How to flash / Phoenix advanced tutorials
For those who want to read, a brief instruction on Phoenix is available here.
For those who do not want to read, there are masters’, they know how to do.
And those who have Windows 10, make your life easier by using rather BEST.
I believe that you have already read the information on Delight Custom Firmwares legacy blog by having followed the link above, but thanks to KIV6666 from AllNokia.ru, I can extend some Phoenix flashing stuff. So, let me pinpoint some crucial things here. You know Phoenix is a professional software, and its logs are not so informative to the general user, thus being understandable only to specialists. Therefore you should keep some information in mind.
Before you start Phoenix installation to Windows 7 or higher, the User Account Control (UAC) is suggested to be turned off from Windows Control Panel settings. Microsoft .NET version 2 Service Pack 2 is the minimum requirement; Phoenix installation will check PC for the .NET version and update it automatically when PC has an online connection. Without it, you might need to update old .NET versions manually.
Having Phoenix installed, first of all, every program by NOKIA must be closed before flashing! It is also better to close other unnecessary applications, such as automatic garbage sweepers or whatsoever. Use the original USB cable (shipped in one box with your phone) when flashing.
If the above window appears during the flashing, do click the OK button in no case: this will cause Phoenix to close, and your phone will be bricked! Wait until the end of the flashing process!
I know that it is written on the Delight legacy blog: «phoenix crashed — Pheonix Dump window — IF the phone is being flashed in the background, then DO NOT press OK in that window, just ignore it and wait till phone flashing is done«. But it is done in such an easy-living way so that many do not understand how severe outcome could be by performing the wrong action! Please make yourself acquainted with this error!
I would also like to define more precisely the following sentence from the Delight legacy blog: «the flashing folder has to BE MADE in C:\Program Files (x86)\Nokia\Phoenix\Products\«. If you have 32-bit Windows version, then you will never need Program Files with addition x86 folder. And do not even try to create it and put your files into there — it will not work!
Important information for Windows 10 users
It is highly recommended to flash with Phoenix using USB 2.0 port on PCs with Windows XP — 7 OS. If your PC runs Windows 8 or higher, then you might need to take some additional actions (may not apply to current Win 10 updated versions, unfortunately):
1) If your PC lacks USB 2.0 ports, then try flashing by connecting your phone to newer port the way it is. Do not exploit additional adapters or hubs, as there is not much sense in using them in this case.
2) If your phone cannot be identified by the system, you should install Huawei drivers. Please read this post for more information (though you can skip installation of the latest Nokia Ovi Suite).
3) If you receive a Kernel Security Check error or Blue Screen of Death on Windows 10 (especially on the 64-bit version) when you initialise the flashing process, then do the following:
— Uninstall Phoenix.
— Disable Signed Driver Enforcement (search Google for it). Your PC will reboot.
— Install Phoenix and do not restart your PC!
— Connect your phone and wait until it is identified by the system.
— Flash your phone (Signed Driver Enforcement must still be disabled).
Still no positive outcome? Whenever you have problem with Phoenix on Windows 10 or lower (even on Windows 7 because of the non-native USB 3.0 drivers), there is an alternate solution. Try using Virtual Machine with clean Windows XP or 7 32-bit (on VirtualBox or VMware Player, of course only with native USB 2.0 support), and this can work out as well.
A few words about using Phoenix on Linux machines
Though it was reported by several users that they could flash their smartphones successfully using VMware on Windows 10, in this paragraph, you will learn about Linux showing different behaviour. A first and concrete example — it is not possible to flash through a virtual environment like VirtualBox with Ubuntu or its derivatives as a host machine. An explanation of this is plain easy: the USB connection will always be recognised by the host PC first, and you have to manually accept the connection through the options in the VM afterwards. It is a fundamental problem since your phone is first connected, but as soon as Phoenix commences flashing, it puts the phone into flash mode and thereby disrupts the USB connection again and again. As a result, Phoenix cannot accept it when you immediately and manually re-establish connections (no matter how fast you act, it will not work that way). All in all, using a VM on Linux PC should be regarded as a waste of time.
Consequently, a good recommendation is a clean Windows 7 32-bit installation on a separate drive, which you can delete afterwards. Will you need to take care of additional points, only if your PC has two SSD hard drives in the RAID mode (i.e. both are recognised as one drive). Windows might not identify this correctly during installation even though this problem does not apply to GNU / Linux! So, in the beginning, you must run the hard drives separately in AHCI mode to be able to install Windows 32-bit versions correctly.
Many thanks to Battal Ates, who shared this information!
Dead phone USB flashing
Note: if the phone is locked (branded) for the operator, performing flashing to unlock will not help! Please go down to find possible solutions. Though, if you forgot the security code, you can flash the phone in dead mode, and it will be erased.
In dead flashing mode, you should first disconnect the USB cable, turn off the phone and pull out the battery. When you start the flashing process (via Refurbish or SW Reset) and the message «Press phone’s power button» appears, follow the instruction from connecting the USB cable without pressing anything.
For clarity, watch the video under the spoiler. Hint: use ActiveX or old Flash-supported browser! Otherwise, you will have to download it first.
Flashing mass memory drive with single MMC file
If you want to append a custom E-disk content on Delight, you can Refurbish your phone with a single file flashing any time you decide so. Just follow the instructions drawn on the image below.
This method utterly eliminates the possibility of killing a phone since there is no real firmware per se due to the absence of ROM flashing files. In other words, only the mass memory drive is involved in this process.
Formatting memory
You can only format a live phone, both internal memory and memory card. To do that, launch Phoenix and select your phone from the «Connections» list. Then press File -> Open Product and choose your RM. After that go to Product -> File System Format.
Choose a disk to format and press Start. After formatting, your phone might be set to LOCAL MODE. To solve this problem, select NORMAL or TEST in «Operating Mode» menu and the phone will turn on.
Similarly, Phoenix can be used to retrieve information from the phone. To do this, follow the same initial steps as for the formatting memory, but press «Phone Information» instead. Here you can find out the version of hardware and firmware, product code and IMEI of your phone.
If you choose «Production Data Edit» from the same menu, you can view or change the product code. Press «Read» and you will see the product code of your phone. If you need to change this code, erase the line concerned and enter a new one here, then press «Write». To verify it was changed successfully, press the «Read» button again.
Branding to the operator (SIM lock)
Many operators code their phones, thus disallowing any usage of SIM cards belonging to other operators. If you turn on the phone and it asks you for the code, and when you enter the wrong code, the message «SIM is restricted» or similar is being displayed, that means the phone is locked to the operator. You can check it with Phoenix. Connect the phone without a SIM card and follow the steps indicated on the figure below. On the left part, the phone is branded, on the right one — it is not. You can decode it either at the masters’ or obtain the code via the Internet.
If you want to decode the phone yourself, you can use BEST to get the .bcl file (hash, etc.). Then upload it, for example, here. You will be given with the NCK code that you will need to enter into the BEST’s options for SL1/SL2 to proceed. If you would like to ask for more details about the unlock process with BEST, do not hesitate to contact Dionysis Foustoukos.
Scandinavia downgrade
Several first-generation Symbian^3 smartphone models can be downgraded from Nokia Belle to Symbian Anna. Another useful practical application of this method is advanced phone recovery if flashing OFW has not brought the phone back to life.
In a case with Nokia N8, try performing downgrade of your corrupted phone ONLY on this quality assurance firmware (version 011.005). The process of downgrading does not differ much from regular flashing (either in normal or dead modes). But under these specific circumstances, you need to ignore several red-letter warnings on Delight Custom Firmwares legacy blog. First of all, by doing this you are downgrading Symbian^3 phone indeed, so this is possible. Secondly, you can and you should check Allow SW Downgrade and Ignore Invalid SW Version boxes in the flashing options window while flashing the quality assurance firmware. If you ignore this, your phone will not boot. After a successful downgrade, flash any other firmware version that you want, and it will fix even severe brick. Just remember to uncheck the abovementioned boxes. And if you flash without the content file for the E drive, be sure to delete it in Options.
Downgrading other phones, such as Nokia C6-01, C7, E6, or E7, is more tricky since the quality assurance firmware had leaked only for Nokia N8 before. Therefore, their flashing is done more comprehensively:
— Install Phoenix Service Software 2010.38.5.44210 (remove your current version of Phoenix if it is installed on the PC).
— Copy files of RM-596 025.007 firmware (can be found here) to C:\Program Files\Nokia\Phoenix\Products\RM of your phone folder.
— Launch Phoenix. Click File -> Open Product -> RM of your phone.
— Click Flashing -> Firmware Update, and select Product Code.
— Then go to Options and delete the red file (if present).
— Flash your phone via Update Software or Refurbish. After flashing is done, disconnect your phone and close Phoenix.
— Copy files of RM-596 011.005 firmware to C:\Program Files\Nokia\Phoenix\Products\RM of your phone (clean this folder before you do that).
— Flash by repeating the latest four steps listed above, but this time you might need to perform it in a dead phone USB flashing mode.
— Remove Phoenix Service Software 2010.38.5.44210 and install Phoenix Service Software 2011.46.002.47246.
— Flash your phone (highly likely still in a dead mode) on the lowest Symbian^3 firmware available for your model.
Then flash a higher firmware version (e.g. Anna 025.007) with RM of your phone on top, and it is done.
Please note that the described above solution does not apply to second-generation Symbian Carla and Donna (i.e. Belle FP1 and FP2). Non-complying with this statement, along with the implication of independent actions or spontaneous activity, will result in a brick! Also, I strongly suggest you not to try Scandinavia downgrade for other first-generation Symbian^3 smartphones which were not mentioned in the instruction (e.g. Nokia 500, etc.).
Typical errors and limitations
1
Dead phone USB flashing box cannot be ticked — select NO CONNECTION mode.
2
Phoenix cannot identify the phone — choose PC SUITE from phone connections. If that does not solve the problem on a 64-bit system, try Dead phone USB flashing (via Refurbish or SW Reset) — your phone should be identified instantly during flashing.
3
If you see this error when selecting a product code,
then check the address C:\Program Files\Nokia\Phoenix\Products\RM- for the presence of a firmware. The folder name must be, for example, RM-807 for Nokia 808 PureView. Your RM phone value can be different, but the main thing here is RM-807 and not RM807 or RM 807. Dash is important! Also, check the presence of VPL file in the firmware!
4
If you cannot install Phoenix, try deleting drivers, install Phoenix first, and then install drivers.
5
WARNING: Asic CMT: NAND status reported bad blocks
This error stands for broken blocks. Though it is not so critical, the phone usually works fine in spite of this error.
6
Waiting for communication response: 25
Waiting for communication response:
Waiting for communication response: 1
Error 0x8401F121 communicating to phone.
Unable to verify comm.
Warning: Unable to communicate to product after flashing
Starting to recover the phone
Recovering phone
If you ever get the countdown starting at 25, then pull the USB before it gets to 0! Then pull out the battery, insert it, and start the phone. Its flashing is done, and in rare cases, it is OK the way it is. But more commonly, such log indicates an error related to the downgraded firmware or incorrectly flashed CFW. In this case, you should verify the integrity of the firmware (or its version). If your phone does not boot up, try to flash it with the original firmware. But if nothing still comes out, bring the phone to the masters’.
7
If you see «Contact Service» message on display, and recovery via dead flashing mode does not help, usually, it is a hint on going to the masters’.
8
If the phone does not turn on after flashing and LOСAL MODE is displayed on the screen, reinsert the battery.
9
If a firmware on your phone is unstable, the phone cannot be turned on anymore for unknown reasons, and it can only be brought back to life by constant flashings, then this problem is connected with hardware. There is only one sober solution to this problem — masters’.
10
Error 0x84009427 communicating to phone. Unable to verify comm.
Warning: Unable to communicate to product after flashing
That means Phoenix cannot reset the phone after flashing. It is highly likely that the problem is in the battery to have drained during the flashing process. Therefore, it is always recommended to charge the battery before.
11
The flashing failed. Do you like to retry the flashing?
HRESULT 0x8401223f (-2080300481)
Flash: Unable to verify communication with device after flashing has finished.
Reinsert the battery, then try turning on the phone.
12
If your PC is searching for Nokia USB ROM during flashing and cannot find it, not speaking about flashing Generic and Parent drivers, then make sure that Nokia Flashing Cable Driver is installed on your computer. If so, before starting the flashing process, turn off the phone, then open the Windows Device Manager and quickly press the phone’s power button for 1-2 seconds. Meanwhile, two devices will appear in the Device Manager: PARENT and GENERIC. If the drivers are not installed from the first time or are installed with an error, press phone’s power button couple more times until the drivers are installed successfully. When the devices involved are detected, you can turn on the phone and go ahead with the flashing process.
13
If Phoenix issued an error, log of which ends on
— Press phone’s power button! —
Connection opened to BootCode successfully
First wait command succeeded.
Close RAW connection!
Failed to send config request!
Unable to set the phone to flash mode. Unable to flash.
or
Erasing User Data Area.
FUR: ALGO reported error in Control Frame. Unable to continue.
ERROR: Programming error reported for asic CMT
— Error Type 0x02
— Error Specifier 0x12
— Offending Addr 0xFFFFFFFF
— Expected content 0x0000FFFF
— Detected content 0xFFFFFFFF
User Data Area erasing failed
Unable to flash phone 0x8401F173
Make sure that you are using a recommended version of Phoenix. Symbian^3 smartphones (C7-N8 and similar) need to be flashed with Phoenix Service Software 2012.04.003.47798. Nokia 808 PureView is the only exception — you can use both Phoenix Service Software 2012.16.004.48159 (recommended) or 2012.24.000.48366.
14
If Phoenix cannot identify your phone no matter how hard you have tried, then refer to your hardware part. Phoenix is proven to work with popular hardware and drivers, such as Intel or Realtek. If your PC has some cheap or rare components (especially USB-related), then this might also be the reason for failure regardless of the installed OS. In this case, you will have to switch to another PC.
15
After you close Phoenix, it may not restart. To rectify this, use Windows Task Manager to manually shut down phoenix.exe and FuseService.exe processes, or optionally restart your PC.
16
To be able to use the official Phoenix help files in Windows 7 and newer, you need to install Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe).
17
Even if you have read these text passages with pleasure up to this point, you should still stay in reality and not parallelise all Delight-focused information on other Nokia phone models or daringly go beyond the scope of this article! Nobody will save you if, for instance, you decide to perform Energy Management Calibration for products using the «Quantum» engine (such as RM-689, RM-702, RM-704 or other products using the same engine). Another example shows that phones using FLS-5 / USB_FBUS connection cannot be serviced in 64-bit operating systems simply because FLS drivers do not support 64-bit OS. All non-Delight cases should be handled carefully, and the official documentation is supposed to be referred!
18
And the last, yet important: if you suddenly became a lucky possessor of Nсkia N8 or whatever of unofficial Chinese assembly, and you want to flash Delight on it; then do not even Phoenix this Nɔkia! It is not Nokia at all, and if you try to flash it with Phoenix, your phone will definitely die.
Technical information
Phoenix Service Software 2012.16.004.48159 |
Main changes and error corrections from previous version:
New product support: RM-807
Product API 2012.14.7
Nokia Connectivity Cable USB Driver version 7.1.78.0
Flash Update Package 2012.11
FUSE Connection Manager version 2012.14
Envira CL 2012.16
Phoenix Service Software 2012.04.003.47798
Main component versions in this release:
Product API 2012.2.2
Nokia Connectivity Cable USB Driver version 7.1.69.0
Flash Update Package 2011.50
FUSE Connection Manager version 2011.51