aside 5 Dec

The Black Art of Firmware Updates

You got it first… the latest Nokia E71-2 or the NAM E71 smartphone when it first hit the market. You love your phone, you live and die by it’s features. So when you hear that some people out there got a firmware update from Nokia but you didn’t, you feel like you got the shaft.

Fret no more, ‘lil camper. Here’s a guide on how to get the firmware update you always wanted.

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY!

Background: I own both an E71-1 (European E71) and the E71-2 (North American E71). In October, I was notified that there was an update to the E71′s firmware. Some fixes, some enhancements, all good stuff (see the Nokia E71 blog, HERE for more details), so I embarked on updating my phones.

Model: E71-1, Type: RM-346, Product Code: 0560654 – success
Model: E71-2, Type: RM-357, Product Code: 0569371 – no dice

To date, there still isn’t an update available for the E71-2 above via Nokia Software Update (NSU).

A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon a thread on Symbian Guru, HERE, that covered a successful flash update of the Nokia E71-2. The Guru was kind enough to disclose his product code, 0559585.

I recall using a piece of software called NSS or the Nemesis Service Suite, HERE, to change the product code of an older Nokia phone of mine. In this case, all I did was download the software, plug in my phone via USB and go through the steps below.

Step 1 – open up NSS, plug in your phone

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

Step 2 – hit the magnifying glass in the top right

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

Step 3- switch to the Phone Info tab

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

Step 4 – Check the Product Code box and hit Read to read the data from the phone

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

In this case, my product code is 0569371

Step 5 – type in the product code you want to change in the phone

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

I typed in 0559585 which is reported to be an E71-2 product code that has an upgrade available on NSU.

Step 6 – hit Write to write the new data to the phone and you’re done!

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

After that, it’s smooth sailing  on NSU.

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

The Nokia E71-2 Updated - FINALLY! by you.

You’re golden! A Nokia E71-2 has been upgraded from firmware 100.07.76 to 110.07.127! I’ve been testing the updated phone for a day without any issues – the 3G service hasn’t been impacted at all and it’s totally stable. Good luck with your updates!

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  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Now all we need is someone to test product codes between the E71-1, E71-2 and E71-3 and see if they do something to the 3G connections or otherwise (very unlikely)…

  • CArlos Barcelo

    How do you correct the wrong key layout on the keybord after yhe upgrade ?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Product codes tie you to a specific firmware which has hard-coded keyboard and language rules – so if you change your product code and download a new firmware, your results may vary. Especially if you have a weird keyboard layout. Cheers!

  • Cato Barcelo

    Any chance you have a product code for latinamerica keyborad layout?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    No idea at this moment – I would take off the battery of my phone, get the product code and then use google. Also try googling 0569371. Cheers!~

  • Creamy Goodness

    mine almost got bricked doing this — when i restored the “settings” after the update, it didn’t want to boot anymore. removing the sim got it going, i was able to restore to the backup i made AFTER the flash.

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Great advice here folks – your results may vary and your phone may wind up a useless pile of garbage in performing this procedure. What works for me may not work for you.

  • RK

    I manage to flash non-branded firmware, after that I got MENU Fonts are weird any idea change to normal ones, they are pretty small right now….thx in adv

  • RK

    hmmm, i re-flashed to UK Version looks GOOD now..

  • Les

    Hmm n00b question, I have a E71-2 but am using it in Asia – Malaysia to be specific. Doesn’t connect me to 3G over here on the default firmware. Any chance that updating the firmware to the E71-1 110.07.127 allow me to connect to 3G here in Malaysia?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Hey @Les, there’s no evidence that the way the phone connects to the wireless network is dictated by the firmware. Feel free to try though.. the worst that could happen is you brick your phone. Small price to pay for science, I would say.

  • yorugua

    Hi raj.
    thanks for this wonderful tip. One question: your “american” e71 had an american keybord, and after the model number modification, you don’t have any problem with the keyboard? I’m located in LatinAmerica, but I’ll be getting an american E71 (e71-2?), so I’m afraid I’ll hit the same problem as many of you guys had with not being able to upgrade the E71 directly from Nokia. Raj, if your E71 is an american one, please confirm that (or what other “version/keyboard/locale you are using), let us know how you are doing with the upgraded e71 and what exact configuration (keyboard, localization) it uses.

    Happy 2009!

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Hey Yorugua,

    Thanks for the comment – you can check out the keyboard and compare visually by clicking on (and enlarging) the following image which I have posted on flickr:

    Nokia E71-1 vs E71-2

    I believe it is the standard North American keyboard.

    Cheers!

  • jm

    Are u able to use mp3′s as ringtone now that you have changed the product code?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Hi jm:

    I’ve always been able to use MP3s as a ringtone on the E71. Do you have some sort of weird, operator-branded firmware which blocks the use of MP3s?

  • jm

    It’s actually from rogers but i haven’t debranded it yet. That’s why i’m wondering if i could use your method.

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    I recall de-branding a phone long ago using this method. Assuming that Rogers and Nokia haven’t co-conspired on this one, I’d say go for it – but remember unless you back up the firmware of your phone (something I personally haven’t done,) once you upgrade the firmware to a newer version, the change is typically permanent – especially with branded firmware which likely will never be available on NSU.

    If you brick your phone, you can always take it back to the dealer with a shrug and a grumble, if it’s new.

    BTW – de-branding will not unlock the phone.

  • jm

    i unlocked the phone already but my concern is i have a different product code than yours but i’m sure it’s an E71-2. You think I’m gonna brick the phone?

  • jm

    Would i be able to remove all the operator logos if i debrand it?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    I doubt you will brick your phone but the possibility always exists. As for the operator logos, those go away with the firmware replacement along with any operator-provided software. If you have 3G TV, or radio applications installed on your mobile, you might wind up missing it when you reload the firmware.

  • S.O.

    Hi Guys,

    Anybody tried to change the CODE back to the original one after the firmware upgrade?
    Is this a rule of thumb that for e.g. E71-1 you have to use E71-1 product code (the working one) and for E71-2 you enter some other E71-2 code in Nemesis?

    Thanks for all your avices. I found this thread very instructive.
    Regards,

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Feel free to experiment with changing your product code realizing that:

    1 – you may brick your phone or your phone may become unstable

    2 – you may not be able to revert to the standard firmware intended for your device once you change your product code and update via NSU

  • Michael P.

    Just did this to upgrade my E71-2 to the latest firmware release. Everything went okay with the upgrade, but it seems a few of my applications are missing after restoring from the memory card. So I may have to reset my phone and install apps from scratch. The firmware seems OK, though.

  • forhoward

    NSU has 200.21.118 available for E71-2!! So u dont need to go thru the hassle of changing product codes etc.. Just flash it thru NSU

  • Jason

    worked like a charm. Although I did have select read without clicking a box then hit write afterwards. Great guide. Thanks

  • Dmitry

    Hello Raj and everyone,
    could you please advise what languages you have in the E71-2 after you changed the product code to 0559585 and flashed the new firmware?
    Thanks a lot

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    @Dmitry – three languages are resident on the phone after the NSU upgrade, English, French (Français) and Spanish (Español).

  • Dmitry

    Thank you Raj,
    Too bad I have an E71-2 with Russian keyboard..and live in Russia
    I wonder if there will ever be an update with Russian language for this model..

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    That’s a good question, Dmitry. Hopefully! Good luck in your search!

  • Jose

    Hi raj

    I bought an e71-1 from usa, but im on venezuela (latin-america), the language included on my cellphone are: english, melayu, pilipino, do you got any product code, which can give me the spanish language but with the english keyboard layout?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Hi all, I’ve upgraded both my Nokia E71-1 and E71-2 to the newest firmware, 200.21.118 via NSU without incident – and it’s highly reccomended. I’ll post images in a bit.

  • Nader Soliman

    Hey Raj,

    You have RM-357, my E71-2 RM-357 with code 0553094.

    After upgrading to 200.21.118 I lost my Arabic keyword, I cannot write Arabic anymore.

    Don’t ask me how I wrote Arabic in the first place :) , I bought it from KSA with Arabic support but after I upgraded via NSU, it is gone and now I have French, English, Spanish, Portuguese

  • Tamas

    Before upgrading to v200.21.118 firmware, I changed product code of an unbranded phone from 0560654 (grey steel singapoor) to 0558796 (grey steel hungary).
    The upgrade went fine but I my MENY fonts are looking weird and even some of the fonts on internet pages are looking unsharp. Any ideas how to get my razor sharp fonts back?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    @Tamas – your fonts and language settings are specific to your firmware’s localization. If you have a non English FW, approach the upgrade with extreme caution. You will likely lose your language and keyboard layout.

  • reihab

    hey raj
    i have same case as Nader Soliman, I need a product key code for arabic while keeping the right English keypad mapping right the same.. am clueless.. please help!!

  • Paul

    I believe the hardware is the same, and here is my evidence:

    I’m in Shanghai China, and bought my phone through a local vendor. The sticker under the battery lists a product code of 0569371, RM 357, and ‘made in Finland’. The phone was flashed with UK English and both Chinese character sets when I bought it. It also featured the keyboard in the right of your pic above, the one for the -1 variant with the chinese charachter strokes and the ‘zhong’ charachter on the key in the bottom right corner.

    I read about a firmware update on the Nokia site and decided to see if my phone was eligible. I used *#0000# to get the version number and the information I got was ’100.07.76 08-06-2008 RM 346′ which I wrote down for reference. (sorry, I didn’t make a note of the E71-X)

    After flashing the update, (200.21.118) I lost all the Chinese off my phone and got a N American firmware version, with French, Spanish and US English… really annoying, as I need the Chinese characters here in China.

    This part is the winner though, *#0000# now yields the following information:

    200.21.118
    27-11-2008
    RM-357
    (C) Nokia E71-2 (236.03)

    Clearly the hardware is the same, which makes sense as it’s far cheaper to manufacture 1 model than 2.

    Now I just have to figure out how to get the thing back to RM 346!

    Ideas anyone?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    @Paul – just because you changed the product code and flashed the firmware of your E71-1 doesn’t mean it’s now going to become an E71-2 and handle North American 3G. The core connectivity programming of the phone cannot be altered/erased through the firmware update process – this would make it impossible for such a device to pass the scrutiny of the FCC and other regulatory commissions.

  • Paul

    If this is the case, then how come different FW can be flashed by simply changing the product code. If the hardware was different, The RM ### and E71-# should remain constant when queried with *#0000#.

    The fact is that they change with firmware and the phone reports it’s self as a different model, which means they are a product of firmware not hardware. The sticker probably contains the RM # and model variant so Nokia service can track where devices are turning up versus where they were intended for, as well as allowing factory workers to know which firmware to install or which box to put the device in.

    I’ve found other forums where people have re-flashed an out of region device that wouldn’t work with local 3g with the local firmware and it started working on the local 3g.

    Basically what I’m saying is that if there were hardware differences, there would be product code groups, to stop dodgy people selling the wrong phones in the wrong regions. These groups then would not be cross flashable, due to the hardware differences. I think that with some phone models you’re right, there are definitely different models, but on the whole they tend to just make 1 model and disable some features based on region.

    This also prevents people buying phones overseas so they can keep prices up.

    I would be interested to see if anyone is able to test this, by flashing an E71-1 (on the sticker) to a NAM E71-2 and see if it works on 3G in North America.

    As far as the “The core connectivity programming of the phone” goes, if the device is approved at all four frequency bands for WCDMA (3G) then they wouldn’t have any problems at all.

    Maybe I’m wrong, and I’m still trying to find proof. I’ll post it here if I find it.

    Paul

  • Paul

    Oh @Cato Barcelo, and anyone else who is interested,

    Product codes can be found here:

    http://nokiae71.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/product-codes-for-e71/

    Paul

  • LUIZAIR PIRES

    Comigo funcionou perfeitamente, o meu E71-2 RM-357, o code era 0570247, veio com o idioma portugues de portugal, fiz uma atualização o idioma em portugues sumiu, … fiz a mudança do code para 0553094, fiz aaatualização e tudo ficou 100% 3G melhorou, oficou muito mais rápido, e voltou o idioma em portugues

  • Paul

    Hey Raj, Just curious… in the images above of NSS hooked up to you E71-2, the phone shows a ‘hardware version’ 0940. What ‘hardware version’ is your E71-1?

    Paul

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    Dear Paul,

    The E71-2 that I have reads hardware version 0940, the E71-1 reads hardware version 0910.

  • Paul

    Then I stand corrected. It appears you are right and there are distinctly different versions of the hardware. I went and exchanged my -2 for a -1 today, ready for my move to Europe.

    Cheers for the info Raj.

    Paul

  • xphorm

    no success here, Model: E71-1, Type: RM-346 … used Product Code: 0560654 (Raj’s one) … and still Update button is dimmed. Have no guts to change to Product Code: 0569371 because it’s for different model: I wouldn’t update then even if the Update button is available….. My product code is: 0561164, any help?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    @xphorm – you may have the latest version of firmware, then

  • shoro

    Awesome Raj! I tried your method to debrand my rogers E71 and it worked like charm. I am soo glad that I did it now I can install any application and more so I have managed to get rid of that ridiculous rogers music player. It helped me to upgrade my firmware from 100.7.76 to latest 200.100.xx. Great stuff I must say. Thanks again

  • xphorm

    @raj – no i definitely don’t have the latest firmware… someone managed to downgrade firmware with phoenix software? it can’t be done on my phone too, but maybe it’s because I didn’t checked allow downgrade option, because I saw it’s only for CDMA phones, and E71 is WCDMA (don’t know whether there’s some big difference) …

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    @hphorm – very odd, and you committed the product code, ie, when you read it from the software, it shows? hmm, i guess it’s time to find other E71-1 product codes. Cheers!

  • john

    Hey Raj,
    I have an E71-1, the Euro version and im using it in the USA on ATT. It works on edge and I cant get 3g. Will changing my product code to the E71-2 product code do the trick?

  • http://www.raj.jp raj

    @john not gonna happen – both have different hardware versions. PS – check out my other thread, HERE.

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