Can I get Cyan and install the WP 8.1 developer preview?

[EveningStarNM]

Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

I have a Nokia Lumia 925 that I bought from T-Mobile for $400+ when I switched to them a couple of months ago. I had no idea that I'd be trapping myself in an obsolete version of Windows Phone. (Personally, since T-Mobile's European customers already have the WP8.1/Cyan update, I figure either the programmers at the American company are incompetent or the NSA is having a field day tampering with the distro.)

At any rate, I want WP8.1 and the Cyan firmware update, so here's my plan, and I'm wondering if it's feasible -- of if I'm out of my mind:

Once I can find a third-party SIM card, I can unlock my phone (It's surprisingly hard to find one that will fit into the phone. Verizon is the big vendor here, and their SIMs are the big ones and don't fit in my phone.) Then I hope to find a distro in English that uses U.S. radio frequencies and install it. Then I can get rid of the crapware that's probably bundled with it by installing the WP8.1 Developer Preview over the existing WP8.1.

For instance, the T-Mobile Lumia 925 uses the RM-893 distribution. I know I can't use an European distro since they use different radio frequencies, and I haven't done the research to find out who uses the same ones the U.S. does, but I'm pretty sure Latin America uses the U.S. frequencies. So let's say I find an RM-892 or RM-893 distro from a country that has 4G LTG the American way, and I can get it to speak English to me. Could I get Cyan that way and then install the WP8.1 Developer Preview over that? Or is this hair-brained scheme destined to brick my phone and get me committed to the nuthouse?

I realize that I'll lose the Nokia apps, and I must admit their camera apps are really good, but there are others available in the store, and the Nokia apps aren't essential.

Does anyone think this could work?

 

[several potatos]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

As a T-Mobile employee, I feel your pain; I HAVE to use their hardware and software. Anyway, I would suggest you wait a few weeks until we get the HTC One for Windows and JUMP your phone to that. Failing that, you can get the unlocked Lumia 930 for around $450 on Amazon. Don't muck around in carrier settings like this, however. This is silly.

 

[Alienhead95]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

I had installed a rogers rom on my AT&T lumia 920 because at&t was not ready to release the black update. Rogers had already released at that point, so i moved to the Roger's rom. The one thing I learned( I actually already knew) was, I couldn't go back to the AT&T rom. But the phone worked fine.
You don't need to unlock the phone to change the ROm, unless you are planning to change carriers.
You can still get the Noki apps you want.

 

[Munter2]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

I have a Nokia Lumia 925 that I bought from T-Mobile for $400+ when I switched to them a couple of months ago. I had no idea that I'd be trapping myself in an obsolete version of Windows Phone. (Personally, since T-Mobile's European customers already have the WP8.1/Cyan update, I figure either the programmers at the American company are incompetent or the NSA is having a field day tampering with the distro.)

At any rate, I want WP8.1 and the Cyan firmware update, so here's my plan, and I'm wondering if it's feasible -- of if I'm out of my mind:

Once I can find a third-party SIM card, I can unlock my phone (It's surprisingly hard to find one that will fit into the phone. Verizon is the big vendor here, and their SIMs are the big ones and don't fit in my phone.) Then I hope to find a distro in English that uses U.S. radio frequencies and install it. Then I can get rid of the crapware that's probably bundled with it by installing the WP8.1 Developer Preview over the existing WP8.1.

For instance, the T-Mobile Lumia 925 uses the RM-893 distribution. I know I can't use an European distro since they use different radio frequencies, and I haven't done the research to find out who uses the same ones the U.S. does, but I'm pretty sure Latin America uses the U.S. frequencies. So let's say I find an RM-892 or RM-893 distro from a country that has 4G LTG the American way, and I can get it to speak English to me. Could I get Cyan that way and then install the WP8.1 Developer Preview over that? Or is this hair-brained scheme destined to brick my phone and get me committed to the nuthouse?

I realize that I'll lose the Nokia apps, and I must admit their camera apps are really good, but there are others available in the store, and the Nokia apps aren't essential.

Does anyone think this could work?

You are over thinking the whole thing. You need to download this ROM: RM-893 VAR LTA MV WHITE and then flash it with Nokia Care Suite. There is another thread where I give the links to get the software The only thing that won't work after the flash will be WIFI calling. You will still get all the U.S. frequencies and all the Nokia apps will still work. When you start your phone after the flash and hard reset, your phone will prompt you for choice of language and country. Even though the ROM is for Argentina, Mexico, and several other countries, there is no language issue. The only thing is to make sure you choose U.S. as country if you want Cortana to work. The ROM is the stable full version of 8.1 and you won't need to install anything else. The problem you will run into is you won't be able to unlock your phone by just getting another carrier's SIM card, you will need to have your carrier unlock it. Unlock services are out there, but none of them seem to be able to unlock the newer Lumias so your carrier will have to do it. If you have been on T-Mobile at least two months on post paid or spent at least $100 prepaid they will unlock it, just call them.

 

[jdballard]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

As a T-Mobile employee, I feel your pain; I HAVE to use their hardware and software. Anyway, I would suggest you wait a few weeks until we get the HTC One for Windows

Gotta ask: how confident are you in "a few weeks until we get the HTC One for Windows"? And have you heard anything about any other phones making their way?
​

 

[EveningStarNM]

You are over thinking the whole thing.

You are far from the first to accuse me of doing that in any context. I own that character defect lock, stock, and barrel.

Thanks for that info. I saw your previous post and downloaded the files you suggested. I was simply concerned about having a WP 8.1 installation from another carrier, and wanted a "clean" installation of WP 8.1. I've considered using wifi calling from time to time, since T-Mobile (like all US carriers) lies about the strength of their coverage (I've actually caught them in a lie), but its not really necessary for me -- and I sure don't need any of the other T-Mobile stuff (the My Account app never lets me log in, anyway, even though I can log in on their web site).

I did get an unlock code from T-Mobile, but the instructions they gave me say that I need a third-party SIM card. Unfortunately, the only SIM cards I've been able to find in this area are from Verizon, and theirs are the big ones and won't fit in this phone. I don't know anyone who uses AT&T. But are you saying that, even if I find a card that will fit and I have the unlock code that T-Mobile gave me, I won't be able to unlock the phone after I install the ROM you suggest without T-Mobile's help?

Yeesh.

I really wish we handled phones like we do computers. I don't want my ISP determining what I do and how. I don't want to be dependent on them for updates or anything. I'll say this for CenturyLink (my ISP at home): All they want is my money, and they'll make me happy as long as I keep giving it to them.

...wait a few weeks until we get the HTC One for Windows and JUMP your phone to that. Failing that, you can get the unlocked Lumia 930 for around $450 on Amazon.

I've considered getting another phone, but I really like the Lumia 925. I'm a sysadmin, and I get to play with lots of different kinds of machines. The Lumia 925 fits in my hand, doesn't weigh a ton, and does much more than I need it to do. And when I get an actual file system and can do some honest-to-God networking with WP 8.1, it'll be my dream come true (although my girlfriend actually volunteers to make me a sandwich once in a while -- and I'm happy to return the favor -- and I'll still use my Nexus 7 Android for penetration testing and analysis). I have to charge it every night or it'll be dead by morning, but I've bought a 20K mAh plug-in battery that I carry with me for when I'm buried in a closet and on a long call with somebody, but I can live with that. And it's got a great camera.

I've heard that the Lumia 930 is Europe-only, since its built for their frequencies. Have I misunderstood something?

You can still get the Nokia apps you want.

That's good to know, but I figured I could get them if I got a non-dev distro. As I understand it, if I want a "clean" OS installation and use the WP8.1 Developer Preview after installing a Cyan distro, I'll lose the Nokia apps. But if I take Munter2's advice and install the distro from Argentina, it'll probably be relatively clean wrt NSA tampering, and WP8/8.1 allows us to uninstall the ISP crapware.

 

[Munter2]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

If you have the unlock code from T-Mobile, just order an H20 Wireless SIM card from Amazon for a penny. Put the SIM in and when your phone starts, you will be able to unlock the phone with the code T-Mobile gave you. You can put the T-Mobile SIM back in and then can switch SIMS later to any GSM carrier any time you want. Once you do the master reset, you will have a clean phone with this ROM. You should be able to flash the phone with it still locked and unlock it later with the code you have, just make sure you take the SIM out before you flash it. If you can get started with Cricket before the 19th, they will give you a $100 credit for porting a T-Mobile number to them. That was how I escaped from T-Mo. I think Verizon has the 930 now, but of course that's CDMA.

 

[EveningStarNM]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

If you have the unlock code from T-Mobile, just order an H20 Wireless SIM card from Amazon for a penny... If you can get started with Cricket before the 19th, they will give you a $100 credit for porting a T-Mobile number to them.

Oh, wow! I'd never even heard of H2O, but I just ordered it. Heck, I may even switch to H2O, although if Cricket wants to give me a hundred bucks (and I can get the same kind of coverage), I should probably go with them. Thanks! That's a really great tip!

I think Verizon has the 930 now, but of course that's CDMA.

Sure enough, I've looked up the Lumia 930, and apparently it can be used in the U.S. The last I'd heard, in July, was that Microsoft won't sell it here -- and that's still the case -- but retailers are buying it overseas for sale here, and you can find the settings necessary to make an unlocked 930 work on a bunch of different carriers: https apn.gishan.net/settings/777_11_straight_talk_apn_settings_for_nokia_lumia_930.php

But after checking out Cricket, it looks like the highest speed they offer is 3G. I just can't go back to that, having tasted 4G LTE.

 

[Munter2]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

The 930 on Verizon is called the Icon. If you could find a South American ROM to get the U.S. LTE frequencies on a GSM 930, you would have one fine phone. Also, H20 doesn't run LTE, but Cricket does. AT&T, which owns Cricket, runs their LTE data through a proxy limiting Cricket to 8 mbps. I honestly almost didn't go with them myself when I saw that, but someone on here claimed you wouldn't notice the difference except on speed tests with the 925 and they were right. It almost seems like page load times are faster with Cricket's throttled LTE than they are with my 50 mbps WIFI. I guess it's the nature of the phone and with their 3 GB of rate plan for $45, I pretty much keep WIFI turned off now.

 

[several potatos]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

Gotta ask: how confident are you in "a few weeks until we get the HTC One for Windows"? And have you heard anything about any other phones making their way?
​

T-Mobile would NEVER have made the public claim about getting the new phone unless there were plans in motion. I have heard little else since the initial announcement, so my guess is that we want to wait until the Galaxy and iPhone hype die down. I'm confident we'll get it, but it could be December. As for other high-end Windows phones? I doubt it. The cancellation of the McClaren hit hard, man.

 

[jdballard]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

T-Mobile would NEVER have made the public claim about getting the new phone unless there were plans in motion.

I'm hoping that there's an announcement of a decent Lumia (like an 830 variant) before the HTC One M8 for Windows is actually available...even if the Lumia is announced a few months before actual availability. If not, I'll jump to the HTC One and they'll immediately announce a Lumia. I can live with the HTC for six months until I can jump again. Or, who knows, I could really like the HTC One.

So frustrating...

 

[several potatos]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

Make sure that they keep you on the old jump. The new one takes longer to jump.

 

[EveningStarNM]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

The 930 on Verizon is called the Icon.

DOH! I'm an *****. Of course it is. They wouldn't manufacture two different phones. But now I don't understand why they'd rename it. I suppose an "Icon" is easier to market to Americans than a "930". All those numbers! Eew!

You're on Cricket? You've certainly earned credibility here. I have a friend on Cricket. I'll ask her if I can play with her phone for a few minutes. I'm sure she'll let me if I buy her dinner.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

OP, gotta love your attitude, even if I do catch a whiff of.....insanity? Ha ha... Just like me.

ANY micro-SIM will work to do the unlock. Any carrier. Borrow a friend's whose on any other network. Yeah, it's weird that you used to just punch the secret code in and now all the phones....at least Nokia.....need a "foreign" SIM.

I can't speak to your larger issues, but my 925 is running DforP 8.1 Update on Update and it performs marvelously......oh, wait....except the SMS doesn't work under WFC. Very weird since SMS uses voice frequency and framework. Known issue, and I have just a suspicion this is a possible reason why TMO still hasn't released 8.1 for the 925. They are banging heads, maybe.

Frankly, I don't care about Cyan, but I want an official 8.1 to get the WFC/SMS issure resolved.
So, I leave my WFC on "Cellular Preferred" so that I have SMS, but if I'm somewhere out of tower range and wifi is available, it won't be often or for long. In those cases, having voice is more important than text.

 

[Munter2]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

DOH! I'm an *****. Of course it is. They wouldn't manufacture two different phones. But now I don't understand why they'd rename it. I suppose an "Icon" is easier to market to Americans than a "930". All those numbers! Eew!

You're on Cricket? You've certainly earned credibility here. I have a friend on Cricket. I'll ask her if I can play with her phone for a few minutes. I'm sure she'll let me if I buy her dinner.

Just make sure she is on the new AT&T network Cricket and not the old CDMA network. They have not moved everybody over to the new network at this point.

 

[EveningStarNM]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

OP, gotta love your attitude, even if I do catch a whiff of.....insanity? Ha ha... Just like me.

...my 925 is running DforP 8.1 Update on Update and it performs marvelously......oh, wait....except the SMS doesn't work under WFC. Very weird since SMS uses voice frequency and framework. Known issue, and I have just a suspicion this is a possible reason why TMO still hasn't released 8.1 for the 925. They are banging heads, maybe...

We nutcases have to stick together. We're outnumbered by the dangerous ones who don't know they're nutcases.

What concerns me about T-Mobile is that they have this stuff working in Europe and have distributed WP8.1/Cyan there, and we keep learning that Snowden only scratched the surface. When I asked @TMobileHelp on Twitter about the release in Europe, they cried about "different requirements and features" between America and Europe. I'm sure the NSA has lots of feature requests that make T-Mobile USA's programmers have to put in extra hours.

But I'm a rather paranoid even for a sysadmin. You have to take that into consideration.

I've ordered a 1-cent H2O SIM. When it comes, T-Mobile and I are getting divorced. I don't mind if they cheat (at my age, you learn to expect and accept it). But lying about it is different.

 

[EveningStarNM]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

Yes, I've been following AT&T's absorption of Cricket. But thanks for reminding me. She's a recent convert to cricket, but I'm not sure if she's on the GSM or CDMA network.

 

[Munter2]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

Yes, I've been following AT&T's absorption of Cricket. But thanks for reminding me. She's a recent convert to cricket, but I'm not sure if she's on the GSM or CDMA network.

If she joined them after May, she would be on GSM.

 

[EveningStarNM]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

If she joined them after May, she would be on GSM.

Do you make a living as a consultant in this area? From here, it looks like you're more than qualified.

 

[Munter2]

Re: Bypassing T-Mobile and Doing It The Hard Way

Do you make a living as a consultant in this area? From here, it looks like you're more than qualified.

I was previously involved in commercial broadcasting, pretty much retired from that now especially the climbing towers part, I just try and keep up now.