Guide - Unlock XT862 for T-mobile/ATT

Thought I would share based on my experiences on trying to get this phone to work on t-mobile. It works on ATT 3g/T-mobile Edge, but still a pretty cool phone to have.

Also another note, this is a mod that will only go through on Windows. You will need ROOT EXPLORER app for this method to work.

1 - Make sure you are on the stock XT862 ROM, if you aren't flash it via this method found here: http://rootzwiki.com/topic/4370-sbf-droid-3-fastboot-files-55959-and-56890/

2 - Make sure your phone is rooted, if not download the following and follow the steps found here: http://www.psouza4.com/droid3/

3 - Unlock the phone. This can be accomplished by purchasing the unlock code, and later entering the code upon insertion of a sim card. (T-mobile ATT sim cards will work, but you will get an error saying UNLOCK FAILED, this is NORMAL do not freak out)

4 - Download the following files and unzip it to your desktop: http://www.mediafire.com/?y1wjw775v8itsx3

5 - Click Start and open cmd.

6 - Type in the following in cmd:
'cd desktop'
'cd fastboot'
'moto-fastboot flash radio radio.img'

ONCE it flashes, then enter:

'moto-fastboot reboot'

7 - Use root explorer to push the build.prop into the system folder

8 - Reboot, select GSM/UMTS in Network Settings.

AND BAM now it works. If there is any confusion please let me know.

Nice! Is that the XT883 radio you're flashing or a real unlocked (and signed) XT862 radio?

Also - change to in build.prop to get normal reading on signal strength indicator.

You can also change to so phone starts automatically in GSM/UMTS mode after hard reset.

In case someone doesn't know how to replace their build.prop with the tweaked one, which goes in your /system folder. What it does is trick your phone into thinking it's an xt883 so it will work with gsm in the US. Be aware that all the links/instructions here are found elsewhere, so you can find this info if you search. If you need more help, search, but ask anyway if you need it. Just be sure to say thanks ;-) Best way to swap build.prop is to do the following:

1. Download Root Browser, free version from Android Market.

2. When you are going through the process of following the steps in the original post, you should download a .zip file which should contain the build.prop file that you need, along with the radio.img you should've already flashed using cmd prompt commands on your PC. If you can't find this file, just download the .zip again, unzip and you'll find it there.

3. Connect your phone to your PC via usb and move the build.prop file to your external sd card (or whichever one you feel comfy with lol), to a folder where you will remember it and access it later from Root Browser.

4. After moving the file to your sd card, simply go to the folder you placed it in, in Root Browser, then long-press the file and select 'move'. Then navigate to your /system folder which is found in the '/' or root folder. There should be a paste button on screen, or press menu to paste the tweaked build.prop file in /system. This will replace your original build.prop, so you might want to save a copy of it on your sd card, but honestly you don't need it. You can always recover your phone using the fast/easy unbrick tool also found in the dev forum, which will put your phone back to stock.

5. Once you have moved the tweaked build.prop you downloaded from xda, reboot your phone like normal. If the radio doesn't pick up a signal now, you should go to your settings to change to gsm.

*Before this next step*
Be sure that if you see a dialogue box pop up at any time saying "there are no available gsm networks, would you like to switch to global mode?", select 'cancel', because it will just change your phone to the previous settings, which is bad. Global mode doesn't allow gsm, so you don't want it to pick that mode. Do not select the check box, as when you lose signal at times, this box will need to pop up again and you'll need to hit cancel every time. This tells your phone to wait until it finds your correct gsm signal (I believe this is fixed by one of the build.prop edits suggested here in this thread, by making the phone think it is not a verizon global phone...it will pick up signal after every reboot).

6. In settings, go to wifi & networks>mobile networks>network mode, choose gsm/umts, then tap back button to go back to mobile networks>select network, tap automatic, then go back to mobile networks>operator selection, deselect the checkbox that says 'choose automatically', then tap 'search for networks', choose T-Mobile 2G (or whatever Operator you use (you'll only get edge on T-Mobile)), and go back to mobile networks>Access point names, and if everything else goes well, this should show T-Mobile already selected. If not, google search 'tmobile apn settings' and type in the correct info you find. I can provide the info to type in if it still doesn't work, but it should work with anything you find online. Just type it all in as shown in pretty much any Android related article you find online.

If you make it this far with no problems, your phone should work just fine. No, nothing done here is very hard, it's just a lengthy process the first time.

There are more build.prop tweaks you can perform by using the text editor built into Root Browser, which works very well. You can find these tweaks in the same forum as the original tutorial, as a comment from someone. Be sure to be very precise any time you mess with build.prop, as your phone needs this file when it boots up, and screwing up the wrong line will brick your phone. You can always force it to recover using the fastboot (fast/easy) unbrick method I mentioned earlier, so have fun. Also, Root Browser will usually force close after tweaking build.prop, and you need to reboot to make sure you see the full effects of your changes.

Sorry this is so long, it was a PM to another member who needed it spelled out. Hopefully this will prevent others from having the same issues.

OP, this would go great in your guide, or maybe a link to it for noobs. I already PMd you about it, but I made some more edits here

Also, if anyone is interested:

I experimented with adding some features from the Bell Canada XT860 build.prop
The signal strength and speed improved after this modification.

Speed Test app went from around 1000~2000 to almost 5000 for me.

However, there is no CDMA support at all.
Pretty much a hybridization of the XT883 and XT860 build.prop

File is attached.

EDIT: New file attached. Think I got rid of the Chinese letters on the am/pm.
Using Verizon XT862 regional settings so now this is a combination of XT860, 862, & 883 build.props

Rebooted about 25 times, no sign of the Chinese letters so far.

Just an update on some common issues:

I have converted a bunch of XT862s to be GSM compatible over the last few months. Older SIM cards definitely do cause issues with reception and ability to get data.

People with Cingular, or older AT&T SIM cards could not get any data, APN info was empty and locked from adding new entries. Voice worked but reception was 5 to 10 dBm worse than phones with newer SIM cards. Obtaining a new SIM fixed the APN issue along with the poor reception issue.

I encourage anyone running into these problems to just get a new SIM.

In addition, I have an updated flashable build.prop GSM fix.
Flashes in recovery and instantly restores the correct build.prop for XT883 radio.