Filed under: Geeky-ness, Networks, Hardware, Software — ken @ 5:53 pm
Mood : calm Music : Everything You
Want - Vertical Horizon
Introduction
Today I have a special treat for any of you with a T-Mobile SDA like
my own. I’ve decided to write a nice little article about how to unlock your SDA
so that you can use it with any provider (T-Mobile, Cingular, Verizon, any
provider with SIM cards). The added bonus here, however, is the piece of this
article that explains how to overclock your SDA and install SKYPE for use over
your WLAN network. Skype is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) program that,
when you add some money to the account ($12 worked for me for about 6 months)
allows you to get your own Skype phone number (dialable from any landline or
other cell phone) and place calls to any landline or cellphone for a fraction of
the cost of regular T-Mobile cell phone minutes. Well, I think that sums it up,
so let’s get on to the how to:
Unlocking Your SDA for
FREE
To unlock your SDA, you’ll
require the following things:
WARNING: What you are about to do will almost certainly void your warranty.
Don’t try it unless you know what you are doing. I take no responsibility for
your bricked cell phone. Once again: don’t try this unless you know what you’re
doing.
If
you don’t have Microsoft’s ActiveSync installed and configured already, do so by
installing it from the CD that came with your SDA, or by downloading it here. If you’re downloading it, you should just be able to
install it from the file you’ve downloaded.
–> Test the connection between your computer and SDA
by plugging in your USB cable to the phone and PC. They should begin
synchronizing. Allow them to do so, and when they’re finished, leave the SDA
plugged into the PC <--
Now
that you have ActiveSync configured, you'll need to download some software that
will assist you in unlocking your SDA. The first tool, SDA_ApplicationUnlock,
removes the phone's lock against running unsigned applications. An unsigned
application is an application that was not created by a reputable company (in
this case, T-Mobile). SDA_ApplicationUnlock was created by the spectacular NovoMobile.
–> Download
SDA_ApplicationUnlock <--
Next, you'll need to get the SPV-Services toolset, which
is provided free-of-charge by the wonderful developers over at SPV-Developers.com. The SPV-Services
toolset will allow SPV-Developers.com’s server to interface with your phone and
unlock it for you. Download the toolset as a ZIP file, and extract it to a new
folder with a name of your choice on your desktop.
–> Download the
SPV-Services toolset <--
Now
that you have the software necessary to unlock your phone, you'll need to do two
things before you can start doing so: Begin by running the SDA_ApplicationUnlock
program with your phone still plugged in. Just do what the program tells you.
You should get a message telling you that your phone was successfully unlocked.
Next, you'll need to install the Cert.cab file on your phone. The Cert.cab file
can be installed by copying it to your phone using the "explore device" button
in ActiveSync. Next, simply use the File Explorer program on your SDA to browse
to the file and open it. That's it.
Now, open the SPV-Services toolset folder that you
created on your desktop. Inside is a file called SPVServices.exe. Start it, and
use the sidebar on the left to select "SIM lock" or something similar. Follow
the instructions on the page, and click the button to unlock the phone. The
process should be fairly instantanious. DO NOT AT ANY TIME UNPLUG YOUR PHONE.
You can also change your CID if you feel the need
to.
Assuming everything has gone on without a hitch, that's
all you had to do! Your phone is now unlocked and can be used with any
network!
Installing and Using SKYPE to Make Phone Calls Over Your
Wireless LAN
Now
here’s the exciting part — the one that saves you money! A lovely company called
Skype allows you to make calls to other Skype members over the internet.
However, if you add some money to your Skype account, you get SkypeOut and
SkypeIn - services that, respectively, allow you to make calls to outside
numbers (landline and cell phone numbers) and recieve calls (at your own
personal phone number just like any other). This part of the tutorial will guide
you in installing Skype on your SDA, and overclocking it so that lag is
minimized. If you complete this tutorial successfully, you’ll be able to make
phone calls (almost for free) to anywhere in the world over your home, work, or
school wireless networks.
WARNING: This part of
the the tutorial will involve manually modifying the software and operating
system of the SDA. It will also involve overclocking (or increasing the speed
of) the SDA to potentially unsafe levels. As tested, I haven’t had any problems.
You should be okay, but there is always a possibility (as with anything you do)
that your SDA will be damaged. I assume no responsibility for this or any other
modification you make to your SDA. Following these instructions as closely as
possible will minimize risks to your person or phone. That said, let’s get
started!
Begin by downloading the Skype cab
file, and extracting and renaming its contents. If you have Windows XP, you
can simply double-click on the .CAB file to open it. If you don’t have XP,
you’ll need WinZip or an something or something of the like. Extract the
contents of the .CAB file to a new folder on your desktop, and rename the files
as shown:
Without overclocking the SDA, Skype has a 10-second
delay when calling a landline. You’ll want to overclock yours up to 240 MHz. You
can do so by downloading a nifty little program called OmapClock, which you can
find here. You can simply move it to the /Windows folder on your SDA via the
“explore device” button in ActiveSync. When it has been transferred to your SDA,
execute it by selecting it using the “file manager” program on the SDA. If it
does not run correctly, chances are that you didn’t application-unlock your SDA.
Do so by following the first part of this tutorial. Change the processor speed
to 240 MHz (NO MORE, NO LESS) and
save your settings using the left soft-button menu. After you’ve done so, move
the Boing.wav, Skype.exe, and SkypeDialer.dll files to the SDA using
ActiveSync’s “explore device” functionality. You’ll want to put them in the
“/Windows” folder.
Congrads, skype is installed. Unfortunately, you still
have to configure it, which is made harder by the fact that the SDA doesn’t have
a touchscreen. You’ll have to use a neat program called Pocket Controller Pro to
actually tap Skype’s “Sign In” button (because it was designed for Pocket PCs
with touchscreens). Luckily, you’ll never have to use this program again (unless
you need to reconfigure it). You can download
Pocket Controller Pro here (as a trial with full functionality). Install
Pocket Controller Pro, open Skype on your device, and enter your Skype account
information - using your PC’s mouse to click on the “Sign In” button. Make sure
that you’ve told Skype to remember your sign-in information (sign-in
automatically on startup). That’s it! You should have working
Skype!
Optional:
If
you’re like me, you have/hate the dreaded T-Zones button on your phone. We can
change the functionality of that button so that it opens Skype instead! To do
so, open a new notepad (.txt) file and paste “19#/Windows/Skype.exe” (without
the quotes) on the first line of the file. Save the file as “Short_AP1.lnk” and
move that file to the /Windows folder of your SDA using ActiveSync’s “explore
device” functionality. It should ask if you want to overwrite a file with the
same name. Click “yes” or “yes to all”. That should do
it!
Hope you’ve enjoyed this little
tutorial!!!
ALSO: There have been some follow-ups! Look through the
posts at the top of my homepage. The follow-ups
basically answer any questions you submit in your comments.
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