ATT Lumia 520 flashing rom

[John20212]

Has anyone tried changing the ATT rom on their new ATT Lumia 520? Can you flash it with international rom?

Since the 520 is so cheap I thought it might be a good phone to get for experimenting. After all if you screw it up its not like you are losing a 920 or 1020.

 

[AR2186]

You should be able to flash an international or generic ROM onto it using Nokia Care Suite. However, you may have a hard time getting it SIM unlocked from AT&T, i think they have some difficult policies regarding their go-phones.

I bought an international Lumia 620 and can flash AT&T roms on it, and the 920 can easily flash international versions

 

[tgp]

I'm curious about the 520 as well. I was not able to figure out which ROM to use, based on descriptions like these:

059T105 RM-915 VAR US ATT PAYG SL
059T104 RM-915 VAR US ATT IDB PIB SL
059S925 RM-915 VAR US ATT SL
059T149 RM-915 VAR LATAM-LTA PR CLARO SL
059T037 RM-915 VAR LATAM LTA JM DIGICEL SL
059T279 RM-915 VAR LATAM AR CLARO SL SKD
059S2D2 RM-915 LTA SWAP
059S2D1 RM-915 LIGHT SWAP ENG GLOBAL

This is just a short list as an example. Can someone help me out?

 

[AR2186]

I'm curious about the 520 as well. I was not able to figure out which ROM to use, based on descriptions like these:

059T105 RM-915 VAR US ATT PAYG SL
059T104 RM-915 VAR US ATT IDB PIB SL
059S925 RM-915 VAR US ATT SL
059T149 RM-915 VAR LATAM-LTA PR CLARO SL
059T037 RM-915 VAR LATAM LTA JM DIGICEL SL
059T279 RM-915 VAR LATAM AR CLARO SL SKD
059S2D2 RM-915 LTA SWAP
059S2D1 RM-915 LIGHT SWAP ENG GLOBAL

This is just a short list as an example. Can someone help me out?

Generic roms are designated as _CV (meaning country variant) or Developer, you should be able to find product codes here:
http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f609/nokia-product-code-listing-care-suite-download-1660094

 

[tgp]

Generic roms are designated as _CV (meaning country variant) or Developer, you should be able to find product codes here:
Nokia Product Code Listing for Care Suite Download - (Lumia 625 Added) - GSM-Forum

Yes I had already found that page. Some of the ROM descriptions I can figure out; others I cannot. I'm just looking for an unbranded ROM that my AT&T 520 will take. Would one like this qualify?

059T103 RM-915 VAR EU IL CV

 

[AR2186]

Yes, should work. I'd go with a GB (Great Britain) CV though

 

[tgp]

Can I flash an RM-914 ROM, or do I have to stick to RM-915? I know that RM-914 is for Europe & Asia, but what's the difference in the ROMs, and will they work on each others' hardware?

 

[AR2186]

I'm not sure the difference or if you can use it, but there is a similar discrepancy for the 920's with RM-820 (North America) and RM-821 (rest of world). There are instructions somewhere on WPCentral or XDA about how to flash the other product code, and it seemed pretty easy (just needed to rename a folder essentially). I have a Lumia 928 and a 620, so I can't say for certain

 

[tgp]

Another question: is there a CV rom that has 4G? The European one I flashed works fine, except 3G is the highest connection speed available.

 

[AR2186]

Not sure, you may have to try a few. It also depends on how they define "4G", as the 520 doesn't have LTE. Generally I think they should be branded as LTE, H+, H, E, etc.

 

[tgp]

I do get H+ with this rom, but in Settings >> cellular the only two options in Highest connection speed are 2G and 3G.

 

[AR2186]

H+ is a 3G technology, no matter what your carrier tries to tell you (actually even first geneation LTE is technically 3G). AT&T started this trend when they couldn't roll out LTE as quickly as Verizon, and it has caught on

 

[MrGoodSmith]

How about flashing the AT&T rom into non AT&T device? Basically I would like to test the GDR2 update but not sure if it would cause any harm to my phone or disable any features.
And in case I wanted to revert back to my original rom, would flashing it back return my phone to original state, or would some roms cause permanent changes to a phone or leave any traces?

 

[tgp]

I unlocked my 520 and put a T-Mobile SIM card in it. It works fine, except data remains at Edge. MMS works great, both sending and receiving. I tried changing the APN but I can't get data better than E. Is it the hardware or the ROM? I don't know. Tonight I'd like to try another ROM and see what happens.

 

[jt1234]

Did you have any luck finding a Rom that gave you 4G and internet sharing?

 

[tgp]

Did you have any luck finding a Rom that gave you 4G and internet sharing?

No I haven't gotten any data speed above Edge yet with my T-Mobile SIM card. Also the Internet sharing works right after flashing, but after using it a time or two the message to contact the carrier to add sharing pops up. I tried the trick of installing another keyboard language, and then it works again for a bit, then the message comes back. Sometime soon I plan to flash back to the AT&T ROM and see if I can get 4G with my T-Mobile SIM. Maybe I need a US based ROM? I have no clue.

I also have a SIM unlocked 521 (T-Mobile) and I get 4G with AT&T on that phone. I'm officially confused! Maybe someone with more knowledge on the radios can explain it for me. Here's what I get:

AT&T Lumia 520 (SIM unlocked):

AT&T: 4G
T-Mobile: Edge

T-Mobile Lumia 521 (SIM unlocked):

T-Mobile: 4G
AT&T: 4G

I'm learning a lot about flashing ROMs, and it's lots of fun! And if I end up bricking the 520 I'm only out $90.02.

 

[mogelijk]

To get 3G/HSPA+ speeds on T-Mobile, your phone needs to have both the 1700 and 2100 frequencies -- the L520 does not have the 1700 Mhz frequency. AT&T uses the 850 and 1900 Mhz frequencies, the L521 has both, so AT&T 3G will work on the 521.

T-Mobile is adding support for 3G on the 1900 Mhz frequency as part of their LTE upgrades, which also uses 1700 Mhz. In those areas you should be able to get 3G, you can find a map here that shows locations where T-Mobile has refarmed the 1900 Mhz frequency to support 3G.

 

[jt1234]

I am having troubles flashing with Nokia care suite. I used data manager to get the FW. In Tool for store I select Programing then recovery. I set the app to no connection then click start. All the while the phone is on. I get Recovery failed Invalid response from device

 

[tgp]

I am having troubles flashing with Nokia care suite. I used data manager to get the FW. In Tool for store I select Programing then recovery. I set the app to no connection then click start. All the while the phone is on. I get Recovery failed Invalid response from device

It's a bit tricky. If you keep getting the error message while the phone is on, try clicking Start with the phone unplugged. If you still get the error message, try rebooting the phone and clicking Start at various stages of booting. When you get the timing right you will get a windows telling you to boot the phone by pressing power & volume down. After you feel the short vibration click Retry, and Nokia Care Suite should take over. I've flashed ROMs a number of times, and it still takes some trial & error.

 

[jt1234]

Wow That sounds really sketchy. I on the other hand do not want to brick this guy. true 100$ is not a lot but on the other hand ... I am scared that if something goes wrong she will not be able to recover like you normally should. One more thing have you tried to flash it back to stock yet?