A few days ago my phone suddenly displayed this message during startup and refused me further access. I did not abused it in any way but I guess after nearly five years there bound to be hiccups like this. I am not a phone addict. I rarely use it for calls or even short messaging. It stays in my pocket most of the time while making the service provider richer. I am not going to dump it either for the new Android or God forbid me, the iPhone.
Sony Ericsson w900i is a solid built phone. A guy would feel comfortable with it in their hands. After five years it is still in good physical condition. I am truly happy with it except the lacking of A2DP (Stereo Bluetooth) feature which is frustrating for a Walkman Phone. I have decided to keep it till it truly fall apart.
I have a sound knowledge of electronics and programming but I have never done any phone hacking. I guess hacking my own phone is considered legal compared to giving to a repair shop and they will fix it under five minutes and will charge me 50 bucks for it by just pushing a button. So I Googled my problem and found several answers. Since I am new to this, the lingo I read sounded a bit alien. But after a while I was able to translate it to a dummy perspective. So here are the things you need for the job.
1. The DCU-60 phone-to-USB cable, that came with your phone when you bought it.
2. USB Flash driver. This is a different driver than the one you use to transfer files to and from your computer. This driver is used to read the firmware of your phone. I used the Gordon’s Gate flash driver. You can download it from SE-NSE.net - http://forums.se-nse.net/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=942
3. XS++ v3.1 Flashing Software. It is used to restore the firmware to its factory default or update it. You can download from http://forums.se-nse.net/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=575. For updates you can go to Sony Ericsson Update Service or just Google for the latest firmware.
This the screenshot of XS++. It is simple and straight forward. To access the flash firmware you need to press the ‘c’ button on your w900i together with the right joystick and connect the USB cable after you press connect on the software. Most of the instructions I have read just mentioned ‘c’ button but never mentioned the right joystick which got me lost for a day. The phone has to be in the off state and the SIM card removed prior to that.
These are the three steps you need to do to revive your phone.
1. Flash the Main Firmware. The latest Main Firmware I have found is ‘W900_R5BC004_MAIN_GENERIC_SA_RED49.mbn’.
2. Flash the File System. The latest File System I have found is ‘W900_R5BC004_FS_EMEA_1_RED49.fbn’
3. Flash the Customize File System or CUS. You can select the phone model the CDA and Region from inside XS++.
Just click ‘Flash’ button under Procedure Control and wait for 5 minutes or so. When it is done, unplug the cable, re-insert the SIM card and turn on your phone. It will go through the setup wizard and your phone OS will look brand new.
If you need more more information you can visit these two sites:
SE Flashing and SE-NSE v5
