Alcatel open market 4s

[fishsniffer2]

I jus did and tweeted Alcatel for a fix!

 

[nate0]

Edit : Wrong hopeful. Idol 4S T-Mobile's .ffu file also. Probably also for all other .ffu files of all other OEMs : http://i.imgur.com/xrZ8Tub.png

I see an ffu now for the IDOL4s available again. But not for the T-Mobile model

 

[anon(10197358)]

@Nate W

Just

Hi, Dylan! Thank you for contacting Alcatel Support. What is the issue that you are experiencing with your device?

I answered to their DM. Now, I wait of their next reply.

Yep, it seems that Microsoft has fixed the issue with the Azure repository servers.

 

[nate0]

@Nate W

Just

I answered to their DM. Now, I wait of their next reply.

Yep, it seems that Microsoft has fixed the issue with the Azure repository servers.

Do you actually own an IDOL 4s? Appreciate everyones support to bring this issue to light.

 

[anon(10197358)]

@Nate W

Nope, I've a Lumia 650.

 

[Iain_S]

maybe this means ms are in the process of doing something to fix the program and or files that are available on wdrt.

 

[Iain_S]

just seeing now if the open market one now flashes to the device without errors.

 

[Luke Rossini]

I sent my Idol in for repair with an RMA to have them "force" an open market flash. I received the phone back today and it immediately booted with the T-Mobile logo. I confirmed the device still had the T-Mobile firmware and was disappointed.

Here is the best part.
The work notes say, "Your phone has been repaired" and "Work Done". Both of which insinuate something was done to the device. By the looks of it all they did was use the Reset My Phone option under settings. I called and they could not help me or give me any explanation of what "work" was done. I attempted to argue my case and after some time the employee started to "understand". Their explanation of why it still has the T-Mobile firmware was that I was not clear on the issue/request. She said this even though she can't access my original RMA to see what I typed or requested. She then said I can start a new RMA request and when they get the device it will be reset to factory settings..... I explained this is why I just sent my idol in and it came back "unrepaired". I asked if she could create an RMA for me or work with me to guarantee this work will be completed on the next RMA. She claimed she can't start a RMA for me but, recommended I put in the "Please explain in detail the problem" field, of the RMA request page, something like "Install Open Market Firmware on device". Then if the device matches the T-Mobile version they will load that firmware and if it matches an unlocked version they will install that firmware. Other than that, she could not directly help me.

I'm curious if the ID that is changed when you install the T-Mobile firmware also changes the ID they reference. I would hope they can reference the Imei number to pull this information though.

A few personal takeaways

1. Alcatel Support can't access the FineTechWin RMA workflow application/notes ( Cannot tell me what work/notes are on my RMA )
2. They don't know much about the Idol 4s Windows version ( She thought I had a T-Mobile branded device that was sim unlocked by a T-Mobile provided code )
3. They have no idea about the firmware/WDRT issue ( She could find no information on this PLAT ID/ Firmware issue being addressed )
4. They think since I can put in a ATT sim without error/warning the device is fine and working ( She asked what the error I get when entering an ATT sim says )


Let me know if you have any questions or need more details

 

[Iain_S]

nope still fails.

 

[anon(10197358)]

@Iain_S

It seems to me that a issue like that from api.swrepository.com and sr.azureedge.net Azure repository servers had never happened before. However, it was simply a issue, not a maintenance to prepare a fix to the problem of the Idol 4S Open Market's .ffu file.

Edit : Idol 4S Open Market's .ffu file is the same that before, http://i.imgur.com/sksIy8G.png.

* * * * * * *​

@Luke Rossini

Thx for your experience. Alcatel's support is really a joke. I ask me increasingly if, one day, Idol 4S users will get really a fix for that.

 

[RumoredNow]

Three of us. -_-

Four of us too smart for Twitting.

 

[nate0]

@Luke Rossini
The PLAT ID will not change if you flash the IDOL 4s T-Mobile FFU. It really is quirky. All the phones match the FFU's contained PLAT ID.

@DylanCochard
Ya it was not changed. Like you said some issue happened...I downloaded it and ran an integrity check myself from thor2 to be sure...
What is making the Open Market FFU flashing check for the plat id ALCATEL.8996.IDOL4S.NA instead of ALCATEL.8996.IDOL4S? Is it how it was signed or something else?

 

[Iain_S]

this is it in a nutshell, when using wdrt it runs four checks before being able to flash the ffu, the important one being

To validate that the image supports the current device platform before flashing, the application performs the following tasks:
It retrieves the DevicePlatformID string from the device platform package in the image that is being flashed. For more information about this string, see Set device platform information.

If the string has the format http://Manufacturer.Family*.Product Name.Version and all four values in the string match the corresponding Manufacturer, Family, Product Name, and Version SMBIOS values on the device, the platform validation succeeds and the flashing operation continues.
If the string has the format http://Manufacturer.Family*.Product Name and all three values in the string match the corresponding Manufacturer, Family, and Product Name SMBIOS values on the device, the platform validation succeeds and the flashing operation continues.

Otherwise, the platform validation fails and the image is not flashed to the device.

non-retail image, OEMs can disable the device platform validation for flashing by adding the DISABLE_FFU_PLAT_ID_CHECK feature to the OEMInput file that is used to generate the image.

 

[Iain_S]

So this is squarely on the head of ALCATEL because they make the FFU from there OEMInput file which sets the name for the PLAT_ID_CHECK from within WDRT

 

[nate0]

@Iain_S
Are you flashing manually from cmd.exe on that snippet?

Also do you know where it is retrieving the DevicePlatformID string from the device platform package?

 

[anon(10197358)]

@Nate W

No idea.

 

[Iain_S]

@Iain_S
Are you flashing manually from cmd.exe on that snippet?

Also do you know where it is retrieving the DevicePlatformID string from the device platform package?

I used ffutool to test to what the error actually was cause wdrt is pretty vague. The string for the plat id is inserted into the ffu by alcatels oemtool when they create the ffu.

 

[Iain_S]

So the Platform id information is written to the SMBIOS on the device.

On each device platform, OEMs must ensure that the following values in the SMBIOS system information structure are set:
PhoneManufacturer
Family
Product Name
Version

is there a way to edit the SMBIOS information once its already on the device?

 

[nate0]

I used ffutool to test to what the error actually was cause wdrt is pretty vague. The string for the plat id is inserted into the ffu by alcatels oemtool when they create the ffu.

I am without my IDOL4s to be able to check around with it is why I ask. The FFU must use something flagged from the OEMinput.xml file other than the smbios.cfg inside it to validate against the device. Because that file matches the Open market and the T-Mobile model. The T-Mobile FFU also has the same smbios.cfg file PLAT ID. Just wondering if there would be a way to override the plat id using a different flashing tool, or some other method. There is option to skip plat ID check when using thor2 but the WDRT tool uses a specific DLL file for Alcatel when flashing. The idol 4s does not support a specific boot manager or flash app within the WDRT like we know for the Lumia's. Are there any other tools that can flash this ffu to the IDOL 4s? Have you tried Image Designer or something else?

 

[Iain_S]

I'm looking into alternatives right now to see if there is anyway to do this and bypass the id check.