Firstly, moderators may move this to the appropriate section because it doesn't only cover firmware, but a general user's guide to getting around SE-NSE and finding the information you need to make the most out of your Sony Ericsson
DO NOT REPRODUCE ANY OR ALL PART, ANYWHERE OF THIS GUIDE WITHOUT DIRECT PERMISSION FROM ME - WIZAJ.
Thanks go out to
diezil,
qwerty12 and
Mr. Thunderbird. My 3 modding mentors.
steadyontherem8, my fellow n00b helper, a great friend.
Special thanks to the experts on the list at the bottom of this guide for letting me put their names here
So what's this guide about?Read above, newbie
I wanna mod my phone NOW! So where do I start?
Well, let me break it down for ya....
All SE phones are basically broken down into groups... Since this is a quickstart guide, I'll be defining terms very concisely....
You'll need to find out your phone's Platform, CID, EROM, Colour and Firmware version... for a start
CID is basically the protection system used on your phone, it determines the loaders used to break into it
Current CIDs in use by SE are 29/36/37/49/50/51/52/53
The most common CIDs are 36, 49, 51/52, 53
The most modifications that are available on SE-NSE can be applied to the above mentioned CIDs, apart from 53, which is still under research and development, but there are tools that work with this type of CID
EROM is Erasable Read Only Memory. This is the base part of the software which isn't flashed in normal update operations. It controls the flashing interface, the boot loader, etc.
EROM Colour:This "colour" defines what kind of phone you have.
RED Phones are typical retail phones
BROWN phones are phones used in development and testing
BLUE phones are the units that were assembled at the factory but never programmed with firmware/IMEI/GDFS
PLATFORM is the hardware 'chipset' used in the mobile you own. DB2000, DB2010, DB2020, DB3150 are the most common platforms, and DB2010 to DB3150 are supported by most free tools
FIRMWARE is the 'operating system' of your phone, it is divided into two parts; MAIN Firmware and FS (File System). The FS contains the system files that are required for operation of the phone itself, and the MAIN is the actual operating environment.
Now to find out this info, we'll use the basic SE moddin' tool, which is XS++ (
download)
Where to get it?
We use
The R&D Supersticky™
It's a topic made by
Mr. ThunderbirdThis topic contains all the links to all flashing programs and their guides, if applicable. Also, it'll be worth your time to look at
A Compilation Of Links Across The Forum. That thread is a useful tool in removing your n00bness.
Download XS++ and Se Tool 2 for a start, most things on this forum are packed in RAR and ZIP files, so you'll need an archiving tool like
WinRAR, or the free tool
7Zip. You'll need to install the USB Flash Drivers, read the respective general usage guides for each tool, and then
profile your phone with XS++
Now, from that profile, we can see that my DB2010 W700i is CID 49 (EROM CID is what we pay attention to). It's a RED Retail phone, and it's running R1CA021 firmware
Once you have identified the phone, you'll need to see which modifications you can apply.
If you have a RED CID 36, 49, 52 then XS++ is your best flashing tool, if you have a BROWN 36, you can convert it to 49 through
this guide. If you have a BROWN 49, then you'll need a service cable to use
this guide
Also, SEFP is another good tool for CID 36 & 49, all of the links can be found in the
The R&D Supersticky™
If you have a CID 52/53 and a newer platform, then your other best friend is JDFlasher. Both JDFlasher & SEFP are independent plugins for the
FAR Manager application.
The first step to modifying a phone is making a GDFS backup, this is absolutely critical. Please
DO NOT SKIP this step, it's covered in the
XS++ General Usage guide, and also the
Se Tool 2 Lite general usage guideThe second could be flashing the firmware you need. XS++, Se Tool 2, SEFP & JDFlasher can all flash firmware. You may select the appropriate tool according to your profile. The alternative is SEUS (Sony Ericsson Update Service) but it updates the CID on all DB2020s+ to CID 53, rendering the phone less moddable. It is safe for DB2010 and below.
After performing an FS flash, you do need to customise your phone. You do this by using custpacks. They contain languages and other important info. Most custpacks are embedded into XS++, but if you want to know more, or edit one of your own, then I strongly recommend you click
hereFlashing and firmware guides are
hereFirmware files can be found in
hereMost firmware files can also be found
here,
here, or
hereSome of the above website may require the use of
Google TranslateYou can also do a google search and include the '4shared' term to find firmware.
A sample google query is
hereIf you're having trouble flashing, you may post your problem
hereOnly after using
this feature of course
Moving on to more advanced modifications, things such as Elfs, Acoustics, Menus, GFX and Camera drivers can all be found
hereBe careful when installing those advanced mods and make sure that they're compatible with your phone.
The
R&D thread contains works in progress, so you may look into them if you feel you are comfortable using items that are still yet to be finalized, but remember to read
this first. You can also learn a lot from that thread.
Mods... Explained
Is it dangerous?Using modded drivers does shorten the hardware's life span, but not by a significant difference. This is because almost all modded drivers are very high performance and push the hardware to the limit. Hence more wear & tear
AcousticsThese are the sound drivers for your phone, they control the parameters such as volume, clarity and noise reduction. There are many available 3rd party acoustics on SE-NSE. Please note that DB2010s use APF acoustics, DB2020s use ZAPF acoustics, and believe it or not, DB3150s use XML acoustics
(citation needed) Acoustics are not firmware/model dependent but are platform dependent
Camera & Display Drivers
These are a bit self explanatory, but they basically control clarity and speed parameters. Camera drivers are model dependent. Display drivers however, may work on other models, and this behaviour has also been noticed on some camera drivers.
Patches
Patches allow for some extreme changes in how the phone works. They can change the UI, and security restrictions and a lot more things. Patches work by changing values in the firmware, though they are some patches that do write values outside of firmware, and these are the dangerous ones. Some CAN write to EROM but it's usually mentioned in the patch. This is why it is recommended to unpatch all your patches before flashing a new MAIN. Patches are firmware and model dependent. Strictly. Misused patches have been known to completely destroy a MAIN.
Elfpack/Elfs
These are small executables that use the phone's ARM processor. They can access many native functions of the
phone that allow for some unique applications that cannot be developed on any other phone. You will need the Elfpack and Elf Library patch for your specific phone and firmware, although the Elfs themselves are not dependent on anything, i.e, any Elf will run on any phone that has Elfpack and the necessary library functions. If you experience problems running Elfs, it means that your library does not have the necessary function(s) used by that Elf. Different libraries are released for different phones, usually dependent on the maker of the elf, who attaches the function you need in the form of a VKP patch alongside the elf for your convinience. Having Elfpack installed means that your SE can get viruses. Only use trusted Elfs that are verified by many users.
GFX/SysGFX
sysgfx is a patch that allows you to change the GUI of your phone using images to replace elements in your UI. GFX are the actual images that you upload to your GFX directory. On most DB2020s, images are converted to patches, you cannot have sysgfx the same way as on DB2010.
Still having trouble?Contact one of our experts below
WizaJ-DB2010/20 Firmware specialist, APF Acoustic expert, Elf expert, Patch expert. W700, K850 Owner.
steadyontherem8-DB2010/20 Expert, Firmware finding guru, K800/10 Owner.
nknwn666-DB2010 Expert, K800/10 Expert, K750@W800 Owner
Mr. Thunderbird-(Currently Unavailable)Phone moddin' god, UIQ Expert, W960 Expert.
thugz mafia-DB2010 Expert, W700 Expert, Elf Installation & Usage Expert, hex based patch porter. W700 Owner
Wally_dog-Knows all there is to know about the W810, W810 Owner
Mattwood-Phone Repairs Expert (Some Nokia & Motorola too). 3 Yrs Experience
weirdwilli-Pretty much useless, but hey, it's worth a shot
nick14-Smartphone Expert.
number1-DB2010/20 Expert. K810 Expert, K800@K810, W300i Owner. C702 Owner & Expert