Help Me Unlock my SPV!

[Jason Dunn]

Ok, this whole application signing issue is just killing me - I'm finding it very frustrating not being able to run whatever applications I wish on my SPV. Why don't developers sign their applications? How much does it cost, and why aren't more developers doing it?

I tried to get my phone unlocked once, and it didn't work, so I think need to start over again. Does anyone have a foolproof way of doing this? I tried to follow a step by step that I found, and I downloaded some "Action Register" application from Orange, but my phone still isn't unlocked. Help! :D

[Chris Edwards]

Orange has a nice little tutorial and unlocking page on their developers site.

http://www.developers.orange.com/tipsandhints/UnlockingFullInstructions/

[bitbank]

There are 2 reasons why Smartphone apps are not always signed:

1) The testing costs $500-$600 per application.
2) The logo requirements are similar, but even more restrictive than the Pocket PC logo requirements. Most are easily do-able, but some of the GUI stuff is dumb and some of the installation requirements create work.

L.B.

[Robert Levy]

There are 2 reasons why Smartphone apps are not always signed:

1) The testing costs $500-$600 per application.
2) The logo requirements are similar, but even more restrictive than the Pocket PC logo requirements. Most are easily do-able, but some of the GUI stuff is dumb and some of the installation requirements create work.

L.B.

That is correct for what it takes to get certified for the Smartphone logo program and become a part of Mobile2Market. However, that is seperate from application signing. For application signing, there is actually no testing done.

The cost of application signing varies based on how many "signing events" you buy. A "signing event" lets sign a single file and these events can be saved up (you don't have to use them all at the same time). If you buy 10 at time, the cost is about $30 each. If you buy 250 at a time, the cost is about $4 each.

So why aren't more apps signed? Cost is one factor, but another is that hobbyists and independent developers unable to - the companies that do the signing will only work with registered companines.

The whole thing is a mess, but there are some things in Smartphone 2003 that will make it better. I'm preparing a front page post to explain that later this week ;)

[freitasm]

This is probably one of the reasos why the platform is slow to take off. As noted by Robert, small developers will not sign because of cost. Others because the process is in the hand of two or three companies only, and they're not friendly with small developers - they want the big bucks, that's why the business was created.

Shame...

[mcsouth]

Jason, I'll echo Chris Edwards' statement - go to the Orange site, read their tutorial thoroughly, and then go ahead to unlock your SPV. You'll have to register your SPV on their site, so be sure you have the box handy, with the IMEI number, since that will be needed.

I read numerous sites' reports on how to app-unlock an SPV, and in the end, it seemed to boil down to the Orange developer site being the most foolproof method. I read the tutorial probably three times, then went ahead, and had my SPV unlocked within about 10-15 minutes, using Internet pass-through on my PC (since I wasn't signed up for GPRS service yet) - Orange's site even covers that procedure v. unlocking over the air.

I'm certainly not the most knowledgeable on this stuff, but the Orange site made it simple.

[encece]

Jason:
Orange's OTA method is the best.
Make sure your phone is registered using the action register program.
Make sure you have an active GPRS connection or Pass-Thru connection established.
Make sure you turn off your firewall, or you may not be able to access the developer's unlocking website.

If all goes well, you should receive an invisible SMS that will establish an internet connection uunlocking your phone.

Which phone are you using? An SPV or e100?

There is always the old method of changing the mxip_oem_10.provxml file following a hard reset. But I havn't done this since the OTA method became available.

[encece]

Oh, by the way...
Here is the US...this is the format for your phone number on the unlocking site...
1 6095551212

Make sure to put a space after the 1 and no "+" before the phone number. Please post how you made out.

[Jason Dunn]

Oh, by the way...
Here is the US...this is the format for your phone number on the unlocking site...
1 6095551212

Ah...maybe that's why it hasn't worked for me - I didn't have the space in there. Ok, trying again this morning...I'll let you know how it works.

[encece]

Any Luck?

[davef]

At one point in time, I could not unlock my SPV even though I tried every possible suggestion. I called Action Engine (http://www.actionengine.com), the people that make the unlocking software.

They told me that the standard unlocking procedure would not work for me since I'm on the AT&T network and sent me a couple of customized versions of their software to do the unlocking. The problem was due to the fact that AT&T does not support a certain type of SMS which allows them to carry the necessary information down to your device to do the unlocking.

If this is your situation, I would just give them a call. They were very helpful.

[Chris Glenton]

Remember to turn off any firewall that's running on your PC. For whatever reason, it seems that Orange needs to ping your pc....