Bootloader downgrade, or not?

[Shervrar]

Hi everyone. I just recently looked into unlocking (rooting/jailbreaking) WP7, and there are a lot of guides out there. Allthough i have a dev account, i am unable to dev unlock my device (pc 1=xp, pc2=vista business n[no wmp, no zune]) therefore I considered flashing the unlocked qualcomm boot loader using nss pro.
Question/s:
?Does anyone know if it would work to flash the old bootloader, has anyone tried?
?Can i unlock my wp7 without a custom rom after flashing the qualcomm bootloader?

OS 7.10.8862.144
FW rev. 1600.3036.8853.12440
HW rev. 112.1402.2.1
Bootloader ver. 7.33.0.0 [DLOAD]
Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

The downgrade to a Qualcomm Bootloader is required for flashing custom ROM's, but the process by itself will not unlock your device. I recommend you just rely on Custom ROM"s with full unlock capabilities, since they already come with homebrew applications that enable root on your device and lets you install .xap files to your phone.

(Note: If you do plan to flash a custom ROM to your L710, use this to prevent issues with Live ID: Nokia Lumia 710 downloader ?? One key tool for flashing custom ROM - xda-developers

 

[Shervrar]

Right thanks. I'll have a look at the program, as i don't really want to have to explain to the MS support people why my device is suddenly not being able to access LIVE any more...
About the flashing, what happens if something goes wrong (what can go wong?). I guess the phone wold be bricked permanently if somethingwas to go wrong. Also, any recommended Rom's? I was hoping for a file manager and an XAP handler...
As always, thanks for your time
Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

There are quite a number of custom ROM's for the Lumia 710, but I recommend these:

Rataplan:[Custom Rom] Rataplan V5.0 - WP 7.8 for Lumia 710 24 languages (updated 05-02-2013) - xda-developers
Lumiatrix:[Custom Rom] Lumiatrix 5 - [WP 7.8] - [ALL LANGUAGES!!] by vova1609 - xda-developers
RainbowMod:[ROM] [CLOSED] RainbowMod 2.1 for Lumia 710 [Updated 17.12.2012] - xda-developers

I myself prefer RainbowMod, since the ROM itself is virtually bug free.

(One more note. I advise you use the SevenEighter tool to update to the latest WP7.8 build after the installation of a custom ROM, as these ROM's use the old 8858 build, which is the one with live tile issues:http://windowsphonehacker.com/articles/want_windows_phone_7.8_now_try_this_easy_tool-01-31-13)

 

[opacityzero]

@Shervrar

I tried all the ROMs and while all the ROMs HNNNNNGHHH mentioned are great, I personally went with one that was the least touched/customized. I don't really care much about added color options or tweaks made - just a ROM taken from Nokia and unlocked with some basic homebrew apps added.

Rataplan Lite is my personal rom of choice (then Reality ROM, then Rainbow Rom).
[Custom Rom] Rataplan Lite (26-01-2013) Lumia 710 only - xda-developers

Some recommended homebrew apps..
Easy WiFi Enable/Disable - xda-developers (Toggles the WiFi on/off very quickly)
CacheClearer - Windows Phone Hacker (Clears the OS cache..can be set to do it automatically)
Screen Capturer - xda-developers (Takes a screenshot.)
SpyCam - xda-developers (Spycam ..for when taking that pic should be done discretely)

Some registry tweaks to make using the WP7 Root Tools app that comes with the ROM.

Change to make your phone see itself as a T-Mobile 710 phone

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Platform\DeviceTagetingInfo
OEMDeviceName change to RM-809_NA_100
MobileOperator change to TMO-US
MOName change to T-Mobile

Your ROM will identify T-Mobile's data high speed HSDPA network as 'H' (We're use to seeing it as 4G, eventhough it makes no difference...to change..)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Connectivity\CellularUx\
1XHSDPA change to 4G

Adds Google's secure (using https) to your list of available search providers in Internet Explorer

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\Google (HTTPS)
"URL"="https://www.google.com/?q={searchTerms}"

UPDATE to 7.10.8862.144 (Works with Rataplan, Rataplan Lite Lite and Reality ROM. And maybe the others too)
1. Download the 2 cab files here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=36784596&postcount=2
2. Download the WP7 Update Cab Sender here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=804190&d=1322959287
3. Install Setup-UpdateWP-x64 or Setup-UpdateWP-x86 located in the "if needed install this tool" folder depending on your OS
4. Place the 2 cab files in the same folder as the .bat file
5. Run the bat file and choose S ...the update will automatically apply both updates in the correct order and reboot the phone.

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

@Shervrar

I tried all the ROMs and while all the ROMs HNNNNNGHHH mentioned are great, I personally went with one that was the least touched/customized. I don't really care much about added color options or tweaks made - just a ROM taken from Nokia and unlocked with some basic homebrew apps added.

Rataplan Lite is my personal rom of choice (then Reality ROM, then Rainbow Rom).
[Custom Rom] Rataplan Lite (26-01-2013) Lumia 710 only - xda-developers

Some recommended homebrew apps..
Easy WiFi Enable/Disable - xda-developers (Toggles the WiFi on/off very quickly)
CacheClearer - Windows Phone Hacker (Clears the OS cache..can be set to do it automatically)
Screen Capturer - xda-developers (Takes a screenshot.)
SpyCam - xda-developers (Spycam ..for when taking that pic should be done discretely)

Some registry tweaks to make using the WP7 Root Tools app that comes with the ROM.

Change to make your phone see itself as a T-Mobile 710 phone

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Platform\DeviceTagetingInfo
OEMDeviceName change to RM-809_NA_100
MobileOperator change to TMO-US
MOName change to T-Mobile

Your ROM will identify T-Mobile's data high speed HSDPA network as 'H' (We're use to seeing it as 4G, eventhough it makes no difference...to change..)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Connectivity\CellularUx\
1XHSDPA change to 4G

Adds Google's secure (using https) to your list of available search providers in Internet Explorer

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\Google (HTTPS)
"URL"="https://www.google.com/?q={searchTerms}"

UPDATE to 7.10.8862.144 (Works with Rataplan, Rataplan Lite Lite and Reality ROM. And maybe the others too)
1. Download the 2 cab files here: xda-developers - View Single Post - [CustomROM]Reality ROM for Lumia 710[Live tiles fix]
2. Download the WP7 Update Cab Sender here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=804190&d=1322959287
3. Install Setup-UpdateWP-x64 or Setup-UpdateWP-x86 located in the "if needed install this tool" folder depending on your OS
4. Place the 2 cab files in the same folder as the .bat file
5. Run the bat file and choose S ...the update will automatically apply both updates in the correct order and reboot the phone.

This helped me quite a bit. For changing "H" to "4G", I just changed most usable values to "LTE", just to screw with the other T-Mobile users. On RainbowMod, Google is already an option for default user, as well as Yahoo.

I prefer RainbowMod since most homebrew modifications are already available, as well as a few extras like the lookalike HTC clock hub tile created by ultrashot inconspicuously named "Clock Hub". There is a lot of potential for unlocked ROMs which are basically stock with full unlock capabilities, but I don't have time to find and download all the homebrew apps I use from Bazaar, as well as the numerous Marketplace apps and games I purchased.

 

[opacityzero]

This helped me quite a bit. For changing "H" to "4G", I just changed most usable values to "LTE", just to screw with the other T-Mobile users.

Glad it's helpful. 4-characters max in case anyone tries something too creative.

On RainbowMod, Google is already an option for default user, as well as Yahoo.

I know, but it's google search over secure HTTPS that's unique that one can add manually. Google and Yahoo are included in all ROMs as search options. Yes, I really did try them all - they're all good and comes down to preference.

I prefer RainbowMod since most homebrew modifications are already available.

True. This was my first ROM and it opened me to many great homebrew apps.

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

@opacityzero

The changes you mentioned are not permanent. (Expect for the CellularUx modification) Upon restart, I check settings>about and changes are no longer present.

 

[opacityzero]

Which setting? In the Settings>About, the only change that is visible from the three registry changes under the DeviceTagetingInfo is the carrier which for me remains as "T-Mobile" for months and multiple restarts.

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

Doesn't show up for me, though. Must be my newly built ROM then. I'll flash back to RainbowMod and see if changes are persistent.