[rawilson89]

Hey guys,

So, I've been using Windows phone for quite a while now. The first phone that I had was an HTC HD7 on T-Mobile here in the States back in 2011. I took it to Japan with me when I moved there for studies. I have since been back home. In January, I exchanged it for a Black 920 on AT&T. Certain enhancements that have been available since, I believe the release of WP7.5, like Multilanguage input for the keyboard, I've come to like a lot. However, there's always been something that has bothered me.

Japan has and always will be a large part of my life. Switching the system's UI over to Japanese would be ideal in order for me to stay as immersed as possible in order not forget the language (both of my computers, Kindle, and Xbox have been in Japanese for a couple years now).

On my 920, if I go into Settings > Language+Region > Phone Language, the only available languages that show up are: English (US), Spanish (Mexico), French, Portuguese (Brazil), Korean, and Chinese (Taiwan). Upon doing some research, I've seen other 920s through review videos and whatnot that have dozens of options to switch the phone language over to. Now, I'm not looking for dozens, I'm looking for one.

From what I could put together, unless there is a flaw in my phone specifically, I've heard that carriers will flash the phone with their own version of the firmware as opposed to Nokia's OEM ROM. I'm not sure if this is what is limiting the phone's languages or not, but it was the closest thing that I could come up with. My phone (RM-820) is currently running 1232.5962.1314.0001.
Furthermore, this is the third 920 that I have had in my possession due to warranty exchanges through Nokia. I checked the languages on the previous two and they had the same results, which leads me to believe that it's something to do with the devices on AT&Ts network. I've tried a phone reset a couple of times, but both have been to no avail. I understand that this may be a pretty niche need, but to anyone who may be able to offer some insight, advice, etc. I thank you in advance.

[stmav]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Found this here How to get a language supported on Windows Phone 8 on the device? - Microsoft Community

[rawilson89]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Found this here How to get a language supported on Windows Phone 8 on the device? - Microsoft Community

Right, that's what I was thinking. I read a thread about a guy who went to France with some questions about taking the phone abroad. Someone noted that once you insert a French SIM card into the phone, it will automatically change the display language. Granted, I do have a Soft Bank phone with a SIM card, but it's not a micro. I would assume that unless the phone had the language preinstalled that the phone would stay in English.

My second question would be, whether or not flashing the phone with Care Suite to the latest Nokia ROM would alleviate the problem (unless it truly is limited my the network itself), though I'm aware that they have shut down the servers for the public to download the ROMs. This may not even do anything considering each phone, carrier, color, etc. has it's own particular ROM. It may be flashing it for no reason.

Hmmm....Gotta love technology.

[rawilson89]

Furthermore, if the languages are also region specific in order for the carriers to appeal to local demographics, does that mean that upon taking a vacation to let's say, San Fransisco (which has must more cultural diversity than central Illinois), this summer, that if flashed while in the area, that the phone would restart with the languages enabled?