the time - the only remaining scraps of Orange branding are the splash screen at startup, the bonus "Orange UK" colour theme and a couple of built-in default phone numbers in the system that I never use anyway. The HTC carrier setup app ran like a dream and I was up and running on O2 in minutes as soon as the phone was unlocked.

However, I came to WP7 post NoDo so I didn't really have to worry about carrier updates being released well behind unbranded updates as everything had been out for a long while. But with mango coming v. soon, I don't want to be stuck for over a month extra just waiting for some guy at Orange to tick some boxes on a form and release the update, so I'm thinking of doing the debrand thing and had some questions.

1. If you've done it, how easy was it? (as a Mac user, I'm going to have to borrow a friend's Windows laptop to do it, so I *really* can't afford to screw up my phone or his PC)
2. I understand you basically end up with a wiped phone if it works - so when you restore, does it restore your contacts, settings and email accounts entirely or would I have to re-link all my contacts with their facebook accounts etc.? (I know I have to reinstall apps)
3. How does the restore work? Do I just plug my phone in and it'll give me the option when it recognizes it as a "new" handset? (If anyone's done a restore on a Mac with the WP connector software, your help would be much appreciated!)
4. Do I need anything other than the right ROMs to flash and the regular USB cable?
5. I know you can get gold card debrand kits that make the process simpler, but at a cost - eBay have them for ?30 a go for the Mozart! I have a USB Y-cable anyway, but no gold card or ability to make one. Does anyone know where I could get a kit/gold card cheaper/free?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Reflexx]

You don't need to debrand to go Mango. The Mango update itself isn't branded, but you don't need to remove any prior branding.

My phone wasn't wiped when I updated. But be sure that your contacts are in your LIVE account. A backup file be generated that you'll want to keep in multiple places in case you need to revert. That backup file will be overwritten if you update Zune. So you'll want a copy stored elsewhere.

I haven't tried reverting , so I'm not sure how easy it is. But upgrading to Mango was pretty straight forward. And no special equipment is needed.

 

[Pronk]

I think you've misunderstood slightly - I know I don't *need* to debrand to get mango, but if I want to get it sooner (the unbranded, non-carrier release) I do. As I understand it, Orange took at least a month after NoDo came out to release their approved version of it. And it's the debranding process (flashing a clean install of the software) that'll wipe the phone. Also, I don't have Zune - as I said, I'm a Mac user so have the WP7 Connector software.

 

[Reflexx]

Ah. I thought you were going to use a friend's Windows laptop.

For what it's worth...

The Mango early update process isn't one update, but several.

There should be a clear path from your carrier release version of NoDo to the 7712 dev version of Mango. That's the developer test version of Mango. The phone itself would still be branded, but there isn't carrier specific data in the update.

From there you would update from 7712 to 7720. 7720 is RTM version. No carrier data.

My current phone is branded with AT&T. I have updates from AT&T up to NoDo. The updates after that were not from AT&T.

I'm not sure how it works for Mac users. But hopefully someone here could help you out.

 

[Pronk]

Yeah, for the debranding I'll use a windows laptop as it needs to run an .exe file - but just flashing doesn't need the Zune software as far as I know (I'll have backed up my phone to my mac before I try anything, obviously).

And I'm not talking about the early update to mango either - I'm talking about the update to the proper, final genuine release. The order that it gets released goes unbranded generic version update via Zune (or via WP7 connector), then carrier-approved versions via Zune/WP7 connector or OTA. With NoDo, Orange were a month later releasing their approved update than the unbranded update, and with a branded phone that's the version I have to wait for. Hence my considering unbranding my phone so that when the proper version of mango is released I can just upgrade straight away rather than having to wait for a carrier-approved release when I'm not even using that carrier!

 

[Reflexx]

Ah! Ok. I think I get it now.

Though now that I understand, I have no solutions for you.

Hopefully someone knows though.

 

[priyanka_bhowmick]

does anyone know how to debrand nokia lumia 900. Need the steps. I am unable to use internet sharing because of AT&T branding.